A video was displayed after the speech. It was none other than the next expansion of the game—
Inside a foggy valley, the sound of horse hooves broke the silence of the morning.
Soon, a troop of axe-wielding beastman soldiers rode their warbeasts into the valley. They were cautious and kept a close eye on all movement around them.
Less than ten meters into the valley, they buried something red inside the ground. It looked like sticks of dynamite. As they continued forward, corruption started spreading across the ground, and the hateful howls of Corpse Eaters came from every grave and blood pool that was present inside the valley.
The beastmen calmly continued on their journey until they reached the deeper parts of the valley, and a scarlet iron door appeared into view. A beastman nodded to his comrade, and even more dynamite was planted in front of the door.
Next, a mage tossed a fireball at the buried explosives, causing a devastating explosion to rumble throughout the valley. Countless undead corpses were torn to shreds, and screams of pain filled the air. Even the iron door was deeply damaged by the explosion.
Creak...
Suddenly, the iron door shuddered before opening outward, causing blood-red energy to leak out of the gaps. Then, a red-eyed woman donning a fiery red armor and black cape stepped out into the open and stared at the group of beastmen without a shred of emotion in her eyes. The warrioress said slowly, "Looks like the beastmen have finally begun to make a move. Are you here in search of your own deaths?"
She opened her palm, and wisps of energy gathered at the center. Her eyes were cold and icy.
The beastmen were shocked. One brawny axe wielder roared on top of his lungs, and another wolfman exclaimed, "We"re dead, chief! We actually found the lair of the G.o.ddess of death!"
The chief shouted, "Warriors, the time to fight is now! For the beastmen and the future of all living beings, we must end the corruption of the dead right here right now! We fight to the death and for the future!"
The chief and his warriors then charged the G.o.ddess of death.
Bang!
However, a blood-red wave of death swept across them, and all the beastmen collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
Chiang!
The chief"s war axe spun around while flying through the air before planting itself into a huge boulder.
The undead warrioress opened her eyes slowly and roared angrily, "Awaken, my fellow undead! The time to slaughter the humans, elves, beastmen and succubi is now! Tear apart their hypocrisy and dye their entire content in the power of undeath!"
Mounds suddenly appeared on the ground, and soon after, countless undead giants burst into view, their roars shaking the very sky itself. The camera zoomed out quickly and soared into the sky, the landscape of the valley coming into full view and accompanied by b.e.a.s.t.i.a.l roars. A line of text appeared in the sky above the now-b.l.o.o.d.y canyon: Fury of the G.o.ddess of Death!
……
"A new patch is coming out, huh…" I said quietly.
He Yi stared at the display for a moment before coming to a sudden realization. "Wait a second, this G.o.ddess of death is that Sophie the Snow Minstrel we encountered last time, right?"
"Yeah, she"s an undead leader not even Xinran could beat. She deserves the t.i.tle of G.o.ddess of death for sure."
Beiming Xue giggled. "Not only that, she"s angry. Heaven knows how many main cities are going to suffer when the patch releases!"
Murong Mingyue agreed. "Yeah, Eternal Moon has always been quite the a.s.shole in this regard. Sophie may very well lead an a.s.sault on the main cities of the Silver Moon Alliance directly, or she might a.s.sault our territories first. Say, how much longer will it take for Dark Moon City to reach Rank 10?"
I hummed. "Won"t be happening anytime soon, unfortunately. Maybe we can begin upgrading the castle to Rank 10 after the international tournament is over, but even then, there"s no telling how long the process will take."
He Yi said, "Let"s focus on finis.h.i.+ng the matches in front of us first!"
"Mn. Look, the eighth-finals are about to begin!"
……
On stage, Fei"er was smiling like the spring as she announced the matchups of the eighth-finals. The first group was Warsky Alliance VS Purple Lily and Soul Battle Robes VS Blazing Hot Lips. All four teams were pretty much a G.o.d in their own right, which was why even Fei"er had to stick out her tongue and comment, "Group A truly is a group of death, hehe. I sure hope that the strongest team will emerge from this group, and that they"ll give us an interesting show!"
