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墨書 Inktalez
Four sacrificed to cover one. Li Qing shielded Ding Ze as he dashed across the stretch of road, leaping through the air above Ding Ze, dodging arrows that rained down from both sides of the cliffs. Most of the scattered arrows were intercepted. After Ding Ze made it through, Cui Ming fell, and the concentrated fire from Beiyue on both sides unleashed ten arrows per second. Despite being a support class with enhanced abilities, Beiyue couldn't hold out for long before his Life Stone shattered, leading to his demise. Li Qing charged out with half health remaining.
The strategy lay not with Li Qing but with Ding Ze. Mi Xiaonan transformed into lightning; although she couldn't break through the swarm of bats, she managed to draw them to one side of the path while Ding Ze advanced from the other side. Halfway through, as they neared the bat nest, numerous bats flew toward Ding Ze, blocking his path. The purpose of sending Ding Ze was for this moment—teleportation. He stood still for half a second before teleporting fifty meters away, where the bats were considerably sparser. Instead of attacking the bats, Ding Ze barreled through them, breaking their formation. After running a kilometer, he could finally see the flag.
This stretch of road was a public path, forming a large circle. Out of the corner of his eye, Ding Ze spotted someone rushing out, moving faster than himself. Unable to discern who it was, Ding Ze decisively brought his hands together and pushed forward, unleashing a crescent-shaped energy that shot forth rapidly. The person had not noticed Ding Ze; upon hearing the sound and turning around, they found the energy already upon them. Having already expended a significant amount of Life Stone health in their rush, they were struck solidly by Ding Ze's attack and died instantly. In that fleeting moment of death, they recognized each other—Ding Ze's heart sank; it was Ding Wen.
Ding Ze and Ding Wen had barely interacted during their time in the Ding Family but were bound by fate as both had been exiled by it. Ding Ze was reluctant to confront anyone from the Ye Family or Ding Family; he didn't want to face them. However, he had no choice. Even though he had realized it was Ding Wen beforehand, for the sake of his companions' sacrifices and contributions, he would strike without hesitation.
Ding Ze successfully raised the flag in hand as Bufon announced: "North Moon Group has successfully raised their flag. The Heroic Battle concludes here; North Moon Group will have a bye in the next round. Please take note to rest well. The elimination matches will begin tomorrow at eight in the morning."
A chorus of regret filled the air as several revived members of North Moon Group applauded each other in celebration from the audience seats. Cui Ming and Mi Xiaonan joined Li Qing in raising their hands before Beiyue. After some contemplation, Beiyue lightly tapped Cui Ming's palm with his fingers; she still found it difficult to express her emotions.
This was how men expressed themselves. When Ding Ze returned, he exchanged fist bumps with everyone, clasping hands together—not a formal handshake but raising his right hand to shoulder height and pressing palms together with force to convey joy. This gesture was often seen among men when celebrating happiness, while women typically expressed themselves through hugs, screams, or jumping.
Having received a bye meant entering the Top Eight. To outsiders, it seemed like North Moon Group hadn't done much. Their first match had been arduous; while several teams made tactical errors in slaying dragons, North Moon Group succeeded in raising their flag and secured a spot in the Top Eight. In reality, aside from a few individuals watching the matches closely, most competitors hadn’t paid much attention to North Moon Group’s situation.
Regretful as it was, others besides the Ding Family remained calm; after all, being one out of fifteen meant not winning was understandable. However, this did not apply to the Ding Family—among its five members were four different emotions: dissatisfaction and curses without any comments made publicly; there were even some who expressed admiration. The one offering praise was Vlad; naturally displeased was Ding Wen who had been killed by Ding Ze. Ding Tai remained silent while Ding Nuo cursed loudly—unlike Ding Tai who had some connection to Ding Ze and the family, Ding Nuo never felt any ties between them.
The list for the second round of Top Eight elimination matches was officially released; entering Top Eight meant that each match would determine a winner in two groups daily. With six seed players involved, there was potential for clashes among them—the results of the draw were crucial for everyone.
Although North Moon Group had received a bye, Beiyue still went to the square to gather information about matchups. There were almost no surprises; currently there were fifteen teams total—with North Moon Group on a bye—leaving fourteen teams where most seed players drew into Fish Meat group. The only interesting matchup was Pirate King against Pig Team.
Pirate King Ronk, Fishman, Big Guy, and the couple Romir and Fanxi formed a team. The main members of the Pig Team were Pugni, Mi Xiaomo, Feng, and two relatively mediocre members. One point of interest was that the tribes of Romir and Fanxi were neighbors to Pugni's tribe. For centuries, conflicts and grudges had persisted between them, and now the two tribes were at odds with each other. If it weren't for the pressure from the Eternity Alliance and the Force Alliance, they would have already gone to war.
How did Feng end up joining the Pig Team? It was because of Mi Xiaomo. When Feng arrived in Hero City, he wandered around and met Mi Xiaomo. After chatting for a bit, he casually joined the team. After all, Pugni was a stunning beauty... For someone like Feng, who wasn't overly competitive, having a girl nearby whispering sweetly was definitely better than being surrounded by a bunch of bare-chested men shouting.
