Chapter 1292: Composed Samsara
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
"Not just one Firing Line…"
Spectators often had a clearer view of the overall situation, and Samsara's players had realized the crux of the problem at this point, too. Wu Qi hadn't managed to break through, but instead had fallen into an attack arrangement that Su Mucheng had set up for him.
But… Su Mucheng wasn't a new player! The Golden Generation, joining the alliance in Season 4, had become well-know very early on and gained fame rapidly, meaning that they had long since been researched by the other teams. The Firing Line wasn't something new. From the very beginning, finding the Firing Line was the heart of researching a Launcher. Su Mucheng's Firing Line was no secret, hadn't been for a long time, and wouldn't have remained one for long anyways.
Because this was a competition, everyone would give it their all on the field, and the Firing Line was each Launcher's DPS limit. In competitions, players often felt that their best wasn't enough, so who would hold anything back? Unless, of course, you were bullying someone with skill far inferior to yours, then you wouldn't need to give it your all. Even so, there wouldn't be a disparity of skill so big between anyone who had the ability to get into the Alliance, at least to the extent that one could bully the other.
Samsara's members exchanged looks. Happy wasn't an opponent they would underestimate, and Su Mucheng wasn't an easy opponent to fight. Even if they had crushed Happy 10 to 0 in the previous match, this round they would only be more prepared. However, they really hadn't thought that Su Mucheng had more than one Firing Line. She hadn't even hinted at such a talent in the previous matches.
"She's gotten better," Zhou Zekai suddenly said.
The others frowned, continuing to watch the match. Under Dancing Rain's cannonfire, Wu Qi's Cruel Silence didn't have any success closing in. Dancing Rain casually pulled away further as she blasted him. The distance between them slowly grew until...
"The Firing Line!" Jiang Botao called out. This distance was where the Firing Line they were familiar with was at. Cruel Silence had been suppressed by the attacks, Su Mucheng had Dancing Rain slowly pull away, and just like that, Cruel Silence, who had already broken through Su Mucheng's first Firing Line, was pushed back into it again.
Cannonfire poured down like a storm and this offensive was clearly a step above the previous one. This was Su Mucheng's true Firing Line, the one Wu Qi had originally broken through. Yet, he hadn't imagined that there would be another Firing Line hidden behind this one which disrupted his charge and sent him back.
That unknown Firing Line had already caused Wu Qi huge problems in his advance, and the current one he was caught in was what everyone knew to be Su Mucheng's true, strongest Firing Line.
Under the blasts, Cruel Silence's health dropped at an alarming rate. What experienced player wouldn't know what would happen when you were in a Launcher's Firing Line? Launchers wouldn't stand there like an idiot and just DPS but adjust themselves according to the opponent's response to ensure their target remained in their Firing Line. It was easy to get into a Firing Line, but much harder to get out of one.
Samsara's players all turned to look at Sun Xiang simultaneously. He had been teammates with her for half a year, after all.
"Did you know she had this level of skill?" Lu Boyuan nudged Sun Xiang, asking.
Sun Xiang shook his head, face filled with confusion. In reality, when he had arrived in Excellent Era, the Spear and Cannon Duo that had been established in Season 2 met an untimely death. Though One Autumn Leaf and Dancing Rain had both still been in the team, they had lost the sense of partnership they had in the past. Sun Xiang was rather depressed at this, but Su Mucheng's professionalism was flawless; they just didn't have that sort of chemistry. Partnerships did somewhat depend on fate. It wasn't uncommon for forced partnerships to end in an absolute mess in the Alliance.
However, even as teammates, Sun Xiang really didn't know that Su Mucheng had all these tricks with her Firing Line.
"With her skill, I think she can probably maintain her Firing Line at a wider range. What do you think, Little Zhou?" Jiang Botao said.
"Yeah," Zhou Zekai nodded.
"However, she purposefully controlled her skill use, focusing on the range of her Firing Line. But because it was so focused, she could combine and use the skills that were freed up interchangingly to split off a second Firing Line…" Jiang Botao analyzed.
The Samsara players around them all nodded. They weren't like Happy, full of rookies. Samsara's line-up was the most stable in years. This group of players had grown together, gained experience together. They understood and complemented one another very well. Communication was simple and convenient for them. Samsara's two consecutive championships was a result of these players growing to their peak. Luck would always play a factor in who became the champions, but this luck could only be grasped if you had enough power.
Now, this championship team managed to analyze Su Mucheng's current playstyle completely with just a few sentences.
"How cunning," Jiang Botao continued to comment.
"Yeah… If needed, I believe she could increase the range of her Firing Line, instead of splitting it into two like this," Lu Boyuan agreed.
"However, she didn't do that. She held back, making her choices seem more varied. She's managed to maintain great control over this," Jiang Botao sighed.
"It's not looking good for Wu Qi!" Blade Master player Du Ming exclaimed.
