Chapter 338 – China VS South Korea (Summoner Duel)

Jiang Xu and Zhuo Hang were in a state of residual blood but had to lay a solid foundation for their teammates behind them. They knew it would certainly be foolproof with Cat G.o.d as the guard but Jiang Xu and Zhuo Hang weren't careless. They emptied all their blood before dying.

In particular, Zhuo Hang was quite clever in a critical moment. He used a series of Stop Traps' to force out the blood kin pets and used Trap Blast to send off the blood kin summoner's defense pet, the death knight.

This was equivalent to abolis.h.i.+ng the most important life-saving skill of the blood kin summoner.

Li Cangyu smiled with relief and calmly submitted the Chinese team's guard list. Then he took Xiao Han to play with him.

It was the combination of the Li Cangyu and Xiao Han master apprentice combination.

In the most critical guard stage of the semi-finals, Li Cangyu took the young rookie Xiao Han whom he personally trained, moving many Canglan fans.

Xiao Han only debuted this season and it was like everyone had watched a child grow up.

From the original ignorant teenager to the sharp a.s.sa.s.sin standing alongside his master on the World Compet.i.tion stage, the mixed-raced Xiao Han made amazing progress this season. Combined with the tempering of the World Compet.i.tion, everyone had reason to believe that Xiao Han would definitely become a first-cla.s.s G.o.d of the Miracle League.

Xiao Han was very excited at the thought of playing with his master but his face was still cold. Qin Mo knew that this guy actually wasn't cold but his Chinese level was too bad and he was laughed at whenever he talked. Thus, he pretended to be cold.

After seeing the two people sitting in front of the computer, Qin Mo asked softly, "They will win, right?"

Ling Xuefeng replied lightly, "Of course."

He had absolute confidence in Li Cangyu and his tone was unusually firm. Qin Mo looked back and his master and scratched his head with a smile. "I also believe they can win."

Park Joonseo's thoughts regarding this combination weren't wrong. After all, Im Sanghun and Song Bin were first-tier players of the South Korean team, with Im Sanghun famous as a commanding G.o.d. However, Park Joonseo didn't expect that Li Cangyu had the most experience in dealing with this combination. It was because Ling and Qin were a combination of demon summoner and blood kin summoner!

Li Cangyu often PKed with Ling Xuefeng while he also let Xiao Han and Qin Mo PK each other. He had reached the level where he could prejudge the opponent's next skill based on the motion.

***

When Li Cangyu and Xiao Han came to the middle of the map, the South Korean team's Im Sanghun and Song Bin had 80% blood and 90% blue. The blood and blue gap wasn't that big in a showdown between masters. One or two skills would equal it out. It was just that Zhuo Hang had got rid of the blood kin summoner's death knight in advance, which was very unfavourable for the Korean team's blood kin summoner.

The soft persimmon should be picked. Li Cangyu immediately aimed at the blood kin summoner.

"Xiao Han, go around. I will kill the blood kin summoner first." Li Cangyu spoke on the voice channel while quickly summoning his water spirit and using a small Water Ball to attack the demon summoner.

Xiao Han knew this was his master's blind eye method. He didn't lurk behind the demon summoner but moved to the blood kin summoner in accordance with his master's instructions.

Song Bin saw that Li Cangyu was attacking Im Sanghun and thought that the target was Im Sanghun. He summoned a blood snake to bite Li Cangyu and apply three layers of bleeding to Li Cangyu.

At this moment, there was a cold flash behind his back and he was. .h.i.t with Pain Blade!

Xiao Han's knife fell and controlled the summoner.

Li Cangyu immediately s.h.i.+fted targets and aimed the big move, Raging Prairie Fire at Song Bin!

Red flames rose from the feet and Xiao Han followed with the release of Back Stab, causing Song Bin's blood to immediately fall to 50%!

The opposite side's demon summoner reacted extremely quickly. He aimed at Li Cangyu and Xiao Han's direction as he summoned the black crows' big move, Cover the Sky.

This was one of Li Cangyu's most hated skills and he thought of countless ways to deal with it.

His attack target was Song Bin but he had been looking in Im Sanghun's direction. The moment Im Sanghun started casting, he judged the other person was going to open big and summoned the thunder spirit to use Thunder's Wrath.

The audience saw a bizarre picture. Im Sanghun had just summoned the crows that headed towards Li Cangyu and Xiao Han when purple thunder fell from the sky, directly wiping out the black crows!

"Great!" Kou Hongyi exclaimed. "Cat G.o.d predicted Im Sanghun's big move in advance and used lightning to kill all the crows. Im Sanghun's blind control failed! I think that Cat G.o.d PKs privately with Captain Ling every day. It is no wonder he can kill the demon summoner!"

The netizens agreed with Kou Hongyi's comment for once. [The one you have the highest understanding of is your strongest opponent. Cat G.o.d knows the demon summoner as well as Captain Ling.] [Does Cat G.o.d really regularly PK with Captain Ling?] [It is highly possible. After all, the captain and vice-captain live together in the national team.] [Then Captain Ling is Cat G.o.d's biggest chaperone?]

On the field, Li Cangyu neutralized the demon summoner's vision control and called the public pet, the departed spirit.

