NOVEL NEXT Chapter 252: A night of champions
[WARSTAR RPG WORLD CUP FINAL]
[England vs China]
[Venue: Celestial Crown Arena, Beijing, China]
["Final Chapter: Where Legends Bleed."]
The moment of truth was here.
Over 120,000 fans were packed inside the Celestial Crown Arena, a monumental structure shaped like a blooming lotus hovering over an artificial lake.
Every petal was a viewing platform, every ripple in the waters echoed the thunderous roars from within.
The sky was streaked with silver drones forming the national flags of both nations, shimmering above a floating main stage. The grand final of the 3rd Warstar World Cup had arrived.
The opening ceremony was an unforgettable one.
The lights dimmed. A piano note struck. Then the stage exploded in fire and light.
Out walked Adela, draped in a flowing white and gold ensemble, flanked by digital avatars of her likeness in golden armor.
"This is the war we waited for…" she sang.
"This is the flame we fought to light…"
"And now the stars will watch us bleed…"
Adele's performance of "Epitaph of the Gods" brought the arena to silence, then tears. The anthem of Warstar had never sounded so final.
And then, the match format ignited on the big screen.
[MATCH FORMAT]
[3 Individual Battles]
[3v3 Battle Rush]
[5v5 Team Battle (with 2 subs per team)]
[LOADING…]
[FIRST ROUND: INDIVIDUAL BATTLE]
[England – Lord Doom (Combat Mage) vs China – Autumn Rain (Blademaster)]
For true fans of Warstar who've done their research and knew history, this was the greatest 1v1 matchup of all time.
A game of two titans. The greatest to ever play Warstar.
A battle of intellect, reaction, heart, and history.
The battlefield was Monarch's Ruin, a massive platform in the sky cracked by old battles, glowing with runes of long-lost kings.
Meng Wu Ya moved his mouse, and in response, his Avatar, Autumn Rain stepped forward, his twin swords humming in his sheath, eyes closed, cloak flapping in the airless sky.
Noah- Lord Doom stood tall, his Aetherforge floating beside him like a divine relic, crackling with teal energy.
The battle already started, and yet, there was no movement.
Only silence, faint foot movements, and then…
BLINK!
Autumn Rain attacked first.
[Phantom Waltz!]
Six mirrored illusions slashed from different vectors.
Lord Doom blinked back, launched a Tri-Seal Nova, shattering 4 of the illusions, but the real Autumn Rain had leapt behind him.
Clang! Spark!
And then, a knockback.
Lord Doom spun midair and unleashed "Aether Sigil: Reverberate". The spell delayed Autumn Rain's velocity, causing his slash to arrive two seconds too late.
BOOM!
Both Avatars launched at each other again.
By the 3rd minute of the duel, Lord Doom dropped a Sanctum Vortex, trapping Autumn Rain in a time-lock. Autumn Rain responded with Sheath Recall, vanishing into his sword.
The audience gasped.
They weren't just playing, they were breaking the very limits and what was acceptable to the game engine.
By the 6th minute, both were at 60% HP.
Autumn Rain activated "Autumn Bloom", his ultimate, an Awakened level skill where each strike summoned a falling red leaf that mirrored the move.
Noah countered with "Exceed Burst- Astral Judgement", turning Aetherforge into a blade, fighting blade to blade against a swordsman.
The sound was like metal crying. Sparks flew, the entire arena trembling.
With both down to 15% HP, Autumn Rain charged one last desperate assault.
["Let's end it with dignity!"] He typed.
["Then come,"] Noah replied. ["and fall with grace."]
The Blademaster flashed across the screen, his movement unreadable, only for Noah to trap his path with a phantom copy of Aetherforge.
"Phase Echo: Calamity Rift".
Autumn Rain slashed… through the clone.
The real Aetherforge appeared from above, slamming down as Lord Doom blinked behind.
It was his final blow; Aether Blade through the Blademaster's heart.
---<VICTORY>---
"…"
"…"
"…..!"
There was shock and stunned silence at the Celestial Crown Arena in Beijing.
[England: 1 point]
[China: 0 point]
England won!
Just before his Avatar dissolved into motes of light completely, Autumn Rain knelt, smiling as his body dissipated.
["Worthy of the throne…"] he typed one last time.
The battle came to an end.
Lord Doom won. And just like 2 years ago, when Meng Wu Ya led his country to win the World Cup, he became only the 2nd player in history to never lose an individual duel in a season while also playing in the World Cup.
The first battle stole all the attention.
The 2nd battle was between Wei Long and Caleb. Against China, Noah dared not be arrogant, he decided to be pragmatic.
He was arrogant enough to face a prime Meng Wu Ya himself, but he didn't extend that arrogance to his teammates, precisely Aria.
Aria had a pretty good chance of defeating the young and energetic Berserker, but at what cost? Noah feared that she'd be too exhausted to fight properly in the final 2 round, hence why he sent Caleb up instead.
Wei Long's Berserker overpowered Caleb's Summoner.
It was brutal, wild, ending with just 4% of the Berserker's HP remaining. But it was still a point for China.
[England: 1 point]
[China: 1 point]
And then, Aria finally came up for England, against China's Li Ying.
