Chapter 212 – Canglan VS Ghost Spirits (6)
In accordance with the idea of tearing apart the Lou Zhang combination, Zhang Shaohui would play with the paladin in the opening while Lou Wushuang would play with the blood kin sacrifice. One opening and one ending the game, this would form a 'double insurance' for the Ghost Spirits team. Even if the initial situation was a disadvantage, they could find a way to move back the situation.
Surprisingly, Li Cangyu sent Zhuo Hang and Xiao Han in the first stage of the arena game.
Everyone familiar with the Canglan team knew that Zhuo Hang normally formed a combination with Li Xiaojiang.
Li Xiaojiang was as slow as a snail while Zhuo Hang was as fast as lightning. The seemingly uncoordinated fast and slow combination formed a distinctive style under Li Cangyu's guidance. However, in the regular season, the Zhuo Li combination didn't play as well compared to other combinations. It was easy for them to be restrained when encountering great G.o.ds.
In the regular season, Xiao Han mostly paired up with Li Cangyu. Today, Li Cangyu tore apart the Zhuo Li combination and placed Zhuo Hang and Xiao Han together.
Lou Wushuang was silent for a moment before submitting his lineup, Zhang Shaohui and Mo Yuan.
The fans of Ghost Spirits were surprised by this. The Lou Zhang combination had been inseparable since their debut. Captain Lou could always be found where his stupid brother was but today, the Lou Zhang combination was actually split apart!
The Canglan fans were happy. [After meeting our Cat G.o.d, the Tan Cheng combination was also torn apart. Now it is the Lou Zhang combination!] [Our Cat G.o.d is the professional combination demolisher in the league. Any combination that meets him has to be torn apart!]
The captains of the other teams felt helpless about this point. There had been too many changes to the arena. In particular, the pairs arena of the new season was very favourable to Canglan's lineup configuration.
Canglan had many new people. Their state wasn't stable but this also had a benefit. It was easier for newcomers to accept the new system and the captain often sent a combination that other teams couldn't guess.
For example, today was the first time Zhuo Hang and Xiao Han appeared together. Li Cangyu dared to send these two people in the playoffs, showing he was very confident in them.
In fact, this might be the first time Zhuo Hang and Xiao Han were playing as 'partner's in the league but they often played together during daily training and were very familiar with each other. There was an understanding between them. After this week's intensive training, they were now skilled in keeping up with each other's ideas.
—Hit quickly.
This was the reason why Li Cangyu sent Zhuo Hang and Xiao Han.
***
At the beginning of the fourth game, the a.s.sa.s.sin and paladin of Ghost Spirits faced the a.s.sa.s.sin and hunter of Canglan.
As both sides tested each other in the beginning, Kou Hongyi took the opportunity to explain, "There is a chance for both sides to win. On Ghost Spirits' side, the paladin will obviously protect Vice-Captain Zhang and let Zhang Shaohui be the main output. On the Canglan side, Zhuo Hang play the role of protection and auxiliary output. Xiao Han is the main output."
"Based on attack power, the Canglan side is higher but Ghost Spirits can last longer. This is like a sharp bayonet stabbing a solid s.h.i.+eld. Either the bayonet will be broken or the s.h.i.+eld pierced. We can't rely on data to calculate it. Everything will depend on the timing of player on both sides…"
As he said this, Zhang Shaohui suddenly used Combat Stealth!
The a.s.sa.s.sin's combat invisibility skill had a short effect but the cooldown time was very long. An average player wasn't willing to use it if it wasn't a critical moment. Zhang Shaohui suddenly opened stealth, confusing many audience members.
The next moment, everyone saw 'Shadow' suddenly appear behind Zhuo Hang and used Pain Blade!
Zhuo Hang was dizzy and Zhang Shaohui used the a.s.sa.s.sin's big moves, dropping his blood to 50%!
Xiao Han saw that his teammate was attacked and immediately went to repay the favour to Zhang Shaohui. However, the paladin directly used Guardian's Power and placed a golden s.h.i.+eld on the vice-captain. All of Xiao Han's attacks were transferred to the paladin's body.
