The King’s Avatar - Chapter 1356

Chapter 1356: A Casual Poke

Translator:Nomyummi | Editor: Nomyummi

Updated by NovelFull.Com

Closing in, step by step. Right now, the entire stadium’s feeling’s were bound to Ghost Lantern’s movement. On screen, everyone saw from Li Xun’s point of view. Windward Formation’s outline became larger and clearer.

Closer and closer.

Life-Risking Strike!

Almost everyone had this thought, since they were familiar with Li Xun’s style. This was a player who would always pursue a kill with Life-Risking Strike.

But could he do it this time?

This really needed to be considered. Just judging from their life totals, Ghost Lantern was capable of assassinating Windward Formation with a Life-Risking Strike. However, would Windward Formation’s equipment affect the outcome?

Armor values weren’t useful. Life-Risking Strike traded hitpoint for hitpoint; it removed health directly and ignored armor. However, what if Windward Formation’s armor had damage absorption effects? Damage absorption would be able to reduce incoming health removal from Life-Risking Strike. If the absorption percentage was high enough, then this skill wouldn’t be able to directly kill Windward Formation.

Unfortunately, Void had no such information on the Silver equipment on Windward Formation, since their team lacked information and research on both Wei Chen and Windward Formation. Li Xun could only rely on his own judgement.

When directly comparing health values, Ghost Lantern was 12% higher than Windward Formation. The Assassin’s HP stat growth was below average. Ghost Lantern’s equipment had some additional HP boosts; it was necessary for someone who loved Life-Risking Strike, where the damage output scaled with HP. The difference was that the HP was not stacked as high as possible like normal players would do, with disregard to anything else; Void did not want him to just focus on Life-Risking Strike and needed him to contribute in other ways too.

Right now, his health points were 12% higher than Windward Formation’s. This meant that if Windward Formation’s equipment carried more than 12% damage absorption, he could survive Ghost Lantern’s Life-Risking Strike; if not, then Life-Risking Strike would be a one-hit kill.

Maybe attack a few times and do a calculation first?

It’s possible an opportunity like this would not arise again. The opponent had a dirty playstyle, and all pro players knew how hard it was to successfully ambush a dirty player. Li Xun really just didn’t want to give up this huge opportunity that presented itself before him.

Take a shot at it?

Li Xun pondered. 12% damage absorption was not high. However, Warlocks wore Cloth armor and had subpar defensive attributes. This meant not just basic defence values, but also other defensive attributes, such as armor values and damage absorption values. Cloth armors were the worst in this aspect, amongst all other armor types.

A lowly 12%. However, for it to appear on Cloth armor, quite a chunk of other useful attributes might have been traded off for it. Would a Warlock sacrifice these useful attributes for some extra survivability?

This was really hard to say; after all, survivability was useful for any class and couldn’t be considered a waste. So did Windward Formation have it?

Ghost Lantern’s movement grinded to a halt. Li Xun could not reach a conclusion and did not advance any further. If he kept going, he would have to act.

Equipment chosen by someone who loved playing dirty. Would he prioritize attributes like damage absorption?

Li Xun was trying to answer the question from perspective of the opponent’s playstyle. However, before he could reach any conclusion, Li Xun suddenly remembered something else.

Cast range!

Windward Formation’s biggest distinctive feature was his absurdly long cast range.

A long cast range meant a big attack area, which also meant a larger protective zone. A Warlock that had an advantage in that aspect, would he need more protective measures? Would he?

He shouldn’t need it!

Li Xun’s mind was made. It wasn’t from the opponent’s playstyle, but rather from his character’s specialty. Then, let’s go!

Ghost Lantern once again began his advance. He leapt down from a rooftop and landed in a half-crouch soundlessly, then patiently stalked forward.

Patient bastard, I’m behind you!

Li Xun couldn’t resist complaining to himself after seeing that Wei Chen seemed to be patiently and cluelessly waiting for his target to appear. Ghost Lantern approached, step by step.

Finally, he ran out of cover and could only approach directly from behind. There were only a few steps left, but the closer he got, the more nervous Li Xun got. If the opponent suddenly turned around now, then it would all have been for naught.

Approach with a Shining Cut or continue slowly moving?

The two options crossed Li Xun’s mind, and he made his decision in a split second.

At this time, Li Xun decided it was better to be fast about it. He didn’t want to risk all his work being wasted after coming this far.

Shining Cut!

Immediately, a cold light flashed out, along with the fluttering of cloth in the wind. Ghost Lantern had already abruptly flashed behind Windward Formation.

Life-Risking Strike!

Life-Risking Strike as expected. Li Xun boldly used this skill to directly decide the match.

