Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
From realization to decision, Lu Hanwen was resolute. He abandoned his captain, Swoksaar, with no hesitation and rushed towards Little Cold Hands.
Triple Slash!
Shadow Steps!
Two skills were used one after the other. The shining arcs from Triple Slash had yet to disappear, when Flowing Cloud split into several shadows, which spread throughout the field. In an instant, Little Cold Hands was tightly surrounded.
Oh oh oh!!! The crowd cheered.
Everyone had been worried about Swoksaars safety, but Lu Hanwen decisively gave up on his captain and pounced towards Happys healer.
What will the outcome be?
There was no time to think about it carefully. It was just that usually, when a pro player did something unexpected, it would turn out to be a brilliant godly play.
Hua hua hua hua....
Wild applause followed soon afterwards. After getting trapped by Shadow Steps, Little Cold Hands was indeed helpless. Lu Hanwen could perfectly control seven shadows to the extent that not even a Glory senior player could quickly distinguish the real from the fake. How could a rookie like An Wenyi do so?
Even so, Lu Hanwen was completely focused on his playing. He didnt underestimate or look down on Team Happys so-called weak point.
The purpose of Shadow Steps was to confuse the opponent, but the true aim of his play was to land an attack.
The course of events from Triple Slash to Shadow Steps to Flowing Cloud attacking took place in the span of merely one or two seconds. When Flowing Clouds greatsword, Flame Shadow, cut Little Cold Hands, the afterimages from the sequence could still be seen.
When Little Cold Hands was knocked to the ground from the attack, the applause became even more thunderous.
From the audiences perspective, Lu Hanwen had successfully accomplished his goal with that strike hitting.
But artillery fire arrived shortly afterwards to rescue An Wenyi.
Su Muchengs Dancing Rain had been circling around the edges of the area the entire time. Every point on the battlefield was within her range. Lu Hanwens decision had been too sudden, and Su Mucheng hadnt been able to react in time to it, which was why her support only came now.
Lu Hanwen wasnt surprised. He had expected Su Muchengs Launcher to try to stop him. Her Screen Cannon tactic was an important point that Team Blue Rain had emphasized during their match preparations.
However, at this distance...
Lu Hanwen was confident that he could lock down Little Cold Hands while dodging Dancing Rains attacks. After all, his target was a Cleric without any combat threat, making it much easier for him to deal with.
Flowing Cloud dodged as he swung his sword at Little Cold Hands. Lu Hanwen was mainly focused on Su Muchengs attacks. As long as he wasnt disrupted by her, he could pin down Happys healer without a problem. In that case, Happy should send more people to rescue him, no?
That was Lu Hanwens plan.
Their healer, Soul Speaker, was also in Happys hands, but Huang Shaotian and Zheng Xuan were going to rescue him. Even if Happy wanted to trade healers, they would need to make some adjustments to the current situation. The easiest and most effective way was for Ye Xius Lord Grim to change targets to Lu Hanwen.
Lu Hanwen didnt neglect Lord Grim. Since this was the most likely outcome, he obviously wouldnt let the opportunity go by. He would use it to give Blue Rain the initiative, which was exactly what they needed.
But...
No movement.
Lord Grim didnt make any changes and continued to attack Swoksaar.
Swoksaar was a Warlock. His close combat capabilities were better than healers, but it was still very limited. Whats more, Yu Wenzhous crippled hand speed against Ye Xius unspecialized blitz... Lu Hanwen didnt want to think about it. If he thought about it any longer, he felt like he would be disrespecting his captain. But if Ye Xiu wasnt concerned about Lu Hanwens side, did that mean he thought Su Mucheng was enough to resolve the problem?
It looks like Im not putting on enough pressure! I need to let Happy feel that just Su Mucheng alone wont be enough to get their healer away from me!
Attack, continue attacking. Compared to before, Lu Hanwens offense was bolder. It was as if he wouldnt let stop even if he died.
But...
Still no movement.
Lord Grims attacks were still focused on Swoksaar, not a single attack missing. Lu Hanwen wanted to see if Lord Grim was ever looking towards his side, but... the unspecialized offense was just too fast. His weapon just kept on transforming. Lord Grims positioning, posture, and movements would constantly change according to the weapons transformations. Whenever he looked towards his side, was it a coincidence or was he actually taking note of the situation there?
Lu Hanwen didnt know, but he had just learned from first-hand experience. This time, he couldnt waver. If he let go of Little Cold Hands to rescue his captain, wouldnt that mean he was just wasting his time with those previous attacks? In a high-level competition, there was no place for wasted actions.
Even if he had made the wrong choice, he had to take it all the way through and pave a path of blood through his mistake!
Slash slash slash!
Flowing Cloud attacked even more ferociously. Because of the greatsword in his hands, it sometimes felt like he was a Berserker instead of a Blade Master.
Coach Li, what are your thoughts? Pan Lin couldnt help but ask Li Yibo for his opinion again.
This is... there are a lot of different exchanges taking places. Its hard to make any definite conclusions, Li Yibo said.
