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After this battle, there was much more to discuss. In the wild areas, besides the Red Dragon, there was also the ultimate boss, the Giant Serpent. In the Eternal Sphere, dragons indeed existed, but they were not gods; they were merely powerful lizards. The Giant Serpent, although referred to as a serpent, was far stronger than the Red Dragon. This was something the Fish Team had discovered through their tedious testing. With sufficient equipment, the Red Dragon could still be defeated, but the Giant Serpent was too formidable. It was estimated that unless all five team members enhanced their gear to its utmost and arranged their formations appropriately, defeating the Giant Serpent would be nearly impossible.
Cui Ming did not think too much about it. Listening to the post-battle meeting, the other four were discussing strategies when Li Qing couldn't help but touch Cui Ming's forehead and asked, "Are you dazed? Speak up."
Cui Ming replied, "Studying the Giant Serpent and Red Dragon is pointless."
"Why?"
"I can't suppress the devil within me and play nice with them for half an hour or an hour. We don't have that much time to economically purchase treasures and equipment; how can we fight a boss?" Cui Ming continued, "I believe our battles should be quick—either we win or they lose... That sounds a bit off... but that's the idea. It's just a waste of time for everyone to be cautious while doing tasks. You grind two pieces, I grind two pieces; slowly accumulating funds. Once we have money, we buy all the gear and treasures we want before engaging in a decisive battle. Isn't that boring? What's the difference from having no treasures?"
Ding Ze nodded in agreement. "I support a quick resolution." This map was vast; running around consumed a lot of time and energy.
Li Qing said, "We can start earning money when we have a certain advantage because with our edge, as time passes, our mission rewards will increase..."
"Brother, they are not idiots. If we have an advantage, they will send out surprise attacks. They know that coexisting peacefully with us would only lead to their loss," Cui Ming stated. "We need to leverage our advantage. To maintain our edge, we must be prepared to profit from taking down their players rather than relying on grinding missions or killing some monsters for a few coins. Killing one player nets us three hundred; reviving costs them two hundred—it's a net gain of five hundred. Defending under Arrow Tower for seven minutes only earns three hundred; it takes four minutes in the wild to earn that much."
Li Qing pondered for a long while, unsure how to counter this argument. Cui Ming had this kind of personality; unless their opponent was flawless, he would surely stir up trouble. After all, it was a competition that required winners and losers; even if they coexisted peacefully for a hundred years, they would still have to face each other at some point. Looking at Mi Xiaonan, he had no objections; if Li Qing agreed, he would agree too; if Cui Ming said it was fine, he would say it was fine as well. What about Beiyue? She hesitated as well. Between two strategies, playing defensively seemed safer, especially when they had an advantage. However, Cui Ming's personality did not favor such caution—and he made valid points.
Finally, Li Qing earnestly said, "Junior brother, you must ensure you catch them off guard."
"That's not guaranteed," Cui Ming replied. "Nothing is ever one hundred percent certain. We have already prepared our tactics against Ding Family; everyone should rest early."
...
In the match between Ding Family Group and North Moon Group, nine out of ten spectators favored Ding Family Group based on objective data. While their overall strength might not guarantee a nine out of ten chance of winning, there was still a sixty percent likelihood of victory. Many people came to watch the match in hopes of seeing something fresh and exciting unfold. Moreover, Ding Dewen shouted at the start: "North Moon Group must put on a show even if you lose!"
A voice tinged with laughter came through, "Dewen, is this considered pressure from the Ding Family on the North Moon Group?"
With ten minutes left before the competition began, Cui Ming and the others exchanged glances. It was Liu Meier, the woman had come to host. It made sense; with just Dewen shouting and making a scene, the television program was hardly watchable. No matter how handsome a man was, it became tiresome after a while.
Ding Dewen immediately replied, "As a media person, objectivity and fairness are the most basic principles. I can choose not to report on the Ding Family's embarrassing moments, but I cannot exaggerate their joyful events. What I say is the truth. Liu Meier, who do you think will be the highlight today?"
Li Qing turned the crystal ball and saw the host on the high platform. Even though Liu Meier appeared slightly distorted in the crystal ball, she was still beautiful. Liu Meier sat in front of the microphone and said, "Of course, it's Beiyue and Li Qing. Beiyue is already an official member of the Alliance Hunter, and Li Qing has also passed the Alliance Hunter's test."
Ding Dewen asked with a smile, "Are you saying that the Ding Family has no highlights?"
Liu Meier responded, "To be objective, the Ding Family is too strong; there aren't enough highlights. I really hope that North Moon Group can catch Ding Family off guard at the start; that would make it more entertaining."
A voice from a loudspeaker interrupted, "Entertainment? Come on, Liu Meier, give us a striptease."
Who dared to tease the number one beauty? The men looked around for this person, hoping to morally condemn him in order to elevate their own moral standing in front of her.
Liu Meier remained unfazed and said, "Thank you, Wind Hero, for thinking so highly of me; it seems I'm more interesting than a showdown between two strong contenders." The first part identified the troublemaker as Wind, while the second part salvaged her dignity and elevated her status.
