The King's Avatar Chapter 1180-1181

Chapter 1180: Dumb Method

Translator: Nomyummi  Editor: Nomyummi

All attacks began from positioning, and positioning came from choosing a position and moving there. Harassing an opponent and limiting their freedom to move was equal to interfering with the foundations of an opponent's offensive. This reasoning was very simple.

Ye Xiu had fully analyzed the problem at hand already, but Mo Fan clearly hadn't realized the key to resolving his current situation. Mo Fan, having specialized in scrap-picking, had honed the skills and awareness required for scrap-picking to an amazing degree. However, his other abilities fell short. After joining Happy, he relied on self-teaching due to his loner personality. Now, he was a registered pro player. His abilities were special in their own way, but Mo Fan was still greatly lacking a lot of theoretical knowledge.

In addition, Qin Muyun specialized in this sort of foundational skill, which was something easily dismissed by others. No reports had ever highlighted this ability of his. Ye Xiu and the others had also never noticed during their limited preparations. It was only now, at the match itself, that they noticed.

He's so hard to deal with, I can't shake him off!

Mo Fan currently had that vague idea. The reason why he was hard to deal with and impossible to shake off eluded him, and he didn't even think to try and find it.

His thought process was rather simple, just to run and shake him off. Deception kept running, but Negative Nine Degrees was like a personal satellite, always following him and suppressing him with bullets.

"This idiot!" Chen Guo watched anxiously. Mo Fan was currently just challenging Qin Muyun to a contest of movement. If Ye Xiu dared to say that Qin Muyun would be unbeatable at such a competition, then it was clear how large the gap was between the two. If they continued like this, would Deception be defeated by Qin Muyun with this amount of health?

Tang Rou had been defeated in the first round and, to her, this was a huge disappointment, because her goal was to accomplish a 1v3. However, in the group arena, leaving the opponent with 11% health left wasn't bad. However, Happy's second player didn't seem to have any way of dealing with this remaining 11%, and that was no good at all.

"Calm down. He's not as stupid as you think," Ye Xiu said, watching the match.

"What?" Chen Guo didn't understand.

"He's saving his skills," Ye Xiu said.

"Hm? What does he want to do?" Chen Guo didn't bother guessing and asked directly.

Her answer came in the form of a sudden change in action from Mo Fan.

Attack! A full frontal assault!

Ninjas were designed as a rogue-style class, talented at ambushing and assassinating. Currently, he was acting more like a main DPS, using brute force.

Smoke Bomb, Substitution Technique, Shadow Clone Technique, Storm Shuriken!

One Ninja tool, one disruption skill, one disruption plus movement technique, one projectile. Finding an opportunity, Deception unleashed four consecutive skills. Negative Nine Degrees' movements were still not disrupted. Mo Fan had never noticed that it was Negative Nine Degrees' movements that were causing him trouble,, but the purpose of these four skills wasn't to disrupt his movements.

These four skills were just to create an opening.

Ninja Arts: Shadow Dance!

The four skills were just to create a chance for this powerful skill.

Deception quickly leapt to Negative Nine Degrees' side. Negative Nine Degrees moved about the encirclement. His precise choice of pathing and positioning were just starting points while on the offensive, but when on the defensive, they were sometimes everything. Negative Nine Degrees was actually able to dart out of the encirclement.

However, it had cost him. His health had fallen even further.

Deception's offensive didn't end there. Attack, attack, attack, relentlessly attack.

The health of both sides were dropping. Deception's might be depleting faster, but Negative Nine Degrees had started with less health.

"What a dumb method!" Ye Xiu exclaimed.

"Hm?" Chen Guo didn't understand.

"He's copying Little Tang," Ye Xiu explained.

Chen Guo started, and then, when she looked back, she realized something.

Qin Muyun was still that Qin Muyun. When he had fought Tang Rou, he might have won, but it cost him almost 90 percent of his health. It was clear that facing Tang Rou's style was still very stressful for him.

Mo Fan couldn't find where the problem lay, but he had watched the previous match. He knew that with this way, he could lower the opponent's health. Thus, after saving up his skills, he launched a fierce offensive. He might have not be as intense as Tang Rou, but Negative Nine Degrees didn't have much health left anyways.

