Chapter 1147: Qi Master versus Assassin (1)
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
The first round of the group arena between Happy and Hundred Blossoms:
Fang Rui, Qi Master Boundless Sea
Zhou Guangyi, Assassin Cold Seasons.
The two had debuted the same season, so they were quite familiar with each other. It was a long-standing tradition for the rookies of each season to make a chat group and share experiences and tips with one another. As long as a player wasn't too antisocial, then they'd be able to make friends during this time. Even if they ended up in different places and positions, the days they had spent messing around together weren't forgotten easily. Fang Rui and Zhou Guangyi were by no means unfamiliar with each other, and they got along fairly well. When these players matched up with each other, it was natural for them to chat.
"Old Zhou, admit your defeat. I know your Assassin very well, but have you ever witnessed my Qi Master?" Fang Rui started to provoke him.
"Witness your unfamiliarity with the class?" Zhou Guangyi responded.
"That was last week," Fang Rui said.
"How about this week?"
"A bit rusty in the right hand, but my left hand is very adept," Fang Rui said.
"Then I hope your right hand won't be a burden for your left," Zhou Guangyi said.
"Impossible. With the title of Golden Right Hand, even if my right hand is a little rusty, it far surpasses your imagination," Fang Rui said.
"Let's hope so!" Zhou Guangyi laughed.
In Glory, the left hand used the keyboard while the right controlled the mouse. The mouse was mainly used to control an attack's trajectory and positioning. Fang Rui had the title of the Golden Right Hand due to his right hand's godly speed and precision, but unfortunately, his right hand was outstanding to the extent that his left hand couldn't keep up with the right hand's pace. All in all, playing required coordination between both hands, so without the assistance of a Golden Left Hand to support his Golden Right Hand, Fang Rui couldn't display his full potential.
As a result, Fang Rui's left hand was always dragged his right hand back. Zhou Guangyi obviously knew about this, so "I hope your right hand won't be a burden for your left" was a fairly fierce slap to the face.
The two friends continued to talk trash to each other. Soon afterwards, Zhou Guangyi's Assassin reached the center of the map, but Fang Rui's Boundless Sea was nowhere to be seen. Zhou Guangyi wasn't surprised, because even if Fang Rui had changed to a Qi Master, he probably wouldn't drop his dirty playing. A direct confrontation was never his style.
As an Assassin, it was more effective to launch a sudden ambush. The passive skill that Assassins received after advancing classes at Level 20 was Assassination. Its use was to increase the attack damage struck at the back of characters by 20%. Players already had a bonus of a 20% increase in damage for attacks hit on the back, an addition of another 20% would make it reach a shocking 40%. This was why when players were in a dungeon, regardless whether they were fighting a mob or boss, that strike on the back was always reserved for Assassins.
On top of this, Assassin's Level 50 active Awakening skill Vitals Strike was an active skill. When it was activated, the Assassin could pinpoint a vital point on the target, and when an attack accurately struck that vital point, the damage could reach as high as 200%.
Assassination, Vital Attack, and Life-Risking Strike. Among the 24 classes, the Assassin was the only class who could truly instant kill. As long as those skills were fully combined, even classes with high health like the Knight or Paladin might not be able to resist an Assassin's strike.
Instant killing was probably the boldest and most hot-blooded attack in Glory, but it was rare to see it in professional matches. This was because everyone would naturally watch out when they knew the Assassin had such skills. In addition, Life-Risking Strike was a skill in which both sides would suffer, so it might not give their team a chance to gain the upper hand.
However, throughout the course of Glory's competitive history, it wasn't as if no Assassin had made such a heroic move. There was a time when such a move became extremely well-known, and that one time was made through the character Zhou Guangyi was currently using.
That one assassination was completely worth it, whether judging by the target killed or the result it achieved. That attack was enough to cement Cold Season's place in the annals of Glory. When Zhou Guangyi and Cold Seasons transferred to Hundred Blossoms together, the fans of Tyranny even got quite emotional.
In the final match of the Season 4 finals, Cold Season's Life-Risking Strike assassinated One Autumn Leaf.
With this strike, Tyranny was able to win the championships and end Excellent Era's dynasty.
With this strike, the MVP of the final match was neither Han Wenqing nor Zhang Xinjie, but the user of Cold Seasons, who was called… Ji Leng. In reality, he wasn't an extremely outstanding or special player, but such a breathtaking strike made everyone remember his name.
Cold Season retired after that season and Zhou Guangyi joined Tyranny, taking over Cold Season the Assassin. Because of how exciting the finals were, whenever people saw Cold Season, they all hoped to see another stunning Life-Risking Strike. However, things weren't so simple in real life. Everyone's attention towards him gradually died down as they realized that the miracle wouldn't happen again. Most Assassins wouldn't really use such a suicidal method as their main playstyle. In recent years, only Li Xun from Team Void would pull off such a move, but that was because Team Void was able to provide him with the right conditions. As a team who possessed the strongest Phantom Demon, they could control their targets well, while also providing buffs for Li Xun's Assassin. This was why when Li Xun launched Life-Risking Strike, his chance of succeeding was greater, and the damage he took to himself was lower. This was why he was able to utilize this move more often than others in team matches.
