1530 Response, Negligence

Dancing Rain, Boundless Sea, and Soft Mist rushed forward together. Desert Dust, who was trapped by Wave Wheel Slasher, looked to be in a dire situation. However, no one forgot that this was a team competition. The broadcast no longer focused on Desert Dust and switched over to the others on Tyranny.  

Dazzling Hundred Blossoms, Negative Nine Degrees, and Rota. Sure enough, the three long-ranged attackers had already set out. They moved like the wind, focusing their long-ranged attacks on Happy's healer, Little Cold Hands, who was standing far away at the back; he hadn't rushed over to attack Han Wenqing like the others on Happy.

Sacrifice Han Wenqing for a trade?

Tyranny's choice was truly brave, decisively abandoning their captain and their core player. As for Little Cold Hands? When he had been using Angel Wings, he had already been the main target for Tyranny's long-ranged attackers. Later, the sudden death charge directly into their formation from Ye Xiu's Lord Grim had destroyed their little safe zone, leading to a slight strategic shift from Tyranny.

As soon as they regained their footing, they continued to bite at Little Cold Hands. It was as if they didn't even see Desert Dust's predicament.

What to do?

Tyranny had been decisive. Now, it was Happy's turn to be troubled. With this trade, even though Happy would be able to eliminate Tyranny's captain, it would be at the sacrifice of their healer. In a one to one trade, the healer had to be prioritized. In the team competition, this was practically an established rule.

Understanding this rule, Su Mucheng had Dancing Rain shift targets.

Boom boom boom.

Her explosions lifted a cloud of sand into the air, reducing the visibility that Tyranny's long-ranged attackers would have. But after those artillery shells exploded, it also led to a sudden change in the flow of the sand. Little Cold Hands, who had been standing there, felt the ground beneath him slip, and he fell onto his butt...

The Launcher's heavy firepower was far more destructive than the likes of a Sharpshooter or Spitfire. On the other hand, Elementalists dealt magic damage. Their destructive abilities couldn't compare to physical attacks.

Dancing Rain had created a wall of sand, obstructing the long-ranged attacks from Tyranny, just like she had intended. However, by blowing up a hole in the sand dune, the flow of sand suddenly accelerated.

"Careless!!" When Pan Lin saw Little Cold Hands slip and fall onto his butt, he criticized Su Mucheng.

But that wasn't what Tyranny thought.  

Don't underestimate Su Mucheng's cunning. This was the lesson that they had just learned in the group arena.

Tang Rou's Soft Mist had switched directions. And Little Cold Hands, who was sitting on the sand dune, was now sliding down the sand dune.

Anyone with an eye for tactics should be able to understand.

By accelerating the downward flow of the sand, Little Cold Hands would be able to get under the protection of his teammates faster. Blowing a hole into the sand dune and accelerating the flow of the sand definitely wasn't out of carelessness. It had been intentional. As for Little Cold Hands slipping and falling onto his butt, that had been intentional from An Wenyi as well. He wasn't as technically skilled as Ye Xiu and the others on Happy. Trying to control his character in the moving sand was very difficult for him. He understood Su Mucheng's intentions, but he wasn't confident in being able to adjust to the sudden increase in speed.

As a result, he didn't force himself to. Instead, he fell down, letting the sand carry him.

It was quite clever, and in a match, cleverness and decisiveness were often needed.

Soft Mist suddenly charged at Tyranny's long-ranged attackers, interfering with their attacks towards Little Cold Hands. Lord Grim and Boundless Sea teamed up on Desert Dust, with Dancing Rain supporting them.

Happy had no intentions of letting Desert Dust go, and at the same time, they wanted to save Little Cold Hands.

It was a brilliant response. Those who saw through Happy's solution praised them. Unfortunately, it stopped there.

Happy's brilliant response wasn't able to be carried out to completion because they had overlooked a certain someone.

Han Wenqing.

Han Wenqing was being attacked from all sides, and it looked as if Happy wouldn't have any trouble dealing with Desert Dust, which was why everyone had focused on An Wenyi's Little Cold Hands instead.

Dancing Rain turned fire, Soft Mist switched directions. In that instant, Su Mucheng and Tang Rou indeed hadn't been worried about Han Wenqing. After all, both Ye Xiu and Fang Rui were there.

But...

Thousand Ton Drop!

Desert Dust crashed to the ground, pressing on the loose sand with a thousand tons of force. His two legs sunk deep into the sand. Following afterwards, a whirlpool seemed to be created. The surrounding flow of sand above it all changed directions towards the deep pit smashed out by Desert Dust's Thousand Ton Drop.

