In the end, the individual round ended with Black Rose‘s 2:1 lead, but the last battle was so exciting that until the small team game was about to begin, the audience was still talking about the amazing Lin Xiao.
Speaking of which, players who just entered the League attracted attention either through their idol-like temperament or their recognized personal strength. Lin Xiao was the first to attract attention just because of his name. However, after this match, he was no longer a point of contention because he shared the same name as the Old Ghost. He had already conquered the crowd with his own abilities.
The successor of the Old Ghost? When thinking of the topic that was widely spread as a joke, the fans of the Black Rose team suddenly had a different expectation– maybe it was possible?
The Scattered Clouds team’s temporary disadvantage did not affect their momentum. Although they were a little depressed, the outstanding performance of their own players still made the fans cheer loudly throughout the stadium. It was as if they were using this method to reach their previous competitor in the individual competition.
“Fight well.” Wen Shuqing did not show any signs of dejection because of the defeat just now. Although Lin Xiao’s sudden display of explosive power was indeed beyond previous expectations, it did not make the captain, who had been on the battlefield for a long time, lose his bearings. His voice was still soft and pleasant, like a breeze that wiped away the last trace of irritation from the team members’ hearts.
Tao Yaofei stood up from her chair and was about to go on stage when she looked up and frowned after seeing the small team battle list on the big screen, “What’s this?”
The list of players for the Black Rose team was clear: Xu Yichen, Xu Yiming, Zou Qiguan.
As the roster for the small team competition was displayed on the big screen, the entire venue seemed to have hit the pause button, and there was a sudden silence. There was only one thought in everyone’s mind: a semi-final without You Jing?
Indeed, it was not You Jing, but Zou Qiguan.
In one of the most important games of the season, the Black Rose team chose to let the rookie of the season replace You Jing, a top priest player.
Of course, it wasn’t about discrimination against rookie players. Whether it was Lin Xiao or Xiao Li, this season could be said to be a breakthrough for rookies. These two players of the Black Rose team alone were enough to leave a mark in the history of the League. No one could deny their strength just because they were new players.
But what about Zou Qiguan?
People tried to remember what kind of outstanding performance this newly introduced priest player from the Black Rose team had so far in this tournament.
But they couldn’t.
Although Zou Qiguan seemed to have appeared before, his presence was so weak that no one could remember how he played at that time. They only vaguely remembered a cute kid with curly chestnut hair that one couldn’t help but want to tousle. This kind of doting impression, however, was useless to survive in the League. After all, the opponent can’t stop hitting you because you’re cute, right?
“Awesome, Switch, look at them, they’re so scared of you that they don’t know what to say.” Xu Yiming stretched his muscles and grinned as he ruffled his fluffy curls.
“Senior, don’t laugh at me…” Zou Qiguan smiled bitterly. Although he knew that Xu Yiming said this only to appease him, the anxiety still made his body stiff. He subconsciously looked behind him, but when he didn’t find that familiar figure in the camp rookie area, a hint of disappointment showed in his black eyes.
“It’s time to go on stage, what are you still thinking about here?” The low and somewhat majestic voice made Zou Qiguan’s heart skip a beat. He suddenly turned around to find that Liu Jinxuan had arrived at some point at the players’ bench and was looking at him expressionlessly.
Zou Qiguan’s eyes flashed with delight as he rushed over. He threw himself into the man’s broad arms and squeezed hard. His voice was very low: “Coach Liu, I…”
Liu Jinxuan looked down at the jacket that was stained with snot and raised an eyebrow. He did not push away the obviously emotional kid and said calmly: “Now that you’ve come out of the training camp, you are an official player. Don’t let me and Manager Lee down.”
Zou Qiguan trembled when he heard this. Although his hands still held his coat tightly, he raised his head very firmly: “Coach Liu, I will never let you down!”
“… Okay, let’s go.” Liu Jinxuan paused and finally chose not to correct him. It should be, don’t let “them” down instead of don’t let “him” down.
Even when the players entered the battle room, the audience still had not recovered from the unexpected situation of You Jing not appearing.
The pressure in such a situation was undoubtedly huge. Xu Yichen wanted to offer some encouragement, but when he turned around, he saw that Zou Qiguan was sorting his equipment with a serious expression. Such a mismatched expression on his cute face only made him look even more adorable.
He smiled, “Switch, you adjusted your state well.”
Zou Qiguan looked at him, nodded heavily, and said, “That’s necessary. We must not embarrass Coach Liu!”
