God Level Summoner Chapter 324-325

Chapter 324 – Unexpected Map Selection

They probably realized that the next match would be very difficult to play. In the past few days, the players of the national team were very serious in their training. They didn't need Li Cangyu's order as everyone consciously came to the training room at 8 in the morning.

Even the usual lively Cheng Wei sat quietly in front of his computer, familiarizing himself with the South Korea maps already published.

After the quarter-finals, most of the maps independently developed by various countries had been published on the Miracle Village's Intranet. Four South Korean maps had been released and one was banned in the last game. The Chinese team only had the Eight-Trigram Array that hadn't been revealed.

In order to give the players enough time to prepare for the semi-finals, the organizers specifically gave everyone a two day holiday. The Chinese and Korean match would start at 9 o'clock the day after tomorrow while the semi-finals between the United States and the United Kingdom would be at 3 p.m. on the same day. Staring from this stage, the e-sports channels from every country would be live broadcasting the match.

The teams entering the semi-finals would already receive high prizes from the organizing committed. Thus, the rules for the semi-finals were more stringent than the quarter-finals. In particular, in the selection phase, each country developed map could only be selected once and wasn't reusable. Moreover, once the selection party submitted a freely developed map, the away country couldn't disable it.

This rule was to let the weaker countries have the opportunity to use their maps to reverse the situation and not have a sweeping 3:0 score.  The higher the level of excellence, the higher the ratings would be and the league's advertising revenue would naturally be more substantial.

Such a rule was also fair because each country developed their own maps and could use the maps to beat the opponent. However, the top leaders of the league always believed that players and teams with real strength wouldn't be affected by the map.

***

Time passed quickly and it was the match day.

Early in the morning, the Chinese team gathered together. They were having breakfast in the restaurant when they meet the South Korean team. The Koreans were dressed nearly in the uniforms and very recognizable. Several South Korean players walked and talked while holding plates. Cheng Wei heard a bunch of Korean words and grabbed his head. "Are they talking about us?"

Tan Shitian replied, "Sure, there is a female player over there looking at you."

Cheng Wei followed his gaze and sure enough, there was a girl looking at him. He asked doubtfully, "Why is she looking at me?"

"She is a very popular white magician of the South Korean team and the first beauty of the Korean Miracle League, called Hwa Jeongyong. Tan Shitian explained. "Don't you think she is looking at you with curiosity?"

“Is that so?" Cheng Wei's face was dazed. "I don't remember her and… is she really the first beauty of the Korean team? She doesn't look as good as Yang Muzi."

Yang Muzi heard this and immediately came over to ask, "Cheng Wei, do you think I look good?"

Cheng Wei's face instantly turned red and he stuttered, "Ah, I'm hungry. I'll go eat breakfast first."

Tan Shitian looked at the guy running away and spoke helplessly, "You shouldn't tease him."

Yang Muzi poked out her tongue before going back to the topic. I've heard of this Hwa Jeongyong. Her way of playing is very cool. The one next to her is… Shim Yoocheol right? He once sparred with Jack of the United States only to leave halfway to eat cold noodles."

Tan Shitian smiled. "Yes, I heard he is obsessed with cold noodles."

At this time, Li Cangyu and Ling Xuefeng walked over and listened to the conversation. Li Cangyu couldn't help interjecting, "Shim Yoocheol's swordsman is very flexible. the combination and him and Park Joonseo is the ace of the South Korean team. You will definitely see it later on the field."

Tan Shitian listened to him and couldn't help joking, "Cat God looks very calm.  Do you have a card up your sleeve?"

"Of course."

He had just spoken when several people wearing the Korean team uniforms came to this side with their plates. The one in the front had handsome short hair and Li Cangyu had seen her before. She was the vice-captain of the South Korean team, the archer Kim Yoonhee.

She also saw Li Cangyu and took the initiative to say hello in less fluent Chinese. "Hello, Captain Li."

Li Cangyu smiled at her and replied politely, "Hello, I good luck with the game."

