1468 Outnumbered 10,000 to 1

"The enemy has exactly 41,982 players… 41,983 if you count their ruler. This means they outnumber us 10,000 to 1," Yuan said to the others.

"Nearly forty-two thousand, huh? This is going to be rough even for us." Shi Lang wiped the invisible sweat off his forehead.

"Is this really doable?" Wang Bingbing looked at Yuan, who wore a confident smile on his face.

"I doubt he arranged this match just so we could lose our debut match…" Wu Zao said.

"So, what's the plan?"

Yuan then said, "It's quite simple. We will wait for our opponents to move first and respond accordingly. As mentioned before, they will most likely toy with us a little instead of trying to crush us as fast as possible."

"I will stay back here to protect our ruler while the rest of you will confront the opponent."

"Huh? You're going to stay back while we fight them?" Shi Lang looked at him with wide eyes.

Yuan nodded with a calm smile, "This is also training. You need to experience what it feels like to be overwhelmed by the enemy in numbers. Don't worry; it's not like I won't do anything. I will support you guys from the rear with buffs and whatnot."

In a seated position, Yuan suddenly hovered in the air and placed the zither on his lap, giving the appearance of a god looking down on everyone there.

"You know, even though we're also Spirit Grandmasters, we cannot stay in the air for as long as you. Is there a trick to flying or something?" Wang Bingbing suddenly asked him.

They could only hover in the air for, at most, a few minutes before running out of spiritual energy.

"The spiritual energy in this world is too weak to support your flight, so you must use more of your own energy to sustain your flight. The only way to fix it would be to increase your own spiritual energy," he said.

"That sounds easier said than done. Haaa… it sucks being able to fly without problem in Cultivation Online but not in this world." Wang Bingbing sighed.

"You'll eventually get there."

Eventually, the countdown in the sky reached zero.

"Welcome to Arena One, guests from around the world! I, Yan Xiaoxiao, will be your speaker for this match!"

The audience went into an uproar after hearing and recognizing this sweet voice to be a famous celebrity—a renowned singer.

"Fairy Yan?! I thought she was a singer! Why is she suddenly working as a speaker?!"

"The organizers must've specifically hired her for this special occasion."

Suddenly, a beautiful young lady appeared above the arena through projection, and on her face was a sweet smile that could charm even heaven itself.

Yan Xiaoxiao continued speaking, "First and foremost, I would like to thank the organizers for allowing me to be here today! As a big fan of Player Yuan, when I heard that his faction was making its debut, I immediately requested to be the speaker for their match, and I am very grateful to have received this role!"

"Now, for this match, we have the challenger, the Demon Sealing Faction, and the Fiery Locust Swarm, who accepted the challenge!"

"The match terms are as follows: there is no player limit, no cultivation limit, and martial techniques are allowed!"

"The match rules are as follows: killing and crippling another player is strictly prohibited! Any performance-enhancing drugs are prohibited! The players may only use the weapons provided to them! Those who break any of these rules will immediately be removed from the match and penalized accordingly! The match will end when either ruler is eliminated or the time runs out!"

"Now, let's give the participating factions a brief introduction!"

"We have the Fiery Locust Swarm, who is currently ranked 86th in the world. Led by Xu Boqin, they have almost 42,000 members with three hundred fifty Spirit Masters, nine Spirit Grandmasters, and one Spirit Lord! They currently have a record of 13 victories and 3 defeats!"

"Their challenger, the Demon Sealing Faction, needs no introduction, but they are currently unranked with zero matches in their record, making this their debut! They currently boast a team of 12 members, all under the leadership of none other than the renowned Player Yuan, the undisputed number one player in Cultivation Online!"

"Now I know what most of you are thinking—why would the Demon Sealing Faction challenge the Fiery Locust Swarm with just 12 members? Why are there only 5 of these 12 members currently on the field? Are they confident in winning this seemingly impossible-to-win match? Honestly, I don't have the slightest clue! But hopefully, we will get an answer soon!"

"Okay, enough yapping from me. Let's get this match started!"

Another countdown appeared, residing beside Yan Xiaoxiao's projection.

[0:10]

[0:09]

[0:08]

The audience also started counting down, causing the entire arena to tremble with their enthusiastic voice.

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"Let the match begin!"

A loud noise that indicated the start of the match buzzed throughout the arena, and the red line on the ground turned green.

The match had begun, but nobody from the Demon Sealing Faction moved.

Meanwhile, only a hundred players from Fiery Locust Swarm advanced toward the Demon Sealing Faction's castle.

"It looks like the Fiery Locust Swarm does not plan on ending this faction immediately!" Yan Xiaoxiao commented as live streaming of the battlefield was displayed in the air for the spectators to see more clearly.

Of course, none of the players on the battlefield were able to hear Yan Xiaoxiao's commentary or see the live streamings, as the battlefield was covered by an invisible formation that blocked off sound and video projections.

This formation had required over a hundred Array Masters and several weeks of effort to build despite it being a mere level 1 formation.

However, before the Fiery Locust Swarm's players could really go anywhere, a weird phenomenon occurred on the battlefield, halting their movements.

"Formation activate," Yuan muttered, activating the formation that revealed cheaters shortly after the match began.