The Esports Little Demon King Is a Sweet and Fierce Omega - Chapter 23

Tian Jiu and Feng Wu entered the game, and before they even opened their eyes, they were met with a deafening roar of cheers.

“Tian Jiu! Mommy loves you!”

“AAAAHHH! Go FOX!”

“God Wu, I love you!”

Tian Jiu opened his eyes and looked up to see the spectator stands packed to the brim—the scale of the crowd was massive. Faintly hearing his name being called, he stood on his tiptoes and gave a little wave, baring his tiger teeth toward the stands. The screams instantly intensified.

Startled by people nearly falling out of their seats in excitement, Tian Jiu hurriedly retracted his gaze. Good thing it’s a virtual venue, he thought, otherwise, someone might actually get hurt. The shouting was so overwhelming that he finally enabled the audience filter, and his world finally went quiet.

Only then did he turn to look at his side. His eyes lit up instantly, and he was so stunned he couldn’t speak, only managing a series of “Wow, wow, wow!”

Feng Wu was dressed in ancient-style martial arts attire made of white silk. He held a longsword in his right hand, his wrists protected by silver bracers embroidered with pythons. His silver boots, reaching his mid-calves, were adorned with exquisite patterns, and his long legs were encased in pants of the same material—looking incredibly long and straight.

His well-defined chest and abdominal muscles, and even the smooth, powerful lines of his arms, were subtly visible beneath the fabric. With broad shoulders, a narrow waist, long legs, and a face that was strikingly handsome, Tian Jiu felt like he was about to ascend to heaven on the spot.

What a visual feast!

Feng Wu tilted his head to meet his gaze, his thin lips curving slightly. “Do I look good?”

“Super good! You look even better when you smile at me!” Tian Jiu was not stingy with his praise.

Feng Wu raised an eyebrow. “Should I get one made for you too?”

“Sure! But I…” Tian Jiu was about to say he wouldn’t look as good in it when his arm was grabbed by a teammate on his other side.

Simultaneously, a delighted female voice rang out. “Little Red Panda! It’s really you! I just started a random match, and I actually ran into you!”

The Elf teammate was a beautiful female Omega. She floated around Tian Jiu excitedly. “I adore you, Little Red Panda! You were so cute when you crushed Ding Sa with that cannon!”

Tian Jiu froze. Cute? Did she mean “terrifying”? Also, her ID was [My Annoying Husband Ding Sa] wasn’t she a fan of the guy he just beat?

“Oh, don’t look at my ID! I liked Ding Sa before, and I still do, but I like you too! I even ship you and Sha—” She caught Feng Wu’s gaze and quickly pivoted. “Anyway, I really, really like you!”

The Elf was a chatterbox, circling Tian Jiu and talking non-stop until he couldn’t get a word in. Suddenly, Tian Jiu felt the red panda ears on his head being pinched. He looked up to see white silk and a muscular forearm. Feng Wu had snagged his ear and pulled him away from the Elf’s circle back to his side.

“Captain,” Tian Jiu grinned, showing his tiger teeth.

Feng Wu gave the soft ears another squeeze; the texture was indeed addictive, and he didn’t want to let go.

The Elf’s friend was a Mage, another female Omega, though a bit more shy. Their Defender was a tall Beta with the ID [Stone Who Will Die Without Fengshen]. He seemed like a dedicated veteran, though Tian Jiu suspected his burly appearance was just a skin.

“God Wu, Little Red Panda, we’re relieved you’re here!” the Elf chirped. “This match is a guaranteed carry!”

“We’ll win if we play hard. Let’s do our best!” Tian Jiu encouraged them.

Stone sighed gloomily. “But the opponents are the WE youth team.”

******

After the trials, major teams often took their new recruits into public matches for synergy. Except for the star players, most were drafted into youth teams to build teamwork. A successful youth team often became a club’s “secondary roster.”

Teams like WIN had three different lineups to prevent others from countering them, and AS had two, where Ji Kaile and Luo Yuan were the starters for the second team. Public matches were the best way to test a new recruit’s adaptability against the unpredictable tactics of casual players.

It was only natural that Tian Jiu and Feng Wu would run into the WE squad.

“What’s wrong with a youth team?” the Elf said. “With God Wu and Tian Jiu, we’ll definitely win.”

Stone looked at Feng Wu pessimistically. “God Wu, did you see who the main carry is on the other side?”

