BATTLE FOR STARS

“Oh,” Ding Yufei responded. He hadn’t expected that the cyborgs from Earth’s novels had already become reality here. He still had many questions about them, but this clearly wasn’t the right place to ask, especially since Hogan the Great had already noticed that he was somewhat different from others.

“This match was very exciting. I enjoyed it,” Hogan the Great said after a pause. “Use organ transplantation for him. Also, have the war slave department purchase him. Once he recovers, send him to the battlefield—he’ll repay the money faster that way.”

In the emperor’s view, choosing the more expensive organ transplantation was a form of reward for Jace. Of course, he was only advancing the cost. After recovery, Jace would have to repay it slowly as a war slave.

Hogan the Great then smiled and turned to Belina. “You won this time. I owe you one thousand slaves.” He always used slaves as stakes in gambling, which made it seem more distinctive.

Ding Yufei didn’t understand Hogan the Great. Only now did he realize that the emperor’s earlier question had actually been the start of a wager.

But when he had chosen Jace, it wasn’t because he had calculated that Jace would win. It was simply out of caution—he wanted to leave the side with higher odds to the emperor as a gesture of politeness. Unexpectedly, things had turned out this way. Now it seemed the emperor didn’t care about winning or losing, but rather enjoyed the process of gambling.

“Your Majesty, I was just a bit luckier this time,” Belina said. “If Berg hadn’t fainted at the end and lost the ability to press his thigh to stop the bleeding, then I would have been the one who lost.”

Indeed, if Berg had held on just a little longer, he would likely have survived. But things had unfolded this way—because of his carelessness, he was outmaneuvered by Jace in the third round, lost his close-range weapon, and that ultimately led to the final mutual destruction when Jace charged at him.

It could be said that through effort and a bit of luck, Jace had won himself a slim chance at survival. Though it was so slight, it ultimately saved his life.

“After watching so many exhibition matches, this is the first time I’ve seen the smaller fighter win. Truly unpredictable,” Hogan the Great remarked. Even he hadn’t expected such an upset after so many years without surprises.

But he didn’t mind at all. It only made the viewing more interesting. He glanced at the data appearing in the air and then asked Belina, “Who do you think will win the next match?”

As the emperor of the Resk Empire—an empire built on entertainment—Hogan the Great enjoyed all kinds of gambling, especially during the carnival.

The previous exhibition match hadn’t officially allowed betting, since the outcome was usually obvious. Any wagers were private. But from this point on, both swordfighter and mechfighter matches were open for betting, with odds constantly updated on the screen.

During the Bowman Planet Carnival, these matches differed from normal ones. Usually, fights were decided by victory alone. Even in real blade combat, deaths were rare due to protective gear and advanced medical technology.

After all, losing a slave was a major loss for the owner, so matches typically ended once the outcome was decided. But during the carnival, things were different. On one hand, competitors were closely matched, and fights often came down to life or death, leaving no room for mercy.

On the other hand, the betting amounts were thousands of times greater than usual. If the opponent wasn’t killed, many bettors would question the legitimacy of the match. Moreover, an injured fighter might still make a comeback—just like Jace defeating Berg. So under the crowd’s demand for excitement, winners often dealt fatal blows to the defeated.

Of course, the prize money during the carnival was also hundreds of times higher than usual. Not only slave owners, but many fighters themselves were willing to take part—it was equivalent to years of effort in a single gamble.

Ding Yufei looked up at the screen. It showed the data for the upcoming mechfighter match. Two female mechfighters were competing: Lina and Jennifer.

Jennifer was a veteran with over thirty years of experience and had consistently good results, with an 85% win rate in the past two years. Lina, on the other hand, had only been in the field for seven or eight years, but her performance had improved rapidly, reaching an 80% win rate recently.

Jace had said that Lina was the most likely to win the championship, so why was her win rate lower than Jennifer’s?

That was because many of Lina’s recent matches were not fair one-on-one fights. Some were one versus two or even one versus three entertainment matches, and others were against heavy mechs that weren’t on the same level. These factors dragged down her win rate.

After analyzing both fighters’ data, the system concluded that Lina actually had a slightly higher chance of winning.

Of course, the system didn’t know one thing—Lina often didn’t use her full strength. For her, winning was enough; she didn’t aim to severely damage her opponent.

Nor did she deliberately kill opponents. As a mechfighter herself, she still showed some consideration for others. As a result, her damage ratings against enemy mechs were noticeably lower than Jennifer’s, who specialized in heavy mechs and dealt much higher damage.

Belina also glanced at the data. Betting privately with the emperor was different from public betting—outside, both sides could choose the same fighter, but with the emperor, once one person chose, the other had to take the remaining option. It was a “game” between the two.

Since Ding Yufei had chosen first last time, it was now Hogan the Great’s turn.

“Your Majesty, you choose first this time,” Belina said.

Hogan the Great looked at the screen. The odds for both fighters were similar. For someone unfamiliar with them, choosing a winner would mostly come down to luck.

After a moment, he said, “Alright, I’ll go with Jennifer.”

Belina looked at him with slight confusion, then understood and smiled. “Your Majesty wants to take the lower probability side again, just like before?”

“Yes,” he replied with a smile. “Perhaps luck will be on my side this time.”

In truth, for the emperor, with such close odds, it didn’t really matter which one he chose.