Chapter 148

Twenty minutes prior, the Chinese players emerged from their Battle Net Center with stiff expressions on their faces.

"Haa, seriously…"

"They got defeated just by one guy? Just how useless can the Warriors be?"

Though the other players were blatantly cursing them, the Chinese Warriors remained silent. They were already looked down upon for being the weakest group on the team and faced even harsher criticism for being the cause of their defeat.

"That's why I suggested we shave our heads," Li Long said while looking at his fellow warriors. "Our compatibility with the 108th Form is low, so that guy managed to easily spot and kill the players."

"How could I have known he would be that strong…?"

"I thought it would be enough when we tested it…"

"Aah…" Li Long massaged his temples. It was true that, after they tested it, they'd all thought the 108th Form would be enough to neutralize any opponent. Experience showed otherwise, though.

"Are you all done discussing your failure? If so, then it's time to shave your heads," the Chinese coach said as he walked toward them.

"Yes, coach."

Several other assistant coaches waited with hair clippers behind him.

"Ah…"

"C-can I please be excused from this? I look really ugly with a shaved head!"

"Use a wig later! They're really high-quality these days."

"I'm not even part of the 108th Form…"

"What are you talking about? You must take collective responsibility. Would we have lost the first game if you'd done a better job?"

Vrrr-

That's how each of the Chinese Warriors ended up with a shaved head. Normally, it would have been difficult to enforce such a thing due to their social status as world-class Warriors, but their defeat was enough to drive the point home.

"Ah… Noooo!!!"

"JiHan… I'll kill you this time…"

The Chinese Warriors were engulfed with anger when they saw their shiny heads. As if that alone wasn't enough, the other players on the team laughed at them from a distance.

"I wonder if the Warriors will do a proper job this time."

"How could one person have pushed them all back…?"

"They were also like that against the Sword King, tsk tsk."

"This time, 18 of you will enter the 108th Form," The coach said to the Warriors while they were silently enduring the insults.

"18… Isn't that too much?"

"We can still win if we're short on numbers so long as JiHan is out of the picture. Isn't that right, Zhuge Xuan?"

The coach turned to a long-haired man who'd been busy picking his nose.

The man nodded. "Yes. As long as the baldies do well. If we just eliminate JiHan from the battlefield, it's game over."

"Good. The Warriors will focus entirely on taking JiHan out of the picture. Just stall for time, and don't even think about trying to defeat him.

Their strategy of using 18 players to tie down one would be considered humiliating by the opposing team, but it was a very effective move against South Korea.

= Ah! The 108th Form!!! Everyone came out with their heads shaved… Things are definitely different from the 1st match! JiHan's movements became sluggish!

= 18 Warriors are missing from China's team! Now South Korea's Warriors have to show their strength! They have more than double the Warriors on the field…!

Only 12 Chinese Warriors remained during Korea's turn to defend the South Gate. The Korean Warriors should've been safe to take a more offensive stance with such a number difference, but…

= Ah~ They're being completely pushed back in terms of strength! Zhuge Xuan drew the Bagua Overlap again! He drew 'fire'!

= Hellfire… is erupting… The ground has been completely set ablaze! The Korean Warriors cannot advance, and they're even struggling to defend the gate…!

= Their long-range firepower is just too overwhelming!

It was 99 vs 82, and even though South Korea had 17 more people, they were still being steamrolled.

Zhuge's overwhelming magic played a role, but the Chinese Supports also completely countered the Korean team.

"Ah… That damn yellow dragon!" YeonJu shouted in frustration. None of the players they focused fire on died properly due to a yellow dragon that encircled the Chinese team and protected their players.

In the end, what should've been 10 kills instead became five, and China still had the power to completely smash the Korean team.

= JiHan… is hanging in there! He took out nine of the players who were hiding among the monks! Just a bit more and—!

= Ah. Dong-woo has fallen! There are no Warriors left to protect the gate!

= The Chinese players are entering…

= Ah… That's a pity… It was a fight of 99 against 82, but…

The commentators couldn't help but lament the outcome. They knew that China was strong, but it was humiliating to be defeated so thoroughly despite the difference in numbers.

The chat window was also in chaos.

- Wow, that was really bad, hahaha.

- It's just game over for them without JiHan.

- Are the skills also rigged now? Why does Zhuge Xuan keep drawing crazy cards?

- How did we ever beat China before? With how they blocked all of our Archers' attacks, they're a perfect counter against us.

- We only ever won thanks to the Sword King.

It was hard to believe that they'd still lost so badly after 18 Chinese players essentially sacrificed themselves to take JiHan out of the game. It was so bad, in fact, that their win in the starting match was completely pushed from their minds.

As for the next match, they were on the same train-based map that they'd been on against Russia. Since it was a map focusing on long-ranged combat, the result was very similar.

= JiHan used the same spear attack he used in the match against Russia, but…

= The Chinese Supports were fully prepared! The yellow dragon's protective shield is just too strong! Some of their players were critically wounded, but nobody died!

= As expected of a Support with an SSS-rank Gift. Jiu Ling is amazing…!

= Ah! Zhuge picked 'fire' again…! Hellfire burst out of South Korea's train, and the players are being massacred!

'This is more hopeless than I thought it would be,' JiHan thought as he looked around.

The map was particularly favorable to China, so he'd expected to lose, but he never imagined things would be so one-sided.

'Maybe I should just fly directly to the enemy train.'

JiHan dashed through the air like lightning

"Stop him!"

"Just focus on that guy! Block him!"

"Reverse Gravity!"

"Slow!"

A torrent of magic spells assaulted him. Instead of offensive attacks, it was all focused on binding and slowing him. It was annoying, but that much was nothing, and it didn't stop him from advancing.

