Chapter 209: Martian Infighting??!

In the following days, Li Hao completely disappeared. Team training proceeded as scheduled, but the forums of the major EMP war zones were in an uproar. Pading was still refusing to stay down; he kept challenging Puppet incessantly. Once Martians get hysterical, they truly have no principles. In any case, he had already been expelled from his team, so what else was there to worry about? And it must be said, his wild antics actually gained him the support of a massive wave of fans. Combined with Huonan's reposts, Pading became a wild, self-styled leader of the anti-Puppet movement, and he was the only opponent Puppet feared and dared not face.

Various analysts began to wonder if there was a possibility that Pading's style was a perfect counter to Puppet, which was why Aofei had stepped out to fight, using such despicable means to force the honor-valuing Martians to expel Pading. In reality, it was just a conspiracy because Puppet was afraid of meeting Pading at the S Tournament—this was the typical method of Earthlings. These experts were actually very savvy; whether it was reasonable or not didn't matter. They did it to satisfy the inner needs of the Martians—it was just for a paycheck, after all.

Many people strongly demanded that Pading be allowed back on the team, even if just as a Substitute. In the event that Puppet appeared at the S Tournament, Pading would be the ultimate weapon; the Centaur Single-Combat King could just deal with Puppet.

Because there was no sound from Puppet's side, and even Aofei stopped responding—Aofei had no time to talk nonsense on the forums—the Martians became recklessly inflated under these circumstances. Pading even claimed that the match that day was because he had been injured during training and had only exerted less than fifty percent of his strength, but since Martian Warriors never fear battle, he had fought through the pain and was suppressed by Aofei. He was only clarifying now to avoid being misunderstood, and he wanted a rematch with Aofei.

Through a series of shifts and embellishments, while Earth certainly wouldn't buy it, public opinion in other war zones was actually starting to flip. Right and wrong are rarely the primary factors in human consciousness; often, it depends on one's stance. In any case, it had completely flipped on Mars. Martians felt Pading was too pitiful, and even that sneak attack was just an unconscious act of desperation to win. The neutral Moon People didn't care much; they actually hoped to keep watching, as there was no harm in it. Earthlings, of course, felt the Martians were shameless, but Martians hadn't been shameless for just a day or two. Titan was more on Earth's side, but Titan had little say, and they also hoped to let strength do the talking and beat the other side into silence.

The EMP officials were a bit overwhelmed. They contacted Puppet, but Puppet didn't respond; they contacted Aofei, and Aofei flatly refused. They had no influence over top-tier S Tournament players, and Aofei didn't care about this at all.

She had only fought for Li Hao; how the Martians viewed it was unimportant.

Under these circumstances, it only led the Martians to become even more arrogant. Yan Peng did challenge Pading, but Pading didn't accept, claiming that he was merely one of the Fifteen Generals and not worthy of fighting him. This actually received support from the Martians.

Until an interview appeared that caused the entire Mars to explode.

Langwu Star Battle Academy, as one of the three top academies on Mars, was the territory of the Lone Wolf Romero. With the Mid-Season Tournament imminent, local media interviewed the absolute core and Team Leader, Romero. One of the three top experts of Mars, he was top-tier even looking at the entire Solar System. This "top-tier" had no exaggeration in it; he was one of the few people standing at the very pinnacle of the pyramid.

"Team Leader Romero, are you full of confidence for this Mid-Season Tournament? We also hope Langwu can show its might again. Also, on a side note, may we ask for your opinion?" the reporter asked.

Romero nodded expressionlessly.

"Recently, there has been a very hot topic on EMP. In the Mid-Season Tournament, Pading, the biggest rival of Langwu, the Fire God Academy, was expelled. What is your take on this? With such a single-combat expert gone, will the Langwu Team breathe a sigh of relief?"

The sexy, explosive female reporter had charming eyes, but the topic was a trap—this was the consistent style of Mars; how could it work without some drama?

Romero opened his right eye, which had been squinting. For just a split second, the reporter's body trembled, and the surrounding temperature seemed to drop instantly. "Tell that trash to shut up. A clown!"

Instantly, the whole room was hyped. No one expected Romero to evaluate Pading like that. At this moment, Romero stood up, and all the reporters in the newsroom became excited; they had only been conducting a routine interview.

"Team Leader Romero, do you think Pading cannot defeat Puppet?"

"Team Leader Romero, are you mocking Pading?"

"Is there a huge gap between Pading and Puppet? You know, Puppet has been avoiding fights, and now everyone thinks Pading's style counters Puppet, and Puppet doesn't dare to fight!"

The entire interview room was in an uproar, while the other members of Langwu remained silent. A coldness that made no attempt to hide appeared at the corner of Romero's mouth. "The only one who can defeat that person is me, Romero!"

After saying this, he left the interview room directly, completely ignoring the many reporters whose appetites had been whetted.

The news exploded that day, going straight to the top of EMP news.

"Lone Wolf Romero challenges Puppet!"

