Genius Chapter 140: Facing Zenith Expanse

Chapter 140: Facing Zenith Expanse

Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

When facing Zenith Expanse, none of them wanted to lose.

“Swimming and diving are both fine; the game has built-in skills for that,” Cantaloupe asked, “What’s your plan?”

Su Mo said, “Hmm, just follow my instructions. We need to readjust the team.”

“I can climb trees,” ScarletFruit said, showing rare determination. “Climbing trees is a bit of a hassle, but let’s not be afraid. If we’re going to fight Zenith Expanse, let’s do it head-on!”

“Yeah, it’s not like we can’t beat them.”

“There are a few people in their elite team who play worse than I do.”

“Sure, their lineup is a bit better, but going all out together might not necessarily end in defeat.”

ClearWind said, “Wait for me. I want to record a video and capture the moment these guys lose.”

“Want a head-on fight?” Su Mo smiled slightly, “Alright, I’ll let you go head-on.”

“But first, we need to arrange things like this…”

***

“Night Brother, the opposing team is Momo’s,” Sleep said in the voice chat. “Should we proceed with the original plan?”

The Advertising Space for Rent, archdemon Momo’s team, had been making quite a splash on the forums recently.

The Grand Debate of the Realm Tournament, as a large-scale comprehensive event, was an excellent opportunity for Zenith Expanse, which excelled in amphibious development, to further increase their guild’s visibility. Therefore, this event was currently the top-ranking event within the guild. Zenith Expanse had prepared five elite teams to participate. Teams like Advertising Space for Rent, which ranked high and had strong overall strength, were their potential competitors. Thus, before encountering them, Zenith Expanse had gathered most of the information about the opposing team’s lineup.

The lineup would not change. For a team like Momo’s, once the lineup was exposed, the weaknesses were almost laid bare.

“Momo is indeed strong, but their type of team is very vulnerable.”

“Yeah, maybe we’re overreacting. We’re facing a point-capturing map that requires a head-on confrontation, which is a disadvantage for them.”

“Even if we try to play around the map, it’s too slow. The lake area is large, and taking land routes is less efficient than water routes.”

Upon seeing the opposing team’s name, Midnight Bell had already made plans. “We’ve played a one-line, three-point map before. The key is to hold onto two points to secure victory. Unless something unexpected happens, they will likely have Bitter Melon defend the village head position while the others concentrate their firepower in the middle lake.”

Sleep said, “So, we should first target the summoner and then the healer, right?”

“Yes,” Midnight Bell faintly replied “Momo is too agile. We should first focus on FireworksAndLanterns and then on their main healer, Cantaloupe. They don’t have a frontline, so breaking down their backline will directly disrupt their formation.”

Sleep quickly understood and directed, “Team 1’s magical swordsman will go to capture the point at the village end. The rest should get ready and head to the lake center immediately. Marksmen, keep an eye on the two opposing assassins. Assassins should prioritize taking out Cantaloupe, while other DPS should focus on summoner FireworksAndLanterns.”

As soon as the preparation was over, Zenith Expanse quickly moved from their dispersed spawn points to gather at the lake center.

Once they reached the lakeside, they saw the situation at the lake center point more clearly and realized it was neither easy to capture nor defend.

Peach Blossom Lake was wide, with small boats floating on the lake.

The two points at the village entry and end were within the village, with the map background being the familiar Newbie Village. The only change was the lake center point. To make Peach Blossom Lake more suitable for battle, the lake center point was designed as a semi-water combat point. The point’s monument was located in a spacious pavilion in the center of the lake, connected to the central pavilion by two straight wooden bridges over the water.

There were only two ways to reach the lake center point: one was to use light steps to jump across the scattered small boats, and the other was to use the bridges.

Upon reaching the lake center point, it was still difficult to handle. The central point only had a large pavilion, fully exposed in view, with the number of players inside clearly visible.

“Why did the opponents capture the point so quickly?!” someone exclaimed.

“Maybe their spawn points were close to the capture point. They were just lucky,” another person speculated.

“Magical swordsman, capture the point quickly,” Midnight Bell said in a deep voice. “Is everyone here? Let’s gather and then push forward.”

