Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
Soft Mist's Dragon Breaks the Ranks stirred up the entire stadium. The commentator, Pan Lin, could only give a long "Oh..." before becoming silent.
Despite facing four members from Excellent Era all by herself, Soft Mist dared to rush ahead with more vigor and initiative than before. This girl... does she even understand the situation she's in?
Many people wanted to make fun of Tang Rou's suicidal action. However, everyone was stunned the very next second when they saw Soft Mist's Dragon Breaks the Ranks get past the suppression of the two Battle Mages, One Autumn Leaf and Combat Form, and arrive in front of the two long-ranged gunners.
This seemed like a situation where Tang Rou was walking right into a trap. If anyone in Excellent Era had been prepared, they could have gotten rid of Soft Mist right away. The problem was that they hadn't been. Whether it was the Master Tactician Xiao Shiqin, the new generation's God Sun Xiang, or the talented rookie Qiu Fei, none of them expected Tang Rou to be so fearless. .
At the time, no one could determine whether her courage was deserving of praise or extremely foolish.
Soft Mist's spear swept around in a circle, and the two long-ranged gunners were forced to retreat. As they dodged, they lifted their guns and started to shoot. One Autumn Leaf and Combat Form spun around to pincer Soft Mist.
The four from Excellent Era adjusted extremely quickly. However, Tang Rou's unexpected move still managed to disrupt their rhythm. They surrounded her again, but it wasn't as perfect as the previous wave, regardless of whether it was their positioning or rhythm.
Their encirclement might have been enough for normal players. Unfortunately, for Happy's Ye Xiu, such a disorderly encirclement couldn't just be politely described as "imperfect", it was filled with flaws.
"Matchstick!"
A message suddenly popped out from Lord Grim in Happy's team chat.
This wasn't a code word; Matchstick was the name of Wang Ze's Sharpshooter. Although he had only arrived in the map not long ago and failed to save Excellent Era's Cleric, he was able to set up a good foundation for Excellent Era's comeback by dealing a lot of damage to Dawn Rifle. However, he had now become Happy's breakthrough target.
This was probably the first direct confrontation between the two teams in this Matchstick. The four characters from both sides were gathered in the same area and each attacked their respective tactical targets.
"Happy is putting on a tough front facing Excellent Era's counterattack!!" Pan Lin cried with surprise. Happy had been deliberately avoiding direct confrontations the entire time. However, now their approach suddenly changed. When the four from Excellent Era surrounded Soft Mist, the other three characters from Happy valiantly charged forward to save her.
At the same time, Tang Rou, who was surrounded, also carried out Ye Xiu's instruction.
1v4. There was nothing that could make Tang Rou more excited. Her hand speed exploded as Soft Mist charged towards Matchstick. She swayed left and right at high speeds, dodging the incoming gunner attacks. One Autumn Leaf and Combat Form chased closely behind her. The two had nothing harassing them, so their movement speeds werewas faster and the distance between them continued to decrease.
Dragon Breaks the Ranks!
At this moment, time was the most important. It was a matter of speed. No one would save their high-level skills for later. One Autumn Leaf unleashed a Dragon Breaks the Ranks towards Soft Mist's back.
But Soft Mist leaped up into the air.
Shattering the Lands!
Excellent Era wasn't the only one who knew how to use this Level 75 skill.
One Autumn Leaf's Dragon Breaks the Ranks brushed past her, missing by just a hair. Combat Form had originally been planning on following up with an attack, but seeing Soft Mist use Shattering the Lands, he immediately made adjustments.
The attacks from Xiao Shiqin and Wang Ze didn't stop. Soft Mist was in the air now, so dodging was more difficult. She was struck repeatedly by bullets, and her health slid down.
Her Shattering the Lands still came out though!
Soft Mist descended from the air along with streaks of blood and fire. Her spear stabbed into the ground and magic waves lifted up the earth. Dirt and stone swirled in the air. A blaze of fire flowed out from the center, her spear's Flowing Fire effect.
This type of high-level skill couldn't be taken directly. Qiu Fei's Combat Form was unable to advance. Sun Xiang's One Autumn Leaf immediately dodged to the side. On the other hand, Xiao Shiqin and Wang Ze escaped from its attack range, while continuing to attack.
"Kill her!!!" Xiao Shiqin roared. Soft Mist's ferociousness would fire up the spirits of anyone who crossed her path.
Just when Soft Mist's health was about to hit 0, a white light surrounded her body.
Small Heal!
"Wha... what..." Pan Lin was about to explode. He was just about to announce Soft Mist's death, but he hadn't expected Lord Grim to cast a heal to save Soft Mist at the last second.
