Lord of the Sky City

At ten o'clock in the morning, the Rank matches at the Arena commenced punctually!

In the venue, the eight sub-arenas and one main arena were all hosting matches simultaneously, with each competition ground filled to capacity with spectators.

The sub-arena where Rocky was competing was located at the southeast side of the venue at the number three platform, and as the match time drew near, the venue gradually filled with people. The audience count exceeded that of the preliminary selection by more than double, easily numbering four to five thousand.

Four to five thousand spectators represented the entire audience for the Rank matches because, be it in terms of quality, highlights, excitement, or even the level of bloodiness, the Rank matches were a notch above the preliminary selection, and so naturally, the audience for the Rank matches far outnumbered those from the preliminaries.

"Ladies and gentlemen! The first round of today's Rank matches is about to begin! Let's cheer!"

Before the contestants made their entrance, the announcer at the side of the field had already begun to warm up the crowd, who, in turn, responded with cheers and even started doing the wave for their own amusement.

Meanwhile, Agatha's sister and brother-in-law had also arrived inside the venue and, following their seat numbers, found places at the very front row of the competition ground, right next to Monte and the others.

Sitting in the front row, the couple noticeably felt out of place, as the tickets for these seats would cost no less than a hundred Gold Coins each; they had never watched a match from such close proximity, especially not next to towering Beastmen.

Therefore, while the entire audience was amusing themselves with the wave, the couple sat quietly, creating a stark contrast with the people around them, and stood out awkwardly.

Shortly afterward, the time for the match to start arrived, and the announcer cleared his throat:

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

"Now, please welcome the two contestants of this Rank match!"

Amid the announcer's loud and excited voice, the large screen shifted to the contestants' entrance, and then the doors to the entrance slowly opened.

"First to enter, the contestant who just won in the preliminary selection, number 1021, please welcome player number 1021!"

Accompanied by the announcer's introduction, Rocky, clad in the White Demon Armor, stepped out from the entrance.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the contestant who has presented the most spectacular preliminary selection match in recent years, overcoming all opponents and achieving a resounding victory, contestant number 1021!"

"The Armor worn by contestant number 1021 is the White Demon Armor, modified from the Fourth Generation Hammer Fire Special Armor. This Armor had an outstanding performance in the preliminary selection, assisting contestant number 1021 in defeating one opponent after another, and ultimately winning. So today, on this arena stage, can he transform into a Demon that strikes fear into his opponents' hearts?"

"Are you all looking forward to it?"

Howard had previously appeared in the changing room for the purpose of having Rocky provide some Armor information briefly, so it would be convenient to introduce him during his entrance. Otherwise, just introducing a name would be too monotonous and fail to excite the audience.

For this, Rocky was well-prepared, and he relayed the prepared commentary directly to Howard, which led to the announcer's introduction.

However, the regrettable part was that after the announcer's passionate introduction of Rocky, the entire arena fell silent, with no applause or cheers coming forth…

Despite the presence of three to four thousand spectators in the arena, not one of them recognized Rocky, nor had any of them come specifically to watch him compete. Thus, when the announcer's introduction ended, the atmosphere in the arena turned awkward.

The announcer seemed to have anticipated this and, after only a few seconds, his voice rang out again: Enjoy more content from empire

"And now, please welcome the other contestant of this match: Ober!"

With the announcer's deliberately drawn-out introduction, the large screen's display switched from Rocky to a grand doorway. As the doors leisurely opened, a warrior clad in Armor, the Void Magic Warrior, appeared on the screen—it was Rocky's opponent in this match, Ober!

When Ober's image appeared on the big screen, the couple seated next to Monte clenched their fists tightly. They stared furiously at the screen, faces contorted with a fierce and pained expression.

In stark contrast, the entire place erupted with cheers!

As soon as Ober made his appearance, all three to four thousand spectators began to shout in unison, with quite a few standing up. Some raised their arms high, while others even waved vigorously at Ober, welcoming him like a hero.

Clearly, Ober completely eclipsed Rocky in terms of popularity. Rocky's entrance had gone unnoticed, but Ober's was met with an explosive roar of approval.

Some might wonder why Ober, a killer who relied on exploiting loopholes in the rules through murder, would receive such cheers?

Such thoughts would never cross the minds of Arena spectators because, to them, Ober's matches were always exciting and bloody. Every match he fought resulted in death, every time he left his opponents facing certain doom, and that was enough. It was, after all, the very reason people came to the Arena.

As long as he could fulfill this expectation, Ober was a star in the eyes of the audience and beloved!

Amidst the thunderous applause, the announcer's voice came through once more:

"This contestant hardly needs an introduction, does he? He is none other than the Rookie Killer—Ober! Where is your applause, where are your cheers, where is your enthusiasm!!"

The already thunderous cheers grew even more fervent under the announcer's lead.

"Ladies and gentlemen, although you are already very familiar with contestant Ober, I must still introduce him as a mark of my respect."

"Since obtaining his Rank, Ober has participated in fifty-six matches with a win rate exceeding eighty percent. In his most recent thirty matches, he has achieved an impressive thirty consecutive victories. Of course, for some well-known reasons, these records are not officially listed."

At this point, laughter spread through the crowd, and only after it subsided did the announcer continue:

"The key to Ober's impressive record, aside from his wealth of experience, is inseparable from the Armor he wears."

"Contestant Ober wears the Berserker Type Special Armor. As the only fourth-generation Special Armor that can compete with the Hammer Fire, the Berserker Armor's performance in all aspects is unparalleled, reaching the pinnacle of fourth-generation Special Armors. But let's not forget that Ober isn't just a superb warrior; he's also an outstanding modding master. With his modifications, the Berserker Armor's combat power has taken a qualitative leap!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, this match is really one to watch, truly one to watch! Both contestants are equipped with fourth-generation Special Armors, both have been modified; this is truly a clash of titans!"

"So... let's cut the chit-chat and immediately invite both contestants to the stage to begin the match!"