Zenith Expanse had fought many PvP mixed battlegrounds and knew that the key at the start was to gather and attack. Arriving at the point first made it easy for opponents to target them, so it was crucial to gather and launch a coordinated attack. They quickly gathered at the edge of the water bridge, and as they ran toward the pavilion, they saw Momo’s team appearing on the water bridge.

“They’re here too,” Midnight Bell said immediately. “Move to the lake center, go straight for FireworksAndLanterns. Don’t worry about Momo.”

The view across the lake was very broad, and distant enemy targets were visible from afar. As Midnight Bell led his team forward, two warriors had already charged to the front, but they soon realized something was wrong—

“Night, Bitter Melon is over here!”

Midnight Bell paused and scanned the field, confirming he saw Bitter Melon standing on the summoner Black Tortoise.

Were all the opponents on the island? This approach was clearly different from what Momo had used before. Previously, Bitter Melon had been placed at the capture point, but now he was positioned in the middle of the lake. Midnight Bell quickly surveyed the surroundings and noted that there were 9 opponents on the team, missing one magical swordsman, Apple.

He immediately said, “The person capturing the village entry position is Apple. Their main force has all moved to the center.”

In no time, both sides had engaged in the first wave of conflict.

The initial attacker was the opponent’s physical swordsman, ClearWindIsHere, who charged fiercely into the crowd and immediately closed in on the marksman in the rear, clearly aiming to confront him directly. Bitter Melon was not to be outdone; although his movement speed was slow and his skill attack not high, his position in the center gave him an advantage, and he quickly latched onto a warrior.

Something was off, and Midnight Bell sharply sensed the problem.

He quickly noticed that FireworksAndLanterns had shifted from the front line to a rear position, becoming a caster instead of an attacker. This adjustment indicated that Momo knew he was targeting the summoner, so he had temporarily repositioned FireworksAndLanterns. This meant FireworksAndLanterns was crucial to their team, so crucial that Momo had rearranged the team’s setup to place Bitter Melon in the lake center.

Sleep said, “Switch targets, kill Cantaloupe first.”

“No, continue to target FireworksAndLanterns,” Midnight Bell said immediately. “Assassins focus on Cantaloupe, while the rest continue to concentrate on FireworksAndLanterns. Those being engaged should drag the opponents away and prevent them from rescuing FireworksAndLanterns.”

Bitter Melon was just a front-line fighter; as long as a warrior was holding him, the most important thing was to disrupt their core system.

The elite members of the Zenith Expanse team acted swiftly. Even after seeing the positioning of Momo’s team, they still chose to focus fire on FireworksAndLanterns. However, Momo’s team was in such chaos that it was completely disorganized. This was Midnight Bell’s first time facing Momo and felt unpredictable difficulty. Despite the chaos resembling that of a newbie team, he couldn’t fully let his guard down.

“Marksman, can you hold up?” Midnight Bell asked.

“The physical swordsman is melee. I can kite him for a while; you all focus on killing the summoner,” the marksman replied. “Their assassins are staying back and haven’t engaged yet. Don’t worry, our position here is secure.”

Midnight Bell said solemnly, “Marksman, keep an eye on their assassins. They have two assassins, and they should come to target our healers. Healers, be cautious. Everyone else, follow me.”

The lake center point was wide, but for two teams of 18 people, there wasn’t much space to move.

Bitter Melon was entangled with an opponent’s warrior, while ClearWind had penetrated the enemy lines and had brought the marksman down to half health, with only ScarletFruit supporting him.

Su Mo was calculating by observing the opponents’ positions and making rapid judgments… prioritizing the fire on the summoner with physical swordsman, array master, and magical swordsman. The two warriors were positioned functionally with the marksman, healers providing support, and one hidden assassin likely preparing to ambush their rear. That left another magical swordsman who was probably assigned to guard.

Indeed, his guess was correct.

As the Zenith Expanse team strategized, the advertising team was bustling with activity.

“Can we charge now!”

“I’ve taken my position!”

“I see they’re targeting Firework!”

“Typical, just picking on our summoner.”

“Boss, should we charge? Should we? Should we?”

At that moment, another warrior charged straight at Su Mo, clearly intending to drag him away and prevent him from supporting FireworksAndLanterns. Su Mo smiled and said in the team chat, “FireworksAndLanterns, get ready. They’re planning to come for you.”

