Chapter 299


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    [Trantor  Asura]


    [Proofreader  Demon God]


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    The World Champions League.


    For Seong Jihan, this tournament held little significance in reality. His main focus was on the global ranking in the Space League. Moreover, to prepare for the confrontation with Longinus, he had to devote himself to training every day.


    Seong Jihan had nned to leave the Champions League group stage matches to other Korean yers.


    Then when the timing was right, I was going to just sit there and use up my ban cards


    However, due to the quest he received this time, Seong Jihans view of the World Champions Leaguepletely changed.


    The matter about the constetion candidate, it was Pythias suggestion.


    Saying it was to save Seong Jihans life, Pythia had informed him of the Chasing the Stars option that could make him a constetion candidate.


    The gap between humanitys 1st ce Seong Jihan and 2nd ce was still huge, so the Chasing the Stars option remained in effect.


    At this rate, with time, Seong Jihan would be able to be a constetion candidate.


    Especially by the time the Champions League winner was decided, the deadline for bing a constetion candidate would also arrive.


    Even without the Celestial Cubes quest, there wasnt much time difference anyway until he became a constetion candidate.


    However,


    Still, its significant that theyre giving this as a reward.


    If the Celestial Cube really gave rewards suitable for the users situation, it could be inferred that advancing the constetion candidacy by a month or two was very important.


    Hmm Could it be that Longinuss descent is not far off?


    The constetion Longinus, wielder of the Spear of Judgement.


    No matter how powerful Seong Jihan had be, if a constetion directly descended, the scales would inevitably tip in their favor.


    Perhaps the Celestial Cubes reward was to prevent this.


    For now, I must win no matter what.


    Even to be a constetion candidate, Seong Jihan decided to take the World Champions League seriously.


    What should we do for Korea to surely win?


    As people gathered one by one and Seong Jihan brought up the topic while watching TV,


    Oh, Uncle seemed uninterested But your heart is pounding after seeing the group draw, right?


    ording to experts evaluations, the most important thing against our country is luck. Whether yer Seong Jihan gets banned or not has a decisive impact on the match.


    1st and 2nd bans are confirmed, and from the 3rd its a 50% chance If were really unlucky, the boss could get banned for all 5 matches.


    And theyll definitely pick the Supporter map too. Even though Uncle showed Supporter prowessst time, without Uncle, our countrys Supporter power iscking after all.


    U.K, whose Supporter power is simr to ours, is said to only bring out the Mage map. After all, Mage and Support are our countrys weaknesses.


    Everyone chimed in about the Champions League.


    The strategies other countries were preparing against Koreargely fell into two categories.


    The first was banning Seong Jihan and the second was selecting the Supporter or Mage maps.


    Then we should recruit talented Mages and Supporters from Korea.


    Thats right. But finding yers with national team-level skills isnt so easy


    As Lee Hayeon trailed off,


    Me, me!


    Sophia, who brought her te from the kitchen, raised her hand high.


    National team-level yer! Supporter,cking in Korea! Here I am!


    Ah


    Well, we do have Sophia as a Supporter.


    But didnt the US national team call up Sophia? If shes on the roster, she cant y for both teams, right?


    Ah, my level is stillcking so I wasnt called. The US national team has a very high level requirement.


    The US national team,posed of only the worlds best yers.


    To be selected as a national representative there, no matter how good ones gift was, they had to surpass the level limit set by the national team.


    In Sophias case, she fell slightly short of that, so she couldnt make it into the US national team lineup.


    But the Boss kept saying why bother naturalizing


    That was because of the Sword Kings case.


    Perhaps because of the case of the Sword King, who went to Japanst year and dealt great damage to the Korean national team, Seong Jihan did not wee foreign yers going out of their way to naturalize ande over.


    In the first ce, at this time when the Space League was most important, he felt there was no need to go that far for a nationalpetition.


    Until now, Seong Jihan had not agreed with Sophias naturalization either, but now the situation was different.


