"So many people." Looking around at the dense audience, Jane couldn't help but sigh in relief.
Although the match was scheduled to start at eight o'clock, there were already countless eager spectators who'd arrived early. The competition venue, a specially designated planet, hovered beneath an artificial sky. Outside a translucent barrier, hundreds of millions of seats were packed tightly, and thanks to powerful visuals, even distant spectators could see the action on the field below. Still, every seat had been claimed long ago.
Clifford remarked emotionally. "Let alone the entire Federation, it's the entire Endless Star Territory; everyone cares about this competition. 100 million seats and that's still considered generous." He shook his head. "If not for my father's connections, we'd never have gotten the seats, as there were far too many people clamoring for them!"
"Growing up, it's the first time watching a duel between so many," Otwin said, anticipation shining in his eyes.
"Us too," Clifford smiled. "This kind of competition-planet setup? No power could afford it, only a behemoth like the Star Council would spend so much just to broadcast it live!"
"No kidding, it's a group-star competition," Terrell added with a grin. "With ticket revenues, the Council's not losing money."
Although previous exchange tournaments were broadcast live, those were all in grounded venues. The cost of setting up planetary broadcasts was astronomical, so this was unique.
"Watching in person… It's just on another level," Jane marveled, absorbing the roar all around him.
Even though the planet was specially constructed, the arena felt just like a terrestrial one, voices from nearby, cheers echoing, it was the same chaotic energy. What's it like to share a field with 100 million others? Even if everyone whispered, it still swelled into a tide of sound.
"This is just the buildup. When the real competition begins, that's when it gets thrilling," Clifford said with excitement. "A hundred Supernatural teams, one from each group, mixed battles, peak strength… just thinking about that makes my blood boil!"
By the tournament rules, the elimination round was held on a barren, flat expanse, nothing but open ground. The region was divided into a thousand groups, each hosting one hundred teams per match.
"One hundred teams, but only three can advance. That's dreadful," Clifford said, shaking his head.
"But there are two chances in the elimination round; if you lose, you go into the losers' bracket." Terrell frowned. "That bracket is even tougher, tens of thousands battling for just hundreds of spots in the finals."
The Star Competition was structured in three phases: the qualifiers, then regional eliminators, and finally the main event. In the Endless Star Territory, participants advanced from the group stage, divided into groups, but only three from each group advanced.
The remaining teams dropped to the losers' bracket, where more spots would be claimed in a round-robin. Together with the previous teams, which made participants in the final eliminator, competing for the top spots.
"Try to advance directly," Clifford urged. "The losers' bracket is just draining."
"Only three of a hundred can advance directly," Terrell said, frowning. "The rest fall to the losers' bracket, that's brutal."
"It's no joke," Clifford projected the rankings from his communicator. "Those leading are all Level 2 Peak Planetary Lords, with huge fame ahead of the qualifiers."
He flipped back to look for Sebastian's rank. There it was:
[ Participant: Sebastian ]
[ Points: 20,312 ]
[ Overall Rank: 526,554 ]
"In the middle pack, in a mid-tier grouping," Otwin assessed. "The Star Council balanced group strength based on points, not too weak, not too strong."
"Exactly," Clifford explained. "It doesn't matter which group you're in, it's all about how strong you perform on the day."
"Right," Terrell nodded. "Each group has non-weak players; it comes down to performance."
"What else can we say? Sebastian, keep fighting!" Otwin cheered, though Sebastian couldn't hear.
At that moment, Sebastian rested in the venue arranged by the officials, a large hall resembling the virtual waiting rooms from before. Rows of chairs… closed eyes… everyone in a trance, waiting. Assigned to Group 28 of the Endless Star Territory's regional qualifiers, Sebastian sat, prepared.
As the clock neared eight, he opened his eyes. The others did too. A second later, just like that, every one of the hundred competitors vanished, and they were transported inside the competition venue.
Clap...
Deafening applause and cheers erupted from all around, shaking the air like rolling thunder. Sebastian turned his head to look and found himself already standing in the heart of the vast arena, surrounded by endless rows of tightly packed seats. The audience stretched so far into the distance that the end was lost to sight; the sheer number of people was impossible to estimate.
Hoo...
As the contestants made their entrance, the atmosphere boiled over. The roar of voices rose to an even greater pitch, with spectators calling out the names of their favored champions. Most of these spectators came from the home territories of the contestants' supporting factions.
