The match-up seemed rather unfavorable toward us. On the other hand, every member in the enemy"s team was a powerhouse, so it was always going to be a headache no matter how we arranged our line-up.
The first match was Beiming Xue versus the magic knight Enlightened Heart. I had fought this guy during the Nation War, and, at the time, his mechanical skill, cla.s.s skills and equipment were already first-tier at least, and super-tier at best.
"Beiming!" I called out to her.
Beiming Xue looked at me with a smile and asked, "What is it, big bro?"
"Enlightened Heart is a 5-Stamina tank with average attack power and a ridiculous amount of Defense and HP. Even so, I want you to stay out of his range and deplete his HP little by little. Also, don"t forget that seventh-promotion magic knights have Trapping Net. You"re dead if he catches you even once, understand?"
"Yes, I know!"
Beiming Xue shot me a cute smile before teleporting into the battlefield. The terrain was a gra.s.sy field.
A few seconds later, Enlightened Heart did the same and summoned his mount, a black warhorse. Holding a spear in one hand and a s.h.i.+eld in the other, he watched Beiming Xue indifferently as he waited for the battle to begin.
It was magic knight versus archer. One side would try to wear down the enemy from range, while the other would try to catch up and kill them before the inevitable end.
……
Beiming Xue was already backing away from the magic knight when the countdown hit zero. Snowflakes appeared around the Ice Soul Feather as she loosed Freezing Arrow!
Swhoos.h.!.+
The arrow flew straight toward Enlightened Heart, but the magic knight had more than enough time to dodge it. Distance was both pain and joy for an archer. If they were too far away from the enemy, then there was little chance they could hit. But if they were too close, then they risked being caught and killed in a flurry of steel.
However, it looked like Beiming Xue predicted that the Freezing Arrow would miss because she immediately followed up with Skypiercer!
Swhoosh swhoosh...
The skill"s area of effect was too big, so Enlightened Heart had no choice but to block it with his s.h.i.+eld. He took two hits and lost a total of 50k+ HP, but it didn"t even amount to 15% of his total HP. This meant that Enlightened Heart"s max HP was around 400k, maybe more. He had also used an HP-boosting card before the match.
While Enlightened Heart was blocking the Skypiercer, Beiming Xue made the snap decision to adjust her tactic and cast a hexagram right next to her feet. The next moment, a brawny warhorse emerged from the center and allowed its beautiful little master to climb onto its back. After that, she continued moving away from Enlightened Heart while shooting Spiraling Arrow Blades and more Skypiercers at her opponent.
A chorus of applause and cheers pierced the veil of virtual reality and entered our ears. This was the first time anyone who wasn"t in the know saw a mounted archer, and the first time our unique unit was exposed to the public.
The Dragonlight Horse already had incredible speed, but Beiming Xue waved her hand again and activated Dragon Soul Protection as well, boosting her Attack and Defense by a whopping 50%. She was almost invincible right now.
Enlightened Heart grew anxious. It didn"t look like he was catching up to Beiming Xue anytime soon, so he took a gamble and activated Charge. However, he missed and fell into Beiming Xue"s Well of the Abyss instead, losing 140k+ HP instantly. Even better, he ate 11 arrows of the 12-arrow Evil Spirit Volley right after the spell lost its effect. Forget 5-Stamina, even a 10-Stamina magic knight wouldn"t be able to survive something like this.
Enlightened Heart let out a groan and fell off his mount. He lost the distance game completely and was destroyed before he ever got close to Beiming Xue!
The next round was not much different from the first. Enlightened Heart had no idea how to deal with Beiming Xue"s new ability, not to mention that her kiting was top-notch. Once she dodged the enemy"s Trapping Net and Charge, all Enlightened Heart could do was wait for Beiming Xue to kill him. He could be the strongest man in the world, but there was nothing he could do without being able to touch her. Just like that, first blood was drawn by Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls!
The score turned 1:0. Thanks to Beiming Xue"s excellent performance, we had successfully made our first step toward the semi-finals!
The second round was Lian Xin versus the guild leader and ace of Throne of the Wild, Tear Stain!
Swhoosh swhoos.h.!.+
The terrain was Creek Valley. The Phantasm of Stars appeared on one side of the creek, and Tear Stain on the other. Unlike Enlightened Heart, she decided against riding a mount to the battlefield, choosing lightning-fast flexibility over increased movement speed.
"Little girl, you seem like a strong mage. Would you like to develop yourself in Korea?" Tear Stain smiled in a ridiculing manner at her. "I might make you a vice leader if you say yes!"
Lian Xin didn"t answer her immediately. After blanking out for almost 10 seconds, she finally said, "If you let me become the guild leader and surrender Throne of the Wild completely to the China server, then I"ll agree to join you."
"How dare you…" Tear Stain"s eyes sharpened a little.
The countdown began. The duel between two hot-headed girls was about to begin!
Thud!
Tear Stain ran across the creek the second the countdown hit zero, the smooth, slippery round rocks failing to slow her even the slightest. After she activated Great Earth Transformation, she cried, "Void Barrier!"
A ring appeared beneath Tear Stain"s feet, and a purple barrier spread around her when she activated her Divine General Skill. At the same time, the combat log displayed the effects of her Divine General Skill: All attacks within the barrier have a 50% chance to miss its target!
