Start With Contracting Sprites

July 24 was the day the elimination round began.

The venue was the real simulation battlefield in the campus of Dragon City University.

Similar to Whale Island University, the whole battlefield was like a basin, sinking inward. The venue was surrounded with towering lofty city walls as platforms protruded out from them.

That was where others could watch the battle.

Today, there were especially many spectators. School teams that had already been eliminated, elite big bosses from all walks of life, and so on were gathered here.

There were much more spectators than on the opening day of the league.

On the front of the battlefield, every seat in the VIP audience space had already been reserved. Those who could sit there were all big bosses.

Whale Island University had a few spectator seats, while Heavenly King Bu occupied two seats himself.

Many university instructors could only stay on the spectator platform and look down on the field.

"Our top 16 teams are different."

The lounge was embedded at one end of the "city wall". Su Hao stood near the window and looked out. The forest below was all lush, and steep hills pierced the ground like sharp swords.

Further away, he could see small lakes. The surface of the lakes were as blue as mirrors, beautiful and magnificent.

At the end of his vision, there were two very eye-catching towers on both sides of the battlefield.

The towers represented one's lifeline in the rules.

In reality, they represented the command centers of the warzone and the world's entrances.

Just as the rules stated, one could lose the team battles but not the towers.

Losing the tower would result in immediate defeat.

...

The elimination rounds weren't tense. There was one round every morning and afternoon so it took four days for the top 16 to advance to the top 8. Whale Island University's battle was on the third day.

Early morning.

Su Hao leaned against the window and looked down.

The two teams battling today were Black Dragon University and West Capital Sprite University.

"Team members, please get ready…" The judge who was riding a flying sprite shouted.

In an instant…

Buzz~Buzz~Buzz!

In Su Hao's eyes, a white hexagonal crystal rose from the top of each tower on the left and right. Rings of light sprinkled down from the top of the crystals, covering the two towers entirely.

For a moment, the two towers became hazy, like a phantom.

"That's a special defensive force field," said Mentor Ma. "The tower can't be broken. It's not only because of the rules, but also because of the existence of a special force field. At least, within three hours, even if a few extraordinary-level sprites bombarded it one after another, they wouldn't be able to break through the defensive force field. They can only enter through the gate at the bottom of the tower that isn't covered by the force field."

The white crystals weren't the only items that appeared with the buzzing.

Within one-third of the battlefield's center, four white light pillars shot into the sky at the same time. Rings of brilliance spread out, covering a hundred meters of the surroundings.

It was a resource point.

The whole battlefield started. At the same time, the judge flying in the air also waved his flag down forcefully. "Battle, begin!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the battle didn't erupt immediately. Instead… it was terrifyingly quiet.

The two teams and ten sprites were all hiding in the battlefield. There was only the sound of leaves rustling in the wind.

A few minutes passed in the blink of an eye.

Suddenly…

Boom~!

A huge battle broke out beside a resource point. From Su Hao's angle, his vision was blocked by the peak, but the picture taken from the high altitude flight showed two sprites starting a fight around that resource point.

Hot and scorching fireballs blasted out like cannonballs.

The wind gathered into a blade more than ten meters long, and whooshed past.

Boom!

Boom!

Large trees more than ten meters tall were ignited before blasting into pieces. Small mountains dozens of meters tall also fell diagonally under the slash of the wind blades as smoke and dust filled the sky.

The drone in charge of filming was affected by the battle's aftershock from time to time. It directly exploded in mid-air, forcing the organizer to continue sending drones into the arena.

The scene was very explosive!

Su Hao recalled that the challenge segment was also held in the simulation battlefield last year when he first enrolled.

But at that time, they were just a group of newbies. The powerful sprites were just beginners at the elite level. Compared to now, they had mastered advanced unique skills and secret manuals at the elite level limit. Their destructive power was not on the same level as before.

The most direct reflection was the collapsing and exploding trees and mountains.

The destructive power reached its peak when the trump cards of both parties, an extraordinary-level Black Dragon and an extraordinary-level Tide-Calling Spring Sprite confronted each other.

Countless water pillars exploded, turning into water dragons, water sabers, and water curtains. In an instant, the vegetation and mountain ranges within a radius of hundreds of meters lost their original appearances.

How much money would it cost to repair them, gurgle ~!

Butterfly, who was leaning against the window, felt its heart ache.

Su Hao also understood. "No wonder we have to participate in the group battles first. No wonder we only fight two rounds a day…"

Thinking about it carefully, given the level of destruction of the battlefield at the moment, it would have to be repaired before the battle started later in the afternoon. The workload of the construction team… Well, it was not small at all.

They weren't fighting simulated battles, but money!

But from the perspective of a sprite…

"It surely feels good to destroy everything without fear."

"Squawk~!"

The Dazed Crow looked down, the collapsed mountains reflected in its eyes.

...

Because the battlefield was vast enough, there was no space restriction of 500 by 500 unlike during the group battles.

Both parties' tactical arrangements also became much worse.

There were often fierce fights, but the results were all zero and zero.

The battle continued until the end of the time. There were still three sprites on both sides, and Black Dragon University won with an advantage of dozens of points.

"It's too complicated…"

He really wasn't very good at strategizing and planning.

After all, it was completely okay to fight directly. Why should he consider tactics?

The rules of the league were clearly a little troublesome.

Su Hao scratched his head. "Forget it, if you want to lose hair strategically, that's the captain's business. What has it got to do with a substitute member like me? If not…"

He looked at Butterfly.

Since Butterfly could team up during the challenge segment, then it was reasonable for it to know how to formulate tactics, right?

...

The difficult tactical plan mission did not land on Butterfly.

Instead, it was handled by the team leaders and experienced instructors.

Su Hao was still helping Butterfly raise its mental strength.

At this moment, he was sitting in front of a laptop. His eyes were fixed on the screen as he pressed the keyboard continuously.

"The Big Fat Bear's internet addiction is too strong. I can't give it any more opportunities to come into contact with games. Little Bright Night… I can't let it follow in Fat Bear's footsteps."

Therefore, after thinking about it, Su Hao decided that if he didn't go to hell, who else would?

He turned on the computer and tapped on the keyboard. He had to be straightforward with this!

"Gurgle~!" Butterfly called out in dissatisfaction.

Su Hao froze.

Was he really that lousy?

He was just, just…

Helping Butterfly sublimate its mental strength!

He looked at the word 'lousy' in capital letters on the screen, pressed hard on the keyboard, and pressed the key caps with all his might.

...

On the third day of the elimination round, Whale Island University VS a certain key university.

The ones who went on stage were four reserve players and a tool player reserve.

As expected, they won.

At this point, sprites such as the Dazed Crow and the Big Fat Bear which dazzled in the group battles had long been forgotten. What attracted the most attention on the Internet were the extraordinary sprites with infinite power.

The Dazed Crow, which had been abandoned mercilessly after being popular for only two days, was only able to cry out hoarsely. Its eyes stared at the mountains on the field like a mountain crow.

Soon, it was the sixth day of the elimination round.

In the quarterfinals, Whale Island University VS Heavenly Horse University.

In the lounge, after listening to the battle tactics arranged by Instructor Ma and reading the information on the trump cards of Heavenly Horse University, Su Hao glanced at the Dazed Crow's interface information and said.

"Mentor, I think my crow can do it."