Dragon, choose cultural victory to make money

Leon is now certain that the importance that the Drogo Group places on guarding the ruins far exceeds that of any game that has ever been launched.

Because there was actually a rehearsal for the opening of this invitational tournament.

On the last day before the competition officially started, they had just finished testing the treatment advancement system and had no time to review it before they had to rush out to rehearse and do some other filming work.

"Captain, what are we going to shoot today?"

On the bus, Zhan Wang asked excitedly.

The so-called team leader is a bit like a nobleman's butler. He is responsible for arranging the team's itinerary, food and accommodation, connecting with event organizers, connecting with brand sponsors, contacting the media, and even paying attention to the team members' schedule and status.

Basically, this club's work does not involve playing in the game, it is all related to the team manager.

"First, we will rehearse in the arena and walk through the positioning process. It will take about half an hour. Then we will take the final photos for the poster, which may take an hour. Then there will be a separate pre-match interview for each person, looking forward to the results, opinions on the opponent, and thanking the fans and family."

The tour leader chattered on and on about the afternoon's itinerary.

"That's all?" Zhan Wang was overwhelmed after hearing this. There weren't so many troubles when he played in previous competitions.

"Um, not yet. After all this is done, there will be a fan meeting, and autographs will be needed. Please be careful during the meeting. If fans ask you to sign in an inappropriate place, you must refuse to avoid causing bad public opinion."

"No, we haven't even played the game yet, where are the fans coming from?"

"Have you forgotten that you are already a famous player in other sports? You can switch sports, and your fans can also switch sports. There is already a 'Twin Towers Guarding the Ruins Branch Fan Support Group' on Weibo."

The team leader took out his mobile phone and showed Zhan Wang the account of the fan club.

Zhan Wang took a closer look and found that this fan club account actually had tens of thousands of followers.

"This is outrageous! Why do we feel like we are almost the same as those magic shadow actors?" he couldn't help but sigh.

The team leader corrected him, "They are not magic shadow actors, they are similar to magic shadow stars. The Drogo Group has been promoting the competition to defend the ruins so much that ordinary actors don't get as much attention as you. Have you ever seen a young actor who was followed by someone throughout the whole process?"

He pointed to the back of the bus, where a "fully armed" photographer had been standing since he boarded the bus.

The photographer was wearing special work clothes and holding a small camera, recording everything that happened in the car.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to ask, what does this guy do?"

"To make a documentary," the team leader replied.

"Documentary?"

"It's also a kind of magic film, but it's based on real life. After this tournament is over, we will be part of the final documentary. Whether we appear as the winner, the 'big villain', the loser, or even as a background board, it all depends on your performance."

The team leader had already prepared a speech for the rope-twisting event, ready to give an impassioned speech to motivate the guys on the team.

However, the boys ignored him and looked at the cameraman.

"Hey, man, can you take a picture of me that looks better?"

"I'm a little curious, don't your arms get tired from holding the camera all the time?"

"Are you stupid? Don't you see there's a stand on the camera, supporting it at the waist?"

“If we’re eliminated and you’re still filming us, isn’t that a bit too cruel?”

"Think about it positively, it's not like we can't win!"

"If, I mean if..."

……

The car was suddenly filled with a noisy and joyful atmosphere.

Leon did not join them in teasing the cool cameraman who just took pictures and didn't say anything.

He also held a thick tactical book in his hand, which contained not only their own tactics but also an analysis of each opponent's lineup.

Although everything is printed out, you still need to read it more often to strengthen your impression, so that you won't be unable to find the content you are looking for when the time comes.

He can still handle these tasks at present, but if Guardians of the Ancients continues to be updated and hundreds of heroes are released, he will not be able to complete the task of banning and selecting heroes by himself.

The hotel where the team is staying is not far from the main stadium.

This invitational tournament was held in a sports park in Waterdeep. In addition to the main venue, which could accommodate 60,000 spectators, there were three other secondary venues that could seat thousands of spectators.

The opening match, knockout rounds, and key matches in the group stage will be held in the main stadium.

Because there are many group stage matches, in order to compress time, several matches in the same round will be held at the same time, and those with less attention will be held in the secondary venue.

Even so, it was still much more formal than the largest Red Alert competition he had ever participated in.

