bookbashuk Chapter 44: The Preliminary Rounds Begin
Chapter 44: The Preliminary Rounds Begin
Chapter 44: The Preliminary Rounds Begin
"Mr. Norsen, do you really think that the 'big brother' those kids are talking about can win a prize?"
"Ha, how could that be? I just felt that the competition slots we had were useless, so I just gave them to those kids."
"The Isco Chamber of Commerce is a bunch of scoundrels. We sent them so many supplies, and all they gave us was a useless qualification to participate in a martial arts tournament."
"It's normal for our JiTu Chamber of Commerce to encounter resistance when we come to the west to expand our market. I guess some people from the western merchant groups noticed this and put pressure on the Isco Chamber of Commerce, ultimately only giving us the qualification to participate in the martial arts tournament they are holding."
"If we had known it would be like this, we should have summoned experts from the Southern Territory."
"The Western Region has more martial arts masters. We were unprepared this time, so we can only wait to make our chamber of commerce famous at the next martial arts tournament."
Manager Norsen chatted briefly with his old servant before leaving, not paying any attention to the competition spot given out by his own chamber of commerce.
Even the spies from the Western Merchant Guild, who were responsible for monitoring their actions, smiled indifferently after learning that the group of children they were sponsoring were just trying to get sponsorship for one of their older brothers, who was also a child. They figured that if children participated in a martial arts tournament for all ages, they would just be eliminated in the first round.
. . . . .
"Excuse me, is this where we register for the Western Martial Arts Tournament?"
"Yes, little sister, is there anything I can help you with?"
The registrar at the workstation saw that the person who came to inquire was a young girl, so she asked...
"I'm here to register for the competition."
"Okay, please pay the registration fee of 10,000 first."
"I have no money."
"Do you have a recommendation from a chamber of commerce that's qualified to participate?"
The registrar, who had just finished serving a group of children, then asked.
"No, but I have this."
"what!"
The registrar let out a scream, startled by the leather with some blood and flesh still attached to it that had been placed on the counter.
"This is the hide of a Ground Dragon. I sold the same hide for over 11,000 yuan in the last city. This is a Ground Dragon I just hunted; I only skinned it less than an hour ago. Can I use this to pay off the debt?"
Esdeath asked, she had arrived at the Western City yesterday, but the event had not yet started and was still in the registration phase.
After learning that registration required money and that she didn't have enough, Esdeath went out of the city again to search for traces of dangerous species, and only returned today after hunting down a ground dragon.
They were just worried that the registration period had passed, so they came directly to the registration office without finding a place to sell their goods, hoping to settle the debt with items.
"Let me ask."
The registrar went to inquire, and soon a member of the Chamber of Commerce, having heard the news, came to ask about the girl with the long, icy blue hair.
After learning that Esdeath was from the northern [Partes] tribe, a merchant guild that specialized in trading dangerous species materials bought up the dangerous species materials she had hunted, and also gave her a job as a substitute fighter in the martial arts tournament.
"As long as they make it into the top 16 and are willing to endorse our chamber of commerce, we will give them a reward of 300,000 yuan. The reward will double for each level they advance."
"it is good."
Esdeath agreed; she had no reason to refuse something that didn't conflict with her goals and would also earn her more money.
. . . .
"Miss Melard, your disguised identity is that of a single lineage successor of the Southern martial arts family's Jiu-Jitsu style, using the alias Meimei..."
On the other side, the leader of the future assassin society, Olberg, and her subordinates also helped her register her disguised identity.
. . . .
"Brother Broly, please state your name. This is your first opponent's number."
"Huh, is this how the competition is arranged right at the registration stage?"
"I don't know, but after registering, the opponent's number was indeed given to us directly by the registrar at the registration desk."
This is actually a common practice in the Western Martial Arts Tournament; they try to assign strong competitors to different promotion groups during the preliminary rounds.
To avoid some strong players being eliminated before the round of 16 begins due to early encounters.
In other words, Broly was treated as a weakling and placed in the promotion group, which already had seeded players, so he was immediately assigned an opponent.
However, Broly's kids don't care who their older brother's opponent is; they're more focused on the betting aspect now.
The betting in the Western Martial Arts Tournament is divided into bookmaker betting and direct betting. Bookmaker betting involves some business groups setting odds to attract gamblers to place bets. However, this only applies to some famous athletes, and there are no betting options for new athletes.
However, betting is different. During the preliminary rounds, betting will be set up for each competition, regardless of whether the two competitors are new or experienced.
There are no fixed odds; the odds are calculated based on the amount of money wagered by the gamblers on both sides, and the odds are determined when the betting closes.
"Before the qualifying rounds, this was the only bet we could make, and there were three casinos that offered this type of betting."
As an underdog, Broly is unlikely to be favored by many, and even those who want to bet on an underdog probably wouldn't bet on him in the first game.
Therefore, we need to place bets first. Before the competition starts, we will divide into three groups and take money to place bets at the gambling dens run by those three chambers of commerce.
By increasing the odds of betting on the opponent to win, we can attract other bettors to bet on the other side, creating a betting opportunity against us!
Nahashu didn't understand gambling before, but that didn't stop him from understanding the rules; it wasn't a difficult thing for him.
Of course, this excludes idiots and gluttons who don't want to use their brains. When Akame, Kurome, Bonney, Lausan, and Broly stand together, that's the group.
"After we put down the money, if no one bets, we'll spread rumors that some rich idiot wants to bet on a dark horse and has put a lot of money on a new kid who's competing."
This is Nahashu's simple plan.
. . . . .
The next day arrived quickly, and the preliminary rounds of the Western Martial Arts Tournament officially began. A group of ticketed spectators entered the small, partitioned-off venue.
The qualifying round consists of sixteen teams, so there are sixteen promotion groups. Each group has some formidable players, but there are also a bunch of weaklings who are just there to make up the numbers.
"Ha, my opponent is a kid, how lucky!"
Broly's opponent was a tall, thin young man who seemed to think he was very lucky after seeing Broly come on stage.
"Hey kid over there, you should just give up once the match starts. I don't want to bully a small kid and make him cry."
Broly thought he was a good person, so after the match started, he cleverly threw the man out of the ring.
"Group 7, preliminary round 24, contestant number 48, Broly wins."
The referee paused for a moment before announcing that the fight had ended too quickly, leaving some people unprepared.
"What the hell? Is number forty-seven a bamboo pole? It got thrown down so quickly?"
"Damn it, you can't even beat a child's strength, why don't you just die?!"
"You think you can participate in the martial arts tournament with this level of skill? Sure, watching weaklings make a fool of themselves is the reason I come to watch the preliminary rounds every year, and your defeat certainly surprised me. I was amused. But this time I bet on you to win, and you made me lose so badly! Damn it, refund my money!"
Clearly, the audience members who were yelling at had placed bets, hoping to win some money for drinks. But in less than a second, the guy who had bet on the winning ticket was thrown out of the arena and eliminated, his bets becoming worthless. They felt an indescribable anger!
(End of this chapter)