Genius Chapter 148: Grant Debate of the Realm

Chapter 148: Grant Debate of the Realm

Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

The Celestial Horizon official team released the latest detailed announcement about the Grant Debate of the Realm on their website. The 200 teams advancing to the final stage would compete in a one-on-one elimination tournament. The main system would organize the teams into Groups A, B, C, and D, with 50 teams in each group. There would be byes in the rounds, with winners advancing and losers being eliminated, until the final champion was determined within the remaining time of the Grant Debate of the Realm.

Although the detailed competition rules were not yet released, the official team had already made specific groupings based on a principle of evenly distributing strength, but the matchups were not disclosed.

Given the significance of this convention, the final stage would be broadcasted live throughout the competition. Players could find their favorite teams’ match links in the official live stream room and watch the matches. Once the announcement was made, discussions among players became highly active, with conversations happening across various platforms, including in-game chats and forums.

[Several top teams have been separated, huh?]

[Of course. The highlight is the matchups between top teams. If all top teams were in the same group, it would be a bloodbath.]

[Let me see. Group A has Veiled Cloud Sanctuary, Group B has the Advertising Team, Group C has Zenith Expanse and Fruit Salad, and Group D has Carefree…]

Players who did not make it to the finals were naturally very interested in the matchups, especially the top teams. With the team compositions known, players were eager to learn about their group arrangements, and inquiries were pouring in. When ClearWind started his live stream, he found that the number of people tuning in to seek information was continuously increasing.

“Keep it confidential, confidential. How could we reveal the groupings before the match?” ClearWind said casually while searching for quests on the map. “My older brother? My older brother doesn’t have time. If you want to get a weapon crafted, don’t bother him now. He won’t be taking any orders until after the Tournament ends. If you want to get a weapon crafted, keep an eye on the links in my livestream. If there are any weapon orders, they will be mentioned in the ScarletFruit trading post.”

Since Momo had crafted two legendary weapons, there had been constant discussions about him on the forums every day.

ClearWind had grown accustomed to the discussions heating up whenever his brother made a big splash, but he had not expected the buzz to be this high this time. A significant reason for this was that no other master blacksmiths had yet crafted awakening weapons, and even the renowned master blacksmith WhitCraneandPlumBlossoms publicly stated on the forum that Momo’s formula was superior to his. As a result, more and more people were coming to find Momo for weapon crafting.

Due to this, Momo had even asked ClearWind to create a post detailing the forging process, but the excitement had not died down.

ClearWind had become used to the various people coming into his livestream to dig for information, addressing him with all kinds of titles like ‘archdemon,’ ‘big shot,’ and ‘master blacksmith,’ which often left him momentarily confused.

“Don’t wait around here, guys. There’s no hope waiting for my brother here. Even if he does have weapon orders, he’ll need to finish up his current tasks first,” ClearWind recommended. “You should go check out Master WhiteCrane. It’s said that the master saw the awakening skill interface during his last crafting session. If you go now, you might be the next one to get an awakening skill. It’s a rare opportunity—only 11 weapons in the whole server have it. If you’re in a hurry, finding Master WhiteCrane is more reliable.”

[The big shot must be annoyed with all the disturbances lately.] 

[Momo big shot doesn’t seem to be online much lately?] 

[It’s okay. The big shot has his screen shielded and private messages turned off. Honestly, I haven’t seen anything that could bother him.] 

[What’s the livestreamer doing today?]

After finally handling the people in his livestream, ClearWind saw that momo was online and quickly started grouping people. “What’s on the stream today? We haven’t cleared our daily routines yet. We’ll stream our dailies. As for the competition, we might not livestream it; it depends. Isn’t there an official livestream? You can watch it there.”

[Why is there a livestreamer who seems to be rushing customers!?] 

[FirstUnderHeaven is even starting a livestream to grab traffic. Can’t you be a bit more proactive?]