Kim Yoonhee was surprised for a moment. She didn't think the other person would actually cheer for her. Then she quickly adjusted her expression and said gracefully, "I also wish you good luck."

Once she left, Ling Xuefeng whispered, "Will cheering for the opponent form a curse effect?"

Li Cangyu replied bluntly, "Yes, you discovered it!"

Ling Xuefeng smiled slightly, "Eat quickly. They have your favourite fish porridge."

Li Cangyu's eyes shone. "Why didn't I know about this…"

"I'll get it for you."

The two people quickly ate breakfast and then sat on the bus to go to the competition venue.

***

The venue was already packed. It was early in the morning but the mood of the supporters on both sides was very high. Many people brought their national flags to the venue and their cheers were almost enough to knock out the roof of the venue.

Kou Hongyi and Yu Bing were already in the commentators' room. At this moment, there was deafening applause and Kou Hongyi quickly said, "Hello everyone, the match will start soon. Thank you for watching this match of China against South Korea! I am Kou Hongyi and I will be explaining this game."

Yu Bing nodded graciously at the camera and spoke briefly, "Hello everyone, I am Yu Bing."

"This match is definitely a match between a strong team and a strong team. It won't be as easy as the previous matches!" Kou Hongyi spoke quickly. "South Korea has always been an e-sports powerhouse. They are world champions in many projects and the level of their Miracle League players isn't weak. For example, there is the captain Park Joonseo and the vice-captain Kim Yoonhee. The players Shim Yoocheol, Hwa Jeongyong and Bae Jeongho are also very famous in the World's Miracle League. In terms of popularity, many of the Korean players are more famous than our Chinese players."

"However, we have several Chinese players who haven't participated in the world rankings. For example, Cat God and Bai Xuan just returned to the league this year. Tan Shitian is busy writing small paragraphs and forgot to participate in the rankings. Yu Pingsheng's introverted personality means he never players in the international servers and Xiao Han, Qin Mo and Zhuo Hang are young players who are progressing very quickly. The overall strength of the Chinese team doesn't lose to South Korea. Yu Bing calmly analyzed. "From the perspective of the comprehensive lineup, both sides are relatively balanced in teams of race and class and many sets of tactics can be produced. This is also the characteristic of a strong team."

"Sister Bing is right. The key is to look at the arrangements of the game." Kou Hongyi opened a web page which contained the World Miracle League's voting page. "From the perspective of the support rate, the Western media almost one-sidedly believe that South Korea can sweep up the Chinese team. After all, South Korea has a higher winning percentage in other e-sports projects."

"Still, this is the first year for the World MIracle Competition and it is also the first time China and South Korea are facing each other. The team that wins can't be inferred from the normal winning rate." Yu Bing changed the topic as she declared decisively., "I believe that the Chinese team will hit the Western media in the face!"

This sentence caused the blood of the domestic audience to boil as they commented: [Sister Bing is right!]

What was Cat God best it? It was hitting the other side in the face! Just look at the French captain's swollen face!

***

The match started quickly. Li Cangyu and Park Joonseo walked to the command post and pressed the confirmation button.

The referee started to draw lots. On the big screen, the flags of China and South Korea started to roll. Finally, there was the familiar system sound and the Korean team's flag was frozen in the centre of the screen.

"The South Korea team will go first!" Kou Hongyi spoke nervously. "What mode will Park Joonseo choose?"

Park Joonseo didn't hesitate as he submitted the mode and maps in 10 seconds.

Match mode: Death racing.

Maps: Dark Reef, Frost Temple, Time and Space Illusion.

The audience was shocked. All three maps submitted by Park Joonseo were official Miracle maps and there was no map freely developed by the Korean team!

Taking the initiative to give up the map advantage, was Park Joonseo that confident?

The foreign e-sports reporters started speculating about Park Joonseo's intentions.

However, Li Cangyu understood Park Joonseo's intentions the moment he saw the three thumbnails.

