Volume 8: The Sword Points to the Far East Chapter 254: War Ball League (Part 3)
In the first Warball League, a total of six teams were selected to participate:
The Ananas team of the elves, the Winston team of the sea tribe, the Wolf Fang team spontaneously organized by the Valentine human adventurers, the War Bear team of the Moon Bear Organization who are suspected to be spies of the Orc Empire, the Kingdom Warriors team of Prince Maurice, and the Flame team of the Snow Wolf tribe.
In the first game, the offensive Ananas team and the defensive Winston team staged a head-on clash between offense and defense. The second game was a competition of strength and technology (martial arts) - the Wolf Fang team was composed of the top combat forces among the Valentine human adventurers, and the War Bear team, including the captain Moon Bear whose identity was questionable, were all bear warriors with a certain reputation in Valentine and even the Kingdom of Kronin.
An alien adventurer who can make a name for himself in the human federation country of Kronin must be very powerful.
With ten minutes left in the first half, the two teams were tied and in a stalemate. In order to enter the second half with an advantage in the score, the two teams fought even more fiercely.
After the offense and defense switched, the game started again. As the referee threw the ball into the air, the forwards and guards of the Wolf Fang team wearing red paint and armor collided violently with the forwards and guards of the War Bear team wearing white paint. Both sides tried their best to overturn the other side. The cornerbacks of both sides (cornerbacks on the defensive side and wide receivers on the offensive side) either rushed towards the ball themselves or assisted their captain (quarterback position) to grab the ball under the cover of their teammates.
The bear tribe possesses strong physiques and amazing explosive power, but the human elite adventurers of the Wolf Fang team are not inferior. The adventurer who serves as the captain is a slender, agile and flexible hunter. He seizes the moment when his teammate who rushed up to cover him slightly blocks the opponent's forward or guard, jumps on his teammate's back, leaps into the air, and grabs the ball first!
The cornerback of the Fighting Bears team was running towards the ball, but when he saw what happened, he immediately changed his target to the captain of the opposing team and stretched out his powerful arms to intercept him!
The moment the captain of the Wolf Fang team was tackled by the opponent's cornerback, he threw the ball back and passed it to his own running back!
The running back of the Wolf Fang team was a Plains Elf foreign player. He caught the ball with both hands and then shot out from the side like an arrow!
At the same time that the Wolf Fang team's forward and guard formation was broken through by the opponent in the middle, the Wolf Fang team's Plains Elf running back had already taken the ball around the front battlefield and killed out from the flank!
Then... before advancing six meters, this nimble and agile plains elf running back was knocked out of bounds along with the ball...
The plains elves have the advantage of speed, but like the forest elves, they are not strong enough. The human foreign linebacker of the War Bears team (the offensive end) appeared from behind the other forwards and hit the running back with his shoulder, intercepting the running back who was highly expected...
"pretty!!"
“What a pity!!”
The Moon of Revenge couldn't help but shake his head. When he bought the lottery ticket, he took a copy of the rules of the war ball from the ticket seller. After reading it twice, he found that in addition to strength, speed, cooperation and technology, there was another most critical point that determined the outcome of the war ball: the trade-off between offense and defense.
The speed of the human adventurers is higher than that of the bear tribe. They choose to strengthen the offensive speed in the selection of foreign players and playing style. It seems that they are more aggressive, but in fact they do not have the confidence to let their forwards and guards compete head-on with the bear tribe forwards and guards - the facts have proved this. After 20 minutes of the game, the forwards and guards of the Wolf Fang team failed to withstand the opponent's frontal breakthroughs several times.
If the forwards and guards cannot stand still, no matter how fast the running backs are, they can be easily caught if they don't create distance.
Even Revenge Moon, who had only watched a half-match of the game, could think of this. The Wolf Fang team on the field was naturally aware of this. The captain of the Hunter team immediately raised his hand to the referee: "Time out for substitutions!"
