Chapter 370 - 265: From Gaming Addict to City Hero (2)

Chapter 370: Chapter 265: From Gaming Addict to City Hero (2)

Then, five Devils of various forms stepped out of the light.

The atmosphere on site instantly dropped to a freezing point. The staff members were all frozen in place; they had never been this close to these creatures from Hell, and raw fear left them dumbfounded.

It’s easy to be stunned when afraid.

Those five Devils looked less like gamers and more like a proper army.

Their postures were ramrod straight, their formation orderly. Their presence far outmatched the few local gaming addicts across from them.

The taller one at the front of the formation must be the Devil General. His voice was like a blood-stained old warhammer.

"We’re here for the interview."

"Oh, oh, right. Okay." The staff member finally snapped out of it.

Just then, War King, with a sudden burst of courage from who knows where, rushed in front of the Devil General. Looking up at him, he shouted, "Take a good look at my face! I’m the one who’s going to defeat you tonight!"

The flashes of surrounding cameras went off wildly, capturing a scene worthy of a newspaper’s front page.

But the Devil General didn’t even spare War King a glance. He simply walked around him. To be ignored is the greatest slight.

He walked straight up to Leon and said, "I look forward to your performance tonight. If we win too easily, it won’t be a victory worth remembering."

Leon looked at the opponent who was twice his height, his face devoid of fear. In fact, he even laughed.

"I, on the other hand, don’t think it’ll be worth remembering for a different reason. After all, for you, it’s going to be a loss."

According to the plan, the interviews for the Devils and the Humans were supposed to be separate to avoid any unexpected conflicts.

But in the Devil General’s mind, a competition was war, and war doesn’t start at a scheduled time.

So, he decided to give his opponents a little intimidation, to crush them with his presence.

According to feedback from their comrades who had already won in other regions, these opponents got nervous easily. And when they were nervous, they made a lot of mistakes.

For the sake of victory, Devils have no concept of honor.

This unexpected confrontation quickly appeared online, successfully provoking the anger of Twin Tower City’s citizens and the discontent of many others following the competition.

"What gives these guys from Hell the right?"

"Exactly! We’re the ones who beat them back into Hell, and now they don’t dare show their faces."

"Not only do they not dare come out, I read some reports from Hell online. The Devils have started believing in the Magic Goddess. Don’t they find that embarrassing for a Devil?"

"They can’t beat us for real, so they can only show off in a game competition. Anyone who didn’t know better would think they’re so amazing."

"But they *are* amazing. Have the Devils lost in any of the other regions’ competitions?"

There’s never a shortage of contrarians on the internet.

But this person wasn’t wrong. In almost every region’s team competition, the Devil teams had been victorious.

"What are you, pretending to have amnesia? Didn’t the Silver-White City State beat the Devils?!"

"Oh please, you make it sound like the Silver-White City State only sent Humans. Your region’s team can’t win, so now you’re trying to ride the Elves’ coattails?"

"Are you even Human?"

"What? Are you going to revoke my Human status over a game? The Zog Group never said this competition was a race war!"

"Are you the spawn of a Devil or something, supporting them like this?"

"What’s wrong with supporting the stronger side? Or do you prefer the low-skilled ones? If so, I really feel sorry for you."

...

Similar arguments erupted across many forums and message boards.

This pushed the hype for the final qualifying team match to a new level.

Large crowds of citizens even gathered outside the Arena, looking ready to block the Devils from leaving if they won.

However, this had no effect on the Devils.

For this band of Devils, who had been fighting a war of annihilation against Demons since birth, this small crowd was nothing compared to the scale of a battlefield.

Besides, they wouldn’t be leaving through the entrance anyway. They would just teleport.

「Evening soon arrived.」

Inside the Arena, one of the stands was covered to serve as a massive screen, while the other three were packed to capacity.

In a large VIP box with an excellent view were Zog, Grace, the City Lord, and the players’ families.

And Toto.

According to the rules, one-on-one matches had no coaching segment. Once on stage, the players were on their own.

