Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
The pace of the group arena had slowed for a second time after the match between Fang Rui and Han Wenqing.
This definitely wasn’t the pace that Tang Rou was hoping for. Under these circumstances, it wasn’t hard to figure out who held the advantage.
Song Qiying.
He was a rookie too. Compared to Tang Rou, he had started playing Glory much earlier. He had also gone through the same training camp as Qin Muyun and had a solid foundation.
He controlled the pace of the fight extremely well, ruining Tang Rou’s plans. She wasn’t able to break open this 1v1 situation. The pro players watching were discussing the battle. This was a battle between a spear and shield, and right now, the sturdy shield was blocking the sharp spear.
If the sturdy shield couldn’t be broken, it would rebound back. As a result, in this confrontation between attack and defense, it would end up as a trade. Song Qiying’s strategy was to trade using a dense defense. Compared to Team Blue Rain, who could launch an explosive counterattack at any moment while defending, Song Qiying’s defense was more simple and pure.
To think a player like this could come out of Tyranny. Countless people were clicking their tongues in wonder.
Tang Rou obviously wasn’t thinking the same. It was depressing. Song Qiying’s control over the pace of the match felt oppressive. It wasn’t that she wasn’t thinking of a solution, but no matter what she did, her opponent would quickly figure it out and then eliminate it.
It looked like Soft Mist was attacking, while River Sunset was defending, but for Tang Rou, it didn’t feel like she was attacking. She felt like she was hitting against a wall. She would hit it again and again, and every time, she would bounce back. So far, she had lost 30% of her health. As for her opponent? He had only lost 15% of his health. It was an exact two to one trade as if everything was precisely calculated.
If this continued, when her opponent lost 10% more health, wouldn’t it be the end for her?
Tang Rou was unwilling to lose. Being unable to win would always be something she would be unhappy about.
Soft Mist’s attacks suddenly stopped, and she retreated several steps back.
“Oh…” Many people sighed emotionally.
“She should have stopped a long time ago. Being reckless isn’t a solution,” Pan Lin also said.
“It looked as if she had the initiative, but in reality, she was being led around the nose by Song Qiying. She should have taken a pause and looked carefully for an opening,” Li Yibo said. He had gone back to his fair and unbiased commentary, earnestly giving advice to Tang Rou.
“But what if she isn’t able to find any openings?” Pan Lin asked.
“Then… it’s impossible to win,” Li Yibo said.
Yes, if you couldn’t find any openings and you couldn’t beat the opponent, then you would be the one who lost. It was very simple reasoning.
What will Tang Rou do?
She had always given them an impression of having a fierce offense, but in front of this unbreakable wall, how would she make adjustments?
Soft Mist had stopped attacking for five seconds already. Song Qiying’s River Sunset didn’t hurry to counterattack, but he was also pressing forward step by step. He obviously wasn’t someone who only knew how to defend and didn’t know how to attack. It was just that he attacked just as carefully as he defended.
“Uh, is Tang Rou planning on giving the initiative to Song Qiying and then searching for an opening in his offense?” Li Yibo had a few ideas, “That is a decent solution, considering that she isn’t able to get past her opponent’s defense. But… Song Qiying’s cautious style will make it hard for Tang Rou to find an opening. What’s more…”
Before Li Yibo could finish speaking, a figure rushed forward.
Soft Mist.
Dragon Breaks the Ranks!
After a five to six second pause, Tang Rou started attacking again. Giving the initiative to Song Qiying? The idea was proven wrong before Li Yibo could even finish up his commentary.
The distance was very close, and Dragon Breaks the Ranks wasn’t an easy-to-dodge attack. However, Song Qiying’s caution was such that he would always be ready for any attack.
Dragon Breaks the Ranks?
The moment Soft Mist raised her spear, River Sunset had already begun rolling to the side.
Magic energy and wind collided, creating a loud boom. Dragon Breaks the Ranks rushed forward, but River Sunset was already moving away. However, to his surprise, Soft Mist’s Dancing Fire Flowing Flames was turned slightly towards where River Sunset would dodge to.
Those who weren’t perceptive enough wouldn’t be able to notice this small detail.
Song Qiying had noticed it though. He was the same as Zhang Xinjie, someone who carefully observed the opponent and paid attention to the details. He had even determined correctly that this slight turn had happened after River Sunset had started dodging.
In other words, Tang Rou hadn’t predicted where he would move to, she had reacted to his movements.
It had only been a slight shift to the side, but at this close of a distance and the speed of Dragon Breaks the Ranks, being able to make this adjustment showed how astonishing her reaction speed and hand speed was.
