Chapter 1325: Fluctuating APM
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
One skill, one step back. In the end, Mo Fan ended up setting this repetitive rhythm. Liang Fang's reckless health trade immediately became out of sync. By the time he realized this, he had already traded his health away for a disadvantage.
He lost.
In the individual competition, Happy ended with a 3 to 0. The entire stadium was speechless.
"Hahaha, Happy's performing well today!" Li Yibo commented.
"Do they plan on obtaining another perfect victory?" Pan Lin wondered.
Ruan Cheng heart thumped. If Happy really did destroy Tiny Herb in their away game, then it'd be like they had thrown him here naked - he'd be completely humiliated!
What the hell are you bastards doing!?
Ruan Cheng was even more desperate and worried than Tiny Herb's boss.
"Su Mucheng didn't go up for the individual competitions this round. Has Happy left her for the group arena?" Li Yibo said.
"Fang Rui, Su Mucheng, Tang Rou? Happy's group arena line-up is very impressive this round!" Pan Lin commented.
"In the eighth round, Happy's Tang Rou alone managed to wipe out two of Tiny Herb's members in the group arena and get to Wang Jiexi!" Li Yibo reminded them, "It's just unfortunate that the two players after Tang Rou didn't perform so well and were all defeated by Wang Jiexi in a 1v3 that turned the tides."
"However, it was after that round that Tang Rou stopped spearheading the group arena and switched to third position," Pan Lin lamented.
With that, the two side eyed Ruan Cheng together.
Yet, when Ruan Cheng had heard the two say that Happy had an unusually impressive line-up, his insides clenched. He didn't even register the discussion the two had afterwards.
"You think they'll have Tang Rou spearhead again?"
In the end, Ruan Cheng only heard that before the players for the group arena entered the stage.
Happy, Fang Rui, Su Mucheng, Tang Rou, as expected, an impressive line-up.
As for Tiny Herbm, they sent out Liu Xiaobie, Liu Fei, and Wang Jiexi.
"Seems like Tang Rou still isn't spearheading the round!" Pan Lin exclaimed.
"Yeah. Fang Rui leading and Tang Rou bringing up the rear, Happy hasn't changed that arrangement in a long time," Li Yibo noted.
"The match is about to start, let's see how the players perform!" Pan Lin announced. At the same time, the first player in each team were inserting their cards and loading into the first round of the match.
"Er, this map… It's a pretty rare sight in the group arena," the commentator and guests discussed upon seeing the map. The map Tiny Herb had chosen for their group arena was the same kind that Ye Xiu had set as his signature map choice this season: straight and simple. This kind of map often implied a test of mechanical skill. For individual matches, the maps could be chosen according to personal preference. However, in the group arena, there would be three people per team, and you needed to make sure that all three were comfortable with the map, thus, the map choice was rarely so extreme. Generally, maps with more varied content that could be useful in different situations would be chosen.
"This map choice… it'll probably negatively impact Happy's Fang Rui and Su Mucheng, but Tang Rou clearly prefers this sort of map," Li Yibo noted. "As for Tiny Herb… What do you think, Mr. Ruan?" Feeling that Ruan Cheng had gone silent for long enough, Li Yibo threw him a question helpfully.
"Ah… I guess they'll be alright since they're Tiny Herb?" Ruan Cheng guessed.
What on earth was he saying?
Li Yibo stared in shock and glanced at Pan Lin. Pan Lin seemed rather helpless as well. This Ruan Cheng really didn't have much mental fortitude! No matter if you're a fan or a hater, you should at least work hard to support your side! Even if its complete bullshit, that's better than this utterly defeated look after a 3 to 0!
Li Yibo and Pan Lin could only leave Ruan Cheng with his answer that wasn't really an answer. On the field, due to the simple map, the two sides soon met and clashed in an open fight.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh!
Flying Swords' sword was as fast as lightning.
