As soon as the Human Emperor Banner came out, I became the Lord of the Old Ones

Chapter 175 Although defeated, it is still glorious
This match was undoubtedly one of the most lopsided contests between the two sides since the start of the season.

The outcome was not in any suspense.

Even if people were to gamble, they would bet on exactly when Xiong Chenghu would fall.

More than half of the audience didn't even think he could last a minute.

Thirty percent of the audience believed that he would be utterly defeated and routed within thirty seconds by "Golden Boy" Carlos using his dazzling Doka-style ultimate technique.

The course of the match, however, took an unexpected turn.

Surprisingly, it was Xiong Chenghu, who was making a desperate gamble, who launched the first attack.

Today, he abandoned the "Giant Sword", "Great Rock Turtle" and "Illusion Jellyfish", and only activated a Black Iron civilian card "Bullhead Iron Guard".

This is a civilian card widely used in the construction and transportation industries.

The summoned remnants of the past are actually the tough, strong, and hardworking low-level orc warriors from the orc tribes of the First Era.

In addition to greatly enhancing the summoner's absolute strength, it can also expand blood vessels and strengthen muscles, making the summoner's body as hard as iron and immune to minor injuries during operations.

In theory, the "Bullhead Iron Guard's" abilities are very suitable for combat.

However, it also has the major drawback of making the summoner move slowly, clumsy, or even irritable and easily provoked by opponents.

In terms of the abilities of "Power Amplification" and "Body Enhancement", there are better remnants of the past that can serve as superior alternatives.

Therefore, very few spirit masters would summon this kind of black iron spirit in professional competitions.

Faced with the muscular, bloodshot-eyed Xiong Chenghu and the furious minotaur behind him, "Golden Boy" Carlos displayed unprecedented caution.

For the first three minutes, Carlos simply dodged and parried, never attacking even when presented with a good opportunity.

After gradually figuring out Xiong Chenghu's attack rhythm, they calmly summoned guardian spirits and began to take over the game.

Xiong Chenghu's ferocity and tenacity surprised everyone.

Despite being forced back by Carlos's dazzling skills and unpredictable attacks, layers of blood bloomed on his body.

He seemed to be empowered by the "Bullhead Iron Guard," losing his sense of pain and fear, and actually engaged in a fierce battle with Carlos.

The two sides fought fiercely for a full seven and a half minutes.

Covered in blood, as if he had been burned out, Xiong Chenghu collapsed with a thud.

He did not win.

Yet he won the respect of all the viewers.

Even the referee's announcement that the winner was "Golden Boy" Carlos was drowned out by the thunderous cheers of "Xiong Chenghu" from the audience.

Carlos looked somewhat annoyed as he stepped off the ring.

He stared intently at the Kuangtie team's rest area, seemingly realizing that he had lost to the hidden commander behind the Kuangtie team on a higher level.

This match was selected as one of the most exciting duels of the third day of competition.

Through the ever-expanding news footage, ordinary viewers marveled at the unwavering will and seemingly inexhaustible stamina of the members of the Crazy Iron Team.

After carefully analyzing the nine matches over three days, industry insiders became more interested in the Black Iron civilian cards and low-tier Bronze cards used by the Kuangtie team.

The analysis post that first appeared on the Lingka Forum three days ago has been resurfaced.

Many card makers use the same type of black iron cards and low-level bronze cards in an attempt to replicate the tactics of the Kuang Tie team, but the results are mostly unsatisfactory.

This made them realize that Xiong Ruyue was not lying. The Kuangtie team did indeed have a well-established technical team supporting them, which had made miraculous modifications to ordinary black iron civilian cards and low-level bronze cards.

Compared to Hou Zhijian and the Xiong brothers' physical strength and willpower.

The technology hidden deep within low-level spirit cards is what's truly valuable.

For a time, undercurrents were running high in the card-making circle of Dawn City.

Everyone was asking who this so-called "card-making team from the depths of the wilderness" really was.

Of course, everyone saw Xu Yan accompany the members of the Kuangtie team into the arena and even help the players recover with massages after the match.

However, they already knew from yesterday's interview that this unassuming young man was merely a card maintainer at the club, currently responsible for maintaining civilian cards for the re-employment training class.

No one could have imagined that the entire strategy and card selection for the Kuangtie team were all handled by this young man who had just turned twenty.

……

7 p.m.

Dawn City, East District, Black Market.

As one of the largest heavy industrial cities on the southeastern border of the Alliance, Dawn City's black market is ten times the size of Rolling Stone Fortress's underground market.

Unlike the clandestine underground markets, the black market here occupies four entire buildings.

The buildings are also connected by a network of sky bridges, allowing customers to quickly reach different areas without having to return to the ground.

The reinforced concrete facade is even adorned with colorful neon lights. As night falls, the ever-changing lights envelop three to five blocks around the area, giving a profound understanding of just how powerful the forces hidden behind the "black market" truly are.

Xu Yan wore a hooded cloak, without any deliberate disguise, only a pair of goggles on his forehead and a scarf commonly used by wilderness travelers to protect against sand around his mouth and nose.

He exchanged all the chips he had won that day for cash at the underground casino.

Holding a bulging bag of crystal coins in my hand gives me a heavy sense of satisfaction.

On the large screen at the entrance of the underground casino, the lopsided battle between Carlos and Xiong Chenghu during the day was still being replayed on a loop.

Multiple shots from different angles clearly captured Carlos's expression.

Especially when the referee announced his victory, and he realized he had fallen for a trap, he frowned slightly in annoyance, and amidst that annoyance a surge of intense interest arose.

“He found out.”

Xu Yan whistled softly.

That's right, after realizing that Xiong Chenghu's luck in the draw was terrible, and that after winning two games in a row he would run into the runner-up of the previous year.

He kept racking his brains.

Victory cannot be achieved by thinking about how to strengthen the sealing cards.

Instead, he pondered what kind of spirit cards and tactics to choose so that Xiong Chenghu could lose gracefully when facing "Golden Boy" Carlos.

The disparity in strength between the two sides goes without saying.

But Xiong Chenghu also has his own advantages – as a 15-year-old newcomer participating in the Dawn Cup for the first time, he has no burdens or concerns and only needs to go all out.

As the runner-up of the previous season, Carlos has many things to consider – not only does he need to conserve his energy to cope with the increasingly intense competition, but he also needs to be wary of the Crazy Iron Team's endless tricks and unorthodox methods to avoid close-quarters combat and ugly scenes of men on top of men, so as not to ruin his dashing and elegant "Golden Boy" image.

(End of this chapter)