Chapter 187: 187_1
At this moment, aside from those teammates focused on the S-Rank competition, basically all associations in the A-Rank Group were watching the battle between Shaliye and Mount Flower.
Shaliye had lost to Temple of the Gods, and they were also Sanctuary’s second-strongest team. How formidable was the pressure from a team ranked second? Even if domestic powerhouses like Broken Heart and Holy Beast Association were to fight them, they couldn’t guarantee a win.
Many factors could contribute to winning a match, such as a Spirit Card Master suddenly underperforming, mistakes in card control, or even the strength of the cards themselves. In these aspects, Shaliye was truly deserving of being an A-Level powerhouse.
Their S-Rank team was even more renowned, mainly because their ace card sets possessed core dominance.
But if Mount Flower could defeat Shaliye this year, it would mean Mount Flower truly had the strength to contend for the championship. The S-Rank Mount Flower team had already made errors; they needed at least one championship to stabilize the current public opinion.
Of course, their leader, Wen Jiang, didn’t seem like someone who needed to stabilize public opinion at the moment.
The match began, and the attention on Mount Flower’s match continued to be unprecedented; even a large number of international fans were very anxious.
Shaliye’s fans knew this match was a crucial one for Shaliye; if they lost, they were doomed to be eliminated. If Sanctuary, their second-ranked association, couldn’t even make it into the top ten of the A-Rank Group this year, they would be a laughing stock for all the major associations.
Moreover, insiders could discern the true skill involved, but fans didn’t care how strong the opponent actually was.
Shaliye’s fans didn’t believe Mount Flower could win against Shaliye. Suddenly, many people crammed into the livestream, and the barrage began its usual flame war.
Sanctuary: [Go on, Shaliye! Take down Mount Flower! Let Yunxia see our strength!]
Frost Moon: [Pfft... Sanctuary fans really don’t watch the match itself, only the rankings, huh?]
Yunxia: [Still harboring pipe dreams? Your strongest card set couldn’t even defeat Temple of the Gods. Do you really think you can easily win against Mount Flower this time? Mount Flower hasn’t even used their collaboration cards yet!]
Yunxia: [If Mount Flower loses this match, it’s not a big deal, right? On the contrary, Shaliye would then have a chance to enter the finals. I actually hope Mount Flower loses this round...]
Yunxia: [Whoever said they should lose, are they a damn turncoat fan of Shaliye? If Mount Flower can win, why the hell should they throw the match?!]
Yunxia: [LMAO, there really are a lot of Shaliye bootlickers. I could understand liking foreign players before, but supporting a foreign team in *this* kind of competition? What are those people thinking?]
Sanctuary: [Mount Flower has no hope, right? After all, whenever they’ve faced associations like Shaliye before, they’ve had no chance of winning.]
...Amidst the fierce debate between rival fan groups, the commentators in the livestream also began their performance.
Lillian, the blonde female host, was clearly up to no good from the start. She asked Cyrus with a smirk, "Cyrus, who do you think has a greater chance of winning between Shaliye and Mount Flower?"
Cyrus’s expression darkened for a moment. Last time, he had been stubborn, consistently backing Crying Angels and underestimating Mount Flower. However, Mount Flower had won decisively and had even forced the International Card Association to issue an apology. Still, he didn’t think Mount Flower could win this time.
He didn’t state it too bluntly, only offering a more reserved take: "Shaliye never underestimates an enemy."
Shaliye’s loss to Temple of the Gods had been unavoidable, but in such a crucial game, they were bound to bring their A-game. He still didn’t believe Mount Flower could beat a Shaliye performing at that level. After all, Shaliye was the Empire’s second-ranked association. How embarrassing would it be if they lost to Mount Flower?
Lillian chuckled softly. Looking at the Mount Flower team, who were already prepared on the livestream screen, she offered her own analysis: "Today’s match is indeed difficult to call. In a crucial game like this, Shaliye will certainly give it their all, and whether Mount Flower can maintain their undefeated streak is also an unknown. Judging from the betting odds for the two major teams, more people are still supporting Shaliye than Mount Flower."
Cyrus glanced at Lillian. "Lillian, between these two teams, who do you support?"
He knew this female host rather admired Wen Jiang from Yunxia.
Lillian replied without hesitation, "At a time like this, of course, I hope the players from our own country will do their best and win. After all, even if Mount Flower loses this round, it won’t affect their advancement."
Mount Flower’s current record was indeed very impressive; they hadn’t lost many cards in the matches they had won. The final seeding would also be based on the number of cards lost, so even if Mount Flower lost one match, such a strong record meant they wouldn’t have to go into tiebreakers. She wasn’t worried at all about Mount Flower failing to advance.
Feeling no pressure herself, her words naturally sounded righteous and magnanimous.
Cyrus, listening to this, felt displeased and let out an almost inaudible scoff.
On the central screen, the match had already begun, and both sides entered the pick-and-ban phase. Mount Flower had the first ban and started the card banning process.
They immediately banned one of Shaliye’s core damage-output cards.
This was a standard opening move, but Shaliye reacted quickly, also banning Mount Flower’s core damage-output card, the Seven-Star Butterfly.
This gave the two commentators a moment’s pause.
It wasn’t that Shaliye’s ban was wrong; banning a damage-output card first was standard strategy. However, with Mount Flower possessing the Moon Palace Card Set and four as-yet-unrevealed collaboration cards, banning one of their older, known cards at this stage wasn’t necessarily the best choice.
Mount Flower also seemed to pause subtly for a moment but reacted quickly, proceeding to ban one of Shaliye’s core control cards.
Notably, they also didn’t ban any of Shaliye’s new cards.
Shaliye, showing no hesitation whatsoever, banned Gong Yuan’s specialty, the ’River Maiden’ card.
Their reactions were too fast. Banning cards usually required careful deliberation; it was as if Shaliye had already decided on their strategy beforehand.
Not a single Moon Palace Card Set card had been banned so far!
Cyrus was the first to discern Shaliye’s intent. "Are they trying to bait Mount Flower into a new card battle?"
Lillian’s eyes also lit up. "Are they trying to get Mount Flower to use their new card set, their collaboration set? Oh, heavens, will Mount Flower actually use them?"
Frost Moon: [Wow, are they going for a new card battle? That would be quite spectacular!]
Yunxia: [It looks like Mount Flower is really going to use new cards this time. They have a habit: if the opponent doesn’t ban the Moon Palace Card Set first, they won’t ban it either. If Shaliye doesn’t ban the Moon Palace Card Set, will I get to see it in action for the first time in this year’s A-Rank tournament?]
Tang Qian also saw what was happening. Her tone was somewhat subtle as she said, "They want us to use our new cards."
Shi Qi frowned. "If we use our new cards, won’t they have no chance of winning?"
Wen Jiang smiled faintly. "They know their chances of advancing are slim, so they want us to reveal our new cards. This gives other associations a chance to analyze them. After all, cards that haven’t been used before always make others wary. Shaliye is creating opportunities for other associations this way."
It seemed Shaliye themselves were well aware that conventional tactics wouldn’t give them much of an edge against the current Mount Flower. They might as well gamble on a new card battle with them.