Burn the Boats and Bridges

{ Ye Qiu's Avatar: The Enlightened One(mechanic class)

Su Mucheng's Avatar: Dancing Rain

Liu Hao's Avatar: Total Darkness

Han Wenqing's Avatar: Desert Dust

Zhou Guangyi's Avatar: Cold Seasons

Zheng Chengfeng's Avatar: Mountain Split }

On the verge of getting smashed under the massive, Liu Hao suddenly swiped his mouse downward. As "Total Darkness" lowered his head, Liu Hao swung his short sword heavily towards the ground, striking against the shield amidst the chaos.

Zheng Chengfeng couldn't quite grasp this manoeuvre. What's the point of striking the shield? But the next moment, his laughter ceased.

A rainbow-colored sword energy wave unexpectedly burst forth from Total Darkness End's blade.

Total Darkness's Skill—Evil Light Slash.

Glory's physics engine was incredibly realistic. By slashing sword energy mid-air, according to the principles of momentum conservation and force interaction, Total Darkness was propelled forward once more. However, it was this slight movement that allowed him to successfully evade the onslaught of the Mountain Split.

Zheng Chengfeng widened his eyes in astonishment. "How is this possible..."

Caught up in the moment, he failed to notice Total Darkness's escape. No, he wasn't escaping; he was going to support Ye Qiu.

A chill ran down Zheng Chengfeng's spine as he realized his grave mistake. What was Han's team's task for him? Just to hold Liu Hao back. Yet, because he couldn't control his emotions, too eager to kill Darkness Without End, he inadvertently gave Liu Hao the chance to escape.

Determined to make amends for his error, Zheng Chengfeng immediately manipulated his Mountain Split's attack towards Total Darkness, gesturing with his fingers.

Knight Skill—Provocation: taunt the target, upon hitting, forcing the target to focus their view on the caster.

But... Total Darkness didn't turn back.

Total Darkness had long since left the range of the provocation skill, and the charge of the Mountain Split had already been wasted. There was no way to catch up to Liu Hao.

"Liu Hao escaped!" Zheng Chengfeng yelled anxiously.

Han Wenqing, upon hearing this, was momentarily stunned, having been hit by two silver bullets from Ye Qiu.

"You didn't hold him back?" Han Wenqing was incredulous.

"I'm sorry, that guy is as slippery as an eel..." Zheng Chengfeng felt ashamed.

Originally thinking Liu Hao was an easy target to handle, he now realized that the Knight, the class most skilled at drawing aggro, couldn't even restrain Liu Hao.

Han Wenqing remained silent. His demands on his team members were stringent, but now wasn't the time to blame his teammate. "To the main battlefield!"

"Understood!" Zheng Chengfeng had already been chasing after Liu Hao's escape direction.

...

On the other side.

Dancing Rain concealed herself at a high vantage point, her cannon was aiming directly at Ye Qiu and Han Wenqing's main battlefield, awaiting the moment Ye Qiu would lead Han Wenqing into her attack range.

...

"Old Han, are you getting old? How come your attacks lack vigor?" Ye Qiu taunted with a smile.

Facing Desert Dust's heavy punches, Ye Qiu effortlessly dodged.

"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking." Han Wenqing sneered coldly.

"What am I thinking?" Ye Qiu asked.

"You are not taking the initiative to attack and only manoeuvring for positioning... It's just to lure me into Dancing Rain's attack range." Han Wenqing completely exposed Ye Qiu's strategy.

Perhaps others might find it hard to discern Ye Qiu's strategy of inviting the enemy into Dancing Rain's attack range, being Ye Qiu's opponent for ten years, Han Wenqing understood him extremely well.

Ye Qiu's expression slightly changed, his brow furrowed slightly. Since Han Wenqing had already discovered his true intentions, why did he pretend not to know, gradually walking into his and Mucheng's trap?

"Use their strategy against them!" Ye Qiu realised.

With Han Wenqing's awareness and understanding of him, it wasn't difficult to guess where he had arranged Mucheng's hidden position. In other words, Zhou Guang Yi, who hadn't appeared until now, went to find Mucheng.

"Mucheng, watch out for the Assassin!" Ye Qiu hastily shouted.

But it was too late.

An icy dagger pierced Dancing Rain's back.

Su Mucheng was startled, but her instincts of a professional player were still there. She immediately swung her mouse to turn around, only to find Dancing Rain motionless?

Dancing Rain's health bar was depleted.

So... the Assassin's move was a sacrifice!

"Got her!" Zhou Guang Yi exclaimed excitedly.

Su Mucheng stared blankly at the screen. Why didn't she detect Zhou Guang Yi earlier?

Oh, it was the footsteps, the footsteps were masked.

The map was called Rabbit Forest, with rabbits running around, their footsteps were chaotic, interfering with her judgement of the surrounding environment, preventing her from realising the impending danger.

"I'm sorry." Su Mucheng apologised embarrassedly.

"It's okay, learn from this lesson for next time." Ye Qiu tried to maintain his composure as much as possible, but the slight furrowing of his brows indicated his inner turmoil.

The likelihood of Excellent Era losing this training match was high.

Han Wenqing truly deserved the title of Fist King. His fist techniques were vigorous and valiant. His expertise in firearms was simply no match for him. Although he could still move freely now, given enough time, he would surely be defeated by Desert Dust.

The situation wasn't optimistic. Only when Liu Hao's support arrived did they stand a chance. But would Liu Hao, this guy who always seemed eager for his own death, will really come to their aid?

Compared to Ye Qiu's troubled expression, Han Wenqing was feeling quite pleased. Not because the chances of Tyranny's victory were high, but because he discovered Zhou Guang Yi's potential.

Su Mucheng was a sensitive player, very alert to her surroundings. Yet Zhou Guang Yi managed to use the sound of the rabbits' footsteps to conceal his own, delivering a fatal blow to Mucheng. It undoubtedly proved Zhou Guang Yi's excellence.

The purpose of this training match had been achieved. Han Wenqing made a decision in his heart: Zhou Guang Yi would be promoted to the second core of Tyranny and share the pressure on the battlefield with him.

However, even though the purpose of the training match had been achieved, the match still had to continue. Han Wenqing wanted to defeat Ye Qiu once again. Such opportunities were not easy to come by.

...

Liu Hao noticed the message prompt on one side of the screen. His teammate, Dancing Rain, had been killed, and she was in full health just a moment ago, yet was killed in a single blow...

In other words, Dancing Rain fell victim to the Assassin's suicidal strike.

What a perfect opportunity!

The Assassin had used a suicidal strike, indicating that he was at low health. This was a great opportunity to pick up a kill and claim the system reward!

Liu Hao hesitated. Should he support Ye Qiu now? Or should he go for the kill and claim the reward from the system?

Liu Hao subjectively wanted to support Ye Qiu. Only by supporting Ye Qiu could Excellen Era secure victory.

But if he supported Ye Qiu, he wouldn't be facing Han Wenqing himself, and he wouldn't be able to prove his strength by defeating him alone. With the trust already broken, he wouldn't gain anything...

"Since Ye Qiu no longer values me, then why not make him value me again? Since Ye Qiu no longer trusts me, why not betray him again?" Liu Hao made a firm decision. At this moment, he conceived an earth-shattering plan. He wanted to solo kill Han Wenqing and confront Ye Qiu head-on!

Winning would lead to smooth sailing, while losing would plunge him into the abyss of darkness furthermore. Liu Hao was brimming with confidence.

(End of Chapter)