The audience was confused until they saw Im Sanghun summoning the banshee and using Witch Demon's Curse.

Then banshee's group pull skill pulled Xiao Hanw hile also pulling the departed spirit pet that Li Cangyu had just summoned. Li Cangyu pressed the skill of the departed spirit and Im Sanghun was possessed by it!

Kou Hongyi couldn't help laughing. "This is lifting a rock and hitting your own feet! Originally, it was troublesome for Cat G.o.d to control the departed spirit to avoid the traps. As a result, Im Sanghun pulled the spirit over and saved Cat G.o.d a lot of effort!"

Yu Bing was calm. "Cat G.o.d made a pre-judgment about Im Sanghun's banshee skill. He summoned the departed spirit in front of himself and blocked the banshee's strong pull. It is enough to see that Cat G.o.d is looking at the big picture."

It was no wonder that the two commentators desperately praised Li Cangyu. HIs operation was really quite subtle. After the departed spirit possession, Im Sanghun's movement speed was greatly slowed. Combined with the map traps around him, it was almost impossible to come over and interfere with the situation.

Xiao Han might've been pulled but he had a strong adaptive ability and wouldn't easily die.

This gave Li Cangyu a great opportunity to single out the blood kin summoner.

Li Cangyu turned back to the blood kin summoner and threw small fireb.a.l.l.s. The fireb.a.l.l.s rushed one after the other and the blood of the blood kin summoner plummeted to 30% in the blink of an eye!

Song Bin was forced to enter Combat Stealth.

However, the bamboo forest was full of traps. It wasn't easy for him to bypa.s.s the traps and rush in front of Li Cangyu. He had just moved past a trap when Li Cangyu used a group attack, Frost Heart.

The water elf's group attack skill froze all enemies in range, including Song Bin.

Li Cangyu followed with the fireb.a.l.l.s to keep decreasing blood.

The fire spirit was his most commonly used attack pet. His full agility meant his skills had an extremely short cooldown time and combined with his fast hand speed, the damage in a short period of time didn't lose to any big move!

Song Bin regretted so much that his intestines were green!

He had summoned the death knight to defend himself from the hunter's traps. He didn't expect Zhuo Hang to kill the knight and now he was in a critical situation without the protection of the knight, greatly reducing his ability to survive.

The next moment, the slowed Im Sanghun finally bypa.s.sed the traps. He quickly summoned four skeleton infantry to interfere with Li Cangyu. As a result, Xiao Han was fast and rushed in front to stop the skeletons He used Chain Strangulation and then Soul Stab to kill all four skeletons.

Xiao Han's approach caused the domestic audience to warmly applaud him.

The mixed-race teenager was sharp and aggressive, the dagger in his hand letting off a cold light. He seemed to be saying, 'I won't let you interfere with my master!'

The skeletons were the demon summoner's most commonly used attack pet with the shortest cooldown time. The four skeletons were killed but Im Sanghun soon summoned four more to imprison Xiao Han. As a result, Xiao Han used Combat Stealth and raised the dagger. He was saying, 'You summon a few, I will kill a few. I won't be polite with you!'

At this time, a kill prompt appeared on the screen.

Li Cangyu finally killed Song Bin using the most common Fireball skill.

Im Sanghun felt despair.

He played many games but today's game felt particularly suffocating. It felt like the other person had entered his head and guessed everything he was thinking…

The black crows' control skill was neutralized, the banshee group pull was sc.r.a.pped and even the operation of the most commonly used skeletons was several times more difficult than usual.

If it was just a simple trap map, Im Sanghun wouldn't worry. It wasn't difficult to operate the skeletons on a map full of traps at his level. However, it was hard for him after meeting Li Cangyu and Xiao Han today.

These two people had an excellent understanding of a demon summoner. Li Cangyu's pre-judgment was terrible and accurate. Xiao Han's style was also very simple. He killed skeletons and didn't have much of an impact on Im Sanghun's blood, but it completely disrupted Im Sanghun's attack rhythm.

Li Cangyu killed the blood kin summoner and turned towards Im Sanghun.

Now Xiao Han's strategy changed. The teenager flexibly bypa.s.sed the traps, quickly moved behind Im Sanghun and then used the Pain Blade control skill!

Im Sanghun knew this skill's cooldown was over. He saw Xiao Han go behind and moved sideways, avoiding this control in a thrilling manner.

The South Korean audience wanted to cheer for him when the next second, Li Cangyu called the wind spirit and used Wind and Clouds Destruction.

The wind spirit blew Im Sanghun directly into the bit pit next to him.

Im Sanghun fell into the Bamboo Sea trap!

The audience, "…"

Many viewers expressed sympathy for him while others gloated. [Cat G.o.d 6666!]

[Cat G.o.d's wind spirit is simply against the sky!] [First blowing into the lake, blowing down from the attic and then finally blowing it into the trap. The Korean team is really perfect today. Praise the Korean team!]

This final review perfectly summed up the conditions of the two games by Li Cangyu today. They expressed sympathy for the South Korean players blown into the water, downstairs and finally in a pit.

Im Sanghun fell into the trap and encountered the joint attacks of the mentor and apprentice. His blood plummeted and he was eventually killed by Xiao Han.

