Volume 5: Protracted War Chapter 40: Bayonet Fight
Starting from the eighth round, I participated in the preliminaries. In the one-on-one competition, I did not show much advantage. Most of the games were narrow wins. I was lucky that I did not encounter too strong opponents. Most of the monsters I had were ordinary level 6 pets. Of course, I did not exert my full strength. Every time I only summoned the Red Star with a relatively high exposure rate to help. The undead creatures only summoned the combination of the Horror Giant Bear Knight and the Dark Knight. Tao Tao, Wu Ma, Corpse Witch King and other capable subordinates did not show up. As for the powerful props such as "Magic Storage Ring" and "Masturbation Rope" and Red Star's "Life-Calling Flying Spear" skill, I naturally did not use them. On the one hand, it was not easy to recover after the damage was consumed, and on the other hand, I wanted to achieve unexpected results, so I prepared to use them in the key games to deal with those top players.
My performance in the preliminaries can only be described in two words: "clumsy", and extremely "clumsy". In a one-on-one fight with a level 6 pet, even if it was a relatively ordinary three-headed thunder wolf, Red Star, who could not use the "life-seeking flying spear", could not gain any advantage. On the one hand, it was because the soul energy absorbed from the "law enforcer" Santos was too huge, and it was quite difficult to transform it, and it could not be done in a short time. At the same time, it was also because in the setting of "Tianxia", the strength of undead creatures was inherently half a level lower than that of the same level of magic beasts. Except for the mutated species such as the Hell Dragon, the bone dragon at the top of the undead creatures was also half a level lower than the level 9 magic dragon. Red Star had no way to take the initiative on the field, and I, the master, could only face the opponent's attack directly - they would not give me the opportunity to cast "Undead Summoning", and compared with other professions, the attack and defense capabilities of the undead wizard itself were relatively weak, and it was definitely at a disadvantage. What's more unfortunate is that the opponents I met in the qualifiers were often archers and magicians, and the occasional knights, warriors and other melee professions were equipped with agility or long-range attack pets. So the "No. 1 Wizard in the World" who was so majestic in several team competitions, when facing a single opponent on the field, was often chased around in a miserable state. He also had to endure the constant boos from the cheering groups who cheered for the opponents and many players who were watching the game on the spot and were very dissatisfied with my "passive play" performance. I can't tell you how depressed I was.
Especially when I faced a wind mage in the 13th round of the qualifiers, it was the most painful battle I had ever had. The girl was not very old, probably only about 15 or 16 years old, and she looked quite cute, but she was too cruel. She didn't even summon a pet. As soon as the game started, she directly used the "Tornado" skill on me. The activation time was so fast that I couldn't compare to her. I guess she had practiced it many times and should have other equipment to increase her attack speed. In terms of absolute speed alone, she must be faster than me. The lethality of this "Tornado" itself is not too high, but it has a "shaking" effect, which can make the target unstable and the body turn around. If you encounter an experienced opponent, it is difficult to dodge the subsequent attacks once you are hit. Generally, you have to take several hits in a row before you have a chance to escape.
The little girl's trick immediately interrupted my summoning of the red star, and I had to dodge it. I never thought that the little girl would get excited and chase me step by step, one "tornado" after another, and she didn't know how to save mental energy at all, which made me overwhelmed. Not to mention "Summon the Undead", I didn't even have a chance to use "Summon Pets". This unconventional tactic of not summoning powerful pets to help me made me complain bitterly without psychological preparation. My attack speed was not as fast as the opponent's, and I was unable to fight back for a while, so I could only passively retreat and dodge. Being forced by a little girl to have no power to fight back and flee all over the field was so embarrassing. Almost all the players watching the game booed me, and even the "100-man cheerleading team" specially equipped for me by the Tongxin League became silent at that moment. It seemed that they were a little embarrassed. Every minute and every second on the ring felt like a torture.
It was Afeng who had foresight. When he planned tactics for me to hide my strength and improve myself in the game, he had already anticipated the occurrence of this situation, and solemnly warned me, "The process is not important, don't care too much about it. The key is to look at the result. No matter what, victory is our only goal." After understanding his words, my psychological endurance withstood the test of countless boos. I resolutely implemented my tactics of "escape", relying only on "Akkira" and "Phantom" to dodge, and I dragged the girl until she was mentally exhausted and had to slow down her attack to summon her pet to help. Only then did I launch a counterattack and use "Ghost Fire of the Netherworld" to defeat her.
