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“To think that the terrain for this match would be an underground labyrinth!”

Princess Estelle’s upcoming match naturally received the special attention of a live broadcast on the main screens throughout the city.

Mr. Dowd also managed to hype the crowd up by leveraging the fame of Princess Estelle.

“The underground labyrinth is arguably the most unique random terrain type in this tournament. Unlike deserts, forests, swamps, and other natural settings, it is a special environment crafted by ancient sages. Each labyrinth features a vast underground space with confusing and unpredictable terrain, armed with dangerous traps. Compared to other terrains in the tournament, the level of unpredictability in this terrain is undoubtedly much higher!

“More importantly, the team’s abilities may be greatly compromised due to the special nature of the underground labyrinth terrain. The team members could find themselves separated by the complex terrain, leading to one-on-one or one-on-many battles. In such an extreme scenario, individual abilities become extremely important!

“Therefore, I believe everyone is eagerly anticipating this match. One of the participating teams is the highly acclaimed team securing five consecutive victories by sweeping through opponents like a gust of wind…TEAM PRINCESS ESTELLE!

“We’ve all witnessed Princess Estelle’s strength. She single-handedly defeated three teams, and currently, there doesn’t seem to be a participant capable of standing against her. What surprises and excitement will Princess Estelle bring us next in such an environment? We can only wait and see!”

“WHOAA!!”
“Princess Estelle is the best in the world!”
“Princess Estelle will definitely win!”
“Your Highness, please let me be your dog!”

Dowd nodded approvingly, barely able to contain his excitement. Being able to bring the atmosphere to such a fervent level was incredibly satisfying for him as the host and commentator.

While the primary reason for the heated atmosphere was the participants’ popularity, Dowd also played his part and nearly lost his voice.

His efforts were a stark contrast to the two guests beside him—one who only murmured his approval while stroking his beard, and the other who had fallen asleep.

Nevertheless, Dowd felt like his hosting career was on a smooth trajectory.

“Now, the other team competing with our Team Princess Estelle is…”

As Dowd introduced the participants of the opposing team, the live feed shifted away from Team Princess Estelle to the other team.

However, Dowd’s introduction came to an unexpected halt. The second half of his sentence stuck in his throat like a fishbone, neither going up nor down—it was just stuck right in the middle of his throat.

This was because another figure appeared on the screen—someone Dowd was incredibly familiar with.

As a professional host and commentator, Dowd had meticulously prepared for this tournament, memorizing the appearance of popular and seeded participants.

So, when that person appeared on the screen, Dowd recognized her instantly.

Dowd wished he had not recognized her. Now that he did, commentary would prove quite challenging because of her absurd name.

At first, those peculiar nicknames amused him when he first saw them. Now, he no longer found them amusing.

“Little Sparkly Blonde Princess”—there was only one girl with blonde hair on the screen, with her appearance and demeanor fitting the nickname perfectly.

“Adorable Daughter of the Little Sparkly Blonde Princess” was probably the little girl with silver hair. Dowd could not fathom why the organizers allowed such a young child to enter the arena.

“Ragdoll of the Adorable Daughter..”—surprisingly, it was really a ragdoll!

Then the name that sounded like a missing poster must be the bitter-looking middle-aged man. Even without the ad, everyone would know his daughter had gone missing just by looking at him.

Nevertheless, these were not major issues. After all, the Martial God Tournament was known for giving freedom to its participants. Any nicknames were allowed, as long as they did not violate the rules.

Yet, the last name on the participant list was a big problem.

—Dog.

Just “Dog”.

Normally, using such a nickname would not be a major issue. The tournament had witnessed similar nicknames like “Dog Egg”, “Dog #2”, or “Puppy”.

However, the problem lay in the identity of the person nicknamed “Dog”.

She was Princess Luna.

Yes, a princess.

The daughter of His Majesty the Emperor of the Holy Dragon Empire, or the once-favored youngest daughter.

Even if she was no longer the favored princess, it did not diminish her noble status in the slightest.

Calling her a “dog” could be considered blasphemy, punishable by beheading.

Dowd broke into a cold sweat. Usually, all the team members in a new team would be introduced to the audience, but Dowd hesitated to proceed.

His silence instantly killed the mood of the audience.

What should I do?
Grit my teeth and continue with the introduction?
Not everyone has seen Princess Luna’s face ever since she has been overshadowed by Princess Estelle’s popularity over the years. Should I just laugh it off and skip her introduction?
Certainly not!
Despite her diminished popularity as of late, she is a talented girl and someone might recognize her.

Dowd knew this because Elder Grez had already recognized her. “Little Luna? I see, so she really joined the tournament after all. Who are those teammates of hers? Why don’t I recognize them?”

Of course you don’t recognize them. I don’t recognize them either!

How did Princess Luna end up teaming up with a group of unknown individuals to participate in the tournament… and using such an insulting name!?

From a match perspective, the clash between Princess Luna and Princess Estelle was undoubtedly a highlight. If properly promoted, it might have been the most popular matchup since the start of the tournament.

However, no one expected Princess Luna to secretly join the tournament under such a humiliating name like “Dog”.

According to the rules, the names of both team’s members were to be displayed on the public screen!

Oh Princess Luna, don’t you realize this is a matter of honor for the imperial family? Or did you deliberately do it to cause a stir?

Dowd was on the verge of tears as the audience began to shout impatiently.

Dowd tapped his desk a few times—a secret code understood by his superior who was monitoring the show from behind the scenes,

It meant: “Emergency, a swift resolution is required!”

The brief silence on the other end of the headset, indicated that his superior recognized the gravity of the situation.

Shortly after, the reassuring voice of his superior echoed in Dowd’s ears.

“Treat it as a technical glitch. Skip the introduction segment. Reveal the names only at the end of the match, and focus solely on the winner!”

Dowd’s eyes lit up as he found a moment of clarity.

Nobody would pay much attention to the losing team. By the time the match concluded, with Princess Estelle emerging victorious, the audience would likely have forgotten about the losing team and the fact that their names were not initially revealed.

“Just in case, I’ll have Princess Luna change her name after the match too,” his superior added confidently.

As someone who was in charge of such an important event, his influence extended to the esteemed imperial family of the Holy Dragon Empire.

Finally feeling a wave of relief, Dowd reached for the participant list and cue cards so that he could resume hosting.