23 China vs Australia: First Battle

Ten Thousand Springs?

They had never heard of or seen this map before. It was a new map and there was no doubt that the tournament would use new maps throughout its duration. It would have simply been included in the budget for the planning of the ceremony.

And seeing as they had no information on the map, it was the job of the first player to let the rest of their team on the bench know the layout, the advantages and disadvantages of the map.

And that player was Chu Yunxiu.

After a brief loading process, the two Elementalists spawned in opposite areas of the map, neither of them moving.

These were experts. It was unlikely to see any rash movements from them.

Chu Yunxiu turned her camera's view left and right, up and down. Ten thousand springs? All she could see were waterfalls. Windy Rain was currently in a pool of water. There were seven waterfalls, big and small, draining into the pool.

The current was wild and unpredictable but the fact that she remained in more or less the same position in the pool was a testament of her skill.

"Aquatic battle," Chu Yunxiu murmured to herself. It was going to be difficult. There was no pro would could not engage in underwater battles but they would also be facing other pros in the water. And the presence of fast currents only increased the difficulty of the battle tenfold.

"Let's go." Difficult, not impossible. Chu Yunxiu directed Windy Rain to swim in the direction of the smallest waterfall. In Glory, the force of a waterfall could not only cause damage, depending on how large and high it was, but could forcefully change the direction of the