—Winner!

The golden words popped up on the big screen and many audience members stood up excitedly and cheered!

The match point was successfully won and the Chinese team entered the finals!

Many viewers were so excited that they shed tears. Even Xiao Han's eyes were hot. Li Cangyu stood up calmly and patted his apprentice's shoulder. He encouraged, "You played well. I didn't give you orders but you knew what to do. Your awareness is very good."

Xiao Han nodded happily and returned to the rest area with his master. The two of them received warm applause from the national team.

Cheng Wei wanted to pounce and praise his idol but Ling Xuefeng preempted him.

Ling Xuefeng hurried forward and pulled Li Cangyu into his arms. He whispered, "I knew you would have no problem playing this game. We won 3:1."

Li Cangyu smiled slightly, his voice slightly choked from excitement. "Okay, we're in the finals."

The year he left Miracle, he didn't expect to return here one day or become the captain of the national team. He led the team to kill together in the World Compet.i.tion along with Ling Xuefeng.

The grand finals.

The Chinese team successfully advanced to the finals of the World Compet.i.tion!

It was the day they had been waiting for. They stood side by side together at the peak of the world stage!

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Chapter 339 – Eve of the Finals

In the post-match interview, only Captain Park Joonseo and Vice-Captain Kim Yoonhee appeared for the South Korean team. Park Joonseo has always been a good person and was polite when answering the reporters' questions. However, there was a clear look of regret on his face after the South Korean team failed to reach the finals. "The result of this match was beyond my expectations. I can only say that our preparations before the match wasn't enough. After returning home, we will carefully summarize the lessons learnt. The players of our country will strive to win the World Compet.i.tion next year!"

A reporter asked, "Captain Park, what do you think about the strength of the Chinese team's captain, LI Cangyu?"

Park Joonseo thought about it before replying, "Li Cangyu is a very admirable player. I've heard his story and it isn't easy to persist for so many years. His personal level and commanding ability are first-cla.s.s."

Backstage, the brainless fan Cheng Wei watched the interview and immediately nodded in agreement. "Park Joonseo has a bit of vision. He knows how amazing our Cat G.o.d is?"

Ling Xuefeng gently wrapped an arm around Li Cangyu's shoulder. "It is difficult to gain the recognition of an opponent."

Li Cangyu smiled at him. "Yes."

In fact, he didn't care about other people's evaluations. He had received all types of criticisms when he first left Miracle and then when he returned. He wouldn't be able to persist if he cared too much about other people's opinions.

However, Park Joonseo was one of the world's top three summoners. Li Cangyu's mood was clear after being acknowledged by such a strong opponent. It was as clear as the sun being revealed after a storm.

On the other hand, Park Joonseo could barely maintain the smile on his face.

Many reporters from South Korea asked sharp questions in a rude and harsh tone.

After all, South Korean often won against China in other e-sports compet.i.tions. They couldn't accept that in the first Miracle World Compet.i.tion, South Korea actually lost to China.

The reporters' questions smashed the captain and vice-captain one after another. Vice-Captain Kim Yoonhee was a female player but her character was very straightforward. She was impatient with the reporters and her expression quickly sank. Park Joonseo still maintained his smile. He was obviously used to putting on a disguise in front of the reporters.

Li Cangyu suddenly felt sympathy for the two people.

If the Chinese team had lost, perhaps he and Ling Xuefeng would be the ones facing the reporters' bombardment?

He looked over at Ling Xuefeng and met his eyes. Ling Xuefeng seemed to have guessed Li Cangyu's thoughts and his hand on Li Cangyu's shoulder tightened slightly like silent support.

***

The Chinese team brought more people to the interview. In addition to Li Cangyu and Ling Xuefeng, there were several other G.o.ds who played an important role in today's compet.i.tion, Tan s.h.i.+tian, Su Guangmo, Lou Wushuang and Jiang Xu.

Li Cangyu brought all these people in order to give the reporters a chance for a comprehensive interview before the finals.

The domestic reporters were so excited that they immediately rushed to ask questions.

"Captain Tan, were you under a lot of pressure when you lost today's first game?"

“To tell you the truth?" Tan s.h.i.+tian smiled and glanced at Li Cangyu. "Cat G.o.d had me open the match but I didn't feel too much psychological pressure. It is because I knew there were many great G.o.ds behind me and had confidence in them."

"We saw you comforting Vice-Captain Cheng after the first game. How is he feeling now?"

"Cheng Wei is a single-celled animal. His emotions come and go quickly." Tan s.h.i.+tian's smile became gentler as he talked about Cheng Wei. "Once the first game was lost, his face fell like the sky. The moment the second game was won, he immediately came alive again. He had completely forgotten about the first game by the time the fourth game arrived."

Everyone, “…”

Then Cheng Wei's memory was less than 10 minutes?

Cheng Wei was watching the live broadcast and was unconvinced. "Can Tan s.h.i.+tian stop blackening me in every interview?"

The Time team's Lu Xiao whispered, "Is he blackening you? He keeps spoiling you."

Cheng Wei looked at him with confusion. "Lu Xiao, what are you whispering about?"

