1558 Appetizer

I'm here.

It was a very ordinary phrase, but saying it in this situation gave off a "you've been surrounded" air to it. What made it even more unbearable was that Tang Rou's Soft Mist was currently surrounded by Tyranny. Ye Xiu's Lord Grim had come charging in alone. He was simply adding oil to the fire. If he had just quietly rushed in, it would have been fine. But he just had to announce himself in the public chat.

This was a Glory match. There could only be at most five players on a side. You can yell all you want, but the other side wasn't going to think you had brought 100 people with you.

They couldn't understand the reason for Ye Xiu's bravado, but Tyranny's reaction left them even more puzzled.

Tyranny had unexpectedly been scared by Ye Xiu, quickly pulling back. The way they positioned themselves made it appear as if they were about to face an imminent disaster. They didn't look like they were about to face a single lone person.

"Go die!"

Ye Xiu was still typing in the chat. For a moment, the viewers were confused about which side was the one surrounded.

Boom boom boom!

Ye Xiu did as he said. As soon as the message was typed out, he made his move. Lord Grim's Myriad Manifestations Umbrella shot out three Anti-Tank Missiles, aimed unambiguously towards three different people.

Dodge!　

Han Wenqing, Lin Jingyan, and Zhang Xinjie dodged the missiles aimed at them. There was still a bit of distance between the two sides, so it wasn't hard to dodge. The three were more concerned with what Ye Xiu would do next, or perhaps, what Happy would do next.

The other strategists watching the match such as Yu Wenzhou and Xiao Shiqin were already chuckling.

Through their spectator view, they could see the map and the chat. They knew exactly what Ye Xiu wanted to do.　

He was bluffing. He had been setting up this bluff ever since Tang Rou encountered Tyranny. Because of the change in the usual spawn locations, Tang Rou and Tyranny had a surprise encounter. For Tang Rou, who had been by herself, she was at a huge disadvantage. As a result, she didn't hesitate and immediately retreated. On the other hand, Tyranny, who had the overwhelming advantage, had hesitated because of this unusual occurrence.

Overwhelming advantage, hesitate.

Just through this reaction, Ye Xiu was able to grasp a clearer message from Tyranny: both sides were surprised by the encounter.

But that didn't mean Tang Rou wasn't in a crisis. Ye Xiu had Tang Rou try to harass them as a way to perhaps scare them away.

If she didn't try to harass them and instead let Tyranny dispel their suspicions, Tyranny would have immediately started chasing her, and at that point, even a god wouldn't be able to save her.

Ye Xiu had given out the extremely daring order for this reason, and it was because had given out this order that there would be a chance to rescue Tang Rou.

Lord Grim went in alone, yet Tyranny reacted defensively. Because from beginning to end, Tyranny hadn't been able to determine whether their encounter with Tang Rou had been a coincidence. They thought that Tang Rou was bait. They thought that they had caught the bait before falling into a trap. They thought that they had taken the initiative as a result. Next, Happy would be forced to appear. As a result, during this process, they had been on guard against the possibility of the other four members of Happy appearing.

Then, Ye Xiu's Lord Grim appeared right on time, going along perfectly with Tyranny's expectations.

As a result, Tyranny responded immediately, moving into a formation that they had prepared for ahead of time. Ye Xiu's Lord Grim had quickly started attacking. Three Anti-Tank Missiles split between three enemies. The three instinctively dodged. Then, they saw Soft Mist, with four chasers floating around her, use Dragon Breaks the Ranks!

Out!

An opening had appeared in Tyranny's encirclement.　

Had they overlooked Tang Rou?

No!

In their eyes, Tang Rou had been bait from start to finish. Previously, she had been bait to lure Tyranny over to Happy's trap. After catching her, they were now using her as bait to lure out Happy. The fish hadn't been caught on the hook yet. How could that be overlooking her?　　

Ye Xiu's appearance was like a weight off their minds. They had been on guard against him this entire time, and now they no longer needed to. It was hard to avoid a shift in balance under these circumstances. If it had been a bit longer, Tyranny would have certainly readjusted the balance. After all, they had been using Tang Rou to pin down Happy..