There is no limit on the number of substitutions in war ball games. If the team has enough players, they can use different lineups for each offense and defense. Of course, the number of foreign players on the field is capped at two.
The Wolf Fang team is not a team that restricts the coming and going of its players. All of its players are adventurers who bring their own food. There is no shortage of players, and there are even surpluses. In this substitution, except for one end (linebacker on the defensive side), the other five forwards and guards were replaced.
Then, the audience saw five heavily armored knights forwards and guards who looked like tin cans walk out of the contestant seats...
Players of the War Bear team: “…”
Audience: “…”
The Moon of Revenge was not shocked by this outrageous operation. It was not easy to gather five heavy-armored knights in other places (knights were the lowest professional level, especially strong knights). Valentine was an adventurer city after all, so if you spent more time and energy, you would succeed.
In the VIP room, Xiao Yun's face twitched when he saw five heavily armored knights appearing at the same time. He looked at Isaac with a pained look: "Lola's family knights really came to play war ball?"
"Yeah, Lord Bolton doesn't have the energy to form a war ball team, so Senior Lola asked her family knights to come to Valentine to join in the fun." Isaac said with a smile.
It is certainly impossible for the family knights of Philip's family to play in a team that requires signing a "selling-self" contract. The Wolf Fang team, which is a group of adventurers who come and go freely, is very suitable for them.
"You don't have the money, right? Borden still owes us a large balance." Xiao Yun shook his head, "Poor little Laura."
Isaac: “…”
For some reason, Isaac always felt that the teacher was speaking to Mr. Sean...
Mr. Sean indeed showed a somewhat concerned expression and looked at the field with concern.
Xiao Yun drank his tea calmly.
Isaac deadpanned.
Well, Isaac was not aware that he was easily bribed, but he could see clearly how Xiao Yun played with other people's hearts.
Playing with... uh, taming people's hearts, if Xiao Yun used to do it only when he needed it, now it is as common as eating and drinking water~
There is nothing that can be done about it. With more people around me, it is important to manage the internal relationships well to keep people focused and it becomes easier to lead the team~!
With five heavily armored knights on the field, the forwards and guards of the Wolf Fang team were finally not so weak that they could be easily broken through by the War Bears team; the forwards and guards of both teams were evenly matched, and the focus of the fight around the ball shifted to the linebackers, cornerbacks, wide receivers and running backs. Exciting offense and defense flashed from time to time, and even Xiao Yun, who brought the War Ball into this world after a magical modification, found it quite enjoyable to watch.
On Earth, Xiao Yun basically only watched the NFL playoffs. In his opinion, other games were not exciting enough. It was better to watch WWE (masked wrestling, not MMA). At least the performances were good...
But WWE, which has a script, character settings, and a large amount of performance, is not good enough compared to the war ball games in this unscientific world - a running back who was knocked away can fly several meters and hit the guardrail, and then get up and continue fighting as if nothing happened. This kind of sensory stimulation is really satisfying!
The naughty half-grown Snow Wolf cubs can play war ball in an exciting and thrilling way, and a game can guarantee that these naughty kids will use up all their energy!
This is the perfect sport for the world!
At the end of the first half, the Wolf Fang team failed to successfully widen the score, and the stalemate continued into the second half.
The five heavily armored knights did not go on the field at the beginning because their armor was too heavy. They could not recover from the fierce fighting in the last ten minutes of the first half by just relying on the halftime break. They did not put on their armor again until halfway through the game.
The forwards and guards of the War Bears were extremely annoyed with these five tin cans, but they had no way to restrain them. Their most powerful forwards were restrained and could not perform to their full potential...
At the end of the game, the Wolf Fang team won with a narrow advantage of one goal. Those in the audience who came from far away to watch the game and who had been defeated by the Wolf Fang team in the past could not control their excitement and rushed into the field to hug the players warmly. The scene was very chaotic for a time - these guys were all adventurers, and the staff led by the Knights had no way to drive them out of the field!
