He learned that each side will form a team that they will send into battle. The teams will be equal in size and will fight until one of them is eliminated or until one side decides to interfere.
The side that decides to interfere will send another team to help their losing team. This will cause the other side to send in another team to assist their winning team. This will continue until one side doesn't have teams to send anymore.
One important rule is that anyone on the battlefield can leave at any time. They can leave to rest, but they can only return with another set of teams, or they can choose not to return at all.
In the meantime, their teammates on the battlefield will be down a man and might become outnumbered. If they become outnumbered, they will face defeat. This will prompt their side to reinforce them early. But then the other side will also be able to send in more men to press their advantage.
While he would be able to leave and the war would be after his advancement game, Kelvin still didn't want to participate in the war.
Kelvin thought about it and replied, "No."
It is mostly because he doesn't need the popularity. It is also because the popularity will be too risky to acquire. After all, he doesn't want people to know that he is Augustus and that he lives in New London. That is just asking for trouble.
He won't be on the battlefield but he decided to watch the war. It is because he is interested in its outcome, if only for the fact that it might change the dynamics of power in New London. Besides, it would showcase the abilities of a lot of powerful people.
Pauli didn't like his decision, though. He said, "This is not good. If you guys don't come out to show support, we will lose."
It made him ask, "Are there a lot of villains who don't want to participate?"
"There are too many. They are at least 70% of the villain community. Villains like to keep our abilities secret. They also don't care about popularity like heroes. They don't think it is a good idea to risk our lives for it."
"I think the heroes proposed this war format on purpose. They claimed that it was for the people and the city, but I believe it is to demoralize us and hog all the popularity for themselves."
Kelvin wasn't surprised by that. It is something to expect from heroes. But he asked, "Then why are you participating?"
Pauli replied, "Because I am sort of a popular figure in the destiny games. I am not a hero, but a lot of people like me. They would like to see me beat on heroes in real life."
Kelvin shook his head and asked, "Isn't it a good thing that most of the villains won't participate? It means we won't lose the bulk of our strength."
Pauli didn't agree. He said, "This is a naked attempt by the heroes to get stronger. It doesn't matter if 100% of strength is preserved because, as long as they win, they will get stronger with the popularity they gain."
"This war is purely for their benefit. They stand the most to gain and the least to lose. Even if many of them die, as long as they win, their combined strength will only increase because their source of popularity will be intact and will even increase."
"As for us, we have to stop them from growing stronger, or they will use their strength to pressure us after the way. That's the only thing we can gain. We won't gain much even if we win."
"But don't underestimate this little benefit that we can gain. What we stand to gain is directly proportional to what the heroes stand to gain. And they stand to gain a lot."
"The war is so popular that many supers from other cities are coming to participate in it. If the heroes win, they will gain a lot of popularity. Even if they lose as a whole, a few of them that perform well will still become stronger. We won't gain any of that popularity, but we must make sure they don't get to have it either."
This made Kelvin rethink the importance of the war. But he still wasn't interested in participating. It was just too dangerous.
He asked, "Why can't we just start assassinating them? Why do we have to let them have their war when we have so little to gain and too much to lose?"
Pauli replied, "LOL. That is the secret war, and it has already started. The two sides have already begun to take out each other. But the war will still happen. If it happens and they win, we might also lose the secret war."
"Personally, I prefer the open war. At least with the open war, I won't encounter people hiding their power. Those are the most dangerous people. I am also more used to a battlefield."
"But if you prefer the secret war, then you can participate in it. The Thunderstorm Villain League has created a bounty list for the heads of the heroes."
Kelvin thought about it and texted back, "I'll think about it."
He thought about it and realized that Pauli was right. Dangerous people like him who like to hide what they are truly capable of won't show up in a televised battle. So it should be somewhat easier. Especially since he could leave.
But he prefers the secret war because it will protect his secrets. He also likes money, so he might give the secret wars a try.
He shrugged and said, "Besides, it won't be any different from my job as a bounty hunter for the police force. I'll just be hunting heroes, not villains. It is a good thing too. If I kill a hero, their whole league won't come after me for it. They will come after all the villains for it. What's not to like?"