Volume 5: Protracted War Chapter 57: Letting Water Out
Just as Afeng described, a team often needs a spiritual leader, a super strong person who can lead them to fight against any opponent, a top master who has the strength to compete with the Supreme Honor, Long Xing Tian Xia and others. For Tongxin League, I play such a role. In the individual competition that I am not good at, I can defeat many strong people and successfully win the "Top Ten". Then, with the assistance of other teammates, I can play a stronger team competition. The possibility of entering the "Top Ten" will naturally not be too small. Everyone has high hopes for me, and my unexpected absence has affected not only the strength of the team, but also the fighting spirit and morale of many members. Although Xue Wuxia, Yun Wuying and Afeng have realized this and tried their best to comfort everyone, they have witnessed the strength of other teams. In the case of not having an advantage or even being at a disadvantage in terms of top masters and fine equipment, I am afraid that even they themselves do not have much confidence to defeat a group of strong enemies and successfully enter the "Top Ten".
Fortunately, because of the "Touch of Death" I can continuously replenish my spiritual power in the "Dead Soul Space", and the "Sealed Soul Card" has a data bar showing the status of the sealed object. According to the schedule of the team competition and the recovery of the Green Bone Dragon, there is still half a day of rest before the main competition. As long as the United Alliance can win two rounds of competition and enter the top 16, I am expected to be able to come back by then, and I can fight side by side with everyone to win the "Top Ten". Of course, this may not be considered good news. After all, every team that can stand out from the more than 1,000 mercenary groups participating in the team competition and advance to the top 64 of the main competition is not a weak team. With the current strength of the United Alliance and its performance in the group stage, it may be possible to defeat the second place in another group in the first round, but after a round of elimination, facing the opponent in the top 32 is not very sure. This is definitely an insurmountable danger. Once it fails, even if I recover in time, what use will it be?
But I still informed Xue Wuxia and Afeng of the news. This is a hope. As long as everyone works hard to get into the top 16, I can come back and face the stronger opponents with everyone to fight for higher honors. The right to choose is handed over to Afeng and others. I can't imagine how things will develop. I can't do anything for the time being. I can only stay alone in the empty "Dead Soul Space" and silently cheer for my teammates in another world!
The main competition has finally begun. The opponent of the Tongxin League, which advanced as the first in the group, in the first round is the second place in another group, the Meteor Shower Mercenary Group, which was joined by Youxinbitiangao. Their leader is the Dragon Knight Xingkong Canyue, who once represented the Northern Continent in the "Four Continents Elite Challenge". The group has entered the top 64 in the individual competition. A total of five members of the entire mercenary group have entered the main competition of the individual competition. They are comparable in strength to the Tongxin League without me, and both lack top masters who can play a decisive role at critical moments.
I couldn't watch the game in person, I could only feel the intensity of the game from Afeng's description. Both sides tried their best and fought fiercely. Xingkong Cangyue was a pterosaur knight, constantly raiding from the air to harass the magicians and archers in the rear of the battle formation, forcing Xue Wuxia and Yun Wuying to cope with it. Fortunately, Afeng also performed outstandingly. He did not defend against Xingkong Cangyue, an opponent who was capable of fighting him, but instead rode into the enemy formation, equally unstoppable. In addition, Xinbitiangao also performed well in the game, showing his strength beyond Guopo Shanhe and Moonlight Treasure Box, and also caused Afeng and his team a lot of trouble. It is estimated that he has been selected into the Dark Council and has worked hard these days. He was very fierce in the game, showing no mercy. The dwarf wizard wielding a battle axe fought with the summoned corpse wizard. Long Kong, who had a good relationship with him in the "Resistance Alliance", was killed by him with an axe after fighting. As a result, he regretfully failed to kill the opponent who had no power to fight back and was about to be defeated with just a light shot. He failed to complete the goal set before the game and lost the host. It is said that the boss went to Long Kong's house and grabbed his ears and taught him a lesson, forcing him to sign a "surrender alliance" and promise to treat him to a meal to make amends before he stopped. Alas, his poor heart was higher than the sky. Just because he made Long Kong lose face in front of his "sweetheart", he was forced to treat him to a meal after the defeat. It's really "evil will be punished by evil"!