Fortunately, the chaos did not last long. Lottery staff carrying boxes selling lottery tickets appeared in the audience seats, and the guys who disrupted the stadium ran back to buy tickets - there was a quota for the number of tickets sold in each audience area, and if you were slow, you would not be able to get tickets for the Snow Wolf Tribe!
Well... Although Prince Morris's Kingdom Warriors have been touring the country in the past six months and have beaten various fixed and wild teams including the Valentine Team and the Wolf Fang Team, people are obviously more confident in the Snow Wolf Clan, the origin of the war ball...
In the VIP room in the small building in the middle of the VIP area, facing the midfield of the stadium, Prince Morris glanced at the ordinary audience seats that were not very clear, and turned to look at the Duke's son and Viscount Pope with a smile: "I guess the Snow Wolf Tribe doesn't have enough lottery tickets to sell for this game?"
"Superficial fools always make up the majority. If it were me, I would not buy the Snow Wolf Tribe's victory or defeat ticket." Viscount Pope politely defended the prince. "The Snow Wolf Tribe has no external aid, which is the biggest shortcoming of the Flame Team."
The Duke's son just laughed and said nothing... It's not that you can win just because you are strong and good at fighting. His team believes that it is no worse than Prince Morris's Kingdom Warriors, but they lost to the Sea Tribe Winston Team and the Wolf Fang Team in the preliminaries and failed to enter the official league held on the war day...
Yes, of the six teams participating in the competition, except for the Snow Wolf Clan team which is a seeded team, the other teams must win all three teams in the preliminary draw to be able to enter the stage of the Battle Day - the share of the lottery income of the Battle Day is still a small part, and the reputation of the team is the most important. For example, the wild team Wolf Fang, which was created by Valentine's adventurers, has received many letters from local lords who paid a large sum of money to ask them to go to the competition...
People living in a peaceful and prosperous era with a low cost of living have the right to moan about love and romance without any reason. But in places where the world is not so peaceful and survival is difficult, martial arts is the eternal mainstream of society.
Warball is the sport that best embodies the spirit of martial arts. The prospects of warball matches and the benefits of holding warball matches are obvious to all nobles. Collecting ticket fees and conducting official gambling are ways to make money. Although the average GDP of the Kingdom of Kronin is definitely not up to the standard of a well-off society and most of the lower-class civilians cannot afford tickets for warball matches, this "business" is originally aimed at those wealthy and idle nobles and urban middle-class people...
Not to mention the energy-draining effect of war ball matches on idle groups that tend to resort to violence and riots. Ever since war ball became popular, the probability of those security risks (adventurers) in Valentine's central city getting into fights in the tavern streets has dropped drastically. In the summer, when people are most easily agitated, more than half of Valentine's city defense team and city police are free to come to the Knights to watch the game, which is irrefutable proof.
Prince Maurice was not surprised by Viscount Pope's smooth attitude. He sneered and looked away, with his back to the other two. Only then did his emotions show slightly on his face.
He spent a lot of money to build the Kingdom Warriors team. Although he made a lot of money from the competitions after the team was formed this year, he has not yet recovered the cost - whether it is for the so-called honor or for the golden coins, Prince Morris very much hopes that the team can win!
"The brute force of the alien race is superior to that of the human race, and this cannot be changed, but the human race is not without a chance of winning... How can the alien race be the only one to win in the war ball competition held in the human kingdom? Even the Snow Wolf Tribe cannot do it!"
His Royal Highness gritted his teeth and encouraged himself in his heart... Having led his team, which he had put so much effort into, to many places to play games, he knew that if he showed up before the game, it would add unnecessary pressure to the players, because he was indeed not the kind of person who could pretend to be friendly and approachable.
Not interfering with the game and giving the players space to play is the most obvious manifestation of His Royal Highness's deep love for the sport of war ball...
In another small building in the noble area, the Snow Wolf warriors went to the players' lounge to prepare for the battle. Only Xiao Yun, Mr. Sean and Isaac were left in the VIP room (Ashan also followed).