Against the best Elementalist in the World Cup so far, Aria engaged in a fierce sword vs magic standoff, ending with a precise critical dash.
Li Ying was skillful and experienced. Aria also had all of those, but most importantly, she was driven.
She won. England won.
[England: 2 points]
[China: 1 point]
The 3 vs 3 battle rush was close, tight. It was a thriller.
With China fielding all of Meng Wu Ya, Wei Long, and Elara, their Psychic, Noah decided to take a pragmatic approach, omitting himself out of the epic clash and letting Aria lead Benjamin and Jeff to battle.
Captain Batman started, managing to take out Elera. But then Meng Wu Ya enters, destroying Benjamin's Elementalist, before stumbling into Aria's Blademaster.
Blademaster vs Blademaster.
The opportunity to have this duel that she always wanted was also one of the reasons why Noah took the pragmatic approach, omitting himself out of the 3 vs 3 battle round.
In Aria's head, only one sound rang.
'PK!' 'PK!' 'PK!'
Like a bloodthirsty hound, she pounced at the God of Blademasters. It was a duel between the Sword God and the Sword Saint.
Both Blademasters went at it hard without holding anything back, using their full plethora of experience, and fearsome repertoire of skills.
Meng Wu Ya was a hurricane, but Aria was an avalanche against him. Both were a force of nature; unstoppable, untamed.
With Meng Wu Ya starting at 81% HP, he had a slight disadvantage.
That was enough to tip the scales in Aria's favor.
She won!
English fans in the stadium erupted, celebrating exuberantly, chanting "Sword Saint" everywhere, but Aria only had 6% HP remaining.
Wei Long entered and cleaned house, obliterating the Blademaster. But he didn't just do that, he also destroyed Jeff, the team England substitute.
Jeff tried his best, but against Wei Long, he stood no chance.
It was an unforgettable experience for him though.
China won.
[England: 2 points]
[China: 4 points]
And then the moment of truth, the team battle.
The arena is Heaven's Descent, a battlefield of falling platforms, celestial storms, and unstable terrain. Every 60 seconds, a "Divine Judgement" strikes the lowest HP player.
It was a highly technical arena.
And here was where the showdown of the Warstar World Cup would take place. The final war.
Both nations entered the team battle with their best players and lineup.
The first 2 minutes was just standard formations; summoners deploying their summons, AOE zones marked, and shields up, sizing each other up.
But then from the 3rd to 6th minute, all hell broke loose.
Caleb and Jiang Shen traded control plays, turrets vs summoned beasts. Aria engaged Wei Long in a brutal dance, dodging by inches.
Lord Doom hovered above mid-field, raining pinpoint spells with his hybrid skills and spells, aided by his Versatile Superstar unique skill, drawing agro.
By the 7th to 10th minute, Li Ying became a menace, triggering Tempest Shatterstorm and singlehandedly pushing England to scatter. China's Cleric pulled a miracle clutch heal to save them from being the team to have an Avatar die first more than thrice.
And then, the rematch of the Blademasters.
Aria and Meng Wu Ya met mid-platform.
Their duel was Shakespearean; steel, honor, and desperation.
Aria went down this time, but she did enough, allowing Meng Wu Ya to follow just seconds later to a trap Noah baited.
The clash was as insidious as it was brutal and violent.
By the 13th minute, it was a 3v3; Wei Long, Jiang Shen, and Xu Min for China, while Lord Doom, Caleb, and Captain Batman for England.
For the first team battle in his career, Meng Wu Ya died early according to his standards, leaving his teammates to fend for themselves.
The Chinese captain was still stunned as he watched the proceedings on the big screen after his Avatar was eliminated.
3v3, Wei Long went into "True Frenzy", deleting Captain Batman in 3 strikes, and then Noah vs Wei Long.
Lord Doom was at 27% HP, while Wei Long was at 32% HP.
Caleb sacrificed his summon for a stun, slowing Wei Long down. And that was the opening that the Combat Mage needed as Lord Doom flashed forward.
Aetherforge split into four spectral weapons.
"Final Manuscript: Eden's Collapse!"
All four strike at once, a quad-cast overload of power and beauty.
Wei Long landed one last axe swing, Noah dropping to 6% HP, but his opponent's HP finally hit 0.
The Berserker dropped dead.
On the other side, Xu Min was already dead to Caleb's final summons.
---<VICTORY>---
[England: 7 points]
[China: 4 points]
There was silence for a few seconds, shocked silence, and then…
BOOM!
The stadium erupted into roars, tears, thunder, and fireworks.
Lord Doom stood alone, cape shredded, floating weapon dimming behind him.
He was the MVP of the World Cup.
The undisputed Greatest of All Time.
Tonight… was a night of champions.
…
Minutes later…
Nightingale watched from the stands, tears in his eyes.
Echelon- Team England huddled together on the digital podium, laughter and disbelief on their faces. The trophy glowed between them.
Noah lifted it, his voice shaking.
"We weren't supposed to be here. But we had a dream, and so, here we are," he grinned. "Champions of the world".
Above them, golden letters appeared.
[Warstar RPG World Cup Champions: ENGLAND]
[MVP: Lord Doom (Noah)]
THE END.