50% miss rate? That"s terrifying!
Lian Xin understood the danger herself, so she backed away and slapped down three Origin Force Fields in a row. Then, she cast Dimensional Storm at where she predicted Tear Stain to come through. It was one of her most cla.s.sic kill combos. The three Origin Force Fields would force her opponent to travel the one path where her Dimensional Storm awaited!
However, Tear Stain smiled the moment the force fields appeared around her. She suddenly sped up and zoomed past the force fields like a lightning bolt, escaping the lockdown while Lian Xin was still casting her Dimensional Storm!
"Heavens!"
Both Beiming Xue and I felt our eyes widened. Lian Xin"s Origin Force Field was instant, and yet Tear Stain had slipped past them almost like they didn"t exist. It took an insane amount of movement speed, reaction speed and foresight to pull off a stunt like this!
This was the moment we started treating the number one Korean player seriously. Tear Stain was so skilled she might even be stronger than Candlelight Shadow right now!
Tear Stain ran toward Lian Xin in a straight line after she slipped past the force fields. Before she got close though, she abruptly altered her speed, dashed in the opposite direction Lian Xin was expecting her to go, and charged toward Lian Xin again like a true lightning bolt. Once she got close, she swung her sword and cried, "Ice Blade Slas.h.!.+"
Swhoos.h.!.+
A snowflake appeared on the blade. The skill ignored Lian Xin"s Telekinetic s.h.i.+eld and hit her directly, freezing her for 1.5 seconds.
Tear Stain wasn"t going to give up the golden opportunity, of course. She thrust her sword once more and used Barrier Break!
90201!
A huge damage number appeared above Lian Xin"s head, and the girl was sent out of the arena just like that. She muttered in a daze as she stood next to us, "OMG, how is this woman so fast…"
Beiming Xue nodded, but chided her, "She"s very quick, but you underestimated your enemy too much yourself! It"s because you haven"t had a single loss so far!"
I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you"re pretty fast yourself, so you shouldn"t have slipped up like that. Lin Yixin is even faster than Tear Stain, and yet you managed to fight her to a draw, didn"t you? You have nothing to fear from this Tear Stain."
"Mn, okay. Don"t worry, I swear I"ll win this round!"
"Watch out for that Ice Blade Slash, Little Xin.
"Got it!"
……
The second round began instantly.
This time though, it was Tear Stain who underestimated her opponent. When Ice Blade Slash came down on Lian Xin, the mage Blinked away and hit her with Gravity Trap, slowing her drastically. After that, the round fell into Lian Xin"s rhythm completely. Several highly damaging Ice Spiral Matrixes and path-blocking Origin Force Fields later, the number one Korean player dropped to her knees and died.
It was 1:1. The match continued to a third round.
This time, both women went all out against one another. Lian Xin fired 11 Origin Force Fields immediately after the countdown hit zero. Tear Stain went supernova herself and weaved in and out of the Origin Force Fields like a ballet dancer.
However, Tear Stain took Touch of the Dragonkiss to the face the second she escaped the encirclement!
"Ah!"
Tear Stain exclaimed in shock, but quickly discovered that the spell had missed. It was all thanks to her Void Barrier. Recovering from her shock, Tear Stain rushed toward Lian Xin from the flank and fired a long-range skill. "Ice Flame Slas.h.!.+"
It was yet another cla.s.sic skill. Both Lin Yixin and Song of Cloud and Water knew the technique.
Ice Flame Slash hit Lian Xin"s Telekinetic s.h.i.+eld and forced her to retreat, but she didn"t forget to drop an Ice Spiral Matrix and chipped away at the Divine General"s HP. Unfortunately, that was also the problem. Great Earth Transformation allowed Tear Stain to mostly ignore Lian Xin"s spells and bring the fight to melee range. Worse, she never stayed in one place and ran rings around Lian Xin as she chipped away at the latter"s Telekinetic s.h.i.+eld. There was nothing the mage could do to change this. Tear Stain was a technician and a high-level one at that. There was little Origin Force Fields could do to slow her.
One last exchange later, Tear Stain hit Lian Xin with a Barrier Break and killed her, ending the close and intense duel.
The overall score turned 1:2. Since the start of the WEL, this was the first time our invincible mage threw a major point.
Swhoos.h.!.+
After Lian Xin returned to our side, she apologized with a dumbfounded expression, "I lost, boss, big brother Lu Chen, Beiming…"
I summarized the cause of her defeat. "Little Xin, you lost because your grasp of positioning was just a tad poorer than your opponent"s. Also, Tear Stain has Great Earth Transformation, and you don"t. It"s not entirely your fault. Just keep honing your skill until you reach her level of understanding the battlefield, and you"ll be able to give her a run for her money!"
"Mn." Lian Xin nodded repeatedly at my advice.
It was finally my turn to step up. The third match was between me and Frosty Night the Dawn Archer. This guy had lost to me during the War of Dawn City.
……
Swhoosh swhoos.h.!.+
After we teleported into the battlefield, Frosty Night said while gripping a red bow, "We finally meet again, Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand. I"ve waited for this day for too long!"
I shot him an indifferent glance before saying, "h.e.l.lo, feeder. Goodbye, feeder."
Whatever calm Frosty Night gathered was shattered into a million pieces by my taunt. He swore angrily, "Ssibal!"