KOF: Rise of the King of Fighters

In the Atlantic Ocean, on the coast of Africa, lies an archipelago. Hidden within this mysterious and beautiful archipelago is a grand and imposing castle.

This fortress is the venue for this King of Fighters tournament. Spectator seating and a very spacious fighting ring have already been set up inside.

At this moment, Rugal was sitting in a spacious and bright room inside the castle, his fierce eyes gazing at the distant sea through the window.

Mai Zhuo stood respectfully to the side, bowing slightly as she reported the progress of the work to Lucar.

"Boss, as you instructed, all ten invitations have been successfully sent out. According to reliable sources, both Kyo Kusanagi and Engetsu have indicated that they will arrive on time to participate in the competition," Mature said humbly.

After listening, Rugal smiled almost imperceptibly. He nodded slightly, indicating his approval of Mature's work. Then, he turned his gaze to Weiss, signaling her to continue her report.

Upon seeing this, Weiss quickly stepped forward, presented Rugal with a detailed report in both hands, and began to systematically introduce the specific information of the participating teams.

"The first team is the Japanese team led by Kyo Kusanagi, with the members being Kyo Kusanagi, Benimaru Nikaido, and Goro Daimon; the second team is the Legend Team led by Engetsu from China..." Vess explained the characteristics of each participating team to Rugal one by one.

Rugal listened attentively to Weiss's report, occasionally glancing at the document in his hand, his eyes gleaming with excitement. After Weiss finished, he praised her with satisfaction, "Excellent, Mature, Weiss!"

Immediately afterwards, Rugal's cold gaze turned to the monitor screen next to him again.

On the screen, two figures were clearly visible, their entire bodies encased in mechanical devices. Various densely packed interfaces connected to the devices made it difficult to discern their true faces.

At that moment, the researchers in white lab coats began to move methodically. They carefully approached the two people restrained by the interface, their movements gentle yet firm.

As a series of complex operations unfolded, the interfaces that were originally tightly embedded in the human body gradually loosened and fell off. Each time an interface was pulled out, it brought out a trace of bright red blood, but the researchers ignored it and remained focused on their work.

Rugal watched all this silently, his face growing increasingly grim. Soon, that grimness was replaced by a ferocious and terrifying expression, his face twisted like a demon's.

Suddenly, he let out a cold laugh, a sharp and piercing sound that seemed to penetrate one's soul.

"Hmph! No matter who's stronger this time, they'll all end up as my collectibles. When this competition concludes, I'll let the whole world know how powerful I am... Hahahaha..."

As Rugal's extremely arrogant laughter suddenly rang out, a cold and oppressive atmosphere instantly filled the entire room.

Meanwhile, Mature and Vice, standing to the side, were also intently watching the figure slowly opening in the mechanical device on the screen.

For a moment, a look of surprise crossed their faces, which was quickly replaced by solemnity. Clearly, what was happening before their eyes was far beyond their expectations.

……

Two days before the King of Fighters tournament, it was getting dark.

After a long journey, Yan Yue and his two companions finally arrived at an island—the registration point for the participants of this King of Fighters tournament.

However, this seemingly peaceful and serene scene could not conceal an inexplicable tense atmosphere. Upon arriving, Yan Yue clutched the KOF invitation tightly in her hand and strode towards the competition's front desk.

The staff member in charge of reception accepted the invitation with a smile, carefully checked it, and then gestured for them to follow him. So, Yan Yue, Shen Wu, and Alba followed the staff member onto a small boat, which slowly sailed towards the opposite island.

Just then, the ship approached another island. Upon reaching the dock, several fully armed local government soldiers could be seen standing there. They were all armed, their expressions serious and indifferent, coldly sweeping over Yan Yue and her group who had just landed.

Following that, led by the staff, Yan Yue and the three others walked together towards their team's rest room. They remained silent the entire way, only their footsteps echoing in the quiet corridor.

A short while later, they arrived at the designated lounge. The staff member gently pushed open the door and stepped aside to let the three enter. Once they were all inside, the staff member politely began to explain:

"Dear fighters, this tournament will be conducted strictly in accordance with the arrangements of our local government. Tomorrow morning, I will lead you to the grand opening ceremony and the tournament draw ceremony."

Therefore, from now on, please stay home, rest well, and conserve your energy to meet the challenges ahead in the best possible condition.

After saying this, the staff member bowed deeply and respectfully to them. Then, he walked towards the door and carefully closed it.

Just then, Shenwu, who had been silent all along, suddenly turned his gaze to Yanyue beside him and asked, "Have you sensed anything unusual?"

Yan Yue frowned slightly upon hearing this, shook her head gently, and replied, "No. Ever since I set foot on this island, I have been trying my best to sense everything around me. But until now, I haven't sensed anything unusual."

After a while, Yan Yue looked up at Shen Wu and continued, "There's something strange though, there's only one rest room here for our team. Normally, for a competition of this scale, there shouldn't be only one rest room provided for one team."

Upon hearing this, Shenwu and Alba's expressions instantly turned puzzled.

At that moment, Alba suddenly took out his phone, looked at it, and replied with a somewhat serious expression, "The phone has no signal. It looks like there's a signal jamming device here."

Shenwu was somewhat surprised: "What?"

Yan Yue had already anticipated this, and calmly said, "It's probably to prevent us from contacting others. But since there's no immediate danger, let's take this time to rest and focus on the match."

……

The next day, inside the enormous castle, at the World King of Fighters tournament.

Yan Yue changed into the white suit unique to Wudang Mountain, while still covering her eyes with a piece of black cloth.

After careful consideration, Yan Yue decided to temporarily refrain from revealing her eyes and true face to the public.

