Chapter 1021: Overturning the Sky
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
Dragon Tooth looked like a normal attack. For a low-level skill like Dragon Tooth, if only the damage was considered, the powerful One Autumn Leaf wouldn't even bother to block it. However, the value of Dragon Tooth didn't lie in the damage, but rather the stun effect that it carried. Dragon Tooth could be considered the most used skill among Battle Mages. It had the greatest coverage. It could be used to start a combo, and in theory, could be used as a follow up for any skill.
In theory…..
Facing One Autumn Leaf, turning theory into reality wasn't easy.
Because One Autumn Leaf was too strong. Due to the character's resistances, the stun from Dragon Tooth would be significantly reduced, leading to many follow-ups with Dragon Tooth being unviable against One Autumn Leaf. This was why God-level characters were fearsome. It wasn't as simple as having higher defense and attack. Strong resistances greatly limited the opponent's options. These limitations weren't just the result of piling stats on a character. The R&D teams would adjust the character's stats depending on the player's tendencies. The character's stats would try to make up for the player's weaknesses, as well as support the player's strengths.
This was the problem that Ye Xiu saw with Sun Xiang and One Autumn Leaf.
One Autumn Leaf's switched equipment was still very good, but the synergy between the character and player wasn't as perfect. Strictly speaking, this tiny imperfection couldn't be considered a hole, but Ye Xiu couldn't be any more familiar with Battle Mage stats and One Autumn Leaf's original stats. Ye Xiu analyzed it bit by bit and turned it into a hole.
Eating a Dragon Tooth mid-jump backwards?
In the eyes of the spectators, so what?
With One Autumn Leaf's stats, the stun effect would disappear in a flash. One Autumn Leaf happened to be jumping backwards too. There wasn't any opportunity for Lord Grim to make any follow-ups after the stun. That jump looked like a beautiful and successful dodge.
That's what everyone thought. No one thought that this stun effect wasn't the important point. It was the attack itself that was important. Because before this, Sun Xiang had been stunned, which allowed the Dragon Tooth to hit.
The Sky Strike changing directions twice tore at the slight imperfection in the synergy between Sun Xiang and One Autumn Leaf. If this had been the original One Autumn Leaf, Sun Xiang would have been able to block it.
But now, he couldn't dodge or block it. This was the scariest part about this attack.
Sun Xiang was at a loss as One Autumn Leaf landed on the ground. Lord Grim didn't chase after him, but the spear in Lord Grim's hands did. Magic undulations coiled around the Myriad Manifestations Umbrella into a humongous dragon.
Rising Dragon Soars the Sky!
The Myriad Manifestation Umbrella's spear form actually transformed into a high-level skill.
Even though this skill could only be at the lowest rank one, this was already an incredibly powerful skill considering Lord Grim's skill set.
One Autumn Leaf hastily rolled to the side. From those movements, it seemed as if Sun Xiang was panicking.
Ye Xiu hadn't hoped for this attack to hit. After Rising Dragon Soars the Sky, he had hidden a follow-up attack. But this follow-up attack wasn't actually needed.
This guy... dodged too far, no?
Sun Xiang's movements had been too excessive. It was outside of Ye Xiu's expectations. Moreover, Sun Xiang didn't counter attack as soon as the first clear opportunity appeared. It seemed like he was still thinking about that previous Dragon Tooth.
Has his focus been disrupted?
That would be a pleasant surprise.
Ye Xiu hadn't expected Sun Xiang's mental state to tilt after that attack. If a player wasn't focused, the player's reaction speed and playing would slow down. At the highest levels of play, this was enough to be fatal.
Lord Grim's Myriad Manifestations Umbrella transformed into a gun form. Three Anti-Tank Missiles shot towards One Autumn Leaf.
If this was the usual Sun Xiang in peak condition, he would have just taken these attacks and charged through them, but at this moment, Sun Xiang's reaction speed was clearly a lot slower slow. By the time he started moving, the missiles had already reached his face. He could only make a roll and dodge these missiles in a crude manner.
Lord Grim quickly approached. Sky Strike!
Sun Xiang tensed up. He still didn't understand what had happened previously, but he was certain that it wasn't a coincidence. Ye Xiu had definitely done it intentionally. Changing the arc of Sky Strike twice was to allow the following Dragon Tooth to hit. Even though there weren't really any follow up after that Dragon Tooth, that was just one time. What about next time?
Sun Xiang didn't dare to be negligent. When the Sky Strike arrived, he chose to dodge it.
Ye Xiu smirked. Sun Xiang gave up on blocking with an attack and instead chose to dodge. For Sun Xiang, that was equivalent to giving up on what he was best at.
