Volume 5: Protracted War Chapter 58: The Battle of Flower City: The Beginning of the Seven Shooters
Before the third round of the competition, as expected, the Green Bone Dragon recovered in time and stopped devouring the spiritual power. After recuperation during this period, Taotao, Red Star and Wu Ma also recovered their combat effectiveness in time, so that I could finally return to the competition. Staying alone in the "Dead Soul Space", mechanically repeating simple actions, I also conducted serious reflection. The reason for this crisis, in addition to the irresistible objective factor of the Green Bone Dragon that suddenly appeared, was mostly due to my lack of game experience and personal weaknesses.
I have to admit that I am actually a person with no ambition. The limitations of my background and the environment in which I grew up made me never dare to hope to stand out and become a high-ranking figure. What I think about on weekdays is how to rely on my own efforts to make my family live a happy life with no worries about food and clothing and relative abundance. Or it can be said that this is a cowardly character, or even a degeneration of human nature. But when the ideal bubbles burst one by one, I have to succumb to the cruel reality. I am just an ordinary "little person" and do not have those outstanding abilities and qualities that are talked about by the world. Maybe people similar to me can also succeed, but that depends more on opportunities or luck that are hard to come by.
Even in the game, I was consciously or unconsciously affected by this mentality. Many things were not what I wanted to do, but I was forced by the situation. I had to work hard for survival or necessary development. I lacked a long-term or more clear goal, and I only looked for countermeasures to solve problems according to the current situation. This was limited by the inertia from instinct. Many people understand this truth, but how many people in the world can really do it?
Take the "Soul Sealing Card" for example. I have had it for quite some time, but I have never found a suitable target to seal. The most common and powerful one is undoubtedly the Terrifying Earth Dragon Knight. With my current strength, it is not difficult to seal one, but it only has the ability of a level 7 magic beast. When players already have a level 7 magic pet, the role it can play is limited. For the "Soul Sealing Card" that can only be used once and has the nature of a "pseudo-artifact" but is not a "pseudo-artifact", I have . The sealed object must be a powerful existence that can reverse the situation in a critical battle. Although I have such awareness, I have never encountered an occasion where it is necessary to use the "Soul Sealing Card". Limited by the inertia in my character, I have never actively sought a more powerful sealing target and prepared to use the "Soul Sealing Card" in advance. My shallow game experience is not enough to make me have the awareness of preparing for a rainy day.
In this "World Heroes Conference", although I signed up for the individual competition for the first time in pursuit of a little more bonus, I didn't have the idea of winning the "Top Ten" beforehand. The bonus of several thousand gold coins was a considerable income for me at that time. I didn't expect that so many expert players would have "pseudo-artifacts", let alone use the "Spirit Sealing Card". As for the team competition, I was more confident. With the artifact "Touch of Death" and Taotao, Red Star, Wu Ma and other powerful subordinates, I could perform "Summoning the Dead" many times with the help of my teammates. It shouldn't be a big problem to ensure a place in the "Top Ten Mercenary Groups in the World". I subconsciously rejected the possibility of using the "Spirit Sealing Card". Perhaps it is just as Afeng commented on me: In "World", although I have the strength and qualifications to become a strong man, I still maintain the mentality of a weak man most of the time. I can only smile bitterly at this. As the saying goes, it is difficult to change one's nature, even if one has become aware of it , it may not be possible to truly complete the transformation in a short period of time. This is an online game based on reality, not a legend that can be achieved overnight.
After entering the individual competition, the underground gambling game opened by Hua Mantian forced me to fight hard for the honor of "Top Ten". However, the little spare time and energy at that time were used to familiarize myself with the opponent's information and design tactics. I no longer had the opportunity to seal the powerful undead creatures in the "Dead Space". Besides, there was only one "Soul Sealing Card" and I needed to win multiple rounds of the game. I couldn't pin my hopes on it. The appearance of the Green Bone Dragon was a helplessness, but also an opportunity. Facing a powerful opponent that exceeded my imagination before the game, in order to ensure that the Tongxin League could successfully become one of the "Top Ten Mercenary Groups in the World", I had to consider taking the opportunity to seal the Green Bone Dragon in case of emergency. The only thing I didn't expect was that it would devour my mental power to recover, which caused a lot of trouble and almost affected the overall situation. Forgive me, after all, I am just a newcomer who has only been in contact with virtual games for a year. How can you expect me to have an outstanding performance? I am a mortal, not a genius!
