Chapter 45 The Collapse of Tian Nu

Tian Nu finally fell. In his valiant struggle, he managed to deal a little damage to Lord Grim, shaving off about a tenth of his health.

But what pleased him even more was the sense that he had accomplished his mission of depleting Lord Grim's mana quite well.

Lord Grim had consumed a mana potion midway through the match, the most effective kind, restoring about 20% of his mana. However, after completely defeating Tian Nu, Lord Grim's remaining mana was only at 25%.

At this point, it wasn't just Team Wuji who noticed Lord Grim's mana problem. Ordinary players, too, had discovered through this match that Lord Grim's mana consumption was shockingly high.

After all, one-versus-three situations happened from time to time, both in the pro scene and in online gaming. Especially in online games, the skill gap between players was often more exaggerated, making one-versus-three scenarios even more common.

In a "sandbag" style one-versus-three, mana would never be a burden. While Lord Grim's fight against Tian Nu wasn't as extreme as a sandbag match, he at least had an overwhelming advantage. In such a situation, to nearly exhaust his mana, even after using a mana potion, and still only have 25% left, Lord Grim's mana consumption was simply too high.

And from the match itself, the audience could see it to some extent. Lord Grim's mana consumption was so high because his attack power was somewhat low. The damage output wasn't high enough for the mana expended.

Some of the smarter, higher-level players, seeing Lord Grim's remaining mana and reflecting on the course of the match, had already figured out Team Wuji's intentions.

The Spellblade Ren Quanye had taken his seat on Team Wuji's side of the arena. The decisive round of the individual competition, the characters each side would use, was clear for all to see.

Players naturally knew the Spellblade's defensive capabilities. If defeating a Qigong Master took so much effort, how could 25% of his remaining mana be enough against a Spellblade?

Team Happy had fallen into the trap!

The spectators eager to slap Happy in the face were incredibly excited to realize this. It was a sure thing, they had finally encountered a sure thing. They could finally mock Happy with confidence, right?

It was just a pity that fewer spectators wanting to see Happy fail had come today; even they thought that with such an advantage, Happy wouldn't lose. Speaking of which, there was another regret: although the individual competition was a sure win, Team Wuji would still have to win the team competition to tie. After tying, they would have to win the additional team competition to win completely. If Team Wuji were still eliminated by then, the mockery would seem particularly pointless.

But what did it matter?

Seeing Happy fall for it, and that defeat in the individual competition was inevitable, the spectators finally cheered and waved their flags excitedly.

He An smiled as he watched the audience's taunts, not afraid of their chatter. If the audience could see something, surely Happy's experts would know it too? But unfortunately, it was too late.

Seeing the countdown of three, two, one begin, He An took a deep breath to steady his nerves. Ren Quanye loaded into the match. The fifth round of the individual competition, the deciding round, had finally begun.

The map was the same as before. He An felt he didn't need much planning. A character with no mana was a lamb to the slaughter.

Ren Quanye moved casually, and He An even had the leisure to admire the scenery of the map.

Red Flower Pavilion?

He wasn't too familiar with this map. The sky full of red flowers created a unique scene! But the map didn't seem to have any particularly notable features. He hadn't seen Happy utilize it in any of the previous matches.

Thinking of this, He An suddenly felt a tinge of unease.

Yes, up until now, this map hadn't shown any signs of being a home-field advantage. Could Happy's choice of this map be meaningless?

But… no matter how they utilized the map, how much could they do with 25% mana?

Thinking of this, He An calmed down again. Ren Quanye moved forward, and he could vaguely see Lord Grim's figure diagonally opposite him, rapidly approaching through the red flowers.

Coming quickly, are they? But of course, would he delay and rely on automatic mana regeneration? With his consumption, how long would he have to wait for that? Thinking this, He An had Ren Quanye actively meet him.

The Spellblade and Qigong Master were similar, their skills mostly being mid-range attacks. Facing a shapeshifter, they would similarly be at a disadvantage. But He An didn't care. He charged into Lord Grim's attack range without hesitation.

He An believed that Lord Grim wouldn't waste his time with long-range attacks, as that would just waste mana.

Sure enough, Ren Quanye, entering Lord Grim's attack range, only received ordinary shots from him, not a single skill.

He An confidently continued to advance Ren Quanye, and the audience channel erupted in laughter. Everyone saw Lord Grim's predicament and offered suggestions on how Ren Quanye should abuse him.

He An couldn't see these suggestions, of course. He was still focused on Lord Grim's mana, even more so than his health. However, Lord Grim was only using ordinary attacks, so his mana wasn't decreasing.