Dragon Breaks the Ranks wasn’t a single target attack. The collision between magic and wind dealt AoE damage.
The area that the attack covered deviated slightly from where it was before, but luckily for Song Qiying, he was still able to dodge it.
Song Qiying could see it clearly. Even with this adjustment, the Dragon Breaks the Ranks wouldn’t be able to hit him. If Soft Mist had been a bit further, if the adjustment had been slightly bigger, the outcome might have been different.
Song Qiying was still thinking about this, when suddenly saw a flash of red light before him.
How!
He was shocked. He instinctively dodged, evading this sudden attack.
It missed and then… there was nothing afterwards.
That sudden attack wasn’t from Dragon Breaks the Ranks. If it had been, he wouldn’t have been able to dodge the AoE. Song Qiying saw Soft Mist retract her red spear. It looked like she wasn’t done with her assault.
River Sunset and Soft Mist had been about 4.5 steps away previously.
With only a distance of 4.5 steps, she was able to use Dragon Breaks the Ranks, adjust it, cancel it, and then follow up with another attack to make up for what her Dragon Breaks the Ranks couldn’t cover.
Even though it ultimately didn’t work, Song Qiying felt his body go cold. What was more terrifying was that it wasn’t over yet. The red light quickly returned. Shua shua, two thrusts in quick succession, Double Stab!
River Sunset didn’t dodge because Song Qiying knew that if he only dodged, he would lose control over the tempo. He would lose control over the fight.
The pause from Tang Rou was to give Song Qiying a chance to attack? The people who thought that were gravely mistaken. The pause looked to be a short mid-fight break. What came after was an even fiercer and more explosive assault. When she attacked, she didn’t make any probes, nor did she hold back. She went all out with her attacks. More importantly, whenever Song Qiying made any changes, she would immediately react to it. She was accelerating the tempo to her maximum speed, biting tightly onto her opponent.
It was dangerous for the enemy and for herself. It was obviously very difficult to maintain such a tempo. It would be easier for her to make a mistake, and for Tang Rou, a single mistake could mean the end for her.
Pu pu!
Two streaks of blood from River Sunset flew into the air. Song Qiying didn’t dodge the skill, tanking the damage. River Sunset stepped forward and let out a punch. He needed to respond with a few attacks so he could keep the tempo of the fight under his control.
He punched, but he missed. Soft Mist looked as if she didn’t even dodge. However, the punch had missed by just a hair.
When Han Wenqing saw this scene, he couldn’t help but feel emotional. The spear was long, while the fist was short. A stab was the spear attack with the longest reach. If the Striker wanted to attack after taking the hit, he would need to get close to her first. He had encountered this challenge repeatedly when he had fought with Ye Xiu in the past. Ye Xiu would always take advantage of these sort of situations.
The punch missed, but Soft Mist’s counterattack arrived. Song Qiying was able to found an opening to use Reinforced Iron Bones and had River Sunset take the hit again to continue his attacks!
He needed to control the tempo, and he could no longer rely on just defense to do so. Song Qiying focused on his offense.
But Tang Rou didn’t retreat. She also knew where they key to her victory lay in. She couldn’t stop. If she stopped, she would lose without a doubt.
The pace of the fight soared, quickly following the style of today’s group arena again. Fist and spear clashed, making everyone think of the former rivalry between Han Wenqing and Ye Xiu. What made many Tyranny fans annoyed was that the Battle Mage played the way they liked. Fortunately, Song Qiying wasn’t bad either. Facing this fierce opponent, he didn’t cower.
Who won today’s group arena would be decided through a contest of force.
Who would win?
For a moment, no one could tell. Soft Mist had less health, but she held the advantage. River Sunset’s health was dropping faster. And at this tempo, it was very easy for a mistake to happen. It was possible for a last second comeback.
Everyone quieted down, focusing on the match. Even Pan Lin and Li Yibo had stopped talking. With the speed they were going, how were they supposed to commentate? They might as well wait for the outcome and then analyzing it from there!
Bang!
In the end, with one final collision, the winner was decided.
Song Qiying, River Sunset. In the end, he stood until the end. Tyranny had won the group arena.
Although Tang Rou had lost, she had used 20% of her health to take down 60% of River Sunset’s health. Her performance had been astonishing.
The group arena ended. The two players walked out from their booths amidst thunderous applause. The applause was for Song Qiying’s win as well as Tang Rou’s performance. Even though Tang Rou wasn’t well liked by the public and used Tyranny’s most hated class, the Battle Mage, Tyranny fans loved the way she played!
Since they liked it, they happily applauded. This was just how Tyranny’s fans were.
