Chapter 133 – An Illusion Of Two Gunners?

The character played by Han Zongren was a gunner. He had little advantage in individual competitions but he was often active in the 1V1 arena. The gunner‘s shortcomings didn’t seem to bother him at all. “Fast, accurate, and ruthless” was how fans in the Korean gaming community described him.

If we were to make a selection among the world’s gunner character operators, Han Zongren would undoubtedly deserve the title of top king.

The battle map for this individual match was Horror Tomb. After both characters were loaded, the match officially began. Lin Xiao steadily moved forward his ghost priest, Adorable Ghost.

Facing the gunner, a profession with a much longer action range than the ghost priest, any thoughts of seizing the initiative were pure nonsense. Except for some silencing skills, the other control skills of the ghost priest class were mostly confinement, which did not affect the opponent’s bombardment-style attacks on him at all.

The subtlety of positioning was the key to this game as the accuracy of each skill could become a turning point in the outcome of the match.

Unlike Lin Xiao who didn’t seem to be in a hurry, Han Zongren was obviously much more active. The gunner plunged into the dark from the very beginning of the game, speeding toward the center of the map. The chosen route allowed the two parties to meet very quickly in the ruins of a deserted cemetery.

Shots rang out! Han Zongren’s gunner launched a decisive attack the moment he saw the opponent’s figure.

The bullet accurately hit Lin Xiao’s ghost priest. When he saw blood spurting, he wanted to continue to follow, but the figure disappeared from his sight in an instant.

“What quick reflexes!” Han Zongren’s eyes flashed with surprise, but without hesitation, he immediately raised his two guns and fired a volley of bullets in the direction where the ghost priest disappeared.

Scattered sparks stirred up a cloud of dust, causing the initially silent night on the map to suddenly come to life.

On one hand, this style of play forced the opponent to move, and on the other hand, it exposed his own position. It could be described as a win-loss method of play, but the moment the strafing ended, Han Zongren’s gunner suddenly activated the Ghost Sprint, and in a moment he disappeared into the bushes next to him, not giving the opponent any chance to lock on his firing position.

Decisive, really decisive! So decisive that he didn’t leave any room for maneuver!

Lin Xiao’s ghost priest cautiously poked his head out when the opponent’s bombing attack was over, but there was no trace of the gunner anywhere. With a sigh of admiration, his eyes suddenly flickered, and he began chanting his skills out of nowhere.

Wasn’t this a waste of the stamina? As everyone was looking a little confused, the skill chanting was already finished. A few scattered sparks fell out in the night. As soon as they landed, flames ignited all over the place, six feet behind him. Illuminated by the flames, the figure of the gunner was revealed.

Without even seeing his opponent, he had made the most precise judgment of his position.

How the hell did he do that?! The venue was abuzz with excitement.

Han Zongren was obviously not as excited by the opponent’s timing as the audience. He immediately operated the gunner to raise his two guns and launched a rapid firepower offensive.

The position he had found right now was excellent, as he could clearly and unmistakably see the ghost priest‘s every move. Such intense fire almost forced a head-on collision, as if he was determined to riddle his opponent with holes.

But it seemed that Lin Xiao was already prepared to face such an all-encompassing barrage of artillery fire. The Temple Gate slowly unfolded in front of the red figure, absorbing almost all the artillery fire in an instant. The powerful bombing shattered the barrier, but by that time, the chanting of another skill had been completed, and a string of thorny vines sneaked up from the gunner‘s feet.

Han Zongren frowned, and the line of fire stopped for a moment. With a decisive Leap Step, he jumped back. While avoiding the Void Ground Thorns, his character also got out of the opponent’s casting range. Then, taking advantage of his own output distance, he fired several shots in rapid succession.

The sound of the gunshots echoed throughout the venue, but at the landing point, only layers of dust were stirred.

It fell short! Han Zongren, who was known for his precise hits, had missed at this moment! And at the same time, a layer of ice enveloped the gunner, firmly confining him in place.

Ghost priest‘s most common skill, the Frost Curse!

The spectators, closely watching from start to finish, took in the whole process and even forgot to cheer in consternation.

