After the halftime break, the team match quickly began. Excellent Era's map choice was Broken River, a classic competition map that only professional players would be familiar with.
At the start, players from both sides rushed towards the centre of the map. Pan Lin thought Sun Xiang was full of vigour, and with the Excellent Era starting with fewer players, adopting an aggressive strategy was appropriate. However, Excellent Era's recklessness, similar to Conquering Clouds's, was questionable.
Tao Xuan, watching the match, clapped his hands in delight. "Yes, keep it up and lose to Conquering Clouds..."
Soon, both sides reached the centre of the map. Su Mucheng turned to Liu Hao, "What's the plan?"
In the past, Su Mucheng would never have actively asked Liu Hao, but now that Ye Qiu was absent and she needed experience as the core, she had to seek tactical advice from him.
Liu Hao smirked inwardly but maintained a weak facade, saying, "Just bombard them with AOE attacks. I'll mark the targets."
This was directed at Su Mucheng and He Ming a Gunner and an Elementalist, respectively. They are both high-output, wide-range classes best at AOE bombardment.
"Boss, what about me?" Shen Jian asked proactively.
Liu Hao glanced at him, pondered for a moment, and said, "Your defensive capabilities are strong, so use that to protect Su Mucheng and He Ming."
Shen Jian nodded in agreement.
Zhang Jiaxing was puzzled, "Brother Hao, what are you going to do? And is your health okay?"
"I've recovered a bit; basic operations are fine. It might be due to regular exercise, so my resistance is relatively high," Liu Hao smiled. "We'll stick to the old tactic of baiting and ambushing, understood?"
"Understood!" The four responded in unison.
This time, the starting five were unprecedentedly united. Liu Hao was somewhat moved, thinking that if Ye Qiu were ever kicked out of the team, he could smoothly take over as the team leader and commander.
As for Sun Xiang? Ha, let him play on the sidelines!
Liu Hao controlled Total Darkness to advance alone. In Conquering Clouds's line of sight, Total Darkness oddly walked into their encirclement.
"What is Liu Hao doing? Taking on all five?" Sun Xiang laughed, but nobody dared attack rashly. They were still observing, wary of a trap.
Then...
Total Darkness started dancing on the spot...
What the heck... Who could tolerate this? Sun Xiang's temper flared, and he was about to charge in with his broadsword.
Sun Xiang's current character is Cross Knife, a Berserker. He was rumoured to be the most likely to succeed as the top Berserker, following in the footsteps of Desert Dust.
Seeing such a brazen Total Darkness, how could his hot temper hold back?
Seeing their captain about to charge, the team's Priest hurriedly stopped him, "Captain, let's observe a bit more. What if it's a trap? The opponent started with one less player, missing One Autumn Leaf, and Liu Hao's condition wasn't great. We have a huge advantage, so we should secure the win carefully."
Sun Xiang thought it made sense and reluctantly held back.
Liu Hao had already figured out the enemy's defence layout and expected Conquering Clouds would refrain from attacking rashly. The more advantageous the start, the more cautious they had to be.
Then... Total Darkness danced even more energetically as if turning the tense battlefield into a dance floor for wanton expression.
Gradually, Conquering Clouds's team became thoroughly agitated. Total Darkness's dance was inexplicably taunting; even the referees wanted to warn Liu Hao to compete correctly. However, the rules didn't forbid dancing, and if a warning were to be issued, it should be to Conquering Clouds for not attacking despite having the advantage.
"Damn it, can't take it anymore!" Sun Xiang roared, lifting his sword to charge at Total Darkness, but suddenly, cannon fire erupted behind him.
Turning back, he saw several shells explode among his teammates, lighting up the area with brilliant sparks and revealing their silhouettes in the firelight.
"We've been tricked!" Sun Xiang gritted his teeth, realising Excellent Era had successfully flanked them.
Moreover, a massive fire tornado ignited in the field, a skill that didn't require much control, just chanting and releasing.
"Hesitation leads to defeat!" Liu Hao typed calmly.
Due to Conquering Clouds's hesitation, Excellent Era successfully flanked them, with Su Mucheng and He Ming finding the best positions for output.
After a brief observation, Sun Xiang locked onto Su Mucheng. In this situation, they had to take her down to have a chance at breaking through.
Liu Hao didn't assist Su Mucheng, as the strategy for this match was to let her be the core and handle Sun Xiang alone. Intervening would give Tao Xuan an excuse to reprimand him, but if Sun Xiang lost to Su Mucheng, Tao Xuan couldn't blame anyone.
Liu Hao had already taken the initiative to "give away" himself, but Conquering Clouds didn't dare to attack, so there was no other way.
As the battle was about to erupt, Liu Hao released the first Wave Sword of the team match. A splendid magic wave swept out, accurately hitting the mid-air Arcane Scholar, knocking him down next to Su Mucheng's incendiary device, which was then precisely hit by a homing missile.
