Seeing Tang Xing standing calmly in front of him, Zhang Yiwei didn't know what to say. In the end, he could only let loose a deep sigh.
"What?" Tang Xing still hadn't comprehended what had just happened.
"You worry too much." Zhang Yiwei shook his head. He didn't mention how he had been worried too. However, he soon realized it.
"That guy really is a rookie. You placed too much importance on him." Zhang Yiwei pointed to the stage.
"Ah?" Tang Xing was astonished, "But….."
Zhang Yiwei laughed bitterly and shook his head. He knew what Tang Xing wanted to say.
"Sit down and just keep watching!" Zhang Yiwei said to Tang Xing. Then, he told the second player, who would be going on stage: "Be aggressive. Punish him for his mistakes."
Tang Xing sat in a daze on the side. He saw his teammate walk onto the stage and fight with Bao Rongxing. He launched an aggressive offense at the very start and won with just a sliver of health left.
Tang Xing glanced at his coach in bewilderment. He didn't know what Zhang Yiwei wanted him to see.
Zhang Yiwei's face was ashen. If the player coming down from the stage had been his player, he would have given him a fierce scolding. You went in at full health to fight someone at half heath, yet you almost died. That performance had been too trashy. As for Team Happy's Bao Rongxing, Zhang Yiwei was also puzzled. This time, he wasn't full of holes like he had been in the previous match. When he fought against this Team Mysterious Fantasy player, he would sometimes make a sudden move, which even an experienced veteran like Zhang Yiwei couldn't comprehend at all.
Has this Bao Rongxing reached a level so high that even I can't understand it? Zhang Yiwei noticed Tang Xing's confused gaze, but he really couldn't give him an explanation at this moment either. This Bao Rongxing had completely befuddled him.
Next up for Team Happy was Tang Rou. She quickly and easily cleaned up that nearly-dead Team Mysterious Fantasy player. This player came down stage dejectedly. Zhang Yiwei wasn't able to scold him for his trash performance. Their third player stood in front of him with fear, waiting for guidance!
How could he not feel afraid?
He originally thought that they would face God Ye Qiu with a numbers advantage and build a psychological advantage, but everything was reversed right now. The other side still had God Ye Qiu leisurely sitting there! On stage, there was still a practically full health Soft Mist. Let alone God Ye Qiu, Tang Rou wasn't a player to be taken lightly. Battle Mage and Ye Qiu's teammate. Those two phrases f*cking put together were terrifying enough. Then, there was Tang Rou herself. Her technical skill was impressive, and her fighting spirit was inextinguishable. Just these two points made her a headache to play against. And she was also super beautiful? Don't think that such a stat had no effect during a match. When facing a hot girl, players would sometimes have a mentality that they shouldn't have in a match like holding back, showing off, teasing, etc. All of these could lead to a tip of the scales.
And even if this player could beat her, he would have to face God Ye Qiu next. Towards this player, Zhang Yiwei couldn't say anything but "Good luck." Did you not hear what Tang Rou said to Team Happy when she was about to go up? She asked Ye Xiu: do you need to warm up…...
Ye Xiu just laughed. He didn't reply to her question. As a result, Tang Rou didn't give him an opportunity and killed her nearly-dead opponent without fooling around. Not only was Team Mysterious Fantasy able to build any sort of psychological advantage, the confidence of these two formidable opponents caused their third player to utterly collapse.
The group arena ended shortly afterwards. Team Happy only needed two players to beat all of Team Mysterious Fantasy's players. After this round, Team Happy had won all five points. The situation had now become a you-die-or-I-die scenario. The outcome of the following team competition wouldn't only decide the winner of this match, but who would make it out of groups. At this point, it was impossible for Team Happy and Team Mysterious Fantasy to both make it out. The loser of this team competition would have their journey cut short.
The notion spreading around before the match of how Team Happy and Team Mysterious Fantasy would have a tacit agreement to send Team Trader out of groups had now been completely dispelled. But then again, in this group with five teams, one team would have no opponent to play against every round, so it was easy for a hole to appear. For example, in this round, if Team Happy and Team Mysterious Fantasy really did make a tacit agreement before, there was nothing Team Trader could do.
It didn't happen in the end. Both teams were fighting to the death, but at this point, Team Happy's psychological advantage over Team Mysterious Fantasy was quite obvious.
The team competition had been the section of the match that they needed to win from the very start. They had mentally prepared themselves for this a long time ago. However, Team Mysterious Fantasy thought that they could end this battle in the individual competition or group arena, yet the life of death match had dragged onto the team competition. It wasn't like they hadn't considered the possibility of this development, but there was no way they would be as certain as Team Happy. The pressure on them suddenly multiplied. The entire team was quiet. Even Zhang Yiwei couldn't squeeze out a smile. In the end, he also thought that their defeat was imminent.
