The King's Avatar

"Scaredy-cat Leo!" Steamed Bun sternly reprimanded Huang Shaotian in the chat.

Huang Shaotian was pissed!

There was no way anyone would ever agree to a 1v1 duel in the middle of a team battle, right? So why was this guy so seriously insisting on this? That brimming hostility, it was unbearable!

Downwind Sword Slash!

The swift sword light well represented Huang Shaotian's current mood. He would never lose his cool over the mockery of trash talk, but as it happened, the one who spewed trash talk right now was the optimal attack target, so without any pressure, he could use his official role to satisfy his personal interests. His mood was beautifully expressed, and the timing, angle, and speed of this Downwind Sword Slash reached the peak, completely flawless.

Hit!

No one could have dodged or blocked this kind of attack.

The bladelight scattered fresh blood outward. Steamed Bun Invasion was sent pathetically tumbling onto the ground. But with this, he was really rolling quite far!

"Not bad, kid!" Huang Shaotian sent in the chat. Pro players were very sensitive to distance, because that was how they chose the most suitable skill to use at any given moment. Steamed Bun seemed to be helplessly rolling along the ground as a result of the ferocity of the Downwind Sword Slash, but in reality, he was using the momentum of this strike to put some distance between himself and his attacker. The posture was a but ugly, but he achieved the goal he wanted.

This Downwind Sword Slash on its own was indeed executed impeccably. But a good offensive was like a banquet, composed of many different dishes. It couldn't rely on just one.

Steamed Bun Invasion used this Downwind Sword Slash to increase the distance. If the close-range Blade Master wanted to close in again, then the Brawler could use mid-range techniques to counter him. From this, it could be seen that even though this Downwind Sword Slash was flawless, it couldn't become a banquet. The attack landed, but it didn't consider the follow up.

In the end, had Huang Shaotian been too impulsive?

This Downwind Sword Slash, displaying Huang Shaotian's annoyance, would lead people to think this way. But those who thought this way were overlooking the fact that this was a team battle, not individual. Huang Shaotian wasn't the only cook for this banquet. By itself, this Downwind Sword Slash might have left an opening, but in a team battle, there were teammates that could cover this opening. Huang Shaotian used this skill, not because he had lost his judgment in a fit of anger, but because this was a team battle, and he trusted that there were enough people next to him that could cover this opening.

Curse!

Bullets!

When Huang Shaotian's Blade Master could no longer attack because of the distance, the long-range attackers Yu Wenzhou and Zheng Xuan immediately gave firepower support.

After the Downwind Sword Slash, the two skills of the two characters immediately followed, and there was even cooperation between them as well.

Steamed Bun's reaction speed and control was good, but the attacks of these two characters cut off all space he had to dodge.

The curses of a Warlock and the firepower of a Spitfire.

Of the two skills, he would have to choose one to be hit by in the end. Steamed Bun was very decisive, and he twisted his body toward the bullets that Bullet Rain fired toward him.

Under typical circumstances, players would want to choose to take the skill that damaged them less, but the problem was that the attacks from these two classes both had more painful effects than just damage.

Swoksaar had used a Binding Curse. It wouldn't cause any damage at all, but it would imprison the target character.

What about Bullet Rain? He had fired Freezing Bullets, which carried the Freeze effect. It only had a certain chance of activating, but all of the Gunner subclasses, aside from Launchers, could attack with consecutive, continuous shots. The Spitfire's Freezing Bullet could be considered a buff, and the action to use it was changing the magazine. After changing the magazine, normal fired bullets would become Freezing Bullets. Under the Spitfire Classing skill Ammunition Expansion, this magazine could hold as many as twenty Freezing Bullets.

If one bullet had a certain probability of causing a Freeze, with twenty bullets, it would be very difficult to avoid every single one. When all bullets hit, it was fairly common to become entirely Frozen.

Right now, Steamed Bun Invasion forcefully headed in this direction, and was swiftly hit by a series of bullets. Freeze took effect, and his movements instantly slowed down. But for now, he hadn't been completely Frozen. This was also the reason to choose this direction instead of going toward Swoksaar's Binding Curse. Moving more slowly was always a bit better than being unable to move at all.

But this was such a shallow reasoning, so of course, Blue Rain had thought of it as well. When Yu Wenzhou and Zheng Xuan launched their pincer attack, they had already calculated that Steamed Bun Invasion would choose to head toward the area covered by the Freezing Bullets.

sword light flashed.

When Troubling Rain used his Downwind Sword Slash, Lu Hanwen's Flowing Cloud was rushing forward to cooperate. The light of his blade ultimately fell upon the area where Bullet Rain's bullets pointed. Blue Rain's offensive wasn't conducted by one person, it was a combination of four people landing upon Steamed Bun Invasion.

But while Blue Rain had four players, Happy had more than just Steamed Bun Invasion as well. Even while focusing on Steamed Bun Invasion, Yu Wenzhou hadn't overlooked Happy's other four players, either. The fire from Su Mucheng's Dancing Rain could cover the whole map, and she immediately began giving support. And her judgment overlapped with Blue Rain's actions very well - the cannonfire was already covering the position toward which Flowing Cloud was charging.

