Lord of the Sky City

"What's there to worry about? Just use the White Demon to blast everyone off the platform and that's it!"

As everyone discussed how they could win the preliminary round, Hammerfire spoke up disdainfully from the side.

In his view, unless the opponent was wearing fifth-generation Special Armor or custom-made Armor, no other Armor stood a chance against the White Demon Armor; so why not just use brute force in this melee and kill all the opponents?

"Impossible,"

No sooner had he finished his sentence than Liliya shook her head, "According to the Arena's rules, if the contestants don't have their own Void Magic Armor, the Arena will provide fourth-generation Mass Production Type Armor for contestants to use. This means that all participants of the preliminary selection will be wearing at least fourth-generation Mass-Produced Armor. The White Demon isn't that powerful, is it?"

It had been mentioned previously that the Arena would offer Armor to contestants who didn't have the means, and the Armor provided by the Arena was the fourth-generation Mass Production Type Armor!

If it were a one-on-one battle, the White Demon Armor could naturally suppress any fourth-generation Armor by 100%, not to mention the Mass-Produced Type, even the Special Armor wouldn't be a match for the White Demon; but don't forget, the preliminary round was a ten-person melee!

Since the Arena provided fourth-generation Mass Production Type Armor, it meant in the ten-person melee, the opponents Rocky would face at the very least would be wearing fourth-generation Mass-Produced Armor. The White Demon was indeed strong, but it still wasn't dominant enough to easily take on nine at once.

Therefore, hoping that Rocky could rely on the advantage of his Armor to dominate and defeat all the opponents was a very slim possibility, or to put it bluntly, downright impossible.

This only made everyone even more worried because, in a one-on-nine situation, even the White Demon Armor might not be able to suppress the opponents 100%... Didn't this imply that Rocky had no surefire assurance of victory in the preliminary round?

Could it be that he couldn't even get past the preliminary selection?

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine,"

Just as everyone was worrying about Rocky's first match, Rocky himself appeared quite relaxed. Without a hint of nervousness or concern, he simply spoke these words and then went straight back to his room, leaving the bewildered others behind.

"This kid, he doesn't actually think that if he gets eliminated in the preliminary round, he can still continue fighting, does he?"

As they watched Rocky's retreating figure, Orton muttered with a sneer.

Although the Arena competition adopted a Rank system, which meant as long as one was alive, one could keep competing, this premise required one to first win the preliminary round. Only by winning the preliminary round could one earn a Rank.

"Enough, you don't need to worry blindly,"

Just as everyone was puzzled by Rocky's calm and composed demeanor, Aniye spoke up from the side, "Don't treat Rocky as though he's a novice. Not only is he a City Lord, but he has also participated in numerous battles. So, he must be more aware of what's at stake than us. Rest assured."

......

......

Three days had passed in the blink of an eye, and before long, the day of the preliminary round arrived.

Early that morning, Rocky arrived at the Arena and successfully entered the backstage area using the number plate he had obtained during registration.

According to the Arena's schedule, there would be six preliminary round battles today, three in the morning and three in the afternoon. This meant that just for today's competition alone, there would be as many as sixty contestants!

Although Rocky's match wasn't until the afternoon, he arrived early because he wanted to watch the morning's matches in advance, so he would know what to expect when it was his turn to compete.

Many other competitors had the same idea, so when he arrived at the participants' lounge, he was met with a sea of people—the lounge was packed with over a hundred individuals!

With sixty competitors in the event, why were there over a hundred people in the lounge?

Because many competitors came with their 'support groups,' like Rocky...

Ever since the last assassination attempt, Rocky had been relatively safe in Thunderhawk City, but outside, especially in Eternal City, Liliya and Monte had become inseparable from him. Therefore, even though Rocky wasn't too keen on it, Liliya and Monte didn't give him a choice and simply came along for this competition.

"You don't have to do this... didn't teacher say that we should keep a low profile as much as possible…"

Looking at the two who were always by his side, and then at the majority of the competitors in the lounge who had arrived alone, Rocky felt somewhat awkward.

However, Liliya and Monte didn't care about his awkwardness at all, and the same went for the glances from others.

In fact, as soon as Rocky and his companions entered the lounge, they attracted the attention of many competitors.

Helpless to stop it, the three of them were quite conspicuous among the crowd of competitors. Liliya stood out for sure; in a lounge full of men with very few women, her striking presence was bound to draw eyes.

Monte was similarly noticeable; his towering stature made him stick out like a sore thumb among the humans, hard to miss by anyone's standards.

As for Rocky, there was even less need to mention how he couldn't help but become the center of everyone's attention when flanked by two such noticeable companions. Moreover, as the City Lord, Rocky's aura was already distinct from ordinary people, and no sooner had he appeared than countless gazes fixed on him.

In such a situation, Rocky had no choice but to find a corner to sit down.

By doing this, he evidently wanted to keep a low profile; after all, Rocky didn't want to attract too much attention. However, this idea, although good in theory, was impossible to achieve. Having already attracted attention upon entry, even sitting in a corner, he still became a subject of speculation.

"Who's that guy?"

"Do you even have to ask? Definitely some noble's son. Ugh! These shameless folks!"

Some competitors who had come to participate glanced at Rocky in the corner and said disapprovingly.

Among the numerous competitors in the Arena, the majority were commoners or ordinary soldiers. However, there were also those of much higher status.

These high-status participants, including renowned Void Magic Warriors or noble heirs, would often choose to enter the competition anonymously, each with their own reasons, whether to temper themselves or simply for the thrill, among other possible motives.

To the other competitors in the lounge, Rocky was clearly one such individual.

Yet, towards such individuals, other competitors naturally had an antipathy, especially during the preliminaries, for any high-born competitor was sure to have high-grade Armor. In the eyes of the others, this was viewed as an unfair advantage, with no one fond of having a much stronger opponent.

So as Rocky sat in the corner accompanied by Liliya and Monte, not only were there whispers among other competitors, but some began to talk to each other in hushed tones, seemingly conspiring about something...