Who should go and scout out the terrain first?

This was the first thought that unconsciously sprung into Zhang Xinjie’s mind, but he quickly dismissed it. On paper, Tyranny was definitely stronger than Happy, but in a head-on confrontation, having one person leave the battle to fight four against five was still a bit reckless. Even if it seemed like a minor issue to pull someone away given the current state of the fight, now was now. If someone was really pulled away, Happy would definitely adjust their strategy to take advantage of the five-on-four situation. Ye Xiu on the other side wasn't someone to be trifled with.

They couldn’t afford to lose anyone; they had to resolve the situation with what they had.

Did Luo Ji really possess such talent?

Zhang Xinjie’s gaze lingered on Steamed Bun Invasion, and he couldn’t help but think about this again. Although most people believed that the so-called "one glance to understand the terrain" was a smokescreen put up by Happy, and not to be trusted, there was still a possibility that it was true. For someone with Zhang Xinjie’s personality, this was ultimately a psychological burden. He even suspected that this might be Happy’s intended goal, but he couldn’t help himself. He wasn’t paranoid; he just always preemptively treated anything he wasn’t completely sure about as a reality when formulating his plans.

The collapse of the terrain was just one of the realities Zhang Xinjie had anticipated. Perhaps it wasn’t that, or perhaps there was something about the terrain that Happy could fully exploit to enhance their combat effectiveness. Zhang Xinjie had anticipated all of these possibilities.

Should they strengthen their defenses and continue to confront them head-on with a stable formation?

That might work in normal circumstances, but what if it was another trap like the terrain collapse?

It seemed that the safest approach was to avoid the route Happy expected them to take.

After careful calculation, Zhang Xinjie finally made a decision.

Strengthen the offensive!

A new instruction came through the Tyranny channel.

As Han Wenqing's partner for many years, Zhang Xinjie understood his intentions the fastest and was the first to put them into action.

Desert Dust, who had just forced Soft Mist back with a punch, stepped forward and launched another kick.

Soft Mist’s spear fell, parrying the attack. On the other side, Lord Grim’s Myriad Manifestations Umbrella transformed into a spear, and he sneakily tried to use Circle Swing.

Cloud Dodge, Twin Tiger Palms!

Desert Dust twisted his body, quickly slipping past Lord Grim’s Myriad Manifestations Umbrella. Then, he unleashed Twin Tiger Palms, one palm striking towards Lord Grim, and the other defending against Soft Mist’s advance.

Lord Grim jumped back to dodge, while Soft Mist took a step to the side to avoid the palm's edge, then slid forward, thrusting with Dragon Tooth.

Han Wenqing didn’t dodge or block, but threw a straight punch. Desert Dust dashed forward, using the increased distance to evade the Dragon Tooth, while continuing to attack Lord Grim with his punch.

But Ye Xiu had already launched a counterattack with a skill after jumping back to avoid Twin Tiger Palms. He also used Dragon Tooth, directly confronting Desert Dust’s charging punch. Both characters shook, with neither skill overpowering the other, resulting in a draw.

Strengthening the offensive wasn’t a buff or a state. It wasn’t as if the team’s combat power would suddenly increase just by saying it. Strengthening the offensive required the players to adjust their rhythm.

Simply put, it meant shifting the balance of offense and defense further towards the attack, sacrificing defense in exchange for more offensive opportunities.

To put it even more bluntly, there would be more instances of trading health. Situations where they might have chosen to defend or evade would now prioritize maintaining their offensive, even if it meant taking more damage.

Desert Dust’s charging punch might not have seemed like a trade, but it was a decision made under this principle. The primary goal of the charging punch was to attack Lord Grim, and dodging Soft Mist’s Dragon Tooth was just a convenient byproduct. This could be seen as a testament to Han Wenqing’s extensive combat experience, as he tried to minimize losses by considering both ends, even when trading health.

However, Dragon Tooth missed, and Han Wenqing couldn't avoid the next attack. Soft Mist followed up Dragon Tooth with a Continuous Thrust, accurately hitting Desert Dust with the two-part stab. At the same time, a grenade floated in front of her and exploded, sending Soft Mist flying to the side. She quickly rolled to mitigate the impact. Lin Jingyan’s Dark Thunder was charging towards her, but halfway there, a black shadow darted out. The Spirit Cat pounced rapidly towards Dark Thunder...

Team battles were interconnected. As Han Wenqing intensified his offensive, the entire Tyranny team followed his rhythm, tightening their attack. To cope with this sudden assault, Happy found themselves increasingly on the defensive, trying to absorb Tyranny’s attacks.

