Chapter 1275: The Battle Thief
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
The second battle of the group arena began, and neither character took the conventional path. Fang Rui's Qi Master continued to play dirty, while Lin Feng's Thief directly charged forward. Indeed, a Thief charged forward. In most people's eyes, this was not the conventional thing to do. However, this was the speciality of Lin Feng's thief. His playstyle was the less commonly seen style for Thieves, the so-called Battle Thief playstyle.
Wind Howl's style, after taking in Tang Hao and discovering the potential of rookie Zhao Yuzhe, had changed greatly. Under the powerful push of these two players, the dirty playstyle that had existed in this team for a long time suddenly became more and more unsuitable. Because of this, even the one called the master of playing dirty, Fang Rui, had been forced to leave.
Wind Howl hadn't given up on their All-Star Thief character Doubtful Demon because of this, but clearly they weren't going to find another dirty-playing Thief player here, otherwise what was the point in having Fang Rui leave? If talking about playing dirty, Fang Rui was already called the master.
And so they took in Lin Feng from Blue Rain, a rare Battle Thief player in the pro circle. Wind Howl hoped to change the Thief's style to let this All-Star character continue to demonstrate its power. But after half a season, Doubtful Demon vanished from the ranks of the All-Stars, proving that his ability hadn't been displayed as effectively as they'd hoped. When the winter transfer window opened, Lin Feng and Doubtful Demon were surrounded by many rumors. At this time, if he still wanted to stay in the team, he had to prove himself. If he could defeat the opponent in front of him now, Doubtful Demon's former owner, who was expelled for not fitting with Wind Howl's new style, that would be the best proof that Wind Howl's choice was worth it.
And Wind Howl chose Lin Feng exactly because his Thief style wasn't like others. So, when facing Fang Rui, he charged forward even more determined than usual. He wanted to more clearly display the new Battle Thief style of Doubtful Demon under his hand.
The so-called Battle Thief involved a focus on the Thief's direct attacking skills, supplemented by the trapping skills, resulting in instantaneous explosions of high damage output. As of now, it was a rare playstyle in both the professional circle and in-game. And Lin Feng could already be considered the leader of this style. In Blue Rain, although he wasn't a first-string player, he still had stable chances to appear onstage, and his performances deserved praise. But when he arrived at Wind Howl and obtained the number one Thief, when he had to bear higher hopes from the team, he seemed to have lost himself a bit.
I have to prove myself!
Lin Feng controlled Doubtful Demon to move toward the center of the map. When he found no trace of Boundless Sea, he knew that the opponent was playing dirty again, and would appear from who-knows-where. After watching the previous battle, Lin Feng's camera observed not just the four directions around him but also the high points from which attacks could be fired. He carefully controlled Doubtful Demon to move around, searching for a position where he wouldn't have to defend from too many directions.
"A Doubtful Demon that's instantly discovered, what an eyesore!" In the match channel, a message from Fang Rui suddenly popped up.
Is he here?
Lin Feng hurriedly turned his view, left and right, in front and behind, above, but he didn't discover anything.
"Your Shadow Trap at position 124, 119, thought I wouldn't see it?" Fang Rui said.
Lin Feng's heart grew cold. When he'd had Doubtful Demon place down that trap, he'd been especially careful to observe his surroundings. But this Boundless Sea had still been hiding somewhere and managed to discover it? A trap that had been discovered had no purpose anymore…
But the audience was even more shocked.
Because they, with the omniscient view, knew clearly that Boundless Sea right now was already quietly watching Doubtful Demon. But, when Doubtful Demon had placed that Shadow Trap, Boundless Sea was still taking the roundabout path. He hadn't seen it at all.
This was a guess! But he'd guessed so accurately.
Fang Rui understood the map, understood the Thief class, and it looked like he understood Lin Feng as well…
If the trap had been seen by the opponent, then the intention was also seen through, thought Lin Feng. He could only make adjustments. But more importantly, where was Boundless Sea right now? He still hadn't discovered him, but to have seen Doubtful Demon planting that trap…
Over there!
The slight rustling of the grass didn't escape Lin Feng's notice. Doubtful Demon used an Assassin's Shining Cut to fly forward through the grass, but when the character arrived, he didn't see Boundless Sea.
"Too gullible! Battle Thieves are just that simple-minded!" As Fang Rui mocked him with a somewhat personal attack, Boundless Sea shot an attack from the side of the road and Sky Piercing Strike instantly enveloped Doubtful Demon.
But, nothing happened!
He hadn't suffered damage, nor had he been jostled by the rippling Qi energy. Doubtful Demon turned and charged toward Boundless Sea, as though the Sky Piercing Strike simply didn't exist.
"Maxed out Escape?" Fang Rui commented.
Escape, a Thief skill. It granted a certain probability to completely nullify the effects of the opponent's next attack, and at max level this probability reached 100%. For professional players, if this skill was to be leveled up, it would be leveled up to the maximum, because only then could it be reliably used in a match. A probability under 100% was an opening.