What an incredibly accurate prediction.

A prediction of Blue Rain's coordination as a team, a prediction of the awareness of Blue Rain's players.

Su Mucheng's attack landed at the same time as Lu Hanwen's attack, but Su Mucheng's target was precisely Lu Hanwen's Flowing Cloud.

Boom!

The explosion sent waves of energy rippling outward, and that sword light from Flowing Cloud wavered. All of this happened so quickly, just in the span of a few seconds, so precisely that it seemed as though everyone had rehearsed it beforehand. Flowing Cloud arrived, the cannonfire arrived, there was no chance at all for Lu Hanwen to dodge.

An opening!

Flowing Cloud's attack was destroyed by Dancing Rain, and Steamed Bun Invasion immediately had an opening before him. But Yu Wenzhou, who was cool-headedly paying attention to the entire field, had noticed Dancing Rain's attack and anticipated that Flowing Cloud's attack would be broken. So, Swoksaar cast another spell, covering this opening in advance.

Claws of Darkness!

From the void, black claws gleaming with demonic power extended forth, snatching toward Steamed Bun Invasion. This attack was also a predictive attack, a prediction of the opponent's movements.

But, unfortunately, this was Steamed Bun that Yu Wenzhou was trying to predict.

The Claws of Darkness snatched downward, the flowers of the devil were blooming, but where was Steamed Bun Invasion?

With a roll, Steamed Bun Invasion had actually rolled back to where he was before.

The so-called opening was that, using the cover from Dancing Rain's fire, he could continue in the same direction to break free from Blue Rain's attacking him. But Steamed Bun didn't head in that direction, and instead went back toward the position where he had been surrounded and trapped.

Had he also predicted Swoksaar's attack against him?

Those who liked to overthink situations would of course consider this situation. But even those who were familiar with Steamed Bun, couldn't determine how he had had that shining eureka moment.

"Maybe that was just convenient for him?" In Happy's player area, those who weren't onstage speculated.

But even though this was an unexpected movement, aside from avoiding this Claws of Darkness from Swoksaar, there wasn't anything particularly shining about this.

The Freeze effect on Steamed Bun Invasion's body hadn't worn off yet. If he was hit by another attack with a Freeze effect, the chances of him becoming completely Frozen would greatly increase. Bullet Rain hadn't finished firing his twenty Freezing Bullets yet, and with Steamed Bun Invasion returning to his former position, it was very easy for Zheng Xuan to fire at him. The Freezing Bullets immediately chased him.

He just acted a bit unexpectedly…

Even Yu Wenzhou thought this way. Someone acting unexpectedly didn't automatically guarantee that they could win the initiative. If a sword came down on an opponent and that opponent didn't dodge at all, that would also be very unexpected, but could that cleaved opponent really be said to have the advantage?

Steamed Bun Invasion's action, aside from dodging the Claws of Darkness, was truly a disastrous movement.

But the bullets that Bullet Rain fired were actually completely blocked in midair.

Prediction. Again, prediction.

And this time, the one who made an accurate prediction was Ye Xiu.

The Myriad Manifestations Umbrella blocked all of the Freezing Bullets, and suddenly, a large path was opened before Steamed Bun's eyes.

This time, Steamed Bun didn't trip up, and he immediately controlled Steamed Bun Invasion to charge onto this path. The still half-Frozen Steamed Bun Invasion seemed to be moving in slow-motion, and it was very amusing to watch. But the cover of his teammates allowed him to resolutely walk forward. Lord Grim helped blocked the attacks from Bullet Rain, while Su Mucheng's Dancing Rain blasted a Firing Line next to him, causing a great deal of trouble for the two Blade Masters controlled by Huang Shaotian and Lu Hanwen if they wanted to catch up and attack.

A suicidal trip, ultimately inviting a turnaround. Why?

Yu Wenzhou's gaze landed upon Lord Grim.

He had never understood why Happy wanted to use Steamed Bun, such an unreliable player, for such a crucial match, but now, he was beginning to see why.

The reason was very simple: it was all because of Ye Xiu's presence.

Even though he also had no way of predicting Steamed Bun's actions, his experience and awareness allowed him to maximally cover Steamed Bun's openings.

This was perhaps a way of turning the rotten into the miraculous, or perhaps he was only barely able to control the situation. But this ticking time bomb that was Steamed Bun - Happy had their bomb disposal expert, but on Blue Rain's side, which of them could take care of the danger that Steamed Bun posed at any moment?

Ye Xiu's all-class experience and awareness was not something that everyone had.

Steamed Bun was a player that often exposed vulnerabilities, but Happy purposely took advantage of this fact. Under the unpredictable rhythm of battle that this guy led, which side would ultimately take control?

In Yu Wenzhou's mind, behind Steamed Bun Invasion appeared, with unparalleled clarity, the figures of Lord Grim and Ye Xiu.

Would they once again be beaten at their own game?