After the individual matches ended, the fans of both teams resumed their enthusiastic cheers according to their respective moods.
Although Black Rose had a one-point lead, the next two points in the small team competition could be crucial. If they could score two more points, then the Black Rose team, which entered the finals with a three-point lead, could be considered as having the first chance at the championship trophy. On the other hand, if ACE won the match, the one-point difference would be reversed to a one-point deficit.
Overall, this small team match was a battle with no return for the ACE team. They could only win and could not afford to lose. It was much more stressful than for the members of the Black Rose team.
The players of both teams stepped onto the field amidst the cheers of the fans.
At this time, the rosters of the two teams were also announced on the big screen. Once displayed, there was once again an uproar in the venue.
ACE Team: Gan Yucheng’s assassin, Zheng Junhao’s assassin, and Park Zhiyin’s priest.
Black Rose Team: Xu Yiming’s gunner, Xu Yichen’s gunner, and Xiao Li’s magic swordsman.
Although the ACE team sent a strange lineup, like double assassins, it was much more normal than the Black Rose team’s setup. It was okay to have two gunners, and it was normal to have a magic swordsman, but with this combination, they directly gave up using the priest. This choice was a bit too risky.
Putting aside the lineup issue, the loyal fans of the Black Rose team were even more confused, and looking at the backs of the three players walking toward the stage, they didn’t come back to their senses for a long time.
Letting Xiao Li play in the small team competition? For real?
While everyone was in different moods, the referee officially announced that the game had started.
The final map selected for this match was Lava Purgatory. As the characters of both sides were loaded, a scarlet map was displayed in the center of the big screen. After a simple map presentation, the horn of the battlefield sounded, and all players rushed out like arrows from the string.
This map was famous for its winding paths. For gunners, it was a very suitable map for guerrillas. For assassins, it was also very suitable for sneak attacks. Therefore, from the advantages point of view, it was a win-win choice for both teams.
“The ACE team chose to go around the back.” Looking from the global perspective, Xu Qingli quickly discovered the opponent’s tactical positioning. Taking another look at the positions of the three members of the Black Rose team, he sounded a little worried, “Now it seems that our players haven’t noticed the opponent’s movements yet…”
The atmosphere in the audience became tense.
In the battle room at this moment, the conversation on the Black Rose team’s voice channel revealed a completely different atmosphere from the outside world.
Xu Yiming: “Chenchen, tell me, do you want to go up or down the road?”
Xu Yichen: “Whatever.”
Xu Yiming was dissatisfied: “How can you treat such an important game so casually? Think about it quickly and decide whether to walk up or down. If someone bumps you out of the game, don’t come to me crying.”
Xu Yichen just didn’t want to bother with him.
Xu Yiming: “…Forget it, what’s the point, it’s like talking to a grumpy gourd.” After saying that, he turned to Xiao Li and asked, “Xiao Li, you say, which way are you going?”
Seeing that someone finally remembered his presence, Xiao Li cleared his depressed mood and said, “I’ll just follow your arrangements.”
Xu Yiming: “What the hell! Can you guys have some personality, just follow your hearts, okay?!”
Xu Yichen finally couldn’t help but remind him, “Captain You appointed you as the team leader in this match.”
Xu Yiming was stunned: “Hey, I am, aren’t I?”
Xiao Li, Xu Yichen: “…”
Xu Yiming waved a big flag: “Okay, then get ready, and follow my pace together!”
The next second, the three characters of the Black Rose team separated, and their trajectories turned into three synchronized parallel lines.
Such a way of action seemed very bizarre, very few teams would choose such a decentralized course of action in an individual match. But in terms of the opponent’s current lineup, such a choice was undoubtedly wise.
While moving, they kept a certain distance from each other to ensure that they could provide support as soon as possible when their opponents appeared. Because they had no priest, the first huge encounter will undoubtedly be the key to the outcome of this game.
At this time, the ACE team also completed their detour.
The entire audience held their breath, waiting for the battle to officially begin.
Glimpsing the gunner‘s figure, Zheng Junhao’s assassin entered immediately the stealth mood, following Xu Yiming step by step, like a cheetah waiting for an opportunity to strike.
It went on like this for five seconds before finally, when both characters were somewhere in a blind spot on the map, he threw the dagger and got close in an instant. The fierce fighting, accompanied by mottled blood, was extremely shocking.
