Chapter 1298: Keep Calm
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
The two characters approached each other little by little, and the match seemed to have turned into the scene seen in the last match. Everyone's hearts jumped into their chests as they waited for that moment to arrive.
However, before any of the audience could react, the two characters suddenly accelerated.
"They've found each other!" Pan Lin yelled.
The crowd could see the overall situation better than the participants with their omniscient view. However, to gain a deeper understanding of what was occurring, they would need to rely on the player's perspectives. The broadcast and the big screen had both replayed the shot just now from the two character's perspective,
In that moment, a figure flashed through the views of Deception in the ditches and One Autumn Leaf next to it, and neither of them missed it. Their characters charged and clashed!
Boom!
An explosion of purple smoke.
They hadn't even engaged each other when Deception tossed a Smoke Bomb. Then, he darted out of the range of the smoke.
Did he want to run?
No!
Darting out, then in, Mo Fan had Deception play this sort of trick with Sun Xiang, but was this enough to shake Sun Xiang?
Shattering the Lands!
Sun Xiang responded in the most forceful way. In the purple smoke, he didn't know where Deception was so he directly used a level 75 ultimate.
Boom!
Evil Annihilation slammed into the ground and roaring magical energy buffeted the smoke, causing it to bubble like boiling water.
Deception once again ran out of the purple smoke, his figure swaying a little. Clearly, he had been hit by the shockwaves made by this skill, his health having been reduced. Sun Xiang had broken right through Mo Fan's trick in the most brutal way.
Dragon Rises from the Sea!
Evil Annihilation swung again and a wave of tide-like magical energy unfurled, breaking through the smoke. Through the break, Deception's figure was already exposed.
Charge!
Dragon Breaks the Ranks!
One Autumn Leaf raised his spear and charged out of the smoke, arriving in front of Deception in the blink of an eye. Sun Xiang didn't hope that this skill would hit his opponent; he was just using it as a movement skill.
Shining Cut!
Mo Fan once again overturned expectations, Deception advancing rather than retreating. With an Assassin skill Shining Cut, Deception's form flashed forwards, intending to slide right by Dragon Breaks the Ranks.
Sun Xiang was shocked, hurriedly adjusting himself. Evil Annihilation swerved, but it was too late. Deception had already flashed behind him.
In that moment, the two characters seemed to have completed a Switch, and just as the passed each other by, the two rapidly cancelled their skills, stopped, and turned.
Dragon Tooth! As One Autumn Leaf turned, Evil Annihilation stabbed forward.
A hit!
But, a puff of smoke rose; it was another Shadow Clone.
Sun Xiang didn't hesitate. As One Autumn Leaf turned, he swept his spear out and executed a Tyrant's Destruction, reaching a full 270 degrees around.
However...
Underground Tunneling Technique!
Another Underground Tunneling Technique, Deception darted out of the ground and, as One Autumn Leaf epically sweeped his spear across, hit the other's jaw in an uppercut.
Ninjutsu: Cicada Shell Double Slash!
Deception's follow-up came rapidly, executed in an unbreakable combo. Sun Xiang already knew it wasn't good when he was hit by the Underground Tunneling Technique and had prepared himself. However, the follow-up was so fast, so precise; there was no opening at all.
And then...
Annihilation, Storm Shuriken, Ninjutsu: Shadow Dance!
Again, the same five skill combo under Mo Fan's absolute focus had rendered Sun Xiang helpless. However, the last skill in the combo was the ultimate skill Shadow Dance. This was a skill that could be manually controlled and the mechanics required were far more demanding than other skills. For Mo Fan, whose limit was five skills, this skill would only be used in his five skill barrage if he planned to manually control it. The focus needed for the mechanics for this skill was comparable to two, three, even four other skills.
In a pro-level confrontation, Shadow Dance had to be manually controlled.
The audience didn't know that Mo Fan had this sort of limit. They just thought it was a climax to the match, their applause thunderous.
However, Happy's players knew that this choice of acton meant that Mo Fan was challenging his limits. It wasn't just a small challenge either, but throwing himself directly in the deep end.
"That's too much of a stretch!" Wei Chen commented.
"But with this skill, he can at least retreat completely, right?" Fang Rui said.
"But he… doesn't seem to have such an intention." Su Mucheng was the only one in Happy who really communicated with Mo Fan, though it was only very little.
"No, he doesn't…" Watching the match, Ye Xiu could see that after the Shadow Dance, all ten shadow clones had lunged forwards to attack, not giving himself any escape route. By this point, his focus was at its limit. Could he still control this skill to the same high level?
Bang!
With a resounding noise, a Deception shadow clone flew out of the pile of people. One Autumn Leaf, not even fully out of Falling Flower Palm's pose yet, threw his Evil Annihilation forwards with his other hand, unleashing a fearsome magical energy.
Rising Dragon Soars the Sky!