Windward Formation hastily turned around after hearing the sound behind him, but Ghost Lantern’s dagger had already arrived. Fueled by his own life, a one-hit-kill assassination skill from Ghost Lantern. Fierce, powerful. Windward Formation’s reaction was meaningless. Turning around only presented his chest to be stabbed by Ghost Lantern’s dagger.

Shluck!

A hair-raising sound was produced as the dagger buried itself deep into Windward Formation’s chest. However, an ominous feeling arose in Li Xun’s mind.

Something’s off, something’s really off! Something had to be off!

The attack hit, and Windward Formation’s health-bar slid down quickly. However, Li Xun felt something went terribly wrong. His intuition told him that he shouldn’t stay here and pose; he needed to turn tail and run.

But… Windward Formation’s arm was already raised. Death’s Hand casually poked at a random spot on Ghost Lantern’s body.

He fell…

Ghost Lantern fell.

Life-Risking Strike left the user with 1 hit-point. That meant that even a normal melee attack from a Warlock’s staff was enough to kill him. For Windward Formation to be able to carry out that attack, however, it only meant one thing: Life-Risking Strike did not one-shot him.

Miscalculation.

Li Xun only had regret in his mind, but it was all too late. Ghost Lantern’s 1 hit-point was not enough to handle anything, and a poke from his opponent’s staff dispatched him.

How ludicrous.

No skills were used, and a regular poke ended the match? He really handed himself to his opponent…

Yes, he did. Handed himself on a silver platter.

Everything suddenly became clear to Li Xun. The opponent planned his whole strategy around his playstyle and gave him an opportunity to use Life-Risking Strike. Li Xun knew something was wrong, but now he knew exactly what. It was his opponent’s reaction.

This was the Pro League. They were all pro players with unmatched experience. Even for someone who had not played for a long time, being part of the Pro League meant his Glory experience was richer than a regular player.

Just then when Ghost Lantern charged forth with Shining Cut, what was the opponent’s reaction when he heard it? He turned around.

He actually turned around!

This was way too much of a rookie’s reaction. Any Glory player who had some PK experience would know to dodge instead of turn around if they felt something was off behind themselves.

Roll, jump, strafe, rush forward, or use a skill. Anything was fine, but there was no reason to turn around. What would that do? If they saw your poor face, would they suddenly feel a rush of sympathy and stop their attack?

As it turned out, Windward Formation’s reaction was to turn around.

Even though he barely made an appearance this season, wasn’t it laughable for this antique of a player with more than ten years’ experience in Glory to turn around in this situation?

Not realising immediately was absolutely moronic.

Turning around at that time meant Wei Chen was prepared way ahead of time. Wei Chen already had a plan in mind, so when the attack came, he did not dodge or retreat but turned around. When Life-Risking Strike hit, he just casually poked away.

I got fucking poked to death! Li Xun clutched his head and wished he could stuff his whole head into his monitor.

I got played, completely played!

If he realised a split second earlier, there was still time to cancel the attack.But he didn’t; he completely missed it. At the time, he was already immersed in the elation of winning the match with one strike.

Turns out, the match really did end, not with his one strike, but the opponent’s one poke.

A Warlock. Raised his staff. And poked. Thinking of this, Li Xun once again felt the urge to stuff his head into his monitor.

Thus, the third match of the individual competition was concluded.

It hadn’t sunk in for the whole stadium yet. It hadn’t even sunk in for the referee. Wei Chen appeared from his player booth, grinning ear to ear, and waved at everyone watching.

This isn’t Happy’s home stadium!

The audience didn’t even have time to feel bad about him winning; who the hell would appreciate him showing off?

Wei Chen was purely trying to stir shit up. He waved his hands the stadium filled with boos. He then left the stage happily amongst the booing.

Boo away to your heart’s content!

Wei Chen looked at this stadium full of people. So what if there were boos? Summoning boos was a special ability for playing an away game. I came, I won. Booing was the proof of that.

Wei Chen returned to Happy’s bench. He glanced at Li Xun on Void’s side, who looked distracted and lost after leaving the stage, and laughed scornfully. He raised his right pinky finger and said, “I can take care of this kind of small fry with my pinky. I hope you can give me more of a challenge next time.”

Everyone laughed, and this time, even Ye Xiu didn’t go burst his bubble.

Taken care of with a pinky? This really was a joke.

Wei Chen put a lot of effort into preparing for the match against Void. Li Xun was someone who would definitely play in the individual competition, since his playstyle was not suitable for the group arena. So for Wei Chen, there was a solid one in three chance that Li Xun was his opponent, and thus researched him a lot.

Fortunately, he did run into Li Xun in the individual competition, and everything indeed went according to his plan. This was the reason why he could topple Li Xun with just his pinky.

Small tricks. This was a specially targeted trick, and most likely wouldn’t work again. The problem was, an old player like Wei Chen had more than ten years of experience and who knew how many more tricks he had up his sleeve! You would be underestimating him if you expected him to repeat the same trick twice.

he Void fans in the audience booed Wei Chen for a very long time. But when they looked at the screen displaying the current score, they felt another wave of despondence.

