Although Quickstep made it to temporary safety, Henragon was not done yet. Why would he allow his opponent to leave the range of his aura? The man squatted slightly. Orange flames erupted from his eyes. He pushed off the ground and soared through the air, his lower body engulfed in flames, turning into a shooting star.
Quickstep noticed the change in the [Aura of the Sloth]. She had already been close to the edge, but now the entire area was displaced and the distance widened again. Yet this wasn't her biggest problem as a bang suddenly sounded next to her. A wave of flames washed over the forest. Plants turned to ashes. Henragon landed next to Quickstep and the force of the impact slammed into the female warrior.
[-2164!]
Murmurs ran through the audience as they watched the sequence of the events. Many players were surprised that Henragon, who was confirmed to be GalanTen's tank, was able to deal some damage to Quickstep.
"I'm still not quite a fan of the idea.", commented Occulus, GalanTen's healer.
"Yeah. Players should be specialized. What's with this mix of damage and tanking?", agreed BlackHorizon. The bare-chested dwarf, a good friend of SpireX, demonstratively swung his weapon, a two-handed axe bigger than himself. His bulging muscles squirmed below his oiled skin, attracting the attention of a few spectators.
"His physical attacks don't even do damage. Only his fire-related skills do so. Although I like the debuff he applies, which reduces the opponent's damage. However, this makes his PvP battles so boring to watch. Henragon needs to outlast his enemy. Who knows how long it will take?"
SpireX made a more neutral comment. Although Henragon could be a bit difficult to deal with sometimes, he was by no means a bad player. Yet his chances in this battle were not great.
The others shared the captain's opinion. CUwUty, Hero of Realms and Menace, the team's mages, Gege, Vavel, the team's second tank, and Greenhorn, another warrior.
This was actually the first time that GalanTen appeared publicly like this, for everyone to observe them closely. Many spectators were curious what tricks this team had up their sleeves. The anticipation for the team matches later continued to rise.
However, Quickstep and Henragon were far from being done. The match had only just started. As Henragon closed in, Quickstep knew that she wouldn't be able to escape the stun caused by [Aura of the Sloth]. However, she had to delay for as much time as possible. Thus, she hastily activated [Carrier of Storm].
Quickstep disappeared, her body transforming into three blades, as if the force of a raging storm was condensed into a small area. The edges of those blades were engulfed by wind moving so fast they turned into a white streak to the naked eye. The surrounding foliage was torn apart even without coming into contact.
The next moment the three blades shot across the battlefield. Henragon stood too close. He managed to block one blade and dodge another, but the third blade pierced his armour with its terrifying cutting force.
[-1323!]
[-1557!]
[-1466!]
The three blades continued for some distance before they fell apart. Quickstep reappeared. She glanced at her opponent and her eyes lit up. The water and wind damage accompanying her skill turned out to be quite potent. Obviously Henragon's elemental resistance was his weak point. Quickstep discovered her chance.
However, before the female warrior could be happy for too long, she suddenly felt a strange force binding her body. Her limbs felt incredibly heavy and she was unable to move them. [Aura of the Sloth] had fully taken effect.
Quickstep's expression remained indifferent. She watched as Henragon approached her. The tank was in a hurry, his powerful strength offsetting the weight of his heavy armour. He rushed in big steps leaving deep footprints in the soil. Finally, he reached a certain distance from Quickstep. A flaming shield was conjured in front of his body. It rose to the sky, enlarging to cover a large area, before violently slamming to the ground. Quickstep could only endure helplessly.
[-3535!]
Henragon unleashed a series of skills. Flames constantly assaulted Quickstep over the span of three seconds. Her HP were reduced by more than ten thousand points.
Finally, the female warrior regained her movements. She couldn't help but feel strange. What gave Henragon the confidence to challenge her? At this point the tank had used up his offensive means, but Quickstep had only lost a fourth of her HP. Did Henragon think he could drag the battle until all his skills came off cooldown, repeating the entire sequence?
Quickstep wouldn't give him the chance!
"Henragon! So fierce!"