During this period, Su Mo had nothing to do except prepare for exams. On the other hand, Yu Zhen was extremely busy. The two only saw each other on weekends, while the rest of the time felt like a long-distance relationship. Over these few weeks, Su Mo had gotten used to dual-logging Yu Zhen’s account to clear dailies. He had even adapted to the array master gameplay and had started experimenting with combos. While chatting with Yu Zhen, the latter would share some array master operation tips with him.

[Seems like today is the day the big shot is playing?] 

[Are you all now distinguishing the big shot by the accounts they use?] 

[Have you noticed that the big shot’s array master actually plays really well too?] 

[Am I the only one paying attention to the big shot who apparently opens accounts for Brother Wanderer every day? So, are they really both big shots?]

The daily routine consisted of a few tasks and dungeons, which made the process a bit monotonous. They finished quickly.

After completing the tasks, ClearWind and ZenSlasher went around Global searching for quests, while ScarletFruit was sorting out the accounts. Su Mo made a trip to the warehouse, planning to continue refining his equipment. With the final stage of the arena approaching, and no correction mode this time, equipment advantage played a crucial role. The week of rest was essentially a period for them to recharge.

During this time, they had opened many material boxes. Apart from the special case of divine weapons, which relied on luck to accumulate materials, other equipment was at the stage where it could be reinforced. Su Mo’s PvP gold equipment had been completed, but additional reinforcement materials had emerged. Taking advantage of this, he could further refine the equipment attributes to perfection, and the ample time was just right for the arena.

While washing the equipment, he habitually sent the equipment information to Yu Zhen.

Yu Zhen was at work, but whenever he had time, he would reply promptly.

Su Mo was searching for materials in the warehouse next to the forge and found that there were quite a lot of recent materials. The warehouse hadn’t been organized in a while, so he decided to spend some time sorting things out. While doing so, he suddenly came across a gift box that had been there for a long time.

The gift box had an icon depicting a red outfit. It was a quest fashion gift box he had received a long time ago. During the Qixi Festival event, this fashion was a limited edition release called [Qixi Festival Bond]. After receiving it, he had just tossed it into the warehouse.

“Are you coming to find quests, bro?” ScarletFruit, having finished sorting the accounts, planned to join the quest-seeking team.

Su Mo replied, “Not coming. I’m working on equipment.”

ScarletFruit said, “We won’t disturb you then. We’ll switch to private chat.”

“Alright,” Su Mo said without looking away. “If you need anything, let me know.”

ScarletFruit glanced at where Momo and UnchainedWanderer were located and saw that both were in Sunset City. They must be in the Sunset City forge area.

“They’re both in the forge area again,” ScarletFruit immediately sent the message to the gossip group, and soon, a flurry of responses appeared.

FireworksAndLanterns commented, “That’s not surprising. It’s quite normal to have two accounts running at once.”

Apple added, “I also like to keep both my accounts together when I’m running dual accounts.”

ScarletFruit had always felt that something was off, especially since the meetup between the two big brothers. He noticed that the frequency of whispering in dungeons had increased. He thought that discussing strategies probably didn’t require whispering, so he paid close attention to other details, such as the two of them often sitting together during breaks, the increased frequency of forming small teams together, and their routine of frequenting the battlefield, forge area, and trading area whenever they had free time…

He had previously discussed this issue with his teammates, and they said that it was normal for the two of them to spend free time in the battlefield, wilderness, or forge area.

ClearWind turned off the livestream sound and said to them, “It’s normal to run dual accounts and to have them running together, but something still feels off.”

ScarletFruit replied, “Is it just my imagination? But Brother Wanderer has indeed been very busy recently. He hasn’t been online these days. He used to be online all the time.”

“His job is unique,” Bitter Melon said, “I heard him mention before that he was on a vacation period. Now that the vacation is over, he must be busy again. He used to be like this, disappearing when work was busy and being online every day when it wasn’t.”

