Chapter 1258: All-Star Team Division
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
The high point was finally here, and the entire stadium thrummed with excitement.
To be honest, the question of who would face off against each other wasn't especially interesting. After all, there were so many rounds of competition, and the confrontations between different teams could be seen in the normal League matches.
What was most important about All-Stars were the team rosters! Those players normally scattered among all the various teams would only have this once-year chance to fight alongside each other. The audience deeply loved to watch this sort of matchmaking.
Which people would be pushed together in this All-Star Competition? Everyone present lifted their heads to stare unblinking at the display screen in the stadium. The team divisions were only revealed right before the match; even the All-Stars themselves didn't know beforehand.
First, Team A.
Zhou Zekai, Sun Xiang, Jiang Botao, Lu Boyuan, four names appeared on the screen, followed by their account names.
It was Team Samsara. The All-Star team divisions would never separate members of the same team.
Samsara had four All-Stars, which was currently a unique distinction. No other team could match them in number of All-Stars. Blue Rain and Tiny Herb only had three each. Which team's players would be assigned to match Samsara's four?
Everyone's gazes turned to the right half of the display screen. Team B's roster was still empty.
The screen began to flash!
Several lines of player and account names tumbled and appeared before everyone's eyes. And everyone was utterly dumbstruck.
Han Wenqing, Zhang Xinjie, Ye Xiu, Su Mucheng.
Tyranny's two, and Happy's two, combined into four to match Samsara's four. But the issue wasn't the player number, the issue was, Tyranny and Happy, how come they were paired together?
No one expected that this roster reveal would, instead of proceeding step by step, reach a high point right at the beginning. The live audience was stunned, and then there was an uproar.
Han Wenqing, Ye Xiu?
These two people would be fighting next to each other?
Countless people felt that their brains were about to short-circuit. Something that they felt would absolutely never happen for all eternity became reality at this All-Stars. In previous years, in order to maintain the competitiveness of the All-Star Competition, death-enemies like Han Wenqing and Ye Xiu, Tyranny and Excellent Era, would definitely be assigned to opposing teams. But this time, with Tyranny hosting this All-Star competition, they actually pulled Ye Xiu into their roster, making him stand beside Han Wenqing as a teammate.
This… this was truly a bold move!
But to many diehard Tyranny fans, this arrangement was unacceptable, and shouts of protest actually erupted in the stadium. The hosts, that was to say Team Tyranny, certainly had a hand in this arrangement, but Tyranny fans didn't want to blindly go along with this. Ye Xiu was the archnemesis, forever the archnemesis, how could they just change that?
Those that maintained this view were a few diehard fans. But more people felt that this arrangement seemed very interesting. What kind of awkward battle would result when these two opponents of ten years were standing beside each other? It seemed like many people were already beginning to anticipate, and the various emotions in the crowd were beginning to diffuse.
Afterwards, not many people paid attention when Blue Rain's Yu Wenzhou, Huang Shaotian, and Lu Hanwen were assigned to Team A, while Tiny Herb's Wang Jiexi, Xu Bin, and Gao Yingjie were sent to Team B. This arrangement was very ordinary; for many All-Stars now, these two teams would be split onto different teams. For one, these two teams had history between them, and for another, this allowed Team A and Team B to be relatively balanced in power. If both Blue Rain and Tiny Herb were sent to the same team, the balance would become very skewed. No matter what, A and B had to be around the same strength.
After Blue Rain and Tiny Herb, Wind Howl's Tang Hao and Liu Hao joined Team A, while Hundred Blossoms' Yu Feng and Zou Yuan joined Team B. This arrangement was again to increase the conflict. Tang Hao came from Hundred Blossoms, Liu Hao was former teammates with Ye Xiu. Their pasts now stood with Team B. And for Hundred Blossoms, Yu Feng was formerly in Blue Rain, and therefore was sent to Team B.
After seeing this arrangement, many people lamented that Happy's Fang Rui and Tyranny's Zhang Jiale and Lin Jingyan hadn't been voted onto All-Stars. Otherwise, this team division alone would be an even more complex mess in a boiling pot.
Zhang Jiale would be standing alongside Hundred Blossoms' revival of the Blood and Blossoms pairing. Fang Rui, newly changed to Qi Master, would reunite with his former Criminal Partner Lin Jingyan, the two of them taking their revenge against the Wind Howl that had abandoned them…
So many thrilling points to watch, but because these three players had failed to make it into All-Stars, this sight could not be witnessed. The audience could only sigh about how regrettable it was.
After the players of these two teams were assigned, Void's Ghost Duo Li Xuan and Wu Yuce were sent to Team A, while Misty Rain's Chu Yunxiu and Li Hua entered Team B.
Then, there were only two people left. Xiao Shiqin went to Team A, Yang Cong to Team B.
Looking at the final rosters of the two teams, the most exciting was still that moment at the beginning. Ye Xiu and Han Wenqing would be battling together? Even now, the crowd was still discussing this topic, ignoring all of the rest.
After the rosters were revealed, the 24 All-Stars had already split into two separate lines.
