Pei Guang's lineup instantly stirred up discussion.
Seele: "Huh? Which of these Aether Spirits is supposed to match me?"
Bronya: "No idea. Let's watch and see! I'm guessing Ah Guang has something unexpected planned."
When this lineup appeared, the on-site commentator got excited again. "Reaver? I didn't expect the Trailblazers to actually bring in the Reaver. As we all know, Reaver has a health-drain mechanic when attacking. While it deals solid damage and has top-tier speed, its unique mechanics make it difficult to fit into standard lineups…"
The commentator was experienced, both an Aetherium Wars player and someone who had been closely following the evolving meta over the past few days. But even he couldn't make sense of Pei Guang's strategy.
Unlike the audience, the person truly feeling the pressure was Guinaifen. As the match began and she heard the custom voice lines Pei Guang had programmed for his Aether Spirits, she was stunned into silence.
"Fight as one~"
"Years of cold hardens the will!"
As two of Pei Guang's Aether Spirits gained buffs, the Voidranger: Reaver took action.
"I'll free you from your chains!"
Hearing that line from the Reaver, Guinaifen shuddered. Then she watched as the enemy Aether Spirit charged at one of her Aether Spirits.
"Disappear among the sea of butterflies!!!"
The voice line Pei Guang had given the Reaver rang out loud and clear for all to hear. Most of the audience had no idea what the lines meant, but for those who had fought alongside Pei Guang, they couldn't hold back their laughter.
Each time the Reaver attacked and triggered an additional move through kills, it shouted the same line: I'll free you from your chains. For most people, the phrase sounded cool and suited the Reaver.
But for Seele, it felt like public execution.
"Ahhhh!!!"
Seele let out an internal scream like a startled marmot. She hadn't expected Pei Guang to actually incorporate her battle catchphrases—and for them to weirdly fit so well?
Watching the Reaver relentlessly tear through the enemy team, Bronya chuckled behind her hand. "Looks like it's your turn this time. How delightful."
Seele: "Damn it… Ah Guang is just—sigh."
But Seele wasn't actually upset. In her eyes, this was Ah Guang's way of fighting alongside everyone in a different form. Watching the Reaver rampage across the battlefield, Seele even imagined herself in its place, growing more eager to join Pei Guang on his next adventure.
As the saying goes, "The layman watches the show; the expert watches the plays." Silver Wolf, watching the livestream through a projection, sighed.
"This Guinaifen… has suffered."
Using her Aether Editing abilities, Silver Wolf had already obtained the chips used by Pei Guang's Aether Spirits. Analyzing both the chips and the lineup, she could only mutter two words:
"Disgusting!"
It was disgusting. This team utilized a mix of revival mechanics and counterattacks in a special strategy. According to tournament rules, only one Overlord-tier Aether Spirit could be used per team—the rest had to be normal-tier.
Silver Wolf had studied the Reaver's kill-triggered extra-turn mechanism extensively. She even used the Reaver in her own team. But imagining a match between her lineup and Pei Guang's current team, she could see only one outcome: defeat.
Judging by the current bracket, after Pei Guang's team won this round, they would face her next. Silver Wolf decided she needed to observe closely before the match began to analyze Pei Guang's command style.
While she was deep in thought, Guinaifen's match came to an end.
"Next up, it's my turn. Let's see what kind of surprise Ah Guang has in store for me!"
Silver Wolf prepared herself. Since she couldn't attend in person due to her identity, she would make her appearance using her unique projection method. As a genius of Punklorde and a user of Aether Editing, her projection was nearly indistinguishable from her real self.
And when her image appeared on the big screen, the crowd roared with excitement.
"Silver Wolf! Silver Wolf! Silver Wolf!!!"
Most of the spectators outside the venue were already familiar with Silver Wolf: mainly because of the recent betting round, where most people had wagered on her to win.
Even those who weren't interested in betting had heard of her thanks to the special bounty attached to her name.
Now, seeing Silver Wolf appear live at the event, everyone felt that the trip had been worth it.
But compared to the cheers from the crowd, Silver Wolf was more focused on the group before her. "Finally, I've been waiting for you all. Don't let me down, keep me entertained!"
As her voice rang out, her projection appeared on stage. The projected Silver Wolf walked up from below the platform into view. Just as her full image entered the audience's sight, she blew a huge bubble with her gum and struck a cool pose for both the crowd and the camera.
And right as Silver Wolf appeared, Pei Guang couldn't help but make another snarky remark.
"There she is! After the Fighting-type Champion and the Fire-type Champion: it's the Ghost-type Champion!"
Silver Wolf: "What game are you referencing this time…"
Pei Guang: "Pokémon!"
Silver Wolf: "I thought it sounded familiar… that's from the game on your console…"
Silver Wolf had been playing nonstop on the console Pei Guang had given her. But with so many games on it, and only a little over a month passed, she'd barely gotten through half.
Despite the pixel graphics in many of them, the gameplay was incredibly engaging—Silver Wolf felt like she'd never get bored of it.
But she quickly realized they were still in the middle of a match. "Ahem, we'll talk about that later. It's time for an Aether Spirit showdown!"
Pei Guang: "Are you sure you want to fight me?"
Silver Wolf: "Hmph! Judging by the current situation, the odds of me winning against you are pretty slim. But as a player, how could I just surrender because I might lose? Besides, it's not over till it's over, who knows who'll come out on top?"
Stelle: "Hmph! We're not holding back."
Pei Guang: "No need to say anything more! Silvermane Cannoneer: load your weapon and aim for Aurumaton Gatekeeper!"
As Pei Guang gave the command, their Aether Spirits had already appeared on the stage. When the Silvermane Cannoneer emerged, Silver Wolf suddenly had a bad feeling.
At the moment Pei Guang ordered the Cannoneer to start loading, Silver Wolf felt as if the ground trembled beneath her. Despite the Cannoneer looking weak enough to be taken out with a single skill, an ominous feeling settled over her.
Suddenly, she remembered: Aurumaton Gatekeeper's summoned Goldfish, while short-lived and low in attack power, were still counted as Aurumaton Gatekeeper's own attacks. Which meant… if the Goldfish attacked the Cannoneer, it would trigger a counterattack.
And right at that moment, a narrator's voice rang in her ears:
"Give him a chance, and he'll shoot through the entire universe. Even the Hunt Aeon who roams the stars once sighed: if given a Silvermane Cannoneer, you could wipe out all the Abominations of Abundance. With ten Silvermane Cannoneers, you could challenge the Aeons. With a hundred, even Nanook, the Aeon of Destruction, would have to step aside."