“With the current work system in the Star Alliance, I know people who work only half a day. What kind of job requires full days, every day?” ScarletFruit rambled on before suddenly realizing something was off. “Wait a minute, Bitter Melon, didn’t you meet Brother Wanderer later than I did? How do you know how he was before?”

Apple chimed in, “Ahem!”

Bitter Melon was speechless. He had mixed up the details.

FireworksAndLanterns replied in a carefree manner, “He mentioned it before; did you forget?”

ScarletFruit responded, “Oh no, have I been staying up too late and my memory isn’t what it used to be?”

ZenSlasher added, “You’ve been very paranoid lately.”

The conversation moved on after a few exchanges. The three people in the gossip group were a bit worried, but since the main person hadn’t spoken up, they didn’t dare directly point out that UnchainedWanderer was actually ReturnToSimplicity. However, these three often took their time to catch on. They had missed the clue with the Global boss last time, with all the account swapping and similar storylines—how could they not have figured it out?

Moreover, ReturnToSimplicity hadn’t been secretive at all. If these three had been a bit more perceptive and asked a question, things might have turned out differently.

Previously, Bitter Melon had also asked UnchainedWanderer about the main alternate account. At the time, UnchainedWanderer had been very casual about it, showing no concern about the matter, simply saying that they hadn’t asked. Given that ReturnToSimplicity had little interaction with them, they hadn’t brought it up.

ScarletFruit said, “Bitter Melon, you’ve been sighing a lot recently.”

BitterMelon asked, “Really?”

ScarletFruit replied, “Stop sighing; it will make you age faster. Let’s open a practice arena room in a bit and work on our moves. The arena matches start in a few days, and I can’t afford to fall behind…”

Just as he finished speaking, two achievement notifications popped up in the team chat.

[Player momo achieved the achievement [Qixi Festival Bond] [Player UnchainedWanderer achieved the achievement [Qixi Festival Bond]]

ScarletFruit was taken aback, “????”

He quickly changed his tune and said in the group chat, “Everyone, I still feel something’s not right.”

In the blink of an eye, it was Saturday. The one-week break was over, and the final stage of the Grant Debate of the Realm Tournament had begun. Early that morning at seven o’clock, Celestial Horizon’s official live stream opened 100 live rooms. Even before starting, it was already buzzing with activity. The live rooms hadn’t started broadcasting yet, and the matchups hadn’t been announced, but viewers could see the clouds of the Discussion Peak, with hundreds of peaks visible from Vicinity to the distant horizon.

[Awesome, the atmosphere is perfectly set.] 

[I’ve heard that the scene of the Discussion Peak is inspired by some ancient Chinese texts.]

[It’s so impressive; for game live streams, Celestial Horizon really stands out.] 

[I heard from the official sources that if you choose a live room, you can teleport to the on-site arena viewing platform and watch the live stream up close. Isn’t that amazing?]

[So why haven’t the matchups been announced yet? I’ve been waiting for ages.]

The matchups hadn’t been released yet, but the official countdown was nearing its end, and the arena rules for the fourth stage were about to be revealed.

[Server Announcement] Winds rise and clouds surge, and discussions spread in all directions. The final stage of the special quest “the Grant Debate of the Realm Tournament” has now begun. This quest is a [comprehensive] quest with an [Arena] challenge format. Players will enter matchmaking through the stone tablet at the Discussion Peak. The System will select one arena map from the official quest pool. After entering, players will face off against their matched opponents. The winners will advance, and the losers will be eliminated.

[Please note, this challenge is a one-day event, continuing until the final winner is decided. The game victory method is a best of five series, with three wins needed to secure victory. Team formation and adjustments are at the discretion of the team leader, with 5 minutes allowed for strategic deployment before the match begins. Team voice communication is permitted during the match.]

[The winning team will receive a [6-star Challenge Chest], while the losing team will receive a [5-star Challenge Chest].]