As for the safety of the Destruction Knight Wu Ma, whose identity as the "Public Enemy of the Undead" has been exposed, there is no need to worry at all. The sealed undead creature is actually dead, and was rescued by the "Sealing Soul Card" and me. After surviving the catastrophe and being reborn, it has lost all consciousness and only obeys my orders. Even if the time limit for lifting the seal has expired and it has escaped my control without dying in battle, its memory will be blank, and it will automatically return to where it should go. Unless it sees Wu Ma again, it will not have the slightest impression of everything that happened before.
The opponent for the third round has also been determined. For Afeng, this should be the most ideal result. The one competing with Tongxin League for the top eight spot is Hua Mantian's Huadu Mercenary Group. Although Hua Mantian himself has temporarily withdrawn from the ranks of top players because he chose to change his job to the Knight of Light, and was eliminated in the first round after barely entering the main competition of the individual competition, Huadu has a player who broke into the top 32, the Earth Warrior Taosheng Yijiu, who has a level 7 magic pet Tongbi Stone Ape, and two players who entered the top 64, the Earth Shooter Catman and the Magic Dragon Knight Tianxiang, each with a level 7 magic pet Violent Fire Bear and Speed Dragon. In addition to the four of them, three other members also entered the main competition. It is said that most of them are high-level professional players who have always been attached to Hua Mantian, and their overall strength should not be underestimated. If it weren't for my timely comeback, based on the previous strength comparison and game performance of the two sides, the chances of Tongxin League winning can be said to be very small.
This was originally a tough battle that must be won, and the opponent was our old enemy Hua Mantian, which added a bit of murderous intent. Not only the Tongxin League, but also Huadu was extremely unhappy with us, and we had repeatedly ruined their plans. When interviewed by the reporter of "Tian Media", both sides showed an extremely strong desire to win and a fearless spirit that despised the enemy. Afeng declared that "the defeated general is nothing to worry about", while the deputy leader of Huadu, Mao Ren, responded sharply, evaluating the Tongxin League as "a declining old powerhouse that has lost its glory", and there was a strong smell of gunpowder .
Looking at the strength comparison between the two sides, after I missed several rounds of competition and returned to the team, and was included in the official list of 20 contestants reported to the organizing committee, Huadu no longer had any advantage. Although it had one more expert player entering the main competition than our Tongxin League, the addition of me, an undead wizard who is good at group battles, and my excellent performance in the individual competition, somewhat increased the weight of the Tongxin League. The two sides can be said to be evenly matched, making the outcome of the game even more unpredictable.
However, when they saw Huadu's official roster, Xue Wuxia, Yun Wuying and Afeng were still surprised. In addition to the seven absolute main players, there were six archers among the other fourteen team members. In other words, including the earth archer cat man among the top sixty-four, Huadu chose to start with seven archers. This was the first time such a tactic was used. Even the Northern Continent Mercenary Group, which had many elven archers with outstanding archery skills, rarely adopted such a start.
Although archers have a faster attack speed and a longer attack range, they lack group attack skills and their attack power is slightly insufficient. They cannot replace the role of magicians in group battles. Generally, teams will choose about two-thirds of melee professions, and then magicians and archers of various departments will share the remaining one-third of the quota, emphasizing the balance of attack and defense, and can play the best cooperation effect of each profession. Like Huadu, long-range attack professions account for half of the participants. In addition to three water, fire, and ice wizards, there are as many as seven archers. Facing a strong enemy of our Tongxin League, it can only mean that there may be other mysteries in the use of seven archers, and hidden tricks unknown to us.
It is hard to say that such a tactical arrangement is specifically aimed at the Tongxin League. We generally still use more orthodox tactics. I (necromancer), Xue Wuxia (thunder), Diewu (ice), Shui Yuntian (water), Yin Zhuangsugu (water), five magicians, and Yun Wuying and Nan Feiyan, two archers, must have no lack of melee professional protection. I am afraid that it will not be so successful if I want to use professional restraint to deal with magicians including me first. Once our melee profession breaks through the defense line and disperses the formation, they will face an extremely unfavorable situation. The opening of the seven archers can be said to be a double-edged sword, which can hurt others and more likely hurt themselves. I don’t know where Hua Mantian got the confidence to dare to adopt such a risky tactic?
