Chapter 1590: Attack
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
It was the final moment. There was no room for mistakes. Usually, players would lean towards caution. Success second, no mistakes first. It might not look too flashy, but those who understood Glory knew from experience the thrill of it.
Cloud Piercer had 20% of his health left, while Lord Grim had less than 10%.
With this health difference, most people wouldn’t consider it a desperate situation, but rather an advantageous one for Cloud Piercer.
That wasn’t what the spectating pro players thought though because they had thought of how Ye Xiu could win this match. Thinking back of their experiences with Ye Xiu, they a.n.a.lyzed how much health he would have if he used Small, Great, and Holy Cure back to back.
4%? 5%? 6%? Higher?
For a specialized healer, the amount of health healed would be a joke to them. But at this moment, it could be what saved Ye Xiu. With Lord Grim’s advantage over Cloud Pierce in close combat, a few extra percent in health would likely be enough for him to win.
“If you ride a tiger, it’s hard to get off. It looks like Zhou Zekai’s the one in trouble!” Huang Shaotian said. He spoke as if it was set in stone that Lord Grim would heal his health.
“Maybe not?” Some of the pro players were trying to think of other possibilities.
“With how crafty and despicable that guy is, it’s probably going to happen,” Zhang Jiale nodded his head.
“He’s been holding back, waiting for the very last moment to decide this match with one move. Doesn’t it feel similar to that one play? What was it? Right, it was when Cloud Piercer dodged Lord Grim’s Sky Strike. Zhou Zekai had waited until the very last moment before dodging so that Ye Xiu wouldn’t be able to react in time! Don’t you think it’s kind of similar?” The more Huang Shaotian talked, the more excited he became. As for that “one play”, he had just been referring to a small little detail in this fight. No wonder he remembered it so clearly.
“When is he planning on acting?” No one answered him. Huang Shaotian didn’t seem to care and continued on.
The two were still fighting, their health bars dropping. A short while later, Cloud Piercer’s health had dropped to 14%, while Lord Grim’s health had dropped to 5%. A single high damage skill could remove that last 5%, but with both sides being cautious, no such opportunity was given. Their health continued to slowly decline bit by bit. Just watching it made people sit on the edges of their seat.
Isn’t it about time he healed?
People like Huang Shaotian and Zhang Jiale were certain that Ye Xiu would heal. They felt like it was about time. 5% health was too dangerous. Cloud Piercer could kill him easily in one combo. Was there any need for him to slowly grind away at Lord Grim until death?
Yes! There was no need!
Zhou Zekai had been playing cautiously the entire time to the extent that he would even go so far as to dodge half of a Gore Cross. His opponent only had 5% of his health left, while his Cloud Piercer had 14%. He suddenly rushed forward!
“He’s going to rush him!!” Wu Yuce shouted.
When Lord Grim had 10% of his health left, Wu Yuce had already felt like Zhou Zekai could just rush him down, but with everyone talking about those instant heals that Ye Xiu could use, it was quite easy to understand why Zhou Zekai would rather be a bit more careful.
Rus.h.i.+ng down the opponent would come at the sacrifice of a large amount of his health. If he wasn’t able to kill off Lord Grim and Lord Grim healed himself to survive, he would be in deep trouble.
Not rus.h.i.+ng down Ye Xiu at that time showed how clear-minded Zhou Zekai was. He was the same as the spectating pro players. He had considered these possibilities. It wasn’t as difficult as guessing what skills Ye Xiu could choose to use. Healing was its own ent.i.ty, and no one would forget that Lord Grim could heal. In this situation, healing would be immensely effective. The pro players had realized it, and Zhou Zekai did too. As a result, he played more cautiously. It was only when Lord Grim had 5% of his health left did Zhou Zekai choose to rush him down. He was confident that with this health difference, he could take down Ye Xiu in one combo and not give him an opportunity to heal!
