As the saying went, a coming storm is foretold by the rising mountain wind. But right now, it wasn’t just the wind – the storm itself was upon them.
From the two ends of the canyon, the area forbidden to the players, the two camps of NPCs charged forth like rushing water. War cries and pounding footsteps rose up, sending clouds of dust billowing as they made their way toward the center of the map. At the same time, the hidden ambushers on the canyon walls began to make their move, paying attention to the situation below them as they made their way toward the center of the canyon as well.
The audience could see all of this very clearly. But Ye Xiu and Sun Xiang were unaware. The two continued to stand there, unmoving.
The two sides grew closer and closer. The sound carried through the canyon, and wavering forms began to appear at the very limits of their vision.
The two still did not move.
Right now, they were no longer competing in just patience or concentration. It was more a battle of willpower.
With the interference of the NPCs, the two would have to move sooner or later. And now, they were about to see who could endure until the very last moment before moving.
In a typical match, players were competing to be the first to do something, and they would fear that their controls weren’t fast enough, that they couldn’t beat the opponent in speed. But today, in this battle between Ye Xiu and Sun Xiang, the two of them had suppressed this match to this extent. It was as though they were playing a game where whoever moved first would lose.
Reality, of course, wasn’t that absolute. In fact, whoever moved first now might even be able to take the initiative. But neither of them took this risk.
Yes, risk.
The very simple action of breaking the unmoving situation to attack was actually considered a risk by the two of them. In this battle, the level of caution they were taking could be described as insane. If that weren’t the case, they would have never become locked in a stalemate like this.
But Ye Xiu doing this was one thing – the pro players were shocked to see Sun Xiang doing so as well. This haughty, impatient youth was actually able to restrain himself and compete in patience, compete in willpower?
In their view, Sun Xiang was competing with his weakness against the opponent’s strength. In this kind of stalemate, he couldn’t just toss his keyboard and mouse to the side. It required high concentration, maintaining a calm and steady mental state.
Anyone could do this for a short bit of time. But maintaining this steady state for a long time was very difficult, especially for someone with a personality like Sun Xiang’s. Not many people felt that he could keep control.
And right now, he was faced with a big test, the event refresh. The armies of NPCs approached, blocking the already-narrow canyon so tightly that even water couldn’t escape. This next test was no longer just the problem of the opponent.
Time was running out, the distance was closing. The NPCs were lined up in battle formation. Glory’s NPCs were also divided into the classes of Glory players, but their skill trees were much simpler. The more ordinary NPCs normally only had one or two skills, Boss level ones typically only had 3 or 5. Very few would have a complete skill tree. However, mixing skills across classes was fairly frequent.
And the charge after the event activation had been shown by the map introduction earlier. If the players had been paying attention, they should have taken note of the NPCs’ class composition and battle methods.
Neither Happy nor Samsara had overlooked this point, and right now the unfolding position of the NPCs was exactly the same as had been shown in the preview video.
In the front row were Knights. Once they had gotten close enough, they all lifted their shields. Instantly, there were no people to be seen on either side, only shields. It was as though Lord Grim and One Autumn Leaf were sealed in a rectangular box.
And then, boom boom boom, the sound of cannonfire. Hidden behind the shields, the Gunner classes of the two sides launched their attacks first, and they had all chosen the same skill: Stinger.
Stinger, ten of them!
The number of shots was also something that the players had paid attention to during the map introduction, and indeed, there were this many. The timing of the fire was also exactly the same. As for the flight path, everyone had originally wondered whether they would adjust depending on the exact position of the two players, but now, they saw that they still followed the rhythm of the introduction. In other words, right now, the two armies of NPCs were still ignoring Lord Grim and One Autumn Leaf. They were not the major targets of the Stingers.
Bang bang bang bang bang…
Soon after, the Stingers exploded like fireworks in the air. One artillery shell would explode into eight, making 160 Stingers in total. Even though Lord Grim and One Autumn Leaf hadn’t changed the attack rhythm of the NPCs, the wide AoE of this skill meant that their position would still be covered by this attack.
These two were really enduring to this extent. The Stingers were almost upon them, were they still not moving?
They moved!
The first one who moved was actually Lord Grim? The one who couldn’t last any longer was actually Ye Xiu?
Those who didn’t understand the subtleties of this scene didn’t think that this was a big deal, and in fact a number of people were thinking about how Ye Xiu’s reaction was faster. But the pro players were extremely surprised. Sun Xiang was actually steadier than Ye Xiu?
