Chapter 1161: River’s End
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
The water in Broken River rushed rapidly. If a character stopped moving in the middle of the water, they would certainly be swept away. Zhou Guangyi's Cold Seasons was forced into the water by Lord Grim's slash. His first priority at this moment was figuring out how to escape Ye Xiu and Fang Rui. Fighting against the water's flow could come later.
Once they entered the water, Lord Grim and Boundless Sea hadn't stopped attacking, and the two characters had taken control of all the advantageous positions.
What were the advantageous positions? In the midst of the rushing water, upstream positions were advantageous. Attacks that followed the flow wouldn't be as impeded by the water, and these attacks would in fact travel faster than normal. With how swiftly the Broken River flowed, the effect of the additional speed was quite significant.
At first, Zhou Guangyi was worried about these two forcing him to the end of the river and out of the map, but a few moments later he realized he was overthinking. If the current situation continued, he would be a dead body long before he reached the river's end.
Knowing that he was in a difficult situation, Zhou Guangyi finally sought help. Not long afterwards, he heard the splash of someone entering the water. His heart sped up, and he thought, this must be the backup arriving to help. And this splash had come from upstream, meaning that this person had seized a position advantageous to those of both Lord Grim and Boundless Sea. He could use the flow of the water as a buff to increase speed.
As expected of an experienced veteran like Zhang Wei, when he arrived at the riverside, he didn't enter the water immediately. He had followed alongside it for a while, carefully studying until he confirmed everyone's position. Only then did he choose the most favorable position to enter the water.
Once he came down, Zhang Wei's Witch Endless Forest began attacking. With a Broom Tornado he twisted downstream, arriving right in front of the two and battering them. Ye Xiu and Fang Rui would have wanted to dodge to the side and let him sweep past, but if they dodged, they would be letting Cold Seasons go free.
But would Ye Xiu and Fang Rui be beaten up that easily?
Ye Xiu's Lord Grim flashed to the side, making way for Endless Forest, but then he swept his sleeve, sending a Night Cloak toward Endless Forest and Cold Seasons.
Zhang Wei himself was a Witch. If he were taken down by his own class's skill, that would just be too embarrassing. He watched the attack coming, and Endless Forest waved his broom in a knocking motion.
In the air, a Witch could use their broom to jump six times. Now in the water, Broom Mastery also helped movement. With this knock, Endless Forest suddenly sank toward the bottom of the river, and the Night Cloak swept through empty water. Zhou Guangyi's Cold Seasons now had more space than Endless Forest. Borrowing the flow of the water to help his movements, he was also able to sink down and dodge this attack.
Endless Forest, who had sunk lower, now waved his broom again to propel himself upward toward Lord Grim. And Lord Grim waved his Myriad Manifestations Umbrella, turning it into a spear and casually parrying his attack. To the side, Boundless Sea's hands were moving, water rippling between them, and he suddenly thrust downward. The qi swirled in the water, its trajectory clear, and Endless Forest immediately swept his broom again to dodge.
Happy's two players were toying with Endless Forest. It was now as though they had completely forgotten about Cold Seasons.
Zhou Guangyi was once again depressed.
When he had dodged downward earlier, he had also had some plan in mind. He thought that by sinking down, Happy's two would follow him. Zhang Wei's Endless Forest would only need to wait for a moment in the lower position before immediately being able to seize the upstream position.
But who would have thought? As soon as he swam aside, those two didn't even look at him, instead starting to fight Endless Forest.
Cold Seasons had escaped. But Zhou Guangyi couldn't just stand by and watch Zhang Wei be beaten down! His earlier little plan was too straightforward, in front of these two it was far from enough!
Zhou Guangyi's Cold Seasons obediently came back to attack. But Ye Xiu and Fang Rui, in this short moment of 2v1, had managed to once again seize the upstream position. When Cold Seasons returned, he was downstream with Zhang Wei's Endless Forest.
Their position was downstream, their situation was also downstream...
