Chapter 716 The Draw Result
After staying at the hotel for three days, the Bide Cup officially began. Styre University sent out two teams, led by Marshall for the EIE Team and Fergus for the Biology Team. Having two teams at once already made Styre University a strong contender among the nations.
The competition started, and the opponents for the first round were decided through a draw. Fergus’s team was the first to go up for the draw, and they ended up drawing the Isaranian Team.
The Isaranian Team wasn’t considered very strong, so winning against it in the first round wasn’t too difficult. The university leaders immediately sought Fergus’s opinion, asking about his team’s chance of winning. He gave a modest smile and gestured a number- sixty percent.
It was well known that Fergus was always cautious and liked to keep a card up his sleeve. When he said sixty percent, it probably meant at least eighty percent. Upon hearing this result, the university leaders felt reassured. If there was an eighty percent chance of winning, then there shouldn’t be a problem. Furthermore, this was the first round, the one with the lowest difficulty level.
The university leaders were quite happy about the result of the draw. They said to Marshall, “Marshall, it’s your turn now. Hopefully, you’ll be as lucky as Fergus.”
Marshall smiled and remained silent, looking very calm. However, his calm demeanor vanished instantly when he saw the result. No one knew what had happened to make Marshall, who was standing on the platform, suddenly freeze in place.
Although Marshall’s expression didn’t change much, his colleagues who had worked with him for over a decade knew him well. They knew that Marshall’s expression meant there was a problem. When the draw result was finally shown on the projection screen, everyone finally understood why Marshall was so shocked.
No one had expected that Marshall’s team would compete with the Johnville Team from Theisia, which had recently had a dispute with Styre University. The previous controversy had not yet subsided, and now they were confronting each other again. It seemed that enemies were destined to meet.
The Johnville Team’s strength was remarkable, and in the previous Bide Cup, its ranking was only surpassed by the Altonian Team.
Compared to the young and inexperienced Styre Team, the Johnville Team seemed like a ferocious wolf, ready to pounce and annihilate its opponents.
When the draw result was announced, cheers erupted from the Johnville Team’s side. They had long been displeased with Styre Team and if it weren’t for Richard’s restraint, they would never have stooped to apologizing to a trashy team like Styre University. Now, with the draw result granting them an opportunity, they were determined to take revenge and vent their frustration.
Marshall descended from the platform with a grim look, and several university leaders surrounded him as soon as he sat down. “How could it be? Didn’t the committee make pre-match adjustments for the sake of continuity of the match? The teams should have been divided into upper, middle, and lower tiers. So logically, a middle-tier team like us shouldn’t have drawn a top – tier team like Johnville,” one of the leaders exclaimed.
Marshall solemnly declared, “No need to guess. It must be Johnville Team’s doing!”
Due to the previous dispute, the Johnville Team was forced to apologize on the official forum, causing them to lose face. What was initially thought to be a private quarrel among students had unexpectedly escalated into a battle between two teams. The Johnville Team had even covertly altered the format of the competition.
While the division of teams into upper, middle, and lower tiers was an unspoken rule, it had been followed for several years without anyone breaking it. The tactics employed by the Johnville Team from Theisia were truly despicable.
The members of Styre University were all outraged, but the result had already been announced, and no one could change it.
Marshall could only suppress his anger and console everyone, “Don’t lose heart. We’re here to compete. We can’t just give up before the competition even begins, can we? The Theisian Team is strong, and even if we don’t face them in the first round, we’ll encounter them eventually. Are we going to surrender every time we face a tough opponent?”
Marshall’s words of encouragement instantly stirred up a sense of determination and boosted morale among the group.
Paddy sat on the sidelines, watching Marshall’s team with a cold, mocking gaze. He had warned them against offending the Johnville Team from Theisia, but Catherine had a penchant for causing trouble. Now, their team was destined to be eliminated in the first round, and he relished the thought of how embarrassing it would be for Marshall’s team to return home.
Catherine sat to the side, wearing headphones and playing games. She didn’t want to come in the first place, as the draw wasn’t part of the competition itself, and she felt it was a waste of her time. However, Marshall had insisted, so she had reluctantly complied.
Eamon gently pushed Catherine, and she removed her headphones, looking up at him. “What’s the matter?” she asked.
“Are you not nervous at all, Catherine? “Eamon inquired.
“Nervous about what?” Catherine looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Seeing her demeanor, Eamon was slightly surprised. “Catherine, you didn’t happen to notice the result of the draw, did you?”
Observing her expression, Eamon immediately informed her that their opponent would be the Theisian Team. “Catherine, what do you think we should do next?” he asked.
Catherine casually pocketed her phone, calmly glanced at Eamon, and nonchalantly replied, “What’s there to fear? Just do it!”
“How confident she is!” Eamon silently praised her in his mind. He finally understood why Marshall favored her so much. He knew he was unable to emulate her composure.
Even though he knew there was a ninety percent chance of losing, they shouldn’t lose their fighting spirit. ” Catherine is right,” he thought. ” Nervousness is pointless; we just have to do it!”
Influenced by Catherine, Eamon’s morale soared, and he couldn’t wait to compete against the Johnville Team right then and there.
After the draw, everyone left the venue.
Catherine strolled out of the venue with the group, heading back to the hotel. They had already moved to the designated hotel arranged for the competition. They didn’t know what connections Branden had used, but he and the others had also been accommodated in the same hotel.
After getting off the bus, Catherine received a message from Zobber.
Paddy saw Catherine walking towards him from a distance. He took a few steps forward, preparing to mock her and make her aware of the consequences of offending the Johnville Team, but she walked past him as if she hadn’t seen him at all.
Paddy’s hand froze in mid-air, unable to move an inch.
When she moved further away, Paddy finally came to his senses. He stamped his foot in anger. In his opinion, Catherine’s behavior was simply outrageous, acting as if she were superior to everyone else. He secretly vowed to make her aware of the consequences of offending others. He would remember this grudge and seek revenge when the opportunity arose.
