Chapter 160: Acting
Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Addis
“Alright, we can see both sides entering the countdown now. The Advertising Team has assassin Watermelon, while the Ren XiaoYao Team has marksman Brother Arrow. Those who frequently play PvP should be familiar with these two regulars on the battlefield. Both players have topped the kill rankings before and have excellent PvP skills,” SkilfulEmptyHand introduced. “In the first match, both sides are playing cautiously, mainly probing each other. The marksman is holding position in the side hall, and we currently can’t see the assassin—he’s gone invisible.”
Inside the Advertising Team, Su Mo said, “Go straight into stealth. The marksman can indeed spot you, but only if you appear in his line of sight. Stealth can avoid being detected by the ‘god’s eye view.'”
From the livestream perspective and the enemy team’s view, the assassin wouldn’t appear.
Unless spotted by the marksman, Watermelon would remain invisible to the opposing commander’s view.
As the match started, Watermelon immediately went into stealth mode.
In stealth mode, the assassin’s movement speed increased, making it easier for him to move quickly in such a spacious environment. As soon as he entered the side hall, he saw the floor covered with glazed tiles. From the “god’s eye view,” the tiles appeared bright, but upon closer inspection in the actual scene, he noticed that the glaze on the tiles was actually multicolored, though the colors were not very pronounced.
Looking around, besides the glazed tiles on the floor, the walls on both sides were fairly plain, with darker tones compared to the floor. From the “god’s eye view,” this contrast wasn’t noticeable, but once inside, Watermelon realized the color scheme of the glass palace was quite strange—both bright and dark, with the lighting seemingly changing constantly.
“The tiles are made of glaze, but the walls, load-bearing columns, and steps are not. The wall sconces are all made of glaze…” Watermelon observed the surroundings, brushing his hand against the surface of a load-bearing column. After confirming his judgment, he was about to leave when he noticed a sudden change in the lighting. He stopped mid-sentence and turned toward the opposite column. “There’s something wrong with the sconces on the column.”
Su Mo frowned and immediately opened the drawing board to sketch a rough map. Their perspective was broad, allowing them to see the general layout. The load-bearing columns appeared as large circular dots, and by adjusting the view slightly, they could see the column itself, but not its finer details. “Go ahead,” Su Mo said.
Watermelon replied, “It’s hard to notice unless you look closely, but the base of the sconces is decorated with animals.”
He carefully examined it and said, “It looks like a rabbit.”
Yu Zhen glanced at the map and added, “Momo, there are 12 pillars in the arena.”
There were 12 load-bearing columns in total—8 in the main hall and 2 symmetrically placed in each of the two side halls. Su Mo asked, “What about the other side?”
Watermelon couldn’t see clearly this time and only replied, “The glaze is too hard to distinguish. It looks a bit like a cat.”
A cat and a rabbit? Could the mechanism in the Glass Palace be related to animals?
“Could these animals be some kind of debuff?”
“Right, right, could it be one debuff per animal? Whoa, that means there are 12 different debuffs on the 12 pillars?”
“There must be some kind of order, right? So far, there haven’t been any signs.”
“What kind of clues could animals give? Does a cat have any buffs?”
The teammates started brainstorming, expressing their thoughts. After going through so many quest arenas, they had a deep understanding of these kinds of debuff maps. It was possible there were clues to the order of events somewhere else in the arena. Both their team and the Carefree Team’s marksman had barely moved.
Su Mo looked at the layout of the Glass Palace and, after a brief moment of thought, said, “This time, it might not be a buff map.”
Watermelon asked, “Has the marksman moved?”
“He’s still in the side hall,” Su Mo replied, glancing at the marksman’s position. He noticed that the opposing team’s attention seemed to be focused on the walls, and they hadn’t stopped in front of the pillars. Su Mo added, “Actually, choosing an assassin was a good call. At least they can’t use the ‘god’s eye view’ to figure out what we’re focused on.”
Watermelon paused for a moment and said, “The angle I was standing at was a bit off. It was the change in light on the floor that made me notice the uneven base of the glazed sconces.”
In other words, if the other team hadn’t noticed the lighting change, they would likely miss the animal markings on the sconce bases.