Before the World Competition started, South Korea's vice-captain Kim Yoonhee took the initiative to invite the Chinese team to play a friendly game. The mode chosen at that time was death racing and the map was Dark Reef.

In the game, Li Cangyu let Xiao Han go to practice and they beat the newcomers sent by the Korean team.

Now in the semi-finals, Park Joonseo once again selected death racing and the Dark Reef map, obviously wanting to have a formal game against the Chinese team on the same map.

Li Cangyu smiled and decisively banned Frost Temple and Time and Space Illusion, leaving Dark Reef.

He knew that the South Korean team must've carried out special exercises on this map but since the other party sacrificed their map advantage, he had to take this confrontation.

Go forward into danger.

The Chinese team couldn't lose momentum at the start!

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Chapter 325 – China VS South Korea (Death Racing)

Li Cangyu eventually left behind Dark Reef, a choice that Kou Hongyi didn't understand. Yu Bing was also confused. It was because Dark Reef was the hardest of the three maps.

There are countless black reefs that blocked the vision of the players and it was a difficult labyrinth of obstacles. Death racing refreshed the players at random spots, greatly increasing the difficulty of the game.

Li Cangyu selected the map and Captain Park Joonseo followed up with the list of players.

The list appeared and the audience clapped in a thunderous manner.

The lineup was too luxurious!

Park Joonseo's angel summoner, Shim Yoocheol's terran swordsman, Kim Yoonhee's elf archer, Hwa Jeongyong's angel white magician and Kim Changmin's blood kin assassin!

The five players were all famous players on the world rankings.

Maybe it was because the previous friendly game that they lost to the Chinese team on Dark Reef caused many Korean players to be stunned. Park Joonseo directly sent an ace lineup to the semi-final stage against the Chinese team to gain back a bit of face. Still, sending such a luxurious lineup greatly surprised Li Cangyu.

The knockouts adopted the BO5 five games, three win system. If the strength of both sides was equal, they were likely to play five rounds. The number of national team members wasn't enough to play five rounds so the league stipulated that all players could appear up to two times in the knockout stages, but they couldn't play consecutively. There must be a game between them.

Park Joonseo sending such a strong lineup in the first game meant the five players could no longer play in the second game.

Despite this, the South Korean team had many masters. Apart from the five players, there were still several trump cards in the team. Park Joonseo's move was understandable since it helped improve the morale of the whole team.

How should the Chinese team respond?

Should they also send an ace lineup to fight them head on? Or avoid it to lay the foundation for the next game?

Li Cangyu lowered his head and thought carefully.

He thought for a long time and the domestic audience rushed him. The live broadcast comments were going crazy. [What will Cat God choose?] [Fight with them head on!] [We should also send many great gods to kill the South Korean team!]

There were thousands of comments in the blink of an eye and with 10 seconds left on the countdown, Li Cangyu still hadn't submitted the list.

Kou Hongyi couldn't help feeling anxious. "Cat God submitted the lineup very fast in previous games but he is taking a long time today. It is obviously because the lineup sent by Park Joonseo was too unexpected. Still, the countdown is almost over. Cat God hasn't decided yet?"

He just said this when the list submitted by Li Cangyu finally appeared on the big screen.

The domestic audience was almost scared to death by him.

If the commander was too slow to submit the lineup and exceeded the specified time, the system would randomly select players to participate in the game. Li Cangyu submitted the list at almost the same time the countdown ended. It was simply frightening since the players were almost randomly selected!

However, many viewers couldn't understand the list he submitted after careful consideration.

—Tan Shitian, Cheng Wei, Zhuo Hang, Xiao Han and Qin Mo.

The youngest captain in the MIracle League brought four players who were less than 20 years old to face five super-powerful gods of the South Korean team. As soon as the lineup was released, the domestic audience widely wrote ellipsis.