So this was the dumb method… As Chen Guo thought to herself, she glanced at Tang Rou who was next to them. Was Ye Xiu's analysis of how Mo Fan should deal with Qin Muyun for Tang Rou to hear?

In the end, Mo Fan won, but Deception had lost almost half of his health. Compared to Qin Muyun's 11 percent, Happy had still lost.

Tyranny's second player Bai Yanfei stepped into the arena.

As a member of Tyranny, you had to be at least a little tyrannical. Bai Yanfei's Elementalist really shouldn't be called Rota, but Cannon Tower*.

Elementalists didn't have as good of an attack range as Launchers, but when discussing AoE, magic won against technology. Out of all the light, dark, fire and ice elements, the character Rota focused on AoE skills. When he charged into the middle of the map and didn't see Deception, he just unleashed a barrage of attacks onto the map and blasted Deception out of his hiding place before blasting him to death...

Rota didn't use up much health, but Happy was already at their last player, Steamed Bun. On the field, Steamed Bun had performed admirably, but in the end, he was unable to complete a 1v2. In the Group Arena, Tyranny had won back two points.

The Tyranny fans now really had something to be excited about. They organized their cheers, once again defeating Happy's home advantage. Next, was the all important team competition. The overwhelming cheers lasted until the lineup for the team competition was announced.

Happy: Ye Xiu, Su Mucheng, Fang Rui, Qiao Yifan, An Wenyi, Tang Rou.

This lineup seemed to be Happy's best lineup. Currently, it was the fourth round and Team Happy hadn't sent out any other players.

Tyranny: Zhang Xinjie, Lin Jingyan, Zhang Jiale, Qin Muyun, Song Qiying, Bai Yanfei.

No Han Wenqing!

When the lineup for Tyranny was announced, the audience was in uproar, including Tyranny's own fans.

Switching people in and out for the team competition was a common sight, but core players were very rarely switched out. They were core players because they were irreplaceable in the team. The entire team's strategy revolved around them.

But now, Team Tyranny's lineup didn't include their captain of ten years. In the post-match interview after round three, they did say that they were going to introduce some rotation, but no one would have thought it would start from their captain, Han Wenqing.

They had switched in Song Qiying, who played the same class as Han Wenqing. He might have fallen in the individual competition, but he did rather well. He was one rookie that people would be keeping an eye on.

Discussions arose. Was Tyranny already transitioning between a new and old core player?

If even Han Wenqing was beginning to back down, then what about Zhang Jiale? Or Lin Jingyan?

The entire stadium was filled with whispers as the players met center stage to shake hands.

"How come Old Han isn't playing? He afraid?" Ye Xiu asked with a smile.

"Rotation," Zhang Xinjie replied briefly. Anything he could say had to be true, had to be fact.

"Even core players are being rotated?" Ye Xiu voiced the crux of the problem. Rotation was normal, but rotating out core players was only done when it was necessary. It wasn't normal.

"It's none of your business!" Zhang Jiale retorted. Zhang Xinjie didn't say anything else, silently nodding in agreement to Zhang Jiale's words. Since it was none of their business, there was no need to explain.

"Fine, let's fight then!" Ye Xiu didn't bother to continue the conversation. The members of each team got in place. In the end, Happy, even after their week of specialized training, wasn't able to defeat Tyranny's experienced players. With Tyranny's Master Tactician's flawless planning, Happy wasn't able to cause any upsets. In the team competition, Tyranny won against Happy, gaining another five points. After losing all three points in the individual competition, Tyranny won the group arena and team competition, turning the tides and winning Happy 7 to 3.

There was no need to talk of how excited Tyranny's fans were. As for Happy, disappointment was inevitable, but their spirits weren't all that low, since after all, Happy's loss wasn't too ugly. The only awkward aspect was that Tang Rou, who had said she would complete a 1v3, had been defeated in the very first round. However… Tang Rou wasn't very well liked among Happy's fans either recently. Most people didn't mind seeing her fail. Not many people would feel sorry about this.

