Chapter 139 – The Final Begins

Finally, the competition advanced up to this point, where only one of the three teams from the domestic League was left. After saying goodbye to the Scattered Clouds and Apocalypse teams, many people’s hearts were full of emotion and regrets, but now, all the attention fell on the Black Rose team preparing for the finals.

China’s e-sports teams have reached this final stage more than once but then had to watch the South Korean flag rise in front of their eyes. Over and over again, it was like running in vain on a wheel, with frustration, regrets, and most probably deep reluctance.

This time, it must definitely work! Countless fans watching the World Championship confidently took this oath in their hearts.

Many people even remembered that five years ago, this very team with the black rose logo silently walked onto this stage in an event that not many people paid attention to and raised the blazing trophy high, while the national anthem magnificently resounded in the arena. But now, after so many years, the same team, no longer the former ‘lonely hero’, carried the expectations of countless people.

Countless posts flooded the Internet, and topics related to the game on social platforms were forwarded thousands of times, dominating all the hot search topics. This feeling of being in the limelight brought huge pressure, but it also made people’s blood boil with passion.

Lin Xiao looked at the forums with a mixture of relief and nostalgia.

There were countless martyrs and pioneers who paved every road. And it was precisely because he was once one of those people that he could better understand how difficult it was for the e-sports League to develop to such a glorious level.

“If I don’t win, I feel like I’m letting all these people down.” He closed the computer, looked back at You Jing, and laughed leisurely.

“Then let’s win it for them.” You Jing’s expression changed from his usual aloofness, and passion seemed to be stirring in his eyes, unable to be concealed. Once upon a time, this man was like an unreachable ideal, but at this moment, he stood in front of him in such an incredible way. Even if it was a dream, it was enough for him to try his best to grasp it without leaving room for regrets.

“Come here.” Lin Xiao waved to him.

You Jing subconsciously walked over at his call. As soon as he got close, the other man suddenly pulled him over in a familiar embrace. Lin Xiao hugged him from behind, and his body temperature spread through his back.

He stiffened for a moment but did not push him away.

Lin Xiao buried his face in You Jing’s hair, only showing a hint of his smile: “Don’t worry, I will definitely do what I promised you.”

You Jing: “I know.”

Outside the window, the wind blew softly, bringing a touch of coolness to the sun’s warmth but not enough to quell the e-sports frenzy spreading all over the world.

Three days later, the Final came as scheduled.

In the middle of the huge venue with a capacity of ten thousand people, the stage for the Final had been set since morning, and groups of guards spread around the place to provide security. However, because the flow of people was so large, it was inevitable that fans of the two teams would clash with each other in a tense atmosphere. The situation was almost out of control, adding a lot of gunpowder smell to the upcoming match.

For the most part, there were only small-scale collisions. In the end, no matter whose team was more powerful, they still needed to see the real results on the field. Fans of the Black Rose team and fans of the ACE team clamored at each other, refusing to give in. After taking their respective seats, the venue was divided in half, and everyone engaged in a distant confrontation.

The official commentators of China and South Korea each occupied excellent live broadcast positions provided by the competition committee, while the commentators from other areas were placed in smaller stands. Xiao Wu and Mao Dou were naturally the official commentary partners of this e-sports event. Xu Qingli also came into the scene because he gained a lot of popularity when he commented in the domestic League. The three formed the golden triangle for commenting on the final.

As the match was about to begin, they started to warm up the atmosphere.

Xiao Wu: “Hello everyone, I’m Xiao Wu, and I’m very happy to comment for you on this crucial final today.”

Mao Dou: “Today’s champions are our Black Rose and South Korea’s ACE team. I wonder who Director Xu thinks will win the champion trophy?”

Xu Qingli: “From a selfish point of view, of course I hope the Black Rose team will win. As for objective judgment, the ACE team, as the champion of the last international competition, already proved its undoubted strength. On the other hand, I believe that this year’s Black Rose team is also very strong.”

In this way, the three exchanged opinions with each other at the commentary table as time ticked by, and eventually, the players arrived. The initially raucous atmosphere in the venue seemed to explode in an instant, completely drowning out the voice of the commentators.

