Chapter 23 - Team Competition - Aerial Combat
Before the start of the match, the contestants selected their own flight equipment from the provided list.
Generally speaking, flight equipment could be divided into three categories: mechanical, biological, and mounted.
Aerial Combat was a very rarely drawn competition mode, so the audience's interest immediately increased.
Male commentator: "Hahaha, this will be fun. It's said that the probability of Aerial Combat being drawn in competitions is 1%. How unexpected, how unexpected."
Female commentator: "It's been nearly a decade since Aerial Combat last appeared in the finals. I guess both teams must be a little surprised right now."
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In fact, they were more than surprised; they were on the verge of going crazy.
Coder's captain: "F*ck me! Four of Lao Tzu's members are damned techno-nerds who stay at home all day and have no sense of direction. They can't even tell directions from the ground, how am I supposed to lead the team to fight an aerial war?!"
Seven Kills' captain: "F*ck me! How could this randomized mode show up? We basically never trained in aerial combat this month! And what about Lord Four? Lord Four has never played in team competitions before; has he even fought aerial battles before?"
The captain looked back and saw that Lord Four was quietly looking through the list of flying equipment.
Captain: "Lord Four, if you don't have any experience with this, we can choose a double mount..."
Tyron didn't bother to turn his head as he said, "Just take care of yourselves."
Captain: QUQ?
Tyron: "The other side is already dead."
Captain: "...Oh!!!" Lord Four was so domineering! He instantly felt like he had a big thigh to rely on!
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One minute later, all the contestants finished selecting their equipment and were directly transmitted onto the map.
The giant mechanical city floated in mid-air. It was basically a giant metal sphere. Five metal rings surrounded the sphere and rotated slowly like planetary rings, barely providing footholds for the players.
When the countdown began, the contestants started up their flight equipment one after another.
The Coder Team was worthy of being called the "Engineering Team". All six of them chose mechanical flight equipment and fell into formation like a small aerial scouting team.
The Seven Kills Team was no different; the captain was the first to open up a pair of mechanical wings, followed by the tank and gunner.
Male commentator: "Hahahaha, it seems that nobody knows what to do in Aerial Combat mode. Our contestants have all chosen mechanical flight equipment..."
As soon as he finished speaking, a double-headed chimera showed up on Seven Kills' side. The goblin summoner healer and number three DPS puppet master stood on one head each, trembling and wobbling.
Female commentator: "Well, there's a certain advantage to riding, which is that they can let it do as it pleases, though they'll lose some of the initiative this way&#k2026;"
At this point, the female commentator suddenly stopped, then screamed, "Oh my, Lord Four's so handsome!"
Audience: "Eeeee!??"
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Lord Four unfolded a pair of jet-black wings.
The wings shook out in mid-air, first beating sharply to maintain the current altitude then adapting quickly as Tyron found his balance.
This pair of wings was modeled from some kind of alien bird. It had a wide wingspan, jet-black feathers, and high agility. There was a pair of small auxiliary wings behind the main pair which had long feathers and were mainly used for coordination and balance.
Male commentator: "Amazing, Lord Four! It's been a long time since any contestant chose wings. Although wings are very flexible, they have poor endurance and are more likely to become fatigued in the later stages, becoming a burden that drags them down to death."
Female commentator: "But that's obviously not the point!"
Male commentator: "Okay then, what's the point?"
The female commentator's eyes had turned into red hearts, "The key point is how handsome Lord Four is! So powerful! So cool and dazzling ahhhhhh--"
Male commentator: "..." W. T. F. Sister, wake up. You're a commentator, not a cheerleader!
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Tyron flapped his wings and hovered in front of the chimera.
He obviously hadn't meant to choose a rarely used flight method, but wings were really his best choice, and perhaps his only choice.
People in the interstellar era were so used to mechanized civilization that they would often choose mechanical aircraft; however, Tyron came from a magical civilization where mechanical technology didn't exist, but wings and angels were real.
When Tyron worked for the God of Slaughter, he often appeared as an incandescent angel.
Sometimes he would have a pair of wings made of light, observing the battlefield below from up high and influencing mortal wars with ease; at other times he would be a participant in wars between gods, fighting against other blazing angels as an angel in the air. He often had assassination missions, so he only used dark wings.
Thus, flying with wings was also a skill that Tyron had learned during those six hundred years.
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At this point, with the occasional scream in the audience, the long, thirty-second countdown was finally over.
When the game entered the first second, the two teams almost instantaneously raised their altitude together.
Everyone subconsciously wanted to seize the height advantage, and for a moment, the lights from the mechanical engines rose up like ribbons, leaving behind a string of colorful fireworks.
All except for Tyron.
Male commentator: "Lord Four is making his move! He rushed towards the opposite team's formation right away. Oh my god, what kind of self-confidence is this?!"
