This was the umpteenth uproar on the scene; the reporters had lost count.

Within five rounds, a one-versus-three!

It sounded like a deliberate attempt to make things difficult, yet Tang Rou looked so satisfied. Could there be some winning trick in this?

The reporters hurriedly checked the data, searching for Happy’s schedule for the next five rounds. The result left them dumbfounded once more.

It was no exaggeration to call Happy’s upcoming schedule a journey to death.

In the fourth round, Happy would fight on their home turf, welcoming the Tyranny team.

Sixth round, they would host Blue Rain again.

Eighth round, at home, Tiny Herb would come to offer guidance.

The Alliance’s top three powerhouses were all gathered in the next five rounds. Even if these three rounds were all Happy’s home games, it still seemed like a pipe dream to achieve a one-versus-three result against any of these teams.

Ye Xiu, did you really have a grudge against Tang Rou! Is that it?

Several reporters looked up at Ye Xiu’s expression. The rest began to pay attention to the other two teams.

In the fifth round, Happy would be on the road, challenging Heroic Spirit, a mid-to-lower-tier team similar to Zhao Hua.

Seventh round, they would face Yizhan on the road.

Yizhan team?!

Some of the more perceptive minds instantly began to make connections.

Information gleaned from the online game’s Heavenly Domain, as well as a casual remark by Ye Xiu at a press conference, revealed that Yizhan and Happy had quite a bit of personal friendship.

If there was a determination to achieve a one-versus-three in five rounds, was Yizhan Happy’s trump card?

Colluding with Yizhan to throw the match?

The Glory Alliance had never seen a fixed match; at most, there were slightly passive attitudes due to hopeless situations. This usually only happened at the end of the season when the overall situation was already determined, but no team would lose its fighting spirit at the beginning of the season.

Although there was no precedent, that didn’t stop people from making malicious speculations. Such an unusual oath made almost every reporter feel that it was impossible for there to be no trickery involved. Even Chang Xian, while not suspecting Happy of fabricating anything, felt that there must be some reason behind it, right?

The reporters couldn’t find out the truth, and the press conference ended. In the end, all the questions revolved around whether Tang Rou could achieve a one-versus-three, and no one cared about anything else in this match. When the victors, the Zhao Hua team, took the stage, the reporters below were still whispering about Happy. After announcing that they could start asking questions, someone stood up and asked a routine “Congratulations to Zhao Hua for winning. What do you think of this match?” but there were no follow-up questions.

The reporters were absent-minded, and the Zhao Hua players, who had come to the press conference with high spirits, were dumbfounded.

Before the match, Happy’s popularity was so high that people clearly no longer regarded them as a new team entering the Alliance, but rather as a team whose strength surpassed Zhao Hua.

Zhao Hua didn’t feel resentful about this. With three All-Stars, Happy’s lineup was indeed more glamorous than Zhao Hua’s. But so what? Zhao Hua had seen and fought against teams with three or even more All-Stars; they had never collapsed and knelt before such powerful opponents.

Compared to those powerhouses, Happy was still far behind, right?

Zhao Hua bravely accepted the challenge from Happy. They didn’t expect to gain too much advantage from the three All-Star level players, but Happy’s other players, the rookies, became Zhao Hua’s ultimate breakthrough point.

They chose Tang Rou, a pivotal figure in Happy’s lineup. Her ability to be the final player in the individual competition showed the team’s trust and reliance on her.

Targeting Tang Rou, Zhao Hua made thorough preparations. Thus, from the individual competition to the team competition, in this round, Tang Rou was completely manipulated and buried the 7 points that Happy might have obtained.

Zhao Hua wasn’t considered strong compared to many teams, but they hadn’t reached the point where they could be bullied at will. This time, taking advantage of their home field and thorough pre-match preparations, they won a match that many people didn’t expect them to win. They were excited and thrilled, and they were eager to talk about it at the press conference, but were they being ignored like this?

Why was this happening?

The three Zhao Hua players attending the press conference were puzzled. They weren’t famous, and their team wasn’t glamorous, but they shouldn’t be met with such a cold reception, right?

At the same time, another press conference, held slightly later, was lively and bustling.

The most watched match of the round, Samsara’s away challenge to Tyranny, had just ended.

Countless players, moved by the tenacity of Tyranny’s veterans, were blessing Tyranny, hoping that they would achieve good results this season, hoping that they would fulfill their dreams in the final stage of their careers, and hoping that they could give the Samsara team, which had crushed their dreams last season, a strong counterattack.

But the result was disappointing.