    Sophia, want toe to Korea?


    Rereally?


    Yes, we must win this time.


    Wow!


    Perhaps surprised that Seong Jihan epted after she brought it up herself, Sophias eyes widened.


    Whats up with you, Uncle? You kept telling her not toe.


    I received a quest to win.


    Theres even a quest like that? Uncle, are you ying a different game from us?


    It was suddenly given.


    At the mention of receiving a quest, the people around looked at Seong Jihan with surprised faces, but only for a moment.


    Lee Hayeon pondered deeply and put forth her opinion with a serious expression.


    If its because of a quest, how about publicizing this to the world? Against strong countries like the US and China, the oue could be determined by whether the Boss is banned or not.


    If they ended up facing the US in the finals, and the US coach was lucky enough to realize a 5 streak ban on Seong Jihan, the oue of that match would be hard to guarantee.


    So Lee Hayeon suggested openly demanding the championship victory through publicizing this.


    Would they go that far, Unnie?


    If the Boss says he needs to clear a quest, people should naturally ept it. Plus, the Daegi Guilds effects have greatly increased this time, so everyones being more cautious. For one championship, theyll probably concede.


    Seong Jihan and the Daegi Guild were so important to humanity, she was confident they could sufficiently negotiate and have others concede the Champions League championship.


    However,


    No, its a bit much to openly reveal the quest details to the whole world.


    Seong Jihan rejected this proposal.


    Theres no need to openly demand the championship and invite needless wariness.


    The Martial Gods subordinates in Tuseong were also watching humanitys situation.


    There was no need to show them Seong Jihan making a fuss over the Champions League championship.


    Rather, lets say Sophias recruitment was actively pursued by the Korean association.


    Aha As if the coach recruited her while Boss was training?


    Yes, that narrative would be better.


    Alright, Ill contact them right away.


    * * *


    =Group B has been decided! Korea, U.K, Saudi Arabia, and Canada.


    =How do you view the group draw results?


    =Very good! Although the U.K is a strong team, they are no match for us.


    =Thats right. Even if yer Seong Jihan cant participate in the group stage matches due to training, advancing to the round of 16 wont be difficult!


    Listening to thementators voices saying the Group B results were favorable for Korea,


    Coach, this is Lee Hayeon


    Lee Hayeon immediately pushed for Sophias inclusion in the national team.


    The next day.


    [Round of 16 already confirmed? Group B draw results smile upon Korea.]


    [Coach Noh Youngjun makes a surprise announcement to include yer Sophia in the national team lineup!]


    [Who is yer Sophia? A promising Supporter prospect with the gift Trinity.]


    [The US BattleNet Association expresses bewilderment at the sudden recruitment announcement.]


    The optimistic articles about the group stage results were short-lived.


    As Coach Noh Youngjun announced bringing Sophia from the US to the national team, the publics attention was entirely focused here.


    -Wow, Sophia is really naturalizing?


    -No, she kept saying shede but never did, so I didnt expect it


    -Didnt Seong Jihan say theres no need for her to naturalize?


    -Yeah, he said that while mentioning the Sword King case that he doesnt like that.


    -Hey, but is Sophia the same as the Sword King? She didnt even make to the US national team lol


    -So the coach made the surprise announcement despite Seong Jihans opposition? Whoa!


    -No way. There must have been some coordination.


    -Yeah, no matter how much of a coach Noh Youngjun is, he cant do something against Seong Jihans wishes.


    The reactions to Sophias recruitment were explosive.


    After all, she was a card that could supplement the Korean national teams chronic weakness in Supporter power in one go.


    In fact, if not for her special rtionship with Seong Jihan, rather thaning from the US to Korea, she would have been recruited from Korea to the US.


    Although Lee Hayeon borrowed Coach Noh Youngjuns name to announce the recruitment proposal, perceptive people were saying it was possible because Seong Jihan agreed to it to some extent.