[Please note, the [Arena] has a fixed opening time. Different sub-server lines will follow the Capital Planet sub-server’s unified timing standard. Each match will be scheduled according to the team’s submitted timetable, divided into three time slots: 9:00-12:00; 14:00-17:00; 20:00-23:00. Different teams will be assigned to different time slots for their matches. If the match starts more than 15 minutes late and no one participates, it will be considered a forfeit.]

As the time was announced, the special rules for the quest arena were also declared by the System.

1. The arena will feature a random map with specific map mechanisms. Both competing sides must adhere to the map mechanisms.
2. The best of five series will feature randomly selected match formats, with one of [1v1], [2v2], [3v3], or [5v5] being drawn for each match.
3. Each match would last a maximum of 1 hour. If neither side was fully eliminated, victory or defeat would be determined based on various factors such as damage output, kill count, healing amount, and damage taken. If a match continued for an extended period, the game time could be extended up to 5 hours.
4. Rule adjustments could occur at each stage of the match, with specifics outlined in the rulebook provided before the game.

[Wow, random match formats and maps?] 

[Is anyone really dragging out the match? It’s limited to one hour.] 

[If it follows Celestial Horizon’s scoring system, it’s not friendly to tank teams. The priority is given to damage output.] 

[I wonder what team configurations the top 200 teams are using. I heard the first round filled in teams before the rules were finalized. Isn’t that a bit unfair?]

Players eagerly awaiting the match-ups were looking forward to the official live stream opening. In the morning, only 30 matches would be broadcast, with the remaining 70 matches evenly distributed between the afternoon and evening. Soon, the countdown ended, and the official live stream activated 30 broadcast rooms, each with titles displaying the matchups.

Teams that made it into the top 200 could be considered elite, but among these elite teams, the popular ones always attracted the most attention. Viewers quickly focused on a match in Group B, where the competing teams were [Congratulations and Prosperity] and [Advertising Space for Rent].

Congratulations and Prosperity was a dark horse team in this Grant Debate of the Realm Tournament. The members of this team came from a relatively obscure small guild, reportedly a family and friends team, all of whom were pay-to-win warriors with rankings in the leaderboard. This team was known for their excellent coordination and had achieved a 95% win rate in the battlefield during the second stage, ranking among the top teams and garnering significant support.

Their opponents, Advertising Space for Rent, were led by the recently renowned archdemon Momo. The team had a somewhat unconventional lineup but was powerful enough to flatten the Zenith Expanse elite team. Every player on their roster had made a name for themselves on the forums, and their unique strategies earned the team a reputation for being the most unpredictable.

[Wow, Congratulations and Prosperity even has matching team uniforms!] 

[Each set costs 30,000 Yuanbao. They must really have money to burn.]

As soon as they entered the live stream room, players saw both teams waiting in the preparation area of the Debate Peak.

True to their pay-to-win reputation, Congratulations and Prosperity had all its members dressed in matching outfits from the same high-end series. These were rare, expensive, and required opening special chests to obtain, with each piece reportedly costing at least 30,000 Yuanbao. Ten pieces would amount to 300,000 Yuanbao.

In contrast, the team Advertising Space for Rent sported colorful outfits in a mishmash of reds, whites, blues, and blacks. The ten players looked like a hodgepodge, which was fine under normal circumstances, but compared to the coordinated look of Congratulations and Prosperity, their appearance seemed lackluster.

The two peaks stood in stark contrast to each other, clearly visible.

“Wow, ten pieces of [Wind and Cloud Encounter]! Who are they? Congratulations and Prosperity? Do you guys know them?” ClearWind, who had a keen eye for outfits, immediately noticed the difference, “Aren’t we a bit underdressed? They’re even wearing team uniforms for an arena match.”

“Why didn’t we think of getting team uniforms??”

“What should we wear? The Soulbound Limited Edition outfits?”

