"What's your plan for the final match?"
He Yi asked me with a smile. She looked relaxed, but I knew that she was just as nervous as I was. If we lost this match, our path to the WEL would be ended by our arch-enemy, Candle Dragon.
The biggest variable in this match was the Charm Master Ye Yuse. The appearance of this Divine General had put a lot of pressure on us, and if Ye Yuse had been replaced by any of Candle Dragon's current members, our chances of winning would've been infinitely close to 100%. Unfortunately for us, Ye Yuse's Nether Curse was just too OP. A single burst of karma was enough to make us cry. Her Nether Curse had a 25% to 50% hit rate, and it had worked consecutively...
I stared at my beautiful guild leader's hopeful eyes for a moment before saying, "Our biggest problem right now is how to dodge Ye Yuse's Nether Curse."
Gui Guzi said, "Let's kill Ye Yuse first!"
Chaos Moon shrugged. "Wasn't the second round a living example?
Lu Chen and Beiming can kill Ye Yuse, but how are we going to dodge her Nether Curse before she dies? "
I muttered to myself and smiled without saying a word.
Beiming Xue asked, "Do you have an idea, big bro?"
"We can try."
"Mn, tell me already!"
Beiming Xue put her ear close to my mouth, and I whispered something into her ear. Beiming Xue immediately grinned from ear to ear. "Alright, let's do this …"
… …
Swhoosh swhoosh!
It was time for the final match. For both Candle Dragon and us, this was a battle of honor.
Candlelight Shadow gripped his Cyan Rain Sword tightly as his eyes flashed. It was clear that he was just as nervous as we were. Ye Yuse was the most nervous out of all of us, and it was her first time participating in a top-tier competition like this. Beiming Xue was the least nervous of all of us.
Candlelight Shadow charged me the moment the battle began, and his strategy was clear. He wanted to pin me down so that Ye Yuse could find an opening.
This time, Ye Yuse was a lot more cautious than before. She kept hitting me with talismans, and I zigzagged to dodge her attacks. At the same time, the Purple Ying Sword glowed faintly. After exchanging a few blows with Candlelight Shadow, I found an opening and threw the Purple Ying Sword. Coiling Dragon Revolution!
Beiming Xue activated Leap the moment I used Coiling Dragon Revolution. At the same time, I dashed forward and evaded Candlelight Shadow's attack.
"Whoosh!"
Ye Yuse used the same trick again and appeared between me and Beiming Xue. However, she discovered that she couldn't reach either of us because we were completely out of range of Nether Curse. Even worse, I realized that Ye Yuse hadn't used Nether Curse yet, so I immediately turned around and used Thunderous Charge. The rest of the book readers looked at me like normal.
All of a sudden, Ye Yuse was caught between a rock and a hard place. She didn't even have the chance to use the Nether Curse.
"Whoosh!"
Candlelight Shadow appeared behind Ye Yuse and shouted, "Not good!"
Barrier Break + Shatter! Candlelight Shadow was going all out to save Ye Yuse's life, no matter what.
I decided to give it my all. I swung the Purple Ying Sword and parried Ye Yuse's Barrier Break, but I lost 110k HP in the process. At the same time, I appeared next to Ye Yuse. Her Blink was still on cooldown, so there was no way she could fight me. She grabbed her scepter and retreated.
However, I wasn't faster than her. I abruptly changed directions and appeared in front of Ye Yuse's path of retreat. My left fist was surrounded by bloody energy as I punched out — Magic Piercing Punch!
"Bang!"
Ye Yuse's body shuddered slightly. Although she had a Magic Shield protecting her, the Magic Piercing Punch still interrupted her casting of the Immobilize Charm.
Whoosh!
The Purple Ying Sword glowed brightly as I swung it again.
Ye Yuse's latent potential had been ignited during this melee. She actually managed to parry my attack with her scepter alone. I couldn't help but laugh. How could she possibly stop me with her mechanics?
I tilted my sword to the side and punched her scepter away with my left fist. At the same time, the Purple Ying Sword glowed with purple light as I slashed Ye Yuse's shoulder — Frightening Slash!
“40993！”
A blue damage number rose above Ye Yuse's head. It was a sign that she had lost MP. Frightening Slash had drained all of Ye Yuse's MP in one hit. If she hadn't added all her MP, she wouldn't have been able to participate in PvP. As a result, she didn't have much MP left, and a Frightening Slash was completely useless.
Candlelight Shadow charged toward me from behind, but I abruptly turned around and used Burning Blade Slash!
Boom boom boom!
Candlelight Shadow had experienced the power of Burning Blade Slash a long time ago, so he didn't dare face it head-on. He hurriedly raised his Cyan Rain Sword into a Guard stance while I pounced forward and used Crushing Blow!
Candlelight Shadow hastily canceled his Guard stance, but I caught him off guard and hit him in the chest with Pardon!
“MISS！”
My next attack could ignore almost all Defense, and if it was a critical hit, it would be enough to one-shot Candlelight Shadow. He knew that I was powerful, so he had no choice but to retreat.
Behind me, Ye Yuse let out a muffled groan and collapsed to the ground. Blink was still on cooldown, so there was no way she could block Beiming Xue's attacks. A couple of Spiral Storms was all it took to kill her.
… …
Candlelight Shadow's face turned green in an instant. His heart turned cold when he saw that Tenacity of the Dead had healed me for over 60k HP.
Beiming Xue raised her hand and summoned Well of the Abyss. Candlelight Shadow didn't even have time to activate War God Rampage before he was sucked into Well of the Abyss.
"We won!"
I was overjoyed.
"Mn!" Beiming Xue nodded happily.