When you say exchanges, are you referring to Blue Rains healer, Happys healer, and Yu Wenzhou? Pan Lin said.
Yes... at first glance, Blue Rain seems to be trading 2 for 1, but theyre about to go rescue their healer. As for Happys side, Su Mucheng is evidently not able to suppress Lu Hanwen alone. As a result, the outcome is depended on Blue Rains side. If Huang Shaotian and Zheng Xuan are able to rescue Soul Speaker, the initiative will fall into Blue Rains hands, Li Yibo analyzed.
In other words, Huang Shaotians and Zheng Xuans performances are key, Pan Lin said.
Yes, but what gave this opportunity to turn things around was Lu Hanwens brave act. If not, even if Blue Rain was able to rescue Xu Jingxi, it would just result in an even playing field. However, now, Blue Rain has a chance to establish the upper hand, Li Yibo said.
Got it, Pan Lin nodded his head. The stream couldnt focus on the entire battlefield anymore, since the battle had split into different sections. As the two commentators talked, the camera focused on what the two had determined to be the key area: Blue Rains rescue operation towards Soul Speaker.
Soul Speaker could persist for a long time.
For one, he wore plate armor, so his defense was incredibly high. In addition, Xu Jingxi was a tenacious player. If even a small opening appeared to heal or to buff his defense, he would immediately do so. Blue Rain was a team proficient at defense. As the healer, he was an expert at rescuing others and surviving in defensive situations.
This guys really annoying to deal with. Fang Rui let out a sigh, seeing Huang Shaotians Troubling Rain and Zhen Xuans Bullet Rain coming in from the sides of the wind zone.
Dont worry, Im here! Steamed Bun was full of confidence, although no one knew if that stemmed from actual confidence or from not knowing how serious the situation was.
Enemy reinforcement has arrived, Fang Rui reminded Steamed Bun.
Youve got it? Steamed Bun played it down.
You really make things sound so simple, Fang Rui coughed blood. The two werent having much trouble bullying a healer, so the two had the time to chat. But the situation would soon turn more serious. Happy currently held the initiative because they had Blue Rains healer as their hostage. However, if Blue Rain successfully saved their healer, not only would they lose their hostage, the hostage would turn into a powerful shield for the enemy. That would be bad.
Pull him over this way, Fang Rui called out to Steamed Bun.
Ill do what you say! Steamed Bun replied.
Dont let the enemies figure out what were trying to do! Fang Rui said.
Switch channels? Steamed Bun asked.
Okay.
11111 Steamed Bun made his existence known in Happys team chat.
The Blue Rain fans were furious! Those two bastards were bullying their healer as they played around in the public chat. What do you mean dont let the enemies know our intentions? They were obviously just bluffing. The fans could see Happys chat. No one answered Steamed Buns 11111.
But at this moment, Happys captain, the terrifying Ye Xiu, suddenly typed a single word: Steady.
Steady?
Steady what? The current situation?
If they could steady the current situation, Happy would make a one for two trade. That would obviously be great, but the question was, could they steady it? Huang Shaotians and Zheng Xuans invasion would turn the healer situation into a 3v2. That didnt seem to be something that could easily be stabilized.
It was just one word, but it brought up a lot of speculation. Pan Lin couldnt avoid asking Li Yibo again for his opinions, which made Li Yibo want to hack his partner to death. Explaining this match was hard enough already. Now, Pan Lin wanted him to explain Ye Xius intentions? It was as if Pan Lin wanted to see him fall into a pit!
Li Yibo cursed inwardly at Pan Lin, but on the stream, he had no choice but to give his view on the matter.
Ye Xiu probably has some way to help out Fang Rui and Steamed Bun. Li Yibo basically said nothing.
Some way to help out?
There were a total of five characters on each team.
The possible support could only come from one of them. Fang Rui and Steamed Bun were the ones who needed help, so that was two eliminated. An Wenyi was also someone who desperately needed help, so he could be eliminated too. Ye Xiu had Blue Rains Yu Wenzhou in his grasp. He could let go of Yu Wenzhou to help Fang Rui and Steamed Bun, but that would also mean Blue Rain would have more help in their rescue operation too.
Finally, there was Su Mucheng...
Su Mucheng was best at providing support and coordinating with her teammates. What was she doing now?
The broadcast director hastily searched for Su Muchengs Dancing Rain. When the director found her, the director was startled.
Dancing Rains location...
Dancing Rain stood at the far end of the field, and there was no one else near her. As a result, the camera hadnt placed much focus on her. She was still a part of several battles though. When Lu Hanwen had chosen to attack Little Cold Hands, her attempts to stop him had received some focus. Because she wasnt able to suppress Flowing Cloud though, Su Mucheng kept on adjusting Dancing Rains positioning, attempting to get closer. Now that the camera had switched to her, everyone could see... were Su Muchengs adjustments aimed towards Lu Hanwens Flowing Cloud?
No! This... she was planning on providing support to the central battle taking place in the wind zone!