At this moment, the ten thousand people venue was already packed. Looking up, you could only see a dark sea of people and shouts rang out in all directions, like an unprecedented grand ceremony.

“It’s too exaggerated…” Xiao Li, as a veteran player in the Zone, has always paid attention to the trends of international leagues in previous years, but this was the first time he appeared on the scene as a player, and he only felt a deep shock.

“Are you surprised? It will get even worse later.” Liu Zeshen smiled slightly.

As soon as the words fell, there was suddenly an explosion of neat and orderly cheers coming from all corners of the place without any faults. They came at once from thousands of mouths, so uniformly, as if they had gone through countless drills.

The deafening noise made Xiao Li stumble, and he almost fell to his knees. Fortunately, Liu Zeshen seemed to expect that, and he caught him with a quick reflex.

At the host’s signal, the players entered the venue. After shaking hands one by one, they stood in a row on each side. The space in the middle was empty, revealing a diamond-shaped stand, with the League of Nations’ logo flashing in neon beams, particularly eye-catching.

The host actively mobilized the atmosphere while making a final speech, and then several leaders of the competition committee came up to speak. Finally, the chairman of the International League came on stage and made the much-expected announcement: “The Final officially begins!”

As soon as his words fell, countless colorful lights suddenly flashed from all directions in the venue. After the extremely dazzling beams of light jumped around, they focused one after another. As the mechanized semi-triangular shape unfolded, a clear crystal stand emerged from under the ground. It slowly rose, displaying brilliant colors in the interplay of light and shadow.

Everyone’s eyes fell on the golden trophy placed on top of it – this was the highest honor that would belong to the overall champion!

The players stood motionless, but their eyes were glued to the trophy, shining with burning light.

Only one step left!

As the players returned to their respective stands, the individual competition of the Final was about to begin.

Reluctantly turning their attention away from the trophy, everyone focused on the three large screens in the center, awaiting the announcement of the players in the first game.

Finally, the caption unfolded.

ACE team: Park Xinyang’s magic swordsman; Black Rose team: Liu Zeshen’s paladin.

When he saw this setup, Xiao Li happily straightened up in his chair and poked Liu Zeshen with his elbow, saying, “If you don’t win this match, you don’t have to come back to me.”

Liu Zeshen glanced at him and smiled: “Don’t you know whether I can win or not?”

Xiao Li choked, his smile faded, and he immediately snorted in displeasure.

Previously, in training, he had fought against Liu Zeshen maybe not thousands of times, but certainly hundreds of times. Each time, he was almost tortured to the point of questioning his life. No matter who he fought with before, he never felt so frustrated and powerless as he did against this man. To summarize, it was as if this man had a unique ability when fighting magic swordsmen. Otherwise, why would he be so hard to deal with since he did not even belong to a tough and controlling class?

Composing himself, he rolled his eyes and said: “Anyway, you must win this game, otherwise, it will be indirect proof that I am not as good as this Park or whatever. This is not acceptable.”

“Okay, I’ll make sure to win.”

Liu Zeshen’s words fell into his ears, and for some reason, he felt pampered.

Lin Xiao couldn’t help but quietly nudge Shen Changyu and whispered in his ear, “Hey, hey, hey, why do I feel that the aura between these two people is a little abnormal? Like, do you see a bunch of pink bubbles?”

“… This started a long time ago. Captain Lin, can you be more attentive?” Shen Changyu felt that people who were addicted to love might actually have their emotional quotient lowered.

“Eh, really?” Lin Xiao scratched his head with a look of regret on his face, “My bad, my bad.”

Meanwhile, Liu Zeshen had already stretched his muscles, stood up, and walked up the stage.

After the adjustment of the equipment, they entered the map selection process. Both sides banned two maps each, and the final map of the first individual match appeared before everyone’s eyes – Lost Desert City.

“Hahaha, with this map, he is doomed!” Seeing this result, Xiao Li looked very happy.

Sometimes, you can only recognize despair if you experienced it yourself. And in so many duels, he had experienced a brand new feeling on this map again and again, called – incomparable despair.