1 to 2, they’d already lost 2 points. Void was already far away from the top 8, and after losing these two points, their future was becoming increasingly bleak.

Next was the group arena. Happy sent Tang Rou, Steamed Bun, and Fang Rui, while Void sent Ge Zhaolan, Yang Haoxuan, and Wu Yuce.

There were still fans who refused to give up now, and they persevered in cheering Void on. But Tang Rou’s performance when she came on was extraordinarily strong, nearly a 1v2. After Steamed Bun came one, he used 17% of his health to take care of Void’s second player, Yang Haoxuan, who’d already been beaten bloody by Tang Rou.

Wu Yuce came out, facing a near 1v2 situation. The crowd was quiet; they couldn’t bear to cheer. It looked like Void’s season was ending here just like this. There was no need to increase the pressure on any one person at this time. A season’s failure wasn’t any one person’s fault.

Even the audience members were pessimistic, but Wu Yuce hadn’t given up. He was a pro player, someone who understood the difficulty of matches better than ordinary people did. But at this time, even more so than the audience, he anticipated a miracle. He believed he could create a miracle.

Wu Yuce came onstage, and Carved Ghost cleanly took care of Steamed Bun Invasion.

Fang Rui came onstage, facing a Carved Ghost at half health.

The map was another street map that Void was used to. For the dirty-playing Fang Rui, he could also take to this map like a fish to water.

“This time, I won’t lose to you again,” Fang Rui said after entering the match. During the previous Happy vs Void, Fang Rui had indeed lost to Wu Yuce, but back then he had already fought one person earlier. For the group arena, the fact that he had still managed to knock away half of Carved Ghost’s health was already considered a success.

And this time, his Boundless Sea had the health lead, and his Qi Master style had undergone a season’s worth of testing and was now solidified.

“Give it a try.” Wu Yuce generally wasn’t inclined to chat, but he actually said this tough sentence in the chat. He knew Fang Rui’s strength, especially since they were from the same season. Compared to everyone else, he had gotten to know Fang Rui’s dirty Qi Master style earlier than everyone else. Last time after fighting Happy, Fang Rui had called him to spar for many matches. In the end, it was unclear who had gotten more wins, but Wu Yuce knew for sure: Fang Rui’s new unique playstyle was definitely viable.

The reality confirmed this point. Fang Rui indeed walked a new path with his Qi Master, even though traditional Qi Master players all looked down upon his style. But with Zhao Yang’s retirement, there was no longer one leading Qi Master. This season’s All-Stars, there had been no Qi Master, but what about next year? Next year, given Happy’s strong results and Fang Rui’s performance, this guy could actually enter the All-Stars with the identity of a Qi Master. That would really show everyone who looked down upon this dirty Qi Master style!

You look down upon my playstyle, but I am the number one Qi Master.

When he thought about this, Wu Yuce felt that it was really quite interesting, and he very much wanted to see this happen. However, even so, he did not want to become Fang Rui’s stepping stone. For the sake of Void’s victory, he would not hesitate to block Fang Rui’s way.

I will not lose!

Void’s season is not yet over!

With a roar, with the Phantom God’s power flashing around him, Wu Yuce fought even more fiercely than he had last round.

He… won?

In the instant that the results came out, even the live audience couldn’t believe their eyes.

Wu Yuce’s Carved Ghost remained standing at the very end, with four percent health remaining.

“You…” Fang Rui left this final message in the chat. Dirty players like him could really be helpless against an opponent like this. This kind of guy, bold and decisive, wouldn’t play those psychological games with you dirty players. He would simply use his swordlight to slash through everything.

Void won the group arena. Those Void fans who had already given up suddenly all awakened once more. The crowd exploded like a volcano that had slept dormant for many years, releasing all of their enthusiasm in one instant, powerful enough to burn through everything. When Happy’s three players returned to their player area, they could only shout to communicate with each other. The noise of the stadium was simply too loud.

3-2, now Void was in the lead. If they won the team round, a final result of 8-2, maybe there was still hope?

Wu Yuce’s strong performance didn’t just win two points, it ignited everyone’s hopes for Void.

But, it ends here…

Wu Yuce sighed as he rotated his camera view, seeing his fallen comrades around him.

Blue Exorcist, Soul Defender, Ghost Lantern, Translucent.

“It’s just the two of us left!” Wu Yuce was never one for melancholy, but this time, their season, Void’s season, was ending here.

“Yeah,” said Li Xuan. Standing behind Carved Ghost, back-to-back, was his Crying Devil.

Void’s Ghost Duo. On Void’s side, only these two remained. Even though they were an experienced partnership, expecting them to pull off a 2v5 was simply too much.