A few seconds after Zhang Shaohui's combo ended, the effect of Guardian's Power was about to end. He no longer tried to fight and retreated to the paladin, running behind a pillar with his teammates.
Li Cangyu observed this scene and couldn't help feeling admiration. Vice-Captain Zhang was a warm person who was a bit silly. Along with Cheng Wei, they were called the two silly G.o.ds and people often laughed at their IQs…
Still, his knowledge of the game was a match for any great G.o.d and he had been with Lou Wushuang for a long time. His observation and awareness were very sensitive. Zhuo Hang and Xiao Han's combined attack power was much higher than his a.s.sa.s.sin but he could use the protection of the paladin to find a chance to fight a consumption battle.
Hit and run, this type of practice was very smart. Lou Wushuang inwardly praised Zhang Shaohui. He often inwardly scolded this person for being a fool but that was only when it came to life. Who would dare to underestimate the ace a.s.sa.s.sin of Ghost Spirits?
Vice-Captain Zhang's sudden attack caught Zhuo Hang and Xiao Han off guard. Zhuo Hang's health fell to 50% while Xiao Han's attacks were transferred to the paladin. The paladin had thick skin and Xiao Han only knocked out 30% of his blood.
This blood volume advantage, Xiao Zhuo quickly understood.
Zhang Shaohui used the paladin to delay the battle. As a result, Xiao Han and Zhuo Hang couldn't kill the paladin and lost blood. It would be easy for Zhang Shaohui to take the opportunity to collect their heads.
They couldn't let him do this!
Zhuo Hang made a decision and placed a blue mark on the map for Xiao Han.
The two people had trained together and Xiao Han naturally knew the meaning of the blue mark. He quickly opened Combat Stealth to hide and moved around a pillar. Zhuo Hang walked in front of used Flying Feather Steps to set a trap that held Zhang Shaohui in place!
The a.s.sa.s.sin was invisible and the hunter placed a trap. Did they mean to kill the vice-captain? The paladin Mo Yuan thought this and immediately placed the live-saving skill 'Iron Will' on Zhang Shaohui!
Iron Will, it placed a golden s.h.i.+eld on the specified target and made them immune to all damage for three seconds!
This was three seconds of invincibility and the timing of the trap on Vice-Captain Zhang would be gone in three seconds. The paladin's rapid response was understandable.
To the surprise of the audience, Zhuo Hang and Xiao Han's goal wasn't Zhang Shaohui at all!
After Zhang Shaohui was set in place, Zhuo Hang turned to the paladin without hesitation and circled him at a very fast speed, setting death traps in the front, rare, left and right.
At the same time, Xiao Han broke out his attack power. He waved the dagger in his hand and completed the big move, Death Strangulation!
The paladin's thick skin fell to 45% under the combined attacks of the two teenagers.
Kou Hongyi understood this and couldn't help clapping. "I didn't think of this! Zhuo Hang set Zhang Shaohui in place to deceive the paladin into using his big move. These small people of Canglan were really raised by Cat G.o.d, they are too bad!"
Yu Bing was very pleased with this. Previously, the teenagers gave the impression that they always listened to Cat G.o.d. They followed him everywhere, were happy when he praised him and felt frustrated when he scolded them. They were like small babies who hadn't grown up…
Today, she discovered that something was different about Zhuo Hang and Xiao Han.
They learnt to think for themselves and found ways to deal with complex situations.
The two teenagers didn't panic in front of the sudden attack of the first-cla.s.s a.s.sa.s.sin in the league. They were fl.u.s.tered but soon recovered and made a fierce counterattack!
This was the quality that a professional player should have.
If they forever relied on Li Cangyu then they would never grow up. Fortunately, these young rookies found a style that suited them. They learned to think calmly in the game and rely on their own strength to win!
This was the first time Zhuo Hang and Xiao Han were teaming up on the field but they were indeed talented rookies. This wave of counterattacks was quite beautiful and Zhang Shaohui's initial advantage was reversed.
