Chapter 221: Chapter 221: The First Drop of Blood (Fifth Update)
Translator: 549690339
Finally, the day of the preliminary competition arrived, and every participant had received their virtual helmet, adjusted by the staff, ready to enter the virtual scene at the scheduled time.
So, most of the competitors stayed at home, waiting for the start of the competition.
The World War God Alliance had issued a notice that the competition would begin at 10 a.m.
This War God’s Knockout was the center of the world’s attention, not only attracting War God Martial Artists but also Warriors, War Generals, Star Realm Experts, and prospective Star Realm masters.
Government officials from around the world were watching, as were military forces from various countries.
The church members were focusing on their Gods Clan’s experts, so much so that even Sunday worship was suspended.
Even ordinary people were affected, with schools closed, factories on holiday, and everyone following the War God’s Knockout situation.
Although the world of martial artists was incredibly distant for them, this competition affected the rankings of each country in the World War God Alliance.
The purpose of the War God Alliance was to provide mutual support; when one country was attacked by Mutated Beasts, other member countries of the War God Alliance had an obligation to assist.
There was a significant advantage to having a high ranking, as it allowed countries to have priority in usage rights when dealing with Mutated Beast attacks.
Naturally, this applied to all registered War Gods in the War God Alliance. For example, if Hua Xia and the United States were simultaneously attacked by Mutated Beasts and Hua Xia ranked higher, the advantage of their ranking would become apparent.
Asrae from Hua Nia’s ana the united states’ registered war Goas, war GOOS from other countries would prioritize supporting Hua Xia, with the United States only getting to choose from those left after Hua Xia had made their selection.
Moreover, the higher the ranking, the more a country has a say in all matters, not to mention issues of honor; this War God’s Knockout was a must-win for every country.
If a country ranked last, it would suffer, being constantly ordered around by others, and never benefitting themselves. Participants who failed the competition would be verbally attacked by the public.
Therefore, people were extremely concerned about the performance of the competitors; in recent days, they spent their time researching the skills of the War Gods at home. Some people even came up with a list of “seed players” and “key players,” just like the book Lin Zhen had seen.
Giant screens had been erected in the streets and alleys of every Base City. While they could not broadcast the specific battles happening within the virtual world, they could display the list of advancing and eliminated participants.
According to official statistics, there were more than 30,000 War Gods participating in this battle, but only 1,024 could advance. This meant that only one in thirty War Gods could move forward, with the rest being eliminated.
Combat was not forbidden in the Heaven’s Garden; in fact, it was encouraged.
This virtual world wasn’t real, and being killed only meant being eliminated. Every country’s participants had this mindset before the competition, and when they saw a War God from another country, they wasted no time in trying to kill them.
Three lists were displayed on the electronic screens.
First, the advancing board, starting from the first place participant all the way to the 1,024th participant. Whenever someone reached a Garden Cottage and secured a position, their name would be displayed here, attracting admiration.
Second, the master list, where every War God could be found. When a War God was eliminated, their name on the list would turn grey, indicating that they had been eliminated. Hence, this was also called the elimination board.
Third, the killing list. When someone killed another player in the virtual world, their kill count would increase by one.
Whenever someone was eliminated or promoted, the big screen would display it, reminding everyone about who killed whom.
No one wanted to become a target; everyone wanted to eliminate others, so no one wished to be on the elimination list.
Moreover, all the Gemstone Fragments gained within the Heaven’s Garden would become the property of the killer if you were to be killed; you couldn’t take them out of the competition. Only those who successfully advanced or chose to leave after collecting enough Gemstone Fragments could redeem them outside.
Of course, these Gemstone Fragments were virtual, and the virtual system would automatically record the number of Gemstone Fragments you obtained.
Even without any grudges, the Gemstone Fragments provided a good reason for killing.
In recent days, one topic had been endlessly debated: First Blood!
Who would draw First Blood in the virtual world?
Seven countries, tens of thousands of War Gods. It was certain that countless War Gods from every country would be eliminated, but whoever was eliminated first would lose face.
That person would be eternally remembered and laughed at by the entire world. Even if they were to advance to the Star Realm someday, people might still say, “Look, it’s the guy who was eliminated first in the War God’s
Knockout. It’s ridiculous that such a waste could advance to the Star Realm.”
Many people even started betting on which country’s participant would be eliminated first.
In this bet, Hua Xia had the lowest odds because they had many participants, and the quality of those participants varied, making them easy targets for experts from other countries.
Some even used Lin Zhen as an example, saying, “That kid from Ice City is just a Third Level War God; there’s a good chance he’ll be eliminated.”
