The King's Avatar

It’s… over?

Zhang Jiale’s hands still remained on his keyboard and mouse. In fact, five minutes had past since his Dazzling Hundred Blossoms fell.

The first to fall from Team Tyranny was Lin Jingyan’s Dark Thunder, then it was Dazzling Hundred Blossoms. He hovered in midair as a ghost as he continued to watch as Team Samsara pursued his team relentlessly.

Qin Muyun’s Negative Nine Degrees fell.

Zhang Xinjie’s Immovable Rock fell.

Only Han Wenqing’s Desert Dust and Bai Yanfei’s Rota were left. The two didn’t give up and used up all their strength to take away Wu Qi’s Cruel Silence from Samsara. The three then fell down together.

Glory!

Like in the online arena, this word also appeared after the end of the team competition. However, the glory didn’t belong to him because he had lost again…...

How many times have I lost?

Zhang Jiale was unwilling to think about it.

He had given up everything. He had endured criticism from his fans and the torture in his heart.

Just once. Just once is enough.

He kept telling himself that. However, he was once again one step away. He just needed that one step, that one win. He had won countless times in his career. Why did he always fall here?

Zhang Jiale couldn’t believe it. He didn’t know what to do, and even forgot what he should be doing at this moment. It was until someone started knocking from outside the player booths did he suddenly snap out of it.

Han Wenqing, Tyranny’s core who didn’t know the word cower.

Zhang Xinjie, the Master Tactician who never made a mistake.

There was also Lin Jingyan, who was let go of by his team and found himself a new place in Tyranny. He was also an old player who started in the second season like him.

Also, Qin Muyun and Bai Yanfei…...

All of his teammates were standing outside. Everyone looked pained after losing the match. They all tried their best to hide it, but he could see through it. Lin Jingyan even managed to squeeze out a smile. It was probably the most unsightly smile Zhang Jiale had ever seen in his life.

”What a shame...” Lin Jingyan even managed to speak. Even though he was upset, everyone in Tyranny knew that Zhang Jiale was suffering more than any one of them.

This was because he carried such a heavy burden yet still fell at this same step again.

Han Wenqing and Zhang Xinjie had at least won the championships once.

As for Lin Jingyan, it was the first time he had fought in the finals. He felt that he had already gained a lot by coming this far. Although he felt very regretful for their final loss, at least his mental burden wasn’t as great as Zhang Jiale’s.

Only Zhang Jiale…...

”I...” Zhang Jiale wanted to speak, but stopped.

”Don’t tell me you’re going to retire again?” Lin Jingyan spoke.

”That’s no good.”

”It’s still too early for that.”

”Right, we still have opportunities.”

”Next season is going to arrive in the blink of an eye.”

”Yeah, it already feels like it’s tomorrow.”

”I can’t wait for it.”

”I...” Zhang Jiale opened his mouth to speak again. Everyone shut their mouths and looked at him.

”I wanted to say that I’m fine.” Zhang Jiale said.

Everyone looked at one another. When the match had finished, everyone apart from Zhang Jiale had walked out from the player booths and showed no signs of activity. At that moment, they even predicted the worst situation that could happen. It wasn’t until Zhang Jiale walked out did everyone feel a bit relieved. Everyone started to comfort him, but he said he was fine.

It’s true, I’m fine. Zhang Jiale looked around him. It seemed as if everyone in the stadium was watching him as well. But he was fine. Even though he had carried a heavy burden, it all came from his own choice. Sun Zheping told him to clean up all those distracting thoughts in his mind. Zhang Jiale tried to do that, but he realised that he couldn’t do so. Perhaps, only people like Sun Zheping were capable of doing that, right? In the end, Zhang Jiale wrapped up all those distracting thoughts and carried it on his shoulder. This was his method; he wasn’t able to give up, but neither would he be weak. He would carry those things clearly on his back! As for now, he merely had another package to carry on his shoulders.

”Yeah, I’m fine. How about you guys. Are you guys alright?” Zhang Jiale even managed to ask everyone in return.

Everyone looked at one another once again.

”Since everyone’s fine, let’s go.” Han Wenqing waved and turned around with no hesitation. The six members of Tyranny walked down the stadium with their heads held high. Applause started to ring in the stadium. Even though the fans felt disappointed in the loss, they had seen how the team performed. From beginning to end, they didn’t see the team weaken or see them give up. They continued to fight and struggle. Their performance was worthy of the applause, so they didn’t need to feel ashamed for their loss.

The applause grew louder, and the six from Tyranny motioned towards the audience by waving their hands. Despite losing in the match, they wouldn’t fall. No matter what burden they carried, that wouldn’t ever happen.