Suddenly, the whole team found the idea of misdirecting the enemy quite fun, especially after realizing that the Ren XiaoYao Team’s attention had shifted in the wrong direction.
ScarletFruit said, “If you get forced out by the marksman, make sure to put on a good act.”
ClearWind chimed in, “Exactly, get their attention fully on the walls while we quietly check the pillars.”
Apple added, “Yeah, but your acting needs to be convincing. BrokenOracle is cautious; if it’s not believable, he won’t fall for it.”
Watermelon was speechless. Why did it feel like everyone was eagerly waiting for him to get knocked out?
Su Mo asked, “You’re sure there’s nothing wrong with the walls?”
Watermelon replied, “Yes, I checked from every angle and even touched them. There are definitely no clues on the walls.”
Su Mo was still very focused on the glazed tiles on the ground. He said, “Check again to see if there are any other clues around. If there aren’t, we’ll head to the main hall.”
For the viewers in the livestream, it was the first time they’d seen such a cautious start from both teams. The assassin was completely hidden, with no trace of his whereabouts, while the marksman remained in the side hall, where the spawn point was located. Neither side seemed eager to engage in a confrontation at this stage.
[This Glaze Palace doesn’t seem to have any obvious changes.]
[I agree. Where did Watermelon go?]
[The main focus should be in the main hall, right? The side hall is so small. The assassin might have already gone there.]
“Both teams are trying to figure out the map’s mechanism before they engage. The assassin hasn’t reached the marksman’s vicinity yet, or he would have been forced out by now,” SkilfulEmptyHand commented.
FirstUnderHeaven added, “Overall, the Ren XiaoYao Team has the upper hand. In a 1v1, a marksman naturally counters an assassin, and given that the entire Ren XiaoYao Team is quite strong, they have plenty of time to drag this out with the Advertising Team. But the Advertising Team might not have the luxury of waiting.”
This point was agreed upon by CloudTraveller and Midnight Bell.
At this stage, it was clear that the Advertising Team was in a more passive position. The strength difference made them more anxious to figure out the map’s mechanism and gain an advantage. However, with the assassin’s location unknown and no way to tell how far they were in deciphering the map, it remained uncertain whether the assassin was already lying in wait somewhere.
As time passed, six minutes had flown by in the blink of an eye. Within the Ren XiaoYao Team, the two commanders were discussing the situation.
“Have you figured out the mechanism yet?” Haitang asked. BrokenOracle shook his head, his eyes fixed on the scene in the arena. “There’s nothing else in the side hall. Marksman, go check the main hall. The other side might have already gone there…”
He was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly heard their marksman cursing under his breath over voice chat. He asked, “Arrow, what’s going on?”
The marksman, who was in the side hall, started moving quickly. As he ran, he said, “The Glazed Palace is shaking. Did that assassin trigger some kind of mechanism?!”
BrokenOracle thought for a moment—could it be a trap map!? Haitang frowned, “The assassin might be in the main hall.”
The shaking Glazed Palace had alerted everyone. The marksman hurried to the main hall, and just as he passed through the corridor, he saw the scene inside. The floor was paved with glazed tiles, and the hall was vast and empty except for eight load-bearing columns and some wall decorations. It was spacious yet plain.
Upon entering the main hall, the marksman immediately began to move around. With his heightened perception ability, he quickly spotted the invisible assassin behind one of the pillars. Closing the distance quickly, he forced the assassin out of stealth. His actions were swift and aggressive, catching the assassin by surprise with a sneak attack. The assassin had no chance to dodge and lost 5% of his health in a single strike.
Over voice chat, Watermelon shouted, quickly adjusting his position to get closer, “Damn, a sneak attack?”
“We warned you, and you still thought hiding there was safe,” ScarletFruit said. “Be careful, he’s coming at you again.”
Apple added, “And when you’re acting, don’t glance up at the ceiling! If the marksman sees it, you’ll give yourself away!”
Watermelon thought, I’m so far away, how could the other side possibly know where I’m looking? He replied, “Then where should I look?”