"Brilliant!" This was Li Yibo's evaluation of it. Small Heal had a cast time, so being able to time it so perfectly required extremely accurate predictions. It wasn't just a matter of hand speed.
However, the heal was a low-level skill. Lord Grim wasn't a healer and he didn't have healer equipment either. This Small Heal only allowed Soft Mist to not die in the last moment. Truly saving her from death was still far away.
However, by prolonging her inevitable death, Tang Rou was able to attack once more.
Soft Mist attacked Matchstick with a Falling Flower Palm.
Wang Ze didn't dodge. Soft Mist's hitpoints were at single digits. Instead of dodging, he might as well just finish her off.
That's what everyone thought, so they all attacked.
Suddenly, another white light flashed onto Soft Mist.
Small Cure!
Soft Mist once again survived with a last second save. Just from Soft Mist's remaining health, it could be seen how prompt the heal had been. After the heal, her health dropped to near zero. Soft Mist was hanging on with just one last drop of health left.
But that didn't affect Soft Mist from carrying out her attack.
Falling Flower Palm sent Matchstick flying away towards One Inch Ash's five overlapping ghost boundaries. Steamed Bun Invasion pounced forward and grabbed Matchstick in midair. Wang Ze couldn't even Quick Recover.
Matchstick was sent flying. A huge gap appeared in Excellent Era's encirclement. Soft Mist immediately tried to rush through it, but Xiao Shiqin wasn't going to give her that chance. Bullets rained down on her. However, a figure flashed and Lord Grim appeared with his umbrella propped up, protecting Soft Mist completely.
Soft Mist actually didn't die?
No one wanted to believe it. Li Yibo was just about to talk about Ye Xiu's two miraculous saves and their effects on the Matchstick. He hadn't expected that Soft Mist would be saved once again.
Just one more attack yet Excellent Era wasn't able to do it?
That was just... too unlucky.
Yes, something so outrageous couldn't be from skill. It could only be luck.
But this was just temporary, no?
One Autumn Leaf and Combat Form had charged forward. Their two spears crossed each other at 120 degree angles, attacking Lord Grim from the left and right. As for Soft Mist, who was hiding behind Lord Grim, she was within their attack range too. Xiao Shiqin's Life Extinguisher used a Rotor Wings to fly up and get around Lord Grim's umbrella shield by attacking from above.
They just needed one attack. How could they not do it? The three players from Excellent Era were confident, even if Ye Xiu was protecting her. They didn't think that Ye Xiu could protect her so thoroughly.
Ye Xiu couldn't protect her, but he also didn't bother trying. Life Extinguisher flew into the air with Rotor Wings and saw what Soft Mist was doing. He suddenly cried out in alarm.
"Careful!"
The warning was too late though. One Autumn Leaf and Combat Form had reached them. Lord Grim's Myriad Manifestations Umbrella retracted and a powerful magic wave surged forth, Rising Dragon Soars the Sky!
Soft Mist only had just a drop of health left, yet she actually attacked. Under the cover of Lord Grim's shield, this was a two-player Blind Shield Play. Sun Xiang and Qiu Fei hadn't expected it at all. By the time Xiao Shiqin became aware of it, it was too late.
Dancing Fire Flowing Flame turned into an angry dragon and flew out from behind Lord Grim's umbrella towards Combat Form. Combat Form had already let out his attack, but its priority couldn't compete with Rising Dragon Soars the Sky. He was chomped by the magic dragon. The magic waves coiled around his body and then exploded. Combat Form took a full blow from this high-level skill.
Sun Xiang's One Autumn Leaf didn't get hit by the sneak attack. Lord Grim's umbrella greeted him instead. The umbrella strike looked like it was more to drive him away than to damage him, but Sun Xiang could only get hit by it. He couldn't dodge Ye Xiu's strike. If he did, he would be in the path of Soft Mist's Rising Dragon Soars the Sky. Wouldn't dodging over there be letting them hit two birds with one stone?
Rising Dragon Soars the Sky wasn't just a sneak attack. Ye Xiu used it to limit the opponent's space, allowing him to put in two strikes and knock One Autumn Leaf to the side. Life Extinguisher's gunfire rained down from above, but Lord Grim simply opened up the umbrella put it above his head. Using the umbrella shield in this way was the easiest. After all, wasn't that the original purpose of an umbrella?
After taking care of those two, he convened with Steamed Bun Invasion and One Inch Ash under the gunfire above from Life Extinguisher. It was like he was taking a stroll in the rain. Ye Xiu had already casted a Recover onto Soft Mist. Her health was slowly recovering. Even though it wasn't much, but to those in Excellent Era, it was like a stab to their hearts.
