Book 5: Chapter 152: Another Kind of War |
Time flows like a river, swiftly passing by.
The first round of preliminaries came to an end quickly. Lilith and her team had a smooth sail through the subsequent ten-plus matches, with no one able to pique Lilith’s interest again.
The “Blonde Princess Team” naturally advanced to the next stage with a record of all victories, ranking first. After the battle with “Team Princess Estelle,” Lilith and her team became the center of attention for everyone.
Countless people were watching them, seeking evidence of the so-called “inside job” by the officials to prove that their favored Princess Estelle was the strongest. Of course, many were also looking for an excuse to justify losing all their fortunes.
However, after several matches, it became apparent to these people that Princess Luna seemed to be stronger than Princess Estelle.
Across fourteen matches, it was Princess Luna alone who easily defeated her opponents, with most matches not even lasting more than three minutes. The only exception was due to a large map that took two minutes and fifty seconds for the two teams to encounter each other.
Princess Luna’s reputation soon overshadowed that of Princess Estelle. Her title as “the Royal Family’s Number One Genius” from years ago, along with numerous instances of her beating Estelle, were dug up. Suddenly, a group claiming to be “Ten-Year Hardcore Fans of Princess Luna” emerged from nowhere and quickly spread throughout the city. The “Ten-Year Hardcore Fans of Princess Luna Alliance” became the largest fan group within days.
Their combat power was so strong and destructive that it was comparable to locusts passing through, branding any other fan groups as heretics. They were either ostracized or divided. Only another unnamed fan group, although numbering just a few hundred, managed to maintain a standoff in the entire Jeorgetown City fan community with their overwhelming combat power of one against a thousand.
The fans of both sides spared no effort in promoting the greatness of their idols, selling their merchandise, and even spending their own money for publicity and ranking.
Although the supported idol of this unnamed fan group was unknown, they only released a silhouette picture, claiming it was to avoid disturbing the noble and beautiful “Lord.” Yet, with the power of money, even a nonexistent person could top the charts as per “expert releases,” “authoritative certifications,” and “majority of fans'” acceptance, with logical and convincing arguments.
The angered “Ten-Year Hardcore Fans of Princess Luna Alliance” brandishing the banner “Princess Luna is the Best in the World” challenged the unnamed fan group at East Street’s Holy Dragon Square, aiming to use “the majority’s justice” to punish the sin of money. They even threatened to deploy “rumor-mongering” as a catastrophic weapon. However, the unnamed fan group was unfazed, holding the “hired navy” trump card and strongly condemned the illegal actions of the “Ten-Year Hardcore Fans of Princess Luna Alliance.”
The back and forth between the two sides was lively, culminating in a three-hour and five-minute “war” that ended with the unnamed Fe-something-nice’s loss of sanity and release of freezing magic, resulting in the wails of thousands injured by frostbite.
Due to the extreme cold that day, it was historically dubbed… «The Cold War».
The occurrence of «The Cold War» led the authorities to start regulating fan activities, ordering that individual fan groups must not exceed a thousand people and must have special authorization from the idol themselves to be considered official.
Under this unfair oppression, the “Ten-Year Hardcore Fans of Princess Luna Alliance,” numbering tens of thousands, was forced to disband, splitting into dozens of smaller fan groups. Only one legitimate “Ten-Year Hardcore Fans of Princess Luna” barely managed to retain its organization.
The “Ten-Year Hardcore Fans of Princess Luna Alliance” ended as a thing of the past after five days and seven hours under pressure from all sides,
Historically known as… «The Dissolution of Luna Alliance» (jokingly).
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
In the elegantly and nobly decorated contestant-exclusive restaurant, beautiful classical music flows like a babbling brook, washing away the fatigue of every participant.
No matter how chaotic it is outside, under the officials’ deliberate protection, it’s hard for it to affect the contestants. It’s just some fans amusing themselves, believing their supported “idols” definitely have them in their hearts.
Lilith fully enjoys this leisure, humming along with the classical music while beckoning to a waiter:
“Bring me another top-grade steak set meal.”
The waiter, who has been specially trained and prides himself on professionalism, couldn’t help but change his expression:
“But, guest, you…”
He cautiously glanced at the half-person-high stack of plates on Lilith’s table, his voice trembling:
“You’ve already had thirty-five top-grade steak set meals.”
“Hmm?”
Lilith pats her still-flat belly, her large eyes blinking in confusion at the waiter:
“Isn’t this place specifically meant to provide food for contestants?”
“Yes, but…”
“And you guarantee to satisfy all the preferences of the contestants, right?”
“Yes, but…”
“And you said we could eat as much as we want, for free, right?”
“Yes, but…”
“Then why won’t you satisfy me!”
Lilith slams the table forcefully, causing the stacked plates to jump half a foot high.
The waiter wipes away his cold sweat, fearing those plates might fall off, which could potentially cost him this month’s bonus.
“Are you looking down on me! Thinking I’m small, won’t grow tall, and…and…”
Lilith glares, circling her chest with her hands, becoming more aggrieved as she speaks, “And this, just because it’s a bit smaller and flatter, you think I can’t eat that much?”
“I’ll have you know, this is discrimination, blatant discrimination! Just because I’m small, I don’t even have the right to eat my fill?”
“No…that’s not it…please let me explain…”
“What’s there to explain?”
“I didn’t mean any discrimination at all, it’s just…it’s just…”
The waiter speaks in a low and conciliatory tone, trying to appease with a smile: “It’s just that we prepared only so much of the top-grade steak, and you’ve already had the last plate.”
Lilith gets even angrier: “The last plate? You didn’t even prepare enough food, and you have the audacity to say eat as much as you want?”
“Ha ha…the top-grade steak is a bit…expensive, and we were given just so much budget, so…”
“Such bad luck, can’t even enjoy a meal properly.”
Lilith speaks impatiently, “What kind of cattle is this top-grade steak from?”
“It’s from the red-horned demon cattle unique to the boundary forest.”
“Red-horned… demon cattle…”
Lilith repeats softly, making sure she remembers before waving her hand dismissively, “Alright, you can go now. Bring me some other dishes, and bring a bottle of the top-grade wine along.”