“Look at the walls!” ScarletFruit said, frustrated. “Just walk by and brush the wall, pretending not to care while glancing at it. Haven’t you watched enough holographic movies? You know, the kind of subtle eye acting from the movies!”
Watermelon was speechless. Am I here to fight or to act?
Meanwhile, Su Mo looked at the layout of the pillars in the main hall and came up with a new idea. “Watermelon, go up and engage him in close combat.”
***
The livestream audience finally saw both sides engaging in combat. As soon as the clash began, the assassin was fully exposed to the public. Without any hesitation, he immediately went into stealth and pursued the marksman. The move came so suddenly—one moment, the viewers were watching both teams explore the mechanism, and the next, they were locked in a direct fight.
“The moment they met, sparks flew! The assassin’s counterattack was incredibly quick,” SkilfulEmptyHand commented. “But it’s strange—does this mean the Advertising Team has already figured out the mechanism since the assassin chose to attack?”
This idea was quickly dismissed by others.
“Watermelon has no choice but to fight Arrow,” CloudTraveller said. “There’s almost no cover in the main hall except for a few pillars. If he tries to keep his distance from the marksman, the marksman will have the opportunity to whittle down his health from range. In a 1v1, if this drags out, the assassin won’t have much chance to strike back.”
Midnight Bell focused on the two already tangled in battle. “The marksman has the advantage of making the first move and isn’t afraid of the assassin. The best strategy is to kite the assassin and wear him down. But the assassin clearly doesn’t want to give him the chance to find a good position to kite, which is why he chose to close the distance for melee combat. Do you see the pillars in the arena? The assassin is using them to block the marksman’s attacks…”
He was halfway through his explanation when he suddenly noticed a change in the arena.
[Whoa! The ground is sinking!]
[Oh my god!! How are they supposed to fight like this?!]
The Glazed Palace was changing rapidly. The shaking of the floor caused it to start sinking. The previously flat, glaze-tiled surface of the main hall began to collapse, as the tiles seemed to transform into individual pillars of varying heights. These square glass columns began to sink and scatter, with no discernible order or pattern—some were sinking quickly, while others moved more slowly.
Crisis struck in an instant, and both teams’ commanders were simultaneously shouting instructions to their teammates to dodge. However, the changes in the terrain were happening far faster than the voice commands could keep up with. The sudden shift in the battlefield created obstacles for both players, interrupting Watermelon’s attempt to close in on the marksman.
Seizing the moment, the marksman pulled back and fired several rapid arrows at Watermelon, even managing to unleash a powerful rain of arrows that whittled Watermelon’s health down to 60%!
Su Mo’s eyes widened in shock. This is bad, there’s no way to escape.
“Run, Watermelon!”
“Holy crap, this map is insane!”
“Everything’s sinking!”
“Falling down must mean death, right?!”
The teammates’ voices erupted in the channel, but Watermelon didn’t have time to follow the commands. He had to rely on pure instinct to dodge the damage.
However, with the tiles rising and falling unpredictably, the assassin had no time to escape. Just as Watermelon was putting some distance between himself and the marksman, he stumbled on the edge of one of the uneven glass tiles. He cursed, thinking the marksman’s ultimate skill would finish him off. But then, suddenly, he realized the shaking around him had slowed.
I’m not dead?! Did it stop? No… the ground was still shaking!
“Holy crap!”
“Watermelon, you newbie!”
“You actually landed right on the spot!”
Watermelon looked around and realized he was standing on one of the few glass tiles that wasn’t moving. His opponent, however, had been carried down by the sinking tiles and was now in a lower area, creating instant distance between them.
The tiles around him continued to rise and fall, except for the one he stood on and about six or seven scattered others. The rest were sinking and floating erratically, especially the one the marksman was on, which barely rose at all, leaving him effectively trapped below.
“Am I really this lucky?” Watermelon asked in disbelief.
Apple said, “You landed perfectly. That tile you’re on is the highest.”
Su Mo looked at Watermelon’s position and confirmed his luck. There were a total of eight highest tiles, and Watermelon happened to be on one of them. “This isn’t a buff map… It’s a terrain obstacle map.”
And it was an extremely difficult terrain obstacle map.
