914 Top Eigh
Just as Han Xiao got Lothaire to assassinate a target, the Division Finals continued as usual.
After a series of battles, the top eight teams in the Shattered Star Ring had already been formed. Dynasty obtained their third championship and created their three-time championship era. Among the four great guilds, Dynasty had always been ranked first and did not have any obvious shortcomings.
The first runner up was Temple of God, and although the fans of Temple of God were considered satisfied, passersby could not help but lament with pity. The impression of Temple of God being a weakling during external battles was imprinted deep within their hearts, and sending Temple of God into the International League meant that China had one less team!
The second runner up was Long Sky. Although their performance was not good in the division matches, they entered into the International League and had the opportunity to show the world what they could do. The third runner up was Rivervale. Frenzied Sword, Evil Sword, and Maple Moon were the core of the team, and their strength was no less than the first three teams.
These four teams would be participating in the International League.
Of the four great guilds, Fried Eggplants with Fish had once again missed the chance to participate in the International League.
It was said that the boss of Fried Eggplants with Fish felt that the name of their team was not auspicious enough and wanted to change the team’s name. They were currently seeking opinion from the public, and the names suggested were all like dishes on a menu.
Without mentioning the fans of Fried Eggplants with Fish who were entertaining themselves in their bitterness, the majority of the players were rooting for the four teams that had made it into the International League. They had a huge advantage in this version. The Mechanic class had risen to prominence, and many large events in the Shattered Star Ring increased the benefits of the Black Star Army greatly. Thus, the Chinese players were extremely confident about emerging as champions. The god-level players in the clubs were all in their peak state, and all the players thus placed huge expectations on the Chinese teams. They looked forward to them displaying their brilliance in the International League.
In the Singles, Maple Moon got into the top eight. In this season, four of the top eight belonged to the Mechanic class, and the Mechanics finally made up for their weaknesses in the first two versions.
The rankings for the eight other regions had also been released. Most of the teams were the usual teams that made it to the International League such as Devil, Key, and Thunderbolt Python from America; Tulips and Grapes from France; Rose Knight from Britain; Hydra and Vagrant from Japan; Kimchi and Samsung Bomb from Korea; Tomahawk from Sweden; Wings from Poland; White Emperor Sword from Russia; and Kangaroo Boxing from Australia. Many of these teams were the familiar faces from the previous International League. There was a total of thirty-six teams in the International League, and they were split into three divisions.
The division lineup truly excited the Chinese players this time. The strongest batch of overseas teams were all drawn into Division A, and only Temple of God was drawn into that division. Because the Regular Season relied on point accumulation, it would be difficult to pull apart the gap in points with too many strong teams in the division. As such, many of the strong overseas teams would not be able to arrive at the finals.
Long Sky and Dynasty got into Division B with only a few stronger teams such as Hydra, Rose Knight and Tomahawk. The two Chinese teams were hot favorites to win the championship, and it was highly likely for both teams to advance together.
Rivervale got into Division C, which was the weakest division of the three.
The random assignment of the teams was completely the opposite from the previous season. However, it was far more advantageous to the Chinese teams, and it was very likely for the scene of three teams in the top eight to happen again.
The Chinese players were overjoyed and almost set off firecrackers in the Shattered Star Ring to celebrate!
As for the unlucky Temple of God, the Chinese players were not bothered and even laughed at them.
You from Henan: “Sacrificing Temple of God to obtain three slots in the top eight. This deal is truly sweet!”
Li Ge’s Life Is Filled with Darkness: “Sacrificing the noobest team to increase the average strength of China.”
Praying Under the Moon: “Is this Tianji horse racing?”
Senior War Official: “Haha, what a divine grouping.”
Amid the cheerful atmosphere, the short break after the Division Finals ended, and the International League began.
There were millions of players watching the competition from the forums and discussing the competition excitedly.
The opening battle of the International League was the faceoff between the champion and first runner up from the previous season: Long Sky vs Devil. Long Sky’s fans and the other viewers were all worried about this battle. Long Sky’s performance during the division competition was not satisfactory, and it was highly likely for them to lose this battle if they faced the previous first runner up. While it was not much to lose a single battle, it would dampen the team’s morale.
Both parties used Dungeon Crystals to enter the battlefield. The Long Sky team was equipped with armor that had the Black Star Army insignia. The various armor types all had their own purposes, and this was akin to free advertisement.
Although the equipment of Devil was also extremely powerful, they did not look as uniform as Long Sky. In comparison, Long Sky felt a lot more like a proper army.
Black Star Army’s fame was no longer limited to the Shattered Star Ring, and the other countries all knew that the Black Star Army was the largest player faction in the Shattered Star Ring. The Black Star Army had a complete monopoly and was the first faction that provided the players an opportunity to cross Star Fields. In the hearts of the various players, the Shattered Star Ring was akin to the Black Star Army’s territory.