On the riverbank, Zou Yuan and the others were worried about Zhang Wei and Zhou Guangyi as they fought Happy. Wind Carving's summons legion had taken up the task of blocking the opponents, but in the face of the long-range firepower of the Launcher, the typical summon was already essentially dead by the time it reached close-range. The Undead Knight was a little stronger, but because it was so slow and couldn't coordinate with anything else to block the opponent, it could easily be avoided and wasn't much use.
Watching his summons being summoned and then blasted to death, Zhu Xiaoping felt his heart hurt. The death of a summon didn't hurt Wind Carving's health, but every summon used up mana. So in every battle, every summon had to be carefully calculated so that it served a useful purpose. It was like how other classes had to use their manconsuming skills carefully, to cause damage, or disrupt rhythm, or thwart a target. No matter what it was, it had to serve a purpose.
And now, although Wind Carving's summons served the purpose of protecting them, they were used up rather too quickly. Zhu Xiaoping, judging from past battle experience, could tell that his usage pacing this match was a little too fast.
They couldn't continue like this, or else he would run out of mana, and Wind Carving would become a useless person on the battlefield.
"You guys go first, I'll cover you!" Thus, Zhu Xiaoping resolutely sent this to the team chat.
He had decided. He needed to spread out their formation and thoroughly tend to these three from Happy. He was a Summoner, so he could call forth many dear helpers; he should have this ability. To just avoid them and let his summons act as cannon fodder didn't seem wise. Zhu Xiaoping even felt that, judging from Dancing Rain's attack rhythm, the opponent was purposefully trying to waste all his summons.
"Alright!" Zou Yuan and Mo Chuchen didn't doubt him. A Summoner had the ability to take on two or even three people at once, because he was never fighting by himself.
Directly facing against his opponents, Zhu Xiaoping could carefully control all of his summons, and they wouldn't be defeated so easily by his opponents. He summoned an Undead Knight, who lifted his shield, and Wind Carving himself closely followed along behind. This time, he wouldn't summon from afar. He wanted to directly control his summons, so under the protection of Undead Knight, he would approach closer to his opponents before calling forth a summons legion.
Of course, the Undead Knight moved rather slowly, and it would be easy enough for the opponent to maintain distance. But even if that happened, Zhu Xiaoping would complete his mission of obstruction. At most he would be sacrificing one Undead Knight, a far cheaper price than all the summons he had lost earlier one after the other.
Boom boom!
Cannon fire exploded relentlessly upon the Undead Knight's shield. Although the Undead Knight wobbled, his steps were still resolute. As Zhu Xiaoping predicted, the opponent wouldn't split apart just to kite Undead Knight. They didn't slow down as they ran forward. But this time, now that he himself was here, there was no way he was letting them go around him.
One Inch Ash waved his sword, and a ghostly aura flickered along the length of his blade.
Was he about to lay down a Ghost Boundary?
Zhu Xiaoping saw clearly and summoned a Phantom Cat not far from where One Inch Ash was. Under the protection of the Undead Knight, Zhu Xiaoping wasn't afraid of being interrupted.
The summoned Phantom Cat immediately rushed toward One Inch Ash. Whether he was hit by an attack or tried to dodge, the casting of the Ghost Boundary would be interrupted. Dancing Rain went to attack the Phantom Cat, meaning that the attacks on this side lightened, and they could rush forward with their momentum.
Controlling the summons truly made a difference!
Zhu Xiaoping was extremely satisfied with his condition. He really felt pretty good today! How was he defeated by a rookie in the group arena? He didn't understand… Or maybe, today was that pretty girl's lucky day! Even Yu Feng had lost in a direct fight against her. Now that he thought about it, that pretty girl was Happy's sixth player right now. What would happen if she came out to battle?
Zhu Xiaoping felt that he had good control over the situation. Things were progressing as expected, and he even had the time to ponder other things. Phantom Cat's fast harassment prevented One Inch Ash from laying down a Ghost Boundary. This sort of fast and small close-range attacker wasn't an easy opponent for the Launcher and Ghostblade classes. Zhu Xiaoping seized the chance and controlled Wind Carving to summon more creatures, quickly creating an army. He didn't bother with Demon Flowers or other summons that weren't nimble. These summons would be limited in their usefulness in front of a Launcher and Ghostblade.
Right. Launcher and Ghostblade.