= Ah! Despite the enemy's magic, JiHan continues to move forward!

= The attacks toward his team's train have diminished thanks to that! He's really contributing a lot to the team!

He was able to temporarily stop his team from being wiped out until…

"Gather around where JiHan's going to land! Prepare the 108th Form!"

"We'll win as soon as he's taken out of the picture! The enemies are almost finished!"

The game's outcome couldn't be reversed. The 108th Form was the best possible counter against the Korean team's dependence on JiHan. The only reason they'd ever won the first match was because China underestimated him.

"The 108th Form will test Sung JiHan."

After they prepared it properly, 108th Form proved to be exceptionally effective.

"Today's divination is great! Meteor Strike!"

Fwoosh!

A huge meteor fell on Korea's train in a finishing blow to their already wounded team.

BOOM—!

[The train has been annihilated.]

JiHan frowned after he entered the 108th Form and was looking for the players. It hadn't been even 10 minutes since he was summoned there.

'Did we already lose?'

[You've lost the match.]

"Hahaha! Is it already over? Your team is really weak. How about you come to China instead of remaining with such a hopeless country?" Li Long taunted during the end of the stream while they were logging out.

- Ugh, that annoying, shitty monk.

- He's boasting as if he's amazing, but all they can do is use 18 players to tie down one.

- Damn, but our team is quite bad…

- I wasn't hoping for them to win without JiHan, but couldn't they at least buy enough time for JiHan to break through the 108th Form?

- It's JiHan's fault for not breaking out fast enough, hahaha.

- Yes. He should have swept them away in 10 seconds, hahaha.

The atmosphere among Koreans was dreadful after they lost two of the three matches. It felt like there was nothing they could do to win with their JiHan trump card completely countered.

People began to focus on the next match.

- Has the next map been revealed yet?

- Yes. Please, let it be a Warrior solo match ㅠㅠ

- An Archer solo match is also worth giving a shot. As long as it isn't Mage or Support-based, it'll be okay.

- Team matches with less than 50 people should also be good. I don't think they'd be able to use the 108th Form in such a map…

- Who wins will depend on luck.

The first three matches were done in the predetermined maps of the month, but random maps were assigned for any matches afterward. Types of maps could vary widely. There were 100-person team battles and solo or small group fights, which was why most Koreans were praying for a Warrior or Archer map to appear.

JiHan and YeonJu were stronger than any of the Chinese players in terms of individual skill, after all. Unfortunately…

[The 4th match is 'Magician's Tower', a solo map.]

[Only Mages can participate.]

Korea was still out of luck, they would have to face Zhuge Xuan, one of the strongest Mages in the world.

- We lost.

- At least we won a match, ahh.

- I'm turning off the TV and going to sleep~ ^^ㅗ

The Koreans began leaving the chat while Chinese viewers rejoiced.

- It's over.

- Zhuge Xuan will end this.

- I'm not happy that we lost a game against them, but it's great to see that the 108th Form worked after they shaved their heads.

- The trash Warriors should live with their heads shaved until the Heavenly Demon comes to Diamond.

Maybe it was because of that…

= The Korean team has called for a timeout!

= Ah. It's a Mage solo match… Do we have anyone capable of facing Zhuge Xuan?

= Not that I know of… I'm curious about Coach YeongJun's intentions!

No one expected anything to come of the timeout until the name of Korea's player was shown.

= H-huh…?

= W-wait a moment! What's going on…?!

= JiHan will participate as South Korea's representative!

* * *

"Hahaha…" Coach YeongJun recalled what had just happened as he watched JiHan prepare for the next match.

- Coach, I will participate.

- JiHan… this match is only for Mages…

- You know that I count as every class, right? I can also participate as a Mage.

- Ah… Ah! That's right! Then you can participate in this round!

Coach YeongJun had always considered JiHan's value to be on par with the Sword King's, though he might be a bit weaker at the moment. Still, if he leveled up more, the coach thought JiHan could surpass the Sword King.

In the end, though, JiHan proved to be more valuable based on one, simple, overlooked fact…

'We can consider the individual matches as already won…!' The coach thought as he watched the game with watery eyes.

JiHan's Master of One had an overwhelming strategic advantage.

"Wh-what? Why are you in this match?!"

"I'm also a Mage," JiHan said. "Check this out. 'Fire'." Sure enough, JiHan used 'Fire' in front of the astonished Zhuge Xuan.

"Th-this… This is cheating! It's a scam!" The other man shouted.

"I'll see you in the next match," JiHan said.

Zhuge tried to survive with every bit of magic he could muster, but he just couldn't beat JiHan in a one-on-one fight, not even with Bagua Overlap.

Paf—!

[Player 'Zhuge Xuan' has died.]

The match ended in less than five minutes, and viewers from both countries were shocked at the unexpected result.

- ????? What?? Why did he come out as a Mage?

- We lost this round… like that?

- Shouldn't we report this to the Battle Net? How could this be considered balanced?!

- How does it make sense that someone swung a spear in a fight between Mages?! Shouldn't there be a rule that Mages can only fight with magic?!

The Chinese were angry that they'd lost a match they thought was already theirs.

- We won… the match?

- Hahaha. Fuck. Fire? How insane, hahaha.

- This is crazy, hahaha.

- Do we have a free pass in individual matches thanks to JiHan?

- Let's go for an individual match in the next round as well!!

The Koreans who'd turned off their TVs turned them back on again upon hearing JiHan had won the match. The mood was much more festive.

The score was 2:2, and the next map decided it all.

- Please, let it be a team match…!

- Please, let it be an individual match…!

Both countries' viewers waited with building anxiety for the next match to be revealed.