“Match?” Xin Meng was taken aback, sitting up from the bed, the blanket sliding down his slender body, revealing skin marred with purple and red bruises.
Almost every inch of him was damaged, showing just how fierce the battles had been.
However, Xin Meng had long lost the initial shyness; after enduring countless shameless positions day and night, he was almost numb to it. He didn’t care about his naked body, grabbing You Yi’s robe, and asked in surprise, “You need to clarify, what kind of match is it?”
You Yi looked down at him, his smooth, shiny long hair cascading over his shoulders, his tea-colored eyes focused on Xin Meng, a hint of a smile in his gaze.
Without answering Xin Meng’s question, You Yi gently waved his hand, and the blanket on the bed moved by itself, wrapping around his body.
[Rest well.]
With that, he actually left!
Xin Meng wanted to chase after him but tripped over the blanket, a step too late, and could only watch You Yi’s back disappear into the wall, furious as he picked up a pillow and threw it against the wall.
“Individual matches and team matches?” Qi Xiaokui asked.
“They call it a match, but in essence, it’s still war,” said the little guard assigned by the greedy demon lord to explain the match details. “The match arena is the battlefield, allowing for various casualties, and all losses must be borne by the respective demon lords.
This match is divided into three stages: team matches, individual matches, and finally, a contest among the demon lords themselves.”
“Do the demon lords have to participate personally?” Qi Xiaokui was a bit surprised; she hadn’t expected it to be so complicated.
“Of course, the outcome of this match is of great significance. The one who comes in first can become the next demon king, so every demon lord takes it very seriously, and in the end, there will definitely be a fight.”
“The participants in the team matches will be each demon lord’s private army,” the chubby guard said, patting Xiong Jiabao’s plump arm with his spear.
Xiong Jiabao grimaced, “So I have to go too?”
“No need,” the chubby guard looked at him with disdain, “You’ve only been here a few days; do you even understand formations? Do you know how to coordinate? If I give you a signal, would you know what it means?”
Xiong Jiabao quickly shook his head.
“What you really need to be involved in is the individual matches.” Fei Si cautiously glanced at the expressionless Li Yougen, his gaze sweeping over the chainsaw that he refused to put down, quickly averting his eyes.
He hadn’t expected that the cowardly man who had insisted on being his little brother would change so completely after just a few days inside. Now, even he didn’t dare to casually talk to him, fearing that the chainsaw might swing at any moment.
No matter how high the magic, one still fears a chainsaw.
If it weren’t for the jealous demon lord insisting he come to explain the match rules to Li Yougen, he would have long since avoided it. Now, he could only grit his teeth and say, “You know your opponents in the individual matches; they are the few people who entered the castle with you, and now they all serve other demon lords… But don’t worry, I’ve inquired, and they are all not as strong as you.”
They don’t have chainsaws…
Li Yougen’s face twitched uncontrollably, his expression darkening, his fingers tightening around the chainsaw, remaining silent.
“How is the winner determined in the match?” Dong Xiu asked Elvin, “Best of three? But just one round wouldn’t be enough to determine a winner, right?”
“It’s a points system; the one with the highest points will win the match,” Elvin patiently explained. “In the team matches, the final score is calculated based on the number of survivors, and the same goes for the individual matches. The last one standing gets the highest score, while the dead score zero. If someone surrenders, they can leave the battlefield early and still earn points, but the earlier they surrender, the lower their score. Then there are the matches among the demon lords, which are the most important, but different from the other two. The matches between the adults must stop at a certain point according to the agreement; no demon lord can be killed on the battlefield, as this is to prevent anyone from secretly colluding to eliminate a demon lord, causing unfairness.”
Dong Xiu couldn’t help but be a bit surprised; it was just a game, yet they had considered all these factors. How thorough!
He suddenly became curious about the game’s creator; what kind of genius could design such a terrifyingly realistic game?
Are they really human?
……
Three days passed in a flash, and just when Xin Meng was about to go crazy, You Yi finally returned.
He was still dressed the same, in a black robe with golden edges, his long hair flowing, the mask he had shrunk and tied around his waist, swinging back and forth like a little toy. Xin Meng found it amusing and reached out to grab it, flipping it in his hands.
Having become so small, it looked like a specialty carved by the people of Africa, a small native mask, quite cute.
You Yi didn’t stop him; he simply placed a set of clothes that had been draped over his arm next to Xin Meng.
Xin Meng looked down and was surprised to find it was a full set of sportswear?
He didn’t ask further and directly put it on, only to find it fit him as if it had been tailored specifically for him, the deep blue accentuating his fair skin, making him look quite spirited.
After not wearing clothes for two weeks, Xin Meng finally felt like he had rapidly evolved back into a human from a primitive animal.
You Yi stood by, arms crossed, admiring him for a while, then walked over and gently pulled him in front of himself, tugging up his shirt to reveal his slender waist, pointing to a special spot on the belt, “Look here.”
Xin Meng leaned down to study it for a moment, uncertainly saying, “Is this… a place to put a dagger?”
It was indeed a small strip of fabric sewn horizontally, just the right size to hold a dagger with its sheath.
