Levi Garrison: The Return of the God of War [The Protector] Chapter 1912

The Elites Conference was to be held at Oakland City with the entire world watching the live broadcast. Out of all of the martial artists of the countries of Bayview gathered within the city, the martial artists of Raysonia and Keerea were the favorites. The competitors of Raysonia and Keerea who proudly bore their flags seemed to crush the confidence of the other competitors by the swagger in their posture alone. “Keerea is usually the underdog. How do they have that many fighters this time?” The crowd was astonished at the sight of Keerea's imposing group of competitors. They were not this dominant at the previous Elites Conference! “I have heard that the Triple Group had funded many genetic enhancements and as a result managed to produce a batch of extraordinarily talented fighters.” “It was said that the Triple Group had combined the ancient cultivation techniques of various countries with advanced biotechnology to produce an army of fighters. The ambition of the Triple Group to win this year is indeed frightening to behold.” “They had even gone as far as to study the alteration of the human vein. From birth, these fighters possessed superhuman talent and strength.” “Raysonia's line-up is frightening as well. I'd heard that the legendary veterans of Raysonia and their top disciples are all here. They look far more dominant than I have ever imagined.” “Definitely. The royal family of Raysonia personally begged the veterans to attend the Elites Conference this year. That was why they had agreed to send their strongest fighters over.” “Look at them, brimming with confidence.” It was plain that Raysonia and Keerea had come prepared by deploying the best fighters they have to offer. The Erudian crowd became even more dejected at the news. We are unable to send any of our own candidates whereas Raysonia and Keerea came fully prepared. Erudia was not about to just lose their dominant position as the reigning champion of the Elites Conference. Most importantly, they were about to lose their dignity. Our reputation is going to be completely destroyed. We would be painfully reminded of our shameful loss whenever the Elite Conference is brought up in the future. We might even be forced to walk around foreigners out of shame. Not only that, the incapacitation of Erudia's martial artists equated to the destruction of the nation's future. By then, the martial artists of Erudia would be no match for their contemporaries of neighboring nations. The foreigners would completely flatten us in as short as five years! All the Erudians at the stadium were downtrodden with premature defeat. To them, the Elites Conference was just an event for them to await shame and ridicule. “Eh? Why hasn't the host nation of the Elite Conference send out any of their fighters this year?” At that moment, somebody had drawn the topic of conversation to Erudia. “That's right,” the other foreigners chimed in. “Erudia has been dominating the Elite Conference ever since its inception. I'd heard that they have managed to produce a rare talent who is only a child. Her potential has already reached the highest danger rating within the Cardinal Hall.” “Not only that, but the Gem&Stone List of Erudia stated that the top three fighters are the best fighters in all of history.” “That's right. I guess Erudia would be number one again this time. Hah! We might as well not even have shown up.” At the sarcastic comments, the foreigners in the crowd began laughing in disdain. They were well aware that the best fighters of Erudia had been incapacitated, with the status of the top three on the Stone List unknown. The Erudians were enraged at the sound of the mockery made at their expense, though they were unable to do anything about it. The foreigners are trash-talking us to break our hopes before the competition even began. “Being the hosts, of course, they would unveil their champions at the very end! Let us wait and see!” To the dread of the Erudians, the Elites Conference eventually began. The contestants were sorted into groups at random and were told to draw lots to determine their opponents. All of the contestants were present. Except for the Erudian competitors. The Erudians in the crowd began perspiring in anxiety. “Where are they? Why aren't they out yet? Are they keeping us waiting on purpose?” The Erudians in the crowd began to call out in their impatience. “Enough dawdling! Bring them out!” The Cardinal Hall ordered their recruits to take the stage. At the sight of the pathetic fighters the Cardinal Hall had managed to wrangle up, the crowd burst into laughter.