The audience was clapping, so the workers on site put down whatever they were doing to clap as well. Even members of Samsara, who won the championships, stood on the side and clapped. It was not for themselves, but for Tyranny. Despite losing the match, they won respect from every single person.

An award ceremony was held on the stage for Samsara. Like last year, the team collected the trophy and didn’t really celebrate. However, they were the second team to win the championships twice in a row after Excellent Era, so they might just create a new dynasty. This was a fact no one would ignore.

In the press conference after the match, Team Tyranny went first. All six members that appeared in the team match sat on stage. They gazed at the reporters below them and realised that every one of them seemed to look more solemn than them.

”Can we start?” In the end, it was the team captain, Han Wenqing, who asked first.

”Uh, it was a very regretful loss. Do you have anything to say?” A reporter seized the opportunity to ask.

”It was regretful indeed, but there’s no other way because there can only be one champion.” Han Wenqing spoke.

”What are your thoughts on how each team performed?” Someone asked. By losing the competition with a clear gap in the scores, Tyranny’s performance needed to be deeply looked into. However, their situation was different from their first match. By the time the finals had reached this point, everyone had thought about the problem of Tyranny’s players running out of stamina. The reporters were clear about this, otherwise, the team wouldn’t receive such applause from losing, and their questions wouldn’t be so courteous.

”Both sides worked very hard. I think no matter who won, both teams would have been worthy of the title.” Han Wenqing said.

”As for the coming year, does Tyranny or the players of Tyranny have any plans or intentions?” The reporter asked. Here, the reporter purposefully emphasised ”the players of Tyranny”. All the reporters peeked intentionally or unintentionally towards Zhang Jiale. It was like how all the players of Tyranny cared about him when they lost. The reporters knew that Zhang Jiale would be the one who was impacted the most by this loss.

”The same as always.” In the end, Han Wenqing replied in such a brief manner.

However, the reporters cared too much about this matter, and no longer cared if they were being cruel. One of them finally named specifically in his question. ”I would like to ask for Zhang Jiale’s personal opinion, would you like to say something?”

”Me?” Zhang Jiale looked at the reporters below when he was named. He even gave a laugh as he said, ”Aren’t I already used to this?”

The reporters were startled.

This was a self deprecating joke, but no one was able to laugh.

Did he make this kind of joke because he had lost heart?

However, then they heard Zhang Jiale continue to speak. ”As for the future, it’s what our captain said: the same as always.”

”Mm, nicely summarised. The same as always.” Lin Jingyan nodded.

The reporters originally wanted to ask Lin Jingyan as well, but when he showed the same attitude, they fully understood. Even though this was a painful loss, it wouldn’t be able to strike down any of them. In the upcoming matches, they would still see these unyielding old generals continue to struggle and strive for the glory that they had been pursuing for all these years.

The reporters had nothing left to ask about the finals The other members in Tyranny weren’t old players that were about to retire. Taking Zhang Xinjie for example, he was part of the Golden Generation and was still at the peak of his career. This was why everyone’s sorrowful emotions weren’t targeted as deeply towards them.

”Uh, next season, Ye Xiu and his Team Happy will be in the Alliance. With how the league is usually arranged, it’s very likely for them to be matched with Tyranny in the first round. Do you have anything to say to him? You guys are old acquaintances after all!” The reporters started to ask questions outside of the topic.

Everyone in Happy was watching the broadcast. They were all in sync as they looked towards Ye Xiu. Ye Xiu drank his tea calmly.

”Too bad... I would definitely be made fun of by that guy.” Zhang Jiale muttered.

”Ah? What do you mean?” A reporter asked immediately, but Zhang Jiale chose to stay quiet.

”I hope he can focus on the matches, so he won’t bring trouble to everyone online.” Lin Jingyan said.

”Hm, what do you mean by that?” The reporter immediately asked again, but Lin Jingyan also chose to stay quiet.

Everyone looked at Han Wenqing.

”Beat him. The same as always.” Han Wenqing said.

The same as always again. The problem is that you haven’t beaten him that many times in the past! Isn’t saying ”the same as always” a bit inappropriate? The reporters criticised silently. Most of the information they got from Han Wenqing would include this motto.

In the end, all the reporters looked hopefully towards Zhang Xinjie, hoping to get some hot topics out of him.

”Time’s up.” Zhang Xinjie looked at the time. ”We should finish!”

”Ah ah ah... Vice-captain Zhang, could you talk a bit more about Ye Xiu?” The reporters wailed with grief. Unfortunately, the time was up, and Zhang Xinjie cared more about the time than Ye Xiu. Team Tyranny’s players got up one by one and left the press conference.