In this match, although the Tongxin League won in the end and successfully entered the top 32, only Yun Wuying was left. It can be said that it was extremely tragic. If she, Xue Wuxia, and Diewu had not arranged it, sacrificed two team members as bait, seized the opportunity to hit and successfully killed Xingkong Cangyue, and made the opponent lose the most threatening combat power, I am afraid it would be hard to say what the outcome would be. The Tongxin League has tried its best, but can only achieve such a result. For the next second round of the top 16, facing a stronger opponent, we have no chance at all.
The opponent in the second round was decided to be the Wind Mercenary Group led by the Earth Swordsman Wind Juansha, who also represented the Southern Continent in the "Four Continents Elite Challenge". In addition to himself being in the top 32 of the individual competition, they also had an Earth Archer Black Cactus in the top 64. In addition, there were four players who entered the individual competition, and their average ranking was higher than Xue Wuxia and Afeng. Referring to their performance in previous competitions, their overall strength should be better than that of the Tongxin League. The comments from the outside world on this game were almost unanimous: If I, who had not appeared for some reason, did not return to participate in the competition, the Tongxin League would probably not be able to escape the fate of defeat based on the current lineup.
Obviously inferior in strength, Xue Wuxia and Afeng had no better options, they could only try their best and try their luck. Although I stayed in the "Dead Soul Space" without any slackness, as expected, I couldn't make it back in time for this game anyway - the green bone dragon kept devouring my mental power, and before its state was restored, I couldn't use the "Soul Sealing Card" to remove the seal and use it to help fight. This was a big burden, and I couldn't get rid of it even if I wanted to. Everything depended on Afeng's own efforts.
This crucial and fateful game is going on, but I can only stay in the "Dead Space" and wait anxiously, not knowing how the game will go. If I unfortunately lose, my current efforts will become completely meaningless. Moreover, because of me, the development of the Tongxin Alliance has been hindered. What if Hua Mantian's Huadu Mercenary Group takes the opportunity to surpass them, it will also affect Afeng's revenge plan. The more I think about it, the more guilty I feel.
After calculating the time, I found that the game was over. It was time for Afeng to log off and rest to recover his energy. I also hurriedly quit the game. As soon as I took off my helmet, I saw Afeng frowning and looking bitter. He was stirring the bowl with chopsticks from time to time, staring blankly, and there was no sign of joy on his face after winning the game.
Could it be that... the Tongxin League was defeated? Although this should be a very normal result, and I had already prepared myself for the possibility of failure, when I really faced the outcome of failure, I still felt deeply helpless and depressed. Alas, man proposes, God disposes. An accident ruined the Tongxin League's originally promising future. Success is not as good as failure. When you gain, you must pay something!
What has already happened must be faced, so I mustered up the courage to ask, hoping to get the final confirmation, "Afeng, how was the match with Kuangfeng? Did we win?"
It seemed as if A Feng just realized my existence at this moment, "Hey, you're offline, I just ordered takeout, eat it while it's hot."
I glared at him in annoyance. The result of the match was unknown, so how could I be in the mood to eat first? "What are you thinking about? Answer me first, did you win or lose the match against Kuangfeng?"
A Feng finally came back to his senses, "Oh, the competition... We did win..."
"What? We won the game?" I couldn't help but widen my eyes in disbelief. I stared at Afeng and asked back immediately.
"Yes, we did beat Kuangfeng and made it into the top 16 of the team competition." Afeng answered firmly, and it didn't seem like he was joking with me.
"Oh, Yeah!" I clenched my fists and paused. It was great. I finally didn't become the "sinner" who dragged down the Tongxin Alliance. After the excitement, I just remembered, "Hey, since you won the game, you should be happy. Why are you still looking so stern? Are you trying to tease me?"
"I'm not in the mood to joke with you. Although we won the game, the process was not based on our strength."
