"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience! The competition venue is now ready, and the first match is about to begin! Let us first welcome the participating teams: the Temple Church team in the red corner, and the team in the blue corner, ranked sixth on the leaderboard... What was their name again?"

Yusha glanced at Yasuo and added, "Uruk Union Academy."

So, it seems that the sixth and seventh places have no prestige at all?

As the commentators took their positions, the competitors arrived at the battlefield on both ends through teleportation circles, gripping their weapons and preparing for battle.

The sound of a heavy and melodious horn echoed through the arena, announcing the start of the first match. As the barriers separating the arena from the outside world unfolded, cheers erupted from the audience, resembling a tsunami of jubilation from the hundreds of thousands of spectators.

"The enemy will arrive at the battlefield in thirty seconds. Crush them!"

A cold and clear female voice resonated through the magitech sound system. The elemental creatures of various factions arrived on the battlefield before the cautious players still in the fountain due to being unfamiliar with the new tournament format.

Earth and fire elemental golems, half the size of a human but with three times the strength of an adult, were the most common low-level magical creatures. Their only advantage was their low cost and large numbers.

The magical creatures on both sides began battling on their respective lines. The special effects of flames and shattered rocky bodies created an impressive visual display. At the same time, the real stars of the match began their actions.

"We can see that both sides have chosen to advance together in the middle lane. Oh, it seems they completely disregard the other lines?" The commentator's timely voice sounded, and the screen displayed the view between the mid-lane vanguard towers of both sides.

"Because they are not familiar with the new rules, they chose the safest way to fight. It's a cautious choice," Yusha explained.

...

"Approaching, it really is quite tall."

A swordsman from the Uruk team charged forward and patted the metallic body of the tower next to him. In the open space between the two defending towers, two groups of elemental creatures were engaged in fierce combat.

Although these things lacked intelligence, they were programmed to have the earth golems in the front and the fire golems in the back, creating a coordinated team with output.

"Don't run so fast, be careful not to get separated from the team behind," a companion warned as he caught up.

"I see, as the teacher said, it really is a turtle formation," the swordsman said displeased, watching the approaching Temple Church team that had followed their own troops.

...

"Now we see that the Temple Church has brought out one of their traditional abilities, the holy knight with the support of the great Angel. It is an almost insurmountable barrier, and under the cover of divine light, all types of consumption will also decrease. Undoubtedly, it is a powerful amplification formation. It looks like they intend to push through the middle all the way to the high ground! Let's take a look at the team ranked sixth... Oh, what was their name again?"

Yasuo, holding the microphone with excitement, got carried away, leaving Yusha with no opportunity to interrupt as he awkwardly stood by and reminded him, "It's Uruk Academy..."

That's why I didn't want to partner with him! And is this name really that hard to remember? You must be doing it on purpose?!

...

The two people from Uruk Academy who fell behind also arrived quickly. There was a mage and a gunner carrying a heavy magic cannon, which was almost as tall as a person. It was quite an achievement that they only fell a little behind.

"In short, let's stick to the plan we discussed before. There's not much difference between here and the arena anyway. Let's just wipe them out and push forward!" The great sword warrior pulled out his weapon and tightened the blue scarf around his neck. A faint golden spell and shield-like effects appeared around him as he charged fearlessly towards the shield formation composed of three holy knights, enveloped in holy light. He let out a deafening roar, "Demacia!!!" His teammate followed closely, also leaping into the enemy formation without hesitation, while tall barriers quickly rose from the ground, blocking their retreat.

The two teammates in the back immediately joined in on the output. The cannonballs from the magitech cannon and countless magic raindrops fell, covering indiscriminately.

...

"F*cking idiots!" The princess in the spectator stands almost burst out laughing. She had figured out Uruk's tactics. Two people held back the enemy while the backline unleashed crazed output, regardless of whether or not it would harm their allies.

As for the wall, it seemed like a contest of who had a thicker helmet... What a ridiculous tactic.

But it might unexpectedly work, considering there are squishy clergy members in the Temple Church lineup. As long as they could eliminate the enemy squishies before their own team fell, it would be a win.

More than the tactics, what troubled Tiran the most were the two guys who jumped in first and exploded... He had suspected something was off when he saw the blue scarf and the show-off golden armor. They really dared to pull off such a stunt! But since he already had the pleasure of Wind Guy Teacher's show-off as a constant companion, two more seemed like nothing.

...

However, less than ten seconds after the two macho men jumped in, the earth-shattering-made wall collapsed with a crash. After the dust settled, both of them were unconscious, while not a single person on the Church side had fallen.

— A holy knight was holding up his shield, perfectly protecting himself and the clergy behind him.

