Chapter 39 Tonight’s Champion
Finished
Hubert instantly felt a warm tenderness for her, thinking that if the kid his brother had rescued from traffickers five years ago. had gotten lucky and escaped, she’d probably be about this age now.
After dinner, Hubert drove Azalea back to Ashbourne Villa. He didn’t stick around long, just asked a few questions about when the Autumn Finals would start, said he’d be there to watch, and then took off.
With the Autumn Finals right around the corner, the officials announced the final team rosters based on submitted lineups.
There was a real stir on X. Both teams had swapped players. Anexis replaced their mid–laner with Petal, the former star mid- laner of GOD. Sydney was a substitute, so she didn’t appear on the promo posters, barely catching anyone’s eye.
Fans of GOD were shocked to see their mid–laner playing against them. Even Anexis fans were confused, unsure what was going on.
But GOD’s roster was even more surprising.
The girl front and center on the poster, wearing the silver–white team uniform, looked like she belonged on a red carpet. If this was a TV dráma poster, people would rave about the casting, but this was for an esports final!
Fans exploded online.
“Is GOD nuts? They kicked Petal and brought in some Phoenix nobody’s heard of?”
“She’s cute, sure. Are they planning to win with looks instead of skill?”
“Was this some exec’s stunt? Unbelievable.”
Esports was all about talent. When a team lost, the harshest critiques came from their own fans, not haters.
And these comments were the polite ones. Petal’s fans basically called Azalea a prostitute.
The verdict: GOD was done for.
Some recognized the ID. from recent viral clips of insane plays by top streamers, but no one cared.
Sydney saw the news on X and was shocked. Phoenix is actually Azalea!
Watching the flood of hate comments, Sydney smiled.
Then she thought, Azalea is now teammates with Wylie. They’ve probably been spending all their time together.
Her smile faded, replaced by a sharp sting of jealousy. How did Azalea get so lucky?
Right then, Matthias knocked on her door. “Sydney, why didn’t you tell me you joined Bastian’s team?”
Sydney quickly recovered. “I just wanted to feel the esports vibe.”
Matthias frowned, not convinced. “You’re frail. How can you be so reckless?”
“I’m fine. I’ll watch out for myself. By the way, did you know Azalea’s competing too?”
Matthias’s face darkened when he heard Azalea was on the rival team. His expression grew colder. “What’s she thinking? Helping outsiders beat her own family?
“That ungrateful little snake!” he spat, disgust clear in his voice.
To Matthias, Azalea could do no right; everything she did was disgusting.
Sydney looped her arm through his, batting her eyes. “Maybe Azalea’s just trying to win the championship to please Bastian.”
1/2
Chapter 39 Tonight’s Champion
Finished
There was a calculating glint in her eyes. She wasn’t sure what changed between Bastian and Cassius, but they clearly had different feelings about Azalea now. Sydney wanted to turn them against her again.
That gave Matthias a new idea. He’d never heard Azalea played games before. She’d been distant, refusing to come back, but now she was competing?
He sneered. “She and her cheap tricks.”
Based on what Ivy said, Matthias suspected Azalea’s plan. She’s pretending to cut ties but shamelessly fishing for attention. Her motives are obvious.
She just wants to act hard to get, steal Sydney’s spotlight, and take everything Sydney has.
“Don’t worry, Sydney. I’m always on your side. I’ll be at the match too.” Inwardly, he sneered. I’ll let things go if Azalea knows what’s good for her and loses to Sydney, but if she helps the other team crush us, I’ll teach her a lesson she won’t forget.
Without an official X account, GOD had no clue about the online uproar. With the finals close, even though Azalea was jexcused from training, she’d been spending every free moment at the team base lately.
Meanwhile, Riley was spending every hour coming up with perfect draft strategies to counter Anexis.
At Draywick Sports Arena, the Glory League Autumn Finals kicked off on schedule.
Outside, ticket checks were underway.
Hubert, who slipped in early through the VIP entrance, sat in the best seat, head down texting. “Good luck. I know you’ll be tonight’s champion.”
Azalea’s phone buzzed in the locker room. Wylie, sitting next to her, caught the message and his face twitched slightly.
He checked his own phone–nothing.
He chose to believe Hubert had sent the text to the wrong person.
Inside, he secretly spat, What a jerk.
As Hubert sent the message, someone nearby tried to sneak a peek at who he was texting.
But Hubert was faster, snapping his phone shut. “What are you looking at?”
Douglas Osborne smiled awkwardly and looked away. “Nothing. It’s my first esports match after all. I’m not sure what’s going on, so I just figured I’d look around a little.”
Send Gifts
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