Lu Xiao immediately waved his hand. "Nothing! Hahaha, I am reviewing this game!"

Cheng Wei ignored him and continued to watch the screen.

In today's 3:1 match, the lost game was directed by Tan s.h.i.+tian but he didn't seem to mind at all. In the interview, he was outspoken about the losing game and very graceful. His face was handsome, especially the enlarged version on the big screen. He was handsome and had an affable smile.

Cheng Wei didn't realize that his gaze had been on someone's face for more than 10 seconds without moving away.

"Losing one or two games doesn't really matter. We can learn from the lost games and find out what we're missing. In fact, I lost the game I commanded today but I gained a lot from it. I believe that Cat G.o.d used this system to show you the strength of the new generation in the Chinese Miracle League." Tan s.h.i.+tian answered with a smile. "Xiao Han, Zhuo Hang and Qin Mo are the future of our Miracle League."

These words were endorsed by Li Cangyu. "Captain Tan is excellent. The lineup of the first game was based on temptation. My style is different from Captain Park and is more suitable for a steady play. Thus, I didn't send the strongest lineup in the first game. Captain Tan took some newcomers and got a score of 9:10. This is already great. If this lineup appears next year, I believe there will be a different ending!"

These words received warm applause from the reporters.

It could be seen that Li Cangyu's eyes weren't only on the World Compet.i.tion but on the future of the Miracle League.

Xiao Han, Qin Mo and Zhuo Hang were players less than 18 years old. One day, they would become the pillars of the Miracle League and the national team would depend on them. Thus, it was a reasonable choice to give them more opportunities in the First World Compet.i.tion.

After interviewing Tan s.h.i.+tian, a reporter asked Su Guangmo a question. "Captain Su didn't personally direct any of today's games but partic.i.p.ated in a team battle as Cat G.o.d's teammate. Do you want to be a commander in the finals?"

"It depends on the captain's arrangement." Su Guangmo readily smiled. "The goal of all our national team's players is the same. The commander doesn't matter as long as we can win!"

"Captain Lou played beautifully in today's underwater a.s.sa.s.sination and your cooperation with Vice-Captain Zhang has become more tacit. Many foreign reporters have given you the nickname of 'Cold Killer'. What do you think about this nickname?" The reporter s.h.i.+fted the question to Lou Wushuang.

"Well, it's good." Lou Wushuang replied while pus.h.i.+ng up his gla.s.ses.

"…" Interviewing the cold king was a very difficult matter. The reporter was choked up for a while before asking, "What does Captain Lou want to say to the domestic audience?"

"See you in the finals." Lou Wushuang replied in a calm tone that didn't fluctuate.

"…" The reporters decided to give up on interviewing him and turned to Jiang Xu. "Captain Jiang and Zhuo Hang are partners from different teams. Based on today's semi-finals, your cooperation is excellent. Was it hard during the training to form a partners.h.i.+p with a newcomer?"

"Fortunately, Zhuo Hang and I spent a lot of time in the arena on our side accounts. I don't feel that it is tiring and it is instead very interesting. The two of us might come from different teams but there is no sense of estrangement. This is because Zhuo Hang's level is very high and he immediately understands anything I say." Jiang Xu's tone was full of admiration for Zhuo Hang.

Backstage, Zhuo Hang immediately took out his phone and sent a message. [Senior praised me.]

Li Xiaojiang quickly replied: [I'm watching the live broadcast.]

Zhuo Hang: [You must come watch the finals, you hear me?]

[Yes, I'll come and cheer for you!]

Zhuo Hang put away his phone with a hint of a smile on his face. He didn't know if he would have a chance to play in the finals but Li Xiaojiang was his fixed partner. They should be in the same arena to witness it.

***

The reporters took turns interviewing and Ling Xuefeng received many questions, which was enough to show the popularity of Captain Ling.

He replied in a very serious tone. The questions he didn't like then he would directly skip. The reporters were used to this man's tough style and naturally didn't dare keep asking.

A reporter suddenly asked boldly, "Captain Ling, there is something I have always been curious about. In the World Compet.i.tion so far, the commander is often changed depending on the lineup of the group battle. However, we have never seen you appear with Cat G.o.d in the same team battle. If you one day appear in the same battle as Cat G.o.d, who will be the commander?"

The question stunned many journalists and viewers.

Li Cangyu and Ling Xuefeng were the captain and vice-captain of the national team. As long as one of them played, the hearts of the audience members were particularly solid. Thus, almost everyone ignored this question. What if both of them played at the same time? What type of image would appear?

The reporter's question ignited the curiosity of the crowd.

Another reporter stood up and asked, "Why don't we have Cat G.o.d answer this question?"

Li Cangyu and Ling Xuefeng glanced at each other before replying simultaneously, "He will command."

Everyone, “…”

Then who the h.e.l.l would command?

They didn't expect the connection to be to this degree. Ling Xuefeng gave a rare smile to the camera and said, "We usually discuss tactical issues and will negotiate to resolve any disagreements."

Li Cangyu nodded and continued, "However, a game is different. The situation on the field changes rapidly and the opponent won't give us the opportunity to discuss it slowly. If there is one day where both of us appears in the group battle, one person must be the commander and the other person must absolutely obey orders."

