Volume 6: Fighting for the World Chapter 327: Overlord
I defeated Long Xing Tian Xia and won the final of the individual competition of the last "World Heroes Conference", defending my title as "World's No. 1 Expert". Long Xing Tian Xia was once again inferior to others, confirming his fate of being the "second place for a thousand years" - first he had the supreme honor of "No. 1 in Light", and then there was me, a rising undead wizard, who became obstacles on his way to the championship. He was eventually defeated for one reason or another, and it seems that he is doomed to never have a chance to turn things around and become the boss in "World". Of course, this is more of his personal honor and disgrace. For the resistance alliance, this individual competition can be said to have achieved a brilliant victory. Not only did they win the first and second place, but Afeng also won the four rounds of substitute battles after losing in the quarterfinals and won the title of "Ninth Master in the World", overwhelming the arch-rival, the Church of Light, with an absolute advantage. In the finals for the third and fourth places, the Supreme Honor defeated the Fearless Warriors, who was also an old rival, and had no choice but to be "Third Master in the World". Another player of light, Real Madrid, who broke into the quarterfinals, won after two rounds of hard battles and achieved the result of "Fifth Master in the World". Unfortunately, another close ally of the Church of Light, Yamato Spirit, who lost in the round of 16 and participated in the "Top Ten" substitute battle, unfortunately encountered Afeng in the third round and was eliminated, and was not able to enter the "Top Ten Masters in the World". As the "No. 1 Light Priest in the World" and holding two artifacts, Holy Heaven only achieved a record of stopping in the top 32, which can almost be said to be the worst record in history, so that the Church of Light can't even find a shame excuse. Before the game, they were ambitious and their excellent performance was highly praised by the outside world, but they started high and ended up with such a result. Not only did it directly affect the reputation of the Church of Light and the players of Light, but also because many players who participated in the gambling lost their money, the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment, and they were sad for their misfortune and angry at their lack of struggle, which aroused great "public indignation". They blamed the Church of Light and the players of Light for their losses and spread unfavorable remarks to them, which further reduced their momentum. It made it easier for our resistance alliance to win over those neutral forces and further isolate the Church of Light, which was conducive to increasing the suppression and counterattack against them in the East and South continents.
After the individual competition, there was a half-day break, so that the spectators, especially the contestants, could have a rest and maintain their vigorous energy to better watch or participate in the competition. The next event to be held was the last one, the Mercenary Group War, in which the elite members of each mercenary group in "Tianxia" would form a team to compete for the honor of "Top Ten Mercenary Groups in the World". The Mercenary Group War basically followed the old rules. Each team had 30 fixed members, but only 20 people participated in the competition each time. Players of different strengths and professions could be selected according to different opponents. It was not only the performance of the strongest ace members in the team that was examined, but also the performance of other finalists whose strength was not too top-notch. If they could not form a good cooperation, they would be easily defeated by the opponent one by one, and there would be no great hope of winning. Just like in the team finals of the last "World Heroes Conference", it was because the Supreme Honor Glory used the "God's Domain" to trap me, the most powerful fighter, for more than ten minutes, and took the opportunity to attack with all my strength, killing many contestants from our Tongxin League. As a result, no matter how hard I tried, I was ultimately outnumbered and unable to reverse the situation on my own, which directly led to the final defeat and the loss of the opportunity to defend the title of "World's No. 1 Mercenary Group".
Tongxin League, which has three players holding artifacts, me, Afeng, and Xue Wuxia, was originally a hot favorite to compete for the "Top Ten Mercenaries in the World" or even the "No. 1 Mercenary in the World" in the Mercenary Group War. However, because the overall strength of other participating players is not very outstanding, in the current comprehensive strength evaluation of the finalists of the major mercenary groups in "Tianxia", it is even ranked outside the top 20, and it is also not the biggest favorite favored by most players. The reason for this is mainly because the early development of our Tongxin League was not very smooth. We were poor and powerless and were unable to attract more top players to join. The disadvantages in innate quality are difficult to make up for through equipment and props. The higher the level of development, the further the gap in strength will increase. This has become a major bottleneck restricting the overall strength of our Tongxin League. We can only rely on the three giants, me, Afeng, and Xue Wuxia, who hold artifacts, as the absolute main force in participating in the Mercenary Group War. The general opinion of outside commentators is that as long as we limit the performance of me and one of Afeng or Xue Wuxia, who are the main combat forces, just like the Glory team did in the group finals of the last "World Heroes Conference", we will have a high chance of winning the game. For strong and powerful old-fashioned mercenary groups such as Glory and Fearless , there is still a good chance of doing so with the help of some powerful pseudo-artifacts and combined props and formations.