“That won’t work; Cantaloupe doesn’t have that outfit.”

ScarletFruit fell silent for a moment and said, “It looks like the other side is my boss.”

“Your boss?” Su Mo looked at ScarletFruit and asked, “Do you know them?”

ScarletFruit replied, “Their leader often contacts me to buy equipment. They’re a VIP Black Card member in my customer group.”

Su Mo responded with an “oh,” and asked, “So, can your boss fight?”

ScarletFruit wiped his sweat and said, “Probably, maybe, perhaps… yes.”

ClearWind patted ScarletFruit on the back and said, “It’s okay. Even if we lose this VIP, there are still countless others.”

ScarletFruit noted, “It seems it’s not just one VIP missing…”

It was actually ten VIPs, ten extravagant spenders who could throw around gold coins without a second thought.

Once the matchups were confirmed, the lineups were made public.

The lineup for Congratulations and Prosperity wasn’t very conventional. It consisted of two warriors, two healers, two assassins, two physical swordsmen, a marksman, and a Doaist priest.

“A physical damage-oriented lineup,” Su Mo frowned, “They have limited reach.”

At this point, the arena map was also determined. It was called [Platform of Sorrow and Joy]. The Platform of Sorrow and Joy was a high platform with two suspension bridges leading to it. The arena would frequently spawn various Sorrow and Joy buffs, which would grant players status effects ranging from 10 to 60 seconds, completely random. Thus, players needed to be cautious not only of enemy attacks but also of the buffs and debuffs from the platform.

Meanwhile, the format for the first round of the match was 3v3.

Before the match, Su Mo had already filled out the team lineup. At the time of filling out the lineup, each type had three choices. Once the 3v3 mode was selected, the three lineups he had prepared were finalized.

It was a blind selection, and neither side knew what kind of lineup the other would field.

In a normal 3v3 setup, it would usually involve a combination of a warrior, mage, and healer, with one healer position confirmed and the remaining two spots likely filled by melee characters, given that melee units counter magic users. Given that their team had a higher number of magic users, it was highly probable that the opposing team would field a lineup of two melee characters paired with a healer.

“How should we arrange for the first match?” Yu Zhen approached Su Mo and asked, “Should we play it safe or try a strategy?”

“Five matches, best of three wins. I noticed a rule for the arena: the same lineup cannot be used more than once, and the same player cannot participate in two consecutive matches.”

This rule was somewhat challenging. It meant that the team couldn’t rely on a single strong lineup throughout the matches, and they would inevitably have to distinguish between strong and weak teams. They needed to strategize for the five matches on the Platform of Sorrow and Joy, rather than just focusing on individual matches.

Su Mo hesitated, “I don’t know much about the opponents. We need to win the first match before we can try any strategies. Also, the buff drops on this map are unknown; we need to include a summoner.”

“Let’s go with a summoner lineup. Cantaloupe, Bitter Melon, and you will take that role,” Yu Zhen decided.

Su Mo agreed, “We’ll take the first match.”

[Feeling a bit nervous.]

[Has “Congratulations and Prosperity” finalized their lineup? I saw that they chose a warrior, a physical swordsman, and a healer. Wow, that lineup is both solid and has high output.]

[Has archdemon made their selection?]

[Not yet. It looks like they are discussing something.]

The observing players couldn’t help but focus on the team leader of the advertising group and noticed that he had changed his outfit today. The usually white-clad summoner Momo was rarely seen wearing a full red ensemble today. He wore a red and black flowing robe, adorned with cloud patterns, with his hair tied up high, and an outer layer of red sheer fabric.

The elaborate outfit looked striking on him, and paired with the summoner’s legendary weapon [Void Lantern], it exuded a kind of youthful chivalry that was hard to describe. The flowing red fabric was not a burden but seemed to add a unique charm.

[I heard that their team is quite superstitious.]

[So, they wore red for good luck? UnchainedWanderer is also in red!]