“They’re coming, they’re coming. I’ve been waiting for them for so long, I’m not afraid they won’t come for me,” FireworksAndLanterns said, seeing the physical swordsman Sleep charging towards him. Without thinking, he bolted, “Just so you know, my skill only lasts 30 seconds.”

Yu Zhen adjusted his position and said, “I’m ready here.”

“That’s enough,” Su Mo nodded. “Assassins, get ready. Focus on taking down the marksman first.”

With the command given, ClearWind, Watermelon, and ZenSlasher immediately understood what to do.

Yu Zhen dashed forward, bypassing the warrior and encountering Bitter Melon inside the enemy circle. A fear array was instantly cast on the marksman. Seeing this, the enemy marksman quickly retreated and used a control cleanse, but didn’t anticipate that the physical swordsman was already waiting.

“I’m charging, I’m charging!!” ClearWind shouted as he fought, “I’ve got the marksman pinned down. Come and collect the kill.”

The two assassins who had been hiding behind Bitter Melon immediately used their stealth, vanishing from the enemy marksman’s view.

In the Zenith Expanse team’s voice chat, after the marksman narrowly avoided the array master’s attack and saw the assassin’s movement, he immediately called out, “Healers, be careful, the assassins are coming in stealth.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he was pinned down by the physical swordsman ClearWind, who muttered, “This livestreamer is really annoying.”

The two healers quickly braced themselves. With the assassin’s stealth only lasting a few seconds, they planned to immediately switch to full defensive mode and take down the assassin before he could strike. Alerted by their teammate’s warning, they became even more vigilant, carefully scanning their surroundings. At that moment, a sound resembling a slicing blade seemed to cut through the air, suggesting the assassin was about to strike. Just as the healers were about to activate their protective skills, a scream suddenly pierced the air from behind—

The marksman, trying to escape the physical swordsman’s pursuit and return to a safe position, didn’t expect the blade to change direction. ClearWind’s movements suddenly became fluid, and with a swift sword strike, he knocked the marksman right into the path of the stealthy assassins. Caught off guard, the marksman was hit by the assassin’s blade and was quickly taken down by the two fully powered assassins.

Everything happened so fast that the healers’ healing spells hadn’t even switched to the marksman yet. The enemy’s rapid sequence of attacks took the marksman out in no time.

In the moment the marksman died, the three from Midnight Bell’s team managed to catch up with FireworksAndLanterns. However, when they turned back after killing the summoner, they found their rear lines in dire trouble. “Fall back! The summoner was a decoy!”

With the marksman down, the two assassins seemed to enter their own backyard, weaving through the crowd. Coordinated with the array master’s anti-heal ability, they quickly took down another healer. Zenith Expanse managed to regroup and successfully protected the remaining healer, but due to the brief lapse, they lost both the marksman and one healer.

In less than 2 minutes from the start, Momo had turned FireworksAndLanterns into a one-for-three trade.

“What happened?” Midnight Bell asked.

The surviving healer quickly explained, “The physical swordsman used a feint, and then cooperated with their array master to kill our marksman.”

Midnight Bell realized that instead of using the assassins to break through their backline by targeting the vulnerable healers, the assassins had focused on killing the marksman. FireworksAndLanterns was indeed setting up a trap to manipulate their formation.

Midnight Bell asked, “Where are the assassins? Why aren’t they killing their healers?”

The assassin promptly responded, “Brother Night, I couldn’t find an opportunity. UnchainedWanderer is protecting Cantaloupe.”

He was also frustrated; several times he had almost reached Cantaloupe, but he kept moving with UnchainedWanderer. That array master was stacking arrays rapidly, and the area was filled with their arrays. As soon as he entered the range, he would end up as UnchainedWanderer’s and Momo’s target.

Midnight Bell glanced at Cantaloupe’s position. Although it seemed unprotected, Cantaloupe was actually always moving with UnchainedWanderer, staying within the skill range of UnchainedWanderer. Additionally, there was a monster-aggro array underneath Cantaloupe’s feet.