In Fang Rui's hands, Doubtful Demon hadn't learned this skill. But now that Lin Feng had changed Doubtful Demon to a Battle Thief, he had clearly added the points to this skill to max it out.
Before the Sky Piercing Strike landed, Doubtful Demon had already activated Escape, so this attack was forcibly negated, and now Lin Feng cleanly rushed to attack.
"An expected choice!" Fang Rui was still nagging, but Boundless Sea had already easily avoided Doubtful Demon. He'd expected Doubtful Demon's skill choice, and so he'd had ample preparation for this current situation.
Boundless Sea, who'd activated Qi Flowing Cloud to easily avoid Doubtful Demon's attack, pushed out his palm to send the Qi that had gathered flying toward Doubtful Demon.
Flash Burst!
Directly using such a powerful attack was a common technique of Fang Rui's dirty playing Qi Master, very different from the classical Qi Master style. Most Qi Masters played in a very standard way, using small attacks for a bit of damage and containment, and once they'd grasped the rhythm, they'd unleash a powerful attack.
And for Fang Rui, he used his dirty playing to create the opportunity to use such a powerful attack.
Dirty tactics, dirty movement, dirty attack timing.
This Flash Burst was the result of combining all of the previous dirty playing methods. Under countless exclamations from the crowd of "too dirty," this palm hit Doubtful Demon.
The Qi spread around Doubtful Demon damaged him like crazy. Evidently, Fang Rui didn't hold back even as he attacked this character that had been with him for five years. One brutal blow after another landed, and it seemed that the dirty Boundless Sea wasn't dirty at all right now, as he used standard Qi Master attacks and techniques to teach Doubtful Demon a direct and harsh lesson. But the instant that this flurry of attacks ended, Boundless Sea immediately scurried away again, in his usual dirty playing fashion.
After adjusting himself, Lin Feng once again lost all trace of Boundless Sea, but this time he wasn't as calm as he was before. Doubtful Demon moved around quickly, changing his position often. As he searched for Boundless Sea, he ensured that he wouldn't be exposed in one position for too long.
And so he quickly found Boundless Sea. Or, more accurately, Fang Rui voluntarily made Boundless Sea appear in front of him.
A sudden, completely unexpected appearance, it would stun anyone. But coming from Fang Rui, the stadium was once again filled with shouts of "too dirty!"
Yes, a very dirty appearance, so dirty that Lin Feng was completely unprepared.
Countercurrent!
Boundless Sea used the lowest level knock-up attack, the most long-ranged knock-up skill among all classes.
Doubtful Demon was unwillingly sent into the air by the Qi waves that Boundless Sea sent out, and naturally he became a perfect target for midair attacks. The skills to escape these attacks wouldn't have very short cooldowns, and they hadn't restored yet, so Lin Feng could only himself search for ways to escape the opponent's attacks… But Fang Rui was truly too familiar with Thieves, even if this was a Battle Thief.
Lin Feng struggled to steady his heart as he carefully observed, and finally, he discovered that Boundless Sea had already completely finished his series of attacks.
Lin Feng's heart sank into helplessness.
Fang Rui was the previous user of Doubtful Demon, the one whom he had replaced in Wind Howl. If he could win this match, then for Lin Feng it would be a powerful way to cement his place in the team. But who knew that Lin Feng suffered so much psychological pressure from Fang Rui? Lin Feng wasn't Tang Hao, nor was he Zhao Yuzhe. The person he was facing now was, to him, the king amongst them Thieves!
Lin Feng was a player from Season 7. He'd ultimately chosen to become an unusual type of Thief, a Battle Thief.
He had never explained to anyone his reason for choosing Battle Thief.
In reality, he chose to play as a Battle Thief only because he felt that he needed to open a different path. He felt that, in the standard Thief style, Fang Rui had already achieved the ultimate level, and he himself had no way of surpassing that. But even though he had taken an uncommon path with his Thief, he still hadn't been able to reach a position to rival Fang Rui.
And now, Fang Rui changed classes to Qi Master. He was no longer that King amongst Thieves, and because of this Lin Feng could relax significantly. But after being completely smothered by Fang Rui twice now, Lin Feng had no way of relaxing. He discovered that even though Fang Rui was no longer the King of Thieves, he could still deal with any Thief player with ease, no matter whether it was a dirty-playing, trap-laying Thief, or a Battle Thief like him…
There was no way to win. After recognizing this point, Lin Feng lost all his fighting spirit. This wasn't an on-the-spot realization, but a conclusion he'd reached years before when comparing himself to this King of Thieves. And now, even if Fang Rui had changed classes, this conclusion hadn't changed.
"Doubtful Demon turned into this because of you, it's really too ugly." As Fang Rui sent a final message, Boundless Sea sent a final attack. Lin Feng, this Battle Thief player, couldn't reach the height of a king, but Wind Howl didn't need a dirty playing Thief. And thus this king character among Thieves finally fell.