Chapter 789 – Combating the Holy Guard Party

When the ancient and majestic voice echoed across the Crucible, it caused a stir among the 64 parties in the venue.

“We’re starting the main event with such an exciting match-up?”

“Two of the top ten seeded parties are matched against each other, right off the bat? How unlucky of them.”

“I know, right? Both parties have a chance at entering the top eight. Yet, one of them will be stuck in the top thirty-two.”

“What nonsense are you spouting? We all know that the Holy Guard Party is a bona fide top-eight party, whereas that human party only got lucky with the groups its members were assigned in the preliminaries. The main event involves party-based fights that test the overall strength of parties. Points scored in the preliminaries mean nothing in the main event.”

“Indeed. There are many examples of seeded parties in past preliminaries failing to survive even the first round of the main event.”

The spectating crowd started a hushed discussion as the two parties approached the central ring. Many players found it a pity that the main event would begin with such an exciting match-up. They felt that both the Holy Guard Party and the Verdant Rainbow Party had the potential to compete for the top 8. Yet, one of these parties was now fated to settle in the top 32.

However, some Holy Race and Crystallian players also expressed opposing opinions. They felt the Verdant Rainbow Party had relied on luck to become one of the top 10 seeded parties, and the party’s results in the preliminaries could not prove that the party was among the ten strongest parties in the Continental Championship.

…

“Hahaha! Black Flame must be dumbfounded right now! He probably never expected in a million years he would face the Arbiter of Death’s party right off the bat!” Phoenix Flame couldn’t help but laugh out loud when she saw the Verdant Rainbow Party entering the central ring. “He can’t even enter the top sixteen now, let alone the top eight!”

Phoenix Flame was very displeased when she learned that the Verdant Rainbow Party was ranked fifth in the preliminaries. Her mood became especially bitter when many Holy Race and Crystallian parties started to discuss how the Verdant Rainbow Party was the human race’s strongest party this time around. This situation was an affront to Demon’s Gate’s party.

Fortunately, Demon’s Gate would not need to stomach this humiliation much longer.

The Continental Championship’s main event pitted parties against each other. Battles would not be conducted on the individual level like in the preliminaries. Hence, a party’s overall strength weighed heavily in the main event.

Additionally, the major system update caused players’ Stamina and Concentration consumption to increase drastically. This, in turn, affected players’ ability to fight extended battles and reduced the effectiveness of individual players in group combat.

Although the Verdant Rainbow Party had a monster known as Black Flame, the other party members were insignificant characters. At most, Gentle Snow and Verdant Rainbow could be considered qualified combatants. But in overall strength, the Holy Guard Party, with its latest line-up, was on a completely different level than the Verdant Rainbow Party.

In the previous championship, Daystar was the star of the Holy Guard Party, and she was even considered one of the top 5 experts at the time. However, although her party members were weaker than her, every one of them was still stronger than Verdant Rainbow.

In this season, the Holy Guard Party’s line-up became even more terrifying. Apart from Daystar remaining as the party’s leader, the rest of the party was replaced with the Sun Dynasty’s Holy Children.

While Chalk Splendor, who ranked last among the Sun Dynasty’s Holy Children, could be considered negligible, the man and the woman standing beside Daystar were existences whom even the Thunder Empire’s Garuda had to be wary of. This was because the two were none other than the Sun Dynasty’s First Holy Child, Holy Blood, and Second Holy Child, Moon Demon.

In individual strength, Holy Blood and Moon Demon could be put on the same level as Daystar. They might even be stronger than the Arbiter of Death as they had spent much more time as the Sun Dynasty’s Holy Children than Daystar.

“It’s still too soon to discount the Verdant Rainbow Party,” Elise said, offering a rare comment. “The battles in the main event take place in randomly selected maps, and party members are randomly scattered at the start of the battle. If the Verdant Rainbow Party can regroup ahead of the Holy Guard Party, they can use numbers to their advantage.”

Phoenix Flame did not deny Elise’s sentiment.

If the main event allowed parties to start each match grouped up, the Holy Guard Party was almost certain to defeat the Verdant Rainbow Party.

Firstly, there was Daystar, who was considered to be an all-around expert and the strongest in overall strength among the Sun Dynasty’s Holy Children. Then, there was Holy Blood and Moon Demon, the former being considered the strongest melee combatant and the latter being considered the strongest ranged combatant among the Sun Dynasty’s Holy Children. If these three worked together, even Garuda, regarded as the strongest player among the Holy Race’s current generation, would likely experience defeat.

However, like the preliminaries, the main event also incorporated luck-based factors to give weaker parties a chance to surpass stronger parties.

Aside from having to fight in more complex terrains, party members in the main event had to start each match separated. This created an opportunity for players to gain a numerical advantage over their opponents. Even if a party was considered weaker than its opponent, achieving victory wouldn’t be out of the question if it could regroup sooner than its opponent and capitalize on its numerical advantage.

This was why the various royal and apex powers had yet to monopolize the Continental Championship and why weaker parties still had a chance of basking in glory.

Of course, not all of the top-tier parties shared Elise’s sentiment. Even while knowing the main event’s mechanisms, they did not think highly of the Verdant Rainbow Party’s prospects.

This was because the Holy Guard Party’s members were clearly much stronger than the Verdant Rainbow Party’s members. In addition to each of the Holy Guard Party’s members being equipped with a Divine Weapon, Daystar, Holy Blood, and Moon Demon were also Unthinking Realm experts. Even if only a few of them managed to group up, they could beat the living daylights out of the entire Verdant Rainbow Party.

…

In the central ring…

Shortly after the two parties were in position, a bright flash enveloped the entire ring. When the bright flash faded, the ring that originally covered only a 1,000-yard radius had transformed into a ruined urban setting covered with tall buildings. The battlefield was as vast as a large map, and even Tier 6 experts would require upwards of twenty minutes to traverse from edge to center.

Currently, the twelve members of the two parties stood scattered across the ruined city. Each player also had a screen displaying their situation to the spectators outside the ring.

The moment the twelve players regained vision of their surroundings, they burst into a sprint as if premeditated, leaving behind numerous afterimages as they made their way to the heart of the city.

Although the main event’s maps were large, they would shrink with time. Hence, parties would usually prioritize grouping up in the map’s center and avoid fighting while numerically disadvantaged.

While the spectators thought it would be a while before the first fight broke out between the two parties, Moon Demon, who had been maneuvering through the outskirts of the urban ruins like an agile snake, suddenly stopped atop a residential building. Then, her head snapped to a particular direction, while her eyes focused on a figure speeding across a distant street, the figure in question being none other than Shi Feng.

“What incredible senses! Even with the battlefield suppressing everyone’s senses heavily, she managed to detect him from so far away!” Phoenix Flame exclaimed while spectating Moon Demon. “Black Flame is in trouble now!”

While Phoenix Flame was talking, Moon Demon melded with her surroundings and vanished. However, although the spectators could no longer see her, the rapidly changing environment displayed on the screen indicated that Moon Demon was closing in on Shi Feng.

…action