Liu Xiaobie was feeling rather depressed this season. He had wanted to become an all-star this season through his ceaseless hard work and improvement. Yet, Happy and Excellent Era's players had returned and the competition for this season's All-Stars was much tighter all of a sudden. Unfortunately, Liu Xiaobie once again wasn't voted in.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh!
Liu Xiaobie vented his frustrations through his mechanics. Flying Sword's attacks were swift and his pacing was solid. This level of skill was definitely enough to be considered All-Star level. It was unfortunate that the All-Star voting wasn't just about skill.
On the other side, Fang Rui, was in a very different position from Liu Xiaobie. Liu Xiaobie was just unable to become an All-Stars, and he, on the other hand, had been consecutively voted into the All-Stars, only to fail this season.
He also made light of this failure, expressing to the media that he always got in so it was pretty good that he had finally managed to drop out.
That sort of attitude was just asking for a beating to Liu Xiaobie. Many other also thought Fang Rui was unreasonable.
It was probably a little of both, but Fang Rui's performance really hadn't been affected by any of it. His performance had improved slowly as he got more used to the Qi Master, and his opponents, because of his chosen playstyle, often were unable to keep up.
However, Liu Xiaobie didn't fall into this disadvantage because he took the initiative to attack as soon as possible. His hand was speed rising dramatically.
Thus, the match progressed a little like Liang Fang and Mo Fan's match, both sides attacking fiercely and trying to prevent the other from using their preferred style.
However, compared to Liang Fang exchanging blows and blood, Liu Xiaobie had less to worry about with his offensive. For Liang Fang, he was also trading blood to win, and his defeat was because of it, too.
"This kid's mechanics is getting crazier and crazier," Wei Chen exclaimed with a hint of envy, observing the way Liu Xiaobie was displaying his hand speed.
"The point is that he isn't just fast, but also very steady. He has everything in his grasp," Ye Xiu added.
"Fang Rui's met trouble this time," Wei Chen noted.
"Yes. This isn't a good terrain for him," Ye Xiu commented.
Ye Xiu had used this kind of terrain to bully quite a few opponents himself, so he naturally understood what sort of foundation Liu Xiaobie's advantage was built upon. He also knew that it was because there was nothing that could be used on the map, thus Liu Xiaobie's rhythm would be very hard to break.
Perhaps he could find some openings in Flying Swords' attack, but Liu Xiaobie's mechanics were just too fast, so fast that these opens flashed by. When his opponent wanted to use them, they were already gone.
The only thing you couldn't counter was speed.* 1
In regards to Liu Xiaobie, this phrase was rather fitting.
"His APM is almost reaching 400…" The live broadcast gave a shot of Liu Xiaobie's APM data. Since the match was still ongoing, his mechanics were still ongoing, and thus the number wasn't stable, fluctuating at just under 400.
The system data wasn't smart enough to differentiate between effective APM and random keyboard mashing, but considering the situation on the field right now, there was little possibility for such noob mechanics to exist. Most, if not all, were effective.
For a single player game, even if Glory's mechanics were a little more complicated, an APM heading directly for 400 was still stunning. When the audience at the stadium noticed this data, sounds of awe rose from the crowd, and these voices were filled with pride. Liu Xiaobie was a player on their team, Tiny Herb.
For comparison, Fang Rui's APM data was quickly placed next to Liu Xiaobie's.
289, 290, 291…
The number kept rising.
"Fang Rui's APM is much faster than usual, too!" Pan Lin said, holding Fang Rui's previous match statistics.
"Of course. If he doesn't raise his hand speed under this sort of situation, he'd probably have been wiped out quickly," Li Yibo commented.
"However, there's still a 100 APM difference!" Ruan Cheng followed up.
Fuck!
Pan Lin and Li Yibo cursed to themselves simultaneously, glancing at Ruan Cheng.
Was this still that dispirited Ruan Cheng from after the individual matches? This kind of energy… Was Liu Xiaobie a Cleric or something? Had his near 400 APM healed this guy or something?