“This way! Hurry up!” Xu Yiming only had time to shout loudly through the voice channel, as his character quickly dodged to the side with a cartwheel, closing the distance with the other two.
Zheng Junhao’s assassin followed him like a shadow, throwing the dagger directly at the gunner in front while preparing to make the strongest and most intense attack in the shortest time. But just at this time, a gunshot rang out, and he was immediately forced to step back and temporarily dodge the crazy shooting from the side.
With this kind of cooperation, Zheng Junhao could only watch helplessly his blood value drop very quickly, and there was nothing he could do. The stealth skill was still on CD but he had no way to escape from there. Unless he could find a gap that would not be hit by bullets, even entering the invisible state would be useless. As long as he was grazed by any kind of ammunition, it would be enough to make him appear again.
The tacit understanding between these two people was undoubtedly the most perfect collaboration between gunners he had ever seen. Their operations were almost identical, and each person’s shooting position was complementary to the other’s. There was no redundancy at all, let alone leaving the opponent a chance to escape.
Just when Zheng Junhao was at his wits’ end, what depressed him even more, was the sword that suddenly appeared, adding insult to injury. Looks like even Xiao Li’s magic swordsman came to join in the fun at this time. A heavy sword was swung from a distance and hit home, and the skill effect attached to it instantly immobilized him in place.
At this time, the advantages of this full-offensive lineup were visible to everyone. Surrounded by the three opponents, who were suppressing his skills, Zheng Junhao’s assassin could be said to be in a state of unstoppable bleeding. Even after Park Zhiyin’s priest arrived later at the scene, he was unable to control his blood value drop with a series of different healing techniques.
The audience watching this scene was simply amazed. The Black Rose team was undoubtedly the first to come up with this kind of lineup in the World Championship. And they perfectly exemplified for everyone what the pressure of explosive skills meant with their almost brutal performance.
Many people couldn’t help but think of the saying: attack is the best defense.
But was Team ACE just going to sit back and do nothing?
No, obviously not!
Behind the heated battle scene, there was a silhouette that moved like a ghost on the outermost perimeter of the Lava Purgatory map, silently conducting a new round of back-tracking operations.
The target – Xu Yiming.
Right now, Zheng Junhao’s assassin was struggling to survive, and his blood volume was already dangerously low.
Gan Yucheng also completed the detour at this time.
Who will succeed first? The entire audience was silent, watching with bated breath the changes in the battle situation every moment.
At this moment, Xiao Li was clearly in high spirits. Wielding his heavy sword, with his eyes shining brightly, he swung it at Zheng Junhao’s assassin unrestrained, and the entire voice channel was filled with his bold laughter.
The veins on Xu Yichen’s forehead twitched but he did not speak. Xu Yiming on the other side felt that he couldn’t bear it any longer: “Xiao Li, can you be more reserved? If you keep doing this, I will become deaf after this fight!”
Only then did Xiao Li come back to his senses from his world of carnage, “Cough, sorry, I’m used to playing in individual matches.”
The twins were speechless for a moment.
Damn, how dare this guy put on headphones and enjoy himself like this during an individual match?
“It’s the last one, pay attention!” Xu Yichen was the first to collect his thoughts and warned, while his line of sight moved vigilantly, searching for the figure of Gan Yucheng’s assassin who hadn’t shown up yet, and reminded, “Yiming, you be careful.”
In the current situation, Xu Yiming’s gunner had the lowest blood value among the three players of the Black Rose team. If the opponent were to make a choice, he would undoubtedly become the first target for assassination.
“What to watch out for, this one’s mine!” With Xu Yiming’s excited shout, the strong smell of gunfire was accompanied by a heavy blow, and Zheng Junhao’s assassin was finally unable to resist the encirclement of the three, and his blood was cleared.
There was the first kill!
However, the venue did not resound with the expected cheers from the Black Rose fans, because at this time, they could clearly see the assassin sneaking behind Xu Yiming’s gunner in the center of the big screen as his sharp dagger glinted silently.
Just when Xu Yiming was immersed in the joy of taking the first head, he saw a dazzling scarlet flash on the screen.
At this time, his gunner‘s health was already less than 40% after Zheng Junhao’s first wave of strong attacks.
A murderous intent suddenly emerged.