By the time Zhang Shaohui's control effect ended, the thick-skinned paladin had less than half his blood left. Xiao Han and Zhuo Hang's big moves were on cooldown and they went behind a stone pillar.
The two sides once again stood on the same line.
The rest of the game was a consumption battle. The Ghost Spirits fans were a bit anxious but Li Cangyu knew that Zhang Shaohui's performance wasn't over yet.
Yes, he had Combat Stealth!
The reason why he used it in the beginning was because the skill cooldown was very long!
It took nearly three minutes for this signature skill to cooldown. The earlier he used it, the sooner the cooldown time would end. Now it was almost the time when he could use it again!
Sure enough, the moment the cooldown ended, Zhang Shaohui was hidden again and moved behind Zhuo Hang. He used a set of explosive moves to kill the residual blood Zhuo Hang!
[Shadow has killed Great Navigator!]
Zhuo Hang felt slightly helpless but there was no other way. The explosive power of an a.s.sa.s.sin was very amazing, especially after using stealth.
Once the hunter died, Xiao Han wasn't able to hold on for long. He soon fell under Zhang Shaohui's onslaught. Before he died, he used all his skills to kill the paladin so that Canglan didn't eat too much of a loss in the first round.
The two of them left their seats and headed back to the team. Li Cangyu smiled and patted their shoulders. "It was a good fight."
Zhuo Hang and Xiao Han glanced at each other and felt slightly puzzled.
Li Cangyu explained, "Winning or losing is secondary. Your performance made me very satisfied. Sit down and rest first."
The two teenagers who were praised sat down and looked forward to the next performance of their teammates.
They didn't win against Zhang Shaohui but they killed the thick-skinned paladin. Zhang Shaohui still had a lot of blood but he used many explosive skills. It definitely wasn't a problem to hand him over to the Shu Bai combination.
Sure enough, after a short break, Canglan sent Xie Shurong and Bai Xuan.
Zhang Shaohui expected this but he had more than enough strength. One person faced two people so he could only use all his skills. He only had 20% blue left but he had to delay as much as possible and consume Bai Xuan's blood adding skills.
In a few minutes, Zhang Shaohui was sent off by Ah Shu.
The Ghost Spirits team sent their second combination.
Flowing Moon and Quicksand, these two players were newcomers brought by the Lou Zhang brothers from the training camp. After the veteran players retired, they became main a.s.sa.s.sins.
Their standards were slightly worse than the Lou Zhang combination but they were excellent in the entire league, comparable to the two Liang archers of the Time team.
Xie Shurong and Bai Xuan weer good at a battle of attrition while the two a.s.sa.s.sins of Ghost Spirits were good at a fast outbreak. Both sides exchanged skills, the two a.s.sa.s.sins joining forces to defeat Xie Shurong. Xie Shurong lost a lot of blood only for Bai Xuan to make him full of blood again. This was quite a test of the psychological quality of players. The two members of Ghost Spirits wanted to break their keyboards!
Bai Xuan had a very strong survivability and was a c.o.c.kroach who wouldn't die. This round was dragged out for 10 minutes.
As soon as Bai Xuan's blue emptied, the two a.s.sa.s.sins sent this super dad away but the price paid was extremely heavy. They were cut to just a trace of blood by Xie Shurong!
Then Xie Shurong used Light and Shadow Rotation and took the lives of the two a.s.sa.s.sins.
Looking at the graceful terran swordsman standing in the centre of the square with 20% blood and blue left, the fans of Canglan cheered excitedly while the Ghost Spirits fans were distraught.
The Shu Bai combination in the second round was too difficult and the two a.s.sa.s.sins were killed. This way, Ghost Spirits would enter the final stage in a disadvantageous situation and there was the older brother who was even harder to deal with!
Would Captain Lou have any other methods?
Everyone was making guesses when the third combination for Ghost Spirits appeared on the screen.
—Lou Wushuang and Zhou Jianan.
The captain brought the blood kin sacrifice with him!
The fans of Ghost Spirits brightened up as they seemed to see hope for victory. However, Li Cangyu's lips slightly curved.
