The team battles hadn't started yet, but the crowd that had come to spectate was already placing their bets.
People came to the Dark Arena primarily for two things. The first was to earn rare materials and top-tier equipment, and the second was to watch exciting battles.
As soon as both teams took the field, everyone scrambled to look up their rosters, using that information as the basis for their wagers.
But it didn't take long for the crowd to be dumbfounded.
"This Asura Team is made up entirely of members from some tiny guild?"
"Who even created this Asura Team? They must be insane! Aside from that Water Rose, who's somewhat well-known, everyone else is a complete newcomer. Sure, they have some reputation in the Star Moon Kingdom, but they think that level is enough to win a match? They're not taking the Dark Arena seriously at all. Couldn't the Asura Team even afford to hire a few famous experts?"
"With a lineup like this, the Glorious Lions would have to try hard to lose. Looks like the Glorious Lions are locking in their third consecutive victory."
After reviewing Zero Wing's information, nobody could believe what they were seeing.
Zero Wing wasn't exactly weak as a guild, but their strength was extremely limited. Black Flame was the only one worth mentioning, yet Black Flame wasn't on the roster. Every other member hadn't even entered the Realm of Subtlety. Their equipment might be considered top-tier within a single kingdom, but this wasn't just any kingdom—it was a gathering place for the Divine Realm's greatest powers. A kingdom's finest gear meant nothing here. One only needed to look at the Glorious Lions' team leader, Zhan Wuji, to understand that.
A Level 35 Gold-grade set—the most powerful equipment set currently available in the Divine Realm, significantly stronger than even the Level 30 Dark Gold sets. On top of that, he was decked out entirely in Level 35 Dark Gold equipment, with a full set of Third-Order attribute gemstones. Who could possibly match that?
There was no comparing it to Zero Wing's people, who had been wearing the same equipment they'd started with at Level 30 and never bothered to change.
"They actually dare call themselves Asura? What a joke. If that Black Flame were here, maybe there'd be something worth watching. Seems like Black Flame just wanted these people to get some exposure. Might as well put the bet on the Glorious Lions. A lot of people are betting on them already, but every little profit counts."
The spectators couldn't help but sigh with disappointment, but Bai Qingxue was growing more delighted with every passing moment.
"Hee hee, I knew they had no idea about that." Zhao Yueru watched as everyone placed their bets on the Glorious Lions to win and was so amused her stomach nearly hurt from laughing.
"All right, stop laughing. We only found out by accident." Bai Qingxue said with a serious expression.
While information about the battle at the Stone Claw Mountains had leaked out, it had been recorded casually by casual players from a great distance. The footage of the peak-level battle was far from clear. And only a handful of high-ranking members in the Star River Alliance knew that the Seven Deadly Flowers had gotten involved—other guilds had no idea. All they knew was that the Star River Alliance had brought in numerous experts to help.
As for the Celestial Mechanism Pavilion, when it came to matters of this level of secrecy, nobody was stupid enough to just tell others freely.
From the publicly available information, it was true that Zero Wing's upper echelon possessed impressive base stats. But there was no understanding of the caliber of experts they had actually fought.
Despite Fire Dance and the others not having reached the Realm of Subtlety, their combat power was no worse than the squad leaders who had achieved the Realm of Flowing Water. And that was without even mentioning Night Edge.
A single squad with four fighters comparable to the Realm of Flowing Water, and the rest capable of trading blows with Realm of Subtlety experts from the Seven Deadly Flowers—winning wouldn't be too difficult. The only pity was that Black Flame wouldn't be fighting; otherwise, victory was virtually guaranteed.
"Aunt Hua, you have to vent my anger this time." Liu Shishi saw that the Asura Team was made up of Zero Wing guild members and immediately felt her temper flare. Their last encounter had cost her a fortune, and not only had she failed to destroy the trivial Zero Wing—now they had popped up again.
"What, did this team offend you?" Hua Qiushui asked with a smile.
"Mm, they made me lose a lot of money. Aunt Hua, the Glorious Lions are yours, right? Can you bump up the betting stakes? Make them bleed a little?" Liu Shishi glared at the Asura Team, grinding her teeth in hatred.
"I can. But the bet has to be agreed to by both sides. If the other party doesn't accept, there's nothing I can do. But don't worry, Aunt Hua will make sure they pay the highest price. I'll raise whatever bet they propose by two or three times over. Whether they're willing to accept that, I can't guarantee." Hua Qiushui nodded.