CHAPTER 229: MATCHDAY 38 [3]

Bristol City, The Crucible...

Matchday 38.

Cross Guild vs Echelon.

The 35,000 capacity stadium was filled to the brim with tens of thousands of fans. Not just the home seats, the away seats were also fully occupied by thousands of traveling Echelon fans who came to watch their club’s last game of the season live.

The atmosphere in the stadium was electric.

And it was in this atmosphere that Echelon slowly dismantled their opponents in their own stadium, dissecting Cross Guild limb by limb, section by section in one of the most dominant performances of the English Pro Alliance.

[LOADING...]

[FIRST ROUND: INDIVIDUAL BATTLE]

Lord Doom represented Echelon, coming out first to play.

This was Cross Guild’s home stadium. Cross Guild had a plan; a plan to topple the unbeaten champions of the English Pro Alliance this season in their stadium.

This was why Cross Guild’s captain didn’t come out to confront Lord Doom in the first individual battle, rather sending one of his substitutes in a tactical decision to take on God Noah. The guy was cannon fodder, but to Noah, he didn’t see it that way at all.

Noah could not see from the lens of Cross Guild, its players, and their fans. Rather, he saw from his own lens, and the lens of Echelon as a club.

Echelon... as a club, this was their final matchday 38 game of a legendary debut season in the English Pro Alliance that was accompanied by a league title.

It was unprecedented in the history of the English Pro Alliance.

And yet, as if that was not enough, Echelon didn’t just win the league title, they went on to win it with an unbeaten run.

If Echelon won now, it would cement their unbeaten league title.

And rumors were circulating online in recent weeks that the English Pro Alliance wanted to follow the format of football’s English premier league, handing out a golden league title if Echelon managed to make it an unbeaten title win.

This and more were the reasons why today was such a special day for Club Echelon and its fans. It was the reason why they took this game so personal.

Personally, for Noah, and his friends, today meant even more.

To them, today was a special day, since it would mean that they already fulfilled one of the goals that brought them out of retirement... the league title.

Noah wanted the high of competing at the top of the English Pro Alliance for one more season, he wanted to play, to be at the top, to compete, and to win.

And with today’s game, they would win their first of 3 major goals this season.

This was why for the first time in 38 matchdays of the English Pro Alliance this season, seated behind his monitor, Noah felt bubbly excitement coursing through his veins, filling his brain with dopamine.

He could not wait to do it, he could not wait to get it over and done it.

He could not wait for Echelon to be crowned league champions of England!

And this was why as soon as Cross Guild’s Avatar entered the arena, and the countdown to fight hit zero, fueled by his excitement and the dopamine surging in his brain, Noah played one of the best burst performances of his career.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

As soon as the battle started, the sound of rapid, rhythmic sounds of the keyboard reverberated like a battle cry, filling the player booth.

And on-screen, Lord Doom erupted.

He showed no mercy, pouncing on the Blademaster and literally ripping him apart with brutal skill, peak efficiency, and ruthless dominance.

20 seconds... that was all it took for Lord Doom to destroy his opponent.

The Crucible Stadium in Bristol City became as silent as a church during after service hours, shock rippling through them like a plague.

The commentators could not stay silent for long.

"20 SECONDS!" They roared.

"20 FREAKING SECONDS!"

"Lord Doom tore his opponent apart in 20 SECONDS!"

"My God... what a monster!"

"The best player in the English Pro Alliance, bar none!"

"This season, no one is on his level, he’s God Noah for a reason. Not Gabriel and his Dain Ironvalor, not Chris and his Crimson Saint".

"This season, Lord Doom and God Noah are in a different league of their own!"

"And that makes it 38 consecutive individual battles without a loss this season!"

"BONKERS!"

"ABSOLUTE BONKERS!"

"What a season he’s had!"

The commentator was right. With that blitz victory, it made it the 38 individual battle round where Noah came out to represent his team as the anchor, tearing his opponent apart at the end.