Ling Xuefeng spoke decisively, "If there are differences on the field, I will listen to him because I believe in him."

Li Cangyu, "…"

This simple sentence moved Li Cangyu's heart. To have a person who knew him, trusted him, supported him and was willing to join hands with him was G.o.d's greatest gift to him.

The reporter asked excitedly, "Then the last commander will be Cat G.o.d?"

Li Cangyu was no longer polite and smiled. "We don't have to worry too much about this matter. IN fact, if Xuefeng and I play the game, there is no need to give commands. With the tacit understanding between us, eye contact is enough. Of course, I will be in charge when necessary. Since Xuefeng said he would listen to me, shouldn't I give him some face?"

Ling Xuefeng nodded. "Yes."

Everyone, “…”

Cat G.o.d said this but Captain Ling was still so cooperative. This scene was really rare!

Li Cangyu joked before saying, "Many people are concerned about who can win the champions.h.i.+p. I want to see, the Chinese team will win!"

The captain's declaration caused the reporters to clap loudly.

From the beginning, everyone had been aiming for the champions.h.i.+p. They swept through the group stage with a victory record and they shockingly took down the South Korean rival team 3:1 in the semi-finals. Now that they had reached the finals and the champions.h.i.+p trophy was right in front of them, everyone would definitely try their best to win the highest honour.

***

The interview ended and they returned backstage. The players watching the live broadcast were thrilled by Li Cangyu's last sentence. Everyone put their hands together and shouted, "Refuel!" They excitedly rode back to the Miracle Village.

After returning to their room that evening, Li Cangyu sat on the sofa and closed his eyes tiredly.

His expression was calm in front of the reporters and he pretended to be relaxed in front of the players. Now he no longer needed to disguise himself. He didn't know how many brain cells he lost in the match today. He was actually very tired and didn't want to open his eyes.

Ling Xuefeng looked at his 'collapsed on the sofa' posture and suppressed his smile. He sat next to Li Cangyu and helped ma.s.sage his shoulder. His shoulder muscles were stiff from sitting in front of a computer for several hours. He felt very comfortable as they were ma.s.saged and pointed to his right shoulder. "This side as well."

He wasn't polite at all. LIng Xuefeng pressed on the left and right shoulder, his voice low and gentle, "Have a good rest tonight. The tactics for the finals can be discussed another day. No matter the outcome of the finals, I will face it with you."

Li Cangyu heard this and suddenly opened his eyes.

He was lying on the sofa and his angle of looking up was just right. The light was behind Ling Xuefeng and his face wasn't very clear, but his eyes were particularly deep and bright.

Li Cangyu's heart jerked and he took the initiative to extend his arms and hug the other person's neck, pulling this person towards himself. Ling Xuefeng followed and planted a gentle kiss on Li Cangyu's lips.

'No matter the result, you are with me.'

This sentence was the most long-lasting confession of life between them.

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Chapter 340 – China VS USA (Best Wishes Before the Game)

The finals of the World Compet.i.tion would be held at 10 a.m. on October 12th. There were three days left before the final battle.

The players of the national team rushed to the training room early the next morning. Once the door opened, Li Cangyu was sitting down and looking at the data while Ling Xuefeng turned on the projector and inserted the USB flash drive into the laptop he brought with him.

Once all the players arrived, Li Cangyu put down the data and swept over the people present. "The finals is three days away. How do you feel? Are you nervous?"

Cheng Wei excitedly raised his hands first,. "I'm a bit nervous but also excited!"

Tan s.h.i.+tian smiled slightly and said, "You were really excited. You dreamt of playing the game last night and said a bunch of things like you want to abuse the American team."

Cheng Wei's face was red with embarra.s.sment as he grabbed his head. "There was something like that?"

Tan s.h.i.+tian nodded. "Yes."

He also punched the pillow for a way, wanting to fight the US team in his dream.

"Don't mention it Xiao Wei, I am also very excited. I dreamt that we won the champions.h.i.+p last night." Li Cangyu stated.

"No wonder why you're in such a good mood today. It turned out to be a good dream." Ling Xuefeng looked over at him. "I have a hunch that your dream will come true."

“I think so too." Li Cangyu smiled. "It wasn't easy for us to kill all the way to the finals. In the last game, I hope that everyone can adjust their mentality, play well and play to our true standards. Don't leave regrets in the World Compet.i.tion."

"I understand!" Everyone nodded to show their understanding.

The finals would have tremendous pressure, especially since this was the United States' home. Putting aside the benefits of the location, any players with a poor psychological quality could easily make mistakes.

Li Cangyu was right. This compet.i.tion didn't require everyone to play in an extraordinary manner. It was enough to stabilize their mentality and play to their usual level.

***

The PPT made by Ling Xuefeng was still simple and clear. Li Cangyu opened the file and gave the overall introduction and tactical a.n.a.lysis.

"The captain of the US team, Noah is currently the number one black magician in the world. The vice-captain Winfrey is regarded as a G.o.ddess by the American netizens and is an excellent healer. There are also the blood kin summoner Jack Josh, the archer Thomas, the a.s.sa.s.sin Edmund and the swordsman Benjamin. Everyone one of them is world-cla.s.s level."

