Chapter 269

Chapter 269

A member of the Kaileer Alliance glanced upstairs worriedly, because with Herli and Deenlie, they had brazenly set up camp in a hotel.

"But guarding the flag..."

The vice-captain stood at the hotel entrance, looking composed. "It's fine. The main team has flag defense covered. Our main job is scoring points. It won't matter if we support them later; the main team captain will understand."

The moment he finished speaking, the ground in front of him was covered with shards of glass falling from upstairs.

The member looked horrified. "Captain!"

The vice-captain checked the points again, confirming the number. Although the competition wasn't even half over and the leaderboard wasn't public, this number—barely short of terrifying—usually only appeared in major nations. Even though Herli and Deenlie spent at least seventy percent of their time fighting each other...

When he looked up again, the vice-captain’s expression was calm. "It's fine."

From upstairs came the voices of Herli and Deenlie.

They had shattered the glass on the second floor, and both were loudmouths, so their conversation was clear.

Herli sounded furious. "That was clearly my prey!"

Deenlie sounded slightly calmer, but if he were as calm as he sounded, he wouldn't have fought Herli in the middle of a battle. "Whoever gets it keeps it. Are you Cyril? Or are you a toddler waiting for your bottle at daycare? Or do you really care that my personal score is higher than yours?"

Another crash came from above.

"I said it's mine! And the points—they're mine too, and I'll surpass you soon!"

Deenlie snorted. "Immature."

The vice-captain silently thought to himself, *Then why did you have to steal her points?* When Herli leaped up, Deenlie had pounced, and then he saw Herli raise her sword at him.

After a while, the two suddenly stopped for some reason.

Deenlie spoke first. "Truce for now. Let's head to the flag defense zone."

He backed off first. "Baide should be there too. I'll team up with you once."

Meaning she was in charge.

After a few seconds, Herli said grudgingly, "Deal."

A few minutes later, Herli and Deenlie came downstairs, walking side by side. Occasionally, Herli's ponytail brushed against Deenlie, making it hard to tell they'd just been fighting.

Herli placed one hand on her opposite shoulder and stretched a few times. Perhaps not familiar with the vice-captain, she said coldly, "Rest time's over. Let's go. We've got eyes on us."

She tsked. "Though there are annoying things everywhere."

Deenlie reminded her, "Big Brother."

Herli sounded impatient. "I know, I know. I'm not wrecking anything."

Then her tone toned down a bit as she turned to the vice-captain. "We should get going now."

The vice-captain nodded and began organizing the team.

This was still something he couldn't wrap his head around. With today's advanced technology, the entire competition was recorded without leaving a trace. Even the official specialized perspectives had barely any visible evidence to ensure clarity. So why all the talk about not wanting to be watched?

Now his thoughts were completely different. What's wrong with not wanting to be watched? The technology still has plenty of room for improvement.

...

Main venue.

Norton sat on the high platform, with Secretary-General Lin standing beside him.

The leaders on the high platform had all chosen 2D viewing mode, following the main feed. None of them—including those around them—had entered the holo-world.

Although the leader stands of various countries had separate viewing angles, the competition was long. Except for major nations, the main camera didn't often focus on the leader stands. So from time to time, people got up and went back to rest briefly or grab some nutrient supplements.

Only Norton never moved. Like when he was in the command room of the main ship, he rested one hand on the armrest and closed his eyes.

Secretary-General Lin beside him leaned down, about to make his routine check-in, but before he could speak, Norton raised a hand to cut him off.

Secretary-General Lin straightened back up and didn't insist. He knew that for Norton, being here was just a bit boring—nothing else was wrong.

During the Insect Tide in the past, Norton often fought continuously on the battlefield without exhaustion for long periods.

Back then, Secretary-General Lin was more on edge and more stressed. Cyril wasn't there yet, and no one dared disturb Norton until he decided to turn back himself.

Now things were much better. At least he dared to start asking questions.

Secretary-General Lin adjusted his glasses. Of course, for His Majesty, maybe sitting here was worse than being on the battlefield.

As he thought and looked around, he noticed something different today. The leaders on the high platform were unusually all there.

The host was still enthusiastic, just like at the start.

In fact, the host had been changed several times in the middle. To prevent assassinations, the Star Alliance's hosts were anonymous, but their style was consistent—very inflammatory.

The main perspective was on Buston, speeding through the night.

The host held back. Nobody wanted to offend the major nations. Even though they were anonymous, if they pissed them off, who knew what these big countries would do?

"It seems Buston has given up on searching for enemies. A real shame. Buston was unlucky this time—their random location was remote, and they lost two top fighters. The two eliminated members were very popular players, expected to make the star player leaderboard. We don't know who defeated them, but we won't get an answer now. Buston is heading to the flag defense zone. Hopefully, the mystery will be solved in the public replay later."

For a moment, the main perspective switched to Buston's leader stand. Buston's leader looked unchanged—still the same ever-smiling expression.

Soon the screen switched back to the competition site. These leaders never seemed to lose composure—it was kind of boring. And when it involved them, even the Star Alliance walked on eggshells.

