Chapter 1291: Firing Line
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
Thus, Jiang Botao lost the first individual match.
19!
It seemed like Happy's fans had already prepared for this. After Ye Xiu won, the stadium was immediately filled with innumerable flashing signs.
Another match was added to this record and even Team Samsara weren't able to stop Ye Xiu's consecutive victories.
"10-0!!!" Someone very daringly yelled. Last time Happy had been crushed by Samsara ten to zero, but this time? At the very least, Samsara wouldn't have a chance like that anymore, but the possibility of Happy winning ten to zero was still there.
"That'll be rather difficult, won't it?" Commentator Pan Lin wondered aloud with a smile.
"Haha…" Li Yibo chuckled but didn't dare agree. In the individual match that had just end, he hadn't commentated much. He had been a little scared. As the match started, he had wanted to note that Jiang Botao's playstyle was somewhat of a counter to Ye Xiu's playstyle, but due to how small the map was, the two sides soon met and engaged, not giving him much of a chance.
At first he had thought it was a shame, but now, he was glad that he hadn't managed to get that chance.
The results of the match gave a very clear message. Jiang Botao's meticulous style had fallen apart in trying to keep up with Ye Xiu's unspecialized barrage.
He had almost gotten his face slapped… When he realized this, Li Yibo had subconsciously stroked his own face. It was a good thing he hadn't spoken up; after this realization, he immediately commented on how Ye Xiu's style countered Jiang Botao's.
Li Yibo, having managed to get to safety, finally got the chance to accurately display his ability as a commentator, and during Happy's match too. Even Pan Lin was impressed, but Li Yibo was cheering for his good fortune.
It seemed like reserving judgement had its benefits.
Li Yibo had finally grown some wisdom. In the past, he loved to rush to express his opinion first, then prove it through the match, thus showing off his analytical wisdom. However, he had recently found that more and more often, his analytical wisdom would head in the complete opposite direction. In the future, he'd have to be more patient, Li Yibo concluded from these experiences.
The second individual match soon began.
On Happy's side, Su Mucheng rose to the challenge while Samsara sent out Wu Qi. He was the Assassin player of the team and a member of their main roster during the two consecutive championships. But after Sun Xiang transferred in, he mostly appeared as the sixth player.
Launcher against Assassin, one with a very far range, one with a very close range. Both sides played cautiously. Su Mucheng kept a close eye on the distance between them, while Wu Qi didn't dare approach without an opportune moment.
"What a troublesome Assassin. Team Samsara surely has raised many very talented members! After Yang Cong, I'd say that he'd be a good choice for the Alliance's Number One Assassin." At the player stands, Ye Xiu commented on Wu Qi as he watched the match.
"True. He's patient and merciless. He's mastered all the characteristics an Assassin should have." Wei Chen nodded in agreement.
"Could it be that… Team Samsara will soon have a five All-Star line up?" Chen Guo wondered aloud at the side.
Ye Xiu and Wei Chen glanced at each other, their gazes considering.
"We'll have to see how popular their team is. If even after the votes are split up between the five players, all five are sent into the All-Stars, then that'd be terrifying," Fang Rui commented. He had analysed the situation objectively. All-Star voting was all up to the fans, so many of the votes were given blindly. Those fans loyal to their team would unhesitantly give the players their vote even if said players had yet to reach that level.
If all five of Samsara's got into the All-Stars, all supported by their fans, then that could only mean that their fanbase was large enough completely crush the fanbases of other teams. Otherwise, they'd have to gain the votes of unaffiliated fans. For Wu Qi, this was something he truly had no advantage in, a player who was so close to entering the All-Stars getting delegated to sixth player in the team competition due to Samsara's extremely grand line-up. And, with Samsara's strength, the sixth player had very little room to perform. Without a chance to display their talents, how would they gain popularity? What Ye Xiu was commenting on was, in the end, only strength. If you wanted to talk about popularity, there were too many subjective variables.
"Who knows? Maybe by the end of this season he'll be making a fuss about leaving Samsara!" Fang Rui laid this misfortune upon Samsara, head resting on his hands.
However, his logic wasn't faulty. If the other had the ability but no chance to show it, who knows what thoughts would spawn? More importantly, WU Qi had already won two championships as a member of Samsara's main roster. He might have higher pursuits now, such as a place in the team competition line up...
As Happy discussed Wu Qi's future with interest offstage, the two onstage were still testing the waters. The two were using movement and position to circle each other, trying to find an opening. Though Su Mucheng could maintain an offense with her range advantage, Wu Qi didn't give her much of a chance to launch an effective one.
As time ticked by, the match seemed like a game of tag. Su Mucheng kept chasing after Wu Qi, throwing all sorts of bombs at him.
"That's a little hasty," Wei Chen suddenly commented. His tone was concerned, clearly talking about Su Mucheng.
"Her attack efficiency is really low. If this continues, she'll have problems with her mana," Fang Rui also spoke up.
