1554 Random

Tyranny's six players were the usual six, though it was somewhat surprising that they picked Song Qiying to play.

After all, he had lost rather embarrassingly just before in the group arena. It was unlikely that he would be unaffected by the loss. The following team competition was extremely important. It would have been less risky to send the more experienced Bai Yanfei. However, in the end, Tyranny had trust in their young general, fielding him in this crucial, deciding battle.　

"It isn't the time to train their rookies..." Pan Lin couldn't help but criticize this arrangement.

"Haha," Li Yibo, who had once been a part of Tyranny, laughed, "They're not having him play for the experience. They have absolute trust in him, that's it. Tyranny's players need this sort of confidence and courage."

Pan Lin was speechless. This absolute trust in Song Qiying wasn't rational! Were Tyranny's generals really planning on entrusting perhaps their final opportunity for a reason like that?　

As the two talked, Happy's six players got up from their seats and walked towards the stage.

Ye Xiu, Su Mucheng, Fang Rui, the three experienced All-Star players. These three had always been the core of Happy, and the most stable positions in the team competition.

An Wenyi, Happy's Cleric, also had a stable position in the team competition because of his class.

Then, it was Tang Rou! She had just crushed Tyranny's momentum in the group arena. In her confrontation with Tyranny's rookie, Song Qiying, she had won in a dominating fashion. Her deserving of the title Best Rookie was becoming more and more convincing.

Finally, their sixth player was Luo Ji! He had played the fewest times in the regular season, but in the first round of Happy's semifinals game with Tyranny, he had single-handedly turned the situation around, triggering a heated discussion amongst the community. The discussion had been interrupted for a moment by the match between Samsara and Tiny Herb, but when it was time for the second game between Happy and Tyranny, Luo Ji's name often came up in the discussion and predictions.

In the second game, Tyranny chose the map, and Happy did not send out Luo Ji. The map that Tyranny had chosen indeed didn't have any areas that could be dismantled. Tyranny had showed some worry over Luo Ji.

For this third game, after getting a general overview of the random map, Happy immediately sent out Luo Ji in this important deciding match. This map was a map that had specifically been prepared for the playoffs. It had never been seen before, so it wasn't possible for anyone to have made any preparations for it. Could it be that Luo Ji's ability to "instantly understand the structure of the terrain and then dismantle it" was real?

For a moment, the discussion began to revolve around Luo Ji. Pan Lin had felt that Tyranny had been bold, daring to send out Song Qiying. Now, he had no idea what to say for Happy.

No matter how you put it, Song Qiying had been a prime candidate for the title of Best Rookie this season. That was a proof of his skill. As for Luo Ji? The few times that he had appeared in the regular season, he had rarely made any especially great plays. It wasn't until the semifinals of the playoffs did he suddenly attract everyone's attention. However, Pan Lin didn't believe in that so-called ability of his. If Luo Ji didn't have that ability, then wasn't Luo Ji's appearance a bluff? Then what? There was no then. Happy had sent out an inexperienced and average rookie as a diversion. It was far more risky than Tyranny fielding Song Qiying.

Amidst the clamor, the players on the two teams lined up at the center of the stage.

It wasn't until the referee confirmed their lineups were their names displayed on the screen.　

The two sides shook hands silently. The tense atmosphere overwhelmed everything. The air seemed to have turned solid. The players quietly completed the pre-match ceremony, and under the referee's directions, they headed to their respective player booths.

There was no provocation from anyone. No one tried to probe the other side's mentality. There was also no "friends first, competition second" behavior either. The battle that would decide their efforts over this entire year began in this way. The audience could feel this terrifying oppressiveness and were silent as well.

If even the spectators were like this, how were the players themselves feeling?

The two teams spawned on the map. This map, "Seven Color Springs", was shaped like a square. The spawn locations weren't the usual corners, but rather at the 12 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock, and 9 o'clock positions. What was more astonishing was that the two teams didn't spawn symmetrical to each other. Team Happy spawned at the 6 o'clock position, while Team Tyranny spawned at the 3 o'clock position.

This was the first time the spawn locations had broken Glory traditions. But then again, whether it was the Alliance's rules or the competitive rules, neither of them specified that the spawn locations needed to be opposite of each other. From the numerous maps over the years though, it seemed to be a tacit agreement. However, in this crucial battle, this tacit agreement was broken, immediately leading to a large commotion outside of the stage.

