Chapter 15: Showdown (2)
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
Hundred Blossoms versus Tyranny, this was the match that received the most attention this round. Everyone who looked favorably upon Hundred Blossoms wondered how they would make their comeback.
But the fans of the various teams would of course pay attention to their own team’s match, first and foremost.
Compared to the first game, Blue Rain’s audience section was much less crowded today.
“Beat Ye Qiu!” But in the audience area, there was still a youth hollering with all his might.
The audience laughed, giving sympathetic glances toward this youth.
Most of those who had watched the first game live recognized this youth. Apparently he was called Huang Shaotian, a member of Blue Rain’s training camp, the self-proclaimed future core of Blue Rain.
They were just the words of a child, so everyone simply laughed. Huang Shaotian’s pa.s.sionate and unwavering support toward Team Blue Rain meant that they had no way of hating this youth. The other youth with him seemed much quieter; he wasn’t jumping around or shouting. He carried a leather notebook with him, and would frequently write in it over the course of a match.
Apparently he was also from Blue Rain’s training camp, called Yu Wenzhou or something. And he paid closer attention to the match than anyone. Occasionally, a fellow audience member wanted to say something to him, but it was as though his ears were deaf. He was entirely immersed in the match, and so, no one else bothered him.
Today, Huang Shaotian still cheered on Blue Rain with boundless energy. And Yu Wenzhou’s mood seemed to be much more serious than it had been last game. He was probably thinking about the possibility that Blue Rain would be eliminated, thought the fans, and they couldn’t help but feel pity for this Yu Wenzhou with his grave expression.
“They’ll win.” One young woman sitting next to Yu Wenzhou said this to him, hoping to lift the upset expression from this child’s face.
Yu Wenzhou glanced at her, and didn’t say anything.
“Although it’ll be very difficult…” the woman added. He was only a child, but that didn’t mean that his Glory skill was low, especially since someone had already said he was from Blue Rain’s training camp. The child was certainly aware of the difficulty, so the woman voluntarily pointed it out.
“Yes… It’ll be very difficult,” said Yu Wenzhou. Of course, the woman didn’t know, Yu Wenzhou’s judgment was far clearer than she imagined.
If they wanted to win this match, it would be very difficult, extremely difficult.
There was only one possibility.
The opponent had to make a mistake, a grave mistake, a fatal mistake.
Aside from that, Yu Wenzhou truly could not think of any other way they could win. There was already such a disparity between Ye Qiu’s strength and Blue Rain. Unless he himself made a mistake, there was no way for Blue Rain to create any sort of opportunity.
Would Ye Qiu mess up?
Yu Wenzhou studied all of the match data he could find on Ye Qiu.
Ye Qiu was human, and no human was infallible. But Ye Qiu could discover his own mistakes a step ahead of his opponent. Before his opponent could take advantage of an opening caused by a blunder, he would have already rushed to cover it. Many times, the opponent didn’t even have the chance to see Ye Qiu’s opening in the first place.
To do this to this extent, he could be called invulnerable. Yu Wenzhou tried to imagine how to lead Ye Qiu to make a mistake, but he quickly discarded that train of thought.
All-around technique. Superb awareness. Thorough experience. Nimble reactions. Shocking hand speed.
The more Yu Wenzhou studied Ye Qiu, the more frightening this player seemed. Yu Wenzhou never could have imagined that a player like Ye Qiu could exist, a being so perfect, who would never expose any holes.
To hope for such a person to make a mistake…
Yu Wenzhou figured that only poison or such outside techniques would work. Of course, he couldn’t do that.
And so, Ye Qiu was unstoppable.
And so, Blue Rain would lose.
Yu Wenzhou had already predicted the outcome of this match in advance. Carrying this mood, he watched from the audience. And ultimately, the end result was as expected.
Blue Rain lost, miserably. Like sweeping away dead branches, Ye Qiu and Excellent Era defeated them. Of the four concurrent playoffs matches, this one had ended the fastest.
Excellent Era was the first team to enter the semifinals, but their celebrations and those of their fans were rather calm. A victory that was within their expectations wouldn’t make them particularly excited.
Blue Rain’s fans, although saddened, didn’t find this difficult to digest. This, too, was an outcome they had long antic.i.p.ated.
But that lively youth still refused to give it a rest. “Useless old b.a.s.t.a.r.d!” he was yelling. “Couldn’t even beat Ye Qiu, what the h.e.l.l are you doing?”
What an obnoxious brat.
The fans within earshot suddenly found him less cute than before. True, Blue Rain had lost miserably, but the team members had fought to their fullest. Especially Captain Wei Chen, who, despite his worsening condition, had brought out his full strength in this battle. His performance this match demonstrated a brilliance that was rare to see from him these days.
Blue Rain had put in the effort, the opponent was simply too strong!
At a time like this, blaming the hardworking players like this, it was frankly disrespectful.
“Kid, don’t go talking nonsense,” someone pointed out, none too politely.
“Captain Wei Chen’s performance was already very good.”
“It’s thanks to his leadership that no one underestimates Blue Rain. Excellent Era had to struggle to defeat him today.”