But Ye Xiu sent out attacks the instant the balance shifted, affecting Tyranny's plans for him. And Tang Rou seemed like she had been waiting for this moment. Soft Mist's chasers suddenly shot out. At the same time, she charged out with a Dragon Breaks the Ranks.

Everything had happened so quickly. Soft Mist escaped from Tyranny's encirclement, and Lord Grim went forward, raising his umbrella up as a shield, blocking the long-ranged attacks from Zhang Jiale's Dazzling Hundred Blossoms.

Lord Grim and Soft Mist turned around and ran for their lives.

2v5? That would be a joke. At this point, Soft Mist couldn't even be considered a 1. She was more like 0.2. Ye Xiu had come charging in bravely, and once he picked up Tang Rou, he didn't hesitate to turn tail and run.

The two left behind a trail of dust in the canyon.　

And... that's it?

Everyone was petrified.

In their eyes, Tyranny was looking extremely incompetent. They had Soft Mist trapped. Ye Xiu's Lord Grim was alone. What could he do? Yet he just charged in, fired an Anti-Tank Missile, and then rescued her? How could there be an even more worthless team?

Only the experts understood why. Ye Xiu had made the best of what he had, and Tyranny cautiously responded. It had been an exchange filled with complexities.

From an overall perspective, Tyranny had lost an opportunity, but not much else. As for Happy? Happy hadn't gained anything. After a huge struggle at great risks, they had escaped from the crisis. During this escape, Soft Mist had lost a considerable amount of health and mana. Life could be healed, but healing would use up mana. And mana could not be replenished.

From this perspective, Happy had lost much from this exchange.

"A good appetizer!" The pro player QQ chat group was quite lively. Of the 20 teams in the Alliance, 17 had been eliminated this season. However, many of them were still quite interested in the playoffs. There were quite a few of them watching this deciding semifinals game, whether that was live, through the computer, or through their cell phones. Many of them were watching while discussing in the GG chat group. Team Void's Li Xuan had commented, calling the exchange an "appetizer".

"Yeah yeah!" The other players agreed and then continued to watch the match. For people at their skill level, there was no playoffs match that would be boring to watch. Others might find it boring because they didn't understand the small intricacies involved.

Lord Grim and Soft Mist said goodbye, and Tyranny was just going to quietly send them off?

Of course not.

Tyranny had tried to stop them. Zhang Jiale had been the fastest to react. It was just that Lord Grim's umbrella shield weakened his long-ranged attacks by a large degree. Happy's two players had already started picking up speed. In a race, the differences in speed would result in the group separating. And Tyranny continued to be cautious, keeping their formation intact, as they chased calmly after Lord Grim and Soft Mist.

Team Tyranny had looked incompetent just before, and now, their lack of decisiveness looked as if it would make that impression worse. In reality, that was not the case.　　

Through their omniscient view, the viewers could clearly see the instructions left by Ye Xiu as he ran away. The other three on Happy, who hadn't arrived yet, received instructions to set up an ambush. As Ye Xiu hurried over to this area, he had been taking note of the terrain, so he gave them coordinates for the ambush location. At that moment, he had thought up a plan. He was like an outstanding chess player. He wasn't thinking just one step ahead, but two or even three steps...

Tyranny was reacting cautiously, and to the spectators, it was a very smart move. After all, Glory was a game. An ambush would only result in having the initiative. It was very difficult to kill an opponent with one strike. And with Tyranny keeping their guard up, Happy had no way to focus on a target and surprise kill an opponent. Through a sturdy defense, Tyranny would be able to hold their ground against Happy's ambush and then search for an opportunity to counterattack. That was the plan that Tyranny had intended to do when they chased after Soft Mist. This time, their plans didn't change. Seeing their two targets turn at the corner up ahead and disappear from their view, Tyranny didn't panic. They continued to move at the same pace. When they reached this corner, they raised their guards and rushed through it.

But all they saw was Lord Grim.

"Can you guys hurry up? I'm afraid I'll lose you guys," Ye Xiu typed into the chat.

"Then stop running! You come over here!" Zhang Jiale shouted.

"It's not just me who'll be coming!" Ye Xiu replied.

Dancing Rain appeared from up above on the canyon, looking down. Her cannon was aimed straight at Tyranny.

"Hi everyone!" Su Mucheng greeted. Dancing Rain attacked!