Just as Watermelon was celebrating his luck, he suddenly heard some noise and quickly moved back. He saw the marksman had already moved to a higher tile and was using his long-range advantage to attack him. “The marksman is using long-range attacks.”
Su Mo immediately instructed, “Move to the center, stabilize your position, and watch out for his attack range.”
After dodging, Watermelon suddenly realized how unfriendly this was for a melee profession. Against the marksman, they were practically sitting ducks for long-range attacks.
Just as he thought this, he noticed something happening below. “Wait, there seems to be something wrong with the pillar beneath that glass tile.”
The marksman didn’t give up after missing a shot. He used his movement to jump to another tile, drew his bow to its full extent, and launched a skill. But suddenly, a glazed tile rose in front of him, and his skill struck the pillar beneath the tile. The next moment, the skill bounced back along its original trajectory.
“Fuck!” The marksman avoided the returning attack and shouted, “Oracle, the glazed pillars beneath the tiles cause reflected damage!”
BrokenOracle said, “How many times did it bounce back?”
“Once. The reflected trajectory was the same as the trajectory of the skill I launched,” OneArrowforEveryKid replied. “If you can’t predict it, you can’t use your skills effectively.”
BrokenOracle frowned. This was not only challenging for melee professions but also required precise control from ranged ones.
The ground not only fluctuated, affecting the positioning of melee professions, but the glazed pillars beneath the tiles also reflected ranged skills along their original trajectory.
[What the hell? Why isn’t the marksman shooting arrows anymore?]
[It looks like his skill was reflected back at him?]
[Yes, I saw that too. These glazed tiles are causing problems!]
Everyone noticed the changes in the Glazed Palace. A wide-open scene did not necessarily mean a simple map. While buff maps could pose dangers, terrain obstacle maps introduced significant operational challenges. Buffs could be anticipated and countered through mechanisms, but for terrain obstacles, it all came down to the player’s own reaction skills.
SlikfulEmptyHand said, “We can see that all the tiles in the side hall have sunk, and the main hall is showing up-and-down fluctuations.”
The terrain was not completely without stable ground. Only the glazed tiles were moving, while the structural pillars and steps, which were not made of glass, remained unchanged. Even so, the difficulty of this terrain was indeed a headache for everyone.
“This map is really tough…” FirstUnderHeaven, who had played many quest PvP maps, explained to some of the viewers in the livestream, “The tiles in the map move up and down through the glass pillars beneath them. This means melee professions need to stay on the same tile as their target to attack, while ranged players need to be cautious of the risks of skills being reflected back after the opponent dodges. Skills that miss can be bounced back by the four-sided pillars behind the melee profession.”
This implied that for ranged players to achieve stable kills, they had to improve their accuracy and predictive skills. For melee professions to close in, they needed to approach their opponents in such a chaotic map.
The map itself did not inflict damage, but the obstacles presented severely tested the player’s operational skills in such a scenario. There were very few things in the map that did not move. The only stable places to stand were the immobile steps and the eight highest glass tiles standing still amid the chaos.
[So thrilling.]
[It’s dizzying; the operation difficulty is off the charts.]
[With such a chaotic ground, moving around is exhausting.]
[Is there a pattern to the changes?]
“There are actually counter-strategies. For ranged players, the best position for precise output is to stand on the highest point. Melee players generally have knockback abilities, and the glass tiles are small,” CloudTraveller said. “Melee players can use knockback, while ranged players need to choose suitable output locations. This kind of battlefield segmentation will have a significant impact on the upcoming 3v3 and 5v5 matches. Individual survival and output capabilities will be amplified, whereas team coordination will become even more crucial.”
Within the Advertising team, Watermelon was feeling relieved for narrowly escaping a crisis.
“If I hadn’t happened to be standing on this highest tile, I might have been taken out by the marksman just now,” Watermelon said, standing at the edge of the tile and looking down at the moving and climbing marksman below. “Lucky me.”
ScarletFruit commented, “Watermelon’s position is quite good.”
Cantaloupe shook his head. “But he’s an assassin. What’s the use of standing up there? Is he meditating to recover health and mana?”