Using a sacrifice to slow the rhythm, Captain Lou was truly a very thoughtful commander… however, if he knew the lineup that Canglan would dispatch, wouldn't he be angrily vomiting blood?
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Chapter 213 – Semi-finals
Lou Wushuang's intention behind bringing a blood kin sacrifice with him was obvious. Slow down the pace and look for opportunities to kill.
An explosive attacker bringing a healer meant the healer's ability to survive would be greatly improved. As long as the healer survived, Lou Wushuang could find a way to breakthrough and kill the opponents. Moreover, the Shu Bai combination were sent in the second round, avoiding the possibility that Li Cangyu would take Bai Xuan with him in the guard round.
At present, Xie Shurong still had 20% blood left. Lou Wushuang had to quickly kill Ah Shu. Xie Shurong was very smart. He deliberately walked in a circle to delay the time. Lou Wushuang was forced to open the stealth skill and sneak behind to kill him.
Xie Shurong finished using all his skills and was willing to leave. At this time, Lou Wushuang's blood was full while he had 85% blue left. His Combat Stealth was on cooldown and the a.s.sa.s.sin's Fatal Blow had just been used.
The audience was looking forward to seeing who Canglan would send next. There was no doubt about Li Cangyu but the key was his partner. Xiao Han and Bai Xuan had already appeared. The only ones remaining were Xiao Gu, Old Zhang and the slow snail.
[I think that Cat G.o.d is likely to take Xiao Gu. He has thick skin and can protect Cat G.o.d!] [Maybe he will bring Old Zhang. Old Zhang's knowledge is first-cla.s.s and he has control skills. He can help Cat G.o.d unleash a big explosion. This is also feasible!]
Canglan's fans started guessing but they were all shocked when they saw the names on the big screen. Li Cangyu and Li Xiaojiang?
What was his line of reasoning for taking the slow snail?
Lou Wushuang hadn't expected this because in the regular season, Li Cangyu and Li Xiaojiang never partnered up!
Kou Hongyi touched his face and smiled. "Fortunately I didn't guess or I would've been hit in the face again. Zhuo Hang and Xiao Han haven't played together in the regular season but today they appeared in the first round of the arena. Cat G.o.d and Li Xiaojiang have never cooperated yet they appeared in the guard stage. It seems that Cat G.o.d wants to give everyone a different surprise in the playoffs!"
Then Yu Bing said thoughtfully, "It seems that this was his intention behind tearing up the Zhuo Li combination…"
Kou Hongyi asked, "What was his intention? Sister Bing, do you want to explain it to everyone?"
Yu Bing asked, "Who is the slowest player in the Miracle League?"
Kou Hongyi was startled before suddenly realizing Li Cangyu's arrangement. "Yes! Is there anyone in the Miracle League slower than Li Xiaojiang? I think that if we have to choose the slowest player, Li Xiaojiang will definitely win without a doubt! Captain Lou wanted to slow down the speed with the sacrifice but Cat G.o.d is also playing slow. He is saying, we will see who will drag who!"
The audience also figured it out and praised the witty Cat G.o.d.
Lou Wushuang really wanted to cough up blood. Why did he ignore Li Xiaojiang?
Indeed, Li Xiaojiang was a very slow player. There was nothing to fear when Li Xiaojiang stood alone without the protection of his teammates but once he was protected, he was the most stable remote turret and his damage was quite scary.
In the previous arena games, the Zhuo Li combination wasn't as famous as Shu Bai but they also showed wonderful performances. Li Xiaojiang was actually a very special player but he must have strong teammates to cooperate with in order to achieve a better standard.
There was no doubt that Li Cangyu's protection was absolutely the most stable bronze wall in the league!
Li Cangyu had many pets and his techniques were first-cla.s.s. It was basically impossible for Lou Wushuang to bypa.s.s him to kill Li Xiaojiang. If Lou Wushuang went to kill Cat G.o.d then Li Xiaojiang's output would be terrible.