Just now, Han Zongren’s choice to retreat was not very decisive, and he almost completely exited the battlefield before the skills were fully used.

This operation was originally extremely exquisite, but the ghost priest‘s spell-casting immobility made him almost a fixed target for the crazy shooting from behind. However, before the bombardment of artillery fire arrived, the ghost priest made a move before his immobility ended.

The only way to end this immobility in advance was to press the cancel button at the same time as casting the skill.

A control skill that supressed the opponent, but chooses to cancel itself while casting? Was that even possible?!

The entire audience fell silent.

At this moment, everyone realized that Lin Xiao’s previous operations were just intentional traps. He deliberately used the half-released skill to force Han Zongren to take a Leap Step first, and at the same time, he also jumped forward, maintaining the same distance. Then he released the Frost Curse when the opponent relaxed his vigilance, revealing his real intention.

Insidious? Cunning? I’m afraid this can’t even summarize the strong dissatisfaction of the UG team’s fans toward this ghost priest player. But when such a judgment was made on an international competition stage, it was more like a compliment to the opponent’s tactics, and that rendered them unable to express it.

After such an unexpected change of situation, the battle was entirely reduced to a feast of hand-speed dancing.

Yes, that’s how it should be fought! This was the purest form of playing to the extreme!! This was the brilliant performance that “Old Ghost’s successor” should have!

Domestic fans who have been paying attention to the Internal League all the way finally saw Lin Xiao’s purest solo show on the international stage, and they were completely excited!

In contrast, the expressions of Korean fans were much more stupefied. Obviously, they were a little confused right now. Although they were amazed by both parties’ accurate judgments, now it suddenly transformed into a world-war-like evolution, leaving them extremely overwhelmed.

A ghost priest! Wasn’t this man playing a ghost priest? Such astonishing exchanges of firepower, if it weren’t for the clearly displayed icons of both sides’ professions on the big screen, would reinforce the illusion that two gunners were at war.

But now, the skills flying all over the sky brightened the dark map, making it particularly dazzling.

The health and blood values of both players were dropping rapidly, but it was obvious that Han Zongren’s gunner was already losing ground.

This was so accurate! Since the first ice spell hit, Lin Xiao’s connection points of each control skill have been so accurate that it was terrifying! Compared to Han Zongren’s gunner, who was tied on the spot and had to accept the fire from start to finish, the ghost priest who could still dodge freely under Lin Xiao’s control seemed to be like a fish in the water.

On Han Zongren’s face, an extremely grim look finally appeared.

Amidst the frantic shouts that erupted after the audience regained their senses, the director broadcasted, very inspiredly, the image of Lin Xiao’s hands operating on the keyboard. Now, everyone could see the slender fingers dancing freely on the keyboard, with a dazzling and jaw-dropping frequency, and there was a deep feeling of amazement.

The speed was terrifying! And every operation was so subtle that people couldn’t take their eyes away!

While there have been many players renowned for their hand speed who have shown off their skills, there has never been someone like him who brought a sense of ease to the game. Every shot was done as if it had been carefully budgeted as if this scene had gone through countless rehearsals, and at this point, it was the final performance reported.

Watching the footage of Han Zongren’s operation in comparison, the Korean fans became increasingly silent.

As a top gunner, Han Zongren’s hand speed was unquestionable. It was not difficult to see his rapid operations, obviously equally dizzying, but compared to Lin Xiao’s, it appeared so chaotic.

There was no doubt that Han Zongren’s hand speed was even better than Lin Xiao’s, but there were too many extra operations, which made him look immature compared to Lin Xiao, who was almost 100% efficient. However, this was a rookie player who had just entered the League this season!

As the gunner‘s blood bar was emptied, the victory icon appeared on Lin Xiao’s computer screen.

The insane typing on the keyboard finally stopped. When he stood up from the chair in the battle room, Lin Xiao lowered his head and glanced at the APM value stats.

Although he should have been contented with the opportunity to live a new life, after adjusting his state to the best, he still had this pitiful hand speed, which really made him feel frustrated. The speed could indeed be compensated by his experience and strength, but during the game, it still sucked, giving him a feeling that he was unable to get higher.

Thinking of this, he sighed helplessly: “It’s still too slow…”