"What a perfect combo! I didn't expect Total Darkness and Su Mucheng to be so in sync. I thought the homing missile would miss!" Pan Lin exclaimed.
"Sun Xiang has found Su Mucheng's position!" Li Yibo said nervously, seeing on the map Sun Xiang's Cross Knife crossing the Broken River and heading straight for her. As he approached, Sun Xiang smashed his heavy sword down, seemingly about to hit Su Mucheng, but was intercepted by Shen Jian's martial artist.
In a moment of shock, Sun Xiang was blasted away by Su Mucheng's cannon.
The top Gunner in Glory was immensely impressive. She shouldered a heavy cannon and executed a three-shot combo, pushing Sun Xiang's Crossed Sword into He Ming's Blizzard.
Tao Xuan felt like cursing at this moment. Shen Jian, with no standout skills or offensive power, excelled in protecting others. Last time, he shielded Liu Hao; now, he shielded Su Mucheng. If his defensive talent was so good, he should be playing as a Knight, not a martial artist!
Sun Xiang was stunned by the combination of Shen Jian, Su Mucheng, and He Ming. Seeing the team's Priest trying to heal him, Sun Xiang quickly stopped him: "Don't heal me; I need to control my health!"
A Berserker's damage increases as their health decreases, so good Berserker players often manage their health levels.
The audience's attention focused on the fight between Sun Xiang and Su Mucheng, with many camera angles directed at them, leaving Liu Hao's actions largely unseen. But Liu Hao was okay with it, as he wasn't the core this time.
Liu Hao leisurely hindered Conquering Clouds's players, striking them back with precise Wave Swords whenever they tried to escape the AOE skills, tormenting them like playing Whac-A-Mole.
Gradually, Conquering Clouds's players' health dwindled, and Sun Xiang's situation worsened. Su Mucheng, with her exceptional flying cannon technique, remained agile, and with Shen Jian's support, he couldn't get close to her, instead losing a significant amount of health to her cannon fire. If not for the Priest's healing, he would have been dead by now.
Liu Hao felt highly comfortable, realising how easy it was just to mess around. When Conquering Clouds's players chased him, he fled; when they gave up, he turned back to hit them with a Wave Sword, continuing to harass them.
He Ming relentlessly bombarded, and Liu Hao persistently harassed Conquering Clouds's players, reducing them to critical health. Meanwhile, Sun Xiang, not noticing his situation, was getting infuriated by Su Mucheng's attacks.
Roaring, Sun Xiang decided to deal with the martial artist first since he couldn't handle Su Mucheng at the time. He began a fierce assault on Shen Jian's Martial Artist.
As expected of the rookie king, Sun Xiang's operations were top-tier in the league. Even Shen Jian, skilled in defensive protection, couldn't withstand Sun Xiang's fierce attack, and in a one-versus-two scenario, Sun Xiang managed to kill Shen Jian's Martial Artist first.
However, after killing the Martial Artist, Sun Xiang was already at his limit. He underestimated this girl who followed One Autumn Leaf, realising her Gunner skills were indeed worthy of being core.
It turned out that Excellent Era didn't only have Ye Qiu and Liu Hao as potential cores, but Su Mucheng could also take the lead independently.
Su Mucheng killed Sun Xiang, and Conquering Clouds's team fell into chaos. Despite starting with one fewer player, Excellent Era still secured the final victory.
The audience erupted in applause, and Su Mucheng, with the highest output, was naturally the match MVP!
"How was it?" Su Mucheng smiled at Liu Hao, looking for praise.
Liu Hao clapped without hesitation, "Not bad, but still a bit behind me."
"Narcissist!" Su Mucheng mumbled softly. It was her first time experiencing the joy of being a core, and she quite liked it.
Seeing her expression, Liu Hao guessed what she was thinking, "Some things you never discover the joy of unless you try them. Bungee jumping, falling in love, and now being MVP—the adrenaline and dopamine rushes are incredibly exhilarating."
Su Mucheng nodded in agreement, "No wonder you like competing with Ye Qiu for the core position and MVP. Being MVP feels... pretty good."
"So, how about not listening to Ye Qiu anymore and competing with him for the core position, like me?" Liu Hao coaxed.
Unexpectedly, Su Mucheng didn't fall for it and laughed, "Don't try to deceive me. Just because you helped me once doesn't mean I'll change my opinion of you. You're still a bad guy, and I'll always firmly stand by Ye Qiu. You can't drive a wedge between us!"
"Well, what if one day, Ye Qiu leaves the team?" Liu Hao asked.
"Then I'll leave with him," Su Mucheng replied with a smile, though a hint of sadness flashed in her eyes. After Su Muqiu's death, Ye Qiu was her only family left in the world. Without him, she had nowhere to go.
(End of Chapter)
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