[I didn’t even notice until you mentioned it. The outfit they’re wearing doesn’t seem familiar. Is it a quest outfit?]

[It looks quite nice. I think I saw it in a fashion post on the forum. Let me go check.]

[Are you here to watch the match or the fashion show?]

At that moment, Momo finalized the lineup.

Once both sides confirmed their lineups, they were completely revealed.

Advertising Team: warrior, summoner, and healer.

Congratulations and Prosperity: warrior, physical swordsman, and healer.

The advertising team and others were still on the summit of the discussion peak, but soon the map of the Platform of Sorrow and Joy appeared between the two peaks. Everyone could view the entire match from a god’s-eye perspective. The team channels were shared, and the members of both teams were teleported to the starting points of the two suspension bridges. The Platform of Sorrow and Joy was directly above them.

Su Mo arrived at the teleportation point and saw that the opponents were also at the starting point of their suspension bridge. The two suspension bridges were positioned opposite each other, with the confrontation area ideally being the high platform in the middle.

Bitter Melon said, “This is tough. Cantaloupe, stay a bit closer to me. I estimate I can only protect one of you.”

Cantaloupe hesitated, “It’s hard to say. With that kind of lineup on the other side, they will definitely try to split the battlefield to deal with us. Your support speed might be too slow. If I get attacked, you might not be able to reach me in time…”

A tank-like warrior was at a disadvantage in this kind of map. In such a scenario, you could only take hits without any support from teammates to save you.

“How should we play this?” Cantaloupe asked.

Bitter Melon replied, “So are we playing weaker against stronger?”

“The tank isn’t weak. We can win if we play well. For now, let’s…”

Su Mo observed the surrounding environment and prepared to test the skill of Myriad Palace Insight. The skill effects that popped up were somewhat surprising.

Movement Speed

This was the first time he had noticed the movement speed attribute. Seeing it, a sudden and unusual idea flashed through his mind. “I have a strategy. Should I give it a try?”

This time, the Celestial Horizon official live broadcast was very comprehensive, featuring many well-known players to commentate on the matches. In addition to the official perspective, there was also a livestreamer perspective. The match for FirstUnderHeaven was scheduled for the evening, but he had free time in the morning, so he came to provide live commentary. He set his sights on the advertising team’s live broadcast room.

“There are many exciting matches in the morning, and the advertising team should have the most strategies,” FirstUnderHeaven immediately got into the mode upon seeing the match lineup. “Players in arena battles know that the standard lineup is usually a combination of warrior, mage, and healer. This is the most stable configuration. However, the advertising team’s melee players are very numerous. In this open high platform scenario, a warrior and physical swordsman lineup is actually stronger than a warrior and summoner combination. But the key is whether the physical swordsman can pin down summoner Momo.”

[archdemon is so strong, it’s definitely not a problem.]

[I think it’s hard to say.]

[Momo is using Black Tortoise, which can protect Bitter Melon.]

[You guys have too much confidence in Black Tortoise. It’s a damage reduction summon, and once the damage reduction shield is gone, the summoner is vulnerable.]

[Hot tip: A Black Tortoise that has been destroyed has an exceptionally long cooldown time.]

“You’re overestimating the certainty of a win,” FirstUnderHeaven commented. “Ignoring the buffs, the map is vast. Normally, summoners will scatter their summoned beasts to avoid being wiped out all at once. In a dispersed situation, controlling the opponent becomes very difficult.”

FirstUnderHeaven quickly explained to the audience, “Look at the Platform of Sorrow and Joy. The high platform has no blind spots. Bitter Melon is a well-known tank-type warrior with slow movement speed. Not only is his support slow, but once he starts to assist, he will immediately be spotted by the opponent. He can be considered a dead card at most, only able to protect the healer.”

When talking about Bitter Melon, FirstUnderHeaven felt quite unfortunate. He still vividly remembered that match against Momo and had spent time studying warrior Bitter Melon afterward.