"Hey, this woman is quite clever; you can't outsmart her," Cui Ming shouted into the loudspeaker before handing the microphone to Ding Ze.
Ding Ze hesitated. "Maybe not."
"Yes," the other four nodded in agreement.
With no choice left, Ding Ze took the microphone. "Dewen, we're connected by fate; should we have a round later?" His face turned red... The crowd erupted in chaos...
A voice suppressing anger came through, "Ding Ze, consider your image in public. After all, you represent the Ding Family; we don't want others to think we lack upbringing."
Ding Ze replied leisurely, "Ding Nuo, I'm not familiar with you. I only speak with Lineage. Just imagine, if Ding Wen hadn't been exiled, would your branch of the Ding Family be able to change the ancestral rules set by our forefathers today?"
Vlad whispered, "He's sowing discord."
Ding Nuo nodded, "No more nonsense. Let's see the results soon."
"Alright."
Ding Nuo put down the microphone. "Today, we don't seek a quick victory. We will take him down once, twice, three times until he begs for surrender."
Vlad nodded. "Theoretically, that's valid. For every one of them we kill, the economic gap widens by five hundred. However, this approach is excessive. After all, Beiyue is a hunter, and Li Qing will eventually become one too. Plus, Mi Xiaonan is a hero of the York Clan."
"Just brush him aside."
Liu Meier was interviewing Bufon and Wandering. "Gentlemen, who do you think has a greater chance of winning?" This competition was being broadcast live for the first time, allowing the audience to hear and see the temporarily installed television signals. The arena was so large that some areas were out of sight; the televisions solved that problem. The most impressive part was that professional cameramen were filming and a dedicated team was producing the event. All of this was the result of Ding Dewen spending several days with Bufon to allow ordinary people into the audience.
Bufon responded, "It's obvious that North Moon Group has considerable strength, but compared to Ding Family Group, they are not even close."
Wandering added, "You already know the answer; everyone knows it. While individual members of North Moon Group are strong, against Ding Family Group, winning is basically impossible."
Bufon said, "Wandering, I don't think it's that extreme. Yes, North Moon Group's chances of winning are slim, but that's only if Ding Family Group remains united. From my observations during the matches, I noticed that Ding Tai didn't listen to his captain's commands in one of the matches."
Liu Meier nodded and looked at the camera. "Then let's wait and see." She walked back to her broadcasting station.
Wandering looked at Bufon and said, "I never expected you, the honest one, would tell such a lie and bet on North Moon Group to lose."
Bufon was taken aback. "What I said was the truth. I initially thought North Moon Group still had a chance, but look at them. In the first match, they fell into internal strife. Beiyue is so selfish, abandoning his teammates to search for clues about his father. Cui Ming and Li Qing have given up entirely and decided to go eat in Hero Town. Ding Ze is hopeless; seeing no chance of victory, he went off to find women."
Wandering studied Bufon for a moment before turning back to the arena. "Old Bu, it's not that I'm being arrogant, but in the future, it's best to discuss any important matters with me before making a decision."
"Why's that?"
"You'll understand once the match is over."
...
The match finally began. Ding Ze was the first to appear at Midway, followed by Beiyue and Set Off, then Li Qing at Bottom Lane. Meanwhile, North Moon Group was nowhere to be seen, while the audience could clearly see Ding Family Group's five members moving in a formation toward Midway. The front row consisted of Ding Lan and Ding Tai, positioned one on each side. The other three formed a perimeter around them. In contrast, North Moon Group appeared calm as they began accepting missions, with Cui Ming and Mi Xiaonan positioned in the left jungle area. Judging by their distance, even if Ding Ze sent out a distress signal, they wouldn't make it to Midway in time.
Ding Ze was outside Arrow Tower at Midway, working on math problems involving multiplication and division of three-digit numbers; solving one correctly would earn him ten gold coins. At the same time, he spoke into his radio: "No sign of them, Cui Ming; don't mess this up."
"Don't worry, there are no members of Ding Family in either lane; they must be coming for you."
Ding Ze ended the communication and spotted Ding Lan. Ding Lan appeared suddenly before him, sending a glowing orb from his magic staff directly into Ding Ze's body. Ding Ze was injured and immediately retreated, taking two more orbs before teleporting beneath Arrow Tower. At that moment, Ding Tai emerged from North Moon Group's jungle area behind Arrow Tower and teleported behind Ding Ze to slit his throat. It seemed that Ding Ze had anticipated this; he unleashed all his energy in a final explosion before dying, severely wounding Ding Tai in the process, who was then shot dead by Arrow Tower.
It was an exchange of one for one—an outcome that surprised both Ding Family Group and the audience. Everyone believed it was due to Ding Ze's strength and quick reflexes that he self-destructed to protect himself with Force when he realized he couldn't escape the throat slash. No one expected that Ding Ze had prepared himself for sacrifice.
While everyone was still reflecting on Ding Lan's sprinting advance, Ding Ze's dazzling teleportation, and Ding Tai's ruthless attack, Vlad fell in battle—a moment that even the cameraman failed to capture as all attention was focused on Midway; no one noticed what was happening on the left flank. (To be continued.)
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