…Huh? Launcher and Ghostblade?
Where'd the other person go? Where was Happy's Cleric?
Zhu Xiaoping suddenly discovered that Happy's Cleric Little Cold Hands was nowhere to be found. Wind Carving was hidden behind the Undead Knight this whole time, so even though he paid close attention to the situation at hand, his vision was limited. It wasn't until now that his army was formed that Wind Carving majestically walked forward, only to discover that one of his opponents was missing.
"The opponent's Cleric escaped!" Zhu Xiaoping immediately warned the others in the team chat.
"Escaped" was really giving himself a lot of credit. In reality, he was just trying to cause a disruption, not trap them entirely.
Attack!
As Zhu Xiaoping directed his summons forward, he studied his surroundings, trying to find Little Cold Hands. And then, he found an entrance to the stone forest nearby. Had Little Cold Hands entered there?
If he entered there… Zhu Xiaoping's mind spun. This was a map that everyone knew, and as a pro player, he could clearly visualize it in his mind.
If he entered there…
He would pass the spawn point!
The spawn point, or in other words, the support zone. In Happy's limited match data, they had used this strategy before, letting their healer exit the battle, replacing him with an attacker.
And the attacker that Happy could use as replacement was someone that no one, certainly not Hundred Blossoms, would dare underestimate anymore.
All this flashed through Zhu Xiaoping's mind, and he frantically sent another message. "Healer went to player exchange area, Soft Mist might enter battle!"
"Soft Mist entering battle? Right now? To do what?" Seeing Zhu Xiaoping's message, the Hundred Blossoms players weren't as alarmed as he was. They even sent this message to the public chat as mockery.
Zou Yuan and Mo Chuchen had finally arrived, easily helping Zhang Wei and Zhou Guangyi to escape their predicament. Now that they had turned the situation around, they were prepared to bully Happy.
"To come fight, of course," Ye Xiu replied in the chat. "What use is a healer here?"
Behind Lord Grim, the riverbanks were blocked by insurmountable walls, and the Broken River became a waterfall plunging downward. Looking through this gap, one could see a beautiful expanse of scenery. But it was no use, for right here was the end of this world…
Chapter 1162: Specious Memories
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
The expressions on the Hundred Blossoms players became strained at Ye Xiu's words. Their characters in the game couldn't show this though. Their four characters stood in a very standard offensive formation. Zhang Wei's Witch Endless Forest and Zhou Guangyi's Assassin Cold Seasons stood at the front. Zou Yuan's Spitfire Bright Blossoms was positioned behind them in the middle. Mo Chuchen's Cleric Arrogant Flowers was to the right of Bright Blossoms.
They seemed to just be standing where they pleased, but in reality, the distance between each team member, the view that each team member had of the field, and the vigilance towards their opponents were all strategically arranged. The possible variations and tactical thinking inside this formation couldn't be explained in just a few words.
But after hearing Ye Xiu's words, the four players couldn't help but make a few adjustments.
Their previous formation had been a practiced one that they had instinctively arranged themselves in after seeing Lord Grim's and Boundless Sea's positions. However, they suddenly realized that the end of Broken River, the edge of this map, was an instant death spot that needed careful consideration before entering.
There used to be all sorts of strategies on how to play around the end of Broken River. However, this map had been played on so many times, and it had been so long since this map had been chosen in competitive play. What team specifically practiced for these strategies nowadays? Perhaps they might have some memory of the strategies involved, but their teammates back then definitely weren't the same today. Different classes meant different ways of coordination. If they tried to play from what they remembered, it was possible that it would conflict with their current team structure.
Thinking of this, the Hundred Blossoms players suddenly realized how terrifying it was for Happy to choose this map.
For familiar maps, coordination and whatnot could be accomplished without much thought.
However, unfamiliar maps required more carefulness and observation to minimize mistakes.
As for Broken River, this map had once been a familiar one, but was now an abandoned one. Everyone had seemingly correct but actually incorrect memories. Were these memories accurate? When victory or defeat depended on these memories, the Hundred Blossoms players were hesitant. Doubt started to wel up within them. They were afraid that those fuzzy memories might lead to a fatal mistake.
