Pioneer Lord: Starting From Daily Intelligence

Chapter 852: Chapter 101: Su Li’s Path as a Divine Chosen

After a day of somewhat relaxed and pleasant rest, the matches of the Radiant Competition Festival quickly heated up again.

Mainly because the losers’ group matches ended yesterday, and today the group stage for the top 32 officially began!

To maximize enthusiasm for the Territory and attract betting, the top 32 matches adopted a round-robin format, divided into 8 groups, with 4 teams in each group competing.

Su Li had great luck; in his group, he was the ace, overwhelmingly defeating the other three Elite Knights. One Knight even chose to surrender upon seeing Su Li as his opponent, decisively preserving energy to fight for second place.

For followers of the Redema Church and Yurik Church, avoiding battle is unacceptable. However, for followers of the Sun Goddess, it is permissible to retreat temporarily when the situation is unfavorable, avoiding the enemy’s edge and choosing a more advantageous battlefield for battle.

Of course, Su Li’s smooth progress might also be due to some behind-the-scenes manipulation by Oliver or Hilude. It’s heard that the eighth group is practically a purgatory, with the extremely resilient Blood Shield Knight Jes Stuart, Green Valley Knight Matilda, and Iron Lung Calvin Tron all grouped together!

If Su Li’s situation was possibly behind-the-scenes manipulation, given he might have truly had good fortune to draw the relatively easy fourth group for advancement, then the eighth group scenario is definitely behind-the-scenes manipulation by the organizers.

It was all to make the interim events more intense and thrilling, attracting more bets, to prevent enthusiasm among participants and bettors from waning mid-competition.

This intense event indeed caused a huge sensation because these three were all considered contenders for the championship!

As a result, on the first day of the top 32 group stage, one championship contender is destined to be eliminated!

This is sensational, exploding the festival’s fervor once the grouping list was announced.

When Su Li finished his three matches and smoothly advanced, the battle between Blood Shield Knight Jes Stuart and Iron Lung Calvin was still ongoing, and the attracted bet had soared to over 6000 Golden Crowns!

More importantly, their odds were almost completely similar, at 49.8:50.2!

Blood Shield Knight Jes was leading by less than 0.5%, making the match extremely close both inside and outside the arena, tightening countless people’s heartstrings.

Su Li personally went to watch the battle between the two, and it truly got the adrenaline pumping, blood boiling, with attacks hitting bone and blade finding flesh, each move filled with the Knights’ overwhelming power and unyielding will.

First, Iron Lung Calvin gained the upper hand, using the Training Lance to strike Jes’ body heavily multiple times, even hitting his chest and abdomen repeatedly, leaving Jes panting heavily and furiously roaring.

Just when everyone thought Jes would remain passive and defensive, he suddenly erupted, wielding his Warhammer, and charged like a cannonball toward Calvin’s chest, forcefully smashing him several meters away, shaking the arena with his overwhelming hammer strike, Calvin kneeling on one knee, surrounded by dense and huge sinister cracks within a 5-meter radius.

The two exchanged attacks over dozens of rounds, but it was hard to determine a winner. The surrounding crowd shouted excitedly, their voices breaking.

Finally, in this intense battle, the first round’s outcome was decided, with Iron Lung Calvin successfully striking the gap in Jes’ Armor, forcefully pinning this Blood Shield Knight to the ground using his Training Lance, unable to arise.

When the referee announced Iron Lung Calvin’s victory, his iron lung was breathing like a broken bellows, his body spasming with exhaustion, his right leg trembling. This was a reaction of his bloodline bursting and mental strain.

But obviously, Blood Shield Jes wouldn’t submit easily; it was only the first round. He was extremely skilled in grueling battles, easily defeating opponents when both were extremely fatigued.

It was no surprise to anyone that this Blood Shield Knight would pay the ransom and fight again.

Su Li was, of course, happy because according to Jes Stuart’s fighting style, even if he reached the championship finals, the ransom owed would make him repay debts in the Hesse Territory until death. Presently, he had already owed 300 Golden Crowns, and the interest rate was increasing, currently at 6%, with his increasing debt amount and the risk assessment from loan merchants concerning his ability to repay and his chance of winning the championship, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to maintain confidence, causing loan interest rates to inevitably skyrocket.

The match results were as everyone expected; Blood Shield Jes fought seven matches all the way, finally reversing the situation!

By the time their battles ended in the afternoon, even with an iron lung, Calvin couldn’t withstand such intense combat, subsequently losing completely in two rounds in his fight against Green Valley Knight Matilda, benefiting this Female Knight completely.

By the end of the last day’s fierce competition, the Lion Ring Arena alone earned an astonishing 17500 Golden Crowns just from commissions and taxes!

Su Li, amidst excitement, was also tense and exhilarated, waking up early the next day to prepare.

Because today, the battle for the top 8 would commence!

The remaining competitors are each unrivaled in strength, many of them not weaker than Blood Shield Jes, even able to defeat him effortlessly in the earlier rounds.