The exciting points to watch existed only in the hearts of the viewers. For the pros, in reality, they all agreed with Ye Xiu's answer to the interview question "who are you looking forward to partnering with": don't really care.
Two teams of 12 players. Following the normal match rules, it was just enough for every player to appear once. After the rosters were decided, Teams A and B separated to their respective temporary prep areas, which were specially prepared for this event. In this moment, they were two teams.
"Alright, now the teams are in their places. After letting them make some preparations, the All-Star Competition will begin in just a moment," the host shouted passionately.
"Coach Li, what kind of lineups do you think each team will arrange?" All-Star Weekend was always broadcast on television, and for the high-level confrontation that was the All-Star Competition, commentator Pan Lin and honored guest Li Yibo were also present for the live broadcast.
"Hm… Every year, there's always one crucial point in the team division, and that is… which team has the healer," said Li Yibo.
"Very true. For a few years in a row now, there's been only one healer voted into All-Stars, Zhang Xinjie."
"Correct. Team A is facing a situation where they don't have a healer, so for the team competition, they'll want to have a lineup with strong explosive power. Only then will they have a chance at suppressing Team B's healer advantage. For Team B, as long as they have a steady team that can thoroughly take advantage of their healer, then their chances of victory will certainly be higher than Team A's. As for the individual and group rounds, it'll just be the leftover players performing." Li Yibo said a whole lot, explosive and steady, but in the end he didn't name a single name. Naming names was very dangerous! He didn't want to be faceslapped because of an inaccurate prediction, and so he had to speak in very general terms for something like predicting lineup.
Li Yibo's answer was vague and crafty, and of course Pan Lin wouldn't try to break it. He simply said a "you're right," and then the two of them looked at the display screen together.
"Huh? Did some kind of argument break out over at Team B?" Pan Lin suddenly yelled. "Director, director."
The camera could zoom in and focus on Team B, but there were no microphones over there to pick up sound.
"Can anyone go over there to see what's going on?" Pan Lin called.
"Is it an argument between Ye Xiu and Han Wenqing?" Li Yibo studied the camera view. Seeing that the heart of the conflict appeared to be Ye Xiu, he instantly thought of this possibility. But when he looked closer, it didn't look like Han Wenqing was arguing with him, it looked like… everyone was targeting Ye Xiu.
"You want to save yourself the trouble and fight in an individual round? Too naive, stand aside," Tiny Herb's Wang Jiexi was saying to Ye Xiu.
"This brother has sixteen consecutive individual wins! I'll give us a head start, get us a solid point, suppress their arrogance. This is such a logical and clever arrangement, how is this naive! Big-Eyed Wang, explain it to me!" Ye Xiu argued back.
Tiny Herb's other two players shrunk back. They of course knew their captain had this nickname, but how many people would dare to use it directly? They stole glances at their captain, wondering what his reaction would be.
Wang Jiexi didn't seem to have much of a reaction. He merely looked at everyone, and then said, "We'll vote. Those who agree with this guy playing an individual, raise your hands."
"What vote! Is your Tiny Herb governed by a voting system?" Ye Xiu said.
Everyone shrunk back again. The conflict between these two was a truly a battle between gods! Those like Xu Bin, Yu Feng, Zou Yuan, these players had all debuted much later. Although they were also All-Stars, in the face of this seniority and qualification, they instantly felt they were still shorter by a head. They didn't have the bravery to go and break up the fight. But even as everyone shrunk back, they stole glances at Han Wenqing, who did have the status to enter this battle of gods.
"What's all this fuss for!" But, surprisingly, the first one to interrupt and scold them was actually Chu Yunxiu.
"I'll go first for individual!" Chu Yunxiu shouted.
"There are three spots, what are you rushing for? I'll go first, you go second!" Ye Xiu said.
"Alright, agreed!" Chu Yunxiu gave a strong nod.
"And then Mucheng," Ye Xiu said, making sure to pick from his own team first.
"If all three of you went to the team competition, that would really be an excellent arrangement," said Wang Jiexi.
"And then leave the individual slots to you?" Ye Xiu said.
"Our Tiny Herb… has a very good group arena record." Wang Jiexi's fox tail was finally exposed. They talked and they talked, but in the end they were all just too lazy to perform in the most tiring team competition, and so they scurried toward the shorter and simpler individual battles. Ye Xiu just very plainly tried to snatch the desirable spots for himself, while Wang Jiexi wanted to stuff the team competition spots full, and then he could just smoothly enter the individual battles.
Ye Xiu stared at him, silent for a few seconds, and then turned his head to look at everyone else. "With that, isn't the lineup set? Everyone else go in the team competition, isn't that just enough?"
"Everyone else" would be Tyranny's two, Hundred Blossoms' two, Misty Rain's Li Hua, and 301's Yang Cong.
"Let's discuss the lineups!" Tyranny's Zhang Xinjie calmly opened his mouth, as though he hadn't heard any of the heated discussion just now.