The monster-aggro array, although appearing as a PvE skill, also caused attacks while gathering monsters. If there was a monster-aggro array underfoot, when an assassin attacked a healer, the attack would immediately be displaced by the array, causing a missed opportunity for a quick kill.

Or perhaps Momo’s chaotic tactics from the start had already been part of the plan—using Bitter Melon to divert attention, misleading them about importance of FireworksAndLanterns, and then leveraging the summoner’s advantage to create distance, all to ensure they couldn’t smoothly regroup when they realized the issue.

ClearWindIsHere was playing the part, deliberately being kited by the marksman, waiting for the marksman to lower their guard so he could launch a sudden, deadly attack.

Meanwhile, Momo was waiting, waiting for them to pursue FireworksAndLanterns.

“Use a defensive formation, contest the points, and hold steady until more come,” Midnight Bell said, looking at Momo. He was growing more anxious, realizing that the supposedly certain victory was opening up a breakthrough. He wondered how many skills Momo still had in reserve and what tactics they would use next.

As Zenith Expanse adopted a defensive formation for stability, Su Mo’s team was in chaos on their voice chat.

The two assassins, seeing the main force returning to defend, quickly retreated to seek protection from their healers.

“Help, help, help.” Watermelon, barely escaping with a sliver of health, said, “Is Midnight Bell toxic? He used so many arrays to target me? Array masters and marksmen are the worst on the battlefield.”

ClearWind shouted while running back, “Help, help, I’m almost out of health! If not for the healers, I would have been finished.”

ZenSlasher said, “I don’t have any skills left; I need to wait for a moment.”

Those who had been fighting fiercely were in terrible shape. The assassins could still use stealth to escape, but ClearWind was a live target, running with a whole bunch of skills chasing after him. If it weren’t for the two healers continuously healing him, he would have already met FireworksAndLanterns at the respawn point.

ScarletFruit said, “You almost wasted yourself just now! You ran so far that I nearly couldn’t keep up with healing you.”

“Why wouldn’t I push myself? How could I be the MVP otherwise?” ClearWind glanced at his recording, “I even started a recording. Later, I’ll edit it into a highlight reel of my epic plays.”

Cantaloupe said, “I had this chill feeling around me just now. That assassin was definitely targeting me. Luckily, I wised up and kept running into the arrays on the field. Before entering the battlefield, I even specifically changed into two pieces of speed gear.”

“This is just too nerve-wracking,” Bitter Melon, still holding the frontline and clashing with the two enemy warriors, said. “A slight mistake and we could be wiped out!”

Su Mo asked lightly, “Isn’t that what you want, a head-on fight?” The team was speechless. 

It really was a face-to-face fight, but it was quite taxing.

ClearWind, fully healed, got back into action, “Why did the opponents back off? Aren’t they going to fight us?”

“They lost a healer, so being cautious is the right choice,” Su Mo said, adjusting the strategy. “Continue to stall at the center of the lake. We can’t capture this point, and neither can they.”

“I respawned at our Vicinity and drove off a healer who tried to sneak a point,” FireworksAndLanterns said.

“How about Apple? What happened?” Su Mo asked.

Apple responded, “I’m on it. Are you still worried about us not being able to steal their point?”

[Eight Desolates Platform] Apple had successfully eliminated an enemy.

On the other side, by the time Zenith Expanse realized someone had taken the point, it was too late. They were unable to return in time to defend. If they retreated before their other teammates arrived, it would mean giving up the central point. Who would have expected that their magical swordsman wasn’t even defending the point?

The dead player, Doubtful, apologized, “Sorry, I reported late.”

Sleep frowned and asked, “How did he get past? Did he run a full circle around the lake?”

“If our team had left a physical swordsman or assassin there, they would have been in trouble. How dare they try to steal the point?”

It wasn’t just that they hadn’t defended the point; they also used the time when everyone was engaged in battle to sneak and steal their point.

The team stationed at the point was concerned about respawned players appearing near their captured point and trying to steal it.

So, most teams would leave someone behind at a secured position for stability, especially in battles with few points and large maps, where stealing points wasn’t cost-effective and losing a point could widen the score gap… But Momo was still doing exactly that.

