Chapter 1336: The Freedom to Choose
Chapter 1336: The Freedom to Choose
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
Luo Ji was more prudent, choosing to appear in an individual competition in the 28th round. At the end of the day, he was still worried that his skill level would end up dragging down his team in the group arena, which would cost 2 points, whereas a loss in the individual competition would only cost 1 point. As for the team competition, having no available slots for him to take instead gave him a sense of relief.
Luo Ji's attitude made the members of Team Happy sigh with sorrow, especially those veterans who had more experience as a professional player.
When it came to players nowadays, who wouldn't want to have as many opportunities as possible to shine? How many people would actually have misgivings about their own ability being insufficient and dragging down their team?
"He's a really honest kid..." Chen Guo sighed sorrowfully. She may not have had much experience, but she had seen enough to know that characters as sincere as Luo Ji were hard to come by, especially amongst rookies.
Round 28 soon arrived.
It was unanimously decided that the match between Wind Howl and 301 Degrees would be the one to be broadcasted. As it was coming towards the end of the regular season, many teams would be out of hope, with the exception of those fighting over the 8th place, where the most intense competition would be taking place. And in a match like this, where the two teams were directly competing for a spot in the top 8, both teams would definitely exert their fullest effort, making the match that much more exciting and intense.
In Wind Howl's home game, during the first round of the individual competition, Wind Howl's captain, Tang Hao, took the stage.
In the Round 18 of the regular season, Tang Hao also appeared first, with the goal of sniping Ye Xiu's streak of consecutive victories in order to boost the morale of the team. Unfortunately, he was unable to win, and Team Wind Howl ended up losing to Team Happy in a 10-0 blowout victory.
After ten rounds had passed, when faced with what could be Team Wind Howl's most important match of the regular season, Tang Hao once again took up the same role.
Perhaps, under his command, Wind Howl may not have achieved the results that everyone expected from them, but still, Tang Hao was filled with valor and confidence, leading Wind Howl in their charge towards victory. His appearance in the first round showed their intentions clearly; he could not afford to lose. If he postured like this and still lost, the morale of the team would definitely suffer a severe blow. On top of that, given that he had tried this before and failed, if he attempted it again without success, the damage to the team's morale would be even greater, and he would definitely be the subject of even more ridicule.
But even so, he was devoid of fear. In such an important match, he shouldered all of this pressure and stood as the first player on stage. Team 301's vanguard was also their team captain, but if one were to call him the nucleus of the team, that would be outdated information.
After testing and tempering their new strategy in the last few rounds of the competition, it became clear that Bai Shu was the core of Team 301. Whether in attack or defense, it was still Bai Shu who was leading 301. As for Yang Cong, he now had more freedom in the role he played. The team placed great faith in him, allowing him to use his own intuition and experience to decide what to do in the battlefield. Of course, Yang Cong took up this responsibility, and in the second half of the season, his performance was very eye-catching. If they only had the foreign monk Bai Shu and not him, Team 301 wouldn't have been able to perform as well as they had.
The Brawler, Demon Subduer, and the Assassin, Scene Killer. Both characters quickly loaded into the match, and Yang Cong could immediately see Demon Subduer at the other end of the map.
Maybe it was due to Ye Xiu's map choices, but during this season, choosing this kind of plain and simple map had become increasingly popular. Tang Hao also ended up picking such a map that left out almost any room for tactical maneuvering, instead forcing his opponent to clash with him head on!
Assassins had no fear of this kind of head-on combat, and Yang Cong had originally been a player who had such a direct playstyle anyways. Seeing that the map was like this, he wasted no time in hesitating and just decided to adopt his old playstyle and attack!
Ding!
The curtains to the competition lifted with that tiny sound. Demon Subduer lifted his hand and threw out a Paralysis Needle, but the Silver weapon Dancing Shadows was lifted into the air by Yang Cong, sending the Paralysis Needle flying harmlessly to the side.
Powerful Knee Strike!
Tang Hao directly and unambiguously started his assault.
How fierce!
Yang Cong was filled with regret in his heart. Truth be told, the Brawler class wasn't particularly strong at these kinds of direct attacks, instead, it was there numerous dirty tracts that allowed the class to have stronger control abilities, making Brawlers more suited as a control-oriented class. If it was just about pure attack power, there were many classes that were stronger than the Brawler in that regard.
But it was exactly this class that became extremely aggressive in Tang Hao's hands, completely different from when Lin Jingyan was playing it in the past.
It was precisely because of these players with different dispositions piloting all the different classes that made Glory such a rich and colorful game. Wasn't it Yang Cong himself who had turned his Assassin into a forceful fighter on the front lines?
Seeing Tang Hao's violent and forceful Brawler, Yang Cong could only lament, "it must be nice being young". If it were a few years ago, he would also have the heart to compete against his opponent in such a forceful and direct manner. Comparing whose reactions were quicker, whose hand speed was greater, whose mechanics were more perfect.
But now, he had to adjust a little bit.
Yang Cong controlled Scene Killer to Dodge towards the side, avoiding Demon Subduer's incoming attack before quickly striking out with the Dual Swords, sending a Heart-Piercing Stab directly at Demon Subduer's back.
