Tang Rou walked onto the stage.Tyranny"s fans very much admired this controversial player. Her style possessed the fearlessness that they liked to see. In comparison, while their rookies, Qin Muyun and Song Qiying, were outstanding as well, they never felt quite right.
Right now, Tang Rou would be playing against Song Qiying in the group arena"s final battle. How could they root against him and destroy their own morale? As Tang Rou walked to the stage, she was met with much noise.
Tang Rou ignored them. After the referee went over how she would leave the stage after the group arena was over, she went into the designated player booth.
It was the deciding battle. If she won, she would put a halt to the opponent"s momentum. All of these factors only made Tang Rou"s fighting spirit rise even higher. What"s more, the two had fought the deciding battle in last round"s group arena. In that match, Tang Rou"s Soft Mist had started with less health. Even though she was able to catch up quite a bit, in the end, she still lost to Song Qiying.
What about this round? Song Qiying"s River Sunset had 79% of his health left. This time, it was Song Qiying who would be starting with less health.
In the past, Tang Rou wouldn"t have cared about her lead. But now, after experiencing the pro scene for herself and seeing how hard the pro players worked for the sake of winning, Tang Rou could no longer be indifferent about it.
Because this victory no longer concerned just herself. This lead had been earned through the efforts of the four previous players. Indifferent? That would be disrespectful to their efforts.
She couldn"t ignore this lead. She should try her hardest to protect it!
As soon as the match began, Tang Rou"s Soft Mist rushed out. She went straight for the center like Fang Rui did last round. However, in comparison to Fang Rui, everyone felt like Tang Rou had a different energy to her. Tang Rou"s Battle Mage looked grand and imposing. On the other hand, Fang Rui"s Qi Master had been ruined. His Qi Master looked like he was dying.
Applause!
Happy"s fans wanted to show their support in this deciding round and started cheering for their team. But in the blink of an eye, Tyranny"s fans overwhelmed them with their cheers for Song Qiying.
Song Qiying also went straight for the center.
The lava covered a large portion of the map, and because of how open the terrain was, taking a roundabout path didn"t have much value. Song Qiying wasn"t a player who liked to beat around the bush. There didn"t seem to be any reason for him to circle around even if he only had a fifth of his health left.
Soon, the two sides met.
Song Qiying"s River Sunset immediately slowed down his footsteps. Tang Rou"s Soft Mist? She continued to charge forward!
As expected of someone with that sort of personality and playstyle!
Song Qiying sighed.
Tang Rou"s thought process was too easy for Tyranny"s players to predict. They had practically grown up seeing this sort of playstyle.
Dragon Tooth!
Soft Mist thrust her spear, Dancing Fire Flowing Flames, and it nipped at River Sunset like a viper.
River Sunset swiftly backed away, dodging the Dragon Tooth and putting a distance of two steps between them. But this distance of two steps was instantly traversed by Soft Mist, Double Stab!
Her spear flew out along nearly the same route as the Dragon Tooth. River Sunset retreated again, dodging the first stab. At the same time, he crossed his hands, welcoming the second stab.
Empty-Handed Blade Block!
Facing Tang Rou"s fierce a.s.sault, Song QIying suddenly chose a forceful response after retreating twice.
Why?
The lava three steps away from him could be the answer. Was it because he had nowhere left to escape to? People who thought this might want to recall that Song Qiying had chosen on his own initiative to retreat, which was what led River Sunset into this situation.
How did he respond?
Empty-Handed Blade Block!
This move wasn"t purely defensive. It relied on the system to block the attack and then turned it into a throw. There were many options for the throw. In this current situation, a practiced Striker could easily use the throw to send his opponent into the lava three steps away.
This was Song Qiying"s true purpose. It was a response filled with bravery and confidence. He had courage too. It was just that it differed in the way that Tyranny"s fans were familiar with. His courage hid many schemes. Rapidly retreat three times to bait the opponent into chasing after him. He didn"t hurry to use Empty-Handed Blade Block. Instead, he waited for second hit from Double Stab.
The execution difficulty was higher, but it also made it harder for the opponent to react.
Song Qiying succeeded!
River Sunset"s hands locked Soft Mist"s spear into place.
Without any hesitation, the throw followed the block. He twisted his body, and Soft Mist was thrown towards the lava.
Only three skills had been used so far in their battle, yet one of the players was about to fall into the lava. With this fall, Happy"s lead would likely be destroyed.
Fast and fierce.
Tsk tsk tsk... those who didn"t think highly of Happy clicked their tongues.
But as Soft Mist flew out, she thrust out her Dancing Fire Flowing Flames. The instant River Sunset threw Soft Mist using Empty-Handed Blade Block, her spear became free and stabbed towards River Sunset.
This was the fastest counterattack she could do after being hit by Empty-Handed Blade Block!
River Sunset retreated as fast as he could, but he was still too slow. He was backing away from Soft Mist, but her spear had already struck his chest.
Circle Swing!
The airborne Soft Mist swung her arms, and River Sunset was launched into the air. There was nothing he could do against a grab skill.
Splash! Splash!