The big black magic spells would make him lose 35% blood at once. If he used the spell to increase damage, the sacrifice would be needed to make sure Lou Wushuang didn't die. Â Once the healing couldn't keep up, Cat G.o.d would unleash a big move and cooperate with Li Xiaojiang to directly kill him!
The longer the time was dragged on, the more unfavourable the situation would be for Ghost Spirits.
He had to find a way to kill one of them… but would it be so easy to kill Li Cangyu?
***
Lou Wushuang was well aware of the harsh situation facing the Ghost Spirits team but he quickly calmed down. He took a deep breath and placed his hands on the keyboard to prepare for the key guard stage.
As he expected, Li Cangyu and Li Xiaojiang went to the centre while protecting each other. Li Xiaojiang was hiding behind the captain while Li Cangyu protected Li Xiaojiang with his pets.
There were now two choices for Lou Wushuang. One was to kill G.o.d Cat or bypa.s.s Li Cangyu to kill Li Xiaojiang. Both options were difficult.
The blood kin sacrifice could give him blood and enhance his ability to survive but it had a fatal flaw. The sacrifice couldn't control the field and could only rely on the rebound damage s.h.i.+eld to fight back at a critical moment. He could also use negative statuses to drop the opponent's blood over time but this was a more 'defensive counterattack' cla.s.s.
What if the opponent didn't attack the sacrifice at all? The sacrifice could only add blood back to their teammates.
This was the reason why there were more priests in the Miracle League than sacrifices. A priest was more flexible than a sacrifice. Ghost Spirits' choice of a sacrifice healer was in line with the team lineup. A blood kin sacrifice could go invisible and form a more tacit cooperation with a blood kin a.s.sa.s.sin.
However, in today's game against Li Cangyu and Li Xiaojiang, Lou Wushuang found that bringing a sacrifice to slow down the rhythm was actually useless.
Li Xiaojiang was slower than them and his output more stable!
***
Five minutes had pa.s.sed and there was no fierce confrontation between the two sides. Lou Wushuang had been looking for opportunities to break through Li Cangyu's defense. Li Xiaojiang hid far away and would hit Lou Wushuang from time to time. Of course, they were small skills and the damage wasn't painful. The blood kin sacrifice would refill Lou Wushuang's blood.
Still, the audience weren't stupid and could see that Cat G.o.d and Xiaojiang were deliberately dragging things out.
It was like the small snail was constantly tickling him. If it wasn't for Lou Wushuang's psychological quality, he would want to climb through the cables to kill this person!
However, Li Xiaojiang played very seriously and every small skill was accurate. It was very annoying when he used small skills to consume the opponent's resources. In addition, Li Cangyu protected him from Lou Wushuang. There was no way to bypa.s.s the pets to kill the black magicians.
The time was getting longer and longer, causing the fans of Ghost Spirits to become anxious. [This black magician is so annoying!] [Canglan's small snail is making people anxious. Can't you let us be happy?]
Finally, Captain Lou found an opportunity!
Li Cangyu's pets had been constantly moving to interfere with Lou Wushuang. Lou Wushuang killed a water spirit, a fire spirit was summoned. He killed the fire spirit and the thunder spirit was summoned… the pets were too much!
At this time, Li Cangyu's pet skills were cooling down and Lou Wushuang had been waiting for this moment!
Combat Stealth and then get close quickly!
The audience saw Lou Wushuang disappear like a ghost and then appear behind Li Xiaojiang!
—Death Mark, Backstab, Fatal Blow!
The skills fluidly linked and the dagger fell cleanly towards Li Xiaojiang's back! Xiaojiang lost almost 40% of his blood after being hit by this set of moves.
Lou Wushuang followed with the big moves, Pain Blade and Death Strangulation!
Li Xiaojiang's blood fell to the critical 10% threshold and his blood gauge flashed red. As long as Captain Lou released one more skill, he would probably die.
The fans of Canglan were distraught and wished to log into a computer to help Xiaojiang block this wave of damage.
At this critical moment, Li Cangyu suddenly summoned a very large pet, demon of destruction!