Apple added, “If a ranged profession were up there, it would be awesome.”
“It’s not that easy. Although high ground is easier to target, the operational difficulty is also very high.”
Su Mo asked, “Watermelon, do you have any long-range weapons in the equipment store?”
“Long-range weapons…” Watermelon paused, flipping through his equipment store. He found a quirky weapon received from a previous quest, which was a crossbow rather than a bow. “Can this be used? It has a slightly shorter range than a bow. But using a non-sect weapon means it lacks high damage capability and cannot use skills, only regular attacks.”
ScarletFruit suddenly realized, “Big brother is smart; melee can also use ranged weapons to deal damage from high ground.”
Cantaloupe said, “Are we saying that even a small amount of damage counts? How much damage can a crossbow inflict? Is it worth giving up such high attack weapons?”
Apple remarked, “Do we have to be so humble? Let an assassin put down their blade and act as a ranged attacker.”
“Regular attacks should be enough,” Su Mo said, glancing at the system time. “Let’s test the skill’s rebound trajectory.”
[Did I previously think it would take marksman that long to defeat an assassin?]
[Looking at this kind of terrain map, it indeed takes a long time.]
[Marksman is moving; he’s looking for a high point.]
The terrain changes brought significant trouble to the marksman. Although he still had an advantage against the assassin, this advantage seemed less important with the changing terrain. Additionally, his luck wasn’t great; he happened to be in a lower position while the assassin was right above him, in his shooting blind spot.
BrokenOracle said, “Don’t rush. He’s a melee fighter; staying that high up won’t affect you.”
He continued, “The rising and falling of the tiles follow a pattern. Find the pattern, move to the steps, and then try to force him down.”
The marksman played it safe, quickly closing in on his opponent amid the shifting glazed tiles. Reaching the final match of the Grand Debate of the Realm event, players were no novices. Although terrain obstacle maps might impact them, true top-tier players were those who found the most suitable output methods in special environments.
“The marksman is searching for high ground. Although the assassin is on the highest tile, he’s a melee fighter and cannot pose a threat to the marksman if he can’t get close,” FirstUnderHeaven observed the moving marksman and explained quickly. “The marksman seems to have found the pattern of the rising and falling tiles. He is looking for high points. The shifting tiles indeed impact his stable damage, but his skill accuracy is very precise. He is making predictions based on the tile movements.”
With range prediction, OneArrowforEveryKid was a top-tier marksman, handling the situation calmly. The initial height affected the final direction of the arrows, and he adjusted his skills based on the moving tiles, reducing the error in his hits.
“Indeed, as expected of brother Arrow. At this rate, he will soon adjust to a new range… Now let’s look at Assassin Watermelon. He is still up high and hasn’t chosen to close in on the marksman but has taken out…” SkilfulEmptyHand paused, suddenly noticing the crossbow in the assassin’s hand, “He seems to have taken out a bow??”
In the scene, the assassin drew the crossbow and aimed at the marksman’s direction, quickly releasing an arrow.
However, the shot was off target, and the skill rebounded back.
[???]
[What the heck! ???]
[If I were the marksman, I couldn’t tolerate this.]
[The assassin is using a crossbow to shoot at the marksman!?]
[What is he thinking?]
Watermelon didn’t know how the outside world was evaluating him. Instead, he reported the testing situation to his team’s commander through the crossbow’s rebound damage. “It doesn’t rebound if it hits the tile surface, but if it hits the glass column underneath the tile, it rebounds back. The rebound is a single counterattack, following the original trajectory, with almost no time delay.”
He continued, “I just took some damage. The returning damage was about half of the original damage.”
“Have you checked the animals on the candlesticks nearby?” Yu Zhen asked.
“Yes, still a cat,” Watermelon replied. He didn’t understand why the two commanders were so curious about the animals. Initially, he had seen cats and rabbits on the candlesticks at the spawn point side hall. Later, after some time, before he entered the main hall, the animals on the sconces in the side hall had changed; he only saw a snake. He had thought there would be more animals, but when he re-entered the main hall, he saw a rabbit again near the door, and now he was seeing a cat. It seemed that there were three types of animals on the sconces, but he couldn’t discern any issues related to the glazed palace’s tile mechanism.
