Chapter 1219: Lord Grim's Counter
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
December 6th. Glory Professional Alliance Season 10 Round 14. Team Happy greeting the visiting challengers Team Void.
This was a confrontation between two direct competitors. In Round 12, it was because of this reason that the Happy versus Misty Rain match had been chosen to be broadcast. However, this time, the broadcast chose Wind Howl versus Thunderclap. Reportedly, when the internal esports broadcast team had their meeting, the commentator Pan Lin expressed his opposition towards broadcasting Happy's match. Pan Lin's partner, Li Yibo, also had the same opinion.
This reasoning was very pompous, but even though Pan Lin hadn't explicitly stated the true reason, everyone knew what it was. Wasn't it because they were afraid of being slapped in the faces again after misreading the situation in another Happy match?
But then again, Team Thunderclap's tactics were top-tier too! Just take that round where the complex and changing tactics forced Yu Wenzhou to make such a statement. Could these two partners see through that? In the post-match interviews, those experienced Glory reporters hadn't noticed it. They hadn't noticed it until Yu Wenzhou's grudging comment. Only then did they ask Xiao Shiqin for verification.
The level of the commentators need to improve...
Constantly getting slapped in the face was embarrassing for the broadcast team too, but there was no one better to choose. After all, to be a commentator and guest duo, just having knowledge wasn't enough, the two needed to be compatible. Commentating required speaking eloquently at an appropriate pace. Zhou Zekai and Huang Shaotian were extremely skilled players with far more knowledge of the game than Pan Lin and Li Yibo, but could those two become a commentator duo? Could they? Could they?
Compatibility was the most important.
Right now, Pan Lin and Li Yibo formed their best commentator duo.
As a result, the Happy versus Void match was not chosen to be broadcast.
Team Void's core still revolved around their Ghostblade duo. Their new rookie last season, the Exorcist Ge Caijie, cemented his position even further, becoming the two Ghostblades' most reliable partner. As for Team Void, the team put in great efforts to upgrade Ge Caijie's Exorcist character, Blue Exorcist.
When Team Void heard that Team Royal Style was shifting around their characters and that people from their R&D department had left, Team Void had been very excited. Team Royal Style may have only been a mid-tier team, but their R&D department was at the forefront of all things related to Exorcists. Their Peaceful Hermit did not have the votes to make it into this season's All-Stars at the moment, but his lack of votes was mainly because of the team's poor win record. In terms of raw stats, Peaceful Hermit still stood as the King of Exorcists.
Team Void wasn't heroic enough to directly purchase Peaceful Hermit, but hiring two experienced members from their R&D team would be excellent too.
But when Void made their move, they were stunned when they learned that one of the two R&D team members had already gone to Happy and the other to Heavenly Swords. Void had been just one beat too slow, missing this opportunity for two long-awaited helpers. With their cheeks were streaked with tears, they could only rely on their current R&D team to continue developing their Exorcist.
Their Blue Exorcist was a bit weak, but their player Ge Caijie didn't complain. In the current state of the Alliance, where rookies nowadays were fickle and demanding, this was a rare sight. Ge Caijie had a maturity and composure that exceeded his young age.
In the first round of the individual competition, Void sent out this second-year rookie. His win record this season in the individual competition was exceptional. Out of 12 matches, he had 10 wins and 2 losses.
If it weren't for Ye Xiu's 12 consecutive wins, Ge Caijie would have been the player with the highest win rate. In this match, the number one and number two in 1v1s would be clashing. The match was filled with topics to talk about as soon as it began. In comparison, the opening for the Thunderclap versus Wind Howl game was very ordinary and dull. Team Thunderclap didn't have anyone too noteworthy for their individual competitions.
"Senior, I hope to learn from you." The respectful Ge Caijie didn't forget his manners.
"Mm, let's see who'll be the one to change up our win rates," Ye Xiu replied. It could be seen from his words that he had paid quite a bit of attention to this rookie. He at least knew that in 1v1s, Ge Caijie was second only to himself.
The countdown finished, and the two characters loaded into the map.
Happy's home game. Ye Xiu's choice of maps was in the same style as always. The two characters didn't dally around and directly headed towards the center of the map.
Lord Grim used long-ranged attacks to initiate. Ge Caijie's Blue Exorcist evaded them, while swinging his arms, throwing the scythe in his hands.
It was just an ordinary Spirit Guidance without any additional talismans, clearly meant as a probing attack. Ge Caijie didn't let down those who praised his steadiness. He didn't immediately rush in to take the initiative. Although it was unanimously held that the Exorcist was the counter of the unspecialized, what happened when Royal Style faced Happy? Tian Sen impatiently had Peaceful Hermit set out to fulfill his mission as Lord Grim's counter, and the match ended with Royal Style losing to Happy 1 to 9. The two didn't face each other in the individual competition, and in the team competition, Peaceful Hermit seemed to be the ill-fated one and was the first to be killed.
Exorcists were only counters in theory. To prove this theory, real results were necessary. Ge Caijie believed that Ye Xiu was more familiar than anyone else about why Exorcists were considered Lord Grim's bane. There was no way Ye Xiu would not be on guard. Before Ge Caijie began, as the one widely considered as a counter to his opponent, he had to be ready to face an opponent who was at his 120%.
