346 Hope Reignited!

News of Bishop’s injuries and inability to participate in the competition’s remainder quickly spread.

After Kyoto’s match against Military University, many who initially doubted Kyoto because of its many rookies reignited their enthusiasm for Kyoto.

More and more started to believe the champion of this year’s competition would be Kyoto. They knew Kyoto would make history by winning for the sixth time in a row.

However, with Bishop’s unexpected injuries, Kyoto’s next opponent was the host, Eastern University. The audience began to lose hope for Kyoto again, and the people’s support for Kyoto was only out of sympathy and pity.

Simultaneously, the media was biased against Kyoto due to Bishop’s injuries, especially the media in Z City, Dongfang University’s city of origin.

Eastern Perspective:

“Eastern University will win the first- and second-year student exchange competition and end Kyoto’s reign.”

“The suspense is building. A new champion will be born.”

…

Eastern Times:

“The competition will belong to the host with the right place and supporters.”

“Unexpected loss of a leading player, Kyoto’s reign will end in the top four.”

…

Not only the media but many viewers and netizens also thought Kyoto would lose in the top four this year. Still, there was no lack of loyal Kyoto supporters that expressed their support on various mainstream forums.

However, it would eventually lead to a war of words.

“Just from Bishop’s injuries from protecting the audience, I’m determined to support Kyoto. They’ve had a hard time.”

“The competition is still ongoing. Anything is possible.”

“We must support Kyoto. The incident came too suddenly but can’t extinguish our enthusiasm for Kyoto.”

“I agree!”

“Me too!”

…

Besides Bishop’s die-hard supporters, the other fans were more sympathetic and regretful, even obsessing about Moss.

“It’s such a pity that Kyoto lost a great player like Bishop. The road to defending their title is full of twists and turns.”

“That’s right. Captain Bishop’s positive and negative buffs are irreplaceable.”

“Not only did Kyoto lose their top-ranked team member in terms of overall strength, but they also lost their team spirit.”

“There’s also Moss. With him around, there’s a possibility of another miracle happening.”

“That’s right. Moss is the bringer of miracles, after all. He has never lost any of his matches.

…

However, the majority of students were still looking down on Kyoto. After all, on paper, Eastern University had the absolute advantage.

The teams from the top 10 universities already had an advantage against the eight second-year students, not to mention they had the right place and supporters.

On the nationally renowned C-site forum, a post titled “Kyoto, my true love, I had to leave you” became the most popular post at the moment.

The original poster, “Hurt From Love,” affectionately described his genuine love for Kyoto University, the problems it faced, and its team members’ shortcomings.

He listed ten reasons he could no longer support his beloved Team Kyoto. He believed Kyoto would lose. If not, he would do a handstand and eat sh*t on a Livestream. He even made a post as proof.

Hurt From Love even said it was for his true love for Kyoto. He also analyzed all of Kyoto’s shortcomings in detail without holding back. He even wrote a post as evidence that made people even more speechless.

It quickly attracted a large number of keyboard warriors.

“Are you mentally ill, Hurt From Love? After reading your post, I can’t see your love for Kyoto.”

“You’ve analyzed all of Kyoto’s shortcomings, Hurt From Love. Are you passionate or backstabbing? After backstabbing Kyoto, you shamelessly listed your top ten reasons for no longer supporting them. It’s so f*cking disgusting.”

“The commenter above is right. Kyoto is already in a bad spot, and you’re here to worsen things for them. Is there anyone who loves Kyoto as much as you?”

“What did Kyoto do to you? Why are you treating them like this?”

“It’s evident there’s something wrong with Hurt From Love. Period.”

…

“I believe in Moss. He will use his magical performance to make you Livestream yourself eating sh*t.”

“Yes, Moss will bring us another miracle.”

“Anything is possible since the competition is still ongoing.”

“Kyoto will win, and Hurt From Love will do a handstand while eating sh*t.”

…

Hurt From Love’s post quickly gained attraction and became the most trending thread. Although most were scolding or criticizing Hurt From Love, many others agreed with his analysis.

“Let’s not talk about Hurt From Love’s character for now, but his analysis is quite objective. There’s still a big gap between Kyoto and Eastern University.”

“To be honest, I also want Moss to create another miracle, but miracles don’t always appear. Can we still call it a miracle if it often occurs?”

“That’s right. No matter how good Moss is, he’s just one person against Eastern University’s eight second-year students. After these two matches, I’m guessing Eastern University has already thoroughly studied Moss. They will undoubtedly target Moss in the upcoming match.”

“Without Captain Bishop, Kyoto’s journey in the competition will end. ”

“Sigh, I don’t know what to say besides feeling regret.”

…

The media and the internet were extremely lively. Some were even about to explode. However, as this incident’s protagonist, Kyoto still did what they were supposed to do.

Moss had been considering defeating Eastern University since leaving Bishop’s ward to return to the lounge.

‘I still have to consider maximizing the use of Absolute Defense,’ Moss pondered, but he still felt that Absolute Defense was the most solid trump card he could rely on.

It was a team match, and Bishop had gotten severely injured. Hence, his absence would reduce Kyoto’s defense and attack power. Simultaneously, there was no reverse buff to weaken the opponent.

On the other hand, Eastern University was even more formidable than Military University.

Eastern University’s twin captain and co-captain had much better teamwork than Bard and Barry, who were non-family members from Aerospace Institute.

Since the twins were more mentally connected, they had an inherent advantage in practicing their combinations.

After many years of training together, the twin brothers, Tilger and Wilhem, had already gained a small reputation in the field of fusion techniques.

Faced with powerful opponents like the twins, Moss could only defend against them while finding an opportunity to launch a counterattack. Moreover, he could better draw on their power and redirect it using Absolute Defense.

‘Defense is the only way to win the competition.’ Moss’s mind recalled a famous saying from a famous basketball game on a planet in his past life.

‘So, how can I better display Absolute Defense?’ He fell into a brief moment of deep thought. ‘That’s it!’

Thinking of his past life, Moss suddenly thought of the microwave he had often used. He had even gone to Google to find out the working principle of a microwave oven: Electromagnetic waves would constantly reflect and transmit on a space it could not escape.