Chapter 229: Enemy Situation

Because it was a school bus standard, those bricks and stones hadn't even touched the vehicle's body before they were repelled by the magic arrays that automatically unfolded on the bus's surface.

But after that, hundreds of pieces of debris came flying through the air. Fortunately, near this road, a large number of heavily armed police officers, fully equipped, were already in position.

Before the bus's magic array was shattered by the bricks, these police officers, forming a human wall, had already wielded their batons to suppress the rioters throwing stones.

"Uh~ They're really enthusiastic."

Carl couldn't help but exclaim: "I guess these guys either have already lost their underwear, or they've bet their last pair on the bookmakers."

He had already seen the sea of people lining both sides of the street. From here all the way to the entrance of Storm Stadium, a full seven hundred meters, the estimated crowd exceeded 150,000, far surpassing the maximum capacity of 70,000 for Storm Stadium's Hall A.

NHSAA's comprehensive cold weapon competition held a lofty position in America, and every edition attracted extremely high attention. But this time, the buzz was unprecedented.

"It's all your fault, isn't it?"

William finally caught what Carl said, and he couldn't help but show a sarcastic look: "Now on TV news, seven out of ten channels say that Amo was lucky, that his real strength is actually inferior to James Lanster."

He had been learning swordsmanship from Li Mochen and was surprised to find that the latter's skill in close combat far exceeded that of his coach.

In fact, during the limited few practice sessions over the past two weeks, Li Mochen had amazed all the cold weapon coaches, including Rikard. He had even seen Li Mochen fight Rikard to a standstill without the latter using external source energy or source armor.

So the truth was obvious: neither James Lanster nor Amo's current opponent, Kadio Rhode, could withstand even a single move from Amo.

"Our company spent 13 million on media PR this week alone, urging major media outlets to report the facts."

But Carl Holton then shrugged: "But what can I say? Those bookmakers are too greedy; they want to squeeze every last penny out of the gamblers' pockets, so they spend even more on media PR. Then there are the major sports goods companies led by Arcadis, who are also eager to smear Amo to prevent further decline in sales, investing heavily on various platforms. To some extent, this is the trend. I think we don't need to follow suit; it's a waste of money. Facts are facts. Once Amo defeats Kadio Rhode, everything will come to light. White is white; they can't smear it anymore. Moreover—"

Carl Holton's lips curled slightly: "No matter what, this is buzz. As long as people still care about and discuss the topic of Amo's real strength, more American citizens will know the name Andrew Lee Wiltonstein. And the media will still chase after everything about Amo like wolves chasing food."

"So these poor souls are sacrificed, right?" William looked with pity at the crowd outside the window holding various protest signs.

"Amo has repeatedly spoken through the media; he said no player in this edition can stop him."

Carl shrugged, looking indifferent: "And William, as someone who has placed a heavy bet on Amo, isn't it inappropriate for you to say such things? Tell me, how much did you bet this time? Ten thousand, or twenty thousand? Don't tell me you didn't buy any; the odds for Amo winning this time are 3.53."

"Forty thousand!" William Jacques replied without changing his expression: "I got the driver's licenses of my parents, two aunts, and three brothers and two sisters, but so far I've only managed to raise 40,000 gold shields."

Li Mochen felt envious upon hearing this. He also wanted to place a bet; a 3.5x odds could earn him some money. But the NHSAA competition committee had strict regulations on this, prohibiting participating players from engaging in any betting related to their own events, even their families were not allowed.

"Wow~ Forty thousand, that's really crocodile tears."

Carl chuckled lightly: "I'll make up the rest for you. It's still over an hour before the match starts, and I remember there's a bookmaker's outlet near Storm Stadium. But I have to warn you, William, this bet still carries some risk."

At this moment, Carl handed another stack of documents to Li Mochen: "Our information analysts have roughly figured out what the Dragon Witch Cult might do to Kadio Rhode. First, physical enhancement and modulation—that's certain. The technology and magical energy techniques the Dragon Witch Cult possesses can definitely increase Kadio Rhode's physical abilities by 1.5 times. Then we found that someone recently purchased five 'Crete Black Bloodstones' on the market, suspecting they intend to use the residual consciousness of the Minotaur. We're not sure how many 'Crete Black Bloodstones' the Dragon Witch Cult itself has, but if they really do this, it will definitely help Kadio Rhode control that power, even enabling 'Ancient Recall'."

At this point, William Jacques's heart tightened. After all, it concerned his 40,000 gold shields; he couldn't ignore such news.

But why would the Dragon Witch Cult be involved? Those books on Western magical history did mention this sect, classified as a cult and terrorist organization, but what did the Dragon Witch Cult have to do with today's match? Could it be that this cult was also involved in the massive betting behind this match?

"Including our sports lab's assessment, after you advanced to level seven, Amo, even if Kadio Rhode uses 'Ancient Recall' to凝聚 the soul of the Minotaur, your winning rate is still over 70%. The two of you might decide the outcome after 200 exchanges."

"The remnant soul of the ancient bull-headed prince, right?"

Li Mochen was stunned for a moment, then a sarcastic smile appeared on his face: "No, his chance of winning is less than one in ten thousand; he probably can't even last a single exchange."

At that moment, his mind stirred, and he suddenly kicked the seat in front of him hard, using the force to collapse the seat behind him. At the same time, he pulled William Jacques and Carl Holton back half a meter. The next instant, a 'pop' sound came from the window beside them; an armor-piercing bullet shot in, exploding inside the vehicle, sending dozens or hundreds of bullet fragments crashing against the 'Holy Protection' that Li Mochen had activated through his ring, producing a series of clanging explosions. At this moment, the people inside the bus let out a scream.

Carl and William turned pale. This was undoubtedly a powerful sniper. If Li Mochen hadn't reacted in time, both of them would have been caught and ended their lives here.