Cat, rabbit, and snake.
Almost 11 minutes had passed since the start of the match.
Su Mo reminded, “Be careful, the ground mechanism shouldn’t last too long.”
Sure enough, shortly after Su Mo spoke, the once undulating glass tiles began to shake violently again. Even the tiles that had been stationary under Watermelon’s feet started to shift and sink. Within five seconds, these tiles began to revert, returning to their original, orderly state in the main hall.
Upon seeing this, the audience in the livestream was amazed. Arrow exclaimed, “The ground has reset! What a great opportunity!”
With the ground reset, the battle returned to its original disadvantageous state.
“Damn it.” Watermelon quickly switched weapons and charged straight at the marksman, initiating a melee that prevented the marksman from shooting and maintaining distance. The two were locked in combat, one desperately attacking and the other trying to avoid the skill attacks.
The marksman, caught off guard, had some of his health taken away by the fully buffed assassin. The marksman’s initial health advantage was reduced as the assassin brought their health levels to around 60% for both. “This assassin is really tough.”
HaiTang frowned and said, “Watermelon’s skills have improved a lot compared to before.”
“Yes, I remember seeing him on the battlefield before; his attacks weren’t this steady,” BrokenOracle noted as he observed Watermelon’s attack patterns. “It looks like he’s putting in all his effort with each strike, but he’s actually using the assassin’s short blade to force a move from the marksman… someone must be teaching him.”
In the Advertising team, the sudden burst of combat silenced the teammates, leaving only the voices of the two commanders in the voice channel.
“Marksman will use counterattacks to create distance. Focus on attacking his left hand to disrupt his combos,” Yu Zhen’s voice was calm as he continued, “After attacking the left hand, target his right foot to prevent him from using his escape skill. The assassin’s backstab is very effective; try to confuse his vision by circling around.”
Su Mo added, “When circling, go left to push him towards the column.”
Having frequently listened to the commands, Watermelon had developed a strong reaction to Momo and UnchainedWanderer’s voices. Coupled with the fact that many skills had become second nature to him, he could almost instantly react the moment the commands were given. This was largely due to his long time spent in Momo’s group, where UnchainedWanderer was very familiar with his operational style. Plus, they had previously discussed strategies against marksmen, so now, when facing a formidable opponent like OneArrowforEveryKid, he could perform at a high level.
To OneArrowforEveryKid, this level of operation from Watermelon was very pressuring, while to the viewers in the livestream, it was a textbook example of an excellent assassin in action.
[Wow, he actually turned the advantage around.]
[How come I never noticed Watermelon was so strong before?]
[He’s amazing, completely cutting off Brother Arrow’s escape routes. How did he do that?]
[It looks like he’s using short blades for feints. What a detail—I, as an assassin, can’t even figure it out.]
The relationship between the assassin and marksman was one of kill or be killed. In a battlefield environment, it would have been impossible to drag out the fight for this long.
However, this was a quest arena. In addition to their Sect skills, both sides had multiple quest skills for self-preservation, along with spirit pet skills, allowing them to stalemate even with profession advantages and disadvantages.
“Watermelon’s skills have improved a lot,” CloudTraveller noted. “He has corrected his previous bad habits. Previously, he used stealth only to assist in attacks. Now, he uses stealth and backstabs to deal with marksmen, making his skill combos much smoother.”
“Indeed,” SkilfulEmptyHand said. “For an assassin, encounters are usually about killing or being killed, but he has given up on reckless attacks. Instead, he’s using the assassin’s short blade to stay in the fight. If he keeps this up, there’s a real chance the marksman could be worn down…”
As he finished speaking, they saw OneArrowforEveryKid’s health bar suddenly fill up.
[Wow!]
[Spirit pet skill—One Arrow has a healing spirit pet.]
[It’s over; Watermelon has no chance now.]
With the health bar fully restored, the marksman gave up struggling and immediately used a powerful skill on the spot. Watermelon had to quickly adjust, narrowly avoiding the skill, but his health dropped to 40%. The marksman, seeing Watermelon dodge the attack, quickly distanced himself and used a ranged skill.