The only effect seemed to be the cancellation of the Angelic Embrace's amplification effect.

"Let's mourn for the sixth member for a second. This is the difference in raw strength between players," Yasuo Teacher sighed, then chuckled as he pressed his forehead. "If it were me, the scene would be completely different."

"Yasuo Teacher, please stay neutral... You're the commentator today, don't take on the players' perspective, be objective," Miss Yusha seemed visibly tired, even reluctant to remind him.

But when the holy light dissipated, the Church's formation was no longer blurry behind the light barrier. The three holy knights in front, protected by the priestess in the center, were perfectly visible.

"W-Wait a minute, why are there only four people?"

The mage suddenly realized something was off.

"Oh, are you talking about me?"

Suddenly, a cold voice rang out from the shadows. The gunner and the mage reacted almost simultaneously, immediately casting defensive spells without even looking back.

Unfortunately, they were a little too slow.

Raising his hand, the robed Judicator knocked both of them unconscious with the hilt of his short blades. Swiftly retreating from the range of the defensive tower's attacks, he revealed himself from the shadows.

However, he didn't entirely escape. The defensive tower had locked onto him, and a lightning ball quickly and accurately pursued him. Despite his considerable speed, he couldn't avoid being hit.

A bright yellow serpent of electricity radiated through the air after striking its target, and the Judicator, who endured the blow, was not doing well. White smoke billowed from his body, and he staggered, dropping to his knees. He only managed to keep himself up by supporting the ground with the short blades in his hands.

"How are you?"

The rushing priest quickly cast a Holy Healing spell on the warrior who was alone in the back row, allowing him to recover.

"I'm okay. I can handle it for a while, but if the attack intensity increases, two shots won't be enough. If it were you, it would probably be difficult to withstand the fourth attack as well."

He glanced at the three Holy Knights.

"However, you all did well. In that case, there's only one opponent left...Oops, where did he go?"

Only then did the people from the church notice that Judicator had ambushed and knocked down two enemies in the back row while the priest came to assist. During this short period of time, the two muscular men who were previously knocked down by friendly spells had disappeared without a trace.

"It seems like the fifth person on the other side did quite well too." Judicator suddenly realized, unable to help but chuckle.

...

Five minutes later, in the bushes of the jungle area, the three remaining Uruk participants sat together, their expressions complex.

The broadcast had just announced that the enemy had breached their middle lane second tower. At this moment, the two muscular men who had been taken down in an instant had just recovered from their injuries at the fountain. They were almost completely overwhelmed by the relentless assault of the enemy in the 3v5 fight.

"What kind of move was that? I just went to place a ward in the jungle, why did you guys go and get yourselves killed?" The man with long flowing hair and a spear in hand, who had just saved the other two, looked exasperated.

"We're brothers, so who is with who? Alright, alright, let's not talk about that now. Let's discuss how we should proceed." The greatsword warrior coughed awkwardly, turning his head to the side.

"What's the point? We're outnumbered three to five. Even if I can take down the priest, it won't be easy to deal with the three remaining Holy Knights, not to mention the assassin!"

"Then...how about ambushing them in the bushes? Catch them off guard together?"

"The high ground defense tower is under attack."

Announcements echoed throughout the arena.

The three men silently exchanged glances, their faces filled with helplessness as they stood up. Since they had already reached this stage, there was no other choice but to retreat.

...

"These three buddies are really just here to entertain... With only one ranged opponent on the other side, couldn't you guys send someone to hide in the tower's vicinity to clear the minions while the other two split-push?"

In the spectator stands, Tiran watched with a frustrated expression from a god's perspective. But thinking about it, after all, they were the three comrades hiding in the bushes; it would be abnormal if they could overturn the Church without any problems...

As expected, just as predicted. Although they managed to counter-attack under the tower, at first glance, it seemed like they had a chance. However, a volcanic eruption went off non-stop, and an armored infantryman appeared shouting while charging in, leaving them with no chance. They did manage to successfully take down the enemy's squishy priest, but unfortunately, the second Angel's Embrace had already been cast by the priest before he fell. Under the amplification of the Holy Light, the trio, who had already lost their momentum after using their skills, had almost no ability to fight back against the remaining fully buffed four opponents.

"This will be a massacre~" The voice of a certain commentator sounded rather pleased.

"You bastard... you're supposed to stay under the tower!"

The last one standing, the student with the giant sword, stubbornly held his ground without falling.

"Well, now that the tower is gone, it's your turn to fall."

Judicator's final blow eradicated the last bit of durability on the high ground tower, and along with it, the defiant greatsword warrior.

"Congratulations to Temple Church, the winner of this round!"