Chapter 52 - Individual Competition - Ranger
There were no empty seats at the scene of the final match for the A-League Earth District's Individual Competition. Countless banners, lights, fireworks, and cameras filled the air, and the sound of the crowd echoed through the virtual arena.
Before the game began, a symbolic giant camera was randomly sweeping through and capturing scenes from the audience.
Innumerable spectators would cheer excitedly when their figures appeared on the giant screen. There were some who directly sent out kisses towards the camera, while others all but took off their tops and showed off their naked bodies to the public.
The camera made a full round and suddenly swept through the first row containing contestants' relatives. The panning obviously stalled for a moment before it abruptly turned back.
It could clearly be seen on the screen that there was a youthful little brother sitting behind the sign 'Contestant Odin's Relatives'.
The audience began to comment on the public screen: "My god!!! There's suddenly a person in my War God Four's relatives area!!!"
"Who is it? Who can tell me who this is?!"
When put under the spotlight, Victor's identity was pulled out and exposed in less than two seconds.
Public screen: "Isn't this Lord Four's motherf*cking legal representative-kun?! The one who dueled against others with flash yesterday!"
"Why is he sitting at the relatives' seat ahhhh! I'm going to die, hurry up and tell me what kind of relationship they have! Are they brothers?! I was just preparing to confess to him!"
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Victor's heart was incomparably anxious, but his expression was noble and cold, just like his male god.
Fortunately, the audience wasn't caught up in this matter for long, because the contestants soon came up on stage.
During this series of top four matches, Tyron had already fought against the shadow warrior Tower and the sorcerer Maple Leaf, making the last match against Flower Blower, who had fought his way back from the losers bracket through the Resurrection Competition.
Tyron had played against Flower Blower before and had quickly won without any suspense. This loss had been the reason Flower Blower had fallen into the losers bracket.
Following that, Flower Blower's performance in the Resurrection Competition had been outstanding. The first time he used his technique, named 'chain arrow', he had directly created a bloody road as he killed his way up, re-entering the top four.
The commentators had already turned on their mics. They first introduced both contestants, then said, "So, both of our contestants are typical agility based professions, archer against assassin. Lord Four represents assassins, and the latest news is that he has already made it onto the A-list--this probably doesn't come as a shock to anyone. It is very difficult to judge Lord Four's level. He has won every game he's played in so far--including team competitions. Oh, right, this is an undefeated War God."
"Why is it so difficult to judge his strength? All of the previous commentators have ended up slapping themselves in the face because of him. Because, Lord Four is a player who is accustomed to hiding his strength, and only shows the necessary skills required to win the match at critical moments: his flash, continuous flash, and shadow dance were all shown during such moments. So, until there's a day, and I'm only saying potentially, when he finally loses, we will be unable to determine whether or not this is all he has in terms of techniques and combat ability."
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After introducing Tyron's techniques, it became the female commentator's turn to introduce Flower Blower, "On the other side, our Flower Blower is also a contestant who has hidden strengths. It wasn't until he entered the losers bracket that he showed any unique techniques of his own, and it was only in the second to last match during the Resurrection Competition that contestant Flower Blower pulled out his &#k2018;chain arrow' technique, using a giant chain of arrows to seal off any chance his opponent had of winning. In a way, both he and contestant Odin are as elusive as clouds, and are equally unfathomable."
"In addition to the chain arrow technique that became instantly famous, Flower Blower is also known for his ability to remain airborne for long periods of time. He is often able to remain in the air for as long as five seconds, and use his height advantage to seize the upper hand. The superior elevation is crucial to archers, and more importantly, his chain arrow technique perfectly complements his ability to remain in the air, forming a comprehensive blockade within the arena. It isn't a simple matter for opponents to deal with a ranger who dominates the air."
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By the end of their introductions, the contestants had also just finished their conversation.
In fact, there wasn't any conversation. Only Flower Blower said two sentences, "Although I've lost before, you had better not take me lightly. This time, I'm going to pull out all the stops and will be the last one standing."
Tyron didn't say anything. He only turned his head and gave him a glance before the results of the randomized map was announced.
The randomized map for this round: Water Mirror City.
Everyone: "......"
Both commentators were stunned for a moment before showing sour, bitter expressions.
Indeed, Water Mirror City was the map that Tyron and Maple Leaf had fought in previously. This map was very complex; the surface of the water formed reflections, and there were countless mirror images within the Mirror City.
They hadn't expected things to be so coincidental, allowing this map to come up again.
Male commentator: "Well then, we can only hope that the two players don't enter Mirror City and mutually harm each other."
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However, the male commentator's hopes were dashed.
At the end of the countdown, Flower Blower immediately jumped backwards into the sky and floated into the Mirror City.
Instantly, his bow was reflected countless times in the mirrors.
Tyron, on the other hand, slipped into stealth mode before he quietly slipped into Mirror City, revealing no reflections of his figure in the mirrors.