“Can’t get close,” Watermelon swore.
The marksman had started to guard against him, and Watermelon’s stealth and charge were on cooldown. If he had been given a bit more time, he could have worn the marksman down completely. He shouted, “This time he didn’t bring a spirit pet to enhance his ultimate skill but chose a healing ultimate skill instead.”
Apple commented, “He seems pretty cautious, bringing a healing skill against an assassin.”
ClearWind said, “He miscalculated. If he had brought an enhancement, Watermelon would have won this round.”
FireworksAndLanterns covered his eyes, “I can’t watch.”
In the spirit pet skill, players could have up to four spirit pets, and all passive skills could be equipped. However, in combat, only one active skill could be used.
In their original notes, it was mentioned that the marksman had two active spirit pet skills: one for enhancing attack and one for healing. They all expected that the marksman would bring the attack enhancement skill against the assassin, but unexpectedly, the ultimate skill he kept was the healing one, which quickly turned the advantage back in his favor.
Watermelon, in a hurried escape, was met with another series of fierce attacks from the marksman.
At that moment, the ground started shaking again, and the glass bricks began to rise and fall. This time, the changes happened much faster than before. After dodging the attack, Watermelon quickly stood on a brick. Soon, he noticed that the glass brick under his feet had risen and then remained stationary.
Teammates thought Watermelon, with his low health, was done for, but the glazed bricks began to rise and fall again.
Not only did the bricks move, but Watermelon also precisely landed on the highest glass brick, taking the high ground once more. Meanwhile, his opponent, the marksman, had been more cautious this time, choosing to stand on the steps. The steps didn’t move up and down, but there was still some distance between them and the highest brick where Watermelon stood.
Watermelon thought, “……Wow?”
ScarletFruit exclaimed, “Fuck, second wind!”
Apple asked, “??? Did he get lucky?”
FireworksAndLanterns removed his hand from his eyes, “Didn’t die?”
“Watch your angles, don’t get hit by his attacks,” Su Mo advised. “Continue to wear him down and wait for skill cooldowns.”
Watermelon, without saying a word, took out the crossbow he had just used. Seeing the opponent’s health at 95%, he was already calculating how to set up an ambush.
Su Mo and Yu Zhen, on the other hand, were observing the changes in the rising and falling of the glazed bricks in the arena. They keenly noticed that this round of changes was different from the previous ones. Additionally, some of the eight highest bricks in the arena had also shifted. It was as if each time the glazed bricks changed their sequence, and so far, they had been unable to deduce the pattern.
Yu Zhen asked, “Should we keep observing?”
“Yes,” Su Mo replied. He had marked several points on his drawing board and had even adjusted his position to observe the height changes of the glass bricks from the side. “This map isn’t entirely unbeatable. If used correctly, it could actually disrupt the opponent’s coordination.”
The sequence of the map wasn’t easy to figure out, and it depended on whether Watermelon could stall for a bit longer.
Apple asked, “Is it possible to wear down the marksman?”
“It’s tough,” Yu Zhen said. “The fact that the opponent’s marksman chose the healing ultimate skill indicates he’s overly cautious. The same strategy might not work on him. Watermelon’s stealth can avoid the enemy’s command, but once the marksman spots him, it’s as if the opponent also has eyes on him.”
He said, “There is a professional disadvantage, so don’t underestimate BrokenOracle and HaiTang. They probably have already come up with a way to deal with Watermelon.”
“If it weren’t for that healing ultimate skill, the marksman would have been finished by now.”
Watermelon said, “I’ll try to stall for time, but I can’t guarantee I’ll wear him down. The rest is up to you.”
The initial intent of sending him into the field was to give his teammates time to understand the mechanism.
“Watermelon, I just calculated that the glazed bricks change every 3 minutes, with a 1-minute interval to revert to their original state,” Su Mo continued. “We’ll remind you of the timing.”
Although Watermelon had the advantage of being at the high ground, after 3 minutes, his basic attacks had hit the marksman only a few times.
He had managed to reduce the marksman’s health from 95% to 85%, but by the latter part of the time, the marksman had found ways to avoid his attacks. His position was fixed, while the marksman’s position was flexible. The only advantage was being at the highest point, where the marksman could not deal a killing blow to him.
