Chapter : 186
Chapter : 186
"I absolutely do not eat greasy, disgusting street food!" Elma stammered quickly, turning her head away and crossing her arms defensively. "And stop calling me blonde lady! My name is Elma! Eat your own garbage!"
Ken just shrugged, pulling his hand back. "More for me. Your loss, Elma. These chips are a culinary masterpiece."
Naomi chuckled softly from the couch, shaking her head at the two of them. She knew exactly what was going on in Elma's head, but she decided to let the proud girl suffer in her own embarrassment.
"Quiet, everyone," Sayma instructed politely, raising her hand. "They are explaining the rules of the match. We need to pay absolute attention. This is going to dictate our entire strategy for tomorrow."
On the television, the camera zoomed out to show a highly detailed, three-dimensional holographic model of the massive combat arena. It looked like a giant, symmetrical sports field, entirely surrounded by towering, magically reinforced concrete walls. The field was split perfectly down the middle by a glowing red line.
"Alright, folks, let's break down the mechanics of tomorrow's showdown!" the anchor cheered. "This is not your standard, chaotic free-for-all brawl! The Upper Council has implemented a highly strategic, totally gamified system! Tomorrow’s match is an official game of Tower Defense!"
Laxmi leaned forward, her eyes lighting up. "Tower Defense? That sounds like a board game."
The holographic arena on the TV zoomed in on one side of the field. Sitting securely within the territory were nine tall, intricately carved stone pillars, glowing with bright blue energy.
"Here is how it works!" the broadcast continued. "Each team possesses their own dedicated court. Inside that court are exactly nine defensive towers! Your job is to fiercely protect your towers from the enemy, while simultaneously trying to smash their towers to rubble!"
"That sounds entirely straightforward," Zinia commented, cracking her knuckles. "We just run over there and punch their pillars until they break. Easy."
"It gets more complicated," Ira stated flatly, pointing a pale finger at the screen. "Look at the timer."
A giant digital clock appeared on the television, flashing bright red numbers.
"This match is structured into strictly timed phases!" the female anchor explained excitedly. "There are exactly six rounds in total. Each round lasts exactly five minutes! But here is the catch: both teams are not attacking at the same time! The units will alternate turns! One team will be designated the Invader, entirely focused on offense, while the other team is locked into a pure defensive stance! When the five-minute buzzer sounds, the roles instantly reverse!"
Sayma quickly grabbed a pen and started scribbling furious notes in her notebook. Her highly analytical mind was already spinning a dozen different tactical scenarios.
"Five-minute rounds," Sayma murmured, her brow furrowing in deep concentration. "That completely changes the dynamic of the battlefield. It means we cannot rely on slow, drawn-out magical spells. We cannot play a waiting game. Five minutes is a very short window. It requires absolute, explosive speed during our attacking phase, and entirely unbreakable stamina during our defending phase."
"And what happens at the end?" Naomi asked, leaning closer to the screen.
"At the end of the six rounds," the anchor announced, his voice reaching a dramatic peak, "the judges will tally the destruction! The team with the most shattered enemy towers wins the glorious ten points! If the scores are tied at the end of regulation time, we go straight into sudden-death overtime! First team to break a tower in overtime wins it all!"
Ken stopped chewing his potato chip. He swallowed loudly and let out a massive, highly exaggerated groan.
"Sudden death?" Ken complained, throwing his hands up in the air. "Why do they always call it sudden death? That is terrible branding! It sounds incredibly bad for my health! Why can't they call it 'sudden naps' or 'sudden snack breaks'? I would be a champion at sudden snack breaks!"
Laxmi burst out laughing, tossing a couch pillow directly at Ken’s face. It bounced harmlessly off his messy hair. "Because it is a war, you idiot! Nobody wants to watch two teams take a nap on national television! The crowd wants explosions!"
Ken caught the pillow and hugged it tightly to his chest, looking perfectly content. "The crowd clearly does not appreciate the fine art of doing absolutely nothing. They are missing out on true greatness."
Princess Iris watched her team joke around, a warm, genuine smile touching her lips. Despite the terrifying reality of fighting on a national broadcast, and despite the incredibly strict, fast-paced rules of the Tower Defense game, her unit was not panicking. They were relaxed, confident, and trusting in each other.
"Sayma," Princess Iris said softly, turning to her Vice-Captain. "We are going to need a very specific, highly coordinated tactic to maximize our damage within a five-minute window. Prince Hades is a perfectionist. He is going to spend the entire night calculating the exact mathematical limits of our elemental magic."
Sayma nodded firmly, tapping her pen against her notebook. "Yes, Princess. If we use standard combat formations, he will predict every single move we make. We need something completely unpredictable. Something that disrupts his flawless, analytical mindset."
Luna let out another huge yawn, sliding off the couch and onto the floor. "I vote we just run in, zap everything as fast as possible, and then go out for ice cream. Ice cream sounds fantastic right now."
"I totally second the ice cream plan," Ken agreed happily, raising his hand. "But seriously, don't overthink the five-minute timer, guys. If the scary Prince in the black suit wants to play a perfect game of chess, we just have to flip the chessboard over. Chaos beats perfection every single time."
Naomi looked at Ken, completely surprised by his sudden burst of actual wisdom. She smiled, shaking her head. "You know, farm boy, for a guy who spends ninety percent of his day complaining about his shoes, you occasionally say something that almost sounds smart."
"I am a fountain of incredible wisdom," Ken bragged proudly, popping his collar. "It is just buried under a very thick layer of laziness."
The 13th Unit spent the rest of the evening sitting together in the living room. They turned the television off, completely ignoring the intense media hype spinning out of control across the capital city. They ate dinner, shared jokes, and slowly started piecing together a strategy for the arena.
Tomorrow, they were going to step onto the biggest stage in the entire Belmontia Empire. They were going to face a ruthless, calculating perfectionist who wanted nothing more than to absolutely crush them.
But as Ken finished the very last potato chip in his bag, he felt completely, entirely unfazed. The rules of the Tower Defense match sounded complicated to normal people, but to him, it was just another silly game. And he was fully prepared to do exactly what he did best: act like a total clown, complain about the cardio, and secretly ensure that his messy, chaotic family walked out of the arena as absolute winners.
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