“There’s always next season!”
Everyone spoke up.
Huang Shaotian didn’t say any more. At his silence, everyone felt the urge to comfort him. But no one had truly grasped the essence of why this youth was so upset.
Like everyone, he knew that Ye Qiu and Excellent Era were strong, he knew that the task that Wei Chen and the others had before them was an impossible one. Still, he couldn’t control his desire to see them succeed.
Because he knew, this, might be Wei Chen’s final time onstage.
Blue Rain would have a next season, but Wei Chen would not. Even though it had never been explicitly said, many people in the team had already guessed, and Senior Fang Shijing had accidentally revealed news of Wei Chen’s preparations for retirement.
Wei Chen would have no more shot at victory, and so this time, Huang Shaotian had hoped beyond hope that Blue Rain would win. But in the end, they had been met with this crushing defeat in the first round.
Blue Rain’s players walked out of the compet.i.tor booths and acknowledged the crowd. Their Season 2 ended here.
Captain Wei Chen was among them, but he had inadvertently widened the gap between himself and the rest of the team.
He stood there alone, looking around, as though searching for something lost.
And then, as he stood onstage, he lit a cigarette, taking a drag. Immediately, he was surrounded by security guards, and upon refusing to extinguish the cigarette, he was respectfully but firmly escorted off the stage. Surrounded by the guards, he raised a hand and waved at Blue Rain’s audience section
The audience burst into laughter, but the tears were already spilling down Huang Shaotian’s cheeks.
Yu Wenzhou watched as Wei Chen’s silhouette disappeared into the player pa.s.sageway. He was lost in thought for a moment, before he refocused on the ongoing matches below.
There were still three more matches that hadn’t yet finished. The match that had attracted the most attention was currently at its fiercest.
Hundred Blossoms versus Tyranny. If they won, they still had one more game, one more chance at life; if they lost, their season ended here.
Starting from the first game, everyone had favored Hundred Blossoms. Even though they had lost the first game, people placed even higher hopes on them for the second game.
But in the end, Hundred Blossoms once again entered a bitter battle.
The match had already reached the team compet.i.tion. In the individual round and group arena earlier, both sides had won some points. The team compet.i.tion would determine the final victory. And after an unusually long stalemate in this tug-of-war, Hundred Blossoms’ supporters finally let out a sigh of relief.
Just about to win, right?
This is what they were all thinking.
Who knew that Tyranny would be so difficult?
There were also people beginning to think highly of Tyranny.
What’ll next round be like? It’s really hard to say!
Some people were also beginning to think that Hundred Blossoms wasn’t guaranteed to win against Tyranny.
But the battle had not yet truly ended.
Too many people chose to forget this point, simply because the situation on the battlefield seemed to be very clear.
The large majority of characters had already fallen. From Tyranny, the only one let was their captain Han Wenqing’s Desert Dust. And Hundred Blossoms, both halves of the dual-core Blood and Blossoms were still there. This was a partnership that embodied the idea of one plus one greater than two. And Han Wenqing was by himself. Was there any question of Hundred Blossoms’ victory?
No one thought it was still in question, including the onstage Sun Zheping and Zhang Jiale. Having played to here, the two of them let out a breath.
“Senior, you have let us win,” Sun Zheping said in the match channel, very seriously. These were the polite words that were customarily said by the winners of a match. All this time, the person he had paid attention to most was Ye Qiu. Although Sun Zheping recognized the strength of Han Wenqing, whose style was very similar to his own, he had still overlooked him just a bit. At least, he had never put him at the same level as Ye Qiu.
But with this match, after the victory was decided, he placed Han Wenqing at the same height as Ye Qiu.
“Defeating you is just as difficult as defeating Ye Qiu,” Sun Zheping continued in the chat. This was truly very high praise. The audience, seeing Sun Zheping acknowledge Han Wenqing to this extent, went into an uproar. No one thought that Han Wenqing was as strong as Ye Qiu – everyone felt that Sun Zheping’s words here were the polite words of a victor.
But Han Wenqing’s reply quickly popped up.
“Have I lost?” he asked.
Everyone was surprised for a moment, and then they couldn’t help but laugh.
Technically, Han Wenqing of course hadn’t lost yet, but the battle was already to this point, what chance did he have at victory? Squatting here and nitpicking the opponent’s words like this, this stubbornness was really ungraceful! At this time, was it that difficult to type a “GG” and quit?
Just from demeanor, he wasn’t first-cla.s.s enough! This was what many people thought. But Han Wenqing’s Desert Dust suddenly charged from a corner, flying forward, throwing a punch toward Sun Zheping’s Blossoming Chaos.
Sun Zheping was currently reviewing his own actions! He felt that his words just now had indeed been a bit disrespectful toward his opponent. Even if the situation was as clear as it was now, the battle hadn’t ended yet! And then, in the blink of an eye, Desert Dust had already rushed toward him. His body flying through the air cast a shadow in his view, and Desert Dust sent a Collapsing Fist roaring toward Blossoming Chaos’ head.
Retreat!
Han Wenqing’s sudden, powerful attack had caught Sun Zheping off-guard, but he was still able to respond. Blossoming Chaos took a small jump backward, lifting his greatsword in his two hands.