In the post-match interview, most of the questions were about the 1v3, as expected. Tyranny replied with the attitude they always had and showed their support to Tang Rou's promise. This answer clearly wasn't something the media wanted. Currently, very few media outlets were on Tang Rou's side. The more mockery they could get from other team, the better.

In Happy's press conference, Tang Rou didn't attend, but they couldn't escape these sorts of questions. However, the reporters really stood no chance against the few that attended. Especially that Wei Chen, who didn't even play during today's match, spewed out words at the press conference he somehow got to attend. The questions surrounding the 1v3 had been somehow swerved off topic to the Alliance of the past. He had rambled for ten minutes and the reporters were all at a loss...

Happy and Tyranny's match had its spectacular moments, but nothing that could really be written about. It was Tyranny, with their rookie replacing their core player captain in their team competition, that became the center of discussion.

The most popular match of the round, Blue Rain versus Samsara, had finished by then as well. Blue Rain, challenging Samsara in an away game, didn't manage to halt Samsara's momentum in the end. The final score was set at 3 to 7. Blue Rain had gained a point in the individual competition and two points in the group arena.

In these two consecutive rounds, one home game, one away, both against the powerhouses of the Alliance, Samsara had truly been tested and passed these tests. Who could stop Samsara's advance? This became a hot new topic. Tyranny had fallen, Blue Rain had fallen. Who was next? Tiny Herb? Or Wind Howl?

Translator's Thoughts

 Nomyummi

TN: The second character in Rota means tower

Chapter 1181: The Demonic Journey to Championship

Translator: Nomyummi  Editor: Nomyummi

Although Samsara's performance was as strong as ever, on the points rankings after this round, they slipped down two places. Tiny Herb, who had originally only lagged behind by one point, won 9 to 1 against Miracle and surpassed Samsara by one point. Wind Howl, who was originally behind Samsara by two points, had swept Bright Green 10 to 0 and were also now one point ahead of Samsara. Because of their alphabetical advantage, Wind Howl (Huxiao) was currently in the lead. Tiny Herb (Weicao) was in second with the same number of points, 36, and third place was Samsara with 35.

After losing in their away game to Samsara, 3 to 7, there was a bit of distance between their 30 points and the first three places. Misty Rain had 30 points as well, but lost alphabetically (Yanyu) to Blue Rain (Lanyu) and were currently in fifth.

Sixth place Tyranny was now a full ten points below the first place. Although their 7-3 win against Happy wasn't terrible, the fact that they'd gotten a big fat 0 in the individual competition was still snatched up by the reporters looking for a topic of interest.

There were two other teams also at 26 points, Thunderclap and Void. This round, Thunderclap played an away game at 301 Degrees, and in the end they tied at 5 to 5.

This result happened when one team won all of their individual battles, and the other team won 5 points in the team competition. This result was relatively rare. The individual battles were split into the individual competition and the group arena, and those 5 points were split up, so a team could normally snatch at least one or two points. Unlike the team round, there were no teammates to help save a dangerous situation, and the team's strength was scattered. There could be a situation like Tian Ji's Horse Race*, or just one large mistake that affected a battle's outcome.

Thus, even when a powerhouse faced a weak team, they wouldn't dare to guarantee a full 10 point victory. With one small mistake, the opponent could snatch that one or two points. It could be said that it was even more difficult to get all 5 points of the individual battles than the 5 of the team competition, since the team competition was determined in one battle.

And in this match, 301 Degrees won 5 points in the individual battles. As long as they won the team competition, they would win 10 to 0, a perfect victory. But in the end, even though they had the home advantage, they were still defeated by Thunderclap…

To fail to get a single point in the individual battles would definitely have an effect on a team's mindset when entering the team competition. Thunderclap, however, was exceptionally resolute. Thunderclap's change this season had been discussed all throughout the past three rounds, some people felt that they had changed, while others felt that this was just the return of the old Thunderclap. But after this team competition, famous commentator Cha Xiaoxia wrote that Thunderclap had indeed changed, even from the previous Thunderclap that had Xiao Shiqin.