Translator's Thoughts
Nomyummi
TEAM A ROSTER: (Samsara) Zhou Zekai, Sun Xiang, Jiang Botao, Lu Boyuan, (Blue Rain) Yu Wenzhou, Huang Shaotian, Lu Hanwen, (Wind Howl) Tang Hao, Liu Hao (Void) Li Xuan, Wu Yuce (Thunderclap) Xiao Shiqin TEAM B ROSTER: (Tyranny) Han Wenqing, Zhang Xinjie, (Happy) Ye Xiu, Su Mucheng, (Tiny Herb) Wang Jiexi, Xu Bin, Gao Yingjie (Hundred Blossoms) Yu Feng, Zou Yuan (Misty Rain) Chu Yunxiu, Li Hua (301) Yang Cong
Chapter 1259: A Member of the Strongest Team
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
"Hey hey, you, you're just completely ignoring us!" Ye Xiu, extremely dissatisfied, said to Zhang Xinjie.
"This is Tyranny," Zhang Xinjie said.
This is Tyranny.
There was a pause, but everyone quickly understood Zhang Xinjie's meaning. Even he might not necessarily enjoy this sort of showy battle, but this was Tyranny, this year's All-Stars was hosted by Tyranny, and as Tyranny's players, Zhang Xinjie and Han Wenqing could not undermine their own stage. They would have to do what they could to make this year's All-Stars brilliant and exciting. Ye Xiu and the others made their plan just to save effort, which the Tyranny players of course would not support.
"If only I were in Team A…" Ye Xiu sighed. Everyone cast him sidelong glances. Aren't you being too honest with your feelings? Are you purposely trying to undermine Tyranny?
No one was talking anymore. With the home team's players here, they had to give them face! But Ye Xiu? Would this guy let Tyranny save face? It'd be good enough if he didn't intentionally tear down this stage!
As they were all thinking this, Ye Xiu had already opened his mouth again. "Well, since that's the case, how about we have a more... tyrannical arrangement?"
Everyone continued to look at him. After he finished speaking, they all revealed expressions of excitement.
"So you did come here to tear down the stage," said Wang Jiexi.
"It's on purpose!" said Chu Yunxiu.
"This wouldn't be too good, would it?" Yu Feng was still doubtful.
"Have some confidence! What are you scared of!" said Ye Xiu.
Scared?
Of the entire Glory circle, these people here would be the last people scared of a stage like this! Everyone again fell silent and looked at Han Wenqing, looked at Zhang Xinjie. Would they agree with this plan of Ye Xiu's?"
"So be it!" Tyranny's Captain Han Wenqing slapped the table, closing the discussion.
All-Stars was just a show, so there weren't any strict time regulations. The judge came to Team A and Team B's preparation areas to confirm that both teams had made appropriate preparations. Then, with the passionate announcement of the live host, the All-Star Competition began.
"Now, we have the first battle of the individual competition. Will the first two players please come on stage?" As the host shouted, he was also looking to the left and right. The roster order of the two teams wouldn't be revealed beforehand so the suspense would last all the way to the end. Even the host could only wait for the results.
Team A, Lu Boyuan, Samsara's Grappler Lu Boyuan walked onstage. This meant that Samsara's four All-Star players would not all be working together in the team competition.
Team B? Yang Cong, 301's captain and an old general, would be taking the lead for Team B.
Lu Boyuan's account was Chaotic Cloudy Mountain, who, after Samsara obtained the character Flying Drops from Tiny Herb and taken all his equipment, was now the number one Grappler in Glory.
The original number one Grappler Flying Drops no longer existed. What about Flying Drop's original player, Li Yihui? After that summer's transfers, he had gone to the team that Yang Cong now led, 301 Degrees.
It was only after the host explained all this backstory that everyone realized that there was also this gimmick hiding in Team B. Yang Cong and Tiny Herb's Xu Bin were former teammates reunited!
In 301, Xu Bin had only been Yang Cong's assistant, but after transferring to Tiny Herb, thanks to the team's influence, his popularity was now even higher than Yang Cong's. In the All-Star voting, Yang Cong was at 24th, barely making it in, while Xu Bin was at 16th, a very stable position.
Yang Cong was a player from Season 3 and was now growing old, entering the twilight years of his career. He wouldn't have any new upgrades, and his professional career would probably just stop at his time in 301. But Xu Bin was a player from Season 6. He'd earned some attention and then entered the powerhouse Tiny Herb; he had nothing but a bright future ahead of him.
Even as the audience compared these two players and sighed, the battle onstage had already begun.
Victory or loss didn't matter too much at All-Stars. The battle also opened voice channel, available to players from both sides, so that even opponents could communicate.
But Lu Boyuan and Yang Cong evidently didn't have much to talk about. The two simply greeted each other, and then began to fight.
Lu Boyuan was also a player from Season 6, now at the pinnacle of his professional career. Originally smothered by the shining aura of Samsara's Zhou Zekai, he was able to earn a high amount of attention for himself after Samsara's first championship victory and his performance in those finals. From then on, he walked on the road to All-Stars.