Yun Wuying has been in deep thought since she heard the news. She looked as if she was thinking about something. We couldn't come to any conclusion from our discussion, so we all turned our attention to her. She was in charge of intelligence work and could be considered the military advisor of the Tongxin League. And judging from her expression, it was clear that she had thought of something.
Yun Wuying cast his gaze towards me. "Ah Dai, do you still remember that time when you were ambushed by a few archers on the Pami Plateau and nearly got killed?"
I certainly won't forget such a thrilling scene so easily. "Of course I remember. Seven arrows suddenly shot out from the darkness. The angles were very tricky and I had no way to avoid them. If I hadn't just been casting 'Summon the Dead' to block the arrows for me, and hadn't used 'Blind Fog' to hide my tracks, I would have been hard to escape the opponent's clutches."
A Feng understood immediately, "Do you suspect that the seven mysterious shooters who attacked us secretly on the Pami Plateau were the seven cat people from Huadu?"
Yun Wuying nodded. "According to the hatred between Huadu and Tongxin League, even if they have no direct relationship with the Yasukuni Society, they are very likely to plot against us behind the scenes. At that time, we analyzed that Huadu could not be ruled out as a suspect. There are exactly seven archers in this battle, which naturally increases this possibility. In addition, I have received information from Longteng. There was an item called "Seven Star Arrow Formation" on the market. It is said to be dropped by a sacred beast. It is equipped by seven archers. As long as they occupy a specific position and meet the requirements of launching the formation, the seven arrows shot out in unison can double the hit rate and increase the attack power by 50%. At that time, it was quickly purchased by an unknown buyer as soon as it was put on sale. It has not appeared publicly since then. It is unclear which force it fell into the hands of. However, with the financial resources of Huadu and Hua Mantian's style of doing things, it is very likely that he is the buyer of the "Seven Star Arrow Formation". Starting with seven archers may be a great test for our Tongxin League."
Xue Wuxia also spoke up, "What Wuying said makes sense. Hua Mantian is a treacherous and cunning person. He is an experienced professional player. He will never take risks easily if he is not sure. Choosing seven archers to start the game is likely to have obtained the 'Seven Star Arrow Formation', which will pose a great threat to magicians and archers with lower defensive capabilities, and requires more careful prevention. We must modify our tactics accordingly. On the one hand, we must do a good job of defense, especially Ah Dai, who must be protected and absolutely cannot be lost. This is the key to determining victory or defeat; on the other hand, we must strengthen the attack and try to contain Huadu's seven archers, so as to achieve offense as defense. The launch of the 'Seven Star Arrow Formation' should have relatively precise requirements for the position occupied by each member. As long as their rhythm is disrupted and their movement is destroyed, the threat to us will be reduced a lot."
"But since Huadu dared to show off, it must have been practiced many times. The coordination between the seven people must be quite proficient, and it will not be easily disturbed by us. We must formulate a more stable and thorough tactical plan." Nan Feiyan made a supplementary speech. In order to cheer for Black Iron Tower, she gave up the individual competition and accompanied the whole process, which boosted the morale of Black Iron Tower. They played 120% of their strength and successfully entered the top 64 of the individual competition. In the end, they lost to the Desert Eagle. This time, the team competition started. They just came back to help. Maybe they will have a chance to compete against Black Iron Tower. Black Iron Tower was dragged into the Xingyue Mercenary Group by Romantic Sakura and Light Dance. It was reluctant to withdraw, and Nan Feiyan was unwilling to switch to their banner, so the current situation of each occupying one side was formed. As for whether there is any other hidden secret, it is not something that we outsiders can know.
Fortunately, in order to make the game more exciting and fierce, after knowing the official roster, there is still a long period of time for both sides to consider and study, in order to formulate and modify corresponding tactical countermeasures, so the situation is not too bad. Otherwise, if they knew that the opponent would start with seven archers just before going on the court , and could not break the mystery of the "Seven Star Arrow Formation", they would be caught off guard and might suffer a great loss.
