“How should I put it… Originally, they came to deal with Seven Silver Coins, but unexpectedly, they ended up fighting amongst themselves. I guess, you could say that life is full of unexpected twists.” The commentator’s sentiments from the broadcast booth echoed the thoughts of the live audience.
Indeed, life is full of surprises.
In the blink of an eye, the peace was shattered, and amidst the chaos, the two instigators quietly withdrew.
It’s not that they didn’t want to take advantage of the situation, but their current opponents weren’t as easy to deal with as the soft targets during Nianhua Cup.
If they meddled unnecessarily, they might end up getting entangled themselves.
Therefore, Jiang Shi’s choice was, before leaving, to quietly place a few rune fields below, causing some disruption. It wasn’t specifically aimed at anyone; it entirely depended on the luck of the teams disturbed. After all, regardless of which guild, they were all opponents in this match.
“Truly a pair with Yu Weize, their trick of kicking someone when they’re down is so aligned.” The role under the name [Mad Stomp] was a Beastkin Warrior. Just as he activated his blood-boiling effect, he unfortunately encountered the interference of the rune domains, unable to help but curse under his breath. However, despite his grumbling, as soon as the debuff effect on him faded, he immediately utilized a charging skill, swinging his huge axe towards the front after a quick dash, maximizing the charging duration for an extremely powerful and high-damage strike.
The massive damage startled the Crusaders’ players, who, disregarding the interference from Rattlesnake, instantly focused their attacks on this Beastkin warrior in their team. However, when his health reached about 30% depletion, they watched helplessly as a glimmer flashed, and he was instantly lifted back up.
A little distance away in the rear, Return to Spring’s Skillful Hands was steadily managing their teammate’s health, and with a smirk, added, “Exactly, we’re one family, and birds of a feather flock together!”
“Ah-choo!” Jiang Shi had just stepped into the room where his teammates were hiding and felt a tickle in his nose, sneezing involuntarily.
Beside him, Han Yuze also rubbed his nose tip.
“What’s going on? Are you both catching a cold?” Gentleman Fan looked at the two with surprise.
“Not a cold, probably someone sending regards from behind,” Jiang Shi replied casually, seeming accustomed to such situations, and then asked his apprentice, “Are the preparations ready?”
“The structure diagrams are all here,” Serious Young Man handed over his notebook, flipping to a page illustrating the floor plan structure. With a bit of hesitation, he couldn’t resist asking, “But, do we really have to wait here? Shouldn’t we just withdraw while they’re busy fighting?”
“Withdraw? Only if we can actually get out,” Jiang Shi responded, focusing on the comprehensive floor plan sketch just completed by Serious Young Man.
Han Yuze noticed Mucuan Pants’s curiosity while peeking around the window and chuckled, “Stop looking. The retreat routes are surely blocked.”
Although forced to face each other in battle, as top-tier professional teams, these three guilds wouldn’t make the mistake of forgetting their original motives.
Without needing to see Han Yuze, it could be guessed that these three guilds currently entangled in the melee must have a similar tacit agreement. That is, they wouldn’t allow any chance for the others to escape amidst the chaos.
With a swift movement, Jiang Shi slammed the notebook shut and tossed it to Han Yuze. “Get ready.”
Han Yuze agilely caught it, turned, and exited the room.
Only after that figure disappeared from the doorway did Serious Young Man react and ask, “Where’s he going?”
“Setting traps,” Jiang Shi sounded somewhat regretful, “If I had known earlier, I should have let Old Player come at the start. Waiting around for a lucky break is something he’s an expert at.”
Mucuan Pants echoed, “Yeah, yeah! I said I wanted to rest outside, but you wouldn’t let me. Who’s to blame?”
Jiang Shi replied, “Even if we wanted to replace Old Player, it wouldn’t have been you. We’ll see how you perform later.”
“…”
Mucuan Pants asked, “Can I not go?”
Jiang Shi retorted, “What do you think?”
Mucuan Pants remained silent.
At that moment, Han Yuze’s voice came through the team’s voice channel, “I’m ready here.”
Gentleman Fan leaned against the window, chuckling, “Heh, just in time, looks like the melee down there is also over. It doesn’t seem as fierce as imagined, though.”
Indeed, the three-way skirmish downstairs had indeed concluded.
However, only five members of the Crusaders had been wiped out entirely. The remaining members from Rattlesnake and Blood Roses had two or three players each, adding up to a five-person team. Apparently, they had reached some agreement and didn’t continue depleting each other.
