The Holy League's top 16 matches were held in the King's Arena outside Lionheart City.
This arena was specially built for the Holy League. The overall structure was based on the structure of a stadium, and the audience seats could accommodate about 100,000 players.
Players could go to the Heart Shop to exchange for tickets to watch the competition. Each ticket was worth 50, 100, or 150 different kinds of heart.
Tickets couldn't be traded, and each player could only exchange for one ticket per day.
Today, there would be four matches. All of the matches would be team matches, using the 'best-of-three' format. This meant that any team that won two matches would be declared the winner!
The Cola Mania contestants had been teleported to the players' lounge in the King's Arena.
The day had finally arrived.
Caramel placed the Moonlight Sword horizontally on his knees, closed his eyes, and entered a meditative state.
Three months ago, Caramel didn't bother with these metaphysical things, like yoga, meditation, and so on. He thought they were all useless.
But now, Caramel's temperament was much more reserved than before … But this didn't make him "dumber". Instead, he learned to hide his "sharp" side.
Meditation was something that Caramel felt during his training. It might have been an illusion or a psychological effect, but he had the illusion that he could communicate with the Moonlight Sword in his hand.
It wasn't just the Moonlight Sword. The other weapons were the same, but the connection between the Moonlight Sword and him was stronger.
"Captain, it's our turn," the Cola Mania contestant said to Caramel.
"Okay, let's go together."
Caramel opened his eyes. It seemed like he was talking to his teammates, but it also seemed like he was talking to himself.
His voice was trembling slightly, not because of fear, but because of excitement.
He could finally face Thorne head-on again!
Caramel hadn't met Thorne even once in the past three months. He could feel his own progress, but no one could test to see how far he had progressed.
Today was the day to test his progress!
Caramel led his teammates out of the long contestant tunnel and arrived at the arena that was the center of attention.
The arena in the Holy League was a hundred times livelier than the arena in the real world. When the players saw the Cola Mania contestants enter the arena, they set off fireworks and made all kinds of strange expressions.
For a moment, the entire audience was filled with all kinds of colorful special effects.
Frontline Reporters and Stars Bookmen still served as commentators, but they had better treatment and a more powerful commentary platform than the commentators in reality.
Their commentator seats were suspended above the arena.
"Let us welcome the first team, Team Cola Mania!
As one of the best eSports teams in China, Cola Fanatics performed exceptionally well in the Holy Ghost!
They had obtained the qualifications to enter the top 16 with the second place in the qualifying round. Furthermore, their team member, Caramel, was the holder of first place on the Saint Spirit Stairway!
The scariest thing is that ever since the Holy Soul server opened, Caramel's first place has never been shaken by anyone! "
The frontline reporters used impassioned voices to open the curtains for the first match of the top 16!
The contestants of Cola Mania lined up on the stage, and the cheers from the audience were so loud that they could even drown out the sound amplification system of the frontline reporters.
The frontline reporter introduced the players of Cola Mania one by one.
When it was finally the captain, Caramel's turn to be introduced, the cheers were the loudest.
Caramel waved at the cheering audience in the arena. Caramel's fame in the qualifying round had been thoroughly established, and she was even more famous than Strife.
The title of the number one Blade Master in the Holy Ghost belonged to Caramel alone. Moreover, the Holy Ghost had the largest number of Blade Masters in the game. Every Blade Master player in the entire server saw Caramel as their goal!
"The next team is the team that advanced to the top 18 with the highest points in the qualifying round!
The team that everyone is familiar with, the Four Horsemen, and the man that you definitely don't want to see!
The Holy Ghost Team! "
When the frontline reporter began to introduce the Holy Ghost Team and Thorne … Caramel keenly sensed that her teammates were trembling, and their expressions were very solemn.
They were all afraid that they would suffer a crushing defeat in the first match.
The reason was simple. Their opponent was Thorne, the monster-level NPC who had taught them since the beginning of the Inner World version.
Caramel was also afraid. In the eyes of all the Holy Ghost players, Thorne was an unbeatable opponent.
In the past, Caramel and Thorne had fought a total of 723 times!
And he had lost a total of 723 times!
Thorne had used his strength to tell Caramel that there were some things that couldn't be bridged with game numbers.
"There's no way out!
We have to defeat Thorne here! "Caramel said to his teammates.
They had to defeat Thorne. The top 16 was definitely not the end of Cola Mania!
Moreover, Caramel had been looking forward to this match for a long time. His eyes were fixed on the contestant entrance on the other side. He wanted to use his strength to tell Thorne that he had become stronger once again!
"Let us welcome the Holy Ghost Team!" The frontline reporter repeated what he had said before.
Caramel suddenly realized that something was wrong. He raised his head abruptly and looked at the reporters from the frontline, who seemed to be confirming something with someone.
The audience that was still cheering suddenly stopped and looked strangely at the Holy Ghost Team's contestant entrance on the other side.
But … no one was there. They didn't see Thorne or the Four Horsemen.
What's going on?
Caramel stood in place and waited for about three minutes. The frontline reporter announced a piece of news that left him stunned.
"I'm very sorry everyone. Due to certain reasons, the Holy Ghost Team has announced that they have forfeited!
Let us announce that the Cola Mania Team has successfully advanced to the quarterfinals! "The frontline reporter said.
This sentence caused an uproar in the audience that had been waiting for a long time. Even Caramel stared at the frontline reporter with wide eyes.
"Forfeit?
What do you mean by forfeit? "
Caramel loudly questioned the frontline reporter in the commentary booth because only the frontline reporter knew the inside story.
The Holy Ghost Team, who originally had the most potential to compete for the championship, forfeited just like that?
Why?
"Because contestant Thorne forfeited before the match!
His substitute contestant is unable to participate due to injury. Let us give a round of applause to the first team to advance to the quarterfinals, Cola Mania! "The frontline reporter also tried his best to salvage the situation.
Thorne … forfeited the match?
Caramel was stunned at this moment. The other Cola Mania Team members all breathed a sigh of relief. Can even couldn't help but laugh.
But for Caramel, there was only a kind of indescribable anger. He wanted to find that guy and ask why he forfeited the match, but he didn't know where to start.
Suddenly, a thought appeared in Caramel's mind. Perhaps this match wasn't that important to Thorne!
In any case, Cola Mania had successfully advanced to the quarterfinals in the first match of the quarterfinals!
The Holy Ghost Team was declared defeated because Thorne forfeited the match.