Blocking with an attack fit Sun Xiang's personality best. It was also what was easiest for him. He was still very good at dodging, but it wasn't what he liked to do. If he had a choice, Sun Xiang would very rarely choose to dodge. But now, he felt compelled to choose what he didn't like to do.
That was easier than I thought!
Ye Xiu thought to himself and had Lord Grim continued chasing. It was just a Sky Strike. It wasn't enough for him to gain the upper hand. Ye Xiu had many more things for Sun Xiang to enjoy, all of which happened after Lord Grim's health dropped to 10%.
Sun Xiang was in a daze.
Ye Xiu's attacks weren't sharp, but they were very precise. Every attack targeted a vital point. He hit where it hurt.
Sun Xian felt uncomfortable. In his three years as a pro player, he had never felt so uncomfortable before.
It wasn't like he had never fought against Ye Xiu before. When he had been part of Team Conquering Clouds, he had fought against Team Excellent Era three times. And in two of those, Sun Xiang and Ye Xiu had faced each other in the individual competition.
Even though he lost both times, Ye Xiu had been using the Battle God One Autumn Leaf. On the other hand, Sun Xiang was using a so-so pro character from a mid to low tier team.
Although he lost, the fights had been very close. Sun Xiang had had a good chance of winning.
If he, too, had a character like One Autumn Leaf, perhaps the results would have been different!
That was what many people said after those matches. That season, Sun Xiang had been a spectacular rookie. Using a normal character, he challenged Ye Qiu and the Battle God One Autumn Leaf. Losing by only a sliver of health, even in defeat, Sun Xiang basked in glory.
If I had One Autumn Leaf, I definitely would have won.
It wasn't just others who thought that. Sun Xiang thought that as well.
Later on, he came to possess of One Autumn Leaf. Because of him, Ye Xiu was forced to leave the team and announce his retirement. This made Sun Xiang truly feel like the winner. He looked forward to the future awaiting him.
And then under his lead, Excellent Era was like a wild horse out of control and was relegated…..
This was an embarrassment. It hadn't been easy for Sun Xiang to accept.
He wanted to prove himself. But the Challenger League? Lead Excellent Era back into the Alliance through the Challenger League? How could that be considered proof? For Excellent Era, this should be as easy as eating food. What's more, after getting relegated, they even got Xiao Shiqin to come over.
It looked like he could only endure for this upcoming year.
That was what Sun Xiang originally thought. However, then there were rumors of Ye Xiu forming his own team and joining the Challenger League.
This piece of news was like a stimulant for Sun Xiang.
After switching ace players, Team Excellent Era's placings improved slightly before directly falling into relegations. The controversy over Sun Xiang was quite big. Comparing him to the former captain Ye Qiu was very normal.
The club firmly stood by his side the entire time, but in reality? Sun Xiang needed to prove himself.
The Challenger League wasn't enough for him to prove himself. Sun Xiang could only impatiently wait for the next year, so he could shut up those who said he was worse than Ye Qiu. Who would have thought that an opportunity would arrive in the Challenger League? This instantly made the Challenger League interesting. For him, this was a stage meant for the two of them. How well would Team Happy perform? How would he lead Team Excellent Era? The finale would only happen when the two sides clashed. It was a finale that he and the media would look forward to.
That year, he lost because his character wasn't as good as One Autumn Leaf. And now, he possessed One Autumn Leaf. He would let Ye Xiu witness just how powerful his Battle God was.
At this moment, Sun Xiang didn't hurry to beat Ye Xiu. He was like a cat playing with his food, showing off his superiority. Just winning this match wasn't enough. He needed everyone to see that beating Ye Xiu was a trivial matter to him.
But now….. Why was it like this?
"Another attack hit. This was a Sword Slash chasing after One Autumn Leaf. It was a very accurate read. What's going on? We know that going berserk at 10% health was just a joke, but why did it actually happen when Lord Grim's health reached 10%? Even though Lord Grim didn't follow through with any combos, it was obvious who had the upper hand. Sun Xiang's One Autumn Leaf seems to be struggling. What's going on?" The commentator, Pan Lin, shouted, but he didn't get a response like he had anticipated. He turned to look at his casting partner. Li Yibo was puzzled. He clearly wasn't prepared for something like this to happen. He had been singing Sun Xiang high praises the entire time, saying how Sun Xiang was playing well and suppressing Ye Xiu.
How did Ye Xiu suddenly overturn the sky in the blink of an eye? Moreover, why was the advantage so obvious?
What's going on? You're asking me?! I'm the one who wants to find someone to ask! Today's match was making him feel very depressed.