But from the way things currently were, his position didn't seem to be that stable, especially after Sun Xiang and One Autumn Leaf's joining Samsara this season. Lu Boyuan, an All-Star level player, could only be considered the fourth player in the team.
Former Blue Rain player Yu Feng had chosen to leave for Hundred Blossoms in hopes of obtaining a higher position in the team. But Lu Boyuan? His position seemed to be even more awkward than Yu Feng's had been. What were his thoughts?
He didn't have any thoughts.
The meaning of that was that, for this sort of thing about which Yu Feng cared greatly, he didn't care at all.
It might seem like he didn't have much of a strong heart, but perhaps this was simply the personality of a natural-born Samsara player.
Lu Boyuan became a pro in Season 6. His teammate Zhou Zekai was only one year earlier, but at that time, the title of Great Gunner was already resounding throughout the Alliance. This player, who was silent offstage and yet performed explosively strong onstage, quickly sent Samsara from a mediocre, mid-tier team into the ranks of the strong teams.
Back then, they were already calling Samsara a one-man team. Back then, Zhou Zekai's light was already obscuring the entire team. And so Samsara's players like Lu Boyuan, from then until now, were very used to being outshone by this sort of light. Now that a Sun Xiang had appeared, pushing Lu Boyuan further down to fourth…
The fourth player, this was what the outside world said. But Lu Boyuan didn't have this thought in his heart, nor did any of the other players in Samsara. To the outside world, Samsara was Zhou Zekai and everyone else.
Correct. Aside from Zhou Zekai, the others were just "everyone else" even the newly-transferred Sun Xiang.
This sort of environment seemed like it'd invite disharmony. That unique character so easily crowded all of the others into that "everyone else."
But Samsara continued to walk along harmoniously. Because Samsara's unique person was Zhou Zekai, that quiet person. No matter how brilliantly the Great Gunner shone onstage, offstage Zhou Zekai was still such a humble, unassuming person. No matter how his position had changed in just these few years, no matter how many activities the sponsors or the team had him participate in, his personality was still just like this.
As teammates that had gotten along with each other for so many years, Lu Boyuan and the others understood Zhou Zekai's personality better than anyone else. Although he didn't speak much, he was a very easy-going person. Although he was the number one in Glory, he wasn't someone who very much liked receiving attention. Too much attention would only make him nervous and shy. Yet despite this personality, he'd become a star that thousands were watching, and even after he'd been a star for so many years, he still just had this kind of personality.
Regarding this point, Samsara's players admired him very much.
They often thought, if one day Zhou Zekai faced the camera and was able to suddenly make a complaint or crack a joke or something, what kind of earth-shaking moment would that be?
Samsara's internal affairs were just that harmonious. Zhou Zekai as the unique number one and the others as "everyone else" was only how the outside world understood it. But to Team Samsara themselves? They understood the true Zhou Zekai, and wouldn't be fooled by that onstage Great Gunner. Zhou Zekai hadn't pulled apart from them, and so, in their eyes, Zhou Zekai was also a part of that "everyone else" and Samsara didn't have any special members.
So, the fourth player in the team?
Lu Boyuan truly did not have that feeling.
Weren't they all the same? He always had that kind of feeling. This was the feeling that Samsara brought to every team member.
So even as the outside world analyzed what problems Sun Xiang's addition would incite within the team, Samsara was all peaceful winds and calm waves. In this harmonious team environment, their tolerance was really very high. If a newcomer really had some dissatisfaction, when they saw how even Zhou Zekai was so low-profile and silent, what kind of person would feel they had the status in this team to be cocky?
Samsara was very fortunate that they had a player like Zhou Zekai. Not just because of his strength, but because of his personality. And so they ultimately constructed the strongest team in the Alliance, of which Lu Boyuan was a member.
But in this match, he ultimately lost.
On one hand, this was All-Stars, Lu Boyuan fought quite casually. But more importantly, it was because Yang Cong played too intensely!
Up until now, Yang Cong had always attacked directly. Despite being an Assassin, he was an Assassin that walked in the light, on the straight road. But this time, he used Life-Risking Strike. This skill was one his Scene Killer had learned and added points to, but it had always just been a skill held in reserve as a surprise. Yet this time, he actually used it.
Life-Risking Strike, one-hit kill!
As soon as the Assassin used this skill, that meant that if you didn't die, I would…
"Captain Yang, you were too ruthless…" When Life-Risking Strike hit Chaotic Cloudy Mountain from the side, Lu Boyuan said this in surprise.
"Hehe…" Yang Cong chuckled. This was perhaps already his final performance on this All-Star stage. Let him end on a beautiful note! For Assassins, what people enjoyed the most was this kind of one-hit kill, right?
Chaotic Cloudy Mountain fell, Scene Killer emerged victorious.
The audience was in a daze, and then erupted into cheers.
One-hit kill, the audience loved it! Even neutral parties felt that this one attack was incredibly fulfilling. Plus, most of the audience, as Tyranny fans, were biased toward the Team B player Yang Cong, as their Han Wenqing and Zhang Xinjie were also in Team B.