I was confused for a moment, and couldn't figure out what he meant. "What do you mean? We won the game but you said it wasn't because of our strength. Did you bribe the players of the Kuangfeng team and they deliberately let us win and lost the game?"
It was just a casual remark, but I didn't expect Afeng to actually nod his head , "That's right, it was Kuangfeng who deliberately let us win the game."
I was really shocked. "Who is so powerful that he can bribe Kuang Feng?"
"It's not us, it's Long Xing Tian Xia."
"How could it be him? Why would he interfere in our match with Kuangfeng? And how could he convince Kuangfeng to admit defeat?"
"Why? Even you don't know the reason?"
I couldn't help but feel puzzled. "I have been staying in the 'Dead Soul Space' and have no contact with the outside world. How can I know the reason?"
"But Long Xing Tian Xia told us to compete with all our might, guaranteeing that we would win the competition, saying that you know the reason."
"What on earth is going on? The more you talk , the more confused I become. You should just tell me the whole story from beginning to end."
"After confirming the opponents for the second round, Long Xing Tianxia found Wu Xia and me and asked about your situation first, whether you could make it in time for the competition. Wu Xia told him the truth, saying that you couldn't make it in time for this game and could only return in the next round at the earliest. He pondered for a while after listening to me, and then asked us to prepare for the game with all our strength. He would persuade Kuang Feng to let us go in the game so that we could advance to the top 16. He seemed to know Kuang Feng quite well, saying that with Kuang Feng's strength, we were in the middle and lower reaches of the top 32 and were not very outstanding. Even if we defeated us without you, it would be difficult for us to squeeze into the 'Top Ten'. As long as you can return in the next game, there will be a great chance to help the Tongxin League successfully win the 'Top Ten' or even obtain a very good ranking, which will be much more beneficial to the 'Resistance Alliance'."
I suddenly remembered that Kuangfeng Juansha is also a member of the "Resistance Alliance" board of directors. I haven't paid attention to the affairs there recently and forgot about this. However, even so, there are some problems. "Although Kuangfeng Juansha is a member of the board of directors, he joined with the guarantee of the Desert Eagle. Why would he buy the face of Long Xing Tianxia and intentionally lose to us to boost the power of the Dragon Clan? Is he so great that he believes that the interests of the collective are above all else?"
A Feng shrugged his shoulders and said, "I also asked Long Xing Tian Xia this question, but he didn't answer directly. He just said that you know the reason."
How would I know? When did he tell me? Facing A Feng's questioning eyes, I was about to deny it, but suddenly I remembered the inside story of the Light and Dark War that Long Xing Tian Xia had talked to me about. Could it be that Kuang Feng Juan Sha was also one of those players who knew the inside story, shouldering a special mission, and had to let the game go for the sake of the overall situation? If so, everything can be explained. Anyway, the result is that we won, and Tong Xin Meng advanced to the top 16. This is the most important thing. The specific operation is Long Xing Tian Xia's business, and they will naturally negotiate and handle it. We "outsiders" don't need to worry about it.
However, Long Xingtianxia had discussed these matters with me alone. I had promised him not to disclose them to anyone, so it was naturally inconvenient to tell Afeng. So I changed the subject and said, "Anyway, we won anyway. You are not feeling guilty because you cheated in the competition, are you? This is not in line with your character. You had many previous convictions during school exams, and every time you succeeded you would show off in front of me. Could it be that you have changed your character and become 'conscientious' now?"
"Go to hell, which eye of yours saw me feeling guilty? It's not our initiative. This is like Zhou Yu beating Huang Gai, one is willing to fight, the other is willing to be beaten. I'm so happy."
"Then why can't I see any joy of victory on your face? After getting through this round, I'll be able to return to the next game. The situation is very good. Why do you look like you have something on your mind?"
"Oh, nothing, I just remembered something. Okay, let's stop talking about it. The food is getting cold. Let's eat quickly and take some time to rest." Afeng also changed the subject and didn't want to talk about it. Naturally, I didn't want to delve into it. I didn't know what happened that could dilute the joy of winning a crucial game. This was too unusual.