"The current Thunderclap is more confident and more determined.

This change is what Xiao Shiqin brought back upon his return. He experienced a failed year with Excellent Era, but he found exactly what he needed. He brought this back and changed the face of Thunderclap. I look forward to their performance this season."

This was the commentary Cha Xiaoxia wrote after this round. And, as a self-proclaimed Happy fanboy, he of course wouldn't skip on the commentary of Happy vs Tyranny.

Regarding Tang Rou's promise of a 1v3, fanboy Cha Xiaoxia was resolute in his hope that Tang Rou would succeed, but he was still a bit worried. He worried that Tang Rou couldn't accomplish it, but he also worried that Happy, in order to facilitate the 1v3, would ruin the rhythm of their their team arrangement. In this round, Happy's order of battle for the individual battles were indeed different from before.

In comparison, the Esports Time reporter Ruan Cheng, who attacked Tang Rou the most, didn't write much after Tang Rou lost to the first opponent in this match. All he said was a simple "as expected." It seemed that Ruan Cheng wasn't someone who would get excited over the just smallest thing, and it even seemed that he had begun to lose interest in this matter. However, the people who knew Ruan Cheng understood that this was just because the time wasn't yet ripe. She had five rounds to 1v3, this was only the first.

"If she doesn't do it in four rounds, and in the eighth round, Ruan Cheng isn't at the Tiny Herb vs Happy post-match press conference, then there are only two possibilities. One, Tang Rou completed the 1v3 in that match. Two, Ruan Cheng experienced an inescapable natural disaster." This was the judgment of someone who knew Ruan Cheng well. This wasn't even a Glory match any more, it seemed to be a showdown between player and reporter.

Winning 7 points against Happy, Tyranny's current score of 26 points wasn't too bad. But Void (Xukong), who also had 26 points and was one place behind Tyranny (Batu) by alphabet, hadn't done too well this round. Although they were playing an away game, their opponent Conquering Clouds wasn't any strong team. The final score of 6 to 4 was unsatisfactory to Void supporters.

There was also Hundred Blossoms. After losing to Happy in their away game, they played a home game in the third round, but lost to 301 Degrees, 3 to 7. It seemed like Hundred Blossoms was beaten senseless. This round they fought an away game against Seaside, but the end result was still only 6-4. It had to be remembered that Seaside was the team with the worst performance in the first three rounds. Aside from winning 2 points against Misty Rain in the first round, they were swept in the second and third round. In low spirits, they fought against Hundred Blossoms who was also in bad condition, they actually managed to snatch 4 points. Even though Hundred Blossoms won and Seaside lost, but because of each of their skill levels and positions, Hundred Blossoms was the one unsatisfied, while Seaside seemed to have found the light of dawn.

After Hundred Blossoms' small victory of 6 points, they were 11th on the leaderboard with 18 points. Ahead of them was the team that had tied with Thunderclap, 301 Degrees with 19 points. Ninth was Parade, after fighting a home game against Radiant, a team around their skill level, they earned a beautiful 8 to 2, and currently had 20 points.

Royal Style was at 12th, having suffered in their away game this round against Heavenly Swords 3 to 7. Royal Style slid down two places on the leaderboard, while these 7 points allowed Heavenly Swords to finally fight out of the relegation area, to 16th place.

At 13th was Happy, at 15 points after four rounds. Aside from their big win against Hundred Blossoms in the second round, they had not tasted another victory. Disregarding the first place on the leaderboard, their distance to eighth place, the last playoff spot, was a large 11 point difference.

This ranking was a far cry from their early declaration of aiming for the championship. Quite a few people talked about this alongside Tang Rou's 1v3 in five rounds. Was this sort of arrogant attitude just Happy's style?

Crashing in two consecutive rounds, Happy couldn't help but feel a little disheartened. Even though they knew that this team still had problems here and there, their thirst for victory wouldn't be dampened at all. Sundays after match Saturdays were Alliance-regulated rest days, but when Chen Guo came to the Internet cafe early Sunday morning, she saw that the door to the second floor was already opened, everyone already lined up in the training room.

