I choose a C ranked hero in another world, I was mocked online

Chapter 387: Fated Duel? Explosive Battle!

The first round of the tournament had concluded.

According to the rules, the previous winners were required to participate in the next round.

As for those who had lost a city for their nation in the first round, they were permitted to withdraw—or continue competing if they so chose.

As a result—

When the second round began, the number of participants drawing lots was immediately halved.

Nearly all the losers chose to forfeit!

They weren't fools. Since they'd already lost in the first round, it was clear they were outmatched. There was no need to keep giving away cities to others—or worse, risk losing their lives!

In the first round, it wasn't just Andō from Terauchi who had died!

Once the lot drawing was finished, everyone returned to their seats.

Hu Zhong immediately asked Chen Ye, "Brother Chen, what number did you draw?"

Chen Ye didn't speak. He simply revealed the lot in his hand.

It showed a single number: 7!

Hu Zhong was briefly stunned, then burst into loud laughter. "Haha, I also drew number 7! What a coincidence!"

As he spoke, he displayed his own lot.

Seeing that it matched his, Chen Ye was a little surprised.

Hu Zhong was right—this was quite the coincidence.

The odds of teammates drawing the same number were extremely low.

In the first round, with so many people drawing, it hadn't happened even once.

Who would have thought it would occur in the second round?

"This is great! At the very least, we've secured one more city!"

"Yes! Heaven truly favors Xia Nation!"

Two accompanying staff members expressed their joy.

They weren't wrong. Considering the worst-case scenario, if both Hu Zhong and Chen Ye lost in the next match, Xia Nation would have to sacrifice two prosperous cities in this tournament.

But since they matched early, one of them would be eliminated beforehand. Even if the other lost later, Xia Nation would still end up losing only one city instead of two.

Even Hu Zhong was delighted by this outcome.

Only Chen Ye wore a faint, calm smile.

To him, fighting these A-rank Reincarnators was like bullying children—he would win for sure.

And he'd harvest another batch of potential points.

Of course, he wasn't displeased with the outcome. In fact, it was quite favorable.

...

Next—

The second round of matches officially began.

The previous round's winners stepped onto the stage one after another, delivering one thrilling battle after another.

What surprised Chen Ye was that in the sixth match, the little Japanese guy who had defeated Zhao Hu earlier actually won again!

And this time, his opponent was a formidable competitor ranked ninth!

When the Japanese contestant won, the entire audience was visibly surprised.

It was clear that his strength was not to be underestimated.

The fighting techniques he'd learned from King of Fighters characters were astoundingly powerful in his hands.

Although his opponent's overall strength ranked 21st on the expert leaderboard, his actual combat ability placed him among the top ten A-rank Reincarnators.

After the Japanese contestant left the arena victorious—

The host stepped onto the platform and announced the next match.

"...Will the two contestants holding lot number seven please come to the stage!"

Upon hearing this, Hu Zhong immediately stood up and laughed loudly, "No need to call them—we've got both sevens right here. Win or lose, we'll settle it ourselves. Just go ahead and move to the next match!"

At those words, the host visibly froze for a moment.

Among the observing Reincarnators, those from Xia Nation all beamed with joy.

Some of those seated on the higher platform, however, frowned slightly.

Helpless, the host could only call up the two contestants with lot number eight…

An hour later—

The second round of matches concluded.

Then, without pause, the third round began!

All the matches were scheduled to finish within the day.

Each country was limited to sending three participants specifically to avoid dragging the event out too long.

Everyone had their own enjoyments to return to—who had the time to sit around idly for days?

If this were a bustling city center, maybe it'd be tolerable. But on a desolate island? There was nothing interesting here.

"Will the contestants please step forward to draw lots."

As the host's voice rang out—

Everyone turned toward Xia Nation's platform.

Even a fool could guess that since their two representatives had drawn the same number in round two, avoiding a head-to-head clash, Xia Nation would now surely send out the stronger of the two.

Many assumed that it would be Hu Zhong, known by the nickname "King Kong."

After all, he was a long-established powerhouse, ranked 11th on the Main God Space's expert leaderboard.

So when the person who stood up was Chen Ye, the crowd wore expressions of astonishment...

"What the hell? It's not King Kong Hu Zhong?"