FireworksAndLanterns asked, “Watermelon, do you need me to share some tips with you?”
Watermelon was silent for a moment and replied, “If it’s just about acting, then no thanks.”
ClearWind said, “You don’t understand the essence of acting.”
“Three minutes are almost up, take the opportunity to see if you can get close,” Su Mo advised. “If you can’t get close, move around the pillars. Report any animals you see; our main goal is to avoid damage.”
Watermelon checked his health and asked, “What if I can’t hold on?”
Su Mo laughed, “It depends on your luck.”
Watermelon was speechless.
Luck had never seemed to favor him. From the moment he encountered the marksman, he had anticipated the outcome. In the next minute, he tried to get close to the marksman without success and had to reposition himself behind a pillar near the sconce to avoid damage.
The marksman, however, did not want to waste time and reduced Watermelon’s health to 30%. Just as the marksman was about to use his ultimate skill, it seemed like luck had finally arrived.
During the third glazed brick shift, Watermelon once again managed to stand on the high ground by sheer luck.
ScarletFruit said, “Wow! It’s another high point.”
Bitter Melon remarked, “His luck is really something.”
ClearWind commented, “Maybe he really can win. Watermelon should keep using the crossbow to wear him down. As long as we can hold out, we should be able to win.”
Apple said, “It’s hard to say. We don’t know how long his healing ultimate skill’s cooldown is.”
Cantaloupe added, “Mute, mute. Apple, stop talking.”
Watermelon looked down at his shoes, wondering if his luck had really changed.
He suddenly remarked, “It seems like the lucky streak is working.”
OneArrowforEveryKid stood on the steps and looked at the unmoving high point of the glass bricks, confused, “Three times now, each time he’s been at the high point.”
He could have killed the assassin quickly, but the shifting glazed bricks saved the assassin each time. The strange luck seemed to favor his opponent, forcing him to continually dodge the attacks from above.
HaiTang said, “Has the other side discovered the pattern of the mechanism?”
“It’s possible…” BrokenOracle said, “But it’s strange. The assassin’s movements this time seem to be driven by us, and he doesn’t appear to be predicting in advance.”
OneArrowforEveryKid asked, “So what’s the reason?”
BrokenOracle hesitated for a moment and explained, “Maybe it’s just good luck?”
OneArrowforEveryKid replied, “…I don’t believe he can dodge again on the fourth try.”
As the three-minute cycle of the glass bricks’ movement ended, the arena entered a new period of calm.
Watermelon moved to a different support pillar, continuing to dodge while reporting the animals to his team, “I see a sheep.”
The attacks from OneArrowforEveryKid grew increasingly intense. A minute quickly passed without killing Watermelon, and once again, that strange luck occurred—Watermelon was at the highest point and took out his crossbow to launch a fierce attack at the marksman.
Four times to the highest point!? The viewers in the livestream were stunned by this situation.
[Fuck, did the Advertising team figure out the mechanism?]
[They must have, otherwise how could the assassin always end up at the highest point?]
[How did they figure it out!? I can’t see any difference other than the rising and falling.]
“Did the two experts figure out the mechanism?” SkilfulEmptyHand asked, unable to understand the situation and turning to the two experts nearby.
Midnight Bell frowned, “The assassin’s positioning is passive… it doesn’t seem likely.”
CloudTraveller also felt unsure, noting that the assassin’s movements were too chaotic, seemingly designed just to avoid attacks. He pondered, “But the Advertising team’s acting skills are indeed impressive sometimes.”
“Acting skills?” SkilfulEmptyHand asked curiously, “What do you mean?”
When it came to acting skills, three people in the livestream fell silent instantly.
Someone who had previously been First Under Heaven and then questioned the World’s Pinnacle paused for a moment, “Have you ever seen the Nightmare Turtle Car?”
Midnight Bell sneered, “The All Laws Return to One and Smash the Bridge?”
CloudTraveller hesitated, “…Does the Labyrinth Siege count?”
SkilfulEmptyHand was left baffled, “????”
