Chapter 131 – Goodbye Apocalypse

When the team match started, the two sides chose different tactical approaches. Under Yan Duzhou’s command, the Apocalypse went straight into the main city, while the ACE team chose to roam through the desert full of quicksand.

For a while, the two teams were separated in two places and did not actively search for each other.

Finally, Team ACE compromised first, withdrew from the main city, and began to track down the Apocalypse team.

Soon after, both sides met in the ruins at the lower left corner of the main city.

Taking advantage of their geographic position, the Apocalypse launched a fierce attack before the ACE could react.

Qiu Zhiyuan’s tomahawk fighter was the first to bear the brunt. She activated the Berserk Mode, brandishing a huge axe toward Sung Yuri’s shadow swordsman. Park Xinyang seemed to be trying to redeem his face lost in the individual competition as he stepped between them, shielding Sung Yuri and avoiding the sharp edge of the axe.

“Stinky man!” A displeased expression flashed across Qiu Zhiyuan’s face, but she wasn’t picky about food, so she swung her axe directly toward the face of the magic swordsman without hesitation.

“Watch out, their assassin is gone!” Luo Wei quickly looked around and noticed that there were only four opponents, immediately becoming alert.

Although the battle heated up, Gan Yucheng’s assassin never appeared in sight, becoming a major threat to Team Apocalypse for the time being.

The audience could clearly see through the global perspective on the big screen that a figure dressed in black was hiding behind nearby ruins, cautiously moving around on the outskirts. It was like a wild beast hunting its prey, preparing to strike but temporarily concealing its sharp claws.

“Focus fire on Sung Yuri.” After Yan Duzhou made the decision, the black mage raised his staff and began chanting.

Song Lan executed this change of target excellently. The shadow swordsman swiftly repositioned, activating Ghostly Sprint and intercepting Sung Yuri’s shadow swordsman in motion. With a flash of light from his longsword, he struck head-on.

At the same time, Luo Wei’s demon hunter had already shot a poisoned arrow, significantly reducing the opponent’s blood value in an instant.

Faced with such a sudden and fierce assault, Sung Yuri remained calm. He was obviously used to encountering this fire-focusing mode many times before. Even in this situation of being highly targeted, he keenly scanned the surroundings. His shadow swordsman distanced with a leap backward and swiftly rolled to the right side, disappearing behind a broken wall and cutting off visibility from others.

The venue was in an uproar after this superb maneuver, and immediately after, it reached the boiling point again.

This time, it was because of Yan Duzhou’s precise judgment.

Thousands of dark clouds gathered in the map’s sky as the black mage finished chanting, and a thousand pounds of thunder roared down directly amidst flashes of lightning. With great accuracy, it struck the shadow swordsman, and the huge damage instantly reduced more than half of his blood.

What an amazing foresight! A hint of surprise flashed across Sung Yuri’s face, and he couldn’t help but praise his opponent. He looked at the black-robed mage in the corner of the large screen, and as he thought of the man operating on him, his eyes grew a little more respectful.

No member of the ACE team would have any intention of slacking off against this man who had been mentioned countless times by their head coach.

The distance that had been opened before was closed again by the opponent in this momentary shift. Sung Yuri calmly and resolutely retreated quickly; the moment he entered the casting range, the priest‘s ultimate ability, Holy Light, shone down on him, returning the almost dying shadow swordsman back to safety, above critical health levels.

Park Zhiyin did not linger, and immediately after applying a continuous healing skill to Sung Yuri’s shadow swordsman again, he controlled the priest to quickly retreat several steps backward, pulling away from the front line to a safe distance.

At the same time, Ahn Jung Chul’s ghost priest had already finished his spell chanting, and the Floating Temple Gate rose, stretching across the middle of the two teams, causing the tense battle situation to slow down after this momentary pause.

So stable! The maneuvers were really stable!

This tacit cooperation made the entire ACE team seem invincible like an impenetrable fortress, leaving no opportunity for a breakthrough.

The three people who had just finished the small team match seemed to have fallen into the same powerless feeling as in the previous game, and they were in a daze for a while.

“Play well!” Yan Duzhou’s calm voice came through the voice channel, pulling their thoughts back instantly.

Yes, this wasn’t the time to be desponded and depressed! Their hearts were shaken, and their hand movements became more intense.

However, just as they were lost in thought for a split second, Sung Yuri, who had been retreating a moment ago, suddenly reversed direction and appeared directly in front of Song Lan’s shadow swordsman.

This sudden attack caught Song Lan off guard and made him waver for about 0.5 seconds, but although it was only a brief hesitation, it was enough for the ground beneath his feet to suddenly loosen as vines emerged and firmly bound him in place.

The ghost priest‘s Void Ground Stab.

Following that, along with the huge damage dealt by the shadow swordsman‘s longsword, a spark of fire fell beside him and ignited the yellow sand, instantly expanding into a sea of ​​fire.

“Hold on!” Xing Shihan noticed the situation and quickly flew over to support. He swiftly cast a Blessing Shield on Song Lan’s shadow swordsman while releasing his ultimate move, which fully buffed his teammate’s parameters. The blood value reached balance as it quickly rebounded.