[What does Cat God mean by this?] [Sending a weak horse to hit the strong one?] [Who said that our Captain Tan is weak? Captain Tan is the strongest among the younger generation of the league!] [Xiao Han, Qin Mo and Zhuo Hang are newcomers!]

The audience was worried and Kou Hongyi also didn't understand. "Cough, objectively speaking, we don't have an advantage with the lineup sent by Cat God."

Yu Bing was very calm. "No one can guess Cat God's thoughts until the last moment. I believe that he must have his reasons. We might be feeling restless but we should watch the game."

There were a number of viewers who questioned the lineup but Li Cangyu had led the Chinese team all the way here and gained countless true love fans. Everyone decided to take a 'believe in his decision' attitude.

As Yu Bing said, It was hard to say if Li Cangyu's decision was right or wrong since they never understood his tactical ideas. Five games might be played in the knockouts and there were restrictions on the number of times players could appear. Keeping people back was reasonable.

***

The commander on the Chinese side was naturally Tan Shitian. He might be carrying three newcomers under the age of 20 but his expression was very relaxed. He smiled and said, "Don't be stressed. This is a rare opportunity to fight against world-class masters. Play well and cherish the opportunity given to you by Cat God."

He patted Zhuo Hang's shoulder and the latter nodded earnestly. "Rest assured!"

Qin Mo and Xiao Han glanced at each other before following Tan Shitian.

Cheng Wei sat in front of a computer and quickly tapped the keyboard. He said with excitement, "What are you afraid of? Isn't Park Joonseo the best assistant? We'll set fire and kill him later!"

The map countdown ended and both sides refreshed on the Dark Reef.

The game was from the player's first perspective and this was a labyrinth of reefs, so the images in front of them were almost the same. The high black reefs blocked their view and it was difficult to determine where they were.

Fortunately, professional players could judge their position and their teammates' position according to the coordinates of the mini-map. Tan Shitian glanced at the mini-map and made a decision. "Xiao Wei and Zhuo Hang come to meet me. Qin Mo and Xiao Han will enter stealth to find the other side."

From a god's perspective, the five Chinese players had refreshed in a quite scattered manner. Tan Shitian, Cheng Wei and Zhuo Hang were close in the southwest while Qin Mo and Xiao Han had refreshed in the northeast. Tan Shitian selected the nearest gathering location in order to avoid a single player being caught by the Korean team.

The Korean team was also very scattered and their distribution of people was exactly the opposite of the Chinese team. There were three people on the northeast and two in the southwest.

Park Joonseo also adopted a split-gathering approach. The audience saw players moving quickly and within half a minute, three people from the South Korean team gathered.

Qin Mo and Xiao Han were in an invisible state at this time. The two of them circumvented a huge reef only to see three players of the South Korean team—the angel summoner Park Joonseo, the terran swordsman Shim Yoocheol and the white magician Hwa Jeongyong.

Qin Mo instantly marked a location on the mini-map and typed on the team channel: [Three this way!]

Tan Shitian told them, "Understood. Don't start first."

Two against three was obviously unwise. Qin Mo and Xiao Han hadn't planned to do anything but the surprising thing was that Park Joonseo suddenly cast a skill, Summon the Light God!

White light spread around his staff and a light goddess wearing a white angel costume appeared in the sky. As the goddess opened her eyes, the surrounding area became bright and white. Qin Mo and Xiao Han's whereabouts were shown under the influence of the light god!

"Not good! Quickly retreat!" Qin Mo anxiously placed the retreat symbol. He rarely saw angel summoners in the domestic league and had ignored the fact that Park Joonseo summoning the light god could illuminate the surrounding area. This skill was very easy to use in a group battle. As long as the light god appeared, they would have no need to fear invisible enemies.

Park Joonseo summoned the light god to bright the area. Once Qin Mo and Xiao Han were revealed, Hwa Jeongyong immediately released the control skill, Holy Seal!

The female player was very aware and her reaction speed extremely fast. The moment the captain revealed the opponent's position, she followed with the group control and almost seamlessly sealed Qin Mo and Xiao Han in place.