Most of the Red Alert matches are played in bases or hotels. It is considered good enough to enter the stadium for the knockout rounds. Many small-scale matches are completed entirely online.

The peak of attention for the Red Alert competition was when the devil players came everywhere to challenge.

At that time, it was no longer just about winning or losing the game, but about proving that humans are no worse than the devil at playing games, and by extension, humans are no worse than the devil.

A battle of racial honor.

So it attracts a lot of viewers who are not gamers.

Since then, Lyon has never played a game in front of tens of thousands of spectators.

Although there have been many online competitions with tens of thousands of viewers, online audiences are different from offline audiences.

The cheers of tens of thousands of spectators at the scene can make the entire stadium vibrate.

He missed that feeling.

That is his motivation to continue on the field.

But he was a little worried about his teammates. Except for Zhan Wang, the other three had never played a game in such a large venue.

Some people are audience-shy. The more audiences there are, the more excited they are. The greater the pressure, the stronger they are. Zhan Wang is one of them, and so is Leon.

But there are also many people who are born unable to cope with such situations.

There are Mr. Big Scenes and Mr. Small Scenes.

He remembered that once before, the person in charge of recruiting at the club found a very talented newcomer on the Internet. After watching the video of the newcomer, it seemed that he could directly enter the court and was extremely outstanding.

As a result, when he was called for tryouts, his performance was terrible. Just when a few people were standing behind him and watching him, his hands started shaking.

The results of the trial training are at least several levels lower than the level shown online.

From an outstanding newcomer who could play right away, he became an ordinary passerby expert who would be discouraged at first sight.

The person in charge of recruitment suspected that the person had been replaced, so they locked the newcomer in a room and let him practice, and his level immediately returned to normal.

Leon swore that he was definitely the most shy person he had ever met.

In the end, I had no choice but to be eliminated.

No matter how strong you are, it will be useless if you can't perform well on the field.

But I heard that the newcomer has participated in the Drogo Group's recruitment program for guarding ruins anchors. Maybe that's a job that suits him.

As for the current teammates, I don’t know what will happen then.

Fortunately, the battle to guard the ruins is fought in the consciousness space. In order to protect the players, the hearing and touch in reality are still retained to prevent them from being unaware of unexpected situations.

But I heard that there are soundproofing measures at the competition site, so as long as you don't get scared when you go on stage, you should be fine and not easily get stage fright when you really get into the game. The bus slowly drove into the parking lot outside the venue.

With the increase in the number of cars, parking has become a hassle in many cities.

But in Waterdeep, this is not a problem.

Even in the eyes of most city residents, the space reserved for parking is a bit too much. It would be a shame to use so much space for something else.

It seems like it's prepared for every family with a car, how is that possible?
Finally, Lyon saw the venue for this competition.

A large, uh, empty space?
It does sound strange, but in this arena, there is nothing in the middle except for the transparent rooms in the two corners.

There were no facilities, no scenery, just a large, dry empty space.

I didn't expect this at all.

Doesn’t the Drogo Group take this competition very seriously?
"Come on, everyone from the Sons of the Twin Towers, please follow me. I will introduce to you your opening entrance procedures." A staff member found the Sons of the Twin Towers.

Each team present was led by a dedicated person.

Lyon also met their opponents in this competition, players from different regions and races.

This competition does not stipulate the type of clothing that the contestants can wear, and the clothes will not affect the operations in the consciousness space.

So by looking at their very distinctive clothes, you can roughly guess where they are from.

Many dragon elements can be seen on the clothes of the Deep Dragonborn. It seems that a dragon image has been designed for each contestant, and it happens to be a five-colored dragon instead of a metal dragon. It really is like a villain.

They are indeed the "big villain", the biggest favorite to win the championship, with an 80% win rate in training matches. They are the ultimate powerful enemy that every team that wants to win the championship must face.

As for the "number two villain", the Legion of Hell, as always, they were wearing their crimson armor, and if you didn't know better you would think they were here to fight.

In comparison, the clothing of the Son of the Twin Towers is much more ordinary, just a wizard robe, close to Repin's style, and the logo is of course the two towers in the city's name.

If there is anything special about them, it is that they have the most sponsor advertisements on their clothes.