With such a determined look, he looked very much like a teddy who entered combat mode and posed as a Tibetan mastiff. Seeing him, Xu Yichen twitched his mouth, and immediately turned his attention to his computer screen – he was so cute, even he really wanted to pat his head!
The game has officially begun and everyone who was lost in their own thoughts returned to the present. The moment the map was loaded, both sides started moving quickly, at almost the same time.
“Zou Qiguan, in my memory, doesn’t seem to have played many games this season.” Xiao Wu said that, leaving enough leeway. Those who paid a little attention to the Black Rose team knew that “not much” could be counted on one hand.
“After all, the Black Rose team has You Jing, a god-level healer. As a newly debuted priest player, is very valuable to have the chance to play in the League.” Xu Qingli looked through the previous information and said, “Seeing Zou Qiguan’s winning record, it doesn’t seem to be ideal. Since the Black Rose team chose to send him to the semi-finals, they should have a special purpose.”
Xiao Wu said: “By the way, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen the ‘Double Gun’ lineup of these twins, right? Back in the day, the ‘Twin Guns’ pairing with the priest was a combination that the Black Rose team always liked to use in small team matches.”
After her remark, Xu Qingli recalled the Black Rose team’s playing arrangements this season. It was indeed significantly different from the previous seasons, and he did not hide his curiosity: “But this time, the priest is completely different, which is very interesting.”
Xiao Wu smiled and said: “Maybe there will be unexpected results, let’s just wait and see.”
Unable to hear the comments from the outside, the three Black Rose team people had already made the preliminary arrangements.
“Switch, remember to follow me!” Xu Yiming said this, and his gunslinger character, Cry For Blood, started to move at a brisk pace. As for Xu Yichen, he sent One Shot To The Head to meander off in the other direction at the same time.
Although they were twins, their personalities were very different, and because of that, their fighting styles were also completely different. It might have been a better choice to have the calm and steady Xu Yichen pair with Zou Qiguan, however, the combination of the opponent’s warrior monk and paladin protected the priest too closely. Xu Yiming’s radical style was not very suitable for finding opportunities, so they could only temporarily change the strategy and exchange tasks.
Thinking that it would be difficult for Zou Yiguan to keep up with his pace, Xu Yiming intended to slow down his pace a bit, but seeing that White Switch was closely following him, his eyes shone with admiration. It seemed he needn’t have worried.
When the figure of his opponent appeared in his sight, Cry For Blood, without any hesitation, shot a burst of fire.
There happened to be two opponents ahead, Cen Yuanqian’s warrior monkDollar Conversion, and Tao Yaofei’s priest, Beautiful Heart. Under the barrage of fire, they were forced to retreat, but after Beautiful Heart replenished their health, the two quickly adjusted their position and came from the side.
Dollar Conversion left his own priest behind and approached White Switch stealthily, preparing to attack the opposing healer decisively.
Sweep! Failed!
Seeing the warrior monk in front of him, White Switch didn’t hesitate and jumped back to avoid being thrown to the ground.
That was close! Zou Qiguan wiped his sweat and concentrated his attention more.
Warrior monks, like paladins, had a lot of aggressive abilities, and it was very hard to get rid of them once they got into melee range. Of course, this was very inconvenient for the healers. Unfortunately, in this round, precisely these two professions were employed by the opponents.
Obviously, this arrangement was originally intended for You Jing, but unexpectedly, the Black Rose team did something like this and replaced him with this newcomer, Zou Qiguan. This was very frustrating for the Scattered Clouds team.
Would they have gone through all this trouble if they knew it was this rookie priest on the field?
Thinking like this, Cen Yuanqian, who was already feeling extremely depressed, became even more anxious when he saw that his attack had failed. He immediately launched a roundhouse kick without even thinking, as if he wouldn’t stop until the White Switch was out of play.
At this time, another teammate of his, Bao Yijin, was already approaching in a roundabout way. From the global perspective, one could clearly see the encirclement of the two men. As for the Black Rose team, Xu Yichen’s backside operation had not yet been completed. Xu Yiming, as an oppressive firepower profession, was obviously not good at rescue and protection operations, and at this time, he was chasing Tao Yaofei’s priest. In this way, Zou Qiguan, who could not count on his teammates, was undoubtedly in a very dangerous situation.
If it were You Jing, he might be able to handle this one-on-two situation, but what about Zou Qiguan?
Just when everyone was holding their breath, White Switch suddenly activated the Ghost Sprint and ran away at a very fast speed.
All this happened in the blink of an eye, leaving the entire audience stunned.