These guys…

Chen Guo couldn't help but sigh. In reality, she'd already lamented this many times. Even if Happy's people might lack in skill, their spirit was never something to worry about. Big loss, big win, ups and downs, many people might not even be able to sleep at night. But Happy's people could always adjust, and continue to sit in front of their computers, working hard.

Like this, we'll win for sure. Chen Guo carried this thought, and Happy continued to train hard.

Round 5…

Round 6…

Time passed quickly. September was over in the blink of an eye, and they were now halfway through October. Starting from the fifth round, the Pro Alliance was reaching consecutive highs, powerful matches appearing one after another.

In Round 5, Samsara played an away game at Tiny Herb. Samsara's crushing dominance seemed to shrink again, but they still managed to win, 6 to 4. On Tiny Herb's home field, Samsara obtained a small victory. In the same round, another match between powerhouses received attention, Tyranny against Blue Rain. On their home field, Blue Rain emerged victorious, 7 to 3.

And then in Round 6, there were two more important faceoffs. Tiny Herb at Tyranny, Wind Howl at Samsara.

In the end, Tyranny earned a small victory over Tiny Herb, 6 to 4. But the discussions about their capabilities didn't quiet down. Compared to their strength last season, where they had led the leaderboard the entire time, this season Tyranny was hovering just above the cutoff for playoffs, even falling down occasionally. They no longer had the boldness of last year.

Samsara had their home game this match, taking down Wind Howl 8 to 2. And in the post-match press conference, the manager of Club Samsara suddenly expressed his complaints about Samsara's match schedule this season.

"Starting from Round 3, Tyranny, Blue Rain, Tiny Herb, Wind Howl… If I called this the most demonic match schedule in history, I don't think anyone would object? At the same time I haven't forgotten, after this round in Rounds 7 and 8, we're facing Misty Rain and Void. This is truly an unforgettable journey to the championship."

In reality, the sharper reporters discovered early on that Samsara's match schedule was so demonic, and they'd used this in some of their questions toward Samsara. Samsara didn't try to avoid the topic, but they downplayed it. Now after six rounds of opponents, four of which were powerhouses, no matter whether they were home or away, Samsara managed to defeat all of them. No one asked, but Samsara now voluntarily brought up this point. 

The reporters suddenly understood. Samsara didn't want to discuss this before because they wanted to follow the style of their captain Zhou Zekai: no talk, just do!

And so they won their way here. Big or small victories, they won against every powerhouse.

And so now, they could discuss this problem with no pressure at all. This wouldn't feel like an excuse, because they had completely conquered this challenging match order.

The cameras clicked and flashed as the reporters asked each of the players onstage about their feelings after facing this demonic match schedule.

"These victories were extremely important, both in earning points for our team, and in suppressing our main competitors. I'm glad we were able to accomplish this," Vice-captain Jiang Botao said.

"Not bad, but I think that we can do even better." Bringing One Autumn Leaf from Excellent Era and swiftly becoming a crucial player for Samsara, Sun Xiang had become less haughty than before, but his confidence had increased quite a lot.

"…" Samsara's Captain Zhou Zekai, after about ten seconds of long thinking, finally nodded. "Good."

"What's good? That winning these matches was just 'good,' or 'good' thing you managed to win these matches?" one reporter asked.

"Mm…" The long thinking was inevitable, and everyone waited patiently.

"Both!" After this long thinking, Zhou Zekai replied with this one word.

"Could you talk about your views of Tang Rou of Happy, who declared she would complete a 1v3 in five rounds?" The reporters tirelessly chased after almost every player in the Alliance with this question. They were still asking, which meant that Tang Rou had yet to succeed. Right now, three of the five rounds had passed. Tang Rou only had two more chances.

Translator's Thoughts

 Nomyummi

*"Tian Ji's Horse Race" is a famous (real, historical) Chinese story of strategy. Despite having weaker horses than his opponent, Tian Ji was able to win 2 to 1. He raced his weakest horse against his opponent's strongest (loss), his strongest against his opponent's second strongest (win), and his second strongest against his opponent's weakest (win) - Syncogon

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