The arena map was small and not as vast as the battlefield. There were also obstacles that allowed for guerrilla tactics.

In such a small map, the effectiveness of a tank-type warrior was highly limited and could be considered almost useless. While the summoner’s Black Tortoise could provide movement speed, what if Black Tortoise was taken out?

Players who had researched momo’s team knew that Black Tortoise had unexpectedly effective results. To deal with a summoner, they would first eliminate the summoner’s summoned beasts, drag the summoner into a long cooldown, and then finish off the summoner.

Aside from Momo, the other two members of the team had no capacity to fight back. On this map, as long as the warriors and physical swordsmen from the “Congratulations and Rich” team worked together to deal with momo, they could take down each summoned beast quickly. Taking out the summoner would essentially mean winning.

Of course, this was under the condition that the summoner could be taken down.

“Momo was the dominant force at Valor Peak, able to handle two opponents with incomplete equipment. But now, with everyone’s equipment levels differing, it won’t be as simple to accomplish a one-vs-two,” FirstUnderHeaven said as the preparation time was about to end, shifting into commentary mode. “Let’s look at the lineups. The advertising team has a tank-type warrior, a sustaining healer, and a physical summoner. The ‘Congratulations and Prosperity’ team has a burst-type warrior, a fast-sword physical swordsman, and a high-healing healer.”

“Ten seconds left on the countdown, the view is from the advertising team’s side. We see the summoner…” FirstUnderHeaven struggled, “He has summoned Black Tortoise.”

Under the suspension bridge at the advertising team’s preparation point, the summoner dressed in red released the summoned beast, Black Tortoise. The summoning line was attached to the summoner, and the team’s warrior, Bitter Melon, along with the healer, Cantaloupe, promptly mounted Black Tortoise. They even adopted a very cautious posture, kneeling on Black Tortoise’s back.

The audience was puzzled: ……?
Did they really need to be this cautious when mounting a summoned beast? Was this how you were supposed to sit on Black Tortoise?

FirstUnderHeaven was speechless. This was beyond what was expected; I hadn’t seen this posture before.
[How fast must this vehicle be???]
[Is this live? This posture looks a bit amusing.]
[I know Momo’s movement speed is fast, but is it really that exaggerated?]
[I once saw a commentary on a battlefield match involving archdemon, where Bitter Melon was riding on FireworksAndLanterns’ Black Tortoise, and he was standing.]

“We see that Bitter Melon and Cantaloupe are now kneeling on Momo’s Black Tortoise. It looks like Momo plans to use Black Tortoise to quickly move his teammates,” FirstUnderHeaven continued with the commentary, maintaining professionalism. “Okay, we see that Momo has summoned another beast, Ferret, which is now on his back. It seems Momo is planning to take control of the main stage.”

However, after summoning Ferret, Momo didn’t stop. He almost immediately activated several skills as the countdown ended. FirstUnderHeaven hesitated for a moment, surprised by the early use of enhancement skills. “We see that the summoner has activated enhancement skills in advance!”

Not only did the livestreamer fail to understand, but even the viewers watching the match were momentarily confused by this scene.

The enhancement skills were supposed to be used at critical moments, right? Activating them now meant that when facing opponents later, he would have no enhancement skills left, and if his burst couldn’t hit, how would he kill people with the healer’s help?!

“Damn it!”

The next second, at the moment the air wall disappeared, the summoner and his team at the suspension bridge’s starting point charged out with an almost indescribable speed. With enhancement skills active and Ferret’s skills in play, the summoner’s movement speed reached a level almost impossible to see with the naked eye. In just 3 seconds, he crossed the suspension bridge and reached the high platform of the Platform of Sorrow and Joy.

FirstUnderHeaven paused for two seconds in that instant. “The advertising team has reached the high platform, and they’re heading towards the Prosperity team’s starting point.”

