Chapter 185 Useless Struggles

The instant Yan Tianxing activated Stealth and vanished, Zhao Yueru summoned her Lord-ranked Icefire Leopard to stand guard beside her, immediately following up with Dual Quick Chant.

First-tier magic, Flame Orb!

First-tier magic, Rain of Fire!

Both skills were large-area-of-effect attacks, optimal for detecting assassins.

The moment an assassin revealed himself, his combat power would instantly plummet by half. After all, the most formidable aspect of the assassin class lay in assassination, especially the initial strike. In a head-on battle, they were inferior to Berserkers and Swordsmen.

Streams of fire swept toward the direction where Yan Tianxing had disappeared, instantly transforming the area into a sea of flames.

However, the two skills failed to unearth the stealthed Yan Tianxing. He remained as silent and imperceptible as if he didn't exist on the stage.

"Crimson Flame Witch is already fast enough, and yet Yan Tianxing didn't appear. Just how fast is he?"

"Worthy of being the second-ranked assassin on the Pro List. Such incredible concealment techniques! I clearly saw him disappear, yet I can't even detect his aura."

"That's nothing. When Yan Tianxing vanished, I activated my Five Senses Enhancement and still couldn't find him."

The contestants below the stage watched the fiery expanse with growing astonishment.

Zhao Yueru had unleashed Dual Chant the moment the match began, which was barely over a second, but two large-area magic skills had failed to expose Yan Tianxing.

What surprised the contestants even more was Yan Tianxing's concealment skill.

The stage was no different from the area below, except that damage couldn't pass through the magical barrier set up on the stage. However, observation and perception skills were unaffected.

Yet, many contestants had used observation and perception skills and failed to find the vanished Yan Tianxing. This was the first time they had encountered such a situation, especially since observation and perception skills were specifically designed to counter stealth skills.

Currently, Zhao Yueru on the stage had also activated her Perception skill, allowing her to easily detect stealthed players within a 40-yard radius, carefully sensing her surroundings.

Assassins were unlike other classes. If a stealthed assassin successfully ambushed, a magic-based class would be basically instantly killed. Only high-defense, high-HP plate-armor classes could withstand an assassin's initial burst.

Therefore, she couldn't allow the stealthed Yan Tianxing to get close.

"Useless struggles," Yi Luofei below the stage said with a faint smile.

Guild Leader Yan Tianxing possessed the True Orb, which directly elevated the strength of the assassin class by one level. Otherwise, he wouldn't have wanted to challenge Youguang, the number one assassin of the Black Dragon Empire, an existence even the super-first-rate guild Dragon Phoenix Pavilion couldn't deal with.

One of the effects of the True Orb was to increase the effect of stealth-related skills by 100%, which directly halved the effect of perception skills. Originally, one could detect within 40 yards, but now one needed to be within 20 yards.

Don't underestimate the loss of those 20 yards. It was a distance of life and death, allowing the assassin to use Shadow Steps to instantly close in for an ambush.

On the stage, Yan Tianxing had quietly circled behind Zhao Yueru, less than 25 yards away, patiently waiting for the opportunity to strike.

Although Shadow Steps could instantly bring him behind Zhao Yueru, she was an Elementalist. As long as her reaction was quick enough, she could instantly use skills like Blink or Invincibility to counter the ambush. Thus, he needed to find a blind spot to attack from, leaving Zhao Yueru with no time to react.

However, Zhao Yueru was no rookie. Every player had their weaknesses and blind spots, especially their back. Therefore, Zhao Yueru had her Icefire Leopard stay behind her, not only blocking her field of vision to reduce blind spots but also unleashing a powerful counterattack the moment Yan Tianxing attacked or stunned her.

For a moment, everyone saw Zhao Yueru standing alone in the center of the vast stage, constantly using zero-tier skills to bombard as if fighting the air.

Meanwhile, Yan Tianxing in the shadows continued to circle around Zhao Yueru, constantly looking for an opportunity.

After another two or three minutes, Yan Tianxing couldn't help but admire Zhao Yueru. She didn't give him the slightest chance, especially with the Lord-ranked Icefire Leopard present. There was no chance to strike.

"Looks like I have to use that move," Yan Tianxing said with a bitter smile as he looked at the flawless Zhao Yueru.

Suddenly, Yan Tianxing transformed into two identical individuals, indistinguishable in terms of attributes and appearance. Both were in Stealth.

This move was the True Illusion skill of the True Orb, which could summon an identical clone. This clone possessed 100% of the player's attributes and all learned skills, completely equivalent to the player, without distinction between the original and the clone, lasting for three minutes. Moreover, during this period, as long as either the original or the clone was alive, the player would not die.

Using this move immediately turned the original one-on-one situation into a two-on-one, and with two top experts, their coordination was flawless. Even a monster that had mastered the Domain would probably be no match. After all, both were the player themselves, and the combined combat power wasn't as simple as one plus one.

Of course, controlling two bodies was very difficult. Even ordinary experts could only barely manage it. Only a vacuum realm expert like Yan Tianxing could achieve perfect control.

Just as Yan Tianxing activated the True Orb, Zhao Yueru in the center of the stage stopped using magic bombardment and took a deep breath, looking around.

"Since you don't want to come out, then I'll force you out!" Zhao Yueru waved the Icefire Wrath in her hand.

Instantly, a semi-transparent barrier spread out from Zhao Yueru, almost instantly enveloping a radius of 100 yards, directly covering most of the stage.

This move was the second skill of the Icefire Wrath, Icefire Space, which could form its own world, similar to a Domain.

Yan Tianxing on the stage only felt his attributes constantly plummeting, eventually only having 70% left, while Zhao Yueru's aura grew stronger and stronger, improving considerably.

"How could this be!" Yi Luofei watched Zhao Yueru on the stage in astonishment.

At this moment, two more Zhao Yuerus appeared on the stage, one wearing a fire-red robe and the other wearing an ice-blue robe. The attributes of the two clones were exactly the same as Zhao Yueru herself, and both exuded a terrifying aura.

"Die!"

Yan Tianxing knew things were bad. Letting the original and two clones bombard the stage at will could easily force him out. Immediately, Yan Tianxing used Shadow Steps to appear behind Zhao Yueru. The two daggers in his hands drew two dazzling silver arcs, directly aimed at the back of Zhao Yueru's head and heart, silently and without any killing intent, making it impossible to feel any threat.

"So fast!" Although Zhao Yueru had been fully alert, she only noticed when Yan Tianxing appeared and swung his dagger.

However, when the dagger was an inch away from Zhao Yueru, it suddenly disappeared and instantly appeared 15 yards away, dodging Yan Tianxing's ambush at the last moment.

"That was close!" Zhao Yueru watched the revealed Yan Tianxing and breathed a sigh of relief. If this wasn't a match and she hadn't been on high alert, she would have already become a ghost under his blade.

However, just as Zhao Yueru relaxed, another Yan Tianxing appeared behind Zhao Yueru at some point.

First-tier forbidden skill, Shadow Blade!

Instantly, Yan Tianxing disappeared, then instantly appeared in front of Zhao Yueru. Six shadows suddenly burst out from Zhao Yueru's heart, dealing over 30,000 damage each. Six consecutive hits instantly cleared her over 80,000 health.

"This is too terrifying!" Everyone watched Zhao Yueru being instantly killed, utterly stunned.

Who could withstand such an assassination?

However, just as everyone thought the match was over, the victory announcement never came. Instead, the Zhao Yueru clones standing on both sides revealed a cunning smile and simultaneously waved the Icefire Wrath in their hands.