"Their spawn locations aren't symmetrical!" Pan Lin was astonished, "Coach Li, how do you think this will affect the match?"

"It will definitely have an effect on the match. The two teams don't know about this situation. They will likely assume that their opponents spawned on the opposite end, and then based on this assumption, they'll make predictions on when and where the opponent might come from. But with this current situation, the two teams' predictions will be wrong. Their first encounter will come as a surprise to both teams. It will be a test of their reaction speed and ability to adapt to unexpected situations. Whichever side is able to figure out the reason for the issue the fastest will have a better grasp of the situation."

Li Yibo went into a fairly lengthy analysis. The two teams also began to move. After their intentions gradually became clear, the crowd once again went into a commotion.

The straightforward and direct Tyranny didn't lose their inherent traits in this random map and cut straight towards the center.

On the other hand, Happy took a roundabout route, and they split into two parties. Lord Grim, Dancing Rain, Boundless Sea, and Little Cold Hands went to the left, while Tang Rou's Soft Mist went to the right.

If the two teams had spawned normally at opposite ends of the map, Team Tyranny would have been caught in a pincer attack from the left and right. However, with Tyranny coming in from the 3 o'clock direction, Tang Rou's Soft Mist would run into the entirety of Team Tyranny all alone first. An individual's movement speed was faster than a group's movement speed.

The asymmetric spawn locations spelled trouble for Happy. From a time perspective, Tang Rou definitely wouldn't be able to expect that Tyranny would be coming from the side.

The three parties continued to move along their respective paths. Happy's four player group was ignored by the projection technology and the broadcast. Everyone was watching Tyranny's and Tang Rou's movements, predicting where they would meet based on their movement speeds.

The broadcast team had people to analyze it and help from software. Soon, the screen displayed a drawing showing their likely routes. Then, a bright red dot was placed on where the two sides would meet. The camera zoomed in and showed the terrain of this location.

The terrain was not favorable for Tang Rou!

If the terrain was flat, then she would be able to notice Tyranny from far away. She would have plenty of time to adjust and wouldn't need to be worried. However, this "Seven Color Spring" wasn't a flat map. The four spawn locations were situated on four high grounds. The rest of the map was filled with steep and precipitous terrain. This map was rather similar to a canyon area. It was just that it was intermixed with other elements. In particular, the Seven Color Spring in the middle didn't fit in with the setting of a desolate highland. The areas surrounding the spring was verdant and lush. The shadows of the overlooking trees covered the waters of the spring. When the light made its way past the leaves, the reflection of the light glittered with seven colors. As the leaves swayed in the wind, the seven colored light moved as well, creating a psychedelic display of light.

Tang Rou's Soft Mist wouldn't be able to reach the Seven Color Spring. Her path was restricted by two high grounds to her left and right. And Team Tyranny was heading towards the canyon junction ahead from the east side. It was where the broadcast had predicted the two sides would meet. Maybe it wouldn't be precisely on the dot, but the two sides would certainly meet at that junction. What mattered was the distance between the two sides when they noticed each other. This distance would decide Tang Rou's fate. No one believed in a miracle like a 1v5. When the two sides met, Tang Rou would definitely be fleeing for her life.

The Happy fans were naturally very anxious. They didn't know how things could get better. Soft Mist's movement speed and direction hadn't changed. As she approached that junction, Pan Lin sucked in a deep breath of air waiting for the moment when the two sides collided. As the two sides neared, the predictions became more and more accurate... it seemed like the two sides would notice each other at a very close distance. The situation was becoming worse and worse for Happy.

"They're close. Just a bit more.." Pan Lin's voice started getting louder as he stared at the scene: "Soon, it's the entrance of the juncture. Soft Mist is running towards it... running... she stopped?" Pan Lin was about to shout "She's charged out!" but in the end, he wasn't able to say them. Tang Rou's Soft Mist had unexpectedly stopped the instant she reached the juncture.

"What's going on?" Pan Lin was puzzled. Soft Mist had already started retreating. She stuck to the side of a wall as she carefully retreated back.

The cameraman had noticed the issue, and switched to Tang Rou's point of view. This point of view didn't just show what Tang Rou saw but what she was hearing.

Footsteps!

It was the sound of jumbled footsteps.