The Hundred Blossoms players hesitated, and at the same time, they now understood why Happy had chosen this map.
These situations depended on their resolve. And judging from the current situation, they clearly weren't resolute enough. After Ye Xiu spoke those words, Hundred Blossoms kept on adjusting their positions. They were clearly having trouble parsing through their memories.
"At that time, our team still had Sun Zheping and Zhang Jiale!" The old general Zhang Wei recalled Hundred Blossoms' golden age and the scenes of their battles at Broken River.
"At that time, battling alongside our captain was truly fun…" Zhou Guangyi recalled his time with Tyranny and his days fighting with Han Wenqing's Desert Dust.
At that time… Zou Yuan didn't have an at that time. He had joined the league in Season 7. By then, this map had already fallen out of use. He really didn't have any competitive experience with Broken River.
As for Mo Chuchen? Mo Chuchen was also nervous because of Ye Xiu's words. At this spot, if the opponent pushed them off the waterfall, they would instantly die. What would be the point of healing? How was he supposed to help his team?
The Hundred Blossoms players each had their own thoughts. For a moment, their positioning became even more disorderly.
How could Ye Xiu or Fang Rui miss this opportunity?
Sky-Piercing Strike!
Fang Rui's Boundless Sea leaped up and a powerful wave of qi shot out through his hands towards Hundred Blossoms.
The Hundred Blossoms players clearly reacted slowly to this sudden attack. Anyone could see that their priority was distancing themselves from the waterfall.
They only dodged. None of them thought of counterattacking. After Fang Rui's Boundless Sea shot out a Sky-Piercing Strike, he didn't receive any interference, so he swiped his two hands and slashed out a Qi Blade.
This Qi Blade was formed from the Qi Master's breath, so it was without form or light. The only trace of it was the stream of air left behind when it sliced through the air. It was a very concealed flying weapon type skill. Even if the opponent noticed the attack, because of its immaterial form, it was difficult to judge the distance, making defending and dodging more difficult to time. The only way to dodge was to dodge as soon as you noticed it. Safety first.
Zou Yuan saw Boundless Sea swipe his two hands against each other, forming a ripple in the air. He knew it was a Qi Blade, so he immediately had Bright Blossoms dodge to the side. But to his surprise, the trajectory of this ripple wasn't a straight line, but a cunning arc that deviated from Zou Yuan's prediction. In the end, the Qi Blade struck Arrogant Flowers, Team Hundred Blossoms' Cleric.
Ye Xiu just said that healing in this battle was pointless, yet Fang Rui's attack had been aimed at Hundred Blossoms' healer.
Mo Chuchen was completely caught off guard. The Qi Blade connected squarely with Arrogant Flowers. There was no eye-catching explosion or spurt of blood, but the damage dealt was no worse than those flashy attacks. Plus, it had quite a strong knockback. After taking this hit, Arrogant Flowers immediately stumbled.
As Boundless Sea fell from the skies, he stretched out his hand towards Arrogant Flower and grabbed.
But then a flash of light swept over. Zhou Guangyi's Assassin promptly attacked from the side to cut off Boundless Sea.
"Lord Grim!!"
The old general Zhang Wei had experienced hundreds of battles. No matter how ferociously Boundless Sea attacked, he would never fail to pay attention to Ye Xiu's Lord Grim. While everyone was focusing on Boundless Sea, Zhang Wei saw Lord Grim lift his two hands and get into a certain position. Wasn't that the Qi Master's Cloud Grasping Fist?
He hastily warned everyone in his channel. Zou Yuan reacted the fastest. Before even understanding what the situation was, Bright Blossoms turned and started firing at Lord Grim.
Ye Xiu had no choice but to cancel his sneak attack and dodge.
"Come this way!!" The rescued Mo Chuchen directed his Arrogant Flowers to the stone forest to the side. His thought process was quite simple. Since fighting at the end of Broken River was so confusing, why not just fight further away from it.
"Go." Vice-captain Zou Yuan approved of Mo Chuchen's thinking and ordered the team to shift over there. In truth, Zou Yuan didn't like these sorts of special terrain, but he could see the hesitation from his teammates towards their current battlefield.