Of the four surrounding him, only Lord Grim who was below him had firm footing. The three above him, including Soft Mist who had switched directions, instantly lost their balance.

Thousand Ton Drop ignored Grab skills. Even if Ye Xiu had used a Toss or a Back Throw, Desert Dust wouldn't have budged.

Only a move like Wave Wheel Slasher, which used magic to create its own space, could seal Desert Dust's movements. However, Wave Wheel Slasher only lasted for so long, and it didn't interrupt Thousand Ton Drop.

As a result, when Wave Wheel Slasher ended, Thousand Ton Drop continued.

Happy's brilliant response was disrupted just like this by the trapped Desert Dust.

Ye Xiu immediately had Lord Grim attack. With Desert Dust's legs stuck in the sand, he wasn't going anywhere. Lord Grim's Myriad Manifestations Umbrella transformed into a spear. A Circle Swing was just about to nab Desert Dust, when he twisted around...

Not good!

Ye Xiu's instincts were telling him to retreat.

Cancel and jump back!

Ye Xiu reacted extremely fast. The Circle Swing was cancelled, and Lord Grim jumped as far back as possible. However, the other three on Happy who were still regaining their balance couldn't react in time. Desert Dust finished turning around, and all three characters were pulled into his grasp.

Spiralling Whirlwind!

A Level 70 Grappler skill. Han Wenqing had chosen this skill to put on his Desert Dust's Silver weapon, Flame Fist!

Hua!

Yellow sand burst into the sky.  

Desert Dust shot out of the ground. The spinning force produced by his two arms held tightly onto the three from Happy. They rose into the air along with Desert Dust, flipped upside down, and then crashed to the ground...

Pu pu pu...

Grab skills could not be Quick Recovered. The three slammed into the ground, creating three craters in the sand dunes and three waves of sand.

Ye Xiu's Lord Grim was in this area, but he didn't go and rescue his teammates. Instead, Lord Grim ran towards a different direction. It looked like he was in a hurry, yet he didn't use any movement skills.

It wasn't that Ye Xiu didn't want to, he couldn't.  

He could not save Su Mucheng and the others, and he could not increase his speed with a skill like Shining Cut.

Because the moment he dodged that Spiralling Whirlwind, he stepped onto a Sacred Fire...

Zhang Xinjie, Immovable Rock.

Han Wenqing's most trusted partner had his back.

Ye Xiu's choice was out of helplessness. Unable to use any skills, he didn't dare fearlessly charge towards the enemy Cleric. If he moved any closer to Desert Dust, Han Wenqing would probably give him ten years worth of revenge.

The tides instantly shifted.

The three on Happy had been thrown into the sand, while Desert Dust calmly landed. Trapping and suppressing him wasn't going to be possible anymore.

However, the one in the most danger was An Wenyi.

Happy's response had been crushed instantly. Little Cold Hands was now sliding down into the mouth of the tiger. An Wenyi needed to get up and run away. This time, An Wenyi being called Happy's weakness were no longer empty words. He tried his hardest to move his character in the river of sand. In the end, it looked like he was trying to doggy-paddle his way up.

The crowd laughed loudly seeing this scene, but not Tyranny.

An Wenyi looked to be in a sorry state. Little Cold Hands wasn't moving gracefully at all, but his judgement was correct. The direction he chose to run away to was the worst possible direction for Tyranny. He had chosen to move towards the Lord Grim and Immovable Rock.

But Tyranny wasn't worried at all.

Previously, Happy had neglected the trapped Han Wenqing. This time, they had neglected Zhang Xinjie. Tyranny's two core had actually been overlooked...

All three long-ranged attackers fired at Little Cold Hands.

Multiple people targeting with a flustered rookie was much more efficient than Ye Xiu targeting an experienced Zhang Xinjie.

Tyranny's reasoning was that simple. They had confidence in themselves and in Zhang Xinjie. An Wenyi had picked the best possible option, but it wasn't enough to shake Tyranny.

Happy's other three players had gotten up. When they saw the situation, they knew that they had to save Little Cold Hands. However, an imposing figure stood in their way.

Han Wenqing, Desert Dust.

One person, ready for a 1v3!

The crowd erupted!

This was their captain. When they needed him the most, 1v2, 1v3, 1v4, he wouldn't retreat.

This bravery had never faltered no matter how much time had passed. Even if he was beginning to play more flexibly, when brute force was needed, he would proudly stand at the front.

Ten years, just like the past.