Ye Xiu was waiting for the right moment to heal. Zhou Zekai was waiting for the right moment to rush him.
Huang Shaotian, Zhang Xinjie, and many other pro players felt like it was time for Ye Xiu to heal, but Zhou Zekai had picked this moment to make the first move!
“Ai!” Huang Shaotian gave a deep sigh.
He was a master opportunist. Both players wanted to seize this opportunity, but in the end, Zhou Zekai had seized it first. Was it over?
Not yet!
Cloud Piercer twisted his body, ready to fire. Suddenly, he saw a flash of cold light. Lord Grim’s Myriad Manifestations Umbrella thrust towards him.
Dragon Tooth!
Zhou Zekai had no choice but to dodge. Dragon Tooth stunned, which would disrupt his rhythm.
Cloud Piercer twisted his body, dodging the Dragon Tooth. His body was moving, but his two guns aimed true as they fired towards Lord Grim. The Dragon Tooth hadn’t affected his rush.
Bullets flew out, but Ye Xiu seemed to have predicted it. Lord crouched. At this close of a distance, he was unexpectedly able to dodge the bullets. Then, he unsheathed the handle of the Myriad Manifestations Umbrella, and used the Berserker skill: Colliding Stab!
Charge!
The two were only three steps away. For normal players, it was a distance impossible to dodge the attack. However, Ye Xiu was facing Zhou Zekai, the most extraordinary in Glory. Three steps were the same as zero steps for normal players, but for Zhou Zekai, it was more than enough.
Dodge!
The instant Ye Xiu unsheathed his sword, Zhou Zekai’s Cloud Piercer reacted. In a high-level confrontation like this, neither of them would just be standing still exchanging blows. The two were constantly moving. All of their attacking, defending, and dodging were done while moving. Cloud Piercer dodged the Dragon Tooth, while also taking the next step. When Lord Grim had used Colliding Stab, he had already taken half a step. He would dodge it.
But he didn’t!
Zhou Zekai had unexpectedly made an error in judgement. The attack distance wasn’t three steps. The area covered by the strike was far greater than Zhou Zekai had expected.
Because the Colliding Stab hadn’t come from the tachi unsheathed from the umbrella. The tachi had only been unsheathed halfway before retracting. Lord Grim had kept the same stance after using Dragon Tooth and then followed with a Colliding Stab.
As a result, the distance of three steps was in fact zero steps. Because when the Dragon Tooth came out, the umbrella had completed those three steps. All it did next was switch forms. The tachi had been a feint. The Myriad Manifestations Umbrella had transformed into the strange greatsword form. The canvas of the umbrella was considered the blade of the greatsword. As a result, the greatsword was ridiculously big, and the area covered by Colliding Stab was much bigger as a result.
Hit!
Cloud Piercer had been hit by the Colliding Stab. This skill didn’t only have a knockback. The sword pierced through the target, flying out along with the target.
Bang!
Cloud Piercer crashed into a stalact.i.te. There was nowhere for him to retreat to. Lord Grim closed in. At such a close distance, all Zhou Zekai could see was Lord Grim’s emotionless face.
Not good!
Zhou Zekai had realized that the situation was bad. They were too close, so close that even a cla.s.s with a close-ranged weapon like a Blade Master would feel uncomfortable let alone a long-ranged cla.s.s. At such a close distance, only punches and kicks could be performed. In other words, Fighter skills!
Bang!
Headb.u.t.t, another Headb.u.t.t.
Head against head, for a second time!
A punch to the stomach soon followed. It wasn’t even a skill, but a normal attack.
Lord Grim’s offense had begun. Zhou Zekai obviously wasn’t going to just sit and let Lord Grim hit him. Cloud Piercer used Knee Strike!
Knee Strike was a low-level Sharpshooter skill. It used the knee to strike the opponent. It was similar to the Brawler’s Knee Attack. The attack didn’t have grab priority, but it had Super Armor. It meant that only a grab skill could interrupt it. As a shared low-level Gunner skill, it was considered a G.o.dly skill for Gunners in getting out of close combat.