Hundred Blossoms had the numbers advantage, 4 to 2, yet they did not confront the other side directly and took the initiative to shift the battlefield away. Arrogant Flowers ran the fastest. The other three also moved towards this direction. Seeing the waterfall leave their sight, their hearts just started to steady when a boom suddenly came from ahead of them. Arrogant Flowers, who had just run into the stone forest excitedly, was directly thrown out.
Soft Mist burst out with a Dragon Breaks the Ranks. Arrogant Flowers had been sent flying by this attack already, but that didn't seem to stop the dragon's momentum.
Zou Yuan and the two others hastily dodged. Ye Xiu and Fang Rui saw this and immediately became spirited.
"Grab one over!!!" Ye Xiu yelled.
"Okay, which one?" Fang Rui replied.
Hundred Blossoms' four players were greatly alarmed. They thought Cloud Grasping Fist was about to come at them again, so they kept rolling on the ground refusing to get up. But after looking towards that side, they knew that they had been duped. Lord Grim and Boundless Sea were running rapidly towards them, and Cloud Grasping Fist was not a skill that could be used while moving.
Their target was still Team Hundred Blossoms' Cleric, Arrogant Flowers. Lord Grim, Boundless Sea, and Soft Mist had quickly formed a triangle with Arrogant Flowers in the middle.
Counting on a Cleric to break out of an encirclement alone was unfair. Hundred Blossoms' other three players immediately tried to rescue him. Zou Yuan's Bright Blossoms shot a Flash Bullet. However, Happy's three players responded by rushing towards the middle. Lord Grim's Myriad Manifestations Umbrella opened up with a whoosh. The Flash Bullet knocked against the umbrella and exploded. However, the three behind the umbrella were unaffected by it and continued to pummel Arrogant Flowers.
Zou Yuan wanted to cry, but no tears came out. If he had known they would do that, he would have thrown a Burst Grenade...
There were no ifs, but it wasn't too late now. Zou Yuan threw a Burst Grenade.
"DON'T!!" Zhang Wei shouted, but he was too late.
The Burst Grenade exploded on the umbrella's canopy. The powerful shockwave sent Happy's three characters flying, but… where was Arrogant Flowers. Teammates were exempt from allied skills, so he should still be there!
"Thanks!" Lord Grim expressed his thanks. Zou Yuan composed himself and then took another look. He had located Arrogant Flowers; he was in Lord Grim's hands.
Zou Yuan's view had been blocked by the umbrella, so he didn't know the situation. However, Zhang Wei, who was at a different angle, could see things. When Zou Yuan threw a Burst Grenade, Lord Grim just happened to grab Arrogant Flowers.
Fling!
Grabs had the highest priority out of any skill. Even the shockwave from Burst Grenade failed to interrupt Lord Grim's grab, leading to Arrogant Flowers being pushed out along with Lord Grim.
And Burst Grenade did nothing but send people flying away. The airborne Lord Grim was free to move around. As a result, he continued his combo with a Fling, throwing Arrogant Flower away. Where to? Towards the waterfall of course...
"Ah!" Zou Yuan cried out, but unfortunately, no one could hear him. None of the other three Hundred Blossom players were able to intercept him in time.
"Don't panic! Figure out the direction of the flow and swim back!" At the crucial moment, it was the still the old general Zhang Wei who was the calmest. He deduced that at Lord Grim's height, it was not possible for him to directly throw Arrogant Flowers outside of the waterfall. Arrogant Flower would fall into the water, but as long as he figured out the direction of the flow fast enough, he wouldn't be pulled down the waterfall. However, he needed to be fast because it had to be done in an instant.
Calm down!
Mo Chuchen nervously reminded himself. He could see the surface of the river and the scenery outside the map, which looked quite beautiful.
I can't go there!
Mo Chuchen encouraged himself, boosting his confidence. He was ready to drop into the water.
Bang!
What was that? That wasn't the sound of a splash? Where am I?
His screen violently shook. By the time Mo Chuchen finished adjusting himself, he realized that the Broken River was far away. Arrogant Flower was already heading down towards that beautiful world on the other side...