How long is it going to take to get rid of that last drop of health?
Translator's Thoughts NomyummiHeals have a cast time but no cooldown. Cures have no cast time but a long cooldown.
Chapter 1045: InterlinkedTranslator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
Recover healed over time in bursts. The amount of heal per burst wasn't much to begin with. Lord Grim was a poor healer too, so each burst was even more dismal. In fact, even with these bursts, Excellent Era could still kill off their target in one strike. However, every burst was like torture to them.
What's worse, Happy's Cleric was most likely about to arrive. Even though that Cleric's skill wasn't amazing, in this situation, it was more than enough to be the deciding factor. Xiao Shiqin suddenly felt a bit upset. After killing Dawn Rifle, they should have headed towards the support zone to cut off and maybe even kill the enemy Cleric. Instead, they got into a tangle with Soft Mist. Even if she would die in the end, it was still embarrassing!
The fight had already reached this point. Regretting now was useless. Soft Mist must die before the healer arrived.
Xiao Shiqin made arrangements for the team formation using just a few concise words in the chat. The Battle Mage duo, Sun Xiang and Qiu Fei, headed directly towards Happy's four player group. Previously, they had surrounded Tang Rou's Soft Mist, but ended up being attacked by Happy from the inside and outside. This time, Happy had surrounded Wang Ze's Matchstick. It should be their turn to attack from the inside and outside.
Wang Ze had just joined the battle. His Matchstick was at full health. He wasn't panicked despite being surrounded by Happy. This time, Excellent Era's rescue operation came quickly. One Autumn Leaf and Combat Form charged forward ferociously. They weren't in a hurry to rescue Matchstick. Their target was still Soft Mist. Soft Mist only had a sliver of health left. It was already a miracle that she was alive. Without a healer, focusing their attention onto protecting her was actually a huge burden for Happy. However, Happy didn't protect her. Soft Mist charged at them with just 20% of her health left. Later, she only had a drop of health left, yet she and Lord Grim coordinated together to strike Combat Form with a Rising Dragon Soars the Sky. Soft Mist's existence had become a huge hindrance to Excellent Era's plans. She was like bait, controlling Excellent Era's goals. Not only did she not become a burden to her team. She was using every second of her time on the field very effectively.
Xiao Shiqin was clearly aware of this issue. Excellent Era made adjustments. They didn't put all of their efforts into killing Soft Mist. While Sun Xiang and Qiu Fei charged into Happy's formation, Xiao Shiqin's Life Extinguisher circled around from a different direction.
What is he trying to do?
Pan Lin and Li Yibo glanced at each other. For a moment, they didn't understand, so they didn't dare say anything. The orders that Xiao Shiqin gave in chat didn't really convey what he was planning on doing.
Life Extinguisher was making every second count. As he sprinted, he observed Happy's movements. When he realized that no one was paying attention to him, there seemed to be some hesitation to Life Extinguisher's movements.
At this moment, everyone finally understood Xiao Shiqin's intentions. They couldn't help but think of a popular verse from many years back: as the last to know the truth, my tears fall.
Yes, Xiao Shiqin's Life Extinguisher had been planning on intercepting Happy's Cleric, but the problem was that he had gone in the wrong direction…..
The spectators had an omniscient view, so from the beginning, they knew which support zone Little Cold Hands had swapped in from. It wasn't the closest support zone. At that time, everyone felt confused, but now everyone understood that swapping in from the closest support zone was too easy to guess. Happy had made preparations for it. They were very careful about maintaining their healer advantage.
Xiao Shiqin had Life Extinguisher run towards this direction for awhile, but having not seen any signs of Little Cold Hands, he felt like something wasn't right. From his calculations, he should already be able to see the Cleric. However, he didn't. That at least meant that the other side had been ready for his interception, whether that was taking a roundabout route or coming from a different support zone.
Another judgement error made Xiao Shiqin feel exhausted. He realized that he was unable to grasp Happy's thinking.
He understood Ye Xiu, but the Ye Xiu that he understood was the Ye Xiu leading a powerhouse. But the Ye Xiu he was facing now was a Ye Xiu leading a grassroots team displaying more complex strategies. From time to time, Ye Xiu would show the craftiness of small teams, while showing the oppressiveness of top teams.
Just take this choice of support zones. From Xiao Shiqin's experience of leading a weak team, entering from the closest support zone was a necessary choice because a weak team needed a healer to hurry and help them maintain their advantage. However, Happy just had to be bold and actually had their Cleric take a longer path. Xiao Shiqin had never had this type of confidence when he led Thunderclap.
