Chapter 988: Ghost Feast
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
Those who had been following Happy's matches all felt that this moment was very familiar. In the match against Mysterious Fantasy, Happy's Mo Fan and his Deception had followed their opponent in the same patient, careful manner, waiting for the perfect chance to strike suddenly. After gaining the upper hand, he didn't linger, but quickly retreated, before repeating this process over and over until his opponent was dead.
Seeing Qiao Yifan's One Inch Ash also quietly sneaking behind his opponent, everyone couldn't help but remember the match that day. Though it was a different player, they were from the same team, so they might use similar playstyles. If that were true, then that would make things very boring, no?
Boos rose from the crowd. It was evident that Mo Fan's playstyle wasn't liked. If you managed to burst your opponent in a sneak attack, that would be pretty great to watch, but Mo Fan's repetitive playstyle, always doing a hasty retreat just as the match was coming to a crescendo, might have been familiar and comfortable to him, but the audience was always denied that last breath of relief because of his rhythm, and held it in uncomfortably.
With this experience in their minds, and seeing Qiao Yifan seemingly about to do the same thing, the crowd loudly expressed their displeasure.
Amidst the boos, Xiao Jie glanced over at Happy; now, he wasn't nervous anymore. This sort of stalling playstyle was rather annoying. However, this was a group arena and not an individual competition, so every player had the chance to fight multiple players. And this sort of stalling playstyle, while not very fun to watch, tested a player's skill and required them to expend a lot of concentration. In the group arena, players couldn't only focus on defeating their current opponent if they wanted their team to win. They also had to conserve as much energy as possible while defeating their current opponent, so as to do as much damage as possible to the next opponent. Therefore, this sort of playstyle that required a player to expend a lot of mental energy wasn't very appropriate for the group arena.
As if hearing the crowd's boos, the Jade Dynasty player onstage suddenly went on high alert.
After rushing through a good portion of the map and not seeing the opponent, you would usually realize the other planned to ambush you. This was a very common tactic, but for Happy, they needed to be more careful. This was because they had Deception's endless stalking and Windward Formation's shameless and dirty hiding and sneaking. Both were rather disgusting to deal with.
But with Mysterious Fantasy testing out the waters for them, Jade Dynasty's players were prepared for this. Upon realizing that the opponent had such intentions, they didn't panic, instead heading resolutely towards Team Happy's spawn point. This was thanks to the experience they got from the match Happy had with Mysterious Fantasy. This was to prevent the other from finding some random place to huddle up and making them waste their energy and time for nothing.
Seeing his team's player reacting so quickly and accurately, Xiao Jie nodded in satisfaction. They had done careful planning on going up against Happy, and this sort of situation was the kind they put the most thought into. The decision the Ghostblade player had made was in accordance with Xiao Jie's thoughts, making him feel secure. Even though One Inch Ash wasn't huddled away at the spawn point, there would be no problem, so long as they followed the current strategy.
Just as Xiao Jie was thinking this, a blade flashed on the field and Qiao Yifan's One Inch Ash attacked.
Although Jade Dynasty's player had prepared to head off to the spawn point to check, that didn't mean he had let his guard down. Qiao Yifan's sneak attack wasn't very well timed and Anxious Ghost rolled, easily dodging the strike. While he got up, he sent a Moonlight Slash back.
One Inch Ash jumped backwards to dodge, and the flash of energy swept past the tip of his nose. Anxious Ghost followed up with a Full Moonlight Slash. Moonlight Slash and Full Moonlight Slash were two different skills, but since the combination of the skills was cool and practical, one would follow the other more or less eighty percent of the time, as if they were two parts of the same skill.
One Inch Ash had dodged the Moonlight Slash, but was struck by this Full Moonlight Slash. After receiving the blowback, he rolled twice before managing to quick recover and steadied himself. Seeing Anxious Ghost approaching, blade in hand, he turned and ran.
"Hahaha." Seeing this, Xiao Jie immediately laughed aloud. This was exactly what failing to steal a chicken and losing a handful of rice* was, in his eyes. This ambush of Happy's was too weak. Not only did he fail to gain the upperhand, but he also fell into a disadvantageous position and was now being chased by their player. Xiao Jie was inwardly delighted and involuntarily glanced over at Happy.
Xiao Jie hoped that Happy's members would display a bit of anxiety on their faces! Yet when he turned to look, they were all sitting calmly as if waiting for a fish to bite, especially Ye Xiu, who was even smiling!
Xiao Jie wanted to say something, but seeing how no one turned to pay him any attention, he held back.
On the field, Qiao Yifan's One Inch Ash turned and darted into a small alleyway nearby. The map they were on was an ancient town. Under the fading light of the setting sun, One Inch Ash immediately turned upon entering the alleyway. His shadow was still stretched out and left behind him. When Anxious Ghost charged over, he immediately saw this and sped up to give chase.
"Tsk tsk, the small details are what decides victory!" Xiao Jie lamented. The current match, Happy versus Jade Dynasty, was being streamed. Currently, the different angles and shots included the streaked one. Just now, they had given a close up of the lengthy shadow stretched out behind One Inch Ash and the commentator was analyzing the mistake made by Qiao Yifan.