“I saw.” Feng Wu bought items from the Squirrel Mall. “What’s there to fear about Zhang Siyuan?”

Tian Jiu checked the scoreboard. All the enemy IDs were “WE Youth Team + Name,” except for one: [WE Captain Zhang Siyuan].

WE was ranked 16th in the league, and Zhang Siyuan himself was a top-20 player on the personal rankings. The audience noticed immediately.

“Zhang Siyuan is personally leading the team? Is he training the second roster?”

“Wait, is that player ‘Qing Ran’ the Cannoneer who almost took out Shadow in the trials?”

People remembered. In the trials, that Omega Cannoneer had some brilliant plays but ultimately died to the poison zone due to low stamina. Omega players usually struggled with physical endurance except for Tian Jiu, who was a freak of nature with “monster strength” and high speed.

Everyone was excited to see the two Cannoneers face off.

******

The match started smoothly. For ten minutes, everyone focused on farming and clearing minions. The turning point came at the twelve-minute mark.

Tian Jiu helped Feng Wu take the jungle dragon, boosting the team’s gold. As Feng Wu returned to the base to buy gear, Tian Jiu hopped back to the mid-lane. He was a level higher than Qing Ran and better geared, so he pushed the line forward.

Qing Ran retreated while farming, looking intimidated. But it was a trap. Hidden in the river grass was the Assassin, Zhang Siyuan.

As Tian Jiu hummed a song and stepped into range, Zhang Siyuan hurled a dagger. If it hit, Tian Jiu would be stunned for a second, long enough for the duo to delete him.

The audience gasped, but Tian Jiu moved like he had a sixth sense. He threw his cannon forward and used the momentum to perform a front flip over the projectile. It was the same trick he used against Shadow.

Qing Ran fired a skill, but Tian Jiu moved too fast; it only clipped his leg. Zhang Siyuan, his ambush failed, leaped out of the grass to brute-force the kill. But the moment Tian Jiu landed, he threw the cannon back toward his own tower and flipped again. This time, he caught the cannon mid-air and fired two skills at Qing Ran.

Qing Ran was already at half health; those two hits finished him off. First Blood.

Tian Jiu was taken down by Zhang Siyuan immediately after—a one-for-one trade. But Feng Wu arrived just in time, cutting down Zhang Siyuan with a single strike before heading to the top lane to harvest the enemy Defender. With two kills in his pocket, Feng Wu returned to base.

Zhang Siyuan opened the all-chat, sounding annoyed. “I’m cursed. I take the kids out for a stroll and run into you. How am I supposed to look cool in front of my team now?”

Feng Wu snorted. “You didn’t have much dignity to begin with.”

“I heard from Old Zhou that you’re ‘very gentle’ with your new teammate,” Zhang Siyuan teased. “Can you actually act like a human being for that long?”

Tian Jiu looked up at Feng Wu, confused. “Captain, are you guys close? He knows the Coach too?”

“Not close,” Feng Wu said.

“Bastard! You really aren’t human!” Zhang Siyuan cursed.

Tian Jiu wasn’t happy. He opened his mic. “Zhang Siyuan, Captain said he’s not close to you. Don’t curse at him.”

Zhang Siyuan laughed. “I’m very close to him, Little Red Panda. I was his ‘sworn big brother’ in the dorms.”

“So what? I’m not even close to my actual biological brother,” Tian Jiu pouted.

Zhang Siyuan was speechless. He’d heard about Tian Jiu’s family situation. Feng Wu laughed and waited for Tian Jiu to respawn. “Ignore him. Let’s go steal his jungle.”

“Okay!”

The two were a menace, clearing the enemy jungle twice. Zhang Siyuan was fuming, but he couldn’t break his rhythm. He was trying to teach the recruits the WE playstyle, but he had run into a pair of “Jungle Rogues.”

On the third jungle respawn, they met at the Red Buff. Zhang Siyuan’s eyes widened. “Again?!” He saw Feng Wu already had both buffs, and Tian Jiu had the Blue. “He’s a Magic Cannoneer! Why is he fighting me for the Red Buff?!”

“Who said a Magic Cannoneer can’t have Red?” Feng Wu attacked.

Zhang Siyuan vanished into invisibility. Qing Ran rushed over, and their Healer and Mage followed, surrounding Tian Jiu and Feng Wu—a four-on-two. The audience tensed.

“It’s over. This is a zero-for-two wipeout.”