With the good results that Afeng and I achieved in the individual competition, one successfully defended the title of "World's No. 1 Expert" and the other won the title of "World's Ninth Expert", which made Tongxin League more highly regarded by the outside world, but also attracted more hostility. The most important factor was naturally because of me who was in the limelight - first won the title of "World's No. 1 Undead , and then defended the title of "World's No. 1 Expert" in the individual competition, and was only one step away from the "Golden Hero Trophy" which combined the three awards. As long as I lead Tongxin League to successfully win the honor of "World's No. 1 Mercenary Group" in the next and last event, the Mercenary Group War, I will be able to win the "Golden Hero Trophy", which represents an incomparable honor for professional players. I have become the only candidate to win the "Golden Hero Trophy", and no matter how much other professional players covet it, they have lost the opportunity to compete for it. As top-level professional players, they are basically arrogant and proud, and only a few are willing to help others. I am afraid that most of the mercenaries that have little relationship with our Tongxin League and the Resistance Alliance will hold the idea that if I can't get the "Golden Hero Trophy", other players can't get it either, and they will try their best to snipe our Tongxin League in the subsequent mercenary group battles, preventing us from being honored as the "No. 1 Mercenary Group in the World" and preventing me from getting the "Golden Hero Trophy". As for the deadly rival, the Church of Light, it is impossible for me, the absolute main force of the Resistance Alliance, to achieve this "great achievement". Its subordinates and mercenaries related to them will naturally suppress and contain our Tongxin League in the mercenary group battles, making the situation facing our Tongxin League be said to be surrounded by enemies, and will encounter unprecedented strong resistance from all forces, further increasing the difficulty of us regaining the "No. 1 Mercenary Group in the World". Even many mercenary groups have openly stated in interviews with reporters from the "Sky Media" that they will not provide convenience for me, the only one who has the chance to win the "Golden Hero Trophy", and will definitely fight with our Tongxin Alliance with all their strength. If they want to achieve what this person cannot do, they must rely on the true strength of our Tongxin Alliance. Their real intention is self-evident. They will not let me get the "Golden Hero Trophy" easily. I have become the target of public criticism from all major mercenary groups, including the forces of light and neutral forces, and will face unprecedented difficulties.
After a half-day break, the last event of this "World Hero Conference", the Mercenary Group War, kicked off. Because of our outstanding performance in the individual competition, and because we are the only mercenary group in "World" with three players holding artifacts, our Tongxin League ranked after the defending champion Glory Mercenary Group, and ranked as the "No. 2 Seed Mercenary Group", so we got more rest time and did not need to participate in the first few rounds of the preliminaries. This is naturally the most critical for me, and there are too many things I need to deal with - the treatment of Khufu and the eleven great pharaohs who were too seriously injured and exhausted in the battle with the Supreme Honor, as well as the storage of "pyramid" energy, the recovery of the status of Yibo La and other subordinates, especially Wu Ma, who had performed the "Undead Disintegration Method", has not been able to get enough time to recuperate, and his lost soul energy has not been fully replenished until now. In addition, the two "Magic Storage Rings" also need some time to store up mental power for use again, which requires me to be fully prepared before fighting those powerful enemies and be able to fight in the best condition. Therefore, I spend most of my time staying in the "Dead Space" to restore my strength as soon as possible.