Both sides had magical swordsmen, and they were top-ranked. In group battles, it was hard to determine superiority. However, Apple had once been the top magical swordsman, and his skill was well recognized. Even the current number one magical swordsman, FirstUnderHeaven, might not have been able to win against him in a 1v1.

[Eight Desolates Platform] Advertising Space for Rent took over [Village end].

Midnight Bell frowned, “Momo figured out our lineup.”

Warriors and healers were necessary, as were marksmen and assassins; he would be present as the commander.

If they were targeting the lineup to hunt down the summoner, it would be essential to have physical swordsmen like Sleep… Calculating everything, the positions they could defend would be the repeated professions: either healer, warrior, or magical swordsman.

And Apple could handle all three types of professions.

Stealing the point was a must for Momo.

“The central point must be captured, we’ll launch a direct assault,” Midnight Bell said coldly.

The battle for the central lake point became increasingly intense as both sides vied for control. Zenith Expanse, leveraging their lineup advantage and team support, gradually gained the upper hand. The point at Village end, which had been captured, was quickly reclaimed by Zenith Expanse’s marksman, but nearly four minutes had been wasted, causing a significant point gap between them and the advertising team.

“The color of the central point is shifting towards their side,” Bitter Melon reminded, “Should we retreat?”

“Focus on defense, wait a bit longer,” Su Mo said, watching the battlefield points and the calm lake surface. It should be coming soon…

At that moment, ripples began to form on the lake surface.

Su Mo’s gaze paused slightly as he felt the wind coming from the side, “The event is here.”

[It seems the wind has picked up.]

[Attention: The Peach Blossom Lake area will experience wind and waves. The lake surface will churn, causing all players in the Peach Blossom Lake area to have their movement speed reduced by 20%, and the lake water will affect skill casting. This event occurs once every ten minutes and lasts for five minutes.]

The Peach Blossom Lake area began to stir with wind. The east wind blew from the side, affecting all players engaged in battle. Not only did their movement speed decrease, but they could also be blown away if not careful. Having battled in quest fields for a long time, Su Mo had anticipated several possible events based on the battlefield environment and information. Since this was a lake, he had considered various scenarios, but whether to proceed with the next plan would depend on the specifics of the event.

It now seemed that even in a disadvantageous battlefield, their luck was still holding up.

Apple said, “I’ve arrived at the location. I checked Village end earlier; it’s similar to the Newbie map, and there really is a large tree.”

He added, “I also tested the water. It’s passable, but standing in the water will affect you and interrupt skills. However, this shouldn’t impact our plan since skills can still be cast from the boats on the water.”

So the problem was with the water, not with the surface.

Su Mo immediately said, “Fruit and ZenSlasher prepare to capture the point. Apple and FireworksAndLanterns, move to join forces.”

ClearWind asked excitedly, “Shall we continue the act?”

ScarletFruit chuckled, “The actor is ready.”

The Zenith Expanse team resumed their original formation. The strong wind on the lake severely affected both teams on the central pavilion.

Midnight Bell, having learned from the previous battle, knew the mistakes they had made. They had been too eager to suppress Momo’s team by chasing the summoner. In reality, with their own team’s steady formation, they could outlast Momo’s team, even if it took a bit longer. After regrouping, he didn’t specifically target anyone but pushed his teammates forward to force back the enemy, while the assassins maneuvered to strike from behind.

“They can’t win in a direct confrontation.”

“It seems that FireworksAndLanterns and Apple are missing.”

“FireworksAndLanterns probably went to defend the point. Since they can only use the ambush once, they will definitely send someone to guard the current point.”

The magical swordsman assigned to defend the point expressed doubts, “It’s fine, I’m keeping an eye on Apple. This time, I’ve prepared items, so I’m not afraid of him coming.”

Momo’s side had two fewer people, while they still had nine.

After about a minute of fighting, the enemy was already starting to fall behind in terms of skills.

Midnight Bell’s focus remained on that array master. As an array master himself, he paid significant attention to UnchainedWanderer, especially as this player had rapidly climbed the rankings recently, gradually instilling a sense of urgency in him.

