"Now we can really measure our skills!"
Bloody Edge was somewhat excited. He actually found it difficult to cope with Gege, who's style relied on speed. But the [Blood Mist] skill evened the odds.
Now it was dagger against dagger, no lightning, no skills. Bloody Edge's heart jumped. Over the last few weeks, he had been training more than ever before. Now it was time to prove the result.
Gege narrowed her eyes. She wanted to quickly fly out of the blood mist. But her moment of inattention was brutally taking advantage of by Bloody Edge. A dagger appeared next to the female assassin's body. It was somewhat difficult to spot as everything was clouded in red. The dagger struck!
[-6717!]
Bloody Edge's body trembled as multiple effects triggered. There was feedback from his dagger, healing him for a small amount of HP, which was immediately doubled by his armour. His damage was boosted as his enemy had more HP than him. But of course, the latter also had increased resistance thanks to support coming from her team.
A jolt shot through Gege's body. Her reaction was worthy of a pro player. Before Bloody Edge's second dagger reached her, she shot backwards.
[Stance -31]
The cost was not too bad as this was a battle involving flying mounts. Gege narrowed her eyes staring at Bloody Edge through the red mist. She felt a hint of competitiveness. She also wanted to prove herself against her fellow thief. However, she forcefully held herself back. She didn't want to be selfish. She had better chances outside of the mist. Thus, she turned around and rushed towards the edge.
Bloody Edge was somewhat disappointed. He chased after the opponent. Gege rushed out of the bloody mist, feeling as if shackles fell from her body. However, Bloody Edge didn't follow instantly. He waited a few seconds until the lightning marking him dissipated, which signified that Gege would have to deliver three hits again to trigger her ultimate skill.
The female assassin frowned. She suddenly had a bad premonition. It couldn't be that during all the matches against Hotpot, she wouldn't be able to use her ultimate skill even once, right? It had been such a powerful ability with a potent stun which allowed her to dish out a lot of damage, often finishing her opponents off. But if she wasn't able to trigger it, the skill would become useless. She couldn't let this happen! It would force her to question her entire play style!
As Gege was in a small crisis, the battle elsewhere turned intense as well. Menace and Hero of Realms both locked onto Silver Blade. They rained down various spells.
While Menace used flame magic to roast the tank, Hero of Realms's choice of spells almost seemed random. Lightning, wood, earth, fire, everything was used by him. The only thing they had in common was their short to non-existent cast time and their tendency to apply all kinds of debuffs. Fortunately, these debuffs were rather weak and short, not enough to threaten Silver Blade.
Silver Blade lost HP gradually, but she wasn't in danger. [Unavoidable Bulwark] froze her movements, even taking her ability to block. Yet it also improved all her resistances. Menace and Hero of Realms didn't deal enough damage to kill her. Especially since Balm also paid attention to the tank's condition.
"Now!"
Suddenly Menace shouted excitedly. She raised her left hand, where a tome floated above her palm. The magical book opened by itself, the pages flapping madly, a bright flame engulfing the book. Silver Blade narrowed her eyes. She had noticed this before. Menace had actually changed her equipment going into the battle. Certainly, this tome was of unique quality as well. GalanTen was really too generous…
Menace pointed her wand at Silver Blade. The effect she was making use of was quite simple. After causing enough fire damage, the area of her next fire-related skill could be increased by a lot. Menace grinned as she revealed the big surprise she prepared for this fight.
At the tip of her wand, a sword made from flames slowly formed. The sword wasn't big, the flames almost tame. And yet Silver Blade felt a sensation of intense danger.
Menace waved her wand and the flaming sword shot at Silver Blade, silent and dangerous like a predatory bird. She could already imagine what would happen. Her flaming sword was extremely potent since it was usually only targeting a single enemy. Because of her tome though, the sword would erupt in a grand explosion as it hit Silver Blade, spreading the damage to everyone standing too close, delivering a devastating blow to Hotpot.