After several rounds of preliminaries, Tongxin League also started to participate in the competition. However, the opponents we encountered at this stage were relatively weak. With Afeng and Xue Wuxia in charge, we were basically able to ensure victory. I either did not play at all, or even if I did, I did not play much. My main purpose was to practice cooperation with teammates through actual combat. I easily entered the main competition. The opponents we faced next were basically relatively strong. As some mercenary groups had declared in advance, they were particularly "jealous" of our Tongxin League. They sent out all their elites, spared no expense, invested a large number of pseudo-artifacts and powerful props, and tried their best to fight with us Tongxin League. They were unwilling to let us win easily. They were not only tenacious, but some of the mercenary groups' actions could even be described as crazy. From the beginning, every game seemed to be a life-and-death battle of great significance, which brought us a lot of pressure on Tongxin League. We had to make more efforts or pay more to defeat the opponents. This phenomenon is definitely not normal. In addition to the fact that I am the only one who has a chance to win the "Golden Hero Trophy", according to the gossip I have heard, it seems that some hostile forces have made some small moves in private, bribing the mercenary groups that have become our opponents, offering certain compensations, so that they will do their best to stop our United Alliance at all costs. Not only do they not want me to achieve this "great achievement", but they can also gain certain benefits, so they naturally hit it off with those mercenary groups and act as the vanguard to stop our United Alliance. It seems that in order to further enhance the reputation of our United Alliance, especially the resistance alliance, the light forces have begun to use all means to try their best to kill the possibility of me, an undead wizard, winning the "Golden Hero Trophy".
Unfortunately, the Tongxinmeng team consists of three top players with artifacts, me, Afeng and Xue Wuxia. One is good at long-range attack, the other is good at close combat, and I am a super undead wizard who has the advantage the longer the time is delayed. It can be said that it is a nearly perfect combination. Ordinary opponents with weaker strength, even if they fight with us with all their strength, want to defeat us but they are unable to do so. It is impossible to succeed. Perhaps their only role is to consume more pseudo-artifacts and powerful props of us contestants, and gradually weaken our combat effectiveness. However, we have already been on guard, and we have also received timely reminders from Long Xingtianxia, and have a clearer understanding of the situation we are facing. Therefore, we did not fight with the opponent blindly in the game, but adopted more tactics of avoiding the enemy's edge and attacking its weaknesses. Once the opponent behaves too "fiercely", we only seek to gain the upper hand and win through the referee's decision, so as to avoid paying too much price for killing the enemy members. Therefore, although each victory could not be described as easy or beautiful, it was still safe and sound. We did not encounter too much trouble in the first few rounds of the competition. We were able to preserve our strength and be able to face the more difficult challenges in the future.
As the competition progressed, the mercenary teams that stayed behind were getting stronger and stronger, and it became more and more difficult to deal with them. However, relying on the outstanding performance of Afeng and Xue Wuxia, they finally successfully entered the top 16. Moreover, under the proposal of Long Xing Tianxia, the resistance alliance did not ignore the "small moves" of certain hostile forces, and stood idly by to the predicament of our Tongxin Alliance. In order to help the Tongxin Alliance win the "No. 1 Mercenary Group in the World" and enable me to win the super award of "Golden Hero Trophy", they also convened a meeting of the Dark Council and passed relevant resolutions, and specially approved a sum of funds in the name of "public relations fees" in order to win over and bribe some mercenary groups affiliated with the resistance alliance or with close relations, so that they would not be too difficult for us when they were our Tongxin Alliance opponents, and also made it so that we would not win too hard in some games and could get more time to rest and recover. Especially in the previous few games, I was able to effectively preserve my strength. Powerful means such as the "Great Pyramid Sky Cage and Earth Lock Array", the two Ghost Knight Kings, one real and one fake, Heinrich and Haishar, the two "Magic Storage Rings", and the pseudo-artifact "Gate of the Underworld" that has been cultivated to the highest level have been retained. They can be used to turn the tide of battle at the most critical moment, and to ensure as much as possible that no matter what kind of opponent or dangerous situation our Alliance encounters, we will not be forced into a state of no ability to fight back, and we still have a chance to win the final victory.