"Quickstep is in danger!"
"Could she really lose?"
The audience was shocked by everything that happened so far. Quickstep was completely suppressed. Especially [Aura of the Sloth] created a lot of problems for her. However, the mood changed at this point. Quickstep regained her movements and was ready to retaliate. Yet…
"What is this?"
"Quickstep! Put some power into your attacks!"
"Stop running! Deal some damage!"
The audience was baffled by what they were watching. Quickstep was running circles around Henragon, continuously striking with her sword. But the tank proved his skills. Quickstep was barely able to strike his body. Every time a shield would appear at the last moment, blocking her attacks. And even if she managed to hit Henragon, the damage left much to be desired. Quickstep suffered from reduced damage while Henragon boosted his defence with a skill.
Yet Quickstep wasn't disappointed. On the contrary, her eyes lit up brightly. Was there anything more delightful than measuring oneself against an equally skilled opponent? Only a real challenge could bring out the best in her. As Quickstep continued to attack, each of her strikes became increasingly difficult to anticipate. Henragon also perceived the change. Sweat began to gather below his armour. The sword managed to slip past his defence more often.
And suddenly Quickstep erupted. Her eyes turned a piercing, silver colour. Henragon know what was happening. He reacted immediately, casting a barrier upon himself.
Quickstep grinned. [Aspect of Storm] was activated. A sword created of wind and water appeared in her second hand. She turned into the embodiment of a storm. Both movement and attack speed increased by multiple levels. All kinds of effects overlapped.
Quickstep unleashed all her skills. For a while Henragon was caught in the midst of a hurricane, powerful forces striking from all sides. Especially the wind and water damage caused Henragon a lot of trouble. His barrier was soon penetrated and the damage fell on his body. His shield could only protect him so much.
"Quickstep! Quickstep!"
"So awesome!"
"It was worth waiting!"
"I saw it in Fortune's videos, but only from up-close can one truly appreciate the ferocity of Quickstep's Hurricane Mode!"
The audience was erupting, their eyes shining brightly. Many imagined themselves in Quickstep's shoes, turning into a hurricane, striking their enemies from all sides, not giving them a chance to retaliate.
The situation lasted for a while before Quickstep finally calmed down. She had used all her means, except for her ultimate skill. Henragon was badly beaten. More than a third of his 80.000HP were gone. The tank gritted his teeth. At this point the outcome of the battle seemed set. With one rotation of his skills, he only reduced Quickstep's HP by a fourth, yet he himself had lost a third.
Everyone could already foresee Quickstep winning it all. But Henragon still had a trump card. He could use his ultimate skill. This would give Hotpot information before the upcoming team battle. Should he do it anyways?
Just as the tank was struggling with himself, he saw that Quickstep retreat by a few steps and took out a health potion. Instantly Henragon let out a sigh. It seemed his fate had been sealed.
The fight dragged on for a while. Henragon didn't want to lose too miserably. For a while he clashed with Quickstep in the most primitive way, sword against shield, without any skills. It was a comparison of foundations. How much could Henragon block? How often would Quickstep's sword slip past his shield?
The casual audience felt somewhat bored watching this exchange. Only the experts were able to observe the little intricacies. The faints, the tricks, the battles at a mental level. One could learn a lot just from watching.
"Quickstep is quite terrifying…"
"She knows how to wield a sword."
Even the members of GalanTen had to admit that their opponent was skilled. Henragon only managed to block about seventy five percent of Quickstep's attacks. For a professional tank this was not a satisfactory rate.
"Henragon will lose."
"Mhm. We shouldn't have sent him."
"After he initiated the challenge, we hardly had another choice."
"He will redeem himself in the team battle."
GalanTen didn't have much hope left. Soon, the two combatants regained their skills. The earlier scenes repeated themselves. Henragon managed to deal some damage, but it was not enough to threaten Quickstep. Time dragged on. A third round of skills was unleashed. However, halfway through, Quickstep landed the final hit. Henragon's HP were reduced to zero. Quickstep emerged victorious.