Others were thinking of the future, but Jiang Botao had to face the present.The match began. Tang Rou"s Soft Mist rushed out. As for Jiang Botao? His playing was the same as his walk to the stage, neither slow nor fast. His Spellblade, Empty Waves, marched ahead comfortably.
The center of the map still had numerous holes left behind by Chaotic Cloudy Mountain and Moon Luring Frost. At the start, everyone had been discussing whether Jiang Botao would be thrown into the holes as well. But when they saw Jiang Botao"s unhurried pace, the discussion ended. With the difference in speed between Jiang Botao"s Empty Waves and Tang Rou"s Soft Mist, the two sides wouldn"t be meeting in the center.
But then again, Tang Rou could just wait at the center of the map for Jiang Botao to arrive, no?
Not long after these guesses were made, Soft Mist continued right past the center of the map.
As a result, the two met on the half of the map closer to Samsara"s sp.a.w.n point.
Soft Mist didn"t stop and continued forward.
This was how Tang Rou always played, but after seeing her performance today, it was hard not to give her playstyle another thought.
As for Jiang Botao?
Would Jiang Botao think differently and play more carefully?
No one knew. All they saw was his Empty Waves lift his sword.
Earth Wave Slash!
Spellblades had mid-ranged attacks, so it was common to see them attack first against close-ranged enemies. Earth Wave Slash was the Spellblade"s lowest level Spellblade skill. Even though its damage wasn"t high, it was quick and possessed high priority.
Jiang Botao"s opening move was nothing out of the ordinary. It was an opening that Spellblades used 80% of the time.
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The battle had begun. Jiang Botao"s performance could be described with these three words.
Was this the playstyle he was going to use in today"s match?
Playstyle. When this word fell onto Jiang Botao, most people would furrow their brows in uncertainty.
He was an All-Star player, the vice-captain of a championship team. He had a stellar reputation in the pro circle and was very popular amongst the playerbase. However, no one could say what exactly his playstyle was. Even Samsara themselves weren"t sure. When they first discovered Jiang Botao"s talent in tactics and strategies, they had thought of elevating him to the level of a Master Tactician, but unfortunately, he wasn"t able to shine bright enough and the matter was left inconclusive.
Jiang Botao didn"t have a distinct playstyle.
But after a long time, people started to gradually realize that this was perhaps his true style.
His ability to adapt was extraordinary. He could use any playstyle he wanted to battle. He was always the team"s most st.u.r.dy pillar.
This was why he was able to synergize perfectly with Zhou Zekai and Samsara.
The Glue, Jack of All Trades, Timely Rain, Tinker...
Jiang Botao had started in Season 6. It hadn"t even been 5 years, and he had countless nicknames. From this, it could be seen how difficult it was to pinpoint his playstyle. But through these numerous nicknames, it was also able to show his strengths.
There was one common aspect with all these nicknames. All of them described Jiang Botao through a team perspective. As for his individual prowess, even today, it seemed to be a difficult question.
Everyone only knew that he was skilled, that he wasn"t easy to deal with. Anyone who played against him had to be on guard. He could play aggressive. He could play dirty. He could play a mental battle. He could do what seemed to be illogical choices...
But no matter what, you couldn"t relax even a single moment. A single moment of carelessness could result in you losing.
Jiang Botao made this ordinary opening move, making it hard to predict what he would do next because there were simply too many possibilities.
This was precisely his aim. He wanted to create a situation filled with possibilities, so he could calmly observe Tang Rou and find a way to win. Even though Samsara needed him to reestablish their morale, he couldn"t act rashly.
Because in his view, different opponents needed to be played against differently, and Tang Rou definitely wasn"t someone he could fight against with brute force.
Jiang Botao was waiting for Tang Rou to act. That Earth Wave Slash seemed to be bait for Tang Rou to attack.
His sword had already come out. Next was to wait to see how Tang Rou would react.
Even though he had seen a few peculiarities from Tang Rou"s previous fight, he was pretty certain that Tang Rou would meet force with force.
Jiang Botao guessed correctly. Soft Mist moved to the side a bit without wasting any movements, just barely dodging the Earth Wave Slash. Then, she raised her spear, Dancing Fire Flowing Flames, and accelerated!
Dragon Breaks the Ranks!
Tang Rou went with her usual opening move, charging forward the instant she dodged the Earth Wave Slash.
Her timing was good, but all of it was within Jiang Botao"s calculations. He had been ready for all of the possible reactions to his Earth Wave Slash bait. Dragon Breaks the Ranks had been the most likely possibility, and Jiang Botao was on guard against it.
Dodge!
Empty Waves rolled to the side twice.
Because just one roll wouldn"t be enough! With Tang Rou"s reaction speed, she would have enough time to change the direction of her Dragon Breaks the Ranks to cover a target that only rolled once.
Jiang Botao"s deduction was correct once again. As expected, as soon as Tang Rou saw him roll, she immediately adjusted. Soft Mist leaned to the side, altering the direction of the Dragon Breaks the Ranks.
Empty Waves noticed it and did the second roll.
Dragon Breaks the Ranks had missed, and the instant Empty Waves got up from the roll, he swung his shortsword, Divine Chains.
Wave Wheel Slasher!
A grab attack that broke through Super Armor. Even against the powerful Dragon Breaks the Ranks, Wave Wheel Slasher out prioritized it.
The attack, the timing, the angle, all of it had been incomparably cunning.
Would it hit though?
Jiang Botao wondered. From his calculations, there was around a 50% chance he would fail. It depended on Tang Rou"s condition this fight.
Tang Rou"s condition today was outstanding, but she had already gone through two fights. Perhaps she couldn"t keep up her focus, or perhaps she was too excited, or perhaps she was thinking too much about making a comeback.
Countless factors could decide whether she reacted fast enough.
Would it hit?
The sword light flew through the air.
It missed!
Soft Mist had cancelled the Dragon Breaks the Ranks at the last moment, giving her time to leap to the side, dodging the Wave Wheel Slasher.
She dodged it.
Jiang Botao was a bit regretful, but with how well Tang Rou was playing today, this outcome had been more likely.
Jiang Botao wouldn"t linger on this for too long because he had already thought that Tang Rou would likely counterattack the moment she dodged.
What would she counterattack with?
Dancing Fire Flowing Flames whistled through the air, two streaks of red flickered.
Oh, it"s Double Stab.
Empty Waves calmly raised his sword, Guard!