"In terms of lineup configuration, the US team is very comprehensive. They have several styles of play that they are good at, such as the a.s.sa.s.sination stream with Edmund as the core, the summoner stream with Jack as the core and the black magician play with Noah as the core. Their strength is equal to our national team." Li Cangyu paused and said, "It isn't easy to win against the US team. Everyone needs to prepare for a tough five games."

It was a compet.i.tion involving masters. The difference between winning and losing was one thought. Li Cangyu couldn't guarantee that the Chinese team would win but at the very least, they should try their best in every game.

Moreover, the lineup when facing a very strong team was critical. The Chinese team had to carefully consider the deployment of personnel and be fully ready to play five games. If all the G.o.ds were sent in the beginning and couldn't be sent in the next game, the other side could counterattack.

South Korea made this mistake in the semi-finals. Park Joonseo was too anxious and sent many star players in the opening in order to kill the Chinese team in one breath. The result was that the Chinese team sent stronger players in the later stages and killed the Korean team. Being too confident wasn't a good thing and they should maintain a stable game.

Next, Li Cangyu chose several countermeasures for the various lineups of the US team, had the leaders choose fixed teammates and let everyone fight each other.

Everyone started to train carefully and none of them dared slack off.

Time pa.s.sed extremely quickly. Three days later, the Chinese team had breakfast at the restaurant and met the US team. Like the last time he met the Korean team, Li Cangyu took the initiative to say to the US team's vice-captain Winfrey. "I'm cheering for you."

His English wasn't very good but daily communication wasn't a problem.

Winfrey heard this sentence and wasn't very surprised. She replied, "I heard that you cheered on the Korean team before the game. The result was that the Korean team lost?"

Li Cangyu replied in a straightforward manner. "Yes, today the US team might also lose. It is because my cheering contains a very strong negative state. Under this state, you will make a mistake."

Winfrey smiled. "Is this the mysterious Oriental force?"

Li Cangyu joked, "Yes, we call it poison milk. It is toxic milk powder and eating it will force people into a bad state."

Winfrey questioned, "Poisonous milk powder?"

Li Cangyu demonstrated it with gestures. Winfrey obviously failed to understand what poisonous milk powder meant and looked at Li Cangyu with a puzzled expression.

Ling Xuefeng saw him and the big beauty of the US team talking and laughing and finally couldn't help walking over to say h.e.l.lo to Winfrey. Then he placed an arm around Li Cangyu's shoulder and dragged him away. "I grabbed you a plate of grilled fish. Go to eat it."

Li Cangyu heard fish and immediately treated the beauty Winfrey as air. He turned to eat fish with Ling Xuefeng.

WInfrey was confused and after a moment of thinking, she smiled. "The captain of the Chinese team is really interesting."

In the group stage and semi-finals, she just smiled and pa.s.sed by when meeting the captains of other captains yet Li Cangyu could speak a few words to her. He might be an opponent but he didn't seem very resistant to the American team. His expression was very relaxed when chatting, which showed he was actually very confident.

Only those who weren't afraid of their opponents could talk to their opponents.

Li Cangyu could do this, showing that his mental strength was extremely strong.

Such a person wasn't easy to deal with. It seemed they had to be more careful in today's match. Winfrey looked thoughtfully at the backs of Ling Xuefeng and Li Cangyu and frowned slightly before turning to join her American teammates.

***

At 9 o'clock in the morning, the venue was already filled with spectators.

Since the game was held in the US and the US team had entered the finals, more than 80% of the audience were Americans. Everyone wore the uniform of the national team and many people raised the flags to cheer for their team.

From a distance, the venue was a sea of stars and stripes.

There were very few Chinese people on the scene. There were overseas Chinese holding the national flag to cheer and some diehard fans who specifically flew abroad to watch the match. In the ocean surrounded by American audiences, these forces seemed small and insignificant but they tried their best to support the national team.

On the way backstage, the Chinese team could see the situation at the venue. The proportion of the American audience was terrible. The US team would definitely get a cheer if they played well.

Li Cangyu looked back at everyone and patiently told them, "Today we are an away game. Everyone has seen it. The playing field isn't very favourable to us. However, we don't have to care about the reaction of the audience. Once the game starts, just keep an eye on the computer. Don't be distracted or think too much."

He spoke while walking backstage with his teammates. Unexpectedly, Liu Chuan the owner of the Dragon Song Club actually came backstage with other members of the team.

Gu Siming rushed over excitedly at the sight of Li Cangyu. "Cat G.o.d, are you ready?"

Li Cangyu hadn't seen him for a long time and this little guy was still crazy. He smiled and patted Gu Siming on the shoulder. "I'm ready."

Zhang Jueming laughed. "Haha, I believe in Cat G.o.d's level. We will be waiting to celebrate you winning the champions.h.i.+p!"

Li Xiaojiang stood behind them and didn't dare to speak. Zhuo Hang took the initiative to go over and rub the head of the small snail. "This year, you cam as an audience member. Next year, you will be selected for the national team and personally partic.i.p.ate in the World Compet.i.tion."

Li Xiaojiang's eyes brightened but he still wasn't very confident. "R-Really?"

