The next second.
The entire staging area fell dead silent.
At the entrance, a group walked in at a steady, unhurried pace.
It was the Elyndor team.
The moment the crowd caught a clear look at their uniforms, the mocking anticipation on the faces of those waiting for a joke froze entirely.
The pathetic, impoverished image Phelps had imagined—a team clad in his cheap tracksuits—was nowhere to be seen.
Thirty-five competitors, led by Mr. Ashwell.
They marched in perfect unison, stepping into the Elyndorian corridor with absolute grace and power.
Every single one of them was wearing the unified Gala Attire.
The men in their sharp, high-collar suits, and the women in their sleek, modernized gowns.
The garments perfectly accentuated the youth of the competitors while giving them a lethal, commanding edge.
Most notably, the vivid, striking flag of Elyndor on their chests looked impossibly radiant under the stadium lights.
Vibrant and solemn.
As the thirty-five of them filed into the Elyndor gathering zone in pristine formation, the visual impact was overwhelming. It was an absolute display of dominance.
They didn't walk fast.
But their strides were synchronized, their posture impeccable.
It was the kind of team that commanded attention the moment they appeared.
They exuded an innate, bone-deep confidence that spoke of a mighty nation's pride.
And leading them all was Serena.
Her modernized gown flowed like dark mist with every step she took.
The waist was cinched perfectly, yet she didn't look overly delicate. Instead, it magnified her cold, predatory aura.
She hadn't even bothered with an elaborate hairstyle.
Her cascading hair was effortlessly held up by an antique ebony pin.
It framed a face of breathtaking, striking beauty, highlighting a flawless, luminous complexion.
It was a devastating aesthetic impact.

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