The giant holding a black hammer suddenly rushed to where Lou Wushuang was located. His hammer fell and caused a huge crater where Lou Wushuang was standing, forcing Lou Wushuang to fall into the pit.
Captain Lou: […]
Ghost Spirits fans: […]
Canglan fans: […]
Everyone saw this scene and typed out ellipses. Even the fans of Canglan wanted to hit Cat G.o.d at this time. He still had such a trick? It was actually a pit?
But… it was a beautiful pit!
After the surprise move, the live broadcast room was filled with: [Cat G.o.d 6666!]
In the commentators' room, Yu Bing couldn't help sighing with admiration. "The demon of destruction is the same as the guardian. It is a summoner's public pet but few summoners will use it. The main function is to destroy the environment. The effect looks gorgeous but it doesn't cause too much damage to players. Moreover, the cost of summoning the demon of destruction is extremely high. A lot of blue is consumed and the cooldown time is very long. Cat G.o.d summoned it to protect Li Xiaojiang but this is a very smart move."
It was as Yu Bing said. As long as this protected Li Xiaojiang, Canglan was in a very stable situation.
After Lou Wushuang was buried in the pit, the dizzy effect on Li Xiaojiang was over and he immediately hid behind Li Cangyu and cast a big move.
—Dark Fear!
Lou Wushuang was inevitably hit since he was in the pit. The sacrifice had to move forward to give him blood. As a result, Li Xiaojiang's fear hit both people!
—h.e.l.l Flames!
The accurate black magic group attack skill fell where the Ghost Spirits members were standing. Red flames that seemed to emerge from the depths of h.e.l.l instantly swallowed the two people!
—Shadow Winding!
Li Xiaojiang's black magic spells were released in an orderly manner. Several big moves were released and both Lou Wushuang and Zhou Jianan were greatly affected.
Unfortunately, the effect of the fear wasn't too long and both people recovered. The blood kin sacrifice cast a large s.h.i.+eld that pulled the two people's blood above the safety line.
Unfortunately, Li Xiaojiang had been slowly consuming Lou Wushuang's blood in the early stages, forcing the sacrifice Zhou Jianan to continuously use skills to restore the captain's blood. Zhou Jianan didn't have much blue left and was forced to use a big move. The following situation wasn't optimistic for Lou Wushuang.
It was because Li Cangyu hadn't acted yet!
Li Cangyu had been protecting Li Xiaojiang the whole time…
A bad feeling rose in Zhou Jianan's heart. Sure enough, Li Cangyu finally showed his hand. He used the fire spirit's long distance attacks to decrease their blood and then released the group attack skill, Thunder's Wrath!
The big move accurately hit and this time, the blood kin sacrifice couldn't restore Lou Wushuang's blood.
[Old Cat has killed Vestige!]
The remaining sacrifice couldn't kill Cat G.o.d and Xiaojiang. In a moment, Li Xiaojiang used a black magic skill and emptied Zhou Jianan's blood.
[Snail Crawling Slowly has killed South Wood!]
The news on the screen showed that Ghost Spirits had reached the end of the seventh season.
The Canglan fans stood up and shouted excitedly. Some girls who came from far away even wept. In the players room, Li Cangyu's hands left the keyboard and gently touched he head of the small snail next to him.
Li Xiaojiang was very happy as he walked with Li Cangyu to their teammates!
“Won, we won!" The first one to appear was Gu Siming, who jumped like crazy.
Li Cangyu stretched out his arms and hugged his teammates.
The former FTD and former Canglan captain, every time he lost in a key game, he would extend his arms and hug his teammates while pretending to be indifferent. He told everyone: It is okay to lose this time. There is next time.
Next time and next time, he lost for many years and didn't give up because he believed he would win one day.
Now he could finally embrace his teammates as the winner and tell everyone, "We won!"
Yes, Canglan won!
They won for the first time in an important playoff game, rather than being knocked out of the first round of the playoffs.
Canglan struggled hard in the seventh season to reach this point. Li Cangyu was confident that they could go further.
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