Zhuo Hang's eyes were firm. "Yes, I believe in you."

This year, there were too many great G.o.ds in the national team. Uncle Zhang wasn't allowed because of the age problem but Xiaojiang and Xiao Gu's level wasn't bad. It was because of the fierce compet.i.tion that they failed to get tickets to the national team.

Zhuo Hang believed that in the next World Compet.i.tion, the little madman and little snail would no longer be sitting in the audience but would be the best masters of the national team.

***

Liu Chuan ran backstage as a representative of the e-sports league to cheer for the national team. He also brought a large package of snacks for Li Cangyu. Li Cangyu touched his nose and wondered, "What is the meaning of sending snacks before the match?"

"This isn't what I sent." Liu Chuan smiled. "Someone commissioned me to bring it."

Li Cangyu took a look. The big box contained a postcard with a few lines of clear small words. The writing was beautiful and pleasing. It should be a girl's handwriting.

[h.e.l.lo Cat G.o.d, this is from the fans of Canglan. We can't go to the other side of the Earth to personally watch but we will be cheering for you."

[I entrusted G.o.d Chuan to bring you a few packets of dried fish as a snack. I hope it will give you energy ：）]

[In seven years, I haven't forgotten my first heart. No matter the outcome of today's match, you will always be our pride.]

Li Cangyu had experienced countless lows in recent years. He never cried when losing many matches but his eyes now felt feverish. His didn't have the most fans but they were the most intimate and moving. Perhaps it was because he had experienced too much wind and rain that the people who stayed in the end really understood him and were deeply loyal.

[In seven years, I haven't forgotten my first heart.]

Today he finally stood on the highest stage of the world and he wouldn't let down people's expectations of him.

Li Cangyu put away the snacks box and smiled. "The match is about to begin. We should go to the bathroom quickly and then prepare to face the US team!"

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Chapter 341 – China VS USA (Start)

At 10 o'clock in the morning, the match finally started.

It was the first time explaining the finals of the World Compet.i.tion. Kou Hongyi's voice was trembling from excitement. "Audience members, this is the first finals of the Miracle World Compet.i.tion! It is 10 in the morning US team and it is evening in China. I believe that many audience friends are sitting in front of the computer to watch this match live! Everyone should be as excited as I am at this time. I won't speak much nonsense. The match has started and the captains have entered the draw stage!"

The Chinese team's captain Li Cangyu and the US team's captain Noah sat in the command position and waited for the referee to start the draw. The images on the screen rolled quickly and the result emerged after 10 seconds.

The US team was first and the Chinese team would act second.

There was a burst of applause from the American audience at the venue. It could be seen that those who came to watch the match today were enthusiastic.

Noah's personality was calmer and he remained stoic after the draw. He soon submitted the mode of the game, death racing.

The game map was the American team's home maps of Doomsday Crisis and Hollywood Universal Studios and the official map Frost Temple.

Neither map had appeared in previous matches and it was clear that the US team had been confident of reaching the grand final, hiding their ace maps until the end.

According to the map names, the Doomsday Crisis map would be darker and there would be more traps or obstacles. Hollywood Universal Studios was likely to be a maze, or a complex map with many changes. Li Cangyu carefully considered for a moment and thought that the probability of Universal Studios being a pit was too great. He banned Universal Studios and left Doomsday Crisis.

Captain Noah's expression didn't change as he submitted the partic.i.p.ants list.

The game was played by a paladin, two blood kin summoners and two blood kin a.s.sa.s.sins.

Li Cangyu was slightly stunned. Not bad, Noah sent a pure blood kin lineup showing that the Doomsday Crisis map was more complicated than Li Cangyu thought.

"The American team sent people after Cat G.o.d picked the map. It is obvious that his lineup is tailored to this map! How should Cat G.o.d respond to crack it?" Kou Hongyi couldn't help being a bit anxious.

"We should be able to send a targeted team." Yu Bing thought about it. "For example, sending the same a.s.sa.s.sination squad by letting Captain Lou, Vice-Captain Zhang, Xiao Han and Qin Mo play. But in this case… both sides are invisible and their familiarity with the map is higher than us. In fact, we have no advantage."

"Kite flow doesn't seem to work. After all, archers and magicians have weak defense and the four blood kin a.s.sa.s.sins can kill them in seconds. A kite flow simply can't fight against them."

"Let's wait for Cat G.o.d's choice." Yu Bing decided to give up on speculation. After all, Li Cangyu would have a more comprehensive idea and perhaps also wanted to take into account the next few rounds. He would definitely choose the most suitable system.

Li Cangyu thought for a long time and didn't submit the list until the countdown was almost over.

—Su Guangmo, Yu Pingsheng, Meng Jie, Liu Xiang and Jiang Xu.

"This lineup is relatively biased and has never appeared in previous matches. In terms of configuration, it is feasible in dealing with the pure blood kin a.s.sa.s.sination route. Yu Bing stated calmly. "In death racing, the Red Fox captain Liu Xiang will serve as the healer to ensure the team's survival. Even if they are hit by a first wave of attacks, the second wave can recover some gaps."