"No way! Is this guy even stronger than Hu Zhong?"

"That doesn't make sense! If Xia Nation had such a powerhouse, why hasn't anyone heard of him?"

Murmurs spread through the crowd.

Under countless stares, Chen Ye remained calm and composed as he floated down to the arena to draw lots with the other contestants.

By the third round, only a dozen or so Reincarnators remained in the competition.

Chen Ye drew number 1!

...

Once the drawing ended, the host stepped onto the stage and announced in a clear voice:

"The third round of matches begins. Will the two contestants who drew lot number one please come to the stage!"

At the announcement, Chen Ye rose and leaped into the arena.

His entrance drew countless stares.

Everyone wanted to know why Xia Nation would choose to eliminate Hu Zhong and let this man represent them.

Shortly after—

Chen Ye's opponent entered the arena as well.

When he saw who it was, Chen Ye was genuinely surprised!

What a coincidence.

It was that same Japanese guy again!

The one who had mastered a number of King of Fighters techniques and defeated Zhao Hu.

"Whoa! These two actually got matched up? This'll be fun."

"Both of them were the dark horses of this tournament. They each defeated members of the other's team. And now they're clashing in the first match of the round—this is going to be good."

"Haha, it feels like a fated duel!"

"What nonsense is this? That little Japanese punk thinks he's worthy of a 'fated duel' with Xia Nation?"

"Who do you think will win between the two?"

"Hard to say! Since Xia Nation let this guy named Chen Ye go up instead of King Kong Hu Zhong, that means he must be even stronger—he probably has true top-ten strength! And that guy from Wa Nation just defeated a well-known expert ranked ninth, so he likely also ranks in the top ten... Feels like these two are evenly matched!"

"Damn it, you just went on a whole serious analysis, and it was all useless! Listening to you talk is like... listening to you talk."

...

At this moment—

The match between Chen Ye and the Japanese contestant had become the center of attention!

Even those top-tier experts seated on the high platform perked up and watched with full focus.

On Xia Nation's side—

Hu Zhong and the two accompanying staff members wore grave expressions.

"Brother Hu, who do you think will win—Chen Ye or that Japanese guy?" one staffer asked softly.

Hu Zhong thought for a moment, then replied, "Of course I'm backing Chen Ye... Lao Han, what about you?"

The Director-General gave a faint smile. "Chen Ye will win."

That fire punch from Chen Ye earlier—he had nearly shattered the grand formation I set up...

Just from that move alone, the Director-General was confident Chen Ye's real strength could rank top three among A-rank Reincarnators—perhaps not even inferior to Adam's number one lieutenant.

"Oh?" Hu Zhong's eyes lit up at those words, and he immediately smiled as well. "If even Lao Han says so, then Chen Ye's got this for sure."

In the arena—

The match had already begun.

But neither had made the first move yet.

The Japanese contestant was clearly being extremely cautious, observing Chen Ye intently, trying to find a weakness.

In his eyes, anyone who could defeat Terauchi Andō head-on was no simple opponent!

To be honest, if Andō had played it safe, even an S-rank would have a hard time killing him—unless that S-rank was willing to destroy the earth altogether...

While this Japanese contestant had confidence in his own strength, he didn't dare claim to be stronger than Terauchi Andō.

After all, they were teammates—he knew him very well.

Andō had been his captain.

Seeing that the Japanese contestant was hesitating—

Chen Ye finally lost patience.

He raised one finger and pointed at the man in the distance.

"Swish!"

A small purple flame shot out like a bullet.

At first glance, it resembled Fire Fist Ace's "Fire Gun," but in reality, Chen Ye's version was far superior!

Once his spirit attribute broke ten thousand, his mastery of flame abilities had reached an extraordinary level.

Even "Fire Fist Ace" from the Pirate World wasn't worthy to carry his shoes.

On the other side—

As soon as Chen Ye raised his hand, the Japanese contestant grew alert.

But when he saw the flame hurtling toward him, his expression changed dramatically!

Too fast!

And it was aimed straight at his forehead.

An intense sense of danger struck him—he had no doubt that if he didn't dodge, he'd be shot in the head!

At the last possible moment, he jerked his head aside, barely dodging the attack.

The flame passed just inches from his face.

Even though he managed to dodge in time, the terrifying heat still seared half his face instantly!

