Chapter 1229: Team Void’s Launcher
Team Void was still a pro team; even in retreat, there was strategy. They could not ignore the enemy as they backed away, and saw Lord Grim and Boundless Sea standing nearly mirrored, opening their palms with almost identical stances...
Cloud Grasping Fist!
And it was two at the same time!
Of Team Void’s four players, besides Yang Haoxuan’s Translucent, everyone else was within range of these two grabs. Luckily, they noticed their movements in time and hastily scrambled around frantically. If Cloud Grasping Fist could not be interrupted, the only other way to escape from it was to run around constantly so the enemy couldn’t pinpoint them. The qi released by Cloud Grasping Fist was completely invisible.
The attention of these three players were entirely focused on the two Cloud Grasping Fists, when they saw Yang Haoxuan roar in chat: "ABOVE!"
Above?
The moment they saw the message, they felt an abnormality in the lighting of their field of view, but it was already too late do anything. A Satellite Beam descended from the sky.
The three had only been focused on the two Cloud Grasping Fists, so for a moment, they forgot about Dancing Rain, who was above them. And the price for their mistake was painful. The central Satellite Beam struck Crying Devil, and the following smaller beams thoroughly disrupted their rhythm.
Dragon Breaks the Ranks!
Tang Hao’s Soft Mist seized this opportunity to force her way into their ranks. Although her charge didn’t hit anyone, her follow-up Tyrant’s Destruction sent Blue Exorcist, who was busy dodging the rotating beams of light, flying away.
Blue Exorcist lost his balance. However, Tyrant’s Destruction wasn’t a grab skill that locked the body. As Blue Exorcist flew in the air, Ge Caijie hastily regained his balance. In this instant, Ge Caijie’s calmness showed. The Soul Guidanced scythe flew out, not towards Soft Mist, nor was it to stop Happy’s counterattack. Instead, it was thrown to its max distance, towards Steamed Bun Invasion, who had pinned Ghost Lantern to the ground was beating him up.
Lock Talisman!
A Talisman, which could help Li Xun break out from the assault, was attached to the scythe.
Li Xun and Ghost Lantern had already been abandoned, but because of the change in circumstances, Ge Caijie calmly made this decision. With Team Void’s rhythm disrupted, this was a decision to disrupt Happy’s rhythm. If Li Xun was saved, he could form a pincer attack with the rest of Void and again open up the enemy’s formation. This was the best case scenario for Void’s current situation.
Suddenly, a "biu" sounded. Ge Caijie looked up and saw a beam of light fire from Dancing Rain’s cannon and accurately strike the scythe.
Soul Guidance had high priority, but the burst from Laser Beam was not weak either. This Laser Beam was unable to completely stop the scythe dead on its tracks, but it knocked it towards the ground. With a hum, the scythe stuck into the ground about half a unit away from Steamed Bun Invasion. The talisman on the scythe activated, but it didn’t do anything. As for Steamed Bun Invasion? He didn’t react until now. If Su Mucheng hadn’t shot down the scythe, Steamed Bun, who was in the middle of beating up Ghost Lantern, would have most likely been hit.
If the attack had connected, the Lock Talisman would have taken effect. Void would briefly have a 5v4 situation, and the tides would turn. Ge Caijie’s calm, swift decision was truly terrifying, however...
Looking up at that Launcher at the top of the watchtower, Ge Caijie was filled with awe.
He had joined the Alliance last season, just when Excellent Era had been relegated from the league. As a result, he had never fought against Su Mucheng’s Launcher. Although there was quite some controversy over Su Mucheng in the public eye, Team Void had suffered under her hands and had nothing but praise for her. When Li Xuan and Wu Yuce, his two seniors, had heard about Team Excellent Era getting relegated, Ge Caijie clearly heard them let out a "sigh of relief". The person who had given these two All-Stars such pressure was Su Mucheng.
What type of player is she?
Ge Caijie had always been curious about Su Mucheng?
And now, after personally going into battle against her, Ge Caijie could finally feel just how unbearable of an existence this top supportive player was. Li Xuan and Wu Yuce probably had the strongest feeling of this unbearableness.
Ge Caijie had nearly reverse the situation with Soul Guidance, but because of Su Mucheng’s Laser Beam, his attack had been blocked. Team Void had scattered like sand. Right now, Yang Haoxuan, who had been picked for the team competition specifically to counter Su Mucheng, felt very ashamed of himself.
His purpose was to restrict Su Mucheng, but what had he done so far?
When the match started, Team Void had not sent him out to fight for the high grounds. Yang Haoxuan knew what the team had been worried about, but he didn’t have the confidence to stand out and take the initiative to express that he could do it. If he had displayed this kind of courage and confidence, Yang Haoxuan knew that the team would have certainly given him the chance to prove himself. However, he hadn’t. He had even felt glad that the team hadn’t forced him to carry out this task. This was Yang Haoxuan himself not confident in himself, but at the same time, it was the shadow that Su Mucheng had placed in their hearts.