The rapid follow-up of Rising Dragon Soars the Sky after Falling Flower Palm didn't even wait for this Deception to fly out much before catching up and clamping down, magical energy striking and devouring everything in its path. The other shadow clones were all turned to smoke one by one. Everyone knew that Sun Xiang offensive had struck the heart of Deception's Shadow Dance.
"It really was a bit of a stretch…" Ye Xiu sighed.
Mo Fan wanted to surpass his limits, but the step he had chosen to take was too big. His focus scattered, his Shadow Dance wasn't executed flawlessly, revealing an opening that Sun Xiang immediately caught and used.
The audience couldn't see the depth to this, only knowing that these two were exchanging blows, the battle was spectacular. The crowd went wild, and the commentators of the broadcast Pan Lin and Li Yibo were also going on about this unexpected performance from Mo Fan, how he was able to match Sun Xiang blow for blow.
"I hope so…" Ye Xiu was a little concerned. Mo Fan had unleashed several barrages in succession and continued to challenge his own limits. Wasn't he a little too excited? This… seemed like he was losing control.
Rising Dragon Soars the Sky had long ending lag, and it was hard to follow-up on this. Sun Xiang could only wait until the skill ended and have One Autumn Leaf charge over to launch a new round of attacks.
"Before it was Mo Fan who was on the offensive, but now it looks like it's Sun Xiang's turn. One Autumn Leaf is advancing, how will Mo Fan deal with this? Deception… Deception ran away… I…" Pan Lin swallowed a curse. This Mo Fan's style was really quite depressing! Such a spectacular exchange, wasn't it thrilling going head to head? Sun Xiang had such a spectacular response to Mo Fan's offensive, so can't you just respond in kind and think of the audience a little? When the opponent countered, you immediately ran without any hesitation. Where's your courage to face Sun Xiang head on? Where's your mechanics that can match him blow for blow?
"This… This Mo Fan is really keeping a clear head about him! He didn't let it get to his head," Li Yibo said.
"But in competition there's no need to adhere so strictly and monotonously to such an arrangement, right? Young people should be more passionate, more reckless. This kind of strict and mechanical playstyle is a little too boring," Pan Lin offered.
"Heh, what if this is interesting to him?" Li Yibo simply said in reply. In that moment, he shone with his former identity as a pro player. Only those who had stood in the same shoes had the right to say these empathetic words. Interesting? What was interesting? The red-blooded excitement of head on clashes, intense APM battles? That was just the definition to you viewers. To each pro player, their chosen playstyle was the most interesting to them. Maybe some will purposefully change their styles to appease the crowd, but this was a trend that had appeared only after Glory became commercialized. However, Li Yibo, from an older generation of players, rejected this sort of commercial air deep down. He liked to see players maintaining their unique style, even if there were some he, his knowledge rather outdated, couldn't figure out...
Li Yibo's lightly spoken words had Pan Lin rather stunned. He didn't know what to say in response. On the stage, Mo Fan's Deception managed a smooth escape, using the gullies peppered across the map to conceal himself.
"He's got a pretty clear head!" Fang Rui exclaimed.
"Yeah, he's nowhere near as reckless as you though!" Su Mucheng said to Ye Xiu.
"Stretching his limits and performance might be an attempt to confuse his opponent. This kid must have been secretly observing my performance and learning valuable lessons from me!" Wei Chen decided.
"Shamelessness?" Steamed Bun asked.
"Bastard, he learned that from your boss!" Wei Chen cursed.
"Of course, boss is best at everything!" Steamed Bun boasted.
"Hahahaha, I won't object to that in this case!" Wei Chen laughed out loud, satisfied with the follow up attack Steamed Bun had given Ye Xiu.
"Steamed Bun doesn't understand, don't you go feigning ignorance. You're the most shameless," Ye Xiu retorted.
"Don't be so humble. You're the best at everything!" Wei Chen emphasized the word "best".
"You…"
"Mo Fan is still in the match and you're here talking nonsense!" Chen Guo got angry and yelled at the two.
"Aiyou, boss, relax, relax," Wei Chen hurriedly assured her, "Mo Fan will be fine."
"Really?"
"So long as he can keep this pace up," Ye Xiu said, "His opponent hasn't figured him out yet. Old Wei is right. By overstretching his limits, he's misled his opponent. His opponent will be having doubts about him, giving him a good chance."
"Mo Fan…" Chen Guo didn't continue her train of thought. In reality, she had wanted to express surprise that Mo Fan could beat Sun Xiang, but then she realized that this would be a blow to the players on the team, so she held back. However, she was still shocked at Mo Fan's improvement.
Could he win? Chen Guo gazed at the stage.
Mo Fan didn't fail everyone's expectations. When Deception was at 14 percent health, One Autumn Leaf fell, and the surprise Chen Guo didn't voice was yelled out by Pan Lin.
"I never would have expected that Happy's Mo Fan could defeat Sun Xiang!" Pan Lin cried out.