Silver Blade's chest tightened but at this moment she became incredibly calm. She was not out of options. Only her movements were frozen. She still had another trick up her sleeves. An item GalanTen didn't know about. Canter's Black Hole!
With a thought the inconspicuous earring dangling from Silver Blade's ear trembled. During the fight it had constantly been devouring magic from Silver Blade's surroundings. Three charges have been saved. Now it was time to use one of them.
While Menace was brimming with anticipation, there was suddenly a stirring in the air in front of her flaming sword. A deep, abyss-like black circle appeared out of nowhere. It swirled, devouring all light, creating a mystical scene. When the flaming sword came close there was no struggle, no terrifying explosion. The sword silently sunk into the black hole and disappeared as if everything was only a dream. A second later the black hole also collapsed, and the scene returned to silence.
Menace stared ahead with a gaping mouth. All the preparation, her planning, acquiring two unique, highly suitable items, building up to this moment. And that was it?
The mage took a deep breath. She had to really hold herself back from going ballistic. She felt like punching a wall. But the fight was still ongoing, and her team needed her.
Silver Blade on the other hand was amazed by how potent her item was. The black hole really devoured the magic entirely, no matter how powerful. This would be an important trump card going forward. And just then Silver Blade's arm twitched. She realized that the effect of [Unavoidable Bulwark] had worn off. Finally, she could move again. Yet this also meant that she would soon lose the aggro of Menace and Hero of Realms. Before this could happen, Silver Blade directly activated [Luring Barrier], buying a few more seconds.
"Damn!"
Elsewhere, SpireX couldn't help but curse to himself. He had taken the job of chasing around Fortune, stopping her from activating powerful spells. Knowing that Hotpot had a slight advantage due to their available ultimate skills, he had placed a lot of attention on Menace. Her flaming sword was supposed to deal a lot of damage, forcing Balm to waste some precious cooldowns. He never expected the skill to be blocked this easily.
Gege had the upper hand. The tanks were doing their jobs. Fortune was occupied by him. But CUwUty was suppressed by Bleary Mirage and Silent Acacia was free to cover the battlefield in arrows. He was actually the biggest threat right now. If it continued like this, GalanTen would slowly but surely walk towards defeat.
Something big was needed. SpireX thought of Greenhorn and Hero of Realms. Both were still tied down by Radiant Shield and Silver Blade. But their aggro wouldn't hold forever. Players basically couldn't be aggroed forever, this was deliberately designed by C to prevent tanks from overwhelming everything else. Thus, Greenhorn and Hero of Realms would both regain their freedom in a few seconds. This would be GalanTen's biggest chance.
An invisible tension slowly formed. Everyone could feel it. Both teams were waiting for their players to get freed from the tanks. Even the audience subconsciously perceived a shift in the atmosphere.
"What's going to happen?"
"Hotpot seems to hold the upper hand."
"Yes. Silent Acacia and his pet have been attacking freely. Although GalanTen dodged a lot, the cost shouldn't be negligible."
"Balm's ultimate skill is quite awesome. How long does it last?"
"I think they said its duration increased for every 10.000 points Balm heals. In a fight like this she might be able to keep it up the entire time."
The audience was following the battle closely. Some even talked in whispers as they felt that a big change was imminent. No one wanted to miss it. The seconds ticked down.
Finally, the aggro wore off. Almost simultaneously everyone regained their freedom. Hero of Realms, Menace, Greenhorn, BlackHorizon, on one side and Quickstep, Watchful Eye, and Cyclone on the other. Sparks filled the air.
"Greenhorn!"
SpireX didn't hide his signal. All eyes suddenly fell on Greenhorn. The warrior knew what was expected of him. His ultimate skill [Ghostly Aid] was activated. The sun suddenly dimmed by a level. Shadows seemed to overtake the battlefield, elusive and fleeting. The anguished wails of wronged ghosts rang out. Dark specks fell from Greenhorn's body and approached his teammates.