But Team B also had a Ye Xiu…
"One bad apple really spoils the whole bunch!" some Tyranny fans thought, indignant. Far below on the floor of the stadium, Ye Xiu was strolling about in boredom.
Chapter 1260: The One Who Wants To Win, Cannot
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
"A beautiful Life-Risking Strike, a thrilling one-hit kill! Even more incredible, it was done by Yang Cong! This is really too rare, thank you for Yang Cong for your thrilling performance!!" The live host was shouting, and in the television broadcast, Pan Lin and Li Yibo were also discussing this topic.
For Yang Cong to become an All-Star, he was no ordinary player. But on this stage that was resplendent with such stars, he seemed more like a passing guest. He hadn't left much of a mark in the Alliance, and even now there wasn't too much time given to him. This one use of Life-Risking Strike at this All-Stars would perhaps become an unforgettable moment of his professional career.
"Alright, right now Team B is in the lead 1-0!" As the host announced, the display screen updated with the current score.
"Next, will the second players of the two teams please come onstage?" Everyone's eyes swiveled from left to right, waiting to see which two players would stand up.
"First is Team A, this is - oh, another player from Samsara, their vice-captain, Jiang Botao!"
Jiang Botao walked onstage. Team B's player had also stood forward, Zou Yuan from Hundred Blossoms.
"This is a clash of vice-captains!" The host tried to let these matchups have more topics of discussion. Unfortunately, after these two vice-captains went onstage they didn't discuss much as they exchanged blows back and forth. Jiang Botao, who had already expressed how he didn't care much about the All-Star stage, played relatively relaxed. Zou Yuan, on the other hand, was different. Although this was his third time voted into All-Stars, this was the first time he'd earned recognition for his own merits, and not for this or that reason. He didn't want to disappoint those who had voted for him, and so even though this was just a show of a match, he didn't want to lose!
Sadly, things were just that fickle. Zou Yuan, who didn't want to lose, ultimately lost; Jiang Botao, who didn't care about the outcome and played very relaxed, actually won.
"Team A catches up with another point!" the host declared, and the scoreboard updated to reflect this. Zou Yuan returned to his teammates in disappointment, his mood so low that it gave Team B a shock.
"What's wrong? Do you have some grudge against Jiang Botao?" Ye Xiu asked.
"No?" Zou Yuan was caught off-guard.
"Then why do you look so unhappy?" Ye Xiu didn't understand.
"I… lost!" said Zou Yuan.
"Not like it's your first time," said Ye Xiu.
Everyone felt like they were going to be driven mad. This was supposed to be comforting? This wasn't very comforting, was it?
As Zou Yuan's teammate, Yu Feng understood him a bit better and quickly pulled Zou Yuan aside to comfort him. Everyone else shot disdainful gazes at Ye Xiu.
"Who's up next?" Ye Xiu ignored them, calling for the next player.
"It's my turn." For Team B, Misty Rain's Li Hua was playing in the next battle.
From Team A, the one who stood up was Wind Howl's vice-captain, Liu Hao.
"Haha, another confrontation between vice-captains." When the host said this, the stadium booed him for his dullness. These were all All-Stars! Practically all of them were either captain or vice-captain of their respective teams, so discussing a conflict between captains or between vice-captains or between captain and vice-captain wasn't rare at all. This host probably had nothing to say, and so he kept using this as a topic of discussion.
This thought was actually quite correct. The host truly had nothing he could say.
Liu Hao, Li Hua? This… This was another matchup where there wasn't any conflict to be discussed, not at all, not in the players' pasts, nor from the teams they were currently on, nor from any previous fights. Even in the team competitions, thanks to reasons like rotation, these people hadn't ever met, as though they were two parallel lines never intersecting…
When things had reached this point, it had to be said that the television broadcasters Pan Lin and Li Yibo were leaders in their profession for a reason. While the live host scrambled to find a topic and was booed by the audience, these two said with shock, "Whoa, this is actually the first time these two players are meeting on the official stage!"
From this it could be seen that looking at things from a different angle instantly revealed more points of interest.
Liu Hao and Li Hua, meeting for the first time, were both unfamiliar with each other. Not only was Liu Hao unfamiliar with Li Hua, he was unfamiliar with the All-Star stage as a whole. This was the first time he had reached this stage, this was something he had anticipated for so long, only to discover now that he could only show his face very briefly in the individual round.
Liu Hao very much wanted to prove himself, but… on this star-studded stage, he truly had no way of grabbing a larger role. The team competition was undoubtedly the event that drew the most attention. Compared to Team B, where people like Ye Xiu and Wang Jiexi and Chu Yunxiu were all too lazy and wanted to scurry into the individual matches, Liu Hao was anxious to play in the team competition! Because he knew clearly, the team competition rosters represented those with the strongest battle ability, the stars among the All-Stars. How he wanted to have that identity for himself!
Unfortunately, he did not…
Even if they counted the six people who had the highest All-Star vote count, he wouldn't make it in neither Team A nor Team B.