"It seems everyone is heading to the flag defense zone. Staying in such a densely packed area, the points will probably shift big time later. But that's for later—the competition is almost halfway!"

"Some viewers are getting anxious. I know what you're waiting for—the leaderboard is about to be revealed! Everyone has picked their favored team, right?"

"Who will win the glorious crown this year? The result will soon be unveiled. Let's wait and see!"

The cheers in the main arena rose higher and higher.

The main perspective split into two halves: one showing the competition, the other switching to the leader stands, panning over Buston and other powerful nations.

With the perspective change, soft lights sequentially illuminated the leader stands and the audience sections below. The first to be lit was Buston. As soon as the lights came on, the Buston audience erupted in enthusiastic cheers.

Later, those lights would focus on the leader stand and audience section of the first-place nation, and the main perspective would switch to that country.

After sweeping over the leader stands, causing the whole venue to cheer, the screen finally settled on Buston. Besides Buston, it also briefly showed a few other countries—regular top contenders in the resource war. The audience in those countries cheered even more passionately, sharing in the glory.

In fact, most people had little doubt about the outcome anyway—it would be among just a few nations.

They were now just waiting for the unveiling of the rankings.

The staff of the Star Alliance were also waiting.

Since the score rankings involved huge sums of money, they were kept under tight wraps, encrypted throughout by the highest-level Intelligence in Central City, with no one able to access the results before the announcement.

The host's voice sounded excited too, "Ten seconds left! Cheer for this year's Glory Crown, everyone!"

The main camera view switched to the ranking page.

The countdown quickly reached zero, the cheers reached their peak, and a solemn, dignified piece of music began to play.

But in the main perspective, the lights on the leader stands of Buston and nearby areas all dimmed.

The cheers in the main arena gradually faded, leaving only the music.

The host's voice paused for a few seconds, and when he spoke again, he was obviously thrown off, "No? Is the equipment broken?"

The main perspective quickly swept across the entire venue, finally stopping in one direction and zooming in rapidly—the effect of the Glory Crown was truly striking.

The whole arena dimmed, with only the winner's leader stand remaining lit.

On the leader stand sat Norton, with the audience section at its default size, completely empty.

Norton sat at the front, opening his eyes like a waking lion, with Secretary-General Lin and the legion commanders standing straight behind him.

Golden motes of light rained down, landing on them and the ground, then disappearing.

The host stared blankly at Norton, then after a few seconds pulled himself together to look up at the fluttering flag—a sword and fire intertwined into a beautiful yet unfamiliar pattern—and murmured, "Grath?"

Norton then looked up at the ranking displayed in the arena; Grath's name stood above all nations, at the very top.

"What the hell! Is there no mistake? Their leader stand is even at the very back."

"Don't be ridiculous, I've never even heard of Grath!"

"Their Leader looks so young and handsome, and the ones behind are all good-looking too."

"Holy crap, I'm rich."

"I remember them! Because their emperor is very good-looking, and so are the team members. I thought they were the second Kainan. Is there really no mistake?"

"The Intelligence on Central Star is top-tier—you might as well suspect the Star Alliance of rigging the results for money."

"The Star Alliance wouldn't stoop to that—this amount of money is just a drop in the bucket of the Resource War, and everyone knows what the Resource War decides. If they dared to do that, all the major powers would be furious."

On Keller's leader stand, Gu Chuan clenched his fist, a rare lapse in composure; on the arena ranking, the Kaileer Alliance placed third, just after Buston.

Since he was standing at the back of the leader stand with nothing to do, not being a leader under scrutiny, Gu Chuan, like everyone else, had been sneaking glances at the main perspective of Kaileer during the competition. Its performance had been mediocre, which meant it had to be the Deputy, and the deputy positions were held by Herli and Deenlie, both of whom he had strongly recommended.

Gu Chuan could hear the people around him starting to whisper, despite being on the leader stand.

The leaders sitting in front couldn't help but frequently turn back to look at Gu Chuan in surprise.

Even people on nearby leader stands were looking in their direction.

Gu Chuan stood there, forcing himself to remain calm, and looked at Grath—the center of everyone's attention.

Like everyone else, he watched Norton. Gu Chuan was among those who knew Grath fairly well, and he had understood back then that once Grath emerged, he would surely make a name in the Resource War.

But even so, Gu Chuan couldn't help but marvel at how far Grath had managed to go.

Kainan's low ranking meant it drew little attention, but there was still a stir on its leader stand and in the audience. In fact, this stir had started long ago—many in Kainan had been closely watching Leisa's perspective ever since Ye Mo appeared, filled with surprise and nervous anticipation as they watched Leisa, waiting for others to notice.

The main screen split in two, with the ranking on one side and the leader stand of Grath on the other.

Norton glanced at the ranking with no expression—being first was only to be expected; his attention was on the fact that the competition was only halfway through.

He frowned—Ye Mo had been inside for too long.

"Too slow."

Secretary-General Lin immediately leaned in—at the halfway point of the competition, there was a chance to send a one-way message into the arena—"Yes, Your Majesty. I will urge the captain shortly."