Right now, Lord Grim moved first, and Sun Xiang could finally begin to attack. But then, Lord Grim’s arms came up, his hands moving in a blur.
Sun Xiang wanted to cry…
Shadow Clone Technique!
Lord Grim had actually used this technique. Stand-off, restraint, both sides were waiting for the best chance to move, all the way until they had been surrounded by the NPCs. Ye Xiu could endure no longer, he made the first move, and Lord Grim moved, to run…
Dragon Breaks the Ranks!
Sun Xiang, who had already realized that something was wrong, used his fastest reaction and fastest hand speed. One Autumn Leaf lifted Evil Annihilation and rushed forward, instantly shattering Lord Grim.
But Sun Xiang’s heart sank.
Shattering meant that this was a Shadow Clone. The Shadow Clone Technique had been successfully cast, Lord Grim had already left from this position.
Where was he?
Sun Xiang lifted the view of One Autumn Leaf, and the first thing he saw was a Stinger about to land right upon his face. There was no time to dodge.
Boom!
The explosive power of a Stinger wasn’t actually very large, but it could easily cover a head. In this moment, it was as though One Autumn Leaf’s head exploded.
Through his fire-blurred vision, Sun Xiang could see Lord Grim land atop an outcropping on the cliff face, but in order to be well-prepared, the ninjato in his right hand was also firmly stuck in the stone. Sun Xiang had only managed one look before Lord Grim was moving again, nimbly using his ninjato to climb the wall.
Stalemate? Restraint? Wait for the best moment to attack? Who moved first would lose?
Sun Xiang truly no longer knew if Ye Xiu had even had these thoughts. Perhaps it had been like that at the start, but as the situation changed, his thought process had changed as well; or perhaps from the very beginning, he’d been purposefully putting on this act, all to lead him into this trap now…
After the widespread explosions of the Stingers, the two teams of NPCs continued to advance. According to the map introduction video, what came next would be the Knights’ Charge, and then the shields of both sides would brutally crash together.
Indeed, that seemed to be what was happening. The lines of Knights were already lowering their shields and rushing forward with Charge. But unlike the video, this time there was an extra One Autumn Leaf in the middle. Sun Xiang was like the layer of cream stuck between two cookies.
Clang clang clang clang…
The shields clashed together, producing a deep, ringing sound. In the end, One Autumn Leaf did manage to escape being squished into cream. A Dragon Breaks the Ranks allowed him to charge to the mountain wall, and then he jumped up, kicking against the cliffside. The second jump gave him the height he needed at the crucial moment to avoid the shields crashing below him.
Dragon Tooth, Double Stab, and the stab from a normal attack.
Midair Four Hit Combo was instantly completed, striking against the wall, and they accurately struck against the same place. The razor-sharp Evil Annihilation ultimately pierced through, and just like that One Autumn Leaf hung in the air. He still had to curl his lower body, lifting up his two legs in order to avoid the NPCs clashing beneath him.
“Not bad!” Praise from Ye Xiu flashed in the chat. Sun Xiang lifted his camera view and saw that Ye Xiu had already found another outcropping. Lord Grim stood steadily atop it, and this time he had retracted his ninjato. The Myriad Manifestations Umbrella was balanced in his right hand, and at the tip of the umbrella, the gun’s muzzle was a black hole. In his left hand he held a grenade, and just as Sun Xiang controlled One Autumn Leaf to lift his head, that grenade came tumbling down, and immediately after, boom boom boom, three Anti-Tank Missiles were flying toward him.
One Autumn Leaf, dangling in midair, desperately hanging onto Evil Annihilation with legs curled, was pathetic enough. How could he avoid this kind of attack? But in the moment that the grenade and the missiles were about to strike, One Autumn Leaf’s body suddenly shrunk into nothingness, as though he’d been squeezed into a void.
Teleport!
Last match, this was the skill that Sun Xiang had chosen to add to One Autumn Leaf’s weapon. This match, it was the same.
The attack was dodged, and it seemed like One Autumn Leaf could use this move to find a temporary landing point.
But suddenly, Lord Grim lifted his right leg, and kicked out.
Front Kick!
And then, everyone saw as a figure tore out of the void right into this foot. One Autumn Leaf was sent flying.
The pro players watching this all sighed and shook their heads. When it came to mind games, even ten Sun Xiangs combined were no match for Ye Xiu!