This is my tactic. Although it is "ugly" and not very ornamental, it is very practical and suitable for my technical characteristics. With my shallow gaming experience, I face those expert players head-on, attack against attack, and look for opportunities to win. The chance of success can be said to be relatively small. Most of the time, I have to use the skills of a thief and conduct mobile warfare. As the saying goes, the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. Although I have been criticized by more and more viewers, who think that I, a seeded player, "do not live up to my reputation", even "Tian Media" has to use words like "boring" and "poor" in its report on me, and even jokingly calls me a "firm conservative", but when many seeded players in other groups were eliminated unexpectedly, I was constantly advancing and gradually approaching the goal of qualifying from the group.
I stood on the stage again. This was the most crucial match for me in the qualifiers. If I won, I would be able to advance directly as the first place in the group. But if I failed, I would have to compete with another player who had made it through the loser's bracket for the last place in the group to enter the finals. In order to avoid those seeded players in the first round after entering the finals, and to face a not-too-strong opponent, and to reduce the trouble of advancing to the next round, I had to do my best to fight for the first place in the group.
According to the information, the opponent's name is Youhun, his profession is an assassin, and his pet is a level 6 Warcraft three-eyed monkey. Although his movements are not very agile among monkeys, his claws are sharp and have strong physical attack power. There is also a third eye on his forehead, which can shoot a yellow light and release the earth-based "slow movement" skill. The ability of the three-eyed monkey is not very outstanding, but it can form a good combination with the professional skills of the assassin. If equipped with a dagger with good attributes, it will definitely be a great threat to a magician like me. Moreover, Youhun is affiliated with the Huadu Mercenary Group of my mortal enemy Hua Mantian, so I can't lose to him.
When the game starts, as long as the opponent is not a long-range attack profession such as an archer or a magician, there is no need to worry about the opponent being able to disrupt my "Pet Summoning". As a melee assassin, Youhun is naturally the main attacker. He rushes towards me at full speed and starts to summon a pet. I quickly retreat while summoning the Red Star, trying my best to distance myself from him.
The two pets appeared almost at the same time. Following my instructions, Red Star immediately attacked the three-eyed monkey, making sure to entangle it. If it escaped and shot two "slow movements" at me, it would be easy for the assassin to get close to me, and my situation would be quite bad. The assassin's super high movement speed also made it impossible for me to cast "Summon the Dead" again. I could only retreat with all my strength to prevent the wandering spirit from getting close to me.
The speed and agility of the thief profession, which I have always been proud of, lost their former agility in the face of the more powerful assassin. The distance was quickly shortened. The dagger flashing with cold light was shaking in front of my eyes. I knew at a glance that it was not an ordinary item, which caused me a lot of pressure. I finally resisted the temptation to summon Taotao to help me. That might make it easier to win, but if the trump card is exposed , the opponent will be on guard in the future, which is very disadvantageous for future competitions. As Afeng said, the individual competition is extremely disadvantageous to the necromancer. If you want to go further, you can't be afraid of temporary difficulties. After all, I haven't been forced to the end of the road. This is not a life-and-death battle that can only win and not lose. I must try my best to grit my teeth and persist, so as to improve my combat level.
I didn't have time to use the more powerful "Ghost Fire of the Underworld", and I shot the "Death Cloud" that could be released quickly, but it still had the effect of blocking the enemy. The assassin, who also had low defense ability, would not be able to withstand a few more hits of the "Death Cloud" so easily, making the wandering souls unable to break through the blockade of the "Death Cloud" and approach me to attack.
Seeing that the frontal attack was fruitless, Youhun stopped sprinting, and his body suddenly flashed a few times before disappearing without a trace. It seemed that he had activated the assassin's "stealth" skill, entering a stealth state, while increasing his movement speed by 25%. Although he could not attack while "stealth", and based on the strength comparison of both sides, he could not get too close, otherwise it would be ineffective. However, with the assassin's ability to sprint and attack at a short distance, "stealth" combined with attack skills such as "cheap shot" also made it difficult to guard against, which was quite a headache. He was agile in action and retreated as soon as he was touched. This was also the biggest advantage of thieves and assassins, whose attack power was not outstanding, to compete with other professions.