Kou Hongyi nodded in agreement. "A hunter can restrain the blood kin race. As long as Jiang Xu places a pile of traps on the road, the blood kin's stealth will be neutralized. Yu Pingsheng and Meng Jie are defensive warriors were high defense and won't be easy to kill in seconds. The US team's breakthrough in this lineup should be Captain Su. Relatively speaking, Captan Su's defense is inferior to a berserker and will be easier to kill."

Yu Bing added, "The key depends on the location where the players refresh on the map. If Captain Su is alone, it will indeed be very unfavourable. On the other hand, if he and Vice-Captain Yu are close together, he won't be afraid of even four blood kin players."

The two commentators a.n.a.lyzed the lineup and the venue started to show the map.

Doomsday Crisis was as dark as Li Cangyu expected.

The Americans were fond of doomsday sci-fi movies. This map was the same with a grey sky, desolate streets, abandoned factories, collapsed buildings… and zombies!

The moment the zombies were scene, the Chinese team's players showed an expression of disgust. Other countries had the Australian koalas, the Spanish bulls, the South Korean magpies and the Chinese pandas. They weren't visually disgusting and the pandas and koalas were especially cute.

Now the US team added a bunch of zombies to their map!

Were they so addicted to making movies that they added it to a map?

***

Li Cangyu returned to the rest area and shrugged helplessly. "I thought Universal Studios would be more pitted and chose this. However, this doomsday map doesn't seem very good to play. After all, the United States is the official location of the Miracle League and the level of the map designers is very high. The most difficult official Miracle maps were designed by them."

Su Guangmo touched his chin and pondered the map. "Based on the map, these zombies are aggressive. According to the skill colours of Miracle, the black fog causes negative effects. People who encounter zombies will lose a lot of blood."

Liu Xiang frowned. "I hate doomsday movies."

The manly Meng Jie was full of excitement. "It looks very interesting!"

Jiang Xu spoke calmly, "The key is that we don't know where the zombies will refresh. Just like in doomsday adventure movies, the US team is equivalent to native humans while we're outsiders unfamiliar with the environment. In the event where a battle hasn't occurred yet, we will be affected by the zombies' negative states and will suffer from the beginning."

Li Cangyu nodded in agreement. "Thus, you must be careful when moving forward and don't be hit by zombies."

This was really a doomsday adventure game!

Cheng Wei wasn't playing but he was very excited by this image. "Can these zombies be killed? Like killing the mobs, can you directly kill it with a group attack?"

Tan s.h.i.+tian thought for a moment before replying, "No more information is available at the moment but these zombies should be cla.s.sified as active environmental barriers. Since there is a blood gauge above their heads, it should be possible to kill them."

Cheng Wei looked closely and found that sure enough, all the zombies had a blood gauge above their heads. In other words, there were two ways to deal with the zombies. One was to avoid them and the other was to kill them. According to the map designer's pit levels, the zombies might release more annoying negative states after being killed, such as self-destruction.

The US team's lineup also had masters present. Edmund was even higher in the a.s.sa.s.sin rankings than Lou Wushuang while the blood kin summoner Jack Josh was a great G.o.d like Ling Xuefeng.

Xie Shurong took the initiative to come to his brother Su Guangmo. "Edmund is low-key but he was the team captain of this year's runner-up team in the US League. Jack's style is violent but he is very grumpy and has never acted as a commander in the ICE team, only an attacker. Edmund should be the commander of this game."

Ah Shu had played in the US for three years and naturally knew a lot about the American Miracle League.

Su Guangmo nodded. "I understand."

The map finished being shown. Su Guangmo remembered the terrain of the map and tidied it up in his mind. Then he took the players to the computer and sat down.

The players on both sides quickly refreshed on the map. DUe to the random refresh position of death racing, Su Guangmo could only use the mini-map to judge the positions of his teammates while the five people of the US were unknown.

Unfortunately, he appeared along in an abandoned factory in the upper left corner of the map. Yu Pingsheng and Meng Jie refreshed in a collapsed building in the lower right corner, Liu Xiang was in the open street while Jiang Xu was the most tragic and directly refreshed in a parking lot at the bottom of the map.

According to the panoramic view of the map just now, the parking lot was the place with the most zombies!

Su Guangmo immediately ordered, "Captain Jiang, be careful. Go around the side to meet the healer. The two berserkers, come over as soon as possible to protect them."

Jiang Xu's refresh position was tragic but the good thing was that he and Liu Xiang were relatively close. Even if the zombies had poison, Liu Xiang could resolve it.

It was Su Guangmo who was far from his teammates.

According to the death racing settings, the map refresh positions should be uniform with a total of 10 set refresh points. The Chinese team had three people in the lower half, one in the middle and one in the upper half. This meant the US team should be the opposite. One person was in the lower half, one in the middle and three in the upper half.

In other words, Su Guangmo was likely to have three people of the US team around him.

At this time, Su Guangmo could see a pile of sc.r.a.p metal and a few zombies moving slowly. He couldn't see anyone else.

Were the players of the American team all invisible?

Su Guangmo moved forward while changing his angle of view to observe the environment. He had just taken two steps when there was a cold flash behind him.

—Pain Blade!

The American team's a.s.sa.s.sin, Edmund finally showed his figure from the darkness.

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