As one of the earliest professional clubs to start operations, it also pays special attention to fan operations. The projects it participates in may not be the strongest, but they definitely have the most traffic.

This is the legendary “Internet celebrity team”.

If it weren't for Toto's pressure in guarding the ruins, they would also be the top internet celebrity team here.

The space on the robe that could be used to print advertisements is almost full.

Although they are not as valuable as the Drogo Cartel emblem on the Deep Dragonborn's clothes, they look like there are many of them.

No matter how ugly it is, it’s all money.

Under the guidance of the staff, they completed a complete set of on-stage procedures, which was very simple. They just came out from the corresponding exit, went to the designated position, waited for the lights to come on, posed freely, and left after dark.

Leon couldn't help but ask the staff, "Is the whole process so simple?"

“Of course, keep it as simple as possible and don’t affect your players’ competitive state,” the staff member replied.

"But isn't it a bit too simple?"

"Simple?" The staff member was stunned at first, then smiled and said, "What you see now is not the whole opening ceremony, it's just the rehearsal. Believe me, when it opens tomorrow, it will definitely be a grand scene that has never been seen before."

“But there’s no arrangement…” Leon said, and then realized, “It’s an illusion!”

"Shh-"

The staff member gestured, "Keep it a secret."

After the rehearsal, the team members were manipulated like puppets to take the final photos and then do personal interviews.

Lyon's interviews usually don't contain any particularly explosive remarks. He is always low-key and humble, and only speaks polite words.

The King of War contributed a lot to the show.

When asked about his goal for this competition, he pointed at the camera and said confidently: "Champion! Every player, the moment he steps onto the professional arena, his only goal should be to win the championship!"

He is very handsome, but I don’t know how this interview footage would be repeatedly “whipped” if he hadn’t won the championship.

On the way to the fan meeting, the leader who had temporarily left came jogging after us.

"Grouping, our grouping is out!"

Everyone gathered around immediately.

According to the rules of the competition, all sixteen teams will be divided into two groups, a single round-robin bo2, with wins and points. The top four teams in the two groups will advance to the winners group, the fifth and sixth will advance to the losers group, and the bottom two will be eliminated. In the event of a tie, a single extra game will be played.

"Don't ever team up with Toto the Devil."

"Brother, didn't you read the rules at all? Toto's team is the number one seed, and the Devil is the number two seed. They must be two separate groups."

"Oh, then who are we going to be in a group with?"

The team leader replied: "With the Devil Army, and the opening match is between us and the Devil."

The team members suddenly wailed.

Lyon didn't react much. The opening game must have a traffic showdown. No matter which group they are assigned to, the first game must be against the strongest team in the group.

"Don't be nervous, friends. It's just the first game. Relax and adapt to the competition. With our strength, we will definitely qualify."

……

The next day, the opening ceremony.

Tens of thousands of spectators gathered in the arena, and tickets for the main venue were extremely hard to get. Even the outermost "mountaintop" seats were sold out in one second after each round of ticket release.

The arena's previously empty interior has now become a massive battlefield guarding the ruins.

The illusion that is no different from the real thing perfectly reproduces the battlefield of the original consciousness space into the arena. The location of the two fountains is the battle room for both sides.

This illusion battlefield is both a setting and a real-time broadcast after the game starts, and its effect is far better than the screen.

The audience spent so much money to buy tickets to enter the venue, so of course they should see some effects that cannot be seen in the live broadcast.

"Now, let us welcome all participating teams with the warmest cheers!"

"Deepwater Dragonborn!"

Following the host's shout, the epic wild monster pit in the river in the illusion battlefield lit up, and the Deepwater Dragonborn team led by Toto appeared.

Only then did Leon realize that the point where he stood yesterday was a different wild monster point.

It is specifically divided according to the seed rank. The Son of Twin Towers has a high rank and is assigned to an ancient wild point.

"Get ready, it's our turn soon." Lyon reminded the players.

At this time, the No. 3 player suddenly whispered: "Captain, I, I'm nervous, my legs are shaking a little..."

Lyon frowned. As expected, the players in the team who had never seen such a big scene were a little stage frightened.

However, the opening match came immediately after the opening ceremony, leaving them no time to adjust.

"Take a deep breath, and you'll be fine once you enter the game. Trust your teammates, we'll have your back..." (End of this chapter)