Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

Before the finals of this year’s Youth Elite Competition began, the online selection matches had stirred up a lot of excitement, especially with the help of those who were eager to promote the event. As a result, this year’s competition received a great deal of attention.

Netizens throughout the Gumera Star Region gradually formed a common impression: this year’s youth elite competition featured many outstanding talents.

In particular, the Gus Empire and the Vera Federation had young competitors who had already reached the rank of Level 5 Martial Artist at just seventeen or eighteen years old. This was unprecedented, as in past Youth Elite Competitions, the highest level achieved by participants was typically a late-stage Level 4 Martial Artist.

In terms of strength, the competitors from the Vera Federation and the Gus Empire were evenly matched, leading to great anticipation among netizens about which side would ultimately claim the championship.

In the last two Youth Elite Competitions, the championship trophy had been taken home by the Gus Empire. Would they be able to maintain their championship this year, or could the Vera Federation reclaim the trophy they had lost in the previous two competitions?

Based on the announced competition rules, netizens enthusiastically analyzed and predicted which matches would be the most exciting and how far each of their favored competitors might advance.

This year’s Youth Elite Competition was a fierce battle between dragons and tigers, with both the Gus Empire and the Vera Federation showcasing equally thrilling matches in both team and individual events.

The netizens throughout the Gumera Star Region eagerly awaited the action, ready to enjoy the spectacle.

In the end, they were not disappointed; the netizens experienced a lively event, not so much on the competition field, but rather in the gossip surrounding it.

Later, everyone felt that after the two substitute players from the Gus Empire team appeared at the opening ceremony, the most exciting part of the finals had arrived. All attention was focused on those two substitute players, and it was impossible to look away.

After all, they were two unprecedented prodigies. Just the fact that they could be seen in person, even after the live broadcast of the opening ceremony ended, kept the public’s enthusiasm undiminished.

In particular, netizens from the Gus Empire were busy gossiping and discussing the details about these two prodigious talents.

—

At the headquarters of the National Security Bureau in the Imperial Capital Star.

“These two kids are even more captivating than we imagined, creating such a huge sensation. Tsk, they’ve attracted 17% of the attention from the entire Gumera Star Region. It’s no surprise the Second Prince is so appealing; his identity as a royal automatically gives him a golden glow. But your cousin—look at these comments! Since she became famous today, she’s nearly being hailed as an interstellar goddess. Youth, beauty, ability, and status—she has it all. I can only imagine how many people will want to be your brother-in-law once she comes of age in a few years,” an officer, who was busy compiling data, remarked as he entered some information.

“Stop bringing my cousin into this. What about the data?” Hua Deqi shot him a cold glare; he was always the talkative one.

The officer shrugged. “Well, I guess not many older brothers like to hear people talking about their little sister looking for a brother-in-law. Let’s get back to business: After the official competition starts in the afternoon, I estimate the attention will rise by another 1-2%. However, it will likely start to decline over the next day or two. After all, with the appearance of these two little prodigies, they’ve overshadowed the other countries’ competing teams with their absolute advantage. You could say that the upcoming matches won’t be very interesting.'”

“Then starting this afternoon, let them gradually release the news. Use the first plan initially, and if there’s not much backlash, switch to the second plan,” Hua Deqi instructed.

“Okay, no problem,” the officer replied earnestly.

This guy liked to ramble on, but he was reliable and efficient in getting things done. As long as he promised seriously, Hua Deqi could rest easy.

“Actually, I think we should have revealed this information to them a long time ago. Why keep it hidden for so long? Those who can handle it would have prepared early, and those who can’t will die early and be reborn,” the officer continued to chatter.

“So even if your abilities are stronger than mine, I’m still the one in charge, so you have to call me boss,” Hua Deqi said expressionlessly.

“Do you want to fight?” The officer felt deeply attacked; why did this person suddenly become so sarcastic?

“Do you want to hit an officer?” Hua Deqi replied casually.

The officer stole a glance at his expression and tentatively asked, “You didn’t have a fight with your wife yesterday, did you?”

…

The officer from the National Security Bureau was right; even before the event had started, the most exciting climax had already occurred.

This led to the final result of the competition being different from previous years, where various analyses and speculations fueled excitement. Instead, even before the competition began, the entire Gumera Star Region had already recognized that the Gus Empire would still be the champion this time.

With no suspense in the competition, the public’s anticipation for the event significantly decreased.

When the matches began in the afternoon, everyone noticed that the once confident Vera Federation team had turned somber, not to mention the competing teams from other countries. Under these circumstances, the audience’s attention was drawn away from them.

All the public’s focus was on the substitutes, particularly on the Gus Empire’s second prince and the girl named Ruo Manni, who truly sat on the substitutes’ bench, making everyone around them look like a mere backdrop.

The Gus Empire was indeed not faking or deceiving anyone; they exhibited true gentlemanly conduct by placing their two strongest players in the substitute positions.

This meant that these two prodigies would not take the field unless absolutely necessary.

But the problem was that the premise of them not taking the field was that the Gus Empire team continued to win. So, regardless of whether they played or not, it would always be the Gus Empire winning.

For the many competitors from other countries, this elevated level of suppression was something they could never overcome; how could they possibly have any spirit to fight?

Thus, during the competition, if the participating teams did not encounter the Gus Empire team, it was fine; but once they did, they became listless, merely seeking a quick defeat to avoid wasting energy.

For the audience, the direct consequence was that no matter how spectacular the performance of those who took the field was, everyone’s eyes were focused on those two sitting on the substitutes’ bench; the others seemed like weaklings.

In fact, with Hua Deli and Mina-Olli, along with Dean Atchison, it was already enough to support this final match.

Hebrew Adam and Ruo Manni didn’t even need to take the field, as the Gus Empire had already defeated the Vera Federation team in the team competition.

In the individual matches, Mina-Olli faced a tough battle against her opponent. Just as Mina-Olli had anticipated, this old rival had indeed saved their strength, planning to catch Mina-Olli off guard and defeat her.

Perhaps due to Ruo Manni’s presence, the Vera Federation’s psychic warrior had abandoned their original plan and engaged Mina-Olli head-on from the start. This battle was quite evenly matched and could be considered one of the three most exciting matches of the finals.

The second most exciting match was between Hua Deli and the mid-stage level 5 warrior from the Vera Federation. This match was fiercely contested and lasted a full six hours, ultimately resulting in Hua Deli’s victory over his opponent.

The third match was between Dean Atchison and a level 5 early-stage warrior from the Vera Federation. Although both competitors had comparable strength, Dean Atchison was significantly stronger in practical combat ability. Therefore, less than two hours into the match, Dean Atchison secured the victory.