An array master specializing in full attack, Momo’s dedicated array master…

UnchainedWanderer’s operations were indeed precise. Occasionally, mistakes in Cantaloupe’s positioning were corrected by his array. The two healers in the back were almost always within his protection range. Moreover, he had spare time to assist Momo with the main attack. An attack-type array master had excellent offensive capabilities, and UnchainedWanderer’s backline defense was flawless. Even though their assassins repeatedly tried to prioritize attacking UnchainedWanderer over the healers, they were forced back multiple times by his array.

The attack-type array master was fragile but had high offensive power. Assassins were reluctant to take risks; while they could kill the array master, the array master could kill them as well.

The array master had an initial advantage; without exploiting weaknesses, rushing in would be akin to digging one’s own grave.

It was too solid… Midnight Bell frowned and suddenly noticed a healer who frequently moved out of the array master’s protective range.

Cleric ScarletFruit, with his agile positioning, used summons to heal teammates multiple times amidst the crowd. His group healing ability was excellent and he could protect the frontline physical swordsman and assassin… However, with so much movement, mistakes were inevitable. Several times, in order to heal the frontline teammates, he moved out of UnchainedWanderer’s protection zone.

“Assassins, focus on ScarletFruit and kill him first,” Midnight Bell directed immediately. “Move in and take him out.”

The assassins, upon hearing the order, quickly located ScarletFruit. After locking onto the target, they didn’t hesitate to approach. To ensure the kill, they chose a relatively obscure position as ScarletFruit once again moved out of the array master’s protective range to heal his teammates. They went into full stealth and swiftly took out the cleric amidst the crowd.

[Eight Desolations Platform] The player who took down ScarletFruit was announced.

The death message seemed to confirm the feasibility of the plan.

Midnight Bell seized the opportunity, “Warriors push forward. They don’t have a cleric anymore; just push through the point.”

Zenith Expanse’s team now had 9 players at the lake center, while the opposing team had reduced from 8 to 7.

Even a tanky frontline like Bitter Melon began to suffer significantly after losing ScarletFruit’s healing. His health declined rapidly, and he even started retreating, clearly unable to withstand the pressure.

“Bitter Melon can’t hold on any longer and is starting to fall back.”

“Push them out of the point, secure the point first.”

“The point color has changed to ours.”

Midnight Bell breathed a sigh of relief, “Leave the healer to capture the point. Everyone else move forward, press the attack, don’t let anyone escape.”

Zenith Expanse’s team remained patient. They had been toyed with by the opposing team in the last two skirmishes. They had lost two members while killing FireworksAndLanterns and had their point stolen despite defending the lake center. It seemed as if the opposing team didn’t take them seriously, attempting to take on 9 with only 8 players. Momo’s overconfidence was evident; just because they had dominated Valor Peak didn’t mean every battlefield was like Valor Peak.

In PvP battlegrounds, a conceited commander often faced the consequences of their arrogance.

A team that was half PvE and still so confident.

A disadvantageous composition remained a disadvantage. Withstanding for 2 minutes didn’t guarantee holding up for 4 minutes.

Zenith Expanse’s morale surged as they gradually pushed the opponent back.

“Night Brother, I haven’t seen the female assassin since the start,” the marksman suddenly said. “I’ve been monitoring battlefield information. The female assassin isn’t dead and isn’t at the lake center.”

Midnight Bell frowned and then looked toward the summoner on the field.

Could it be that Momo knew they couldn’t take the lake center and, amidst the chaos, had the female assassin join forces with Apple to flank and capture the point?

He immediately said, “Keep a close watch around you. The assassin and magical swordsman might be working together. Try to hold out for a while longer; we’ll come to support once we clear the enemies here.”

“Got it,” the summoner replied. “I haven’t seen them yet, so the assassin probably hasn’t arrived.”

The physical swordsman Sleep said, “Brother Night, they’ve retreated to the bridge. Should we continue pressing?”

Midnight Bell replied gravely, “Yes, keep pressing. Kill all of them and then fall back to defend the point.”

The wind continued to blow across the lake, slowing everyone’s movement and making their movements more cautious.

Momo’s group had been pushed back to the lake center pavilion bridge by the Zenith Expanse team. Midnight Bell noticed that their retreat was slow, and they seemed to be holding out, waiting for their teammates to come to their aid. He said firmly, “They haven’t given up yet. They’re likely waiting for reinforcements. Keep pushing them back until they’re on the other side of the bridge.”