The two characters had fallen into the lava simultaneously. However, River Sunset had been thrown deeper into the lava than Soft Mist...
Only four skills had been exchanged between the two of them.
One person falling into the lava? Wrong!
The outcome was far bolder than they could have imagined.
And this situation was much more unfavorable for Song Qiying, who had started with less health to begin with. As a result, as soon as he hit the bottom of the lava, he immediately rolled. He needed to hurry and pull away and get River Sunset onto the sh.o.r.e. Since he was already in the lava, he might as well use it to hide his roll.
Tang Rou"s situation was much less dire than Song Qiying"s. She had the health advantage, so she wasn"t afraid of a fight in the lava. Plus, she was closer to the sh.o.r.e than River Sunset, and she would have an easier time getting out.
A normal player might think of using this advantage to get to the sh.o.r.e first and establish an invincible position.
Tang Rou thought the same. It was just that her method of doing such was more aggressive.
Shattering the Lands!
She had Soft Mist use a high-level skill to directly leap out of the lava. The flames clung to Soft Mist, making her seem like a gigantic fireball, as she crashed towards the sh.o.r.e.
The shockwave of magic erupted outwards. Not only did it the waves thrash violently, it created a deep crater on the sh.o.r.e, which suddenly sunk down towards the lava.
Song Qiying had thought that Tang Rou would get to sh.o.r.e first and defend the area to prevent him from getting out. As a result, he had River Sunset circle around from the bottom of the lava. He would take more damage from the lava, but it was more likely that he would be able to get out of the lava safely.
He hadn"t thought that Tang Rou would make such a huge movement while on land. River Sunset was in the range of the shockwave from Shattering the Lands. He could suddenly feel his character sway left and right, and knew that the situation wasn"t good. The violent waves would better hide him though. Song Qiying wanted to use this chance to quickly get back onto land, when the land that he was about to jump onto suddenly collapsed...
Having just jumped out of the lava, Song Qiying"s expression went ashen. His position had been exposed. The moment his feet landed on the ground, the ground began to crumble, and Soft Mist had come as well.
There was nowhere to retreat. His only choice was to fight.
Despite swaying, River Sunset let out a steady step. His left hand trembled slightly, while his right hand made a punch. It seemed like a very normal and very slow straight punch, but everyone could feel how heavy the blow was. This was the Striker"s killing move: Emperor"s Fist! It didn"t look flashy, but the explosive damage contained within the first was something that no one dared to confront.
No one dared to. That was why Song Qiying believed that this attack would at least create an opening for him.
Others might not, but Tang Rou dared to, or perhaps she simply didn"t care what River Sunset was going to do.
Soft Mist rushed forward! Dragon Breaks the Ranks!
Dragon Breaks the Ranks couldn"t be stopped. Behind River Sunset was lava, and even the ground beneath his feet might turn to lava any second. Tang Rou ignored all of this. Soft Mist rushed straight for River Sunset. She was clearly planning on bringing her opponent down in the lava with her, and it wasn"t something that could be stopped.
Boom!
River Sunset"s fist struck Soft Mist"s spear.
Emperor"s Fist versus Dragon Breaks the Ranks. Which one was stronger?
People had tested it. With both characters on equal levels, the answer was that the two skills were equal in a clash. The Striker using Emperor"s Fist better not think that he could hold his ground, and the Battle Mage using Dragon Breaks the Ranks better not think that he could break past Emperor"s Fist.
But this sort of test was meaningless. The characters were different cla.s.ses with different sets of equipment. In practice, it was impossible for the characters to be on the exact same level. Moreover, in real combat, there were a lot of factors in play that could affect skill priority. The characters themselves and their circ.u.mstances could all affect the outcome of a clash between two skills.
In this clash, it seemed like River Sunset"s Emperor"s Fist had the advantage. Not only had Soft Mist"s Dragon Breaks the Ranks failed to break past him, Soft Mist had been knocked back by the punch.
To think someone using Dragon Breaks the Ranks would be forced to step back. It was truly a rare sight. But then again, for the character struck by Emperor"s Fist not to be blown away, the might of Dragon Breaks the Ranks could also clearly be seen.
River Sunset"s Emperor"s Fist had the advantage, but his situation wasn"t much better. He had originally been standing on a crumbling ground. After the impact from the clash, the ground couldn"t support him any longer, and half of River Sunset"s body disappeared into the lava along with the ground.
Song Qiying immediately had River Sunset jump. In the end, this Emperor"s Fist had given him an opening.
But this small opening had already been exhausted with his jump. Before River Sunset could land back onto the ground, Song Qiying saw Soft Mist"s Dancing Fire Flowing Flames bare its fangs at him.
Rising Dragon Soars the Sky!
Soft Mist ferociously used this high-level attack as she was forced back. The momentum from Dragon Breaks the Ranks was no small matter. Although Emperor"s Fist had forced her back, she hadn"t been stunned for too long from its impact, and she quickly went in pursuit.
If the ground beneath River Sunset hadn"t given out, he wouldn"t have been in a dangerous spot. It was because of that dip into the lava that he needed to make that jump. The opening that he had created had already been patched up by a Rising Dragon!