But he knew that he was the pillar of their team. At this moment, he could not collapse no matter what. Even if he was only pretending, he had to show his unwaverable confidence in the team.
Zhang Yiwei looked at everyone in Team Mysterious Fantasy one by one. He noted everyone's expression. He didn't immediately say anything. Encouragement needed to be done at the right time. The situation and the words mattered. Zhang Yiwei had been a coach for two years and was quite proficient at his job.
He gave the players some time. After digesting their current situation, Zhang Yiwei clapped to get everyone's attention. Then, he began admonishing them: "Did we already lose? How come I seem to remember that there's still five points waiting to be taken?"
"We didn't perform as well as expected in the individual competitions, but that doesn't mean we need to be discouraged. Next up, it's time for us to show our team's strength. Do I need to repeat what our advantages are? We are Team Mysterious Fantasy. We've always been challenging opponents far greater than ourselves, but when did we ever fear them? Everyone has been too relaxed because of the Challenger League. Have you guys forgotten about the courage that you've always had? That's perfect then. It's time to summon up that courage. Happy is very strong? What about Excellent Era? Such a powerful opponent is waiting for us in the later stages. If we get discouraged, how are we going to challenge Excellent Era? How are we going to make it back to the Alliance?
"We can lose, but no team can scare us. We came here to challenge Excellent Era. We're not even scared of Excellent Era. So does Happy count for anything? Forget about those previous losses. The match has only just begun. Focus. Go on stage and beat Happy."
"YES!!" The players in Team Mysterious Fantasy heard Zhang Yiwei's speech and their spirits instantly surged. These players were about to go on stage. Under their captain Tang Xing's lead, they lay in wait.
"I hope you guys haven't forgotten our arrangements for the team competition." Zhang Yiwei said.
"Of course." The team competition players nodded their heads. They looked towards Happy at Happy's Cleric, An Wenyi. For Team Mysterious Fantasy, he was their target. The experienced Zhang Yiwei saw through the weaknesses in An Wenyi, so he formulated a strategy targeting their healer.
"Players on both sides, get ready to go on stage." When it was about time, the referee called out to the players.
"Go! Beat them." Zhang Yiwei and the other players, who wouldn't be going up, cheered on their six players. On Team Happy's side, Ye Xiu personally led the team onto the stage. He heard Zhang Yiwei's shout and even turned his head to smile at him.
Zhan Wenyi was thinking about some way to respond to Ye Xiu's smile, when his six players turned their heads to look at him. They were in utter disbelief.
What's wrong? Zhang Yiwei didn't know what had happened. He saw the six turn around and followed their gazes…...
An Wenyi was still sitting in Team Happy's seats.
This... Zhang Yiwei was shocked. He hastily turned to look at Happy's players. One, two, three, four, five, six. Six? Yes, six. Zhang Yiwei counted again and confirmed it. Team Happy had sent out six players in this team competition, but they actually weren't bringing a healer?
The team competition hadn't even begun yet, but just looking at the players sent out, Zhang Yiwei was already dumbstruck. It was only until the players next to him called out to him did he wake up. He saw that the referee was urging the six players to hurry up and go on stage. They were currently walking slowly onto the stage stalling for time. They turned their heads every three steps, looking hopefully at him.
An Wenyi wouldn't actually be playing in the team competition. Their original plan had been completely messed up. They were hoping that their coach would hurry and give them some sort of instruction.
Zhang Yiwei understood. He wasn't allowed to say much right now though. He could only point towards Happy and say: "Steamed Bun."
The six players heard his words and nodded their heads. Steamed Bun... that was obviously Steamed Bun Invasion.
The two sides went to their respective seats. They swiped their cards and logged into the game. When they entered the competition interface, the six players saw the other side's arrangements and suddenly wanted to cry. An Wenyi had been their main target, but An Wenyi didn't go on stage. Steamed Bun became their new target, but the other side put Steamed Bun as their sixth player. At this point, they couldn't look for their coach for any guidance anymore. For a moment, the six players didn't know what to do.
Zhang Yiwei saw the display from the stream and also froze. He could already figure out what his six players on stage were thinking, but there was nothing they could do because there were still no rules in the Alliance regarding coaches. According to the rules, his usage as a coach in a match was very limited. He could only study the opponents and make some arrangements before the match. As soon as the match started, the players could only rely on themselves. In the current Glory competitive scene, coaches changing their planned strategy right before the match wasn't a thing, so when an unexpected situation occurred, Zhang Yiwei could only feel powerless. As a result, he usually made a few backup plans, but this time, he could never have imagined that the other side would play the team competition without a healer.