"Their hand speed has a gap, looking at the statistics, but from the situation, Fang Rui isn't at much of a disadvantage," Li Yibo noted.
"Heh. He's not at much of a disadvantage, but he's still at one," Ruan Cheng retorted.
"Fang Rui's current APM isn't his peak," Pan Lin added, looking through Fang Rui's info.
"His current APM is very steady," Li Yibo observed the APM stats on the screen. APM was calculated by the minute, but what was usually shown in a match was calculated by the second. It showed what the mechanics done in this second would be if maintained for a minute.
Fang Rui's APM was fluctuating at around 290, which meant that his hand speed was very steady.
"If given the chance, he'll give himself a burst of speed," Li Yibo said.
"What about Liu Xiaobie? Is this his peak?" Ruan Cheng smirked. He was, in the end, an expert, and wasn't ignorant.
Pan Lin naturally also had Liu Xiaobie's match statistics and, after taking a look, shook his head. "It's not… but, not all of his actions are effective. A lot of these statistics came from him making a bunch of useless actions at the beginning of a match to drive his APM up."
Li Yibo was carefully watching the match.
Chance. Fang Rui was waiting for a chance. Waiting for a chance where he could strike and break Liu Xiaobie's rhythm. Otherwise, if this continued, he would lose.
When would a chance appear?
Li Yibo couldn't be bothered to discuss with the other two. The pace of the match was so fast, so this chance would only appear for a mere moment...
There!
Li Yibo's eyes lit up.
"Cha…"
He only managed to get out the first half of the word because his speech wasn't nearly as fast as the two player's on the stage.
The APM statistics skyrocketed.
Fang Rui, 372!
This was his chance to turn the tables.
However...
He failed.
Just as Fang Rui's hand speed rocketed, Liu Xiaobie's APM also rose alongside it.
442!
The peak APM of the match finally appeared.
Liu Xiaobie used his immense hand speed to crush Fang Rui's defense.
In the end, the first match of the group arena went to Tiny Herb's Liu Xiaobie.
Chapter 1326: Fly Forth
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
"What an intense match!"
Victory had been decided and Tiny Herb's stadium was naturally filled with applause. Pan Lin and Li Yibo were discussing excitedly and Ruan Cheng's smile filled his face.
Liu Xiaobie won and Flying Swords still had 52 percent of his health left. Tiny Herb had established a good lead in the group arena and Ruan Cheng was, naturally, delighted. In that moment, he seemed like a hopeless Tiny Herb fan.
"Liu Xiaobie's performance this round was amazing!" Li Yibo commented, "He managed such a stable performance under this continuous high hand speed, making no major mistakes. Truly impressive."
"Indeed, his grasp over this techniques has become more and more solid," Pan Lin noted.
"Let's see how he performs this next round," Li Yibo said.
"Heheheh," Ruan Cheng started laughing dryly again. Like a noob, he childishly started doing calculations in his head: 48% of health to take out Fang Rui, still 52% left. He totally still had a chance to defeat Su Mucheng. Then, there was still Wang Jiexi for Tiny Herb. Tang Rou 2v1? Haha, it was clear that Tiny Herb would win the group arena.
However, reality soon gave him a harsh awakening.
"Seems like Liu Xiaobie really exhausted himself last round…" Li Yibo observed, watching the match.
"Yeah, he's clearly making more mistakes," Pan Lin added.
"And no matter how powerful his offensives can be with that hand speed of his, he has to be able to close in on his opponent first," Li Yibo brought up.
"Su Mucheng is very carefully not giving him such a chance and even sacrificed a lot of damage for it," Pan Lin said.
"Yes. She's using a very clever playstyle. However, isn't she a little too careful? There's no chance of Liu Xiaobie replicating what he had managed yesterday. Perhaps Su Mucheng can play a little more offensively. What do you think, Mr. Ruan?" Li Yibo realized that Ruan Cheng had stopped speaking again.
Fucking useless!
