The First E-Sports Live Broadcast

The dwarven and orcish delegates were wearing expressions of impeccable politeness and gravity.

Which only made me angrier.

Beneath those faint, composed masks, there was a strangely mocking undertone practically oozing out of them.

And the elven delegate was not so dim-witted or foolish that he failed to notice.

"It's mere entertainment, no? Though I suppose we, having rushed all this way over that very entertainment, are hardly ones to talk. Still, it seems Elsy Bwenner is prepared to hear out our requested revisions in earnest, and that puts my heart somewhat at ease."

Tsk-tsk. "And yet the Guardian of the Woods shows himself to be remarkably graceless. Well. Suit yourself. We're perfectly content to keep the game as it stands."

"Just remove the elves from the game and leave the rest of us as we are, Elsy Bwenner."

At the words of the orcish and dwarven delegates, the panic drained from the elf's face, and a rising irritation began to creep in.

"We all came all this way to protest over a single game, and now this attitude—what exactly are you playing at?"

"That's right, that's right. We sent whole delegations over one little game. Which is why we withdrew our original position and graciously agreed to understand the game as mere entertainment. We may be short, but unlike some, we're a race capable of quick adaptation and generosity."

Tsk-tsk. "The orcs of the plains are magnanimous. Overflowing with grace and mercy, we can receive a courteous counterpart with courtesy."

"Well, to be fair, that is rather like the elves, who won't tolerate a single thing that dents their pride."

His Imperial Majesty, watching the exchange ping-ponging between the three delegates, made a peculiar face, quietly stepped back, and glanced at me. I gave him a subtle mouth-shape: please watch and wait.

And indeed.

The mood was turning strange.

"Since the elves can't stomach the slightest blow to their pride, how about this—since you've come all this way anyway, why not demand we scrap the whole thing?"

Tsk-tsk! "Right! Why don't you ask the human Emperor to ban every novel, painting, song, dance, and conversation topic that portrays elves badly? After all, the great elf can't bear to be depicted in anything less than flattering. That would be fitting. Tsk-tsk!"

"Oh, the Mother Tree must be so proud. Aaaaah! Wait, that's it! Let's ban the words 'elf' and 'Mother Tree' while we're at it! You never know—some impulsive human might use them in an insulting expression!"

"Now ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠there's an idea! Tsk-tsk! Since we're at it, shall we do the same for our orc race? We have a few songs that mock your lot—shall we ban those too, while we're at it?"

"A few of our dwarven murals are like that as well. Should we have those all banned while we're at it?"

"Better yet, let's petition the gods of the dimension itself! Since the elves are so noble and great a race that they cannot endure the tiniest insult, why not ask the gods to strike down divine punishment the very instant anyone so much as speaks the word 'elf'!..."

By this point, the elven delegate had clearly understood exactly what the orcs and dwarves were getting at.

And this was a very serious problem for him.

Though the Tooth War had ended a hundred years ago, the historical wounds and memories it left behind were still vividly alive.

What was more, elves were long-lived.

The orcs and dwarves who had lived through that war were, in some cases, already dead—but the majority of elves who had experienced it were still hale, breathing members of the present day.

The result:

"Where do you get off with those insults! Are you mocking the Guardians of our Woods right now, you stubby-legged oaf and you green-skinned wretch!"

The elven delegate finally exploded, unable to hold it in any longer.

And that explosion appeared to bring the dwarves and orcs nothing but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pure joy.

"Oh my! There goes the temper! How terribly sorry we are! Fancy us slandering the great Guardians of the Woods! Our Dwarven Kingdom really must issue an apology! We'll apologize on behalf of Rondaim itself! Shall we kneel and lick the soles of your feet while we're at it?"

Tsk-tsk! "Kukukuk! Tsk-tsk! We shall apologize! If you like, pull out my teeth right now and take them as trophies. If you wish to do things exactly as you did in the Tooth War a hundred years ago, be my guest."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"It seems our dear elves forgot that they are merely children grown old. Always ready to fly off the handle over the smallest thing—which is why they react so childishly to a single game. We simply failed to account for that. So sorry!"

Tsk-tsk! Kuk! Tsk-tsk!

A vein stood out on the elven delegate's forehead.

"Shall we fight the Tooth War again, hm? Shall we carve the terror of those days into you once more?"

"Oh my, yes! Do it! Go to war! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠You'll probably wet yourself in terror!"

"I myself feel like I might faint from fear! Tsk!"

"You stubby-legged, green-skinned bastards just keep pushing your luck!"

It had overheated far too fast.

The Emperor was breaking into a cold sweat and moving to intervene—when I stepped forward a beat ahead of him.

"Fighting the Tooth War all over again would be a bit too large in scale, wouldn't you say? How about settling this with a game instead?"

At my words, the elven delegate—who had looked ready to detonate on the spot—turned to stare at me.

The dwarves and orcs stared at me too.

"A game... you say?"

"Fighting directly would shatter the peace. Since none of us can be the one to tear down the peace your ancestors built, you fight a symbolic war instead. Entertainment stays entertainment—but within that entertainment, you compete with everything you have. That is the entire reason Age of War 2 exists."

I smiled pleasantly at the three delegates.

"Why not leave entertainment as entertainment, and let this settle the grudges that never got resolved?"

The eyes of the elf, the orc, and the dwarf flickered for an instant with a peculiar light.