As for Zhou Guangyi? Although he had inherited the Assassin who made the most stunning instant kill in the league, he wasn't someone who enjoyed pulling off an instant kill. His fighting style was similar to that of Yang Cong from Team 301 Degrees, who fought in a dominant and direct manner. In reality, it was the same for Ji Leng because it was Team Tyranny's style. For whatever reason, the conditions just happened to give him the opportunity to execute this surprise Life-Rising Strike. But because of how astonishing this trike was, the impressions towards his original style had been erased. Ji Leng had originally been like Zhou Guangyi. Both of them had the same style as Team Tyranny, straightforward and direct.
Cold Season rushed to the center, and as expected, Fang Rui was nowhere to be seen. If this was before, he would have been able to predict and guess Fang Rui's train of thought. However, Fang Rui had changed to a Qi Master, so Zhou Guangyi had no idea how he would fight.
However, considering Fang Rui's playstyle, it was too risky to wait for him to appear. Who knew how many tricks Fang Rui would set up to dupe you. Zhou Guangyi thought to himself. He decided to take the initiative. He couldn't just sit there doing nothing and wait for Fang Rui to find the perfect opening.
The group arena's map size was the same as the individual competition's. The map wouldn't change from the start to the end of the match, so it would even leave behind the marks created by the players who had fought previously. The map that Happy picked this time was called "Life-Seeking Path."
One would only need to hear the name to know that it was a disgusting, maze-like map which was suitable for dirty playing. As a result, it wouldn't be a surprise for Fang Rui to sneakily hide somewhere as soon as the battle began. After Zhou Guangyi had Cold Season enter the tangled and complicated maze from the vast, open land, he still couldn't find any signs of Boundless Sea. Instead, he saw Fang Rui roar in the channel: "What's going on? I've arrived, why did you run away? Where did you run off to?"
Zhou Guangyi ignored him. He wouldn't fall for such a childish trap.
However, maps like Life-Seeking Path tended to make him lose his temper. It was obvious that Tyranny, the team he had been in, would never use such a disgusting map. As for Hundred Blossoms, their ace was a long-ranged Spitfire, so they also wouldn't prefer maps with too many crisscrosses.
A shadow suddenly flashed before him!
Only two people existed in this match, so there was no doubt that the shadow must be Boundless Sea. Zhou Guangyi trusted his eyes and was resolute about sprinting ahead. However, considering Fang Rui's dirtiness, it would be too risky if he tailed directly behind. He had to change directions to catch him off guard.
Zhou Guangyi was still scouting out another direction when the shadow from before appeared again.
"Fuck, there you are, making me go to so much effort to find you. Why'd you start playing dirty after transferring to Hundred Blossoms?" As Fang Rui spoke, he rushed straight ahead, much to everyone's surprise.
Qi Bullet!
Boundless Sea shot out the Qi Master's lowest-level skill with a lift of his hands. It was obvious that such a skill wouldn't cause Zhou Guangyi too much trouble. He dodged it easily, but he felt like there was something fishy about Boundless Sea charging straight towards him. Was there some sort of trap lying around?
The match with Zou Yuan was a lesson to learn from!
One could say that he was completely oppressed by a single wave after being lured into an extremely advantageous terrain for the opponent. What about now? This place wasn't spacious. Although Qi Masters didn't have the Launcher's extremely long shooting distance or strong fire power, they had reduced versions of such abilities. Was Fang Rui planning to repeat the same scene?
Sky Piercing Strike!
As he thought, Boundless Sea leapt up while pushing his hands down in midair. An airwave shot towards Cold Season. Zhou Guangyi immediately had Cold Season dodge by jumping back. The Sky Piercing Strike hit the ground and shockwaves spread from the ground. One jump wasn't enough for Cold Season, so he jumped again. If he followed his usual habits and style in a match, he would have charged forward and made a counterattack before Boundless Sea had a chance to reach the ground. However, his opponent was Fang Rui! How could he possibly fight head on? There must be other reasons.
"Don't think too much! We know each other so well, let's just fight it out!" Fang Rui yelled.
"Oh, really? It's too narrow here, shall we pick another place?" Zhou Guangyi said.
"Sure, lead the way." Fang Rui was very generous.
Zhou Guangyi grew suspicious. Glory's matches had a lot of freedom. Players could chat as they fought and it wouldn't count as cheating. This was because there could be traps and tactics hidden within the conversations. For example, Zhou Guangyi believed that there must be something fishy with Fang Rui's suggestion. Although he was leading the way, he did it by jumping backwards. He would never turn his back on someone who was titled the master of playing dirty and the Golden Right Hand…