Ruan Cheng was cursing Liu Xiaobie in his heart.
The possibility of defeating Su Mucheng's Dancing Rain with 52 percent of his health was rapidly approaching zero. Not only that, but Liu Xiaobie hadn't managed to find a single chance to close in on Su Mucheng. Ruan Cheng really was worried that he'd be wiped out without even dealing 1 percent damage.
Good thing was, Liu Xiaobie hadn't lost that badly. In the end, he still found a chance to close in. However...
Ten percent!
That was how much health Flying Swords ended up taking from Su Mucheng. Ruan Cheng's lips were trembling. He wanted to start cussing up a storm in this widely live streamed broadcast.
"Tiny Herb had started out well… But they didn't manage to maintain the advantage they had gained!" Pan Lin exclaimed.
"Liu Xiaobie might've done better in the second position with such a draining playstyle!" Li Yibo suggested.
"Mr. Ruan? Alright, let's continue to observe the match." Pan Lin had wanted to ask after Ruan Cheng's opinion, but seeing how he was barely holding back his anger, he was afraid that the other would pull the quality of the entire program down with his answer.
Tiny Herb's second player, Liu Fei, came onstage. She was another female , Sharpshooter player, ID, Tasselflower.
They were both female pros, both Gunner players, but Liu Fei's renown was nothing compared to Su Mucheng's. She wasn't even on the main roster for Tiny Herb and only had the chance to perform in rotation. In this round, she had been placed in the group arena, and had just happened to meet the number one Gunner amongst female pros.
"Though Dancing Rain is down to 90 percent of her health, there is a skill gap between the two. So long as Su Mucheng doesn't make any major mistakes, she should be able to win." Li Yibo, who was now uncertain about making predictions, was bold enough to make one now. It was clear that no one thought that there would be any suspense as to the result.
No suspense didn't necessarily mean no surprises, though.
The battle between the two female Gunners was spectacular. Liu Fei was no god, not even a member of their team's main roster, but if she could manage to stay in the two time championship team Tiny Herb, then she would definitely be rather skilled.
Her performance was unusually impressive this round. Li Yibo's saying of Su Mucheng being able to win so long as she didn't "make any major mistakes" was a bit of an exaggeration.
It was good that Su Mucheng didn't slap him in the face.
"Liu Fei performed very well, but unfortunately, she was met with an opponent that performed even better." When Li Yibo made such a analysis, there was a lingering fear in his heart. If Su Mucheng didn't perform better, then the tides may have turned.
When Su Mucheng won, Dancing Rain still had 21 percent of her health left. Tiny Herb had reached their third player, their last defense, their captain, Wang Jiexi.
From the 52 percent lead they had at first, until this 21 percent disadvantage, Ruan Cheng had the urge to run away. However, Tiny Herb's stadium was still filled with energy. The impact that being overtaken and falling behind should've had on these fans was nowhere to be seen. It was rather strange.
"This atmosphere really is annoying!" Chen Guo exclaimed.
"Oh?"
"Look at these people. They're falling behind but as soon as Wang Jiexi appears, it's like they're fated to win or something." Chen Guo gazed over the audience in the venue, listening to their cheering.
Yes, that was the feeling the current Tiny Herb gave off. It wasn't like Tiny Herb was falling behind, but that victory was already in their grasp. Everyone was wearing an expression of utmost confidence. They completely ignored their future opponents, as if they were no more than bubbles that their captain Wang Jiexi could pop with a finger.
"Mucheng, crush him! Little Tang, crush him!!" Though she knew that the players in the booths couldn't hear her, Chen Guo still hollered.
Su Mucheng and Tang Rou, the two girls who were onstage on Happy's side were the two who were closest to Chen Guo. Seeing them ignored by the Tiny Herb fans like this, Chen Guo was exceptionally pissed off.
"It's not unreasonable that the Tiny Herb fans have such confidence," Ye Xiu chuckled.
"Who cares what reason they have." Chen Guo clearly wasn't looking for logic or explanations.