Female commentator: "Neither player seems to have any intention of resolving the match out in open space. Lord Four is an assassin, so it is understandable that he would have a preference for a combat environment that contains places to hide. Although Mirror City is full of reflections, it is precisely because there are too many reflections that he can conceal himself. Only, it will be a little difficult if he wants to find the real figure of his opponent..."
Male commentator: "Flower Blower wanting to enter the Mirror City is also understandable. After all, his technique 'chain arrow' requires the surroundings to have buildings or structures to set it up."
As soon as his voice fell, it proved that this was indeed the case. Flower Blower pulled on his bow and shot out the first chain arrow.
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As the name implied, the end of the arrow in the 'chain arrow' technique was connected to a chain.
The reason why Flower Blower's chain arrow quickly shot to fame as soon as it was revealed was because his chain arrows could interact with each other.
Other people's chain arrows might have only a few chains, creating footholds that allowed contestants to remain in the air, while Flower Blower's chain arrow could intertwine in the air, allowing him to not only remain airborne but also block the airspace and limit his opponents' range of movement.
This required a very strong geometric calculation ability. Each additional chain required more than double the amount of calculation.
As of now, Flower Blower hadn't paused at all, shooting out six chain arrows in quick succession, causing six seemingly irregular chains to suddenly appear in Mirror City enabling him to crouch quietly atop one of them.
Because there were mirrors everywhere, at a glance it appeared as if there were thousands of chain links, making it very difficult to distinguish between the real or false intersections between the chains.
The male commentator almost groaned, "My god... This simply hurts people's eyes!"
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On the other side, the camera was following the invisible Tyron as he moved along the ground, amongst the mirrors.
Through the reflections of countless mirrors, he could clearly see that Flower Blower was now crouched on a chain. He was probably close to him, but there was a possibility that he was far away. Flower Blower hadn't touched the ground, so Tyron had no way to tell the difference between reality or reflections based on the ripples under his feet.
However, that didn't stop Tyron from searching for his opponent: he analyzed the position and direction of all the mirrors, basing it off the unnatural way the images changed when they reached the edge of a mirror. He also identified the position of the six chains one by one according to the position of the mirrors.
The magnitude of the shaking of the chain revealed Flower Blower's location.
Within Tyron's mind, a clear three-dimensional map emerged, with most of the blanks being gradually filled in as he continued his patient observations.
The male commentator couldn't tell that Tyron was currently sketching out the terrain of Mirror City in his head and could only say in amazement, "It seems as though Lord Four really knows where Flower Blower's real position is! How did he do that? Can he really distinguish everything through the mirrors only by using careful observation?"
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Very soon, the hidden Tyron had already reached the place immediately underneath Flower Blower, which was also already the best position he could choose--because, as soon as he goes up onto the chain, the shaking of the chains would inevitably reveal his position!
The female commentator spoke nervously, "How will Lord Four choose to approach? Flower Blower's backward jump has already finished its cooldown and he can move back in the air at any time--"
She hadn't finished speaking when the situation in the field abruptly changed!
Tyron was silent as he flashed upwards into the air from the ground.
At the same time, what he held in his hands were not his crossed blades, but rather a couple of darts that flew out simultaneously when he made his move, landing accurately on the other end of the chain!
Following the slight shaking of the chain, Flower Blower turned around and fired an arrow. He then didn't hesitate before jumping out into the air, coming to a stop in mid-air.
However, he had misjudged the direction because the first thing to shake the chain had only been a dart.
The male commentator shouted, "What a beautiful misdirection! Unfortunately, it was a little short. One flash was temporarily unable to catch up to Flower Blower in midair!"
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After that, they watched as Tyron paused on the chain before flying up forcefully, using another flash in midair and chasing after Flower Blower to attack.
Within this period of rapid action, Flower Blower had already shot out two arrows, one of which flew directly towards Tyron's face.
After Tyron's dagger split the arrow into two halves, he saw the second arrow brush past him and hit the chain that the two of them had just touched on moments ago.
Female commentator: "Chain arrow has taken form!!! Flower Blower purposely delayed the last arrow that formed his chain arrow!"
With this last chain arrow that flew through the previously unleashed chains in an arc, it caused a reaction amongst the chain arrows that had previously seemed unrelated to each other. In the twinkling of an eye, it seemed to be like a butterfly flittering amongst flowers as it instantly triggered the pattern to bloom, forming a chain array shaped like a giant net.
The upheaval only lasted a second before inertia caused the chains to sway back and forth towards the two contestants in mid-air.
Tyron and Flower Blower hadn't agreed on anything beforehand, but they somehow still managed to land on the same chain, one after another, before flying off in one direction almost synchronously.
Flower Blower leapt backwards to increase the distance between them, while Tyron was facing him as he chased.
Male commentator: "Flash! This distance is doable, Lord Four!--"
His voice couldn't reach the arena. Within the Mirror City, there was silence but for the ringing sound of the chains.