Zhang Xinjie became even busier. On one hand, he had to carefully assess the situation on the field. On the other hand, this kind of health-trading battle to strengthen the offensive was a test for him as a healer. As the biggest support for the rear, if the healing couldn’t keep up in this situation, Happy might seize the opportunity to find a breakthrough.

Lesser Heal, Greater Heal, Focus, Blessing of Light, Spiritual Inspiration, Holy Fire...

The white light of Saint Heal flowed rhythmically from the Cross of Redemption in Unswerving Path’s hands, backlit by the stage lights. The number one Glory priest wasn’t just a title. In this chaotic, complex, and ever-changing battle, the priest had become the most watched player on the field. The most common trick in Glory broadcasts to showcase a priest’s performance was to display the entire team’s health bars. At this moment, Tyranny’s five health bars were displayed together, jumping up and down rhythmically like five musical notes, forming a harmonious movement.

And who was the performer?

Accompanied by this health bar movement, Unswerving Path was given a magnified close-up. His posture wasn’t as elegant as the movement he was conducting. Unswerving Path was weaving through a barrage of gunfire, his pure white priest robe constantly rolling and dodging, getting stained and dirty.

Tyranny was intensifying their offensive. How could Happy not notice?

And in this situation, interfering with the opponent’s healer was the best way to undermine the health-trading strategy.

Happy understood this clearly, but Tyranny knew it too. Therefore, Soft Mist, a Battle Mage who specialized in close combat, couldn’t even get within ten body lengths of Unswerving Path.

However, Happy only had one melee attacker who could easily be hindered. Su Mucheng's Dancing Rain roamed far outside the battlefield, and Tyranny's three Grappler characters couldn’t even touch her. Only Zhang Jiale's Dazzling Hundred Blossoms could interfere with her a little. But even this interference was extremely limited at this time. Dazzling Hundred Blossoms had used a lot of light and shadow in the previous battles, consuming a lot of mana. He needed to be more cautious and couldn’t maintain a continuous barrage of light and shadow. Directly shooting at her was also disadvantageous due to the difference in range.

Besides, Zhang Jiale also had to deal with more than just Su Mucheng. Among Steamed Bun Invasion’s Four Elemental Beasts, Little Flying Dragon and Thunder Eagle were both flying types. It would be far more convenient for him, a ranged attacker, to deal with them than for the three Grapplers. These two were also targets that Zhang Jiale had to handle.

Again and again, Ye Xiu's Lord Grim's unpredictable long-range sneak attacks were the most disgusting and annoying thing. If you tried to deal with him, he would act like he was focused on close combat. If you were slightly negligent, he would take advantage of the opening and fire a shot at Unswerving Path to interrupt his healing chant.

The multi-directional, multi-layered disruption and interference targeting Unswerving Path almost disrupted Tyranny’s offensive rhythm and nearly forced Tyranny back to the defensive end. At the most critical moment, the team captain and vice-captain of Tyranny gave the same instruction, allowing Tyranny to maintain their rhythm.

“Maintain the offensive!”

“Maintain the offensive!”

Han Wenqing and Zhang Xinjie said the exact same thing in the team channel.

Thus, Tyranny continued their attacks and applied pressure to restrain Happy’s freedom, without overly protecting Zhang Xinjie. As a result, the offensive rhythm was maintained, but Zhang Xinjie inevitably had to deal with some attacks and interference on his own.

Dodging, trading health... Unswerving Path faced the attacks head-on, while still maintaining his healing rhythm. The difficult situation the character faced and the harmonious stability of the Life Anthem created a strong contrast, making everyone deeply aware of Zhang Xinjie’s strength.

Attack, don't stop the momentum!

Defense, Zhang Xinjie alone could hold out to this extent!

How could such a Tyranny not win?

They had won. Tyranny had won because Happy had no way to defeat Zhang Xinjie. Countless people believed this, and the Tyranny fans in the stadium had already begun to celebrate their victory. The terrain threat of the Seven Color Spring? Let's see if Happy can even last that long. And if they do, how many of them will be left?

What else could they do?

The pro players were discussing this question in their group chat.

Their habit when watching matches was to think from the players’ perspectives. If they were in a position of advantage, how could they do even better? If they were in a position of disadvantage, how could they turn the situation around?

A war of words began in the group. Someone would propose an idea, and someone else would dissect it. Everyone was mentally simulating the battle.

"It's time to go all in." The conclusion came from Wang Jiexi of Tiny Herb.