Zenith Expanse continued to advance, while Su Mo’s team withdrew.

However, the mood within the team was anything but subdued; everyone seemed as if they were involved in something monumental.

“How did I do just now?” ScarletFruit asked in the channel. “I even deliberately lured them, but I didn’t expect that the enemy assassin would be so cautious and it took so long for them to fall for it.”

ClearWind replied, “You did great, absolutely perfect. This round, the title of Best Actor goes to you.”

“Is this distance enough?” asked Bitter Melon, standing at the front. “If not, I can pull back a bit more.”

Yu Zhen said, “You can retreat a little more. It’s steadier at the center of the bridge. Watch out for the enemy’s dual swords.”

“It’s fine. I just baited out their skills. Keep ClearWind’s sword array ready to counter their heavy attacks and controls,” Su Mo instructed.

“Bitter Melon, retreat halfway more and let them all come onto the bridge. The rest of you, don’t die. Heal yourselves if you’re low on health.”

The Zenith Expanse team grew more cheerful as they advanced, but they had to keep up appearances and act as though they were struggling and resisting, otherwise, the opponents might not be fooled.

Watermelon said, “Do you think they noticed something? ClearWind, go lure them. They’re moving too slowly.”

ClearWind responded, “Why should I go? You’re the assassin. You go.”

Watermelon retorted, “If you ask me to go, I’ll go, but that’ll make me look bad.”

Bitter Melon was speechless.

Everyone cautiously protected themselves while slowly retreating.

Soon, the Zenith Expanse team also made their way onto the bridge, pushing their opponents back while maintaining a safe distance. The area was narrow and lacked cover, and with the enemy’s numerous control skills, it was safer to keep some distance and force them back.

Midnight Bell looked at Bitter Melon ahead and frowned slightly. Several times already, the area had become even more cramped once on the bridge, and their melee fighters had to first get past Bitter Melon to attack the rear. The tank-like warrior’s blocking effect was more significant than expected at this point. “We need to deal with Bitter Melon; he’s too much of an obstruction.”

“They’ve used up most of their control skills. We can press forward.”

“There’s no control or burst.”

“That Bitter Melon keeps focusing on healing,” Sleep said. “Melee, concentrate fire on Bitter Melon and take him out first. Ranged, target the people in the back, and prioritize dealing with the summoner.”

At that moment, someone in the team seemed to gasp.

The summoner’s Thunder Lion suddenly emerged, jumping into the Zenith Expanse crowd and initiating group control. Zenith Expanse had anticipated this and quickly responded with their own control counters. Someone shouted, “The water surface!”

Midnight Bell’s pupils narrowed, and he shouted, “Everyone, retreat!”

“Take this, you fools! Super Invincible Spiral Sword Technique!” On the lake surface, a Black Tortoise appeared out of nowhere, with the long-absent magical swordsman Apple standing on it. Apple was soaking wet and was casting his spell, reading out the incantation. In the moment when everyone was caught off guard, his fully-charged magical swordsman master skill, [All Laws Return to Origin], was completed. The enormous sword he conjured shot rapidly towards the bridge.

With a deafening boom, All Laws Return to Origin hit the Zenith Expanse team on the bridge like a cannon blast, reducing them to near-death and sending them flying into the water. Players who fell into the water couldn’t use skills due to the map’s constraints and could only passively take damage. Meanwhile, Apple, standing on the Black Tortoise, remained unaffected and unleashed skill after skill with precision.

[Eight Desolations] Apple killed Son of Heaven.

[Eight Desolations] Apple killed Sleep.

[Eight Desolations] UnchainedWanderer killed Midnight Bell.

……

“Wow!! Apple’s a newbie!!!”

“All Laws Return to Origin is incredible!”

“Fuck, that felt amazing!”

All Laws Return to Origin, a magical swordsman Sect master skill.

The legendary, world-destroying ultimate skill, with immense destructive power, long range, and a knockback effect, was described as being as powerful as a starship missile. But as a master skill, it required a lengthy 10-second casting time during which the caster couldn’t move or be interrupted, or else the cast would fail.

