THE STRONGEST THUNDER SWORD, VOLUME 8 - Season 15 Episode 15

The screens above the ten stages displayed the participants’ numbers in each group. Of course, the various major powers had already investigated the noteworthy participants. The moment the system finished forming each group, they located the noteworthy participants’ stages.

“The participants for the third and fifth group are amazing!”

“Isn’t No. 29 Falling Flowers, the 10th ranked Swordsman in the Purple Thorns Empire?”

“Crap! Thorny Language, one of the experts that ranked within the top 100 in the previous competition, is No. 1,514!”

…

The spectators talked among themselves when they saw the name lists on the screens. Group Three and Five received the most attention. These two groups contained one-third of the players who had been predicted to rank among the top 100 this time. The battles in these two groups would be very intense.

When Gentle Snow saw the lists from her VIP room, her expression darkened.

Among Zero Wing’s five representatives, two had been assigned to Group Three, and three were in Group Five.

It wouldn’t have been a problem if these groups had slightly more experts than the others, but that clearly wasn’t the case. Among the superpowers’ newcomers, 13 were in Group Three, and 19 had been assigned Group Five. These two groups alone included more than half of the noobies from the various superpowers.

In addition, each of these two groups had over a dozen representatives from first-rate Guilds. They also consisted of many players from the various top adventurer teams. Overall, these people had taken roughly 90 slots among the two groups. There were also the various independent experts from the Black Dragon Empire and the neighboring kingdoms. Who knew if dark horses hid among these independent experts?

Group Three and Five were death groups.

Aside from Zhao Yueru, Zero Wing’s representatives would have a difficult time qualifying for the competition’s final phase. If they encountered one of the seeded participants or one of the superpowers’ newcomers, they would have to endure an arduous battle.

Points would be awarded to Guild representatives who made it into the final phase. These points would be used to calculate each Guild’s rank. Aside from superpowers, which wouldn’t be included in the Guild rankings, each Guild had five representatives. Naturally, the more qualified representatives a Guild possessed, the greater its advantage would be.

Unless three or more of Zero Wing’s representatives made it to the final phase, it would be at a disadvantage against Crimson Castle. Furthermore, Crimson Castle had two Flowing Water Realm experts. Those two experts were almost guaranteed to rank quite high during the final phase.

“Relax. None of them should have any problem qualifying for the next phase,” Shi Feng reassured, chuckling when he noticed Gentle Snow’s worried look.

While there were many experts in Group Three and Five, Zhao Yueru and the others were no weaklings. Their weapons and equipment ranked among the best in this competition. In addition, they had equipped the All-rounded Device. They had no reason to fear anything less than a Refinement Realm expert.

Shi Feng’s confidence rendered Gentle Snow speechless.

If this were an ordinary competition, she wouldn’t mind losing. In fact, this was a good opportunity for Zhao Yueru and the others to gain combat experience. However, the development of Zero Wing’s Branch Guild was on the line.

If they succeeded, it would further the Branch Guild’s progress in the Black Dragon Empire, enabling it to contend with the five first-rate Guilds in the empire. If they failed, however, the consequences would force her into an awkward position. After all, she was the Branch Guild’s manager. She had no wish to see it fail.

As Shi Feng spoke, the competition began. Following which, the system randomly selected participants for the first fight. In the blink of an eye, the list of match-ups appeared on the screen above their respective stages. These participants simply needed to enter their respective stages to begin the match.

Group One – No. 4,187 VS No. 712!

Group Two – No. 1,714 VS No. 6,024!

Group Three – No.584 VS No. 5513!

…

Matches occurred simultaneously on the ten stages. While the audience could watch all ten stages at the same time, the large screens outside the Underground Arena would only stream the most noteworthy match.

“That Shield Warrior with the crimson shield is so amazing! He actually killed that Level 43 Berserker after losing less than one-tenth of his HP!”

“He is pretty powerful. He either blocked or dodged every one of the Berserker’s attacks. The Shield Warrior’s defense is impeccable. By my guess, he should rank among the top 100 Shield Warriors.”

…

The players crowding the open-air bars outside the Underground Arena heatedly discussed the players as they watched the live-streamed matches.

Most of the matches ended quickly. Generally, each match lasted less than one minute. Even in a stalemate, the match would end after a certain amount of time as this was the competition’s initial phase. The victors of these matches would be determined by how much remaining HP each participant possessed.

As one match after another came to an end, Fierce Snake, who was in Group Three, was called to the stage. His first opponent was a Level 45 Guardian Knight.

“That Berserker, Fierce Snake, really is unlucky. He has to face Flaming Arm, the 37th ranking Guardian Knight in the empire, in his first match.”

“He can only blame himself for such poor luck. After ranking 37th in the class rankings during the previous competition, Dragon’s Abyss, one of the top five top adventurer teams in the empire, recruited Flaming Arm immediately. With the Guild’s nurturing, Flaming Arm must have improved quite a lot. He shouldn’t have any issues ranking among the top 30 in his class rankings.”

When Flaming Arm appeared on Group Three’s stage, many among the audience shifted their attention to his stage. After all, he was an expert capable of ranking 37th among the Black Dragon Empire’s Guardian Knights. In a first-rate Guild, he could become one of the Guild’s core MTs.

Moreover, when comparing classes, Guardian Knights had an advantage over Berserkers. The match’s outcome was obvious.

“Hahaha! Zero Wing is actually going to lose its very first match!” Crimson Fox laughed as he glanced at Fierce Snake.

During the initial phase, each participant had to fight 30 matches. Among the 640 participants in each group, only the top 100 would qualify for the final phase. Based on previous ranking competitions and the intensity of this competition, player’s likelihood of qualifying for the final phase was quite low, even if the won 26 of their 30 fights. Only those who win 27 matches were guaranteed to qualify. If Fierce Snake lost his very first match, he would have to win 27 of his 29 remaining matches. Such a feat would be ridiculously difficult.

Crimson Fox was also quite familiar with Fierce Snake’s strength since he was one of the top-tier experts in Zero Wing’s Branch Guild; Crimson Castle had investigated the Berserker thoroughly. Based on the reports, Fierce Snake would only rank among the top 70 Berserkers in the empire. Normally, he wouldn’t have any trouble qualifying for the final phase. Unfortunately, too many experts were participating in the competition this time. Fierce Snake had also been assigned to one of the two death groups. Now, he had to face Flaming Arm in his very first match. As a result, his chances of qualifying for the final phase had dropped.

…

On Group Three’s stage, Fierce Snake and Flaming Arm stared each other down.

“You must have crap luck to encounter me in your first match! Well? Are you going to leave the stage willingly? Or do you want me to throw you out?” Flaming Arm snickered at the stern-looking Fierce Snake.

Any ordinary expert would normally forfeit a match against him to save their strength for the following matches. If they fought him and revealed their trump cards, only to suffer defeat in the end, they’d pay for it in the following matches.

“Our luck hasn’t yet been determined,” Fierce Snake said, chuckling.

“You overestimate yourself!” Flaming Arm’s gaze sharpened when he heard the bell signal the start of the match. Without hesitation, he activated his Berserk Skill, growing significantly larger. Raising his shield, he charged at Fierce Snake.