Going all in, of course, referred to Happy. Tyranny only needed to maintain the status quo without making mistakes to win. Happy had to do something to reverse the situation.

Interrupting Zhang Xinjie’s healing was the key. This was everyone’s consensus. It seemed that the only way to have a profound impact on Tyranny as a whole was to disrupt Zhang Xinjie’s healing.

But it was difficult to do this. Happy had managed to interrupt his healing spell once or twice, but that wasn’t enough. One or two interruptions wouldn’t completely disrupt the rhythm. Happy needed to completely restrict Zhang Xinjie and his Unswerving Path.

All-out attack!

It seemed that this was the only option left for Happy.

Not an all-out attack on Tyranny, but an all-out attack on Zhang Xinjie's Unswerving Path!

Where would Happy start? The pro players were paying attention to this. They didn't believe that Happy, with Ye Xiu in charge, would be defeated by Tyranny just like that. They would definitely struggle, tearing off a piece of Tyranny’s flesh even if they died.

Soft Mist!

The camera suddenly turned to Soft Mist.

Dragon Breaks the Ranks!

Magical Battle Aura gathered at the tip of the spear. Soft Mist raised her spear, ready to charge.

Close-quarters pressure, breaking through the opening? But Tyranny already had someone to meet her. River Sunset, Overlord's Fist!

Spear versus Fist!

This rivalry, which had lasted for many years, continued among the two teams’ rookies. Dragon Breaks the Ranks versus Overlord’s Fist was slightly stronger, but not enough to completely defeat the opponent. River Sunset staggered, but Soft Mist’s charging momentum of Dragon Breaks the Ranks also came to a halt.

But in the gap created by River Sunset’s staggering, a figure dashed out.

Lord Grim! Arc Flash! A streak of light flashed, about to pass through here, but an arm suddenly reached out from the side.

Mountain Breaker!

A mid-tier Rogue skill, enough to block the judgment of Arc Flash. Ye Xiu wanted to seize this opportunity to break through, but he didn’t know how many people had been constantly watching him from beginning to end.

Lord Grim stopped abruptly.

Lin Jingyan had tried his best to intercept at the moment when it was unavoidable, but he didn’t expect that Ye Xiu could still suddenly stop. Did that mean he had anticipated the interception?

Lin Jingyan couldn’t bother to watch Ye Xiu’s next move. He would react as things came, but he knew that both his reaction and his actions were slightly inferior to Ye Xiu, so he decided to seize the initiative.

Twisting, Twin Crescent Moons!

Twin fists lashed out, and the Night Walker's Gauntlets instantly shattered all possible openings.

What else could he do?

Lin Jingyan glanced over and saw Lord Grim moving his hands.

Seals, Shadow Clone Technique.

Another Shadow Clone Technique. But it was too far away, wasn't it? If Tyranny hadn’t even prepared for this trick from Ye Xiu, then their ten years of experience, nine years of experience, and eight years of experience would all become a joke. They couldn’t guarantee that they could prevent Lord Grim from using Shadow Clone Technique, after all, the ninjutsu seals were very fast, and ninjutsu seals could be performed while moving, making it difficult to interrupt. They couldn't stop Shadow Clone Technique, but they could at least force Lord Grim to stay a certain distance away.

Thus, the shadow clone was shattered by Dark Thunder, and the real body was teleported out, but there were still three body lengths between him and Unswerving Path. This was the limit of what Shadow Clone Technique could do. Then, everyone saw a grenade land one body length in front of Unswerving Path.

Could any movement skill be used to get ahead of this grenade?

Flickering Thrust?

Tyranny had already seen this move during the one-on-one fight with Han Wenqing, so they knew that today’s Lord Grim had this skill. However, Flickering Thrust only crossed one body length in an instant. Now, the distance to the grenade was two steps. One extra step made all the difference.

There was no skill left that could get Ye Xiu to the position he needed to be in. The grenade exploded, an implosion grenade! The powerful airflow immediately sent Lord Grim flying. Where did he come from? Send him back where he came from. But before he reached the end, a figure jumped up to meet Lord Grim in mid-air.

Fierce Tiger Flurry!

Han Wenqing went straight for the ultimate skill. Desert Dust’s fists and feet flew in the air. Lord Grim in the air was actually able to respond. The two fought from the air to the ground. Under the relentless pressure of Fierce Tiger Flurry, Lord Grim could only retreat continuously. Han Wenqing focused solely on this, ignoring everything else. For someone as dangerous as Ye Xiu, sending someone to keep an eye on him was completely worth it.