    -Then our only weakness is Mage now. Cant Masiede too? Hehe.


    -Masied ended up ying as Argentinas national representativest time. So he wont be able to participate in this Champions League.


    -Thats a shame Cant we recruit him next season at least?


    -Well, Masied is the breadwinner of his family in Argentina, so its a bit sorry to take him away lol


    -Right, Sophia couldnt be a US representative due tocking levels, but Masieds case is different.


    -Dont we have any Mages to nurture ourselves?


    -Yeah Strangely, no Mage talents are emerging.


    -Seong Jihan emerged, so thats enough lol!! What more do you want?


    People expressed regret that if Masied was recruited too, Korea would be the definite strongest team in this Champions League.


    However, with Sophia joining the national team, expectations for the championship grew even higher.


    And the match schedule released afterwards,


    had matches against the three countries scheduled consecutively in 2, 4, and 6 days.


    A considerably tight schedule but there was a reason for this.


    -Why is the schedule so packed?


    -Theres a Space League match in early next month, so it seems to be because of that.


    -The opponent this time is World Tree Elves.


    -Ah, those guys again?


    -World Tree Elves No. 200. Rank 1.


    The Space League match held in early July. The opposing race for this game was the World Tree Elves again.


    Moreover, No. 200, who was running 1st in the Space League rankings.


    The Champions League had to end before the match against them so this schedule was arranged very tightly.


    Therefore, we will be handling the schedule at the BattleNet Center here until early July. It will be a hard march for everyone, but lets work hard for our goal of winning.


    Yes, Coach!


    Meanwhile, at Koreas BattleNet Center,


    Coach Noh Youngjun was exining this situation to the selected yers.


    And after finishing the schedule talk,


    Ah, and Sophia, who just joined the national team this time. As you all know, shes one of the most promising prospects among Supporter yers. She made a really difficult decision this time. Lets wee her with apuse.


    He introduced Sophia, who joined the national team, to the yers.


    Hello everyone~ Im Sophia. Nice to meet you~


    p! p! p!


    As Sophia bowed her head, apuse erupted from the crowd.


    Although she gave off a considerably different vibe from the Korean national team, the national team yers, knowing their Supporter power was extremely weak, weed her with big apuse and looked at her curiously.


    Wow, her ent is really like a Korean. Just like when watching BattleTube.


    Is it true she naturalized because of yer Seong Jihan?


    Why else would shee from the US to the Korean national team?


    But yer Seong Jihan Isnt he dating the Daegi Guild Master?


    Well, thats true, but


    The yers whispered like that while ncing at where Seong Jihan was sitting.


    They didnt dare ask him directly, but it was a situation where gossip-like interest was bound to arise.


    Its unexpected that Jihan let Sophia join the national team. He was so against it


    Yoon Sejin, who had left home to find artifacts ording to the constetions will, also returned to the BattleNet Center because of the Champions League and was watching this scene with interest.


    Dad, the coach recruited her.


    Hoho, if Jihan didnt allow it, do you think the coach would have recruited her arbitrarily?


    Well Thats true.


    Seong Jihan smiled wryly as he listened to the father and daughters words.


    Originally, Seong Jihan hadnt even agreed, but they tried to make it seem like the Korean BattleNet Association recruited Sophia because of the Champions League.


    My status was too high.


    Perhaps because Seong Jihans position in the BattleNet industry was so high, people naturally epted that he agreed to this.


    In fact, if he opposed, with what power would the Korean BattleNet Association recruit Sophia?


    Seong Jihan roughly exined this situation to Yoon Sejin.


    A situation arose where I have to win at any cost this time. So I brought out a surefire card.


    Is that so? A situation It must not be an ordinary problem if even Sophia is joining.


    Hearing those words, Yoon Sejin nodded his head.


    Alright, Ill also do my best to win.


    In his eyes as he said that, a golden light was flickering ever so slightly.


    And that,


    That light is peculiar.


    Seong Jihan did not miss.


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