But the moment Cloud Piercer raised his knee, Lord Grim grabbed his leg and then threw Cloud Piercer onto his shoulder before slamming him back into the stalact.i.te.
Grappler skill: Receiving Throw. It was a dismantle skill, a grab that ignored Super Armor.
A sudden s.h.i.+ft. Everyone was dumbstruck, including the spectating pro players.
Heal?
That was their own wishful thinking? Lord Grim hadn’t bothered to heal. When his health dropped to 5%, Zhou Zekai rushed at him. As for Ye Xiu? He did the same! Ye Xiu also decided to rush at Zhou Zekai.
Rush down the opponent when you only had 5% of your health left?
It didn’t seem logical. Rus.h.i.+ng down the opponent at that health? That was suicide. When rus.h.i.+ng, the amount of damage taken was often more than the amount of damage dealt. Trying to kill the opponent relying on such low health would be rude.
Cloud Piercer had a lot of health left. That was why Zhou Zekai rushed at Ye Xiu!
Lord Grim had little health left. Ye Xiu had unexpectedly done the same?
Inconceivable. But that was what he did. Now, Cloud Piercer was pinned to the stalact.i.te, with no room to run.The Gunner King was like the stuffing in a dumpling, squeezed together by the wonton wrapper, trapped and unable to escape.
The 14% health was peeled off layer by layer, but was it enough?
Lord Grim could only use Fighter skills. Among those, skills like Qi Bullet were unsuitable and useless to him in this situation.
He had only had a few low-level skills that he could use, yet he needed to finish off Cloud Piercer in one go.
Punch, kick, knee, elbow, head…
Lord Grim used every part of the body that he could use to attack.
13%, 12%, 11%…
Right now, everyone wasn’t thinking about what Zhou Zekai could do, but rather whether Ye Xiu could continue this combo until the end.
The broadcast was clever. The broadcast team quickly figured out where the key lay and immediately pulled out Lord Grim’s skill tree to show everyone his cooldowns.
The umbrella was in its Fighter weapon form. All other cla.s.s skills were gray, unable to be used. Among the Fighter skills available to Lord Grim, there was a big red question mark. It was the bonus skill on his Claw form. It wouldn’t appear in the skill tree. However, everyone knew that Ye Xiu had chosen to add Headb.u.t.t.
All of his skills were low-level, so the cooldowns weren’t long.
Even so, was it possible for him to chain these skills long enough to finish off Cloud Piercer?
“It’s not enough…” Someone said. Pan Lin and Li Yibo obviously wouldn’t dare to come to this conclusion. These two were too afraid of making any remarks towards Ye Xiu.
It was Han Wenqing who said it. He was the expert at close combat and also a Fighter cla.s.s. His judgement was naturally very reliable.
“It’s probably just by a bit,” w.a.n.g Jiexi said.
Would this tiny bit be enough for Zhou Zekai to turn it around?
Everyone’s gaze returned to the stage. They would know soon enough. Lord Grim’s Fighter skills would soon all be on cooldown. He would only be able to use normal skills or other cla.s.s skills. He wouldn’t be able to keep up an inescapable combo.
Zhou Zekai couldn’t see Lord Grim’s skill tree, yet he seemed to see it more clearly than any of the ones who could see it. He immediately saw the opening and seized it.
Roundhouse Kick! Cloud Piercer spun around with a kick, but Lord Grim had already activated Cloud Body and jumped out of the way.
Cloud Piercer jumped up, pulled out his gun, and fired wildly!
Lord Grim’d body flickered. The distance of three steps was instantly closed.
Blade out, blade in.
a.s.sa.s.sin skill: Teleporting Stab.
Cloud Piercer’s health dropped to zero.
“Nice try. You were close :)” Ye Xiu typed into chat with a smiley face.