The Samsara team, challenging Tyranny on their home turf, ultimately won the match with a relatively large advantage of 8 to 2. They only lost two points in the individual competition, but then unleashed their power in the subsequent individual and team competitions, taking down Tyranny from behind.

This was still an away game; Samsara was truly terrifyingly strong this season. After three rounds, they had achieved a complete victory in the first two rounds, and in the third round, they had won against a strong team like Tyranny with a large advantage of 8 to 2. The 28 points from the three rounds allowed Samsara to continue to lead the standings.

And Tyranny, after three rounds, with 19 points, had slipped to eighth place in the standings, the last seat in the playoffs.

With such a start, there was no longer the豪迈气势 (háomài qìshì - bold spirit) of charging towards the best record in the regular season as they had last season. People’s worries about Tyranny seemed to be becoming a reality. Another season had passed, how much had the veterans’ condition declined? After failing last season, had the veterans really not lost any of their morale? Looking at the disadvantage against Samsara at home, these things that people didn’t want to see seemed to be happening…

Had Tyranny really lost their former glory? After the home game against Samsara, many fans were already shedding tears in the stands.

The atmosphere at the post-match press conference was quite heavy. Tyranny had many veterans, and many of the reporters below had been dealing with them for many years. Even without friendship, week after week, appearing in front of each other, lingering, asking questions, had also worn down a bit of a relationship.

The decline of Tyranny symbolized the demise of an era that they had followed, and every veteran reporter felt a sense of sadness. At this time, facing Tyranny, most of the new generation of reporters were the ones who could resolutely raise sensitive questions.

“In the new season, facing Samsara’s strong lead, Tyranny has already fallen behind by 9 points after three rounds, and even lost 8 points to Samsara in the direct confrontation at home. What will Tyranny do next? Will there be any changes?” a reporter asked.

Make some changes.

What changes?

Would the new generation replace the old, and would that era completely become a thing of the past?

“Tyranny will indeed make some adjustments,” Zhang Xinjie, the vice-captain, answered the reporter’s question.

“Oh? Can you reveal some details?” the reporter asked.

“We should increase the rotation a bit to make the team operate more efficiently,” Zhang Xinjie said.

Rotation! Did this mean that Tyranny would begin the transition of new and old players? Would the players symbolizing an era really give up this stage completely?

The reporters looked at the stage. Han Wenqing, Lin Jingyan, their expressions remained calm when Zhang Xinjie mentioned this topic.

“So, what is Tyranny’s goal this season?” someone asked. If it was such a transition period, the team would obviously not have overly high goals.

“Tyranny’s goal is always only one, the championship,” Han Wenqing replied.

Was it the veterans’ refusal to give up? The reporters sighed.

“In the next round, Tyranny will face Happy. Anything you want to say?” Someone suddenly asked such a question. Happy, Ye Xiu, this was another figure who was in the same era as Tyranny’s veterans. Although Happy also had a veteran, Wei Chen, his career was short, and his comeback in Happy made it clear to everyone that he should belong to the rotation or substitute, rather than the main force.

“I hope we can present a wonderful match.” A very formulaic answer.

“Happy’s Battle Mage player, Tang Rou, has vowed to achieve a one-versus-three within five rounds, otherwise she will withdraw from the professional circle. What do you think of this? As the opponent she will face in the next match.” Tyranny’s match ended late, so the press conference was naturally late as well. The information from Happy’s interview had already circulated, and this kind of relay-style interview was also a specialty of the reporters.

“A very good determination. If you want to succeed against Tyranny, then come at us with everything you’ve got!” Han Wenqing said.

“Will Tyranny make targeted deployments for this?” a reporter asked.

“No,” Zhang Xinjie simply answered two words. The reporters deeply agreed. Tyranny’s strategic and tactical planner was Zhang Xinjie, the priest known for his meticulousness and adherence to principles. How could he adjust the team’s rhythm because of a bet?

“Wishing Tyranny good results in the next round,” the reporter said, ending his question. Then other reporters followed up, asking some questions about the rotation that Tyranny was going to implement.

The third round of matches came to a complete end after Tyranny versus Samsara.

In this round, apart from the matches between Happy and Zhao Hua, and Tyranny and Samsara, there were also two matches with results that were somewhat unexpected.

Heroic Spirit team, took a 7 to 3 victory over the seemingly stronger Royal Wind team in an away game.

The Hundred Blossoms team, lost again at home to the Three Zeros One team by a score of 3 to 7.

Other than these, the strong teams all won, with scores of 7 to 3 or higher. After three rounds, the situation of the new league was finally much clearer than it was after two rounds.