Ye Xiu had already been restricted. What else did Happy have?

Su Mucheng’s ranged firepower? It was too far away and didn’t put enough pressure on Zhang Xinjie. So Su Mucheng had tried to move up, and if she could bring Unswerving Path into her line of fire, then the powerful and dense firepower would be enough to completely suppress Unswerving Path’s healing. However, at this distance, they had long entered Dazzling Hundred Blossoms’ attack range. Under the threat of various effect bullets, how could she build a perfect line of fire?

Steady Firing Stance!

Su Mucheng actually used this ultimate skill again, but the pro players all had reservations when they saw her use this move. Steady Firing Stance could allow her to attack her target without interference, but the problem was that it also restricted her own movement. Dancing Rain’s target was Unswerving Path, and the one restricting her was Dazzling Hundred Blossoms. Unswerving Path could move to create distance. Dancing Rain had to move to keep up in order to maintain the attack. What was the point of using Steady Firing Stance? This wasn’t a shootout with Dazzling Hundred Blossoms.

As expected, Zhang Xinjie moved at full speed to create distance as soon as he saw Dancing Rain set up Steady Firing Stance. But after a few steps, the ground in front of him suddenly glowed. Magic flowed, and a summoning circle was actually forming.

The pro players' eyes lit up!

So this was Happy’s plan?

Dancing Rain’s firepower forced Unswerving Path into the mouth of a summoned beast?

At this time, the camera naturally focused on Steamed Bun Invasion. He was closely clinging to the side of the mountain wall, trying his best not to attract attention, and quietly waving the magic staff in his hand.

However, Tyranny had never neglected his existence. You could tell from the fact that Steamed Bun Invasion’s Four Elemental Beasts never had all four beasts on the field at the same time. Tyranny had always been guarding against the most terrifying move of the Four Elemental Beasts, the Beast King Four Elements Formation!

That was also the case now. There were only three beasts on the field: Thunder Eagle, Little Fire Dragon, and Spirit Cat. They were all fighting around Dark Thunder. If it weren’t for this, Lin Jingyan’s Dark Thunder would have rushed forward and taken down either Steamed Bun Invasion or Little Cold Hands. These two characters had been protected by Happy, but after Happy started their all-out attack, they didn’t have time to care about them anymore.

At this moment, Lin Jingyan's Dark Thunder leapt into the air, slamming a claw towards the Thunder Eagle in the sky. Fighting summoned beasts was a temporary solution. At this time, Lin Jingyan also wanted to get rid of these three summoned beasts quickly and attack their master directly. As a result, when this claw swept down, the Thunder Eagle in the air suddenly turned into a flash of lightning and disappeared.

Hit?

Lin Jingyan knew it wasn't. This change was because the summoned beast’s time was up, or because the summoned beast was resummoned, replacing the old with the new!

A hawk’s cry came from his side. Lin Jingyan turned his head and saw a brand-new Thunder Eagle flying out of the summoning circle in front of Unswerving Path. It spat a thunderbolt towards Unswerving Path.

Unswerving Path dodged, but the second summoning circle had already started to condense beside him.

The Little Fire Dragon and Spirit Cat beside Dark Thunder also ignored him and immediately rushed towards Unswerving Path.

Lin Jingyan no longer felt any pressure, but his heart skipped a beat. These two were gone, and a newly summoned Thunder Eagle was there. Ice Wolf was definitely being summoned, and the Four Elemental Beasts were about to gather!

No matter what, he had to stop one of them here.

Dark Thunder twisted his body and swung a claw, but the Spirit Cat was agile and nimble, actually leaping over the claw. Lin Jingyan didn't bother to entangle with it too much. The Spirit Cat was the hardest of the Four Elemental Beasts to hit. He tapped lightly on the keyboard. Dark Thunder leapt into the air and reached out, grabbing the tail of the Little Fire Dragon.

Grabbing with both hands and throwing!

Throw!

The Little Fire Dragon was thrown as far as possible, and then, a Powerful Knee Strike!

Dark Thunder rushed towards Steamed Bun Invasion at lightning speed. Even if he killed the Little Flying Dragon at this time, it wouldn't solve the problem. Throwing it far away was the smartest thing to do.

The Ice Wolf had already walked out of the summoning circle. What about Unswerving Path? Unswerving Path simply waved the Cross of Redemption and started a melee with the Ice Wolf. Crusader Judgment. Unswerving Path had only learned this one attack skill today, and it seemed enough to deal with the summoned beasts.