In Team A, the six people ultimately set to appear in the team round were Zhou Zekai, Sun Xiang, Yu Wenzhou, Huang Shaotian, Tang Hao, and Xiao Shiqin…
Of the six people, aside from Yu Wenzhou ranked at 11th, the others were all tenth place and higher. Liu Hao had no place to try and challenge them for the right to play in the team competition.
Helpless, he could only accept the arrangement to play in the individual round. And now, facing Li Hua, Liu Hao's mind was completely blank. What kind of coincidence was this? Two teams would meet in at least two rounds of competition. Li Hua had entered the Alliance in Season 7, and it'd been several years now. Yet, somehow, they had never met?
Liu Hao felt that this was incredible. If he weren't standing here on this stage now, he never would have expected such a strange thing to happen to him.
He thought it was strange, Li Hua felt the same, so the two players progressed very carefully. After they met, they tested each other, tried to feel out the opponent, while mentally reviewing what research their team had done on this opponent. Afterward, Li Hua's Ninja Dark Forest vanished.
The Ninja's hidden movement began. It looked like Li Hua had already found the rhythm of the battle. Soon, when Dark Forest appeared again and launched an attack, the rhythm was extremely fast. What about Liu Hao? These few years he'd been wandering about and currying favor, and too much of his energy was spent on these things. He was also furiously thinking, but he couldn't think of any useful data. It could be summed up in one phrase: It's only when it comes time to apply knowledge that you regret not acquiring enough.
Liu Hao was filled with regret!
As a newcomer to the All-Star stage, he was like Zou Yuan, he wasn't as relaxed as everyone else. He desperately wanted to win, and he wanted to win beautifully, spectacularly, like Yang Cong in the first match. That Life-Risking Strike had been such a brilliant move!
Yet… Why did he have to meet this Li Hua?
This Ninja player who excelled at hidden movement had also been hidden to him throughout his professional career. Now he suddenly appeared in front of him, during his first All-Star appearance. Was his first show simply going to leave behind this mark of failure?
No… Not just failure, this was straight-up shameful! His Spellblade was beaten pathetically by Li Hua's Ninja, as though this wasn't a contest between evenly-matched heavyweights. At this moment, Liu Hao felt that he could already see countless audience members whispering amongst themselves, countless people staring dumbstruck, countless people thinking, Liu Hao's doing really poorly, is that all the skill he has?
This… is just too painful! What is this Li Hua doing! This is just All-Stars, why is he playing so diligently! Liu Hao suddenly forgot how much he had initially cared about this match, and began to be dissatisfied with Li Hua's investment.
This can't happen!
Liu Hao's heart was screaming, his Spellblade swung his sword, sending out killer shockwaves, but they revealed nothing. Dark Forest's ghostly silhouette had already appeared at his side.
Flickering Pursuit!
Dark Forest's afterimages filled the area, launching consecutive attacks toward Liu Hao's Spellblade. Liu Hao still couldn't get his bearings. He wildly slashed out with two attacks, but all he shredded were the images Dark Forest left behind in the air.
"Li Hua, old brother, how come you're playing so seriously?" Liu Hao managed to squeeze out a laugh, trying to make his words sound more relaxed.
"Ah?" Li Hua paused. "I'm… not really playing that seriously?"
Liu Hao was pissed!
Not playing seriously, you can say something like that? More importantly, you're not playing seriously and yet you can still beat me down like this, are you purposely trying to devastate me!
Liu Hao's little cosmos had been burning for who knew how long now, but the problem was, even though he used up so much energy, he found that he didn't have any sure-kill method. His chaotic and random attacks would only make him feel more powerless and pathetic; he also had no way of calming himself down to make careful observations or analysis. This was the chance for which he had waited so many years, but in the end, it was just going to be destroyed by someone who was invisible to him during his entire pro career! How could he be calm? No way!
He lost!
In the end, Liu Hao lost. The more someone wanted to win, the more they couldn't win. Last round it was Team B, this round it was Team A's turn. Liu Hao came pitifully offstage, feeling that the eyes of the entire stadium were upon him. When he returned to Team A, he didn't even lift his head. He wanted to explain something, but he also knew that those beside him were all Glory's top players. Find some technical excuse to brush it off? He should just save it!
On that note, the individual competition ended, with Team B in a 2 to 1 lead. But as soon as the two teams had tied at 1-1, everyone knew that victory would be determined in the team competition. The group arena wasn't important, this wasn't an Alliance match were points counted.
One by one, the players went onstage to play in the group arena. Team A's first player was Blue Rain's little general Lu Hanwen, while Team B sent Tiny Herb's Xu Bin. Lu Hanwen was young, energetic, and fearless, while Xu Bin had the title of Grind King, his rhythm like a slowly plodding old man. In this interesting confrontation, Xu Bin ultimately came out on top, defeating Lu Hanwen. Next from Team A was the number one Phantom Demon Li Xuan, who defeated Xu Bin. Then, Team B sent on their young player Gao Yingjie to send off Li Xuan. Team A's anchor was the other half of Void's Ghost Duo, Wu Yuce, who killed off Gao Yingjie without giving him much chance to perform.
