Chapter 317 Underestimate

"Xu Bin of 301 defeated Xu Bin of Tiny Herb?" Pan Lin repeated Li Yibo's words.

"Of course, I definitely don't mean that the Xu Bin of the past was stronger than the current one. I'm just saying that the thing that restrains Xu Bin's style the most is precisely himself and the Tide knight character combination," Li Yibo quickly explained.

"Understood!" Pan Lin nodded.

301 got off to a good start and took the lead, and the scene was filled with cheers. However, immediately following that, in the second and third individual matches and the team arena, they were immediately hit by a small climax of consecutive victories from Team Tiny Herb. In the end, Team 301 was down 1 to 4 in the individual matches. The scene was no longer filled with joy, but with sighs.

At this time, news came from other matches. Team Howling defeated Team Mighty River 3 to 2 in the away game in the individual matches. Team Hundred Blossoms led Team Royal Wind 4 to 1 entering the team competition. Another highly anticipated match, Team Happy versus Team Thunder, was the most decisive, 5 to 0! Team Happy didn't let Team Thunder get a single point in the individual matches.

Pan Lin and Li Yibo were also analyzing the current situation during the mid-game break. Team 301, which was already behind in the standings, was in an even more difficult situation. Although Team Thunder was behind by more, they had a lead, so their situation was slightly better than Team 301.

The team competition between 301 and Tiny Herb had not yet started, but other matches had already begun. Pan Lin and Li Yibo naturally paid attention to them. The match between Happy and Thunder was undoubtedly their top priority. As a result, they were greatly surprised when they saw the starting lineup for this team competition.

"Ye Xiu isn't on!" Pan Lin exclaimed in surprise.

"No way?" Li Yibo answered subconsciously, and quickly looked at the information in front of him. It was understandable that Ye Xiu didn't play in the last team competition. After all, Team Lightweight wasn't strong, and it was necessary for Ye Xiu, as the main core, to take this opportunity to rest. The old generals of Team Tyranny had rotated for an entire season, but Ye Xiu, who was about the same age as them, had almost a full attendance record.

After seeing Team Tyranny's deliberate rotation and maintenance, everyone began to realize that the reason why Ye Xiu didn't play in the team arena was probably to reduce some consumption. After all, in the team arena, he sometimes had to face more than one opponent. Moreover, after the team arena, he would have to play in the team competition, which was definitely not as restful as playing in the first round of the individual matches.

The playoffs were approaching, and everyone understood that Ye Xiu needed to rest. It was just a pity that Happy lost the team competition against Lightweight because Ye Xiu didn't play.

These five points were a pity to lose. So, the match against Thunder, a direct competitor, in round 35 became even more crucial. Therefore, everyone thought that Ye Xiu would play in this match, but Ye Xiu really didn't play. After the individual matches, he sat down in Happy's player area and didn't move again. Happy's team competition roster was: Fang Rui, Tang Rou, Su Mucheng, Qiao Yifan, An Wenyi, and Wei Chen.

"Leave it to us!"

These words were what Happy's players said to Ye Xiu when they began preparing for this round's match.

In this round, Ye Xiu was originally planning to play in the team competition, but Happy's players had reached a consensus at some point and jointly prevented Ye Xiu from playing in this round.

"Oh? You don't need me?" Ye Xiu smiled.

"You're not that important either," Wei Chen said.

"Alright then!" Ye Xiu nodded, simply and easily, and the matter was settled.

Happy's arrangements were easy, but the shock they brought was not small at all. Pan Lin and Li Yibo both shouted out loud during the live broadcast. The home audience of Thunder were also in an uproar when they saw that Ye Xiu wasn't playing. For Thunder's audience, their feelings were a bit complicated. Ye Xiu not playing should be good news; however, the fact that Ye Xiu dared not to play in such an important match seemed to be a contempt for their Thunder. Were there really any teams that dared to underestimate their Thunder's team?

Thunder's Xiao Shiqin was also stunned when he saw the starting lineup. When they greeted each other before the match, he had told Ye Xiu to have a good duel again, but Ye Xiu just gave him a nonchalant chuckle. He thought that Ye Xiu was using a nonchalant attitude to play psychological warfare, but it turned out that he was really nonchalant: he didn't even play. Was there anything more nonchalant than this?

"Give them a taste of our power!" Thunder's Dai Yanqi obviously belonged to the group that felt underestimated. At this time, she was overstepping her authority and giving pre-match encouragement to the players who were about to enter the field.

"Calm down." Xiao Shiqin came back to his senses and quickly came over to dissuade everyone from playing the game with such emotions. Their individual strength wasn't outstanding. What they had was teamwork. Each person was a very important component in the system. If someone left the team's rhythm due to abnormal emotions, the impact on Thunder would be multiplied.

"Captain, they're underestimating us!" Dai Yanqi said to Xiao Shiqin as if she was complaining.