Happy had already surrounded them completely, but they weren’t rushing to attack. Crying Devil didn’t have much mana left, so he couldn’t maintain the defense of Ghost Boundaries. They just had to wait until the Ghost Boundaries ran out, and then they could calmly attack them.

“Last one,” Li Xuan said. Crying Devil’s blade surged with the power of the Phantom God as he casted a final Ghost Boundary.

Boom!

But at this moment, Dancing Rain opened fire. Li Xuan was forced to interrupt the cast as he moved to dodge.

“Tsk, our last one’s gone too,” Li Xuan said. Crying Devil’s mana was used up for good.

“So it ends like this!”

“Yeah, it’s over…”

The Ghost Boundaries faded, leaving openings, and Happy’s characters charged forward. Long-range, short-range, they all began their attacks, and Void’s Ghost Duo finally fell upon the ground they had so tightly defended with their Ghost Boundaries for so long.

In the end, Happy won their Round 33 match with a score of 7-3. Void, having only achieved 3 points, could consider themselves finished for the season. Even if their competitors had abysmal performances in the upcoming rounds, with only five rounds left to close such a large point gap, there was no point in imagining what was theoretically possible. Only those who were especially stubborn in refusing to give up would still hope for that extremely unlikely possibility, hope that those competitors wouldn’t earn a single point in the next rounds and that Void would surpass them.

But, would that happen?

The moment that the Void vs Happy match ended, there were already people frantically checking for news from the other matches this round.

Hundred Blossoms, 9-1, a huge home victory against Misty Rain. The gap between them and Void was pulled from 23 to 29 points.

301, a 10-0 perfect victory against Miracle, which pulled their gap with Void from 28 to 35 points.

There was still one match in progress!

It was the match that had received the most attention this round, Thunderclap against Wind Howl.

After Thunderclap lagged behind in the individual matches, 1-4, the two teams were now engaged in a fierce team battle.

Wind Howl’s recent team performance was quite fierce. Their strategy of tearing apart and playing one-on-one had shaken a number of strong teams. Maybe they would win again in this match? If they won 9-1, Thunderclap would have only won one point, and maybe they would just continue to lose and lose, and Void would win and win, and eventually surpass them?

The stubborn Void fans who refused to despair carried these sort of dreams as they studied the details of this match. But in the end, even they had to let go of their last strands of hope.

Thunderclap had taken teamwork to the peak. Individually, their players weren’t all that strong. But they were all team players. They understood strategy well and their cooperative awareness was strong. Once they were together, their strength didn’t lose to that of any team. And Wind Howl? Their new playstyle was the antithesis of Thunderclap’s. Their “cooperation” was to not cooperate. Their method was to turn the team battle into individual battles.

By this point, they had already chopped apart many strong teams, but they finally met their match in Thunderclap. The most cooperative, cohesive team in the entire Alliance wouldn’t be broken apart so easily. Wind Howl messed up, and with their playstyle, one mess-up meant defeat. They had played their best to last this long, but unfortunately for them, Thunderclap still won in the end.

6 to 4.

With the conclusion of this battle, the results of all the teams who were currently fighting for a spot in the playoffs were known.

Void was out for good, but Hundred Blossoms had caught up once again. They were tied with Wind Howl in terms of points, 208, but because they lost to Wind Howl in terms of their head-to-head point scores, they were in ninth place for now.

All of the current rankings were only temporary. The points differences between the teams was worth more attention. Smaller differences could be flipped in the course of one round. After the end of this round, the fifth place team Happy had 219 points, while the eighth and ninth place Wind Howl and Hundred Blossoms had 208 points. This was a difference of only 11 points from fifth to ninth. Happy was directly going against three of these direct competitors in upcoming battles, so this current 11 point lead really wasn’t much.

This round was only one hurdle they’d had to make it through. Void had dropped out, but no team had made it to safety.

The upcoming Round 34 was, for a Happy, a good chance to grab points. Their opponent was Lightly, a weaker team that had no more prospects for this season. Chen Guo wanted to directly add these ten points to Happy’s total.

But Happy’s roster for this round once again gave Chen Guo something to worry about.

“You’re not going in the team competition?” Chen Guo looked at Ye Xiu in shock. In the team round’s roster, Ye Xiu and Lord Grim’s names were absent.

“Yes. For these upcoming rounds, I will try to rest as much as possible,” said Ye Xiu.

Chen Guo hesitated. She had worried time and time again about Ye Xiu’s professional life expectancy; she had worried about whether he was working himself too hard. From in-game to the Pro League, from management to strategy, from training to equipment, Ye Xiu was involved in it all. Was he really not tired?

Chen Guo had had these doubts before.

And now, Ye Xiu, using this method, was telling her clearly: he, too, was tired. He, too, needed to rest.