This skill had been criticized by magical swordsman players for a long time. With a 10-second cast time, it could be interrupted by bosses in PvE and left the caster as a sitting duck in PvP battles. Despite its impressive power and range, it often proved to be more of a spectacle than a practical tool.

Yet now, it had been successfully unleashed in the quest battlefield, dealing devastating blows to the Zenith Expanse elite team.

Apple ran most of the way, waiting for teammates FireworksAndLanterns to provide support. Using the Black Tortoise for cover and staying out of the bridge’s attack range, he finally managed to unleash the skill, sending a significant portion of Zenith Expanse’s team flying off the bridge. The unexpected reversal caught Zenith Expanse off guard, and the once-pressured advertising team seized the opportunity to strike back, attacking those who had fallen into the water.

“Damn it! Leave me two kills!”

“This performance was worth it. Brothers, let’s go back!”

“Charge!!!”

Kill messages flew in one after another as the team managed to push Zenith Expanse back to the center of the lake and successfully wiped out the main force of the Zenith Expanse team.

“Apple and FireworksAndLanterns go guard the point,” Su Mo immediately adjusted the strategy. “We will defend the central lake point and retreat a bit to give them a chance to come up.”

They needed to get everyone to the lake center before they could execute the next part of the plan.

Everyone returned to the respawn point, as if the recent victory had been just a dream. One moment they had dominated the central lake point, outmaneuvering Momo, and the next moment, the summoner FireworksAndLanterns appeared before them with the skill [All Laws Return to Origin].

The water was wide, and Apple and FireworksAndLanterns had to submerge and swim to the location. No matter how cautious they were, they hadn’t anticipated a timed explosive lying in the water. It was clear this was not a spur-of-the-moment decision but something premeditated.

The scores had silently widened between the teams. Despite all the time spent, Midnight Bell had failed to secure the central lake point and had been thoroughly beaten by Momo’s team.

“Revive and regroup, and immediately push the central lake,” Midnight Bell said with a dark expression. Recalling the excited faces of the people on the bridge they had seen in the water, and how they had been struck down by an attacking array master, he quickly composed himself. “Jiang Xinjiang, continue guarding the village tail. Sleep, you’re close to their point. Check the village entry on the way and take the point if possible. Everyone else, come with me to push the central lake. Use light skills to get to the lake—avoid the bridge.”

Sleep, being nearby, quickly saw FireworksAndLanterns and Apple standing at the village entry.

After firing their skills in the water, the two of them ran back to defend the point. Sleep immediately abandoned the attempt to capture the point and went to regroup with the team. Their main force had respawned on the other side, and trying to capture the point was too risky. “FireworksAndLanterns and Apple are at the village head. We can push them.”

As they quickly gathered and used light skills to reach the central lake, a few members of the advertising team stood in the middle of the point, making no attempt to stop them, as if they had been waiting for this moment.

“Push straight in!” Midnight Bell decided not to be polite. “They’re outnumbered, force them out of the point.”

From the far-off village end, Jiang Xinjiang relaxed instantly when he heard that Apple was far from his location. Listening to Midnight Bell’s instructions and staying alert to his surroundings, he suddenly heard a sound.

Someone was ambushing! Reacting quickly, he used the counter-attack item he had prepared. This was a quest item he had obtained in a dungeon, which, when activated, could reflect damage received back to the attacker within 5 seconds.

As expected, the counter-attack revealed the hidden assassin. The assassin seemed puzzled and, wary of the unknown counter-attack effect, did not continue the attack.

Jiang Xinjiang sighed in relief, planning to finish off the assassin in front of him. Suddenly, he saw a burst of pink light fall from the sky, and a summoned creature appeared beside him. Healing light instantly restored the female assassin’s health to full. He looked up abruptly and saw a cleric sitting leisurely in the tree above, waving at him with enthusiasm.

“Hey, buddy, is it lonely guarding the point alone?”

At that moment, the female assassin in front of him flashed with a cold light, her form darting like a shadow, and she leapt in front of him like a ghost.

In an instant, the cold blade flashed, and the counter-attack item’s effect expired.

[Eight Desolates Platform] ZenSlasher killed Jiang Xinjiang.

Author’s Note:

Apple: Surprised or not? 

ScarletFruit: Surprised or not?