"Her opponent is baiting her into it," Ye Xiu noted.
It was the three of them who typically had more to say on matches. The rookies would sit around them and listen to learn something from it.
"Purposefully circling the boundaries of the map, baiting Su Mucheng into attacking, he's trying to deplete Dancing Rain's mana and wait for a chance to strike back." Since there were rookies listening in, Ye Xiu would often explain in more detail to help them understand.
"What if she just stops attacking altogether?" Luo Ji asked.
"She has to retract her offense carefully, pace it well. Her opponent planned this and isn't just attacking her mana, but her skill cooldowns too. If you abruptly stop an offensive and your skill tree isn't complete, then you'll usually leave many openings which the opponent can grasp. Thus, Su Mucheng generally paces her attacks well to suppress her opponents, but now she's losing her pace a little. If this continues, her Firing Line might expose an opening."
Firing Lines were a term unique to Launchers. A Launcher's offensive relied on depth and layering. The further away a target was, the lower the accuracy of attacks; the closer they were, the riskier it would be for the Launcher. Every Launcher had a Firing Line of optimal distance unique to them which depended on their skill level and playstyle, as well as their mastery of different skills. This was the distance at which a Launcher could maintain the strongest offensive, termed the Firing Line. If you wanted to break through a Launcher's offensive suppression, then breaking past their Firing Line was crucial. To do this, one had to understand how each Launcher maintained and operated their Firing Line - which skills they preferred to use, how they arranged these skills, what methods and pacing they were used to - and think of a way to break through.
This was relatively basic theoretical knowledge in Glory, and after playing Glory for so long, there was no need for Ye Xiu to explain these basic ideas to Happy's rookies anymore. He just had to make sure they understood that what Wu Qi was currently doing was aimed at throwing Su Mucheng's Firing Line into chaos. To do this, he had displayed admirable patience, forcing Su Mucheng to mess up the rhythm she had been maintaining so well.
Boom boom boom!
Onstage, Dancing Rain sent another round of cannonfire. Her attacks were converging more and more. Under this dense firepower, Wu Qi didn't seem to be holding up very well. However, he didn't let his Assassin character Cruel Silence hide completely, continuing to expose himself to Dancing Rain's line of sight, baiting the other into attack.
Boom boom boom!
The attacks continued without pause, but offstage, the frowns of Wei Chen, Fang Rui and the others continued to get deeper.
"This isn't good!" Fang Rui exclaimed.
Just as he said this, Wu Qi's Cruel Silence, who had been jumping around and dodging for so long, suddenly grew bold and shot forwards like an arrow.
"See! There was an opening, he's gotten past the Firing Line!" Fang Rui exclaimed. In the past, they had been opponents and now they were teammates, so he understood Su Mucheng's Firing Line rather well. After considering things from Wu Qi's perspective, he could even figure out approximately what the other planned to do next.
Of course, Wu Qi's thoughts wouldn't mirror Fang Rui's exactly, but they had caught more or less the same opening. Su Mucheng's Firing Line was getting rather patchy. She had been unable to execute her original fearsome offense to perfection due to the lack of a few certain skills.
I can get past!
In that moment, that was Wu Qi's only thought. Cruel Silence, went full speed, not wanting to waste a single moment of this opportunity, and charged towards Dancing Rain in an attempt to break through her Firing Line in one go.
"Haha…" Just as everyone in Happy was on the edge of their seats in worry for Su Mucheng, Ye Xiu chuckled.
"What are you laughing at?" Chen Guo asked.
"A cunning rabbit has three burrows*, have you ever heard of that?" Ye Xiu asked.
"Of course, what about it?" Chen Guo couldn't understand.
"Who said that you could only have one Firing Line?" Ye Xiu chuckled.
Never mind those old and young pro players, even Chen Guo immediately understood with that.
Onstage, the cannonfire didn't stop. Su Mucheng naturally wouldn't stay there like a sitting duck and let her opponent close in. She had Dancing Rain continue to hinder her opponent's momentum. However, Wu Qi had already judged Su Mucheng's Firing Line to be messed up and incapable of blocking his momentum.
He got through!
Just as Cruel Silence took another step forwards, Wu Qi let out a breath of relief. He had already broken through Su Mucheng's Firing Line, so the firepower at the following distances would only get weaker. In addition, the other might make mistakes in her panic as he closed in.
It was all coming to an end!
As Wu Qi thought this, boom boom boom, with three bangs, three Anti-Tank Missiles came soaring over.
It was just a low level skill so Wu Qi didn't think much of it, easily having Cruel Silence pass through the missiles.
Continue forward!
This was the only thought on his mind.
But...
What was happening? The firepower didn't seem to be weakening?
Wu Qi, darting in and out of cannonfire, realized that his charge was very unsuccessful and didn't achieve the results he had hoped for at all. He couldn't help but turn his head and look back. There wasn't anything wrong, Su Mucheng's Firing Line should've been left in the dust behind him! Yet this offensive...