Facing "Stealth" alone, blindly moving to dodge or attacking randomly are the worst strategies. Not only will it consume physical and mental strength in vain, but it will also make it easier for the opponent to seize the flaws and attack. The best way to deal with it is to fight for reaction, use static to overcome dynamic, and launch a counterattack while the opponent leaves the "Stealth" state and turns to attack. Even if you can't stop the attack , at least you can exchange injuries for injuries, so you won't suffer too much. However, this tactic has high requirements for the skills of both parties. The party with poor skills will often die ugly. Just like me, I practiced with several assassins in the group before the game, and my reaction was always a little slow, and I was often injured by the opponent.
In fact, I also have a way to break the invisibility, that is to use the artifact "Touch of Death" to entangle , so that I can leave traces. However, for targets with faster movement speed, the hit rate of "Touch of Death" is not high, so I dare not use it lightly to avoid wasting health points. At the same time, it will also make the opponent concentrate on defense, making it more difficult to succeed.
I used "One Ride Away" twice in a row to distance myself from the three-eyed monkey. This abominable fellow would rather risk being chopped by the red star than not looking for an opportunity to get close to me. If I were shot by the three eyes on its head and affected by the "slow action" effect, I would be in trouble. It would be convenient for the wandering soul to attack me at close range. How could I let it do what it wanted? Then I stood still, slowly turning my body, paying attention to the movements around me, and preparing myself to deal with the wandering soul's attack.
A figure flashed in the corner of my eye, and the figure of a wandering soul appeared behind me. After a brief pause, he quickly rushed over, with the dagger in his hand flashing white light, whistling towards my chest. I reacted immediately, using "A Rider's Dust" and "Shadow of Shift" to quickly retreat, but I was still a step too slow, and a shield of the undead was shattered and stabbed in the body. Then there were two consecutive pursuits, forcing me to be in a mess, and I was injured again. I just got rid of his entanglement. Fortunately, I had the "Damage Conversion" function of the "Dark Demon Robe", which replaced the loss of health with mental power, so I was not injured too seriously.
After succeeding, the wandering soul entered the "stealth" state again, and launched two more attacks. My reaction was half a beat slower, and I was repeatedly injured by him. Although each time was not serious, but a little bit adds up to a lot. If I don't find a way to change this situation, the situation will become more and more unfavorable to me if I continue to persist.
After enduring several attacks, I have roughly estimated the performance of the dagger held by Youhun. In terms of attack power alone, it is still higher than my shadow dagger, but it has no other additional damage alienation status effects, and is obviously inferior in grade. This is also reasonable. Youhun is only the second assassin in Huadu. The first one is a guy named Laiye, who is also one of the seeded players in the preliminaries and has a good relationship with Hua Mantian. Naturally, the good things are given to him first.
That's good. It matches the information I have. I can start to implement the "bayonet" tactics I prepared in advance. When the wandering soul showed up again and prepared to attack, I didn't dodge hastily like I did the previous times. I took out the shadow dagger from my empty right hand, and stabbed the wandering soul with a "sneak attack". I exchanged injuries with him, and fought with him. Seeing that there was no paralysis or weakening effect, I still insisted on not retreating, and quickly swung the dagger and started stabbing, showing a posture of close combat with him.
I have had a record of hand-to-hand combat in the "Four Continents Elite Challenge" before, but I was facing archers and magicians with long-range attacks, and I had no close combat ability, so I was naturally qualified to bully them. This time is different. Under normal circumstances, a part-time thief of the fourth-level profession would be like showing off his skills in front of an expert and seeking death if he were to engage in close combat with a sixth-level assassin.
Faced with my almost crazy behavior, Youhun was obviously surprised. The assassin's defense was higher than that of the magician, and the sixth-level assassin had the skill of "Phantom Light", which could reduce 20%-50% of the damage once used. He was not afraid of fighting with me. He no longer retreated or "sneaked", and quickly waved his dagger to fight me in close combat.