The flame finally collided with the edge of the arena's barrier, sending ripples through it like a pebble striking a still lake.

Having narrowly escaped death, the Japanese contestant now looked at Chen Ye in terror.

No wonder this man had been able to overpower Terauchi Andō's "Great Fire Blast" and ultimately kill him...

This Xia Nation man's flames were terrifying!

The scorching heat was unlike anything he had ever experienced.

In comparison, the dark flames he'd acquired from Iori Yagami were utterly inferior.

He knew—

He couldn't let Chen Ye unleash any more flames!

If the man surrounded him with fire, he'd be roasted alive before even getting to fight.

With that thought, his expression hardened, and he suddenly pulled out a pair of gloves.

These were the signature gloves of "Kyo Kusanagi," the protagonist of the King of Fighters world, known for their strong fire resistance.

Of course, genuine ones were impossible to obtain—what he held was a replica, usable only once, and only for ten minutes!

Even so, the gloves were still incredibly valuable.

He'd originally planned to use them against Terauchi Andō. Who would've thought he'd have to use them now?

The man was, in fact, a patriot. He had been deeply dissatisfied when Terauchi Andō forced the old Emperor to abdicate and seized the throne himself!

But considering Andō's strength and usefulness to Wa Nation, he had tolerated it.

Had Andō gone any further, he would've used these gloves to stop him...

But back to the present.

Once he put on the gloves, he immediately charged at Chen Ye.

He had to go on the offensive and finish the match within the gloves' ten-minute duration!

Chen Ye, seeing this, sent out another flame.

He wasn't toying with his opponent.

Rather, he was still looking for the right chance—hoping to end this fight with one blow using only his flame powers...

As the flame shot toward him again, the Japanese contestant suddenly sprang into the air, light as a swallow, and flipped backward!

After dodging the fire, he pushed off midair and lunged straight at Chen Ye.

Now airborne, he brought his hands together above his head, his whole body resembling a sharp blade, plunging toward Chen Ye.

This move—

Was the "Whirlwind Swallow Thrust" from King of Fighters character Chin Gentsai!

In the Japanese contestant's hands, the technique was executed with such force and precision that it surpassed its original wielder.

Of course, Chen Ye wasn't foolish enough to just stand still.

Doing so would only expose his invincible defense.

With a wave of his hand, a massive purple fireball appeared and shot toward his opponent.

"Boom!"

The fireball exploded on impact—

And instantly—

A pillar of purple flames rose into the air!

However, to everyone's surprise, the Japanese contestant's body remained unscathed. He passed right through the flames and continued his charge toward Chen Ye.

Chen Ye was surprised.

His earlier small flame had merely grazed the man's face and caused serious burns—clearly, the man had almost no fire resistance.

Now, in just a blink, his fire resistance had jumped dramatically?

He quickly realized it was likely due to the gloves.

Still—

The attack posed no real threat to him.

With Chen Ye's current reaction speed, even a fast move like that looked sluggish to his eyes.

Purple flames instantly ignited across Chen Ye's body, and he was suddenly engulfed in a sea of fire.

"Whoosh!"

As the Japanese contestant struck the flaming figure, he hit nothing but air.

Chen Ye's real body had already appeared outside the fire.

What he'd left behind was merely a flaming afterimage.

The Japanese contestant was shocked and quickly jumped out of the fire.

Even Kyo Kusanagi's gloves couldn't fully withstand Chen Ye's purple fire.

Next—

The Japanese contestant didn't let up. He raised both hands high above his head and slammed them into the arena floor with force.

Earthquake Slam!

This was Goro Daimon's Earthquake Slam—a move with high hit detection and nearly unblockable properties—but that didn't make it invincible.

With Chen Ye's current insane stats, the idea that this move could knock him down was laughable.

However—

As the Japanese contestant struck the ground, Chen Ye suddenly had a thought...

"Boom!"

The entire arena shook violently!

Chen Ye took the opportunity to fake a fall—

He was clearly laying a trap!

Sure enough—

Seeing Chen Ye fall, the Japanese contestant didn't want to miss the chance. He immediately charged forward.

Clearly, he had great confidence in his Earthquake Slam.

But the overconfident Japanese man failed to notice the playful glint in Chen Ye's eyes...

[End of Chapter]

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