"Ayun doesn't plan to let Xiaohua play in this game?" Mr. Sean glanced at the noisy audience seats and said this with a smile.
"Xiaohua is too straightforward." Xiao Yun didn't care about Mr. Sean's teasing at all, and said confidently, "It's too much effort to convince her to fix the game. Maomao is more reliable."
This guy said such shameless words in such a righteous manner, but the other two did not react at all... If not, I would not be Ayun (teacher)!
"We the Snow Wolf Tribe are not locals after all." Xiao Yun said righteously, "If the alien races continue to dominate the war ball project, it will undermine the confidence of human war ball enthusiasts and make them discouraged, which is not conducive to the promotion of war ball in the human kingdom. Therefore, we must let human enthusiasts see the hope of victory and maintain the public's high interest in the competitive sport of war ball."
After a pause, Xiao Yun added shamelessly: "Plus - the result of this game must be a draw or we lose, so that the lottery team will not suffer losses~!"
Uh... showing an attitude of doing everything possible to maintain the fairness of gambling does not mean that you really have to pursue absolute fairness... As for moral integrity, Xiao Yun is very skilled in wiping it off and putting it in his pocket!
Mr. Sean & Isaac: "..."
It's not that I can't understand why you do this, but can you pretend to have some shame or act like you have no other choice...
Xiao Yun said: We are all family, so we should save some energy on singing opera.
Seeing that the two of his people looked constipated, Xiao Yun, who was not a devil at all, kindly comforted them: "Don't worry, I have only discussed this with Maomao, and the other tribesmen, including Ashan, don't know. Losing too deliberately will reduce the purity of the war ball game and undermine the credibility of our war ball league. How can we do such a stupid thing? So, Maomao will try his best to lead others to fight with all their strength and will never let up in the confrontation. If we lose, it can only be because of the incomplete player configuration and the lack of speed players... Who doesn't know that our snow wolves are indeed not good at speed? We will never let people see the problem!"
"When the championship game comes the day after tomorrow, we can add two foreign players to the team and win the championship. This will give the human race hope of victory and give them a mountain that they need to challenge with all their strength. Isn't that perfect?"
Mr. Sean & Isaac: "..."
——Let me tell you, no one is worried about this!!
——We have more confidence in your serious and upright attitude even when being shameless than you do yourself!!
Isaac couldn't help but sigh. A few years ago, he would have hated this kind of behavior in a fair and open event and refused to associate with it. But now, he didn't think it was wrong at all and even thought it was reasonable...
After all, Prince Maurice is the most senior person in the promotion of the war ball sport. It is in the interests of the Snow Wolf Tribe and the Knights to give him some sweet treats and let him continue to cheer for the war ball. In the face of such practical interests, the pursuit of absolute justice has become a narrow-minded idea that is not presentable... It's really amazing!
So, two hours later, because I didn't understand the situation and didn't buy the Snow Wolf Clan Flame Team lottery ticket, I could only buy the Kingdom Warriors Team lottery ticket for the Revenge Moon, and won back the change I lost in the previous game...
With a small purse in hand, Revenge Moon slowly walked out of the lottery exchange office. Looking at the group of "lottery players" in the square outside who were so exhausted from losing their money that they were doubting their lives, he felt very mixed emotions...
With Revenge Moon's vision and brainpower, and the fact that he had no special feelings for the Snow Wolf Tribe, he didn't think it was a big deal that the Flame Team lost the third game.
The players of the Kingdom Warriors are all great warriors, walkers, hunters and rangers above level three. In order to guard against the Shanghai Winston team, which is an all-round defensive team that takes an unconventional approach, they also got two tiger foreign players. Among the intelligent races with larger bodies, the tigers are the most agile and slippery. Coupled with the tigers' unique developed upper limb strength, they can barely deal with six hands with their two fists, and are not as afraid of those six-armed monsters as others.