Everyone fell silent. It was a shame that the person they had admiring was their opponent. If their opponent performed well, then it meant trouble for them. However, the confidence of a championship team wasn't anything to scoff at. Faced with an impending loss, their mood seemed very calm, not at all panicking because of two consecutive losses.
In the end, it was Su Mucheng who claimed victory. The cheering in Xiao Shan Stadium drew on for a good while.
This was Samsara, after all! That immensely powerful Samsara, and yet, Team Happy was currently leading 2 to 0!
Wu Qi returned to the player bench. He was naturally in a rather bad mood due to his loss.
"That really was too sly of her!" Accepting the towel his teammates handed over, Wu Qi wiped his hands before throwing the towel onto his seat dispiritedly. It was clear that, in the end, he had figured out what was going on with Su Mucheng's Launcher.
"We'll watch out next time," his teammates consoled him.
"Watch this, I'll avenge you!" Lu Boyuan said.
"It's not a group arena, avenge my ass." Wu Qi glared.
"You can avenge yourself later in the team competition," Jiang Botao told him.
"Am I in the starting line-up for the team competition?" Wu Qi's eyes shone.
"Ahem!" Jiang Botao cleared his throat. "Next time, next time."
Wu Qi returned to his dispirited state. In reality, they had already gone over the line-up before in the prep room prior to the match. It was exceedingly rare for a team to wait until the match itself to announce their line-up to the players. Wu Qi already knew that he would still be the sixth player for the team competition. He was just expressing his desire to be a part of the starting line-up. Seeing his state, his other team members started laughing. Getting into the team competition starting line-up for Samsara was very difficult nowadays. However, Samsara was a team with a truly impressive atmosphere, able to discuss this rather sensitive topic freely.
"Well, I'm off," Lu Boyuan said to his teammates before he headed off. On Happy's side, their third player was also a Fighter class player, Steamed Bun.
"Aiya, it's this guy. If I lose, you can't blame me, okay? That guy's hella weird!" Seeing Happy's next player, Lu Boyuan hurriedly turned back to speak with his teammates.
"If you lose, you can hand your place in the starting line-up to me!" Du Ming hollered.
"Hand it to me!"
"Me me me!"
All the players on rotation joined in. Lu Boyuan smiled, already walking towards the stage.
"As expected of a championship team…" Happy's members were also paying attention to the situation with Samsara.
After two consecutive losses in the individual round, the team wasn't at all panicked. This team didn't have any very experienced veterans, but they were all very composed players. This might be the result of the confidence gained in these two years as two-time consecutive champions. Even opening with two losses wouldn't impact their confidence. The psychological advantage that taking a lead had was completely lost when faced with Samsara. On the contrary, their confidence, their composure, their leisurely attitude would unstabilize their opponents.
However… considering that Happy's third player was Steamed Bun, there was no such setting that would make him feel unnerved. Chest puffed out and head held high, Steamed Bun got onto the stage with several long strides. He gained quite a lot of cheers.
Compared to the rest of the Alliance, Team Happy's line-up was one of the least stable. Steamed Bun didn't have all that many opportunities to perform but he was quite popular amongst the Happy supporters since he could always bring surprises to the match. A match with Steamed Bun was never boring.
"Samsara's third player is Lu Boyuan. This player is a model competitive player. He has great mental fortitude and his forte is performing at his peak under pressure, turning the tables on his opponent. After falling behind by two points, he's the third to come up, but this is exactly the type of situation which he performs well in!" Pan Lin commentated on the two players in the live television broadcast.
"As for Happy, they've sent out Bao Rongxing. Eh, this player… He's a very… well, no matter where he is, he's a player who has a very inconsistent performance. Do you agree, advisor Li?" Pan Lin asked.
"Ahem!" Li Yibo coughed.
"Ahem ahem!" Li Yibo coughed more.
"Bao Rongxing is the one player that can bring the most unexpected of situations to a match," Li Yibo concluded. A player that was so unpredictable really wasn't one he dared to predict anything about.
"Alright, now the match will start," Pan Lin announced.
On the field, the characters were loaded into the maps. For Happy, Brawler Steamed Bun Invasion; for Samsara, Glory's current Number One Grappler, Chaotic Cloudy Mountains.
"Alright, let the match start! Both characters are running directly for the center," Pan Lin called out.
"Lu Boyuan struck first! Don't Grapplers usually wait for the opponent to make a move and then counter, Advisor Li?" Pan Lin asked.
"Yes, because grabs are the highest priority skills in Glory, so Grapplers have the ability to break through an opponent's offense. Using grabs during an opponent's offense is usually harder for the opponent to deal with," Li Yibo said.
"But Lu Boyuan is really taking the initiative here!"
"Samsara has, after all, lost two matches in succession. They need to be fierce in order to raise their morale!" Li Yibo explained.
Just as he finished speaking, Lu Boyuan sent a message. "I'm not gonna give you a chance to mess things up, man!"
"Advisor Li?" Pan Lin turned his head towards Li Yibo.
Li Yibo had a bitter expression. What was up with people today; how come even Team Samsara decided to start slapping the faces of commentators?