Park Joonseo followed with releasing the pet auxiliary skill, Light God's Blessing!

The blessing instantly doubled the attack power of all teammates surrounded by the halo!

Shim Yoocheol and Hwa Jeongyong were no longer polite. The hand speed burst quickly and then instantly turned Qin Mo to a residual blood state.

Qin Mo crazily gave the retreat signal on the map. "Xiao Han, run!"

The meaning was quite obvious. He was going to sacrifice himself to let Xiao Han run away.

Xiao Han understood his intentions and was no longer polite. He immediately opened Combat Stealth and flexibly bypassed a reef. His traces were lost in seconds and this escape speed was worthy of his master Li Cangyu.

—First Blood!

The death prompt appeared on the big screen after Shim Yoocheol decisively killed QIn Mo with Breaking Bone Sword.

Xiao Han succeeded in escaping. He quickly circled to the other side of the map and avoided the range of Park Joonseo's light god.

The Chinese team lost one head first and Xiao Han ran away thanks to Qin Mo. The result of the 2v3 northeast situation was decided while a 3v2 situation in the southwest reef was ongoing.

Zhuo Hang placed traps around the reef and revealed the invisible assassin of the Korean team.

"HIt them!" Tan Shitian unceremoniously ordered.

Cheng Wei used God's Light and Voice of Combat, hitting the assassin Kim Changmin to half blood.

Kim Yoonhee saw her brother was hit and that the other side had three people. She didn't hesitate to turn around and ran away with Flying Feather Steps.

Tan Shitian definitely wouldn't let her go and chased her with Flying Feather Steps.

Kim Yoonhee was ranked in the top three on the world's archers list while Tan Shitian was never on the list. The fact that he dared to chase Kim Yoonhee alone surprised many people.

Kou Hongyi wondered, "Captain Tan is very fierce. Does he want to kill Kim Yoonhee alone?"

Yu Bing declared calmly, "It is hard."

Players of the same class would find it hard to kill each other solo unless the level gap between both sides was too wide. Tan Shitian killing Kim Yoonhee alone was almost impossible to accomplish. What did he mean by following Kim Yoonhee? It was better to stay and take care of the assassin first.

Many viewers expressed doubts but Tan Shitian confidently handed the assassin to Zhuo Hang and Cheng Wei to solve.

Zhuo Hang's traps made it impossible for the assassin to escape and Cheng Wei's various control skills meant it wasn't difficult to kill the opponent. Sure enough, as Tan Shitian expected, the assassin faced Zhuo Hang and Cheng Wei and his blood plummeted. His life was soon extinguished.

The ratio of heads on both sides became 1:1.

Kim Yoonhee used Flying Feather Steps through the labyrinth and Tan Shitian chased her. Finally, Kim Yoonhee was just bypassing a reef when Tan Shitian found a chance. He aimed Quenching Arrow at her back!

The freezing effect triggered and Kim Yoonhee was frozen in place.

Tan Shitian decisively pulled the longbow and fired Shock Shot and Seize Life Shot!

Kim Yoonhee was hit to half blood before the frozen effect ended. She immediately returned tit for tat by firing Quenching Arrow and freezing Tan Shitian in place. Then she also hit Tan Shitian to half blood!

Kou Hongyi was excited. "This is really worthy of the top archers. They aren't worse than the other person and even the amount of damage is almost the same!"

Kim Yoonhee saw that Tan Shitian's freezing effect was lifted and used Flying Feather Steps around a reef. She obviously didn't want to fight Tan Shitian but wanted to join her teammates as soon as possible.

The surprising thing was that the moment she passed a reef, she was greeted by the blood kin assassin's cold blade.

It was Xiao Han!

The domestic audience finally realized that Tan Shitian chasing Kim Yoonhee was to force her to this corner of the reefs in order to let Xiao Han complete the kill!

Tan Shitian, the young captain's foresight convinced the audience at this moment!

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Chapter end