Tang Hao wasn't bad enough to get hit this easily. When Powerful Knee Strike didn't connect, Demon Subduer had already twisted his body in mid-air, sending out a Sand Toss instead. Yang Cong hurriedly turned his field of view away, relying on his memories and experience to try to hit his Heart-Piercing Stab. In the end, Scene Killer's movements suddenly became stiff after the attack.
Not good!
Yang Cong's experience allowed him to determine what had happened. Once Sand Toss was over, he turned his camera back to the original angle, and saw that Dancing Shadows had been gripped firmly by Demon Subduer's claw, Blood Vanishing Soul.
If it was just an attack being parried, he wouldn't feel as if he couldn't control his character properly. Instead, that kind of sensation was as if he had been controlled by a grab skill.
Empty-Handed Blade Block!
Surprisingly, the skill that Demon Subduer used was from the Striker class and had obviously been added to his weapon beforehand.
A low-levelled Empty-Handed Blade Block didn't have much attack power, but its effectiveness in dismantling attacks was the same. Professional players were only able to add a level 1 skill to their weapon, so they wouldn't pursue damage output, but instead pursue a unique effect that only that particular skill possessed.
Blocking and dismantling at the same time!
After this hit, blows immediately rained down upon Scene Killer's body, and the combo began…...
He really was aggressive enough!
As Scene Killer took hit after hit, Yang Cong concentrated on Demon Subduer's frantic offensive. To unleash such an offensive, it meant that the player behind the character was frantically inputting controls as well.
Do you really think this kind of attack can defeat me?
What do you think I relied on to stand firmly in the Alliance for so long?
Yang Cong's chest boiled with hot-bloodedness under the continuous attacks from Demon Subduer. Originally, he wanted to play more calmly and achieve victory, but now, he very much wanted to be like Demon Subduer and unleash his own flurry of attacks.
Yang Cong stared at his opponent's attacks, and finally saw an opening.
Assassin Movement Technique: With the Wind!
Scene Killer's body flickered strangely, and Demon Subduer's head-on attack actually missed him by a little bit. Attack again! Demon Subduer sent another strike out.
Assassin Movement Technique: Against the Lightning!
Demon Subduer's clenched fist suddenly lagged behind Scene Killer's body.
With the Wind, Against the Lightning, Turning Flame, Standing Ice.
The four movement techniques that the Assassin possessed were actually to retreat, to advance, move left and right or not move, things that could be achieved through normal controls. However, using the skills would naturally have a far stronger result.
Yang Cong saw an opening, used the two movement techniques and shook free of Demon Subduer's offensive in a flash.
Now... it should be my turn, right?
The Assassin's Dual Swords, Dancing Shadows, flew through the air towards Demon Subduer…...
Another kind of alternative Assassin style in the Alliance.
Scene Killer!
Two classes that were perhaps more suited to a different playstyle completed a furious bout of direct attacks. Yang Cong let go of the misgivings in his heart and used the the playstyle that he had used for so many years.
Every competition needs an end, and victory or defeat had to be decided.
This time, it was Yang Cong who lost.
"Ah, what a shame..." Yang Cong sighed.
He had lost, but that kind of free-spirited play was something that he very much enjoyed. He could try out the most eye-catching kind of Assassin playstyle, with Life-Risking Strike, or he could make use of the direct playstyle he was most familiar with after so many years.
Just like in this match, where he had started off hot-blooded, directly fighting against Tang Hao, but in the midst of it, he had also tried to find an opportunity to land a Life-Risking Strike.
He was pursuing the end-goal of victory, but he was also enjoying the thrill of competition.
Losing was a bit of a shame, but who could say that using a certain method would definitely result in a win?
For the past eight years, during every competition, he had to carefully consider what methods and tactics to use, but now, he had abandoned all of that, allowing him the freedom to do as he pleased, and the end result wasn't too disastrous. This time, he had lost, but who knew what would happen the next time?
Yang Cong left the stage having lost, but he still felt a sense of fulfillment.
"Captain, what a pity..." Team 301's players all surrounded him, breaking down the countless moments in the match that had made them excited or left them with regret. Losing, but not being discouraged because of it; Yang Cong's match had conveyed this sort of message.
"Continue to try your best!" Thus, he was able to magnanimously encourage his teammates.
"Understood!" Everyone responded, and the next contestant took the field.
At the same time, in another stadium, Luo Ji shakily stood up from his seat.
He was finally going to welcome the first match of his professional career, and he felt a hundred times more nervous than the time in the Challenger's League.
"Don't be nervous," Ye Xiu told him, after having continued his winning streak in the individual competition.
"Mm," Luo Ji said, thrice, as he rigidly nodded his head.
"Your opponent is the same as you, a new player in a new season!" Ye Xiu comforted him.
"But it isn't his first time appearing on stage!" Luo Ji felt that Ye Xiu's reassurance was completely useless.
"Don't sweat the small details!" Ye Xiu said.
"..." Did that have some kind of double meaning? Luo Ji, with his high IQ, began to ponder.
In this round, Team Happy was up against Team Miracle.
In the first half of the season, they had won in a 10-0 victory against Miracle in their away-game, beginning their frantic journey of snatching points. Team Miracle, on the other hand, had stumbled and staggered before gradually producing more stable results. Being the number thirteen team, with 110 points, this could be considered an extremely impressive result for a new team. In their team, they had many rookies who had never played competitively before, and now, they were against a player who had never played until the Round 28 of the regular season.
Team Happy's Luo Ji, and his Summoner, Concealed Light.