[Fuck, what does he plan to do!?]
[This speed is ridiculously fast!?]
[I’m starting to understand that posture now.]
[Has he used all the acceleration skills available?]

Momo had managed to use Ferret and the enhancement skills to achieve an unmeasurable speed in the arena, reaching the high platform quickly with his teammates. But he didn’t stop there. After reaching the high platform, he continued with a forward dash skill, rapidly approaching the other suspension bridge.

To save on skill time, the Prosperity team had started using their status skills while moving right after the countdown ended. However, as soon as they crossed the suspension bridge and reached the high platform, they were met head-on by the approaching summoner.

The red-clad summoner waved his staff, using a basic attack to knock back the warrior at the front of the trio, catching the opponent off guard. The physical summoner’s melee abilities were formidable; his smooth and rapid attack frequency pushed the warrior back. Meanwhile, Bitter Melon, who had jumped off Black Tortoise, executed a taunt and knockback, forcing the trio back to the edge of the bridge and blocking their way forcefully.

In less than 15 seconds from the start, the Advertising team had completely blocked the Prosperity team on the suspension bridge, sealing off their route.

FirstUnderHeaven, as the commentator, was momentarily stunned, especially when he saw the sturdy figure blocking the suspension bridge, as if he had returned to the battlefield nightmare from a few weeks ago. “We see that the Advertising team started off very aggressively. The summoner activated all status skills and used control skills to push the Prosperity team back. They are now blocked on the bridge.”

[My god… blocking the way from the start???]
[Fuck??? I’m in shock.]

The Prosperity team was also stunned. They couldn’t even get onto the Platform of Sorrow and Joy and were stuck at the suspension bridge outside their starting point. The bridge was too narrow and cramped, barely allowing two people to walk side by side.

The Prosperity team’s warrior immediately said, “Knock them back, push them away.”

The warrior and physical swordsman also had knockback skills. As they prepared to push back, the summoner and healer behind Bitter Melon quickly moved backward. The two layers of knockback hit Bitter Melon, who had activated the Giant Mountain Shield, but the impact was mostly resisted. Bitter Melon only staggered back a few steps before charging forward again to block the way, with the summoner behind him applying a control skill.

The imposing warrior in front not only had exceptional toughness but also high defense and resistance. Their warrior attempted to create an opportunity with knockback, but the dull effect was directly resisted.

Originally just three steps away from reaching the high platform, the Prosperity team found themselves pushed back three to four steps instead, thanks to the two knockbacks.

The Prosperity team’s lineup lacked any magic professions. Both the warrior and physical swordsman were melee professions, so their attempts to use knockback and control skills only targeted Bitter Melon in front. The summoner and healer behind Bitter Melon cleverly stayed in their comfort zone for attacks, out of the range of their opponents’ attacks.

Without ranged options, they couldn’t achieve remote control. Even if they managed to control Bitter Melon, the healer’s dispel and protection would quickly follow. Additionally, facing a high-damage summoner with dual physical and magical abilities on a narrow bridge, they had no ability to resist the summoner’s control. No matter how they moved, they remained within the summoner’s control range.

Moreover, the summoner’s summon control was a problem. They could hit the summon but not the summoner!

[Wasn’t it said that the support capability of a tank warrior was poor? This tank is incredibly strong.]
[Does he need support? He’s standing still, and no one can get past him!!!]
[Fuck, is the Prosperity team stupid? Hurry up and use control skills to push them back.]
[If they don’t act soon, they’ll be blocked on the bridge for good.]

“No, they can’t push back…” FirstUnderHeaven observed that Bitter Melon seemed like an impenetrable wall, similar to the nightmare of a battlefield stronghold. Was it a warrior blocking their way? No, it was a wall that couldn’t be breached.

Behind the wall stood a watchful archdemon.

Author’s note: 

Brother Mo: The tank type is very useful; just move it wherever needed.