Warsky Alliance and Purple Lily would be fighting first, and both sides were done preparing already. Luo River G.o.d of the Capital and her teammates looked eager to get on the battlefield while Warsky and his teammates kept their ambitions checked behind a mask of calmness. Even so, it was clear that they would give everything they got to beat Purple Lily.
A few seconds later, the match-ups appeared on the big display—
1v1: Luo River G.o.d of the Capital LV-185 Mage VS Warsky LV-180 Molten Warrior
1v1: Moonkiss LV-181 Spirit Killer VS Farewell Song LV-181 a.s.sa.s.sin
1v1: Moonlight Beneath A Rock LV-180 Warrior VS Lin Bing Dou Zhe LV-180 Warrior
1v1: Familiar Scent LV-180 Magic Knight VS October Rain LV-180 Archer
2v2: Luo River G.o.d of the Capital LV-185 Mage & Moonkiss LV-181 Spirit Killer VS Warsky LV-180 Molten Warrior & Farewell Song LV-181 a.s.sa.s.sin
……
Practically everyone"s blood boiled with excitement when they saw the match-ups. If we didn"t know any better, we would"ve suspected that both teams had discussed their line-ups beforehand. The first battle was between Warsky and Luo River G.o.d of the Capital; a battle between guild leaders. Although Luo River G.o.d of the Capital was currently known as China"s strongest mage, there was no telling how strong Warsky had become after unlocking his new hidden cla.s.s, Molten Warrior, and how much strength he kept hidden to maximize the advantage of surprise. At any rate, Luo River G.o.d of the Capital"s chance of winning definitely wasn"t as good as it could"ve been.
The second battle was between Moonkiss and Farewell Song. Believe it or not, the duel between the best a.s.sa.s.sin of Purple Lily and the best a.s.sa.s.sin in China was even more hype than the first one. The third battle was Moonlight Beneath A Rock—Purple Lily"s best warrior—versus Lin Bing Dou Zhe, the fourth battle was Familiar Scent challenging the courageous and intelligent CGL Hall of Famer October Rain, and the final battle was Luo River G.o.d of the Capital and Moonkiss versus Farewell Song and Warsky. This would be an epic match for sure!
Lin Yixin"s eyes were wide open as she stared at the center of the battlefield. "Two teams with the potential to become the champion meeting so soon in the eighth-finals. This is an interesting twist of fate for sure. I look forward to this."
"Yeah!"
Hugging her chest and leaning lazily against He Yi"s shoulders, Murong Mingyue teased us, "I think the three of you are the real interesting twist of fate…"
Embarra.s.sment immediately gripped my voice. "What did you say?"
Lin Yixin blushed red. "Focus on the match!"
Even He Yi was feigning ignorance. "What should we eat later when the matches are over? By the way, Raincube will be entering the market very soon, so I expect you to keep an eye on things, Mingyue. Seriously, you"ve been lazing around all day and night as of late. What should I even do with you…"
Murong Mingyue: "..."
……
All the lights were focused on the center stage right now. The system randomly chose a map, and the stage abruptly turned into a snowy mountain ridge. The map had a short cliff that was less than three meters above the ground, but it was an excellent location to use as cover and perfect for control-type players.
Both combatants teleported into the battlefield, and Warsky canceled his mount without hesitation. Mounts gave powerful stats, but they affected their riders" control far too much. Bad enough that it reduced a player"s turn rate to obscene levels, it was completely countered by certain maneuvers such as the b.u.t.terfly maneuver and even conventional Z-shape runs. True experts wouldn"t dare ride a mount in a duel because it was the same as committing suicide.
The system began counting down. Both parties immediately tensed up like a coiled spring!
