Chapter 1710: Because He Was Close
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
If there were no opportunities, then create one yourself.
Jiang Botao had realized it, but he was too late. It couldn’t be said that he had been careless. Ye Xiu’s offense looked to be hasty to him, but it had been very subtle. Jiang Botao had noticed the flaw because of his sharp senses. A normal player or even many pro players might not have sensed anything awry with the Collapsing Mountain.
This was one of Jiang Botao’s strengths, but this time, it became his bane. He had noticed this hastiness, but he had been too sensitive.
Jiang Botao didn’t think the Collapsing Mountain into Falling Light Blade was a difficult sequence to execute. Anyone who was familiar with the technique could do it. However, Jiang Botao hadn’t been ready for the subtlety in Lord Grim’s movements, nor did he think his wave slashes could be dodged.
This was a bait specifically targeting him. The bait didn’t target his flaws, but rather his strengths.
If his skill level wasn’t high enough, he would have likely just dodged the Collapsing Mountain like others would. But because he was so skilled, he saw a small flaw in the Collapsing Mountain, and used Wave Wheel Slasher to take advantage of this opening. Unfortunately, it was all a trap that left him open.
Cancel Wave Wheel Slasher!
When Jiang Botao realized that he had fallen for a trap, he immediately cancelled the skill. However, it didn’t matter how fast he was. The ending lag from Wave Wheel Slasher was an opening, and cancelling the skill was an opening too. Lord Grim had already dodged the Wave Wheel Slasher. Whether or not the skill was cancelled was no longer a concern to Ye Xiu because he was fast enough. Lord Grim’s attack was fast enough!
Falling Light Blade fell.
No one knew if Jiang Botao was able to finish cancelling the skill. The shockwave from Falling Light Blade swept by Empty Waves’ feet, launching him into the air.
Sky Strike!
Lord Grim’s Myriad Manifestations Umbrella transformed into a spear. With a flick, it struck Empty Waves, and sent him even higher into the air.
Slas.h.!.+
Empty Waves swung his sword. This was how a pro player should react: defend against the enemy’s attacks.
Unfortunately, Lord Grim wasn’t the only one attacking him. Furthermore, Lord Grim wasn’t someone that could be put to a stop with a swing of a sword. Lord Grim dodged the sword slash. At the same time, his Myriad Manifestations Umbrella transformed into its gun form. Three Anti-Tank Missiles fired out, keeping Empty Waves tumbling in the air. Steamed Bun Invasion threw out a few mid-ranged attacks as well: Poison Needle, Brick, Molotov c.o.c.ktail.
It wasn’t easy to control an airborne character. With the Anti-Tank Missiles keeping him tumbling, Jiang Botao wasn’t able to dodge even a single one of Steamed Bun Invasion’s projectiles.
Falling Light Blade!
In the end, Jiang Botao wasn’t someone easily shaken. After waiting out this wave of attacks, he immediately tried to escape. Empty Waves crashed towards the ground. Suddenly, a wave of sword light flashed by his eyes. A familiar sight.
Wave Wheel Slasher!
The skill, which he had just used and been forced to cancel, was put to use by Ye Xiu’s Lord Grim. There was no time for Jiang Botao to react. He was. .h.i.t!
Empty Waves was held in the air by the rotating waves. At this moment, his teammates, One Autumn Leaf, Cruel Silence, and Cloud Piercer finally arrived.
Hundred Dragon Meteor Strike!
Sun Xiang’s One Autumn Leaf took a stance. The magic bursting forth from his spear, Evil Annihilation, blossomed like a shooting star. The three players on Happy, who were close to Empty Waves, were engulfed by the countless meteor strikes. At the same time, Zhou Zekai’s Cloud Piercer activated Rapid Firing. His bullets rained down, complementing the Hundred Dragon Meteor Strike.
The crowd went wild.
While the connoisseur enjoys the artistry, the layman enjoys the show.
Zhou Zekai and Sun Xiang, the newly crowned Best Partners, had worked together multiple times over the course of this match, yet they had never reached this level of “hype.” And this time, the two had put out a beautiful display of teamwork. Everyone could immediately feel the exquisiteness of their coordination. Cheers echoed throughout the stadium. It was as if this play would wipe out the entirety of Team Happy.
Their combined attack was indeed powerful.
There was no flaw in their attack. The three on Happy were forced to retreat.
However, Happy didn’t only have three people. Samsara had given Su Mucheng complete freedom, though it would perhaps more accurate to note that it wasn’t out of choice. Dancing Rain raised her handcannon. An enormous amount of energy began to condense around it.
Hurricane Cannon!
A Level 75 skill, guaranteeing the might of the attack. If the attack dealt little damage, then it would certainly have a powerful effect.
Hurricane Cannon had both. Because of its power, its start-up time was rather troublesome. The energy had to be charged up, similar to how a spell needed to be casted.
But there was no one marking Su Mucheng. If she wanted to charge up energy, then she could do so without any worry!
Bang!
The speed of the whirlwind was terrifying. As soon as it fired from the cannon, the surrounding air was swept aside. In the blink of an eye, the Hurricane Cannon arrived at the net formed by Sun Xiang and Zhou Zekai.