With this, everyone could determine Team A's roster for the team competition. What about Team B? Which expert would have the responsibility of anchoring the group arena? The host looked toward Team B, the entire stadium looked toward Team B, and then they all rubbed their eyes.
Who's standing up?
That's… Zhang Xinjie?
Is he going to the bathroom? Preparing for the team competition, probably. No, wait, what's going on, he's walking toward the stage? What's going on here?
Team B's group arena anchor is the Cleric????
Chapter 1261: Forced Draw
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
Zhang Xinjie… playing in the group arena?
When everyone saw that Zhang Xinjie actually walked into the player booth, they had to accept this reality. But the live host? Even now, he still hadn't pulled himself together. He was still just staring blankly, completely forgetting to introduce Team B's player. To announce this person's name for the group arena, he… really wasn't used to it. It was even more unbelievable than Yang Cong's usage of Life-Risking Strike.
"Team B's third player in the group arena is… Zhang Xinjie?" Finally, the host made the announcement, but he still said it with a question mark. He still couldn't quite believe this.
Dead silence in the crowd, and then an explosion of noise. One player sitting in the diehard Tyranny fan section was staring in complete and utter shock, his mouth in the shape of an O, which only closed after a long while. His mood was slightly different from the shock of those around him. The instant he saw Zhang Xinjie come onstage, something whirred in his mind, and he thought of that winter two years ago, in Glory's tenth server. Just outside of the extremely low-level Frost Forest dungeon, that guy who controlled Lord Grim had said to this player: we don't need a Cleric.
And now, on the All-Star stage, the stage upon which the brightest stars of Glory shone, this phrase suddenly echoed in his ear again, floating back and forth nonstop: don't need a Cleric, don't need a Cleric, don't need a Cleric, don't need a Cleric…
Last time, the one who was "don't need a Cleric'd" was him. His Cleric was called Endless Night.
And this time, the one who was "don't need a Cleric'd" was Zhang Xinjie, the Cleric called Immovable Rock, the top healer in all of Glory.
Endless Night suddenly felt that he had no regrets in his life. On this All-Star stage, even Vice-captain Zhang was "don't need a Cleric'd." What the hell was he still bothered about?
His characted loaded in. Cleric Immovable Rock appeared on the group arena map, facing the half-health Ghostblade Carved Ghost.
If a Cleric really wanted to PK, they would have to rely on their powerful healing ability to maintain their health, and then use their few attacking methods to wear away the opponent.
In the Glory game, there was no shortage of Clerics who used this kind of method to PK. But in-game, both player skill and equipment quality was inferior. If Zhang Xinjie ran to the game to play in the Arena, no one would underestimate the battle ability of his Cleric.
However, if player skill and equipment quality were at the same level, a Cleric most certainly was not a bloody hurricane attacking class. This point could be seen from the Heavenly Domain challenge. Clerics and Paladins were very different from the other classes. It was clear that the Glory game had not designed these two classes to be powerful attackers. Those who stacked their points on the skill tree toward attacks were far from mainstream and hadn't earned any recognition in the pro circle. 24 teams, every team had a healer class, none of which was that kind of deviant.
Zhang Xinjie's Immovable Rock was even less so. This sort of strict player would never waver from the path.
How would this match be fought? The ruckus still hadn't died down, but many people were already wondering.
As for the televised broadcast, it was very quiet. Li Yibo was really depressed! His earlier predictions of the team lineups had been based on the difference of healer against no healer, but who would have thought, Team B had a healer but didn't use it, instead throwing him onto the group arena. This season, he had been truly attacked so much that he was in the perpetual mad state of "can't feel happy without being face-slapped."
Commentator Pan Lin was also silent for a long time. It wasn't until the characters onstage started moving that he said in a strained voice, "Let's watch this match, with Void's Wu Yuce, against… Zhang Xinjie…"
The characters met, and began fighting.
Those who dreamed that Zhang Xinjie had some sort of ultimate sure-kill method were quickly disappointed. Zhang Xinjie's 1v1 Cleric just used the same little tricks that were popular in the game. Change position to maintain distance, recover health during breaks, sparse attacks to wear away the opponent.
Many high-end Clerics in-game could enrage many people to death. Could Zhang Xinjie do it?
The crowd originally had a lot of excitement and anticipation, but gradually, all of it faded away. Because judging from the content of this match, this was truly dull to an unprecedented extent, duller than any other match of previous All-Star Weekends, duller than any match in any season of the League.
Everyone suddenly had a single thought: If Glory battles were all like this, then they should just shut down the League as early as possible.
Fortunately, that wasn't the case…
They watched as Zhang Xinjie controlled Immovable Rock, recovered his health like a robot, occasionally had his rhythm torn by Wu Yuce, but then tenaciously got it back, and then repeated the above process.
The refreshing feeling was gone. The interest was gone.
The players who had more in-game experience had all seen this situation before. It was just that Zhang Xinjie's controls were more precise, and Wu Yuce's attacks were more ferocious.