"I wouldn't mind seeing the Guardian of the Woods bawling his eyes out one more time, that's true."

Tsk-tsk. "And it would be a chance to prove that we orcs are the finest strategists of all."

Even as the dwarves and orcs chuckled their agreement, the elven delegate could not readily bring himself to speak.

"You're asking us to permit a game in which our race dies over and over again!"

"Yes, I am. Let the game be a game, and use it as an arena for healthy competition where century-old resentments can burn off."

"We will not permit it! A game where our kin die by the second!..."

"Then shall I erase the game itself, as the Guardians of the Woods demand?"

"..."

"I can certainly have it erased. But if that happens... well, it's obvious how others will talk about it behind your backs for years to come, isn't it?"

I let my gaze drift casually toward the dwarven and orcish delegates.

Twisted, faintly mocking smiles.

Seeing those smiles, the elven delegate clenched his fists hard enough to crush stone.

A vivid cross of veins stamped into his forehead, the elven delegate forced out a terrifying, furious smile.

"The game is merely a game. Our Guardians of the Woods will magnanimously embrace it as entertainment. However."

"However?"

"All three races gathering representatives to face off in Age of War 2—that we will do. Make it happen, Elsy Bwenner. On that condition, we will permit it and let the matter pass."

I beamed at those words.

The video platform and the live-streaming technology weren't fully developed yet.

But still.

Adding a limited, event-style live broadcast corner to the Age of War 2 homepage was more than achievable with current tech.

"Two weeks from now. How does that sound? I hear there are many young people from each race who enjoy Age of War 2. We'll have the best among them compete. What say you?"

The response was absolutely explosive.

"Good, good! We'll show them dwarves are the best!"

"I shall inform the warriors of the plains! Tsk-tsk!"

"You bastards. You'll regret insulting us today. Ah—but of course, the game is just a game. Anyone who acts on this with a grudge afterward is a petty, classless fool. Agreed?"

Everyone laughed.

"Naturally. Guardians of the Woods."

Tsk-tsk. "We'll make you weep. Ah—of course, we orcs know it's only a game, so we won't get angry beyond what's necessary."

But I could see it plainly: inside, every one of them was boiling over.

And so the first event-style E-sports match was held between the races.

And this E-sports match—

As expected, it ignited an utterly insane wave of fervor.

"You saw how close a call that was, right? With things having come this far, this event match absolutely MUST succeed!"

"Damn right it does! If anyone claims there was even the slightest problem with fairness or match operations... this becomes a diplomatic incident!"

"We'll hold the matches in the plaza in front of the Black Magic Tower's main spire."

"I'll dispatch mages to the capitals of Puaroda, Rondaim, and Korwell to set up temporary teleportation circles."

"Send plenty of them. And we'll need to sell tickets as well. Second Elder? Second Elder, I'd like you to handle ticket sales!"

"Leave it to me!"

"Tower Master, please personally oversee securing the plaza and building the stage. We need as many spectator seats as we can possibly fit!"

"You can count on me, Elsie!"

"And I... will focus on reinforcing the video live-streaming platform for our online audience! Oh, and Third Elder?"

"Speak."

"This live broadcast's viewership numbers are going to be no joke. And between matches, during the short breaks—what if we ran advertisements in that window?"

"...Hehehehe! Kihishihihit! That would be an obscene moneymaker! I'll go persuade the advertisers! There'll be a mountain of people desperate to buy ad slots!"

The Black Magic Tower threw its full weight into preparing for the event match.

This was no ordinary E-sports competition.

Every race's pride was riding on it—the moment a single mistake, an operational slip, or an error in judgment occurred, it could spiral into a diplomatic crisis.

So the Black Magic Tower mobilized everything it had and began preparing for this event match with obsessive, meticulous thoroughness.

Thus two weeks of utter chaos, like a howling storm, flew by.

And at last—the day of the event match arrived.

"Elsie."

"Yes, Second Elder."

"We laid out five thousand seats, you know. Sold out in under a minute."

"What were the prices?"

"One silver for seats at the back. Five silver for the royal-box seats up front—and those sold out too."

"Second Elder. Do you know how many live-stream viewers we have right now?"

"How many?"

"Over one hundred thousand—and the match hasn't even started."

"Ha... haha."

"Hehehe! Hahahahaha!"

Even before the first match began, Soul Net and the entire Wirod Dimension were quite literally ablaze.

Five orcish players. Five elven players.

And then six dwarven players—chosen when all three racial delegates cast coins at once and the single person whose coin landed differently won the spot.

Sixteen representatives in total, each racing for their race's pride in the Age of War 2 event match.

Commentary was handled by three of the developers from the Blizzard Guild.

And the live-stream viewership, which had stood at one hundred thousand before the matches began—

"The match has begun!"

"Ohhhh! What is this! Ludwig, playing for the dwarves, is rallying his workers and focusing on an early rush from the very start!"

"Cargam on the elf side! Defending with everything he's got!"

"It's a slugfest! An all-out slugfest!"

"Cargam! He's teching to a hero unit! He holds off the early worker rush and gets his hero out! He's summoned Nirthwatha, the great archer and grand hero of the elven race!"

"He's winning! Cargam is pounding Ludwig into the dirt!"

"It's over! Victory to Cargam of the elves!"

The instant that first match began, the viewer count began climbing at an impossible rate, and before anyone realized it—

Real-time viewership had surpassed one million.