Because, based on the last competition, Yan Yue was certain that members of NESTS would be present at the event. She feared that the organization might target her if she wasn't careful. Therefore, this time, to be on the safe side, Yan Yue planned to compete as a blind person.

The three of them then boarded a small boat with the staff and slowly sailed toward the island of the giant castle.

As the distance closed, the island on the other side gradually became clearer.

Yan Yue frowned slightly and said in a low voice to Shenwu and Alba beside her, "I don't know what Rugal is up to this time, and this island gives me a very bad feeling. Everyone must be extra careful!"

Shenwu and Alba exchanged a glance and nodded, indicating that they would be more vigilant.

As the ship gradually approached the island's shore, the three disembarked one by one, taking steady steps and silently entering the fighting arena of this tournament.

……

Upon entering the castle, a lively and bustling atmosphere greeted them. Although this competition was niche and the seating was limited to only about a thousand people, the crowd still chanted the names of their favorite fighters. Flags fluttered, bearing the logos of different fighting styles or teams, and the enthusiastic atmosphere remained undiminished.

The fighting rings were brightly lit, and each ring was surrounded by complex and sophisticated filming and protective equipment.

Next to the main arena is a huge electronic display screen that scrolls through highlights of the past participating teams.

Yan Yue and the others walked towards the players' waiting area, attracting curious glances from players from other teams.

Suddenly, the loudspeaker announced: "Welcome everyone to the King of Fighters tournament! Please get ready, the opening ceremony is about to begin, followed by the exciting draw!"

The atmosphere in the arena immediately became even more heated, with everyone eagerly anticipating the upcoming King of Fighters tournament.

Accompanied by a grand and dazzling opening ceremony performance, the participating teams gathered like shining stars in their respective venues. However, amidst this lively scene, Yan Yue frowned deeply and unhesitatingly unleashed her unique skill, [Perception Domain].

Time passed by, and after a few minutes, Yan Yue suddenly looked alarmed.

Just now, through her [Perception Domain], Yan Yue keenly sensed that a sense of malice permeated the entire competition venue. The oppressive feeling brought about by this malice was quite similar to common killing intent.

Yan Yue thought to herself, "Such intense malice is no accident. There's probably only one possibility—most of the people present are assassins arranged by Rugal!"

Thinking of this, Yan Yue seemed less panicked. "Alright, I'll take care of it all for you in a bit, Rugal, you sore loser!"

However, Yan Yue did not intend to tell Shen Wu and Alba about it, because Shen Wu was too warlike and would easily cause trouble.

……

Compared to previous King of Fighters tournaments, this year's event clearly had less funding. Therefore, while the opening ceremony was still spectacular, it was relatively small in scale and somewhat simple.

The brief opening ceremony quickly came to a close. Immediately afterwards, the giant electronic screen began randomly selecting and displaying matchups between the participating teams.

At the same time, the broadcast system located in the center of the venue sounded, clearly announcing the detailed information of each pair of opponents to everyone present.

"This grand and highly anticipated competition not only welcomed eight already renowned and strong teams, but also attracted two brand-new teams full of mystery to participate."

This brings the total number of participating teams to ten, all vying for the highest honor in this fierce competition.

"These teams come from different countries or regions and represent their own unique styles and fighting techniques: the Japanese team, the Garou team, the Dragon Tiger team, the Korean team, the Psycho Soldier team, the Ikari team, the American team, and the heroic female fighter team. Of course, the most eye-catching are the Rivals team and the Legend team, which have just emerged but have already attracted attention."

"These ten participating teams will soon engage in a two-on-two competition to select the top five teams with the strongest combat skills."

Following this, the five teams will face a new round of challenges: one lucky team will be randomly selected to directly advance to the final stage; meanwhile, the remaining four teams will need to continue battling it out, going through a fierce struggle to determine the champion team that will reach the grand finals.

"The two teams will compete in a round-robin format, where each team will carefully select an outstanding fighter to go first in the match. After each exciting match, the fighters will have a valuable opportunity to substitute."

However, if a fighter is unfortunately knocked out of the ring by their opponent or falls to the ground due to injury and is unable to get up to continue fighting, they will be declared to have lost the match.

"The winner of the competition will receive a prize of 70."

"So... finally, I announce... the new World King of Fighters Tournament has officially begun!"

Finally, amidst thunderous cheers from the audience, the new World King of Fighters tournament officially began! All eyes were focused on the giant electronic screen, eagerly awaiting the pairing results…

Finally, the scrolling subtitles on the screen slowly stopped. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the screen, eagerly awaiting the announcement of the matchups.

"Legend Team VS Korea Team".

"Dragon Tigers vs. Ikari Warriors".

"Hungry Wolf Team VS Women's Fighters Team".

"Japan Team VS Superpower Warriors Team".

"Rival Team VS Team USA".

After all the match information was announced, a lively discussion erupted in the arena. However, at that moment, Shenwu shouted excitedly, "I really didn't expect this! We'll be the first match!"

In stark contrast to Shenwu was Alba, who remained silent, simply standing there quietly with sunglasses on his face, seemingly unconcerned about this sudden first battle.

Yan Yue, who was standing to the side, knew Shen Wu well. She calmly tightened the black cloth covering her eyes again and then asked Shen Wu, "Shen Wu, this time you can choose your opponent. Who do you want to fight first?"

Upon hearing Yan Yue's question, Shen Wu answered without hesitation, "Of course I'll challenge the strongest! I'm going to beat their captain, that self-proclaimed Taekwondo master Kim Kapan, hahaha!"

After saying that, Shenwu clenched his fist tightly, as if he couldn't wait to step onto the arena and fight this formidable opponent.