Hundred Dragon Meteor Strike?
Rapid Firing?
Neither of the two could stop the Hurricane Cannon. Anything in its path was twisted into oblivion. Only a few remnants of the Hundred Dragon Meteor Strike was left.
One Autumn Leaf had to retreat. The Hurricane Cannon had been aimed at him. The Hundred Dragon Meteor Strike was unable to stop its advance. If he didn’t retreat, he would be blasted away by the Hurricane Cannon.
The enemy retreats, I advance!
Hundred Dragon Meteor Strike!
Happy really seemed to have their hearts set on taking revenge. Jiang Botao had used Wave Wheel Slasher to fend off Ye Xiu, who then dodged it and retaliated with his own Wave Wheel Slasher. The three on Happy were forced back by Sun Xiang’s Hundred Dragon Meteor Strike. Right after the attack was neutralized, Happy returned with their own Hundred Dragon Meteor Strike.
But everyone had to admit that using Hundred Dragon Meteor Strike as a counterattack was indeed an appropriate move choice. Wu Qi’s Cruel Silence had been protected by One Autumn Leaf’s and Cloud Piercer’s net. That guy was indeed an expert at hiding himself by putting on an una.s.suming presence. While Zhou Zekai and Sun Xiang attacked, he seemed to be doing nothing. But in reality, he had been waiting quietly for the right moment to burst out.
But this time, the opportunity wasn’t ripe yet, when Dancing Rain blasted everything apart with her Hurricane Cannon. Soft Mist’s Hundred Dragon Meteor Strike complemented the blast with a barrage of spear strikes towards Cruel Silence and One Autumn Leaf.
Retreat. This time, Samsara retreated. Cloud Piercer, who was positioned farther away, was outside of the attack’s range. While Sun Xiang and Wu Qi retreated, Zhou Zekai attacked.
Rapid Firing hadn’t ended yet! Bullets quickly converged, focusing on Soft Mist.
Tang Rou had noticed him adjust his firing angle, and immediately had Soft Mist sway to the side to dodge. As she swayed, her control over the Hundred Dragon Meteor Strike became unsteady, and an opening was exposed.
Chance!
Hiding one’s killing intent and waiting for an opportunity were Wu Qi’s strengths. Even while retreating, he searched for possible openings. The moment he saw one, he immediately grabbed onto it.
Forward!
s.h.i.+ning Cut would be too slow. Wu Qi didn’t hold back, making sure that he seized this opportunity.
Teleporting Stab!
An instant three-unit distance teleport. It was far faster than s.h.i.+ning Cut. However, Cruel Silence was more than three units away from Soft Mist. No matter how fast the skill was, it wouldn’t move him far enough.
Flickering Stab!
Wu Qi was aware of this issue. After Teleporting Stab came Flickering Stab. The three steps became four steps.
Wasteful!
Using Teleporting Stab solely as a movement skill was truly rather wasteful. However, if not for Teleporting Stab, how could he launch such a lightning-fast offense? The two skills were chained together perfectly. It was practically impossible to see the transition between the two skills. The Teleporting Stab seemed to suddenly transform into Flickering Stab.
Did he cancel the skill?
The pro players were in a discussion. If he hadn’t cancelled the skill, the transition couldn’t have been so smooth. But if he hadn’t cancelled, then Wu Qi’s hand speed in that instant must have been astonis.h.i.+ng. Who knew how many times he had practiced this dual stab technique.
Such skill, such speed, how could it be dodged? Impossible! There was no time to react!
But right before the strike was completed, Cruel Silence suddenly froze.
Paralysis?
Wu Qi was dumbfounded.
Paralysis Needle?
He saw a swaying Steamed Bun Invasion in his view.
Steamed Bun Invasion had stopped such a fast attack? He had actually noticed it and reacted to it in time?
How?
Wu Qi thought it was impossible. If a reporter interviewed Steamed Bun this question right now, Wu Qi would certainly cough blood at the answer.
Because he was close. Steamed Bun would definitely reply back with this answer.
Yes, because he was close.
This was Steamed Bun’s simplistic way of thinking. He had to join the battle. He had to find a target to attack. He had been evaluating who to attack, and wanted to find one which he would pose the biggest threat to.
The closer he was to the target, the bigger of a threat he would be. Although Brawlers had mid-ranged attacks, their main source of damage was from close-ranged attacks.
So the closest target was the easiest for him to attack.
While he had been looking for a target, Wu Qi discovered an opening, and Cruel Silence charged out!
At that moment, Steamed Bun’s eyes lit up.
Wasn’t Cruel Silence the closest target?
So he immediately attacked.
A Paralysis Needle was thrown.
The thin Paralysis Needle was difficult to notice in the first place. Even if Wu Qi had noticed it, Cruel Silence had been moving extremely fast. It would have been a huge test for Wu Qi’s reaction speed.
There was no need to administer the test though. Wu Qi failed to notice the needle.
It was unexpectedly Steamed Bun who interrupted him. This time, he was swift. This time, he had done something intelligent. This time, he had done something that even Ye Xiu hadn’t been able to do.
That was what Wu Qi believed.
But in reality, it wasn’t a reaction. It was simply because he was the closest.