Lord Grim easily dodged the Spirit Guidance scythe, but Ge Caijie immediately used Spirit Guidance again, having the scythe return to him and attack Lord Grim from behind. Lord Grim didn't even look back before being sliced into smoke.
Shadow Clone Technique!
The real body flickered to a position several units forward. Along with an arc of cold light, Lord Grim instantly arrived in front of him with a Shining Cut.
Blue Exorcist had just thrown out the weapon in his hands with Spirit Guidance, so he couldn't even parry it with an attack of his own. However, Exorcists were a class that didn't need their weapon to utilize their skills. He pinched with his hands, and a talisman appeared, letting out thin strands of cold qi. Blue Exorcist jumped back while pressing the talisman towards Lord Grim.
Ice Talisman was an ice element skill with freeze effects. This skill could not be ignored. Lord Grim, who had been pressing forward fiercely, had no choice but to retreat.
The Ice Talisman failed to hit its target and shattered into fine pieces. Blue Exorcist pinched his hands again, and a new talisman appeared.
Fire Talisman!
Fire after ice. Blue Exorcist didn't leave any gaps between his two talisman attacks. His rhythm and skill linking was immaculate.
Retreat again?
Impossible. Ye Xiu hadn't forgotten about the scythe flying back. Dodging to left seemed to be the most logical course of action, but… if he did that, Blue Exorcist would simply conjure another talisman and throw it there, forcing him into a position with nowhere to run.
As a result, Ye Xiu chose to continue pressing forward!
Colliding Stab!
Lord Grim used a Berserker skill to quickly cover some distance. The Fire Talisman wasn't like the Ice Talisman. Forcefully taking the hit was bearable. Ge Caijie clearly wasn't prepared for Ye Xiu's choice of action. Lord Grim stabbed Blue Exorcist and continued forward, pushing them away from the returning scythe. Then, he rolled to the right.
Boom!
Lord Grim was struck by the Fire Talisman and his body was set ablaze, taking damage over time.
The scythe returned to Blue Exorcist's hands. All Ye Xiu got was damage from Colliding Stab, which wasn't as heavy as the damage from Fire Talisman. It was better than nothing though.
Sky Strike!
The Myriad Manifestations Umbrella changed forms and slashed upwards.
Ge Caijie's heart jumped, but not much. He placed the scythe in front of him and blocked the Sky Strike. Then, he pushed out and threw a Lightning Talisman.
Lord Grim jumped back to dodge it. Blue Exorcist swiped with his scythe, and a blue light rose from the ground. A Rising Emblem threw Lord Grim into the air.
Boom!
Lord Grim quickly adjusted himself while in the air and fired an Anti-Tank Missile at Blue Exorcist. Blue Exorcist was just about to follow up, but was forced to back away. Lord Grim relied on the recoil from it to shoot back and threw a grenade at the same time.
After several quick exchanges, neither side had lost much health or won any big advantages. Compared to normal, being able to fight evenly with Ye Xiu's Lord Grim was very rare. But now, many people had higher expectations of Ge Caijie.
Exorcists were considered to be counters to Lord Grim because of their new Level 75 skill. However, Ge Caijie had yet to use it.
Was he waiting for a more opportune moment?
Everyone understood the logic, but they weren't as patient as Ge Caijie. They wanted Blue Exorcist to hurry up and use it.
How could finding an opportunity be so easy though? A careless usage wouldn't get the desired effects. It would just be wasting the skill, and Ge Caijie would no longer have the threat of it anymore. And Ge Caijie could clearly sense that Ye Xiu was being very wary of this skill. Some of his decisions carried this sort of vigilance. The might of a counter could already be seen! It wasn't just as simple as using a powerful skill to make the opponent kneel.
"You really have patience!" Even Ye Xiu couldn't help but sigh.
"I'm looking for an opportunity." It seemed like Ge Caijie also couldn't resist chatting.
"There won't be any," Ye Xiu said.
"No one can be certain of that," Ge Caijie said.
When he said these words, Blue Exorcist's scythe swept up and then down, while his other hand readied another talisman. Not to Ge Caijie's surprise, Ye Xiu didn't dare use something as simple as parrying to defend. Lord Grim jumped back.
Spirit Guidance!
The scythe that was swinging down suddenly flew out from his hands. Lord Grim hadn't jumped far back enough.
But Ye Xiu was able to pull some distance away. At this moment, he seemed quite relaxed. His Myriad Manifestations Umbrella opened up, ready to shield against the attack. The instant the two weapons were about to clash, Ye Xiu noticed Blue Exorcist's left hand quickly touching the scythe.
Not good!
Ye Xiu knew the situation wasn't good, but it was too late to make a different move. The Myriad Manifestations Umbrella and the scythe collided. Talisman energy swiftly moved up the scythe handle, linking the two weapons together. The energy moved through the Myriad Manifestations Umbrella. When the light suddenly blossomed, a faint "封" (Seal) character could be seen.
Exorcist Level 75 skill: Seal Talisman.
Effect: Seal the targeted equipment for one minute.