3!
2!
1!
The very first thing Warsky did after the battle began was to jump away from his original spot, and not a moment too soon, because Luo River of the Capital"s Touch of the Dragonkiss exploded above the cliff a moment later. In a sense, Warsky had outsmarted the mage who was famous for her control right from the beginning!
The snow was about 40 cm thick, and Luo River G.o.d of the Capital didn"t act hastily. She created an icicle at the center of her palm even before she ran onto the cliff.
"Hah!"
Warsky shouted as he attempted to ambush her, but his actions fell within Luo River G.o.d of the Capital"s prediction perfectly. The icicle skewered him almost as if he ran into it himself!
58922!
The mage was just too fast. She tossed out Explosion with almost no cast time at all!
110283!
Two hits was all it took to blast Warsky to below 10% and knock him over the cliff. After he crashed into the snow, he drank a health potion and crawled deeper into the snow. Then, he lay unmoving at his hiding spot and waited for an opportunity.
……
"Get out!"
Luo River G.o.d of the Capital waved her scepter and burned the snow with Sea of Flames. However, she couldn"t see any signs of movement anywhere.
"Hmm? Where is he? Is he dead?"
Slightly surprised, Luo River G.o.d of the Capital moved closer to the area Warsky fell with an icicle in her hand. It was at this moment the molten warrior rushed out from the bottom of the cliff and used Ghost Banner on her!
MISS!
Unfortunately for him, mages couldn"t be hit by his Divine General Skill unless their Magic s.h.i.+eld was broken!
As patient as a wolf on the hunt, Warsky had remained hidden in the snow for nearly two minutes before he launched his surprise attack. He used Cyan Tiger Shatter and Barrier Break in an attempt to one-shot the mage.
However, Luo River G.o.d of the Capital smiled and allowed his Cyan Tiger Shatter to delete 29% of her Magic s.h.i.+eld"s durability. At the same time, she waved her scepter and against all odds parried his Barrier Break!
Finally, she planted her scepter on the ground and fired a blast of flames at the warrior. Warsky collapsed to his knees and lost the first fight.
The battle happened so quickly that few people found the opportunity to breathe, and before they could recover themselves the next battle had already begun. This time, the map was set at a gra.s.sy valley with a small stream flowing at the center. Although the water wasn"t too deep, it was enough to negatively affect a player"s movement speed.
Again, Warsky was the one who took the initiative to probe for a weakness in Luo River G.o.d of the Capital"s defense. If he couldn"t get close to her, it was only a matter of time she blasted him into a crisp. No one in their right mind would want to test her magical might with their body.
The moment the match began, Luo River G.o.d of the Capital immediately backed away from her opponent and launched two blasts of fire. Both sides of the river immediately turned into seas of fire.
After that, she tossed one icicle after another at Warsky and continuously chipped away at his HP. It took only a moment for him to drop to low health.
Warsky backed away from the mage in an attempt to escape her range and change the battlefield. Luo River G.o.d of the Capital chased with a delighted smile on her face. She was clearly having a lot of fun destroying Warsky.
Suddenly, something unexpected happened. Warsky locked onto a patch of dark gra.s.s behind Luo River G.o.d of the Capital and activated Charge!
Swhoos.h.!.+
The guild leader"s execution was almost perfect. The moment he arrived at his destination, he swung his sword and unleashed the Molten Warrior cla.s.s"s unique skill, Molten Fury Slas.h.!.+
There was a boom, and the mage"s surroundings turned into a sea of lava. She was blinded, and her Origin Energy s.h.i.+eld lost most of its durability.
Warsky"s vision wasn"t affected by his own skill though. After tricking Luo River G.o.d of the Capital into missing her parry with a Z-shape run, he rammed his blade through her chest and used Barrier Break!
79092!
It was a one-shot. Warsky had actually managed to score one point off Luo River G.o.d of the Capital with a very bold maneuver!