The third summoning circle started. Luo Ji was indeed preparing to resummon the Little Flying Dragon. But at this time, Dark Thunder was close, and he raised his hand and threw a brick.

A figure rushed out and blocked the brick.

An Wenming used Little Cold Hands’ body to block the attack that would interrupt Steamed Bun Invasion’s summoning.

The resummoning of the Little Flying Dragon couldn’t be stopped, but… the Beast King Four Elements Formation couldn't be cast! Lin Jingyan had enough time to let Dark Thunder rush in front of Steamed Bun Invasion.

Little Cold Hands?

A slap!

The healer, who was always the focus of attacks in team battles, was ignored by Lin Jingyan at this time. Steamed Bun Invasion, only Steamed Bun Invasion, was the one who could create a killing move on the field right now!

Beast King Four Elements…

Steamed Bun Invasion had already waved his magic staff. The four beasts seemed to have heard their master’s summons, and elemental power had begun to flow between them. The four colors overlapped, representing the magical power of light, darkness, ice, and fire. But after only one circle, the four-colored circle that connected them suddenly shattered.

Interrupt!

A Throat Lock. Dark Thunder grabbed Steamed Bun Invasion’s neck and pinned him to the mountain wall. The Beast King Four Elements Formation was completely interrupted.

It was over...

The pro player group chat was silent. It wasn’t that they were all looking forward to Happy, but they were simply hoping for more exciting twists and turns in the match.

At this time, although there were already four summoned beasts around Unswerving Path, Unswerving Path had used Crusader Judgment to protect himself for a while, and then used Angelic Wings, hanging in mid-air, greatly reducing the attack efficiency of the Ice Wolf and Spirit Cat on the ground. Then, Zhang Jiale’s Dazzling Hundred Blossoms provided some fire support. Ice bullets countered the Little Fire Dragon, so it was quickly killed.

Without the command or control, the four beasts' siege wasn't difficult to deal with for the pro players, so they no longer considered it a fatal threat. Zhang Xinjie’s Unswerving Path had already started to heal and support others after Angelic Wings, which showed just how little they feared it.

The outcome had been decided.

Even the pro player group had no more objections. At this time, the camera focused on Ye Xiu’s Lord Grim, accompanied by Pan Lin and Li Yibo’s eulogy-like tone.

"Ye Xiu, who started from scratch and formed a team with his own strength, passed the Challenger League, made it into the playoffs, and fought three great battles with Tyranny in the semifinals. I think that’s already an incredible miracle," Pan Lin said.

“Yes, even if they ultimately failed to reach the finals, failed to win the championship, it's still unprecedented. As the league continues to develop, I think it will be difficult for anyone to do this again in the future. Ye Xiu will be recorded in the league history again in this way,” Li Yibo said.

“And this team he built will have unlimited prospects. Every new player in the team has shown us their extraordinary talent. They will continue to grow, together with Happy,” Pan Lin said.

“They lost with honor.”

“They lost with honor.”

After the two finished speaking, they began to mourn. On the field, Desert Dust was also throwing a punch at Lord Grim.

If this punch happened to kill Lord Grim and was paired with our commentary, it would be too perfect. Pan Lin and Li Yibo both thought this at the same time. But when they saw that Lord Grim still had a lot of health, they couldn’t help but feel regret.

In fact, it was unlikely that this punch would kill Lord Grim or even hit him, but Lord Grim raised the Myriad Manifestations Umbrella, but failed to parry the punch.

Han Wenqing was stunned. Such a disgusting mistake shouldn’t have happened to Ye Xiu. He suddenly felt uneasy.

Hit!

The magic in the fist shadow seemed to be shattered, blooming like a flower. At the same time, a meow was heard. The pitch-black Spirit Cat was curled up into a ball by Desert Dust’s punch and flew out.

What was going on? Under the close-up, everyone could see clearly. Lord Grim had turned into a Spirit Cat?

There was no transformation skill in Glory. The only way to create such a change was…

Summoner skill: Switch.

“What the f***!!!”

“The Spirit Cat was summoned by f***ing Lord Grim?!” Curses filled the pro player group chat.

Lord Grim had already appeared behind Unswerving Path.

“Angelic Wings, so blinding!” Ye Xiu praised.

Assassin skill: Sacrifice.

“F***, where did that Sacrifice come from!!”

“The Dark Knight system has two forms, right? Both Dark Night skills have appeared!!” The pro player group chat was cursing again.

=====================================

I wrote two chapters in the morning. I was going to post the first chapter after I finished writing it, but then I thought about it, so I combined them into one big chapter!