By now, the first batch of eliminated players had begun respawning.
If the chaos had continued, the five members of the Crusaders might have considered respawning and joining in again. But seeing the unexpected turn from the other two guilds, they chose to teleport back without a word.
In an instant, the bodies on the ground disappeared together.
The remaining players from Rattlesnake and Blood Roses, waiting for their teammates’ respawn, began reorganizing.
Just as they were about to set off again, Han Yuze’s voice came through distantly from inside the building, “So, an alliance in the end? Look at these teams with their credentials. Instead of playing it fair and square, they join hands to deal with our small guild. Shameful, isn’t it?”
Return to Spring’s Skillful Hands didn’t buy into his words, “Isn’t this giving face to your ‘God Yu’?”
“Stop kidding. Back when I was with the Crusaders, I didn’t see you being so scared of me,” Han Yuze chuckled, “This world, when you’re down, even old friends come to put pressure on you. Give us some leeway, let us enter the finals, is it that hard? Instead of blocking our retreat, they’re even willing to cooperate with Rattlesnake. Old Spring, you’re not a newbie anymore, why are you still so naive? At this stage, these two guilds are still competing for the rankings. In some aspects, they’re the biggest competitors. Aren’t you afraid that by dealing with a team hanging at the end, you’re giving Rattlesnake a chance to backstab you later?”
Even No One couldn’t bear to hear this: “Oh, oh, oh, Yu Weize, it’s not right to sow discord here, is it? We’re all veteran players, who doesn’t have some integrity? Besides, the rankings don’t need your concern. After we deal with you, we’ll naturally settle the matter.”
“Are we teaming up against a common enemy?” Han Yuze clicked his tongue. “Then who’s ready to step up first? Or should we do it together?”
As his words fell, the surroundings fell momentarily silent, subtly so.
Yes, the alliance was formed because intuitively leaving Seven Silver Coins on the battlefield would be a huge disaster.
But while everyone wanted to swiftly resolve this troublemaker, no one was willing to be the first to charge into battle.
During the recent skirmish, not a single person from Seven Silver Coins had shown their face, leaving everyone unsure of what they were up to.
Even now, Han Yuze was making a show of strength here without actually being seen.
After a brief deadlock, it was Return to Spring’s Skillful Hands, who spoke up first: “Old Poison, one person per entrance?”
Snake Scorpion Curse also understood that this was the only way: “Agreed.”
The building where Seven Silver Coins were hidden had two doors, front and back. Since they had no idea what awaited them inside, their only choice was to open the blind boxes.
Han Yuze didn’t know where they were hiding, but he clearly saw the actions of the two teams: “Oh, a pincer attack?”
From their tone, there was no sense of urgency whatsoever.
The teams from Blood Rose and Snake Scorpion Curse entered the building from opposite sides.
While they didn’t know the specific situation inside, the audience with the God’s eye view could see clearly. For a moment, they weren’t sure which side had the better luck.
Han Yuze indeed had nothing to worry about.
Because whether it was the south or north door, the situation awaiting both small squads was not significantly different.
On one side, it was the self-destruct monsters that Seven Silver Coins intentionally left unhandled when entering the door.
On the other side, it was the miniature machinery that Han Yuze had quietly arranged in a few hidden corners after descending the stairs.
Boom! Boom boom!
As Blood Rose and Snake’s Curse carefully groped their way in from both doors, thick smoke followed the sounds of explosions, completely engulfing the teams.
The south door that Blood Rose entered was precisely the masterpiece Han Yuze had arranged in advance. Although there seemed to be a severe explosion, most of the damage was still resisted due to a knight player initiating a team barrier.
In the instant that the thick smoke swept in, Return to Spring’s Skillful Hands swiftly finished his incantation to boost the entire team’s health points.
While he was preparing to adjust the layout, he suddenly heard a voice in his ear that had obviously been waiting there for a while: “Friends, welcome.”
PoisonedMilk?
As soon as he realized who it was, Return to Spring’s Skillful Hands suddenly reacted.
So, the significance of this extensive mechanical arrangement wasn’t about causing damage but to cover up the subsequent actions?
Return to Spring’s Skillful Hands’s intuition wasn’t good.
Just as he was about to yell for his teammates to retreat, he saw a beam of light rising beneath his feet.
The next second, the entire area enveloped all five members of Blood Rose.
Jiang Shi’s position and angle were perfect.
Watching his prey get caught, he blinked in a good mood.
It had been hard work developing these five new runestones; it was about time to debut them gradually in suitable situations.