Chapter 137: The Class Battle Begins. The illustration features DOTA.

In the afternoon, we logged into the game. From our class, Huan Yue and Hua Lian decided not to join, but everyone else showed up.

Before the match began, I privately inquired about our opponents, Class 7. They were quite formidable, featuring a pair of brothers known as Ascending Dragon and Reversing Dragon. Both were decked out in full sets of green and purple gear, and at level 45, their stats were exceptionally high. More importantly, they possessed a terrifying skill that could reportedly one-shot anyone, which piqued my interest. I was eager to see it for myself. I also heard that a top-tier expert had joined their class, making me even more curious.

The map for this match was called "City-State of Chaos." We didn't walk to the location; instead, we boarded a "skyship," a transport system specifically implemented for large-scale team battles—something I hadn't noticed before as I hadn't paid attention. Looking through the portholes, I tried to memorize the layout. The city was strange, featuring three main roads, each guarded by a defense tower. At both ends of the map were large open areas, presumably the spawn points for the players, each fronted by five defense towers. The whole map felt suspiciously like a MOBA.

The skyship didn't linger long over the city, roaring past the ruins of a building before landing in the clearing on the left. These ships held a maximum of ten passengers, the standard size for a player squad. Our team included Ye Shuang and five classmates—four men and one woman: the level 39 Berserker "Fishing on a Tree," the level 38 Wind Elementalist "Crazy Smile," the level 38 Knight "East to West," the level 40 Charger "South to North," and the level 41 Swordsman "Purple Night."

Our team composition was heavily focused on offense. Most of us were equipped with purple-tier gear. This map was essentially a MOBA without minions: three lanes, defense towers, and the ultimate goal of destroying the enemy's energy node that would spawn at the start of the match. In this mode, death didn't cause gear to drop, but it did result in level loss; most people would likely lose precious experience here.

The match began at 2:00 PM and was scheduled to end at 9:00 PM. It promised to be a grueling tug-of-war, and a night battle seemed inevitable. The city-state was filled with crumbling houses and overgrown weeds. Everyone was on edge, and as the timer hit zero, we charged out. The pseudo-MOBA had officially begun.

Long Xin immediately summoned her Great Red Eagle, instantly drawing the gaze of many players.
"So beautiful, such a handsome mount! Can I touch it?" Xiao Ai asked.
Long Xin laughed, "Of course. It’s my mount, a gift from my brother."
Feng Xiaoyue chimed in, "That mount is so cool. Long Ling, could you get one for me too?"
I gave a wry smile, "You think these are easy to get? They don't just hand them out."
East to West asked, "Beauty, any chance for a ride?"
Long Xin replied without hesitation, "In your dreams."

...

Long Xin suggested, "Brother, let me take you for a spin!"
I declined, "No need, I have Dragon War."
"Then Xiao Ai and I are heading to the aerial battlefield. Let's go, Xiao Ai." Xiao Ai nodded, summoned her Angel Beast, and they took to the skies as a Druid. Ye Shuang said, "Bro, I’m taking a group to push the top lane," and led his team away.
"Long Ling, I’m taking the bottom lane. Want to join?" Feng Xiaoyue asked.
I shook my head, "No, I'll take the middle. Let's see who breaks through their line first."
Feng Xiaoyue said, "With that dragon of yours, I can't compete," and headed off.

I was left with four others to push the middle lane. We soon arrived before the central defense tower, where a dozen enemies were waiting. They included Mages with glowing staves, Warriors in heavy armor wielding blades, and Archers in light gear. They were all well-equipped, and two Beastmasters among them were summoning creatures—eagles, giant wolves, and pangolins appeared before them.

Various animal and plant summons emerged, several of them being high-tier or even top-tier evolved forms. The most striking was an Angel-class summon, the only one of its kind among the otherwise animalistic creatures.

"Charge, everyone!" With their summons in the lead, the enemy team surged into the lane. Ten or so beasts took point, followed by the Warriors and other players.

The path was only a hundred meters long, and as they pushed past our tower, it opened fire. Blue energy shells rained down, followed by screams. The lead beasts were forced to retreat, and the three that had surged the furthest were instantly killed and vanished into thin air.
"These towers are insane!" the players behind shouted, intimidated by the terrifying damage.
"Fall back and regroup!" a Warrior commanded. The seven remaining summons were pulled back, and the crowd dispersed.

I turned to my team, "I'll leave them to you."
Fishing on a Tree smiled, "Leave it to me." He raised a massive green axe, emitting a chilling aura into the air.

Seeing that green-tier axe, I led the group forward and summoned Amaterasu. We clashed with their forces, sending their players and beasts reeling. As they fell into white light, the enemy tower fired. A shell struck Fishing on a Tree, knocking him down, and a second one finished him off. But as he fell, Amaterasu vaulted over his corpse and unleashed a series of strikes that shattered the tower into rubble.

In this exchange, only Purple Night and East to West remained on our side, while the enemy team was wiped out, largely thanks to Amaterasu. East to West walked up to the pile of rubble and laughed, "Haha, those guys from Class 7 aren't so tough after all. Brothers, move out!"
Purple Night replied, "You go first."

Just as East to West turned to step over the debris, a roar echoed: "DEMACIA!" Three figures leaped from behind the rubble. The one in the center struck East to West down with a single blow. He let out a cry as the three of them dogpiled him, punching, kicking, and slashing. East to West struggled, but he was no match for six hands; he went down within minutes.

Purple Night and I were stunned. What were these guys doing, yelling "Demacia" as they entered? Before I could process it, Purple Night was taken out too. I was the only one left from Class 11 in the middle lane.

I waved my hand, "Hi there, gentlemen. Would you mind giving your names so I can die with clarity?"
"Fine," the armored Swordsman in the center raised his longsword. "Listen well, kid. I am Cao Conglun. My motto is: 'As long as the tower stands, I stand' (though it’s gone now). I chose this name because it’s intimidating! Intimidating, get it? 'The grass and trees are all soldiers'—that’s me! Long live Demacia! Class 7 will win!"

Then, the Greatsword-wielder beside him added, "I’m the Fourth Prince. My dad isn't a King, but he’s a Mayor at least. I’m not a spoiled brat, but as a second-generation official, I’m under a lot of pressure. I don't know if this match will turn into a disaster—the pressure is immense."

Finally, the Knight in yellow armor planted his spear in the ground, "I’m Chrysanthemum Xin. I love chrysanthemums of all kinds. My motto is: 'The long spear remains, hand over the chrysanthemums!'"

"Oh, for heaven's sake," I slapped my forehead. I couldn't believe our academy had such lunatics. The "Demacia Trio" had all appeared at once. I wondered who else was on the other side.

"Everyone, get him! Burst his chrysanthemum!" Chrysanthemum Xin roared. The Fourth Prince raised his sword, "Charge! Let's do this!" The trio rushed toward me. I wondered if he would use a Cataclysm, but I didn't want to give him the chance. "Amaterasu!"
"Understood!"
The rest didn't need to be explained.