So, Toto couldn’t go to the players’ room and could only join them in the box as a spectator.

Right now, she was so anxious she was pacing frantically.

"Toto!" Zog said, his head starting to ache.

This Half-Elf wasn’t just pacing normally. Because her agility was so high, she was zipping back and forth, leaving afterimages. It looked like someone in the family section was about to get dizzy and pass out from watching her.

Zog had no choice but to stop her. "You’re not the one going up there to fight. What are you so nervous about?"

"I wouldn’t be nervous if I were the one fighting!" Toto yelled. "If they lose, my bonus is gone! Do you have any idea how many months of salary you pay me that’s equivalent to?"

"But being nervous is useless. You can’t go up and fight for them."

Zog understood what Toto was feeling.

It was the feeling an experienced driver gets when they’re in the passenger seat, and the person driving just got their license—after failing the test a dozen times.

"That just makes me angry. Why did you have to give me a direct invitation? Think of all the money I missed out on from the qualifiers."

Toto spoke of the qualifying matches as if they were just easy money-making gigs.

"If I hadn’t given you a direct invite, your fans would’ve been upset. They would have torn me to shreds."

"Ahem," Grace interrupted. "Coach Toto, what do you think our chances of winning are tonight?"

"Chances? Twenty percent, I’d say," Toto replied.

"Only twenty percent?"

"If we were fighting the Devils that went to the Silver-White City State, our chances would be about ninety percent. But from the looks of it, the Devils who came here are their strongest batch." Toto’s face was etched with worry.

"Only that kid Leon has a guaranteed win, but his hand is injured, and his stamina is poor. He might not last through a gauntlet match."

"Then how many can he probably beat?"

"If there are two opponents left when he goes up, it’s a hundred percent win. Three, fifty percent. Four, the odds aren’t good. So it mainly depends on how many of the other players can trade for."

"I have faith in the other players." Grace offered a standard smile, making it impossible to tell what she was really thinking.

Toto shrugged, as if to say, ’You’re the one paying the bills, so you’re right.’

She had no confidence in the other players; otherwise, she wouldn’t be pacing around like this.

"Are those Devils really that strong?" asked the City Lord, who hadn’t been paying much attention to this matter.

"They are," Grace replied.

"Why? Haven’t they been playing the game for a much shorter time than us?"

"I’m not sure about that. Perhaps Devils are just naturally talented at games."

Zog sipped his cola off to the side.

He, however, knew the reason.

Zog had privately asked Asmodis why the Devil Team was so strong.

"Don’t tell me all the Devils who lose get executed when they go back?"

That’s what Zog had asked at the time.

"Of course not. Why would you think that?" Asmodis had replied. "I’m not a Demon, after all."

"Oh, that’s good. It’s just a game. No need to treat it like a real war."

"The losers are merely tossed into a lava pool."

"Tossed into what?"

"A lava pool. It’s no big deal. As long as you can swim out, you’re considered innocent. The survival rate is nearly thirty percent. I’ve always been a very merciful Devil."

...

It was uncertain whether Devils had a talent for gaming, but judging by the results, they definitely all wanted to live.

The lights in the Arena dimmed, and a countdown timer with flame effects appeared on the massive screen.

The entire crowd counted down together.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1!"

"Welcome, everyone, to the team match finals of the Sutton Southern Region qualifiers for the World Virtual Arena Competition—"

The Dwarf host’s powerful voice echoed through the Arena.

"Let’s welcome the powerhouses from Hell, the Sixth Group of the Sixth Squad from the Sixth Prison’s Blood Hammer Warband!"

The five Devils marched out of the player tunnel in perfect sync and lined up in formation.

The tsunami of boos from the crowd had no effect on them whatsoever.

"And now, let’s give our loudest cheers to welcome the hope of the Human team, the strongest team formed by homegrown Twin Tower People, the Children of the Twin Towers!"

Just a few months ago, these guys were despised street loiterers who did nothing but play games. Now, the Twin Tower People were giving them a hero’s welcome.

"And now, let’s begin the first match: War King versus Abaddon!"