"Hmph, being so affectionate, I'll make you pay later!" Murong Shanshan gritted her teeth.
Ke Ke looked at her in surprise: "What happened? Who upset you?"
Murong Shanshan's face was gloomy: "Nothing. Later, I'll cast Curse on their Archer. Let's focus all our strength on taking her out first!"
"..."
The beautiful host Fei Er changed into a pure white uniform, swaying her hips as she loudly announced on stage: "The next match is the final of the first Champion Challenge Team Group. It is now 12:40 PM beijing time. I know many players haven't eaten yet, but this definitely exciting match will surely make everyone's wait worthwhile!"
Fei Er paused, then continued: "Now, please welcome both teams to the stage. The match will begin in 30 seconds!"
"Swish~!"
Our team and Murong Shanshan's team were almost simultaneously teleported onto the competition stage. Although many on both sides knew each other, the tension was palpable. Murong Shanshan gripped her sword tightly, looking at me coldly without a word.
Xu Lin bit her lip: "One Swordsman, one Thief, two Mages, and one Priest. Lin Fan, you know them better, what's the strategy?"
I looked at Murong Shanshan in confusion and whispered: "Murong Shanshan's control and burst damage are terrifying. Also, the Thief's attack power cannot be underestimated. Since Murong Shanshan picked those two Mages, their control and equipment shouldn't be bad. Ke Ke is a student and not as fierce as Murong Shanshan. How about Xin Yu and I focus on instantly killing the Priest, Ke Ke? Sister Lin and Xue Han, be careful of Murong Shanshan's skill — Sword Qi. It can attack targets up to 5 yards away and has strong attack power. Try to avoid being instantly killed!"
I then added: "Li Qing should use her summoned creatures to interfere with the opposing Mages' spellcasting. Sister Lin and Xue Han, if you have the chance, cast slow-movement magic on Murong Shanshan. Also, try to avoid contact with Murong Shanshan, especially Xue Han. If you die, our chances of winning will be greatly reduced."
Lu Xuehan blinked her beautiful eyes and smiled: "I'll try my best!"
...The system began the countdown for the match start:
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
It began!
Murong Shanshan was hit with a slowing Curse immediately, but she still moved very quickly. I also immediately charged towards Ke Ke.
"Poof~!"
Ke Ke also cast Curse on me!
I made a decisive move, immediately activating "Swordsman Swiftness," and my movement speed instantly returned to almost normal levels. Ke Ke, after casting Curse, was stunned by a Concussion Arrow. My Combo + Heavy Strike were unleashed without reservation.
Four red numbers appeared above Ke Ke's head, and she became the first player eliminated in this match!
Before I could even be happy, a female scream echoed behind me... Who was it? Who died?
In a burst of white light, I only saw Xin Yu's lingering shadow, with faint traces of frost still visible on her. Stealer of Heavens retracted his blue-glowing dagger and continued to rush towards Lu Xuehan, who was not far away.
Damn it! Xin Yu was instantly killed by Murong Shanshan's Frost Slash and Stealer of Heavens' Ambush!
Lu Xuehan was also in danger!
Murong Shanshan's night elf sword glowed, a blue ripple slowly flowing along the blade... Not good, Murong Shanshan was going to use her signature skill—Sword Qi—against Lu Xuehan!
It was too late to go back and save Lu Xuehan. I had no choice but to target the two Mages in front of me. Seeing me approach, the Mages immediately ran to the left. Unfortunately, it was too late. My sword of darkness, carrying ice flowers, was already poised across their escape route... Ice Seal Slash was used for the first time in the match!
"724!"
The 1.5x damage effect was truly different. I followed up with another sword strike, ending the Mage's life!
I looked back, and the scene I least wanted to see had still happened!
The Thief Stealer of Heavens' dagger gleamed with a green light. Although Lu Xuehan cleverly dodged past him, she was still accurately hit by the poisoned strike from the dagger, and Murong Shanshan's deadly Sword Qi landed sharply on Lu Xuehan the next second—
"684!"
Was fate determined for us to suffer a crushing defeat? Lu Xuehan was actually hit by a critical strike from Sword Qi, and her beautiful figure gradually disappeared from the stage... "This is terrible, to die so quickly!" I muttered bitterly, dragging my sword as I charged towards the opponent's other Mage. He was clearly stunned by my previous attack power. Although he quickly moved to the right, he was still grazed by my Combo, which only dealt half of its usual damage, but it still took out a large portion of this level 26 Mage's HP.
On the other side, Xu Lin was being relentlessly pursued by Murong Shanshan and Stealer of Heavens, retreating step by step. The Thief had activated Haste, his 150% movement speed dazzlingly fast. Even with Xu Lin's excellent control, she was still hit by the dagger's poisoned strike, reducing her speed by 50%. A Mage with reduced speed quickly became a lamb to the slaughter in front of two high-damage melee classes.
"Slash~!"
My sword of darkness swept across the Mage's back. His figure swayed, then turned into a white light!
Almost at the same time, Xu Lin was also sent out of the arena under Murong Shanshan's pursuit. Although Li Qing had been attacking the Thief with her pet, her attack power was too low. After a long struggle, she had only managed to deplete half of the Thief's HP.
"Kill the Summoner first!"
Murong Shanshan quickly changed direction, her longsword slashing out rapidly. The powerful attack of Combo + Heavy Strike instantly killed Li Qing, the low-HP Summoner.
It was too late for me to save Li Qing. The situation had completely turned in Murong Shanshan's favor after two minutes. They still had a full-HP Swordsman and a half-HP Thief, while we were left with just me, a lone commander. The most critical thing was that Stealer of Heavens' Stealth skill cooldown had already finished. As he swiftly vanished into the void, my heart had almost sunk to the bottom.
Murong Shanshan wasn't in a hurry to attack. She smiled sweetly, propped her sword on the ground, and said sweetly: "Didn't expect this, did you?"
How could I dare to answer her? The Thief might already be in Stealth behind me. The combined attack of Ambush and Backstab was not to be underestimated. Even with my defense of 363, I couldn't fully withstand it.
The situation was very awkward. Murong Shanshan smiled very sweetly, but still refused to make a move. It seemed she was wary of my strong attack power, just waiting for the Thief to ambush me before delivering the fatal blow.
"Crack~!"
A sound came, and the Thief finally made his move!