In the end, is it because I'm not confident enough?
When I was on Thunderclap, had I ever thought of leading the team to win the championship?
No. Never.
The outside world had always believed Thunderclap to be a weak team. Just being able to make into the playoffs every years was a huge success. As a result, Thunderclap and even Xiao Shiqin had always thought so as well. Their goal every year was to make into the playoffs. As for the playoffs itself, they didn't have any high ambitions. They clearly thirsted to be champions, but they never believed in themselves nor aspired to be number one.
In the end, Xiao Shiqin left Thunderclap to be a champion. Even though no one criticized him for it and even thought it was something he should have done earlier, Xiao Shiqin finally understood that he himself was weak. He hadn't believed in his teammates or himself. There was too big of a difference between himself and his opponent. Ye Xiu was leading a team scraped together from an Internet cafe, yet he dared to join the Challenger League and challenge a powerhouse like Excellent Era. How many had a laughed at him? But now? This joke was turning into a reality step by step.
But him? Although Team Thunderclap repeatedly beat the stronger opponent, he had never been confident in himself. Why had he never been confident? Thunderclap was able to win over strong teams in the regular season, so why couldn't they repeat that same performance in the playoffs? If they just repeated it three times, then wouldn't Thunderclap become the champions?
In the end, he had only been confident in the matches he should have won. However, Ye Xiu had the confidence and courage to create miracles!
Xiao Shiqin's Life Extinguisher swiftly returned to the battle. The situation had already changed.
Soft Mist was finally killed.
Tang Rou wouldn't let herself become a burden that the entire team needed to put all of their efforts into protecting her. Even if she only had just a drop of health left, she would still fight and contribute to the team. After one last final struggle, she fell. In that instant, the stadium erupted into applause. Even Excellent Era's fans chose to remain silent. In this life and death situation, they were unable to give any applause to the enemy team, but they at least stayed silent to show their respect. In the group arena, Tang Rou lost miserably. But in this team competition, she finally left a deep impression on everyone. Although it was hard to tell at times whether her performance was bravery or stupidity, her brave or stupid performance was a crucial factor in Happy reaching this point.
During the period of time it took Xiao Shiqin to run over in an attempt to block the healer, Excellent Era's three players were able to successfully kill Soft Mist, but they also suffered a blow, especially Wang Ze's Matchstick. He had been pincered by Steamed Bun and Qiao Yifan from the start. Later, Lord Grim came over to join in while protecting Soft Mist. Team Happy's focus wasn't to protect Soft Mist, but to continue targeting Matchstick.
One Inch Ash's ghost boundaries were extremely effective defenses. If One Autumn Leaf and Combat Form wanted to attack Happy, they had to go into the ghost boundaries. If they didn't, they could only just wait and watch as the other side besieged Matchstick.
There were ways to break through the restrictions from ghost boundaries, but in general, Ghostblades were difficult for One Autumn Leaf and Combat Form to deal with. Wang Ze's Matchstick only had limited support. He himself wasn't able to break out of the encirclement either. When Xiao Shiqin's Life Extinguisher arrived, Soft Mist was already gone, but Matchstick was facing imminent danger.
When Xiao Shiqin returned and saw the negative debuffs on the two Battle Mages, he felt helpless. Ghostblades generally had a hard time affecting long-ranged classes, but he just had to be a Mechanic. Many of his gadgets had no way of breaking through ghost boundaries, so for a Mechanic, breaking through a ghost boundary was very difficult. If not, Xiao Shiqin would have had someone else block the Cleric, while he stayed. It wasn't like the two Battle Mages couldn't separate from time to time.
And now because of the existence of the ghost boundaries, they had no way of displaying their full strength. Their Sharpshooter, which wouldn't have been affected much by the ghost boundaries, had been snatched away by the other side long ago.
Xiao Shiqin didn't believe this to be a coincidence. This match gave him a completely knew understanding of how terrifying Ye Xiu's strategies were. All of his tactics were interlinked, each step taken was a step closer to victory. Every one of Team Happy's members were utilized to the limit. From Wu Chen's Dawn Rifle to Tang Rou's Soft Mist and now Qiao Yifan's One Inch Ash.
I have to find a way to get rid of this Phantom Demon!
No... wait…..
Xiao Shiqin was thinking of a countermeasure, when a light suddenly lit up in his head.
Phantom Demon. Their next target should be this Phantom Demon, but if they did that, wouldn't they fall into Happy's trap again?
From the very start of this match, Happy's members revealed their talents one after the other, which Excellent Era locked onto. Then, they were put into a difficult spots because of these targets…...
Yes, so it's like that. The key to Happy's strategies lies here!