Ye Xiu smiled. The match was starting and everyone turned their attention back to the screens.
A simple and straightforward map naturally wouldn't have much of a build up. The two characters advanced, the chat remaining empty.
There was very little communication between players in today's match. Of course, there were some subjective reasons for that. For example, Fang Rui liked to trash talk, but he had been faced with Liu Xiaobie today, so there was no time to type in such an intense battle of hand speeds.
In this match, Wang Jiexi and Su Mucheng didn't seem to have any intentions to chat either. The two soon met in the center of the map and Su Mucheng's Dancing Rain unhesitantly used her attack range advantage to fire the first shot.
Boom!
Missiles flew.
Vaccaria's movement speed didn't dip at all, even riding his broom directly towards the missile. Just as it was about to impact, he swerved and the missile flew past his shoulder. The movement was smooth. Was this missile really an attempt to stop him? Can't feel it!
Clap clap clap!
The stadium burst into applause. Just a dodge and the Tiny Herb fans acted like they had seen the climax of a match.
"Getting excited over nothing!" Chen Guo gritted her teeth.
"It really was rather impressive!" Ye Xiu said.
Chen Guo didn't reply because that voice of truth at the bottom of her heart told her that when Vaccaria narrowly dodged the missile without slowing down, she had almost abandoned her loyalties and cheered with the Tiny Herb fans.
"A technique that can really fan their excitement," Wei Chen commented, but then added, "But he wasn't just showing off."
Of course he wasn't. Wang Jiexi's action was simply to dodge in the quickest, easiest way. He had maintained his character's advance, so how could it be a mere party trick?
Anti-Tank Missiles!
Dancing Rain jumped backwards, launching three anti-tank missiles in a tri-shot formation.
The three missiles came one after the other. Vaccaria once again didn't dodge, charging right forwards.
What was he going to do this time?
"Holy shit!!" As the stadium erupted into cheers, Wei Chen cursed.
Vaccaria had, somehow, flew forwards, spinning his body like a drill, and drilled right into the tri shot. Then, his spin managed to narrowly pull his body out of range of each of the three missiles.
Brilliantly fast, amazingly precise. The broadcast replayed this moment in slow motion over and over again, as if they'd rather play this than the rest of the match.
"He's truly skilled!" Even Ye Xiu couldn't help but praise. This was the one that had almost accomplished a consecutive three championships after he had made history.
Vaccaria charged towards Dancing Rain at top speed, seemingly unstoppable.
Of course, Su Mucheng wasn't that easy of an opponent. As Vaccaria advanced, Dancing Rain was naturally retreating. As she retreated, she attacked, it was just that this didn't do much to stop the other's momentum and the two were slowly getting closer.
Star Ray!
Vaccaria finally entered a range where his Witch could attack. As he flew, he began to throw out magic tools.
The Star Ray that was formed from a Star Card shot forwards faster than its user.
Dancing Rain dodged, and with the effect the movement had, Vaccaria continued to close in.
Stinger!
Su Mucheng attempted to use a large AoE to stop him.
Vaccaria flew a level higher and darted in and out of the falling Stinger missiles, as if the explosions had nothing to do with him.
However, the closer he got, the harder it was to dodge.
Laser Cannon!
This time, Vaccaria wasn't able to fully dodge the attack, and the Laser Cannon struck his side, causing Vaccaria to spin in the air. However, it wasn't able to completely stop his advance. As he adjusted his form, Wang Jiexi took note of the way Vaccaria was thrown; even if he fell, he'd fall as close to his target as possible.
"God fucking shit!" Wei Chen continued to curse. Though cursing wasn't a rare occurrence for him, watching Wang Jiexi's performance today, his cursing had been elevated to a frequency it had never once reached in the past.
Only cursing could express his emotions, because he didn't know how else to express them.
Wang Jiexi and his Vaccaria flew forth, carrying Tiny Herb on their shoulders and unstoppable.