Chapter 73: The Selection Tournament (1) The Opening

The venue for the Annual Female Hero Selection was set in the ancient Grand Arena of St. Veil’s First Ring District. Originally built by the old empire for training the royal guards, it was later converted into a tourist attraction, then a sports stadium, and nowadays hosts various events thanks to its comprehensive facilities.

As for the audience seating, things were even simpler: fifty thousand portable air chairs sufficed.

“So many people,” Zhao Tianhe remarked, standing in the VIP section and gazing at the dense crowd of spectators floating in the sky. He turned to the staff member beside him. “Is two hours enough?”

“We’ve already discussed it with the organizers. Miss Artoria’s appearance is scheduled for the very end of the first event—the last in the swimsuit showcase,” the staff replied.

All competitions were selected by public vote, and the swimsuit show was the most anticipated, so it was arranged as the opening event.

“Ladies and gentlemen! The annual Female Hero Grand Selection begins! But this year is different—it’s the ‘Super Annual Hero’ competition!” As the arena lights dimmed, a burly host rose slowly, delivering a speech brimming with energy. “And the first event is the one you’ve all been waiting for—the swimsuit runway! Get ready, everyone! Sharpen your gaze! Cast your scores!”

A chorus of excited howls erupted from the male-dominated audience. Each ticket came with a simple magical voting device, allowing spectators to score their favorite contestants during each stage, from one to ten, with higher average scores ranking higher. The top nine contestants received an extra point to their average, and the first place gained two.

Beside the stage, a large screen projected by light-based magical tools displayed ten portrait slots for the top-scoring female contestants.

All participating female heroes wore swimsuits provided by major brands, earning advertising fees for themselves and the event sponsors. Yet, only one contestant refused all sponsorships and chose her own swimsuit.

That was Artoria.

Unlike the others, she was merely present for formality. Due to scheduling and summoning constraints, she even had to forfeit the last two events.

Her participation was a response to the association’s public pressure; she herself had no intention to compete. It wasn’t that Artoria had lost her competitive spirit—she simply knew she shouldn’t be involved in such matters. Besides, the time was insufficient. It wasn’t about her willingness.

The female heroes participating were all stunning in appearance and physique. Zhao Tianhe watched intently, bypassing the screen and instead enhancing his senses with super vision, allowing him to see every detail—even the pores on the beauties’ faces, though his attention was surely elsewhere.

As a man, one must keep perspective.

“Runway shows favor those who appear early; if later contestants overlap with earlier ones, scores tend to drop,” Zhao Tianhe mused, awarding a slim elven beauty a passing score of five, already feeling aesthetic fatigue.

It must be said: elves were truly numerous!

Humans came next, followed by dwarves, with otherworldly spirits the least represented.

Among these, Alanta, a spirit from Saint Rose Harbor like Zhao Tianhe, earned fifth place thanks to her elegant figure, unique silver hair, and distinctive aura. The dark-skinned heroine, Jellie, had reached ninth but was soon displaced.

“She’s finally here!” The staff beside him wrote a perfect score of ten in excitement.

Yes, Saint Rose Harbor’s famed weapon, Li Mei, had taken the stage!

To highlight her exaggeratedly ample chest, the swimsuit manufacturer reinforced the bust area with special fabric, making it even more prominent and shaping Li Mei into a perfect S-curve.

Sure enough, the moment Li Mei appeared, she shot up to tenth place!

Both publicly and privately, Zhao Tianhe felt compelled to give her a ten.

Watching her trembling presence, the men in attendance were moved to tears.

In the end, Li Mei’s score soared to second place!

“Well, this must be what they call ‘extremes meet,’” the staff sighed, looking world-weary. “Faced with such overwhelming temptation, most people follow their hearts, but a few grow uneasy and reflect on themselves. Honestly, if it weren’t for the hometown bonus, I’d only give nine.”

“Absolutely,” Zhao Tianhe nodded in agreement. “One feels as though they might be consumed and lost to such overwhelming allure…”

As for first place, it went to a famous idol-type hero who had won the champion title two years prior. With figure, looks, reputation, and strength, her score was naturally high.

Artoria’s appearance, meanwhile, failed to astonish anyone and didn’t even break into the top ten.

“Everyone! This year’s events, except for the opening runway and introductions and the final speech, are randomly selected from the top hundred projects in the weekly poll!” The burly host returned, now accompanied by a translucent sphere filled with a hundred red balls.

“Let’s choose together—ready, three!” he called to the audience.

“Two!”

The crowd, experiencing this new format for the first time after the swimsuit show, responded with enthusiasm, shouting along.

“One!”

With the wave of voices, a red ball shot into the air and burst, transforming into a red inscription.

On the big screen, four bold red characters appeared:

Swimsuit Battle!

Rules appeared in succession.

Simply put, contestants would use water tubes provided by the arena to shoot at each other; anyone hit would be eliminated. The final winner would receive a fixed score of ten, with others scored by the audience based on performance, up to nine points.

“No magic allowed in this round—this is a very favorable event for agile shooter-types,” the host laughed. “Strength is beauty, but elegance and cuteness can also be powerful.”

The runway stage slowly sank into the ground as water flooded the arena, and dozens of logs were thrown into the pool.

“Please enter the field. Falling into the water counts as elimination! Also, water tube ammo can be drawn directly from the surface, so don’t worry about running out,” the host explained.

Watching the logs bobbing in the current, many contestants opted to withdraw.

But Artoria, gripping her cylindrical water tube, felt a blaze of fighting spirit ignite in her chest!