In terms of attacks, the Cleric really only had so many options. Even Zhang Xinjie couldn't make many changes. He just followed the most common thought processes seen in-game, and then displayed them with a higher level of skill and technique. Faced against a more powerful opponent, the result was… this match looked like it was going to drag on endlessly.
One minute…
Two minutes…
Five minutes…
Ten minutes…
Zhang Xinjie was still very methodically controlling, wearing away. At the start of the match, Carved Ghost had 52% health remaining. Now, 11% had been whittled away, leaving 41%. And that had taken a full ten minutes.
During these ten minutes, Immovable Rock's health had also dropped. This Cleric battle style couldn't be too careless or wasteful. If he used up all his mana, then he would just be fish meat on a plate. But even under Wu Yuce's powerful offensive, Zhang Xinjie didn't ignore everything to fill up his health. He had a set rhythm to maintain the balance of the situation. After ten minutes, Immovable Rock's health had dropped 20%...
And so everyone took another look. Carved Ghost had lost 11% after starting at 52%, wasn't that also a twenty percent decrease? These two guys, they were actually playing at such a precise balance? They were actually going to have to play all the way until the end to determine victory?
To do so… Judging from their current speed, wouldn't that require… forty more minutes?
Those that realized this point instantly paled. The organizers and the television broadcasters were even more panicked. This 1v1 was going to last an hour? That was much too far above the estimated time duration. Were they even going to play the team competition afterward?
Here they panicked, there they panicked, but the two people onstage weren't panicked.
Zhang Xinjie's controls were as methodical as ever. Wu Yuce? He was always a very persistent and persevering person, someone who never gave up easily. Otherwise, the current Void Ghost Duo wouldn't exist.
These two people were actually giving it their all. But it would be many dozen minutes before victory was determined, and with just these repetitive actions. It was truly difficult for anyone to continue watching.
What to do?
A wave of people went to the background, and then the smoking area became overcrowded, and then ambient noise became louder and louder as people started chatting. Lights flashed all over the the crowd like stars in the sky, as a result of countless people starting to play with their phones.
With the team competition finale, the audience couldn't bear to leave, but they honestly could not continue to watch this match.
"We can't let them drag on until the end!" The organizers finally made this decision, which was quickly sent to the stage. The judge entered the match through the system and forcibly declared the group arena a draw. There would be no extra time, it was just a draw! If they added extra time, then by the rules that meant that both sides would have a bit of health added and then face off. Wouldn't that just result in a confrontation between these two guys again? That absolutely could not happen.
The judge stopped the game very arbitrarily. After a pause, the live audience exploded with a surge of applause. Not to Zhang Xinjie, nor to Wu Yuce. This applause was sent to the one with an extremely weak presence in Glory matches, the judge. In this moment, he was the most lovable person in the audience's eyes.
Wu Yuce and Zhang Xinjie could only accept this reality. When the two players stepped out of the player booths, the crowd, with mixed feelings, sent applause to them as well. They could at least respect their seriousness, their perseverance, and their calm acceptance of the forced draw of the match.
After this boring period passed, it was now time for the highest point of this three-day event. And this time, Team B didn't have a healer either. Without a doubt, the two sides would be attacking each other ferociously. Looking at the players left to the team round, they were all the top attackers in the entire Alliance brought together now.
"Coach Li, could you analyze and compare the strengths of the two teams for us?" Pan Lin said.
"The two teams are both composed of the very best of the best. It wouldn't be unexpected for either side to win. However, this is a never-before-seen situation where neither side has a healer. Today's team competition will be the highest-level aggressive match in the entirety of Glory. These two teams have gathered the most powerful attackers in Glory!" Coach Li said.
"You're correct," Pan Lin agreed. The two continued to talk until the team competition finally gathered together onstage.
From Team A were Zhou Zekai, Sun Xiang, Huang Shaotian, Yu Wenzhou, and Tang Hao, with Xiao Shiqin as the sixth player.
From Team B were Ye Xiu, Su Mucheng, Han Wenqing, Chu Yunxiu, and Wang Jiexi, with Yu Feng as the sixth player.
The two teams were making their final preparations before the map. Team A had the two Master Tacticians Yu Wenzhou and Xiao Shiqin. Earlier, many people were uncomfortable with how Xiao Shiqin had dealt with Yu Wenzhou, but looking at their direct interactions now, there didn't seem to be any difficulties. The two were discussing nonstop, occasionally shooting glances at Team B. After several close-ups, the camera switched to Team B, and it could be seen that the two of them were likely discussing Team B's player Ye Xiu.
Team B's player Ye Xiu seemed very relaxed. This other Master Tactician didn't seem like he was making any arrangements for his team as a whole. He only said a sentence to Han Wenqing, standing beside him.
"When the battle begins, try to stay away from me. I fear that my attacks will automatically be drawn to your body," Ye Xiu said to Han Wenqing, very seriously.
Translator's Thoughts
Nomyummi
*Endless Night's first appearance is in Chapter 40. He's the guy who was denied by Ye Xiu when he tried to join the dungeon team to break Frost Dungeon's speed record.