"Top combat power from the Galaxy Center—Romero, one of the Three Wolves, declares war on Puppet!"

"Escape or fight, Puppet's strongest opponent has appeared!"

"The secret that must be told between the Lone Wolf and Puppet!"

For a time, countless speculations ran rampant. Some even said the Lone Wolf's left eye was blinded by Puppet. Although everyone felt this was nonsense—after all, one was on Mars and the other on Earth—and the Lone Wolf's left eye was injured during training, how could anyone be capable of crippling him with his strength? Besides, with the Lone Wolf's personality, if there were such a grudge, he would have already gone to hell and back to take revenge; would he be here talking reason with you so gently?

Various speculations and doubts arose. Pading was a victim, directly wiped out by Romero's single sentence. After all, Romero's status and influence in the martial world were there, and Pading was still a level below. But Pading was unconvinced. On Mars, Langwu was the main competitor of Fire God; Romero was awesome, but he couldn't step on him to climb up.

That same day, Pading publicly responded to Romero, claiming this was slander from a competitor, intended to interfere with the Fire God Team before the Mid-Season Tournament because he feared his impact.

This statement was indeed correct. In just half an hour, the discussion topped the Mars War Zone. The debate regarding Romero and Pading was also exceptionally intense. Many felt Romero was very unkind this time; after all, Pading was one of their own, and they should be united against outsiders. Besides, Puppet was already scared, so what was Romero sticking his nose in for?

This was typical of boosting others' morale and destroying one's own prestige!

However, an hour later, someone gave Pading a fatal blow—a blow that hammered Pading to death himself.

According to confirmed news from the Fire God Team, the Wolf King Basita personally ordered Pading to shut up; the farce could stop.

Then, Pading deleted all his comments about Puppet.

Without a doubt, this was absolute suppression from the strongest person on Mars. No matter how unhappy Pading was, before the Wolf King fell, his authority was unquestionable.

An hour later, another wave of news exploded.

When Duan Wu of the Killing Wolf was interviewed about the Mid-Season Tournament and asked about this matter, Duan Wu only said one sentence: "Trash like Pading isn't even fit to carry his shoes. He knows nothing!"

The whole of Mars went a bit crazy. What the hell was going on?

Pading, this rising combat idol, hadn't even reached the top before being wiped out—and wiped out by his own people.

Among them, the Lone Wolf Romero had already publicly challenged Puppet. Although Romero hadn't been that direct on the scene, the media had interpreted it as such, and Romero's lack of rebuttal was an admission.

In an instant, public opinion across the Four Great War Zones completely reversed. Let alone the Martians, even the Moon People were dumbfounded. In the eyes of the Moon People, only the Three Wolves of Mars could possibly block the Moon's three-peat at S11. What was going on?

And the Earthlings, who had been struggling to resist and feeling powerless, suddenly saw a reversal. The problem was, Pading was still slapped to death by his own people—slapped dead, the kind that stays dead.

Added to that was Duan Wu's "flogging the corpse," leaving Pading no room to fight back.

The prestige of the Three Wolves was earned step by step through strength in the fiercely competitive Mars. In the face of absolute strength, Pading was just scum.

Was Puppet really a god?

First there was Aofei, and now even the opponents were standing up?

So the question arises: will Puppet accept this challenge?

Especially since the Lone Wolf Romero had laid down the gauntlet, saying he was the only one in the world who could defeat Puppet.

The Earth EMP officials were completely excited. What did this mean?

If Puppet agreed to fight, it would set a record regardless of success or failure. So, email after email was sent, and then email after email sank into the sea.

In the Galaxy Center of Daxiong City on the Moon.

In a cafe, two young men wearing baseball caps sat.

No one touched the coffee.

"He is confirmed to participate. Currently, his teammates' strength is very poor."

"Teammates are irrelevant. Does Dita know?"

"She probably doesn't. This junior sister is a bit reckless, but it doesn't seem to be a bad thing for now; we can get some first-hand information."

The two were silent for a while. "Thinking about it now, Xilian's decision back then was correct. It caused the Elite of the USE to suffer heavy losses, and they haven't recovered in these years. The Martians are also very clear about this point."

The so-called dispute of pride back then clearly had deep-seated motives. Through such an incident, they joined forces with Mars to keep Earth down and complete the Moon's suppression. Mars, however, could not compare to the Moon in terms of foundation and strength. The era of the Moon People was about to arrive. Time proved that Xilian was wise, but Xilian had calculated everything except for getting himself caught up in it.

"He is just an ordinary person now. Just as he said himself, everything must be viewed from the perspective of strength; one cannot be swayed by emotions."

One person said, and the other nodded.

"The Martians can no longer hold back, but I don't think their chances of winning are high, and we cannot just sit here and wait for death."

"It would be good if the Martians win, but if they lose, we need to have a foolproof plan; we must take this S Tournament, for if we miss this opportunity, the future fortune of the Moon will be hard to predict. Will you do it, or shall I?"

"Let's stick to the old rules."

"Fine."