Chapter 1002: Night-Blooming Cereus
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
The battle was still ongoing. After taking the chance to broadcast a slow motion replay, the camera quickly returned to the match. Pan Lin and Li Yibo hastily turned their attention to the match after analysing that quick exchange.
Against the damage from the Bouncing Mine's fragments, Soft Mist chased after Life Extinguisher's disappearing figure as the latter turned the corner. For Tang Rou, what was around that corner was unknown, but the audience had an omniscient viewpoint and could clearly see what was lying in wait. When Xiao Shiqin's Life Extinguisher turned the corner, he immediately threw down an Electromagnetic Coil.
Electromagnetic Coil wasn't a trap which only triggered when stepped on. The effects of this skill was similar to a Ghostblade's Ghost Boundary, having an area of effect. It was just that compared to the flashy effects that a Ghost Boundary unleashed, the Electromagnetic Coil's power was much more discrete.
The clueless Tang Rou only cared about catching up as soon as possible with Soft Mist, eliciting a round of discussion from the spectating Pan Lin and Li Yibo.
"Tang Rou seems a little too hasty. If she pursues him like this, then won't she just fall straight into Xiao Shiqin's trap?" Pan Lin said.
"Yeah, any experienced player probably wouldn't engage a Mechanic with this sort of complex terrain. Mechanics have all sorts of strange gadgets, which are easily concealed in this sort of environment. Xiao Shiqin has very successfully led Tang Rou into an area where he can utilize his advantages to the maximum," Li Yibo said.
"Tang Rou has already reached the corner." As the match developed, Pan Lin's speech quickened as well. "Xiao Shiqin's Life Extinguisher is actually waiting right around the corner, definitely waiting for Tang Rou to step into Electromagnetic Coil's range to attack. However, with his current point of view, it's not possible for him to track Tang Rou's movements, so how will Xiao Shiqin know when to attack?"
"She's in!" Pan Lin yelled. And in the data shown on the broadcast, one of the numbers immediately skyrocketed: Tang Rou's weight.
"Ah! Xiao Shqin's Life Extinguisher struck at practically the same time. How did he do it?" Pan Lin yelled.
"Probably by the sound of her footsteps…" This question wasn't hard for Li Yibo to answer. Many pro players were able to use the sound of another's footsteps to judge the distance between them.
"Rocket Punch! A Rocket Punch flew out. Under the effects of the increased weight, Soft Mist's movements are slower, making it harder for her to dodge."
"Ah! She's…"
"Dragon Breaks the Ranks!"
"Tang Rou resolutely activated Dragon Breaks the Ranks as soon as Soft Mist stepped into the Electromagnetic Coil's range. She didn't even bother to dodge the Rocket Punch sent out by Life Extinguisher!"
Soft Mist charged at Life Extinguisher with her spear raised to cast Dragon Breaks the Ranks. Because of the effects of the Electromagnetic Coil, Dragon Breaks the Ranks didn't have the usual amount of overwhelming speed, but they were at such close range already; how many steps did it take to turn a corner, after all? Dragon Breaks the Ranks might be slower than normal, but it still arrived at Life Extinguisher's side in the blink of an eye. The Rocket Punch did hit Soft Mist, but Dragon Breaks the Ranks had a higher priority than many grabs. Rocket Punch's impact couldn't do anything to stop its momentum.
Xiao Shiqin couldn't continue his offense, hurriedly making Life Extinguisher dodge, avoiding the Dragon Breaks the Ranks.
As for Soft Mist, she had used the charge to force herself out of the range of the Electromagnetic Coil through pure brute force. Without hesitation, she followed up by stabbing a Dragon Tooth at Life Extinguisher.
Life Extinguisher rolled to avoid it, and quickly opened up his Rotor Wings upon getting back to his feet. With a single rise and fall, he flew over the wall. During his descent, he even turned around to toss a grenade back. Who would've expected that, with just this glance, Xiao Shiqin got a glimpse of Soft Mist's right elbow twisting back, her spear dragging along, as a magical pulse began to swirl over the spear and shoot towards the tip.
The grenade landed and the spear stabbed forth, the magical pulse turning into a massive dragon. All that was blocking its way was a wall, so it smashed right through!
With an immense boom, the fierce Rising Dragon Soars the Sky tore through the wall. The skill ended there, but Soft Mist had already charged through the hole in the wall, the spear in her hand pointed at Life Extinguisher.
Wasting a powerful move just to break a wall? And before, preferring to use a Dragon Breaks the Ranks to push through the electromagnetic field instead of just stepping back a bit?
Xiao Shiqin's Life Extinguisher had activated an Accelerator to hurry the hell out of there because the situation had spiralled out of his control a little. Tang Rou's extremely straightforward way of dealing with things had destroyed his rhythm completely.
As for Pan Lin and Li Yibo, they weren't able to say a single word about Tang Rou's choice of action. It was only until this cat and mouse situation that didn't have much to it that they realized that they had to continue commentating.
"This Tang Rou… er…" Pan Lin tried to formulate a response.
"It's crude," Li Yibo then said with confidence, "But she managed to succeed."