"Look, it's Sebastian!" Jane pointed excitedly at Sebastian's position in the formation.
Clifford, Terrell, and Otwin immediately followed his gaze, spotting Sebastian among the players. It wasn't just the three of them. In a box nearby, Prokopy and several other figures from Hope's Peak Academy were also watching. They appeared calm. Sebastian's advance from the group stage into the regional qualifiers had already surpassed most expectations.
Outside the arena, his name had spread throughout the entire Federation. Even elite Level 6 Planetary Lords, veterans whose power dominated entire sectors, were now murmuring that Sebastian might be the strongest contender from his bracket. Reaching this stage alone was a remarkable feat, but advancing further was uncertain, especially since Sebastian's group-stage ranking had been on the lower side.
Shortly after the contestants entered the venue, a clear female voice rang out: "Welcome, one hundred contestants, to the regional qualifiers of the Group Star Competition! This is the 28th group! These contestants are the most outstanding Level 2 Planetary Lords! Please prepare yourselves, as the match will officially begin in ten minutes!"
Another burst of teleportation light followed.
Sebastian now stood in a single combat chamber unlike any he had seen before, suspended in open starspace, with transparent walls allowing the audience to see inside.
The ten-minute countdown vanished quickly. The moment the passages from each contestant's planet opened, the Astra Militarum deployed. This time, they fielded not only 300 Giant Kongs, but also thousands of Pikachu.
Guardsmen numbered 50,000, and their Typhoon fighters had doubled to a full hundred. Above them, UAVs swarmed in greater numbers than before. A micro-drone darted through the entry passage, climbing high to scout the battlefield.
"Today's field is smaller than the group stage," Lando observed, his tone wary. "Completely flat terrain, no cover."
"There are only a hundred teams," Coleman replied. "Knockout format. No one's holding back."
In the group stage, the Astra Militarum had encountered opportunists who sold information for star fragments. Here, there would be no such easy openings.
Boom… boom… boom…
A deep, rhythmic tremor rolled across the flatlands.
Lando, Coleman, and the others turned toward a distant passage. From it emerged a towering figure wreathed in black flames, a Black Flame Giant. Though few, their presence radiated an oppressive heat.
Gasps rippled through the stands.
"Black Flame Giants! Hess must have brought them!"
"Is that the Hess from Giant Island? Ranked highest in this group?"
"Yes! Overall rank 856, a real threat for a top-1,000 spot!"
The Giant Island spectators roared as one, millions chanting Hess's name until all other cheers were smothered.
"There are so many supporters," Otwin muttered.
"Not surprising," Clifford shrugged. "They secured tens of thousands of slots in the group stage. In this bracket alone, Hess isn't their only fighter; there are a dozen more from the island."
Giant Island was one of the great powers. Its population was smaller than the Federation's, but far more unified. Almost all of its Planetary Lords' creations were Giants, a race tied to multiple super-civilizations. This gave Giant Island's Planetary Lords exceptional individual power, often surpassing that of other factions. Even the Empire, famed for its elite academies, could not match them in sheer combat talent.
On the island, only those with outstanding potential were permitted to remain; the weak were exiled, left to survive or perish on their own. The environment forged its people through relentless pressure. Every year, Giant Island produced Planetary Lords of exceptional skill and strength. Their performance in this year's Group Star Competition was second only to the mighty Sky Empire. Naturally, their cheering section was massive.
But they were not alone; other factions had also sent huge crowds to cheer for the Supernatural teams fielded by their champions. Momentum could be a weapon of its own.
"Sebastian! Sebastian!" Clifford and the others yelled themselves hoarse, but with Hope's Peak Academy having only one contestant in this group, their voices were quickly swallowed by the crowd.
Sebastian still caught their calls, flashing a brief smile toward their box before focusing back on the field.
A shimmering barrier separated the arena from the audience; the Supernatural teams couldn't hear the cheers, but they could feel the energy radiating from the stands. One by one, more teams poured from the passages.
Unlike in the group stage, the entrances stayed open; once a team left the arena, they couldn't return. Soon, all one hundred teams clashed on the flat expanse.
After a brief chaotic skirmish, a large Lizardman force surged forward, prompting others to follow suit. Next to the Astra Militarum's position, another Supernatural team broke formation and advanced to attack.