Especially when the Northern War Gods from Sand Russia, Huo Luofu, and the Sand Russian Trio declared that they would show no mercy to Hua Xia Martial Artists, this issue became even more prominent.
If one had to choose the most likely participant to be eliminated, Lin Zhen would undoubtedly have the highest odds.
That’s because people knew that Lin Zhen had killed Sand Russia’s Ivan and was their target. Being targeted by a large country made it highly likely that he would be the first eliminated.
Although this possibility was still quite small compared to the numerous martial artists, many people on the streets and alleys joked that if they were a martial artist as poor as Lin Zhen, they might as well go and commit suicide by smashing into a wall.
Not only would people in Hua Xia talk about it, but so would those in Sand Russia, and in fact, everyone around the world.
As the topic of First Blood became hotter, the World War God Alliance introduced a temporary policy, where whoever kills a martial artist from another country and obtains the first blood, will be rewarded with a High Grade Celestial Device, which they can receive through a drawing after they come out!
Of course, this is only for the first time. If you miss it by even 0.1 seconds, you won’t be eligible for this reward.
Everything will be displayed on the big screen, and people are watching, so cheating is impossible.
So, people are not only paying attention to the promotion list, elimination list, and kill list, but also to this First Blood.
As the competition time approached, all the participants put on their virtual helmets.
Lin Zhen also put on his helmet at home, waiting for the competition to begin.
Suddenly, a countdown appeared in front of him: “10, 9, 8, 7, …”.
When the time counted down to one, there was a flash of white light, and the scene changed suddenly!
All the surroundings disappeared, replaced by a colorful world.
A garden, a garden that had been magnified countless times!
The sun shone brightly in the sky, the spring breeze was warm, the air was fresh, and the fragrance of flowers and earth came in waves, making all the contestants feel refreshed.
If one were to look from high above, they would see that the garden was round, with the outermost circle being a grassland that was hundreds of kilometers wide.
After passing through the grassland, there was a fence wall, almost as high as the sky, with a layer of yellow mist on top. One could not fly through it or even teleport through it.
Only by passing through the gaps in the fence below could one truly enter the garden.
After crossing the vast sea of flowers that was tens of miles wide, a small stream surrounded the garden cottage like a moat.
Of course, to the ant-like martial artists, this small stream was a big river, and its turbulent waves made crossing it no easy task.
Past the stream, the garden cottage was the endpoint.
Flashes of white light flickered and all the contestants were randomly teleported to the edge of the garden.
The garden was huge, with more than 30,000 people teleported in, many couldn’t see anyone around them.
Because it was random, there were also many people who had others close by.
Just like Lin Zhen.
Before Lin Zhen even had time to see his surroundings, a figure appeared in front of him, face to face with him. almost simultaneouslv.
Within a radius of hundreds of meters, there were only the two of them!
The martial artist opposite him had a tall figure, a full beard, wore Star Device Armor, had a necklace around his neck, and held a sword in his hand.
Lin Zhen recognized him at a glance. He was one of the Three Heroes of Sand Russia, from the Far East, Adolf!
Adolf also recognized Lin Zhen instantly. Although Lin Zhen was not on any of the books, how could Adolf not know about Lin Zhen, whom he wanted to kill?
Adolf’s eyes lit up, “The true god has given me, Adolf, such a great opportunity to make a name for myself. Lin Zhen, prepare to die!”
Without any hesitation, the two of them almost instantly engaged in a head-on clash!
Lin Zhen had read about Adolf; he had natural divine power and divine speed. Although he was not a spiritual mind master, he wore a Lower Grade spiritual defense Star Artifact necklace around his neck.
A Lower Grade spiritual defense Star Artifact was not completely enough to resist the mental shock of the Dark Gold Late Stage, especially since this man was not a spiritual mind master and had low spiritual power, making him easy for Lin Zhen to restrain!
Mental Shock!
A burst of spiritual power pierced Adolf’s spiritual consciousness sea. Although protected by the Star Artifact, Adolf still staggered, feeling an instant headache!
Lin Zhen’s figure flickered, and he teleported!
Directly behind Adolf, Lin Zhen raised his Tyrant Spear and attacked with his Back Horse Spear!
“Puff!”
A splash of blood rose into the air, as Adolf’s neck was pierced. His body twisted in refusal, but was still deemed dead by the system. He turned into specks of light and disappeared into the air.
At this moment, the entire world fell silent as this text appeared on every screen in streets and alleys around the world:
“Hua Xia, Ice City Base City, Blue Sky Martial Arts Hall War God Lin Zhen, killed Sand Russia Far East Base City, Storm Martial Arts Hall War God Adolf, and got the First Blood!”
The whole world was quiet at this moment..
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