“Feng Wu and Tian Jiu could 2v4 casuals, but this is WE.”

Suddenly, the audience saw their Defender, Stone, hiding in the grass behind the WE Healer-Mage duo.

“Wait, when did our Defender get here?”

Stone used a skill to leap out and block the two. He took massive damage, his health bar plummeting. Meanwhile, Tian Jiu and Feng Wu ignored Zhang Siyuan and focused everything on Qing Ran. Qing Ran panicked, but still managed to deal heavy damage to the two.

Ultimately, Feng Wu’s sword sent Qing Ran to the respawn point. Tian Jiu’s attacks had been feints; he had only hit Qing Ran once. The rest of his shells were aimed backward—at Zhang Siyuan.

Zhang Siyuan tried to close in on Tian Jiu, but Tian Jiu, out of mana, simply swung his massive, heavy cannon like a club. WHAM.

Zhang Siyuan was sent flying. His health hit zero. He and Qing Ran stared at each other at the respawn point. Two seconds later, their Healer and Mage joined them.

The crowd went wild. “COORDINATION GOALS!”

The three of them, Tian Jiu, Feng Wu, and Stone were at slivers of health, but they cleared the entire jungle while the enemies were dead. Meanwhile, their Mage and Elf had pushed the bottom lane to the base. The match ended in a victory.

******

“Look what you did,” Zhang Siyuan grumbled to Feng Wu as they waited to exit. “My new kids are totally disappointed in me now.”

“No, no,” Qing Ran quickly clarified. “Losing to God Wu and Tian Jiu isn’t a loss. Your coordination was amazing; I need to study that 3v4 play.” He turned to Tian Jiu. “You’re the best Cannoneer I’ve ever met.”

Tian Jiu smiled shyly. “You’re great too!”

“Can I add you?” Qing Ran asked excitedly.

“Of course!”

Zhang Siyuan grinned. “See, Little Red Panda is much friendlier.” He turned to his team. “Let’s go review the tapes. I’ve ordered midnight snacks for everyone.”

Feng Wu smiled. “By the way, help us spread the word.”

“About what?”

“FOX is holding its own selection trials.”

“Oh, that? Old Zhou told me. Consider it done.”

The Elf sister circled Tian Jiu. “Jiu Jiu, what trials?”

Jiu Jiu? Tian Jiu felt a bit shy being called that by a pretty girl.

He explained the team needed three more members, so they were hosting a trial to find teammates. Stone, who had been listening quietly, asked, “Is there a registration fee?”

“No.”

Stone nodded and said no more.

******

Back at the club, Tian Jiu saw a flood of friend requests.

“Captain, Qing Ran and the others added me. The Elf sister too.”

Feng Wu gave him some “serious” advice. “This is your professional account for training. Adding too many outsiders might leak training info.”

“Oh! That’s dangerous!” Tian Jiu remembered his past life where they kept private accounts for new strategies.

“And if you add one fan, others will want to be added too. What will you do then?”

“You’re right.” Tian Jiu immediately declined the Elf with a polite explanation.

Feng Wu watched him decline the requests and then casually looked away. “Another round?”

“Mhm!”

******

The news of the FOX trials spread across the world in a single night. Within two days, Zhou Funian’s inbox was overflowing. After the AI filtered the unqualified, many impressive candidates remained including many youth team members and talented players from the Lower District.

Sponsors also reached out, sensing that FOX, with its two champions, was the “dark horse” of the year.

Under the eyes of the world, the FOX trials finally arrived on a rainy October day. Zhou Funian had rented both the First and Third Gymnasiums and the Hallworth Arena.

Tian Jiu, Feng Wu, and Zhou Funian arrived early. Li Zhen and the Zhao siblings were there with VIP tickets. The rest of the seats were filled with tycoons, aristocrats, and fans.

Tian Jiu scanned the crowd and whispered to Feng Wu, “Captain, I see so many people from other teams.”

“They’re here to see their future competition.”

Tian Jiu nodded, feeling a rush of excitement. “I used to think sitting here to watch a match would be so cool.”

“Is it cool now?”

“The match hasn’t started yet, so it’s only mostly cool,” Tian Jiu quipped.

Feng Wu laughed and ruffled his hair; a gesture that had become a habit.

“Little Red Panda!” Someone patted Tian Jiu on the shoulder. He turned to find Shadow sitting right behind him, grinning like a fool.

Tian Jiu: “…”

Feng Wu: “?”

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