After the two sides started fighting, Su Mucheng occupied the high grounds and had an amazing field of view and position. However, it wasn’t like Yang Haoxuan was sitting there doing nothing. He could also utilize his long-ranged attacks to suppress Su Mucheng. But from the looks of it, it seemed like he wasn’t doing anything. At least, in the crucial moments, he hadn’t displayed any usefulness. On the other hand, Su Mucheng had repeatedly disrupted Team Void several times.
It shouldn’t be like this. What should I do?
Yang Haoxuan told himself that, but in this chaotic situation that he could read clearly, he wasn’t able to make a precise and effective judgement. In the end, he was just a long ranged attacker, standing at the farthest and safest position, a decoration for their team’s offensive prowess. Change the tides? Yang Haoxuan had neither the courage nor the confidence. Even if he had the ability to make a difference, the probability of it happening was unlikely.
Yang Haoxuan’s Translucent stood there far far away as if he were truly translucent. Sometimes, he would throw some AoE attacks towards where the Ghost Duo were attacking. Sometimes, he would nervously look upwards to observe Su Mucheng’s actions and then send a few attacks towards her.
"Yang Haoxuan, what exactly are you doing!"
Finally, Wu Yuce yelled out in the chat. This enduring vice-captain very rarely gave any orders or directions, perhaps he was intentionally avoiding it. After all, Team Void’s Ghost Duo was a pair with debate over who was better. Wu Yuce didn’t want to exceed his place and disrupt the balance by meddling in other people’s matters. He very carefully kept a certain distance away from captain Li Xuan. His voice was oftentimes even less heard than the regular team members during a match.
But now, this vice captain had done what he rarely ever did. He spoke. Let alone, Yang Haoxuan, even the others felt a shiver in surprise.
"Focus on Su Mucheng. Don’t bother with anything else!" Wu Yuce said with unwavering certainty.
Yang Haoxuan tensed up. He looked upwards with practically zero thought behind it and saw Dancing Rain aiming at a target from the edge of the watchtower. Yang Haoxuan didn’t even think and shot a Laser Beam towards her.
An involuntary action was the fastest. Yang Haoxuan lifting up his head and Laser Beam was practically simultaneous because he had done it without any thinking at all.
When Su Mucheng saw Translucent look towards her, she didn’t think the attack would be so fast. Laser Beam’s speed was extremely fast too, flashing in front of her in the blink of an eye. Even if Su Mucheng wanted to dodge, it was too late. The Laser Beam struck her ferociously, pushing her off the watchtower.
"Beautiful!" Their captain Li Xuan was busy, but he took the time to praise Yang Haoxuan. Picking Yang Haoxuan to counter Su Mucheng was proof of his capabilities. Everyone approved of him. The problem was that he lacked the courage and confidence to face Su Mucheng.
Su Mucheng was said to be Li Xuan’s and Wu Yuce’s nemesis, and when they faced Su Mucheng, they cowered at times. How could the other players not show fear for Su Mucheng in this kind of atmosphere? What’s more, Yang Haoxuan was a Launcher, while Su Mucheng was an All-Star Launcher. All Stars were chosen out of popular vote, but where did popularity come from? The foundation came from skill, so it was also a form of of recognition towards a player’s skill. Thus, Yang Haoxuan always felt like he couldn’t compare to Su Mucheng. That was in addition to Team Void’s atmosphere. Putting him to face Su Mucheng? Not having confidence or courage couldn’t entirely blamed on him. So the team tried to encourage him. When they saw this attack, their team captain immediately went out of his way to praise him.
Sure enough, this Laser Beam woke up Yang Haoxuan. Even though it didn’t instantly make him feel like he was invincible,he had to do what he needed to do. His mind suddenly cleared up.
Wu Yuce roared at him to focus on Su Mucheng on nothing else, but this was just to point out how important it was. How could pro players only single mindedly work on one task? As a result, the instant Dancing Rain was blasted away, Translucent shifted his attention back to the other battles, providing support for his team. From time to time, he would pay attention to Dancing Rain.
Dancing Rain was pushed out of the watchtower, but Su Mucheng reacted extremely fast. She fired several cannon shots to counteract the knockback from the Laser Beam and slow her descent. Then, she used the Launcher’s Rotor Wing, putting her back on top of the watchtower.
In Glory, character skill trees could be reset as long as you spent the money. Normal players might try to avoid doing so to save money, but pro teams wouldn’t care about this bit of money. Whether it was to test out new skill setups or picking skills specifically to counter opponents, resetting skill trees was a common practice. Sometimes, it was possible to make surprising changes to one’s playstyle. Li Xuan’s Crying Devil was as Phantom Demon, but it wasn’t like he had never reset his points and reallocated it as a Sword Demon. This sort of situation wouldn’t happen too often though. After all, his Phantom Demon was his best character.
Su Mucheng had probably reset her skills to learn Rotor Wings specifically for this match! As Yang Haoxuan guessed, Translucent’s cannon once again aimed towards the air.