With the strength of our Tongxin League, it is not a problem to be honored as one of the "Top Ten Mercenaries in the World". It just requires me to invest more energy in the subsequent games, start adjusting tactics, change the principle of force coordination with Afeng and Xue Wuxia as the two most important combat forces, and set tactics with me as the center to strive to win the game. After that, we went through two fierce battles, defeated our opponents in the quarter-finals and quarter-finals, and advanced to the semi-finals of the mercenary group war event. At the same time, the old rivals, the Glory Mercenary Team of Supreme Honor and the Fearless Mercenary Team of Fearless Warriors, also advanced to the semi-finals. The other one can be said to be a dark horse that has emerged suddenly - the Red Moon Mercenary Group joined by the elf archer who holds the artifact "Elf King War Bow" and the little match girl. Although they are also a relatively old mercenary group, their overall strength is not weak. For example, the little match girl, who is the deputy leader, was once awarded one of the "Top Ten Masters in the World" in the individual competition of the "World Heroes Conference". However, due to bad luck, they have always lacked outstanding performance in previous team competitions and were often eliminated early, and they have not even entered the top 16. However, now the little match girl has the artifact "Elf King War Bow", and there is also a player, the Earth Holy Mage Aerial Chariot, who has the artifact "Earth Dragon Magic Wand". In one fell swoop, they have become a mercenary group with two players holding artifacts, and their overall strength has jumped a lot. In addition, in this mercenary group battle event, they have washed away the bad luck of the previous few sessions. Most of the opponents they encountered were restrained by their tactics. Only then did they pass all the levels and defeat strong enemies, successfully creating such an impressive record of advancing to the top four of the mercenary group battle.
The Glory Mercenary Team has two players who hold artifacts, Supreme Honor and Holy Heaven, but each of them holds two artifacts, and one is a Knight of Light and the other is a Priest of Light, which can be said to be the best combination. Although the number of players holding artifacts and the number of artifacts are not as good as our three people and five artifacts in the United Alliance, the average combat power of the other finalists is higher than ours. In addition, the extremely tacit cooperation between the Knight of Light and the Priest of Light, as well as the auxiliary role of the more effective pseudo-artifacts and powerful props, the overall strength is even considered to be slightly better than our United Alliance. Even after I successfully defended the title of "The World's No. 1 Master", I still couldn't overwhelm Glory and could only be second to it as the "No. 2 Seed Team". In addition to the Fearless Warriors who hold the artifact "Thor's Hammer", the Fearless Mercenaries also have the Water Saint Mage Mantianyunjuan who holds the artifact "Heart of Water Element". The attack skill "Thor's Wrath" of the nature of the death squad is a threat that cannot be ignored for any opponent, especially in the semi-finals, where they encounter strong opponents of the same level, and it is definitely worth using "Thor's Wrath" to fight to the death. If the Fearless Warriors seize the opportunity and successfully use themselves to exchange for several lives, the next game will definitely be difficult to play. As for the Red Moon, which owns the two artifacts of the Little Match Girl and the Aerial Chariot, it was able to eliminate a group of strong opponents and enter the semi-finals. Although there are some luck factors, its strength should not be underestimated. Among the semi-finals, the most difficult to deal with is definitely the Glory of the Supreme Honor, followed by the Fearless Warriors' Fearlessness. As for the dark horse Red Moon, it is still the easiest to deal with in comparison, so the next semi-final situation can be said to be extremely important. If the Red Moon is picked up by Glory or Fearless, and our United Alliance has to fight against Glory or Fearless, it will be much more difficult for us to enter the finals and regain the honor of "the world's number one mercenary group."
Fortunately, the United Alliance had good luck this time. Finally, we didn't have to repeat the scene of me and Supreme Honor fighting in the semi-finals in the individual competition. The semi-final opponent we drew was Red Moon, and the two traditional giants of Glory and Fearless would compete for another place in the finals. Although Billy House, the leader of Red Moon, and the three giants of the Little Match Girl and the Air Chariot have nothing to do with our resistance alliance and are the backbone of the neutral alliance, there is no record of direct confrontation before, so there is no direct hatred. The will and morale to win are definitely not as good as the two old enemies of Glory and Fearless, and the pressure on our United Alliance should be smaller. Of course, it will not be easy to deal with Red Moon to enter the semi-finals, especially for our United Alliance, where two of the three main combat forces are magician professional players, it is still quite threatening. If we are not careful, not only Xue Wuxia, but also me who has the abilities of "blood bat transformation" and "instant teleportation of demon possession" will also be in danger of death.