"Don't think about things so simply," Xiao Shiqin said in a deep voice, his eyes sweeping towards Happy's player area. Happy's players who were about to enter the field were also conducting pre-match mobilization, and Ye Xiu, even though he wasn't playing, was standing in their circle, saying something seriously.

Ye Xiu must have his reasons for not playing.

Xiao Shiqin thought.

Pretending to be dismissive to shake our emotions? This psychological warfare factor definitely existed. And then... Xiao Shiqin looked at Happy's starting lineup. Ye Xiu wasn't playing, Tang Rou was the starter, and then the sixth player was Wei Chen. Wei Chen, who had played in the team competition only a handful of times this season.

There should be some targeted tactics! Xiao Shiqin thought. Ye Xiu not playing, this unexpected arrangement completely disrupted Thunder's pre-match arrangements. They couldn't be careless about Happy's lineup. They had to quickly figure out a tactical plan.

Xiao Shiqin kept thinking, but the Thunder players were still waiting for him to talk about "don't think about things so simply" and then what? But he just remained silent and glanced at Happy a few more times.

The captain was thinking.

The Thunder players also knew what was going on. Ye Xiu wasn't playing, so some of their pre-match arrangements definitely had to be adjusted. Xiao Shiqin was probably still thinking about these issues.

At this time, Happy's six players had begun to enter the field. Xiao Shiqin came back to his senses and called out to his teammates, "Let's go."

Seeing Xiao Shiqin's super serious expression, the Thunder players didn't dare to neglect it. They all adjusted their emotions and states to the best and followed Xiao Shiqin onto the field.

The match began.

Team Happy rushed out very actively. As for Thunder, as soon as they entered the match, Xiao Shiqin's instructions for adjusting tactics immediately appeared in the team channel. A bunch of things quickly unfolded on the screen, with many simple terms agreed upon within the team. If you didn't have a special understanding of Thunder, you probably wouldn't understand them.

The players of Thunder had already put away their feelings of wanting to counterattack against their opponents' underestimation. Everyone precisely implemented the tactics according to Xiao Shiqin's deployment. And Xiao Shiqin's brain was still running non-stop. He had formulated the initial tactics, but next, as the battle unfolded, what kind of response would the opponent have, and what kind of changes would the tactics need? He was simulating and thinking about all of these. Combining the classes of Happy's starting lineup, he didn't want to miss any possibility.

Thunder was indeed very skilled in teamwork. Everyone could accurately execute the various temporary instructions and corrections. And their execution wasn't a mechanical following of instructions. Everyone in Thunder could understand Xiao Shiqin's tactical intentions from the instructions. They weren't puppets in Xiao Shiqin's hands. Everyone's thinking ultimately converged into Thunder as a whole. The fewer instructions Xiao Shiqin gave in the team channel, the more powerful this team was.

Soon, the two sides met on the map. However, the lineups directly facing each other were not complete. Both sides had players sent out to take tactical routes, and they had not yet appeared.

From head-on collisions to the interweaving of roaming characters, the strength of both sides was gradually displayed on this map. The audience was dazzled. The scene where they thought that Happy would be defeated in an instant without Ye Xiu didn't happen. Happy without Ye Xiu was also fully capable of fighting Thunder, and Thunder couldn't afford to be careless in the slightest.

Xiao Shiqin was also grateful in his heart. He was grateful that he had suppressed the emotions of his teammates from the beginning. If they really acted rashly on the field because of this, they would definitely pay the price at this time.

The flames of war spread across the map. Everyone showed their abilities to the fullest, but in the end, the balance of victory gradually tilted towards Thunder. After all, having the right to choose the map at home was a great advantage for their tactical team.

Thunder won.

But it wasn't easy. They fought anxiously until the last moment. When Happy's last character fell, Thunder only had two players left. Until this last moment, they didn't neglect anything at all. 2 against 1? In this state of low health, being too careless in a 2-on-1 situation could lead to being blown up by the opponent in an instant. The healers on both sides had died early.

5 to 5.

The final score displayed on the electronic screen made the Thunder team's players inside and outside the field, and all the spectators at the scene, breathe a sigh of relief. They finally won. They finally weren't shut out by Happy.

Although they had a 10-point lead over eighth and ninth place before, if they didn't get a single point here, their days ahead wouldn't be easy. Next, they would have to face Hundred Blossoms and Samsara.

Hundred Blossoms was a direct competitor, and Samsara had shown in the last round that even if they were firmly in first place, they still had the greatest hunger for victory.

The fierce battle between Happy and Thunder ended quickly, and the score quickly spread to other matches. In the eyes of many people, Ye Xiu not playing and Happy losing the team competition was simply an inevitable result. 5 to 5 seemed like a predetermined result and didn't surprise anyone.

The match being broadcast on television also finally ended at this time. 301 stubbornly defeated Tiny Herb in the team competition and won a valuable 5 points.