So, even though Chen Gu was ranked higher, the evening's match was by no means a guaranteed victory for him. Quite a few people, especially Shangguan Na's fans, were eagerly anticipating their goddess rising to the occasion against a strong opponent, never giving up, and ultimately defeating Chen Gu, this "Big Devil."

Yes, among the fans of the players Chen Gu had defeated, he had already acquired a new nickname: "Big Devil."

Although Chen Gu was out, and he and Liang He were quite frustrated by the military summons, at least their objective was achieved: preventing Chen Gu from participating in tonight's match, Arlington thought.

The military urgently summoned Chen Gu on the basis of "special military intelligence." Surely he couldn't still participate in the Behemoth Alliance's competition, right?

However, regarding the evening's match, even by noon, the official website had not posted any news announcing Chen Gu's inability to compete tonight.

Usually, in such situations, the Alliance would, by convention, announce a contestant's absence "due to injury."

When four o'clock in the afternoon arrived and there was still no news of Chen Gu withdrawing, Arlington sensed something was amiss. He wasn't angry or disappointed; instead, he excitedly rushed to find Liang He, saying, "Your Excellency, something isn't quite right!"

After Arlington's analysis, Liang He also understood. "The military actually used an emergency summons to help Chen Gu participate in a civilian competition?"

Liang He laughed. "Chen Gu, oh Chen Gu, you're really digging your own grave!" 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Let's blow this thing wide open!" he declared decisively. "As long as Chen Gu dares to compete tonight, we'll expose this matter. Let everyone condemn them, and then the military will have no choice but to abandon Chen Gu—that kid is dead meat!"

"HEH HEH HEH!" Arlington also chuckled along.

The frustration they had suffered at the colonel's hands could soon be completely vented!

At eight o'clock in the evening, the match proceeded as scheduled, and still, there was no news of Chen Gu's withdrawal. Liang He and Arlington, this pair of cronies, watched the live broadcast of the competition for the first time ever today, specifically to confirm whether Chen Gu had actually shown up.

In Star Sea, over seventy percent of the population were fans of the Behemoth Alliance. Among the remaining thirty percent, those who had free time would still watch the matches, if only to have something to discuss when chatting with others.

Yet these two hardly ever watched the matches; Liang He, in particular, held a deep-seated disdain for such competitions.

The competition was thrilling. The first six bouts were full of twists and turns that had the spectators roaring with excitement. And the final, main event match did not disappoint either.

Shangguan Na set a new record for the longest match against Chen Gu to date: seventeen minutes and forty-one seconds.

She was indeed a tough cockroach. Several times, Chen Gu thought she was done for, yet she managed to get her battered behemoth back on its feet.

Initially, Chen Gu, considering his opponent was a woman, had been somewhat lenient. But after this happened a few times, he grew annoyed. So, Combat Rooster swiftly and cleanly severed the head of his opponent's behemoth, ending the match.

However, Chen Gu didn't realize that the moment Combat Rooster severed the head of his opponent's behemoth, the hearts of countless fans watching the live stream shattered.

How could you treat a beautiful contestant like this! So brutal! He truly is 'Iron Fist'!

Originally, because Chen Gu always courteously greeted his opponents before matches and never uttered trash talk, his nickname had been gradually shifting from "Iron Fist of Justice" toward "Gentleman Iron Fist."

But after this? Gentleman? Nonsense.

Even if Chen Gu knew, he'd probably feel quite helpless. It's a competition, isn't it? Isn't the goal to defeat your opponent? What did I do wrong? I gave her chances, but she kept refusing to concede…

Back at the base, Liang He and Arlington high-fived in celebration.

Liang He downed a glass of wine in one go, then immediately called Aviloya. "Director-General, Chen Gu appeared in the Behemoth Alliance's arena tonight!"