"You should have your back to the setting sun, not your face…" The commentator expressed. Yet he saw One Inch Ash stop, huddling behind a wall and setting down a Sword Boundary to increase his strength and intelligence, preparing his ambush.
"This… I believe that Jade Dynasty's player couldn't possibly not be ready for this." The commentator said with confidence. Using the corner to make a sneak attack was a commonly employed tactic, so how could a pro player not be prepared for such a happening?
As expected, Jade Dynasty's Anxious Ghost didn't walk along the wall when he came in pursuit, but used an extra two steps to send himself into a rather large pathing curve. This way, he could gain some distance and guard against an ambush. What pro player wouldn't know to do this?
Even so, One Inch Ash's tachi still swung up, a Moonlight Slash was sent at Anxious Ghost, character and sword flying at him.
"Tsk tsk, this ambush…" The commentator was about to comment on this ambush and Qiao Yifan's attack from before and how childish they were, but Anxious Ghost seemed to have become dumbstruck, lifting the tachi in hand, but not seeming to know what he was doing. One Inch Ash's Moonlight Slash struck its target.
After Moonlight Slash was a Full Moonlight Slash, the same combo, expect that Qiao Yifan followed the knockback effect with a Ghost Slash. Anxious Ghost's momentum in the air immediately increased, like a cannonball, flying head first into the mud. The Jade Dynasty player quick recovered, making Anxious Ghost's original head-into-the-ground into a diving forward roll. As he rolled, he turned. A flash of energy from his sword darted out from beneath his arm, sending out a Sword Draw as he got up.
Yet, the sword struck air since One Inch Ash hadn't even approached him. Over there, the edge of the blade was unsheathed and the power of Phantom Ghosts flowed out and under. Two consecutive Boundaries were cast.
The commentator was really busy now! Not only did he have to analyze the situation at hand, he was inwardly wondering how Anxious Ghost had been successfully sneak attacked by One Inch Ash just now. It shouldn't have been! Such a simple ambush, even he could dodge it if he were up there, no?
However, the two sides were locked in intense battle now, so there was no time to replay the previous scene. The commentator could only pay attention to the current happenings. Yet as he stared at the match and continued to speak and speak, he spoke until he was struck dumb by his own words...
"Happy's One Inch Ash has lain his fourth Ghost Boundary, turning this small area into a Ghost Boundary encyclopedia. Jade Dynasty's Anxious Ghost doesn't seem to be able to do much. High walls surround his left, right, and back. The only escape route is blocked by One Inch Ash. Take a look, everyone, One Inch Ash hasn't thrown all his Ghost Boundaries in a pile together. There are layers to this arrangement. This way, if Anxious Ghost tries to charge out, he'll be stopped by one of the layers of Ghost Boundaries, making it hard to get a good rhythm down and making things easier for One Inch Ash. Sword Draw! Oh, Anxious Ghost still maintains a very good reaction speed, he dodged it. Huh? What's he trying to do… Anxious Ghost keeps moving forward, but that's a wall over there! Oh, he bumped into the wall. Oh, it's the Seed of Darkness, or the Dark Boundary, as it's more commonly known. Sorry, there's too many interwoven Ghost Boundaries that even I didn't notice it. When did One Inch Ash lay it down? Anyways, Anxious Ghost stepped into the Dark Boundary, and he couldn't see under its blinding effects, so he ended up walking into a wall… this… seems rather ugly…"
"Dark Boundary's effects have worn off, Anxious Ghost turns… Wow, he's frozen now, an Ice Boundary…"
"One Inch Ash has the absolute advantage here. To be honest, I want to just announce his victory now, but the happenings from before taught me a lesson, so let's finish watching the match first." The commentator continued to analyze the situation and even made a joke about himself. Last match, the commentator hadn't been able to help announcing Lin Yi would win, but ended up getting his face slapped. So, in this match, he didn't dare jump to any conclusions though Qiao Yifan had the absolute advantage.
"Anxious Ghost has been trapped there by One Inch Ash, unable to escape. Happy's player has used the terrain to its fullest, perfectly utilizing the advantages of a Ghostblade. Okay, now the scene we're giving everyone is One Inch Ash's skill situation. We have the production director to thank for capturing this scene. Look, everyone, all of One Inch Ash's Boundaries are currently in use. All of the Ghost Boundaries in his skill build are currently on cooldown. Seeing the rotation of these cooldowns, doesn't everyone think this is a beautiful rhythm? I feel like if there was some music to go with it, it would be even better."
"Oh, One Inch Ash has quickened his pace, sending out all his Ghost Boundaries. Now, there are a total of, one, two, three, four, five… Sorry, everyone, I can't seem to make it out clearly either, but with One Inch Ash sending out all these Boundaries, does he want…"
"Ghost Feast!!!"
"Amazing, One Inch Ash has activated Ghost Feast, making all the Ghost Boundaries erupt, immediately taking the rest of Anxious Ghost's health with them. One Inch Ash won! What a beautiful victory!" The commentator yelled, forgetting his composure.