This season, in the individual battler round, Lord Doom never fell.

He was the one always felling others.

----VICTORY---

[Cross Guild: 0 points]

[Echelon: 1 point]

The 2nd individual battle followed after the first, and Aria took the stage.

Cross Guild as a whole, including their captain were shaken by God Noah’s dominant 20-second win in the first individual battle, but the captain managed to regain control of his nerves, sticking to the plan.

He sent his 2nd substitute player to represent the club in the 2nd individual battle against Aria, ignoring the boos of disapproval from the home fans.

After God Noah’s win, the home fans were full of anxiety now.

They didn’t want to become a part of the club stadiums that Echelon came to this season only to rip their opponents apart with a flawless 10-0 scoreline.

From the reaction of the fans, it was clear that their priorities already changed the moment that Noah gave that crazy performance.

From the ’We Must Win’ mentality that they first came with to boost their hopes of escaping relegation, they forgot about the relegation battle that they were involved in, changing their priority to a ’Don’t Let the Loss Margin Get Too Big’ campaign in the stadium.

This was why they let their disapproval to their captain’s tactics known through their booing.

They had a point though since just like Noah, Aria tore her opponent apart.

Of course, it was nowhere as fast as Noah’s own battle but also excited by the hype of the game and the final matchday of the 12th season of the regular English Pro Alliance, Aria went well beyond her limits.

She destroyed the poor young man that played against her in 1 minute, 39 seconds. It was another dominant and one-sided destruction.

With it, the score line changed again.

[Cross Guild: 0 point]

[Echelon: 2 points]

And now, the moment of truth.

The final individual battle of the individual battle round, perhaps Cross Guild’s last chance to fight tooth and nail for a point in this game.

By now, any Cross Guild would be a fool if they were yet to realize their captain’s plan. They just wondered if it would work against a team like Echelon.

By saving himself for last, Cross Guild’s captain avoided the 2 most troublesome players in Echelon, leaving himself for the final individual round battle.

No one in Club Echelon was really weak, not God Noah, not his friends, not even Jeff the newcomer, or Rosalind.

They were all skillful and had a standout trait that made them unique, but still, compared to players like God Noah and Sword Saint Aria, Cross Guild’s captain felt like he stood a better chance of victory against the third opponent.

The third opponent that faced him was Caleb.

Only now did the first thriller in the individual battle round play out, a highly intense game as Caleb pulled the strings while the opposition captain fought tooth and nail to tip the scales of the battle.

Somehow, he managed to succeed.

He tipped the scales of the battle with sheer willpower and determination. As soon as Caleb’s HP fell below his at the 4th minute of the game, the captain decided to be pragmatic, shameless turning and running through the large terrain.

He ran without shame, avoiding direct confrontation with the Summoner.

His strategy was clear; he hoped to avoid damage for as long as possible, long enough for the final bell for the third individual battle to ring.

If the final bell rang with their HPs like this, automatically, he would win since he had more HP than Caleb’s Enlightened Flame.

Caleb quickly adapted, sending his summons to attack but Cross Guild’s captain was too slippery, evading direct attack with his Mechanic Class Avatar.

With his traps, sensory devices, and other means to detect his surroundings, the captain managed to outlast Caleb for almost 6 more minutes.

He avoided Caleb successfully, not taking any further significant damage.

Caleb was not surprised though. His calculations already arrived at the conclusion long ago, so he simply waited for the outcome now.

DING!

The final individual battle came to an end.

---VICTORY---

[Cross Guild: 1 point]

[Echelon: 2 points]

That point should give them momentum, right?

Against any other team, maybe yes, but not against Club Echelon.

Even after that point, Echelon went on to blitz their opponents in the 3 vs 3 battle rush, tearing them apart with a dominant performance.

[Cross Guild: 1 point]

[Echelon: 4 points]

Now, on to the team battle.