The main threat comes from the little match girl. I played against her in the quarterfinals of the individual competition. The "Elf King Bow" is quite effective and can effectively restrain magician professional players. In multiplayer team battles, with the protection of companions, you don't have to worry too much about your own safety, and you can better play the role of the "Elf King Bow" in long-range attacks. This is not the most important thing. What is more dangerous is the "Bawang Qiangshang" arrow formation led by her and the other four archers. This is a unique formation prop in "Tianxia", and there will never be a second one. It not only has the attack acceleration, hit increase and damage bonus effects similar to the "Seven Star Arrow Formation", but also has more powerful attack power - with the help of the "Bawang Qiangshang" arrow formation, up to seven "Bawang Arrows" can be shot, with extremely strong attack power. At the same time, the leading requirement must be an artifact bow and arrow, shot with the "Elf King War Bow" held by the little match girl. Usually, magicians, thieves, and archer professional players with relatively low defense will be seriously injured if they are not killed by one arrow, and being shot by two arrows is basically certain death. Moreover, the range can reach up to 800 meters, and the shooting speed is also very fast. It arrives in an instant, and there is no time to dodge. It has a mind-locking effect. Even if I transform into a bat or perform "teleportation", as long as I linger for a moment, I will be locked by them and it will be difficult to escape the attack of "Frost King Arrow". This has been confirmed by other undead wizards with blood experience in the previous mercenary group battle. For members with low defense such as magicians and archers in the team, it is a great threat. Fortunately, "Overlord Arrow" does not turn, and can be avoided by the body cover of other players. Otherwise, as long as the direct attack line is exposed, it is basically difficult to escape an arrow. Seven "Overlord Arrows" can generally kill at least three members. Usually, the main combat force is selected for long-distance shooting. Moreover, it does not damage the strength of the five archers who form the "Overlord Hard Bow" arrow formation. It can still play a basic function similar to the "Seven Star Arrow Formation" to fight against the enemy. The threat it brings to us is not much less than the "Thor's Wrath" of the Fearless Warrior.
I guess Fearless will not be a match for Glory. In the end, it will be Glory, the old enemy, that will enter the finals. Their endless tricks and changing tactics directly led to the failure of our Tongxin League in the last team finals. I still feel scared. Therefore, I don’t plan to invest too much in Red Moon. The main combat power needs to be reserved for the fight with Glory. No matter what unexpected strength they show, I must suppress their attack strongly to ensure that Tongxin League can regain the honor of "the world's number one mercenary group" and enable me to successfully obtain the "Golden Hero Trophy", a super valuable reward. The biggest threat to me and Xue Wuxia is naturally the "Bawang Qiang Shang Gong" arrow formation. For this reason, we sent Chu Bawang and other twelve heavy-armored warriors to fight, and set up the "Iron Bucket Formation" to block the attack of the "Bawang Arrow". The "Seven Star Arrow Formation" that focuses on attack and the "Iron Bucket Formation" that focuses on defense are the group tactics commonly used by our Tongxin League. Although they are not too advanced, they are quite skillful in use. With the support of the three of us who hold the artifacts, we have always been invincible and played a considerable role in a series of team competitions. The idea of fighting a protracted war is naturally that the "Bawang Arrow" can only attack seven times. As long as my safety is guaranteed, I can fully activate the "Touch of Death" to replenish my mental strength. The longer the time is delayed, the more undead hands can be summoned, and the harder it is for Red Moon to win.
At the beginning of the game, Chu Bawang and his twelve heavily-armored warriors immediately set up an "iron barrel formation" to protect Xue Wuxia and me inside. Of course, this does not mean that we can sit back and relax. As long as there is a slight gap, it is possible for the little match girl to find and use it, and thus suffer from the "King's Arrow". Therefore, hiding in the center of the formation, Xue Wuxia and I must also pay attention to the movement of Chu Bawang and his men, and pay attention to adjusting our positions at any time to avoid being locked by the little match girl. Otherwise, with the super-fast speed of the "King's Arrow", if we are a little late, we may be hit by an arrow.