"Now Xiao Shiqin needs to adjust his rhythm. I trust that what happened just now will make him rethink his judgement of his current opponent. The way to deal with this participant, Tang Rou, how would you put this… it's not something on a technical level. Xiao Shiqin needs to get a better understanding of his opponent." Pan Lin said.
"Yes." Li Yibo nodded continuously from beside him. "Taking such a choice of action in this situation requires extreme courage, and Xiao Shiqin wasn't completely prepared for that. However, the match has only just begun; let's wait and see what happens next!"
"Life Extinguisher's Accelerator has ended, but Life Extinguisher managed to gain a safe distance, using the speed advantage given by the skill. Soft Mist hasn't had much of a chance to use any of her Chasers, so she has no buffs at the moment. I believe that Xiao Shqin won't give her the opportunity in the future either," Pan Lin said.
"Yes, after seeing the headstrong attitude of participant Tang Rou, I feel that Xiao Shiqin will avoid facing Tang Rou head-on, continuing to use a more strategic playstyle," Li Yibo said.
"Yes, now he's beginning to move strategically again. Let's see what sorts of arrangements Xiao Shiqin has in mind this time?" Pan Lin said.
Offstage, at Happy's bench, Chen Guo had thought that Tang Rou had this match in the bag. If it were any of their previous opponents, they probably would've been hunted down and crushed in shock by that relentless offense. Yet this match, Tang Rou's opponent was truly worthy of his identity as a top pro player. He didn't panic at all when Tang Rou destroyed his tactical rhythm, decisively retreating and bringing the match back to how it had been in the beginning with ease. He was still running and Tang Rou was still chasing, but in this game of cat and mouse, the initiative had switched hands twice already. At first, Xiao Shiqin was guiding the match, the initiative in his hands, then when Tang Rou mucked up his rhythm with pure brute force, she had snatched the initiative from him. Now, somehow, the initiative was back in Xiao Shiqin's hands.
The two characters darted about the Dockside Town, Xiao Shiqin using his gadgets in a continuous offense that Tang Rou found impossible to guard against. In comparison, she didn't seem to be able to do much of anything. She didn't manage to snatch a single chance to close in on her opponent like before. Who had the advantage was obvious; you could even say that Tang Rou was in the palm of Xiao Shiqin's hand.
"What… what should we do?" Chan Guo, watching offstage, was getting extremely anxious. However, from her point of view, it seemed to be futile. Xiao Shqin's playstyle seemed impossible to beat and she couldn't think of anyway that Tang Rou could turn this around.
Beside her, Happy's members were all very solemn, obviously not able to see a way out of this situation either. However, Tang Rou was someone who liked to create miracles. Accomplishing the impossible was her hobby. That's why everyone still held a thread of hope in their hearts, hoping that she would create another miracle to surprise everyone.
Yet, it never came...
The pace never experienced another change throughout the battle and, bit by bit, Soft Mist's health was chipped away until she fell.
Chen Guo couldn't believe her eyes.
It wasn't like she had thought it was impossible for Tang Rou to lose. She just didn't think it was possible for a match with Tang Rou in it to be like this. If you used a single word to describe it, then there was no more suitable word than depressing. The pleasant surprise that had erupted at the beginning didn't change the mood of the match at all.
Chen Guo watched as Tang Rou walked out from the player booth and off stage towards Happy's bench. Boos accompanied her all the way over and Excellent Era's fans didn't show any sort of mercy for a beautiful lady like Tang Rou. When Happy first appeared, Soft Mist was the core reason for the defeat of the face-slapping challengers. For these people, their hatred of Tang Rou was only second to Ye Xiu. Seeing Tang Rou lose in such a helpless way, the stadium was filled with cheer and Excellent Era's fans were revelling in her misfortune.
"This is only the beginning!"
"Who's next?"
"Now that's what disparity means!"
Excellent Era fans yelled aggressively, putting all their effort into making a ruckus, especially those in the section of the audience closest to Happy, doing their utmost to boo Happy. Excellent Era's win in the first round had lit a flame in these repressed fans' hearts. All this time, they had been waiting for Happy to be humiliated, yet that had come back to slap them in the face repeatedly. Now, their team had personally come to punish Happy, how could they not be excited?
An Wenyi and Luo Ji both looked around in surprise, obviously not prepared for this sort of situation. Never mind those two, even Wei Chen looked a little pale. Back when he was in the pro league, it wasn't nearly as impressive. The Challenger League didn't have any away or home game differences, but with the influence they had as a powerhouse, Excellent Era managed to turn Liulisong Sports Arena into something like their home turf.
"It's so bloody loud. How come it feels like we're in Excellent Dynasty Convention Center?" In the audience, a person seemed to be very annoyed by the cheering of the Excellent Era fans beside him, complaining as he pulled his hat lower. The so called Excellent Dynasty Convention Center was the stadium that Excellent Era played in for their home games. This person didn't seem to be a stranger to this sort of cheer.
"There's nothing we can do about it, Happy is losing rather terrifically, after all!" Another person said before tilting his head to the side. "What are you thinking, Little Gao?"
"Ah… Probably…" The one who was referred to as Little Gao also had his hat on very low, just like the rest of his companions, gazing at the familiar figure on Happy's bench.
Don't give in! Yifan.