This group seemed to have a very high chance of winning. Even Cui Ming agreed with this assessment but added that there might be variables in this match.
"Have you seen Pugni's photo? She looks tough, right? In the cold wind, facing a snowstorm, her expression is as stiff as Beiyue's... No, I mean resolute. Boss, I'm from Dawn City; my accent is heavy." Beiyue shot an angry glance at Cui Ming, casually expressing his annoyance but too lazy to truly get angry; getting angry at Cui Ming felt more like cheering him on. Cui Ming continued, "But Pugni is very clever. With Feng on her side, they do have an advantage over the Pirate Team. However, I wouldn't say it's a guaranteed win."
Cui Ming pulled out a second photo, which was of Romir. "Fanxi has a gentle personality like water and is as soft as the wind. In contrast, Romir has a fiery temperament and is straightforward. Pugni has grievances against them and must know their personalities well. So if Pugni is smart enough, she will definitely try to outsmart Romir."
Cui Ming then presented the trio of pirates. "Although these three have left the sea behind, their strength is still considerable. To be honest, we don't have absolute confidence when facing the Pirate Team."
Li Qing said, "The tactical approach has basically taken shape now; everyone prefers to enhance soldiers, strengthen tower defenses, and improve core personnel's equipment. Cui Ming, what do you think about this strategy?"
"This Competition Match isn't about killing numbers; it's about who can destroy the opponent's base first," Cui Ming replied. "Soldiers and tower defenses are important; treasure equipment is also crucial. However, I believe it's still about human competition. For example, when Snowman Nunu faced Ding Ze, even though the entire team funded Nunu, Ding Ze could still suppress him. But once Nunu enhanced the Arrow Tower, Ding Ze became hesitant to pressure him too much because he was hit hard by the upgraded Arrow Tower. So I think this method is valid: when at a disadvantage, strengthen soldiers and tower defenses for protection while confronting the opponent. When in a strong position, enhance treasures and equipment to force the opponent to upgrade their defenses."
Ding Ze countered, "Force? Why use that word?"
"Because tower defenses cannot move," Cui Ming explained. "Although enhancing soldiers is powerful, it only effectively attacks tower defenses while causing minimal damage to team members. By continuously increasing our five members' strength—even if we can't break through immediately—their team's strength will diminish over time; they won't be able to attack us effectively. We can suppress mission points with our strong capabilities and loot them while they develop slowly while we progress rapidly." Cui Ming stated: "I believe if all three lanes are suppressed in this Competition Match, there's no need to fight; just surrender. If only one or two lanes are suppressed, we can use enhanced tower defenses to stabilize our defense and protect our mission points."
Beiyue agreed: "I've always thought upgrading tower defenses is one of the most passive strategies. Although upgraded tower defenses significantly increase power, they can only defend and not attack. Additionally, in the first round of matches, we didn't see anyone utilizing the back route."
Li Qing pointed at the arena map and said: "The back route is a wild card; everyone is currently pondering it but hesitates to use it. It takes a lot of time to take a detour, and there are still tower defenses at the exit; one person plus an upgraded tower defense cannot break through alone. You can't send most people down that route; otherwise, the front will collapse."
Cui Ming looked at the map and said, "Pig Team, if Pugni, Mi Xiaomo, and Feng guard the three lanes, we should send one of the two Fish Meat members into the back route to create a diversion. Although we call them Fish Meat, they might not have shown their true strength. The Pirate Team will definitely not take this lightly; we must assign someone to defend the back route."
Ding Ze replied, "Then we can't hold the front, after all, it's four against three."
"We'll have to see. I believe Pugni has some tricks up his sleeve."
The battle between the Pirate King and the Pig Team was arguably the most exciting match of the second elimination round. Prior to this, seed players like Fire Cult had breezed through their matches, and now even ordinary practitioners acknowledged that there was a clear divide among those with real strength. This divide appeared after one reached a certain level of understanding; masters break through again to become heroes, while those who do not break through can only be referred to as Fish Meat. Ding Dewen loved inventing new terms; after hero, he coined the term awakening. Breaking through a realm is called awakening. Regardless, he controlled the media, and as long as he promoted it, hero, Fish Meat, and awakening would become buzzwords.
The match began. The Pirate Team had clear roles: Lank went to Set Off, Fishman took Midway, Fanxi handled Bottom Lane, while Big Guy and Romir roamed the jungle, sometimes supporting various lanes and other times ambushing enemy jungle personnel.
The Pig Team did not hesitate either; two Fish Meat members went to Bottom Lane and quickly upgraded the Defense Tower. With the help of the Defense Tower, they managed to fend off Fanxi's invasion. Pugni faced off against Lank at Set Off. Mi Xiaomo bore the heaviest burden as he was responsible for jungle tasks to earn gold while constantly aiding other lanes and keeping an eye out for Big Guy and Romir.
The jungle was filled with various monsters that had already been cataloged: a troop of monkeys dwelling in the forest, a gathering of stone giants, packs of wolves, cyclopes, and among them all stood the formidable red dragon. The red dragon was immune to all control spells and had incredibly strong defenses; however, it was quite docile and only guarded its own territory without venturing out. At the center of the jungle flowed a small stream that served as a boundary between the two teams.
To be continued...
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