However, before he could make another move, a huge figure appeared seemingly out of thin air and rushed toward him, almost taking over his entire computer screen.

The sense of panic during the small team match was still vivid in his mind. While Xing Shihan leaped back to distance himself, he instinctively shouted for help: “The assassin is here!”

This time, Luo Wei was well prepared. Almost at the same moment, the bow and arrow in his hand were ready to shoot out. Just as he was about to hit the target, the figure flickered faintly and suddenly disappeared again from sight.

It’s an illusion! Not good! Xing Shihan’s expression turned ugly in an instant.

“Hurry back into position!”

Yan Duzhou’s voice finally made him react. He saw that, without realizing it, he and Song Lan had distanced out of spellcasting range. He activated a speed-boosting skill on himself and hurried back, but it was already too late.

The assassin who was supposed to be attacking Xing Shihan a moment ago was actually the shadow swordsman who had counterattacked Song Lan in an instant.

After Yan Duzhou’s black mage finished chanting, overwhelming black spells attacked the encirclement wantonly. The massive damage caused the health and blood of the two melee fighters to drop at a speed visible to the naked eye. However, due to Park Zhiyin standing not far away and perfectly employing his healing skills, they ultimately failed to succeed in completing the kill.

Song Lan’s shadow swordsman, surrounded by three people, originally wanted to take advantage of Yan Duzhou’s magic damage to kill one opponent. However, this time Gan Yucheng did not use the one-hit kill but instead cooperated with Sung Yuri’s shadow swordsman, precisely utilizing the distance between the two sides to control his blood limit while encircling.

At the last moment, when Song Lan’s shadow swordsman fell, he gritted his teeth and unleashed the final blow on the assassin, who had only a sliver of blood left.

However, the light of the priest‘s healing technique fell again, and the small portion of blood was saved at the critical moment, finally silencing his struggle.

The first kill occurred, and Song Lan’s computer screen completely dimmed.

This sudden change brought about a thorough transformation in the situation. Once having numerical superiority in battle formation, the ACE team’s offensive became more decisive.

Sung Youri’s shadow swordsman and Gan Yucheng’s assassin swiftly rushed toward Yan Duzhou’s black mage, flanking him. Xing Shihan, lamenting his previous mistake, was eager to rush for support but, unexpectedly, was intercepted by Ahn Jung-Cheol’s ghost priest midway. Luo Wei turned on Ahn Jung-Cheol, trying to help his teammate escape. However, due to the strong support from Park Zhiyin’s priest at the rear, Ahn Jung-Cheol did not even need to pay attention to his offensive harassment. In an instant, all attention shifted to the one-on-two situation of Yan Duzhou.

Two melee fighters and one long-range mage – what should have been a one-sided situation turned out to be extremely balanced under precise skill coordination and subtle positioning.

“This man is really strong!” Excitement filled Sung Yuri’s eyes as his shadow swordsman intensified each attack on his vital points.

The entire arena fell silent watching this 1v2 scene between top players, feeling such immense tension that they almost forgot to cheer; instead, they could only tensely follow every movement.

With no healing class present, the blood values of both sides continued to decline, and the tense atmosphere became heavier and heavier.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes…

The whole fight scene, as gorgeous as a movie, finally ended under the spotlight.

Yan Duzhou’s black mage finally depleted his health and blood. However, at the last second, when Gan Yucheng, who was sweating profusely, was about to let out a sigh of relief, a few sparks ignited by a black electric light falling on him also drained the assassin‘s health at the same time.

One for one! In a situation where he was outnumbered by two, Yan Duzhou still took one down with him!

Shouting and cheering were not enough to express people’s feelings at this moment; however, right now, the audience was unable to make any sound.

Because in such a brief moment, Sung Yuri paid no attention to the sacrifice of his teammate and shifted the front line once again toward Xing Shihan’s priest.

No one had time to react, not even to be warned, as he swiftly and decisively switched targets like that. Coupled with the firepower suppression from Ahn Jung-Cheol, he completed the second kill five seconds after the previous.

This seemed to be the beginning or the end of a killing spree. The Apocalypse team, which had lost its healing class, was bound to be defeated.

“This man is truly terrifying.” Lin Xiao looked at the screen in silence for a while after the end of the battle, then raised his eyes to look at Sung Yuri walking out of the arena. There was a glint in his eyes, and after a moment, he finally sighed heavily, “If only Old Yan were a few years younger.”

Whether they wanted to or not, they had to admit that sometimes the passage of time, in addition to bringing a complete experience to the arena, really affected the performance of professional players.

The screen cut to the members of Team Apocalypse exiting the arena. Tears glistened in their eyes, except for the man walking in front, who stood straight with an expressionless face.

Yan Duzhou felt the gazes from all over the venue and took a deep breath. Miraculously, there weren’t any of the expected complex emotions; instead, there was a sense of relief. It was like something heavy on his shoulders had been completely removed, and the cool breeze that slowly blew over his sweat-soaked back gave him an inexplicable serenity.

It’s over. His e-sports career ended at this point.

The author has something to say: Goodbye, Apocalypse; Goodbye, Captain Yan.