The moment Candlelight Shadow emerged from Well of the Abyss, he immediately used Burning Blade Slash + Thousand Ice Slash + Spiral Storm + Skypiercer. Invulnerability skills were banned in the WEL, so there was no way Candlelight Shadow would have an opportunity to use them. The moment he exited Well of the Abyss, he grunted and died.
The score was 3: 2. Finally, Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls had won a difficult match and advanced to the finals of the WEL China region!
… …
Swhoosh swhoosh!
Lian Xin, Murong Mingyue and He Yi were already hugging us when Beiming Xue and I entered the arena. They were celebrating the hard-won victory.
Just as I predicted, normal tactics weren't going to work against Candlelight Shadow and Ye Yuse. I had to use Frightening Slash and Magic Piercing Punch, which I normally wouldn't use, to take out Ye Yuse's MP. That way, Beiming Xue would have a much easier time dealing with her.
Candlelight Shadow lowered his Cyan Rain Sword and stared at Candle Dragon with a dark expression on his face. Candle Dragon was known as the strongest guild in China, but even they couldn't make it past the semifinals. It was an outcome they couldn't accept, especially when they had a Famous General like Ye Yuse. Candlelight Shadow couldn't accept that they couldn't make it to the finals.
… …
"We won!"
I slammed the Purple Ying Sword against the ground and shattered the bricks. I smiled at everyone and said, "We're going to win the finals against Soul Battle Robes too!"
"Mn."
He Yi shot a glance at Soul Battle Robes' players. God Bone, Song of Ice and Fire and Ringwraith were standing around Song of Cloud and Water. It looked like they were discussing something. A hint of excitement flashed across the beautiful guild leader's eyes as she said, "Don't underestimate Soul Battle Robes. They've defeated Rose of the Holy Domain, Blazing Hot Lips, Warsky Alliance and Snowy Cathaya since the Top 32. Blazing Hot Lips, Snowy Cathaya and Warsky Alliance are all Top 10 guilds in China, so you can imagine just how strong Soul Battle Robes is."
Li Chengfeng said, "The good news is that Soul Battle Robes has used almost all of their signature skills since the beginning of the match. This is very advantageous for us, or we would've been under a lot of pressure if we were to fight these hidden class players …"
Gui Guzi smiled. "I'm sure Boss Broken Halberd can defeat Soul Battle Robes with ease …"
Chaos Moon shot He Yi a glance before shrugging with a smile. "Lu Chen's strength is undeniable, and his 1 point is guaranteed. But what about everyone else? Are they sure?"
"Clang! Fans like to read:!"
Sparks flew everywhere as the Seven Star Veluriyam Spear hit the ground. He Yi smiled at Chaos Moon and said, "Chaos Moon, you know the consequences of making fun of others!"
Chaos Moon pursed her lips. "All hail the guild leader! I'll always support you …"
Everyone was speechless.
It was at this moment Soul Battle Robes walked up to us under Song of Cloud and Water's leadership. We walked up to them as well. The first and second place would be decided between us, so it was about time we had a little chat before the match began.
Song of Cloud and Water smiled and said, "Lu Chen, He Yi, I have something to say."
He Yi nodded. "Go ahead."
Song of Cloud and Water said, "I'm sure you all know that my big brother is Seven-Star Lamp. He's been busy with his business for the past two years, so he didn't have time to manage the game. That's why I've been managing Soul Battle Robes all this time, but my big brother said that it's hard for a girl to handle the guild alone. That's why I'm extending an invitation to Lu Chen for the last time."
He Yi pursed her lips. She didn't know how to respond, and Lin Yixin was nervous as well. She leaned against me and stared at Song of Cloud and Water with her beautiful eyes.
I gripped the Purple Ying Sword tightly and replied, "I refuse to join Soul Battle Robes no matter what the reason is. I will always be a member of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, and I will never betray you in life or in death!"
Song of Cloud and Water shuddered before shooting me a look of grievance. She asked, "Are you going to refuse me even if I want you to be my big brother and become the guild leader of Soul Battle Robes?"
Everyone was shocked. The fans even liked to read this.
The next moment, countless pairs of eyes stared at me in unison. Everyone was waiting for my answer. Even Song of Ice and Fire, God Bone, Ringwraith and the others behind Song of Cloud and Water were glaring at me in unison. It looked like they would fight me to the death if I refused.
I gritted my teeth and looked at Song of Cloud and Water. "I don't have to join Soul Battle Robes, do I?
Soul Battle Robes can become an ally of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls. What do you think, Song of Cloud and Water? "
Disappointment colored Song of Cloud and Water's eyes. "Are you going to refuse me again, Lu Chen?
Do I really disgust you that much?
Never mind, I won't force you if you don't want to join Soul Battle Robes. Let's meet again in the arena! "
Song of Ice and Fire glared at me fiercely. "You don't know what's good for you!"
My eyes darkened. "Watch your mouth!"
God Bone grabbed Song of Ice and Fire's arm and said, "Enough, Ice and Fire. Let's go and destroy Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls in the arena. Let's show them who's in charge right now!"
… …
Chaos Moon pursed her lips into a smile as she watched the players of Soul Battle Robes leave. "Lu Chen, I can't believe you rejected such an obedient little sister. Taking her in would be the same as taking over the entire Soul Battle Robes guild. The Frozen Berserker, the Undead Mage, the Iron Knight, every single one of them is so powerful …"
I turned around and looked at Chaos Moon, Li Chengfeng, Beiming Xue, Gui Guzi and the others. Suddenly, I smiled and said, "Little sister, I have Beiming Xue and Lian Xin, my brothers who conquer the world. I have you all. I don't need to rely on others!"
Everyone looked at each other with determination and sincerity.
That's right, the reason why we can move unhindered throughout the world is because of this group of lifelong brothers!