Usually, only a Universal Civilization or Super Star Cluster Civilization would have the privilege of being recognized as the ruler of a Star Field. Although the strength of the Black Star Army was far from being compared to these two factions, their fame among the players was no less than a Universal Civilization.
The curtains to the International League were drawn, and Long Sky revealed their fangs to fight an intense battle with Devil.
In this respect, Long Sky was the exact opposite from Temple of God. They were so-so in internal battles but extremely ferocious in external battles.
Long Sky beat Devil by a small margin during the previous season, but this time, because of the improvements to the Mechanic class and some players from Devil changing clubs, the difference between the two parties widened, and Long Sky seized their first victory in the International League.
The Chinese players all cheered with excitement.
The Regular Season of the International League then unfolded with many intense battles every day.
The rankings had only stabilized after they fought the first half of the season. Because of the many strong teams in Division A, it was extremely difficult for the players of that division to gain an overwhelming victory, and their points were not too high. As such, the rankings did not display the proper strength of the teams. For example, teams like Devil, Tulips, Key, and White Emperor Sword did not manage to make it into the top four.
Dynasty and Long Sky had an easy time in Division B and managed to obtain first and fourth place. Rivervale harvested a great amount of points in Division C and managed to take second. Among the top four, only third place was Korea’s Kimchi, which was also a member of Division C.
To the Chinese players, the situation was extremely good, and Temple of God, which was being abused, was completely ignored.
The huge advantage of the Chinese teams was not only because of the groupings but also because Capture the Flag and two dungeon modes were added into the competition. These modes were far more suitable for a Mechanic to show off their skill, which gave Long Sky, Dynasty, and Rivervale a huge advantage. Their PvE strength was much higher than the other international teams, which allowed their scores to be pulled forward.
There was another reason... The dungeons chosen in the Regular Season would not be the dungeons from the respective regions of the participating teams to ensure that the teams did not have any disparity of information. As such, the Chinese teams would not experience the Black Star Army’s perverse dungeons.
As for their friends from overseas, they could personally enjoy the usual life of the players in the Shattered Star Ring.
The difficulty of the dungeons issued by Han Xiao was not on the same level as the highest level dungeons in the other regions. Shattered Star Ring was the only region that had a Beyond Grade A dungeon!
Under Han Xiao’s abuse, the Chinese players were used to being abused and could face the high-level dungeons of the other regions with ease. It was just like taking a vacation to them.
On the contrary, the teams from the other regions were abused to the point they wanted to puke when fighting the Black Star Army dungeons.
Being killed on the spot was commonplace, and their time spent in the dungeon would usually be the time of the intro clip.
Was this a dungeon for players to complete?
Was there a need to make the difficulty level so perverse‽
As long as the Black Star Army dungeon was picked, the fans from the other teams would cry out with agony. The team would die too quickly, and there was nothing to watch at all.
During the second half of the Regular Season, perhaps because of the large disparity in points, all the teams had given up, and the Chinese teams were not targeted by the other teams like in the previous season.
Long Sky, Dynasty, and Rivervale stabilized their position in the top eight, and it was impossible for them to drop out of the top eight.
After the end of the final match, the rankings were finalized.
Rivervale obtained first place with the other members being, Kimchi, Dynasty, Hydra, Long Sky, Devil, Key, and Tomahawk.
China had three teams entering the top eight again and maintained their glory from the previous season. Furthermore, it was the same three teams that had made it into the previous top eight.
Dynasty and Long Sky were well established clubs, so there was no need to mention them. Rivervale was a newly formed club that managed to get into the top eight two times in a row. Their status among the players had been cemented, and there was a chance for them to become a new super guild.
Temple of God had no fate with the finals, but no one felt any pity for them. Everyone’s attention was only on the winner.
This time, the matchups in the finals were much better than the previous season!
During the second season, because of the lousy matchup, the Chinese teams needed to fight each other twice. Dynasty and Rivervale were both eliminated by a Chinese team.
According to the current scores, the first place Rivervale would be facing Tomahawk, the third place Dynasty would be facing Devil, and the fifth place Long Sky would be facing Hydra.
This matchup made all the players cheer with joy. Compared to their bad luck in the previous season, they were truly blessed by the goddess of luck this time!
...
After the Regular Season of the International League was completed, the dates for the International Finals were fixed.
Lothaire was sent by Han Xiao to the other Star Fields, and after the end of the Regular Season, Han Xiao received Lothaire’s message.
“Objective cleared.”
The message included a picture of the victim, and it was taken care of cleanly.
He only provided the intelligence, and Lothaire could work on his own without any help.
The Crimson Dynasty had also gotten rid of the other two Blood Gold Organization upper echelons.
With three upper echelons dead, all the upper echelons of the Blood Gold Organization were in shock.
The Blood Gold Organization could no longer sit still after being targeted by the Crimson Dynasty and Black Star Army.