Taking his hand, You Yi directly placed a dagger in his palm. Xin Meng looked down and saw that this wasn’t the one You Yi had given him before, but rather the sharp, terrifying dagger that You Yi had always used, which had a dark stone embedded in it. It didn’t look like a gem, but upon closer inspection, it had a subtle sheen, quite special.
“Is this match going to be very difficult?” Xin Meng asked with some concern. “I still have three lives; dying once is fine, but I hope it doesn’t affect you. Your card is with me, and it says the demon king’s abilities can be carried over to the next game. You must become the demon king.”
You Yi, however, gently shook his head.
[You just need to protect yourself; I have my own ways.]
Xin Meng had a near-blind trust in him. Hearing him say he had a plan, he didn’t doubt it at all, taking the dagger and tucking it into his waist, pulling down his shirt to cover it. “What form will the match take? How do we win?”
Only then did You Yi write the game rules in the air.
“Will the individual matches involve facing off against others in the team?” Xin Meng frowned. “How can that be? Isn’t that clearly setting us up to kill each other?”
Putting aside the others, just the thought of having to kill Qi Xiaokui made it hard for him to do.
“This isn’t very advantageous for me,” Xin Meng said. “Looks like I need to think of a way.”
However, he wasn’t particularly anxious; after all, You Yi was one of the demon lords, and having him decide the team’s path to victory was much more reliable than other unfamiliar demon lords. The others in the team understood this as well; if they could persuade him, it would be the best outcome, and the possibility was quite high. This way, they could achieve their goals while avoiding casualties.
Of course, this was the ideal scenario.
Facing the wall of the bed, a pitch-black passageway reappeared, identical to the one he had come through. Finally able to leave this enclosed room, Xin Meng sighed in relief as You Yi took his hand, slowly walking into the passage.
The passage was dark, just like when he first entered, but this time he was not alone; with You Yi by his side, the fears and anxieties no longer disturbed him. His emotions were clean, filled only with curiosity as he turned his head to look around.
He thought they would pass through that shameless passage again. The patterns above were fine for him to look at alone, but if he were with You Yi… how awkward would that be!
However, he soon realized that it seemed he was the only one with this concern. You Yi was completely unfazed, so he simply decided to let it go, thinking that they had practically used all the poses above during the past two weeks, so what was there to be shy about!
Yet, the reality proved he was overthinking. Although the passage was still the same, the route was clearly different. They walked in darkness until the sounds of noisy chatter gradually reached their ears, becoming clearer and clearer. A door appeared before them, and You Yi walked ahead, pushing it open—
The door swung open.
The cacophony of noise nearly pushed Xin Meng back.
What was this feeling of watching a game?
The passage opened high above, allowing them to overlook the entire arena below. It was an open square, extremely vast, stretching out endlessly. Only by looking back could they vaguely see the shadow of the castle they had come from.
The square had already gathered five teams, all soldiers clad in armor and holding spears. They stood far apart from each other, occasionally glaring at the other teams with vigilance and wariness.
Xin Meng glanced around and could roughly distinguish which team belonged to which demon lord.
It wasn’t that his observational skills were that good; it was just that the characteristics of these five teams were too distinct and recognizable.
The most eye-catching one, of course, belonged to a group of grotesquely fat individuals, unable to even stand properly, most of them sitting on the ground, their armor already the largest size available, yet still torn in many places, especially around the crotch…
This had to be the Gluttony Legion.
Another team had soldiers with a very distinctive appearance, especially their clothes, which were tattered and pitiful. Their armor looked like it had been through centuries of wear, no different from fragile antiques. Xin Meng even thought that if he poked it with a finger, it would crumble to dust.
Aside from the Greedy Demon Lord, no one else would be so stingy…
Next to the Greed Legion, there was another team with very distinct characteristics—all were oddly shaped.
It wasn’t an exaggeration; they were either as thin as bean sprouts (the fat ones had all flocked to the Gluttony Demon Lord) or ugly and dark, making them hard to look at. Even more exaggerated was that it was the only team composed of more than half non-human demons!
Look at that pile of slimy slimes, look at those disgusting octopuses with faces on their tentacles, and the toads covered in pits…
Xin Meng felt his eyes hurt and quickly turned back to look at You Yi’s perfect profile to save his vision.
Those who liked being uglier than themselves must be the Jealous Demon Lord’s legion.
The most infuriating thing was that not only were the soldiers in the legion ugly, but there were also particularly many of them! Almost double the number of soldiers in other legions!
Almost everyone’s first reaction upon seeing them was to bare their teeth.
“Why are there so many of them!” Xin Meng covered his eyes.
You Yi: [Poor quality, but many to ensure fairness, a convention.]
There were still two more teams left. One didn’t even wear armor, each one strong and robust, with deep gray skin and fierce expressions, resembling true hellish demons, but their numbers were pitifully small, only one-fifth of the Jealous Legion, yet their momentum was not weak at all. They must be the Wrath Legion.
None of this scared Xin Meng; what truly surprised him was You Yi’s legion!