Wave Wheel Slasher!
A low-level Spellblade skill, very useful in surpa.s.sing the grab priority of Super Armor. Because of this, no Swordsman player would give up this skill, even if they only learned it to Level 1.
The midair Desert Dust had nowhere to run, and could only watch the magic enchantment that sparked around the sword thrusting toward him. At the same time, there was the sound of gunshots and hand grenades flew out. Zhang Jiale’s reaction was no slower than Sun Zheping’s; Dazzling Hundred Blossoms’ attack had already begun.
Desert Dust, unwilling to yield, was exposed to the sword edge and gun muzzle of Hundred Blossoms’ dual-stars. Those in the audience who had felt that Han Wenqing had lost the proper demeanor now felt a bit lost, as Desert Dust’s posture was still as unyielding as ever. Refusing to give in until the final moment – this was Han Wenqing’s style.
The sword flashed.
Shockwaves spun and expanded in the air. The grenades that Dazzling Hundred Blossoms threw had already connecting, causing explosions everywhere.
But at this moment, Desert Dust’s body suddenly plummeted.
How?
Sun Zheping was shocked. He had clearly already been hit by Blossoming Chaos’ Wave Wheel Slasher, but the grab hadn’t been completed?
There was only one possibility.
Boom!
Desert Dust hit the ground, and the entire earth seemed to shake. Sun Zheping could feel that his Blossoming Chaos had bounced up slightly, a movement out of his control.
Thousand Ton Drop!
Thousand Ton Drop, a skill that could defeat the grab priority of any other skill, a skill with a powerful Super Armor effect. As the attack had come toward him without any delay, Desert Dust had changed his punch into this skill.
Sun Zheping had been able to react to Desert Dust’s sudden powerful attack earlier, but this abrupt change now left him helpless.
The opponent had planned for this early on. Attacking through the sky wasn’t just to seem more solemn and tragic, but was to lure Sun Zheping into using Wave Wheel Slasher.
Blossoming Chaos’ weapon was the greatsword, with the slowest attack speed. The recovery animation for Wave Wheel Slasher would also be relatively long.
Just because of that one bit of slowness, Sun Zheping had no way of keeping up with Han Wenqing’s attack rhythm.
The Thousand Ton Drop sent Blossoming Chaos just barely off the ground, but Desert Dust’s fists were already swinging.
Straight Punch.
Desert Dust’s fists charged toward Blossoming Chaos, bringing himself rushing forward as well, still maintaining a close range with Blossoming Chaos. After instantly sliding through three body-lengths, a Front Kick was used.
On the other side, Dazzling Hundred Blossoms wasn’t just standing around doing nothing, but Desert Dust was moving so fast that the string of grenades thrown out all landed behind him. And because he was now in such close range with Blossoming Chaos right now, Dazzling Hundred Blossoms couldn’t find the target with his muzzle. Zhang Jiale was currently controlling Dazzling Hundred Blossoms to find an angle, but Blossoming Chaos, kicked back by the Front Kick, now came crashing into Dazzling Hundred Blossoms.
Zhang Jiale immediately controlled Dazzling Hundred Blossoms to dodge, but a silhouette flashed in his view as Han Wenqing’s Desert Dust had already activated Cloud Body. Like a shadow, he continued to stay close to Blossoming Chaos. But this time, Dazzling Hundred Blossoms, who had only just dodged his teammate, had now entered Desert Dust’s close range.
Double Tiger Fist!
Desert Dust’s two fists flipped upward, one left one right, hitting both Blossoming Chaos and Dazzling Hundred Blossoms at once.
The entire stadium was stunned, watching as Desert Dust’s hurricane-like flurry of punches and kicks landed upon the bodies of this Blossom Duo.
How to play one against two?
Han Wenqing gave a simple answer: string the two opponents together, and attack them both.
The health of the two characters plummeted.
Relying on the kicks and punches of a Striker to stick to two opponents at once couldn’t last long. Soon enough, because of a cooldown that hadn’t ended, the attacker would be stuck in a position where he couldn’t continue.
But this was the endgame. No one had much health remaining. This couldn’t last for long, but it was enough, especially since Han Wenqing was very deliberately aiming his attacks for maximum damage.
After the combo finished, Blossoming Chaos stood in place unmoving. Under everyone’s incredulous gazes, his health reached zero, and he slowly toppled over onto the ground. Desert Dust’s attacks didn’t stop, immediately heading toward Dazzling Hundred Blossoms. Attacking one person, he used a different pattern.
A Gunner stuck close-range to a Striker, what would the result be?
This conclusion seemed as foregone as the earlier tragic situation, but right now, no one had the time to digest this result – everyone still hadn’t woken up from the earlier “foregone” conclusion being completely shattered.
Hundred Blossoms’ dual core against Han Wenqing alone. They were going to lose?
By the time everyone began to realize this point, the result was already displayed before them, undeniably clear.
Dazzling Hundred Blossoms fell. Desert Dust became the last man standing.
The victor was Han Wenqing.
The team entering the next round was Team Tyranny.