Female commentator: "This is the confidence to go against tens of thousands of people!"
After Tyron's high-speed flight gained enough momentum, he closed his wings, pulling them close to his back, and sent his body into the other side's formation like a diving bird.
All of Coder's team members were busy manipulating the mechanical engines to climb higher and were unable to guard against his entry into their formation. Only a meagre few of them were quick enough to activate their long-range weapons.
Then, everyone watched as Tyron turned at an incredible right angle and spun straight for Coder's commander!
"It's too domineering!" The male commentator roared excitedly, "Frontal assault!"
Tyron's dagger was like a sharp tusk as it became the first weapon to be drawn in this match, stabbing directly into his enemy's throat as quick as lightning!
His opponent had just begun to fight back when Tyron suddenly whirled around in a highly flexible maneuver and slapped him unconscious with one wing. His movements were as smooth as flowing water as he made another backhanded stab, taking away his enemy's life right then and there.
Female commentator: "Heavens, he's too agile! Lord Four's wing slap requires a high degree of proficiency and is not something that non-experts at aerial combat can execute!"
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Tyron did not stop at all, pushing off his enemy's corpse while opening his wings, gliding through the sky like a demon and accurately aiming for his next target.
By this time, Coder's ranged DPS was already close behind Tyron. But all he saw was Tyron's wings as they expanded, covering his entire body--resisting the attack while simultaneously covering his opponent like a dark shadow.
All anyone could see were the huge black wings folding inwards, then opening again. But when they opened, Coder's player had already turned into a white light and flown away!
His wings were finally injured slightly as a result of the attack, and a few black feathers floated gently in the air.
Tyron's cold golden eyes penetrated the many bright lights caused by casted magic and found his next target.
This gaze shocked even the commentators, and they involuntarily added, "What a terrifying gaze."
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In the next moment, Tyron was like a demon in mid-air as he flew at an inconceivable speed and turned at another sharp angle, shooting towards his target.
This time, he simply ignored the other party's attacks, crossing his arms and facing the cross-shaped streaming light that represented the magic straight on before shaking out his wings and instantly bypassing the spell!
All this passed by in a flash; the glow from Tyron's dagger practically transformed into a stretch of snow-white light as it pierced the enemy along with their spell!
By the time the dazzling lights dispersed, Tyron was behind the enemy, gliding away on open wings.
It was only then that the body behind him began to fall.
And this time, even the flight equipment was destroyed, making them the first player to be sent out of the match.
The female commentator was left breathless and said, "Oh my god! It's only been fifteen seconds and Lord Four has already taken away three heads! Is this really Aerial Combat mode? This is simply Lord Four's slaughter mode!"
The male commentator was red-faced as he grabbed the microphone and shouted, "This is a living demon! He's a demon! He's dominating the game!"
The audience was already stunned, and those at the scene were boiling with excitement; other than screaming and shouting, they didn't even know how else to react.
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The match had just reached its twentieth second and almost everyone had already forgotten that they were watching a team match.
The audience roared in unison. "Lord Four! Lord Four!" "Next!"
Tyron's eyes seemed to contain the gaze of death. When he chose his next target, the other party would even involuntarily feel frightened.
Because the winged Tyron who was fighting at high altitudes was just like someone from another species that didn't experience joy or sadness, and that pair of dark golden eyes were completely cold and emotionless as they gazed across.
He swooped down in the air and easily caught his next target by the throat, pulling out his opponent's spear and using it to nail him directly to the floating mechanical city.
As the rings around the mechanical city turned rapidly, Tyron dexterously folded up his wings and dropped, leaving unscathed.
And the rings continued to turn, crushing his enemy directly into a white light along with their aircraft!
"Lord Four!" The male commentator shouted, "Are you the motherf*cking War God in the sky?!"
The applause was thunderous and the audience at the scene had turned into a boiling crowd of excitement.
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Tyron pulled out a steel wire with one hand, and tied the other end to the mechanical city.
As coder's next team member fell into Tyron's eyes, the latter flew out in a beautiful arc that was as graceful and elegant as a swallow flying through the rain--and cruelly strangled the enemy by the throat with the steel wire.
"This is the third one to be out of the game!" The female commentator screamed, "He's absolutely invincible in aerial combat! The fighting power of Lord Four in the air has already broken through the limit!"
Tyron pulled on the steel wire and thrust his dagger into the core of his opponent's flying equipment as easily as slaughtering an animal strapped to the chopping board.
The third ray of white light flew away.
Tyron removed his opponent's sword. The narrow, snow-white blade was dripping with its original owner's blood.
He flicked the sword gently, shook out his wings, and held the sword out horizontally as he dived towards the opposing team's fragmented formation.
"War God!" The male commentator slapped the table in excitement and shouted, "Kill!"