Ordinary attacks couldn't stop Ren Quanye's momentum. As soon as he entered the Spellblade's attack range, Ren Quanye immediately unleashed a soul-stirring Ice Blade Wave Sword, a shard of ice rolling along the ground.

He An was deliberately taunting his opponent!

Having just entered the attack range, how could the slow-casting Ice Blade Wave Sword hit its target? He An was intentionally wasting a skill, showing Lord Grim, who was saving mana by using ordinary attacks, what he could do.

Lord Grim dodged the attack in a normal way, moving forward and still approaching Ren Quanye.

Still thinking of getting close? What can you do up close with so little mana? Although He An thought this, he couldn't intentionally let Lord Grim approach and become a punching bag. So he immediately launched an attack, generously throwing out various Wave Swords and Wave Formations.

The map was instantly covered by Ren Quanye's Wave Formations. However, none of them managed to trap Lord Grim. Lord Grim's erratic movements, his precise grasp of the Wave Formation's range, allowed him to slip past the edges, leaving one Wave Formation after another behind.

Wonderful!

Even He An had to admit that his continuous deployment of Wave Formations was useless against Lord Grim, who seemed to ignore them completely. But so what? Even if you reached me, could you kill me?

Ground Crack Wave Sword!

Ren Quanye suddenly unleashed a sword, this low-level skill activating very quickly. But unfortunately, Lord Grim dodged it nimbly, and Lord Grim finally launched his skill attacks.

Anti-Tank Shell!

Lord Grim, having dodged the Ground Crack Wave Sword with a sidestep, revealed the muzzle of the Myriad Manifestations Umbrella, spitting out flames. Three shells, positioned in a triangle, were fired in a Triangular Shot. At this distance, He An didn't have time to react. Ren Quanye barely managed to dodge, but was still hit by two of the shells.

In the smoke of the explosion, Ren Quanye was pushed back by the blast wave. Being hit by the Anti-Tank Shell wouldn't flip the character over.

With a flash of sword light, Lord Grim followed up with a Standing Thrust, quickly catching up to Ren Quanye, stabbing him with the sword, then following with an Upward Slash. The combo was about to begin in mid-air.

Silver Light Falling Blade!

He An didn't want to let Lord Grim put on a show, so he used Silver Light Falling Blade the moment he was launched into the air, twisting his body to fall to the side. But a sword light flashed, and Ren Quanye's landing position was already within Lord Grim's grasp. A Draw Sword Strike sent the still-airborne Ren Quanye flying.

Sliding Kick, Knee Strike.

Lord Grim used two consecutive skills to chase down the flying Ren Quanye, not letting him touch the ground. Ren Quanye's Silver Light Falling Blade was still on cooldown, and Spellblades didn't have the refined sword techniques that Sword Masters had. Whether it was a Wave Sword or Wave Formation, they were broad and sweeping, more domineering than precise. In a delicate combo attack, it was difficult for a Spellblade to regain control.

Moreover, the one controlling Lord Grim was Ye Xiu, using a shapeshifting style that He An couldn't even begin to keep up with.

Ren Quanye was being beaten around, unable to resist. But He An remained calm. Lord Grim's aggressive assault was consuming mana quickly. He looked at his own health and was confident that he wouldn't be drained of his life with just 25% mana. Wait until your mana is gone, and see what you can do!

He An thought so, but it was quite embarrassing to be abused like this by Lord Grim. He An tried a few things to no avail, and to cover up his embarrassment, he started typing.

"Is it useful? With your mana, how can you kill me?" Ren Quanye sent the message in the chat.

"Heh." Lord Grim even took the time to reply, but the two words "heh" seemed like mockery, as if he didn't take He An's words seriously at all.

"Still laughing? You won't be laughing soon enough! Your mana bar is turning red!" He An said. Of course, the mana bar didn't turn red like the health bar when it dropped to 10%. But He An was pretending to be relaxed and humorous, hinting that his mana was only at 10% and he was finished.

Just then, He An suddenly noticed Lord Grim's attack pause.

A weakness!

Was I distracting him with my words?

He An thought, and his hands didn't falter. He landed quickly with a Silver Light Falling Blade, then followed with several backhops. When he turned his view, he was stunned.

How was Lord Grim different from what he had seen?

Yes, it was different, because everything on Lord Grim, from head to toe, was no longer the same equipment as before.

"Heh," Lord Grim said again with a smile. "Changing equipment, almost out of mana!"