The Kingdom Warriors, who have ample funds and extremely careful configuration and tactics, face the Flame Team, which doesn't even have a speed-type foreign aid. Even if the Snow Wolf Tribe is the birthplace of the war ball, they still have a good chance of winning!
Shaking his head, Moon of Revenge put his purse in his pocket and leisurely headed to the Knight's Mansion... The black magician, who had been "delayed" by the endless stream of new things for a whole day, finally remembered to do his business after seeing enough of the excitement.
Passing by a drink shop that was specially opened near the stadium, Revenge Moon slipped and went around to buy a drink.
There are not many kinds of hot drinks, including brewed fruit juice, soy milk, and iced soy milk with more water. The price is cheap, one copper coin for a large cup.
Revenge Moon walked half a block with a paper cup (the cheapest and easiest to make bark paper cup, coated with a layer of waterproof wax extracted from animal fats), slipped, turned 180 degrees, went back to the hot drink shop, and used silver coins to buy a bag of soy milk powder.
Soy milk powder, which costs one silver coin per pack and weighs one pound, is a bit expensive for most people, but it is worth the money. It can be drunk by breastfeeding children, adults and the elderly. If you use it sparingly, one pack can last for a long time, so many people buy it.
Having delayed some time again, Revenge Moon learned his lesson and decided to take the small road instead of the main road .
After walking for only a few hundred meters, Revenge Moon smelled a particularly strong and alluring food aroma. He couldn't help but slip and turned a corner unconsciously...
There was no curfew in the first and second districts built by the Knights. Locals with spare money (workers and farmers attracted by the construction projects in the Knights) and merchants who made money would often stay open until late, when they had to light up the lights. By the time the Moon of Revenge had broken through the "many checkpoints" and arrived at the Knights' Mansion, the night was already very dark...
The Knight's Mansion was exceptionally quiet today. The Snow Wolves who lost the game were very upset even if they did not play in the game. They went back to their rooms and went to bed early. In the empty yard, only Xiao Yun and Mr. Sean were sitting outside with lights on to enjoy the cool air.
"Isaac is really hardworking. He has been busy all day. He heard that some piglets were sick at the pig farm and rushed over again." Mr. Sean said with emotion, "Thinking about the young master who couldn't even recruit workers back then, it's hard to believe that only a few years have passed."
"If you like him very much, you can let him be your disciple. Anyway, he has only formally worshipped me as his teacher." Xiao Yun said.
"If I had heard this suggestion ten years ago, I might have been tempted." Mr. Sean smiled generously, "Forget it now. I have never heard of an undead creature being so shameless as to accept a promising young person as a disciple."
Revenge Moon, who had sneaked into the Knight's Mansion through the warp barrier, turned around and left when he heard that Isaac Robbins was not there. He did not expect to hear such shocking remarks as soon as he turned around, and he paused.
"Hey, intelligent creatures are intelligent creatures. In my opinion, whether it's goblins, centaurs, or undead, as long as they can communicate normally, have a sense of right and wrong that conforms to the public moral concept, do not do evil, and do not harm others, there is no difference between them and humans, orcs, and elves." Xiao Yun took a sip of tea and said indifferently.
Xiao Yun was not lying. After all... the Lich King Melvil transformed himself into a lich and his body became an undead undead body, but wasn't he still a human hero praised by all foreign races?
This is not Earth. Humans are not qualified to call themselves the most intelligent creatures in the world, nor do they have the confidence to shout "kill all those who are not of our kind"... Otherwise, how could Xiao Yun, an alien, get away with it?
He said this very casually, as casually as if he was stating such a simple, true and self-evident truth as "If you're hungry, you have to eat." He did not seem to think that his idea was too shocking at all. Instead, he had a vague, self-righteous and impeccable attitude of "Only those who cannot accept this worldview are ridiculous."
The Moon of Vengeance turned around suddenly and looked at the closed door of the Knight's Mansion in astonishment.
Who is the person who said this?!
