When They Beg, I Rise!

Lemira stood in the hallway, locking eyes with Alaric.

Alaric, feeling his pride wounded, struck first, "Came for a good laugh, did you? Find it amusing to see our team being mocked? Happy now?"

Lemira's expression was cold, "It's because you were outplayed."

Just then, the IronVow team made their way to the backstage area. Lemira turned her gaze to the captain of Iron Vow who said those provocative remarks earlier, "Got a question for you. Are you an orphan, with no parents to speak of?" The captain of IronVow scowled, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. With that foul mouth, I thought maybe you lost your parents early, with no one to teach you manners."

"Why you little brat, dare to say that again?"

Lemira had clearly struck a nerve. She shot back, "In the upcoming match, if you lose, then I want a public apology in front of the press for what you said about my parents!"

"You think we'll lose? You're dreaming!"

"What, scared to take the bet? Feeling a bit shaky, are you?"

Provoked by Lemira's taunting, the captain quickly took the bait, "Fine, but if you lose, your captain has to publicly apologize for what you said!"

With that, the IronVow team stormed off, leaving a charged atmosphere behind.

Lemira remained composed, confident in her strategy to win. However, the mood among the SkyBlaze team members turned awkward.

Alaric, annoyed, said, "If we lose, you're apologizing yourself. You're not even a team member. Who gave you the right to make decisions?"

"I just wanted that guy to apologize publicly, nothing more."

Right then, Lucian arrived, "Lemmy, seeing you here makes me happy. Finally, our family is back together."

Lemira pressed her lips together, saying nothing.

Lucian glanced around, "Where's Eve?"

Alaric's face stiffened, "Don't know. She ran off for a bit scolding."

Another team member chimed in, "Captain, Eve did that just because she really wants to win. She can't be blamed for getting a bit carried away."

"Yeah, Captain. Eve's such hard worker, staying up late night after night training on her computer. She's really putting in the effort."

"Captain, you were a bit harsh earlier."

Alaric felt cornered. Harsh? When Evelina insisted on joining the team with no talent to speak of, of course, it would require immense effort. But clearly, Evelina was lacking.

After Evelina's mistake, as captain, was he not allowed a word of criticism?

Lemira sided with the others, "Exactly, Evelina has put so much effort in, even sacrificing her study time. How could you scold her, Alaric? You're just worried about losing the game, but Evelina is losing her self-esteem." Alaric was livid. What was this? How had everything turned against him? Clearly, Evelina was at fault!

Lucian glanced at Alaric, "You really should work on that temper, Alaric. Remember how well Lemira treated you, and you pushed her away, hurting her. Wanna drive Eve away with your words too?" "Lucian, that's not the same thing at all. It's Evelina."

"Enough. I saw the whole live stream clearly. It was you who led them into a trap. As captain, you're responsible. Eve just panicked and made a mistake."

Alaric felt a crushing sense of helplessness. No matter what he said, Lucian didn't believe him!

Lemira watched from the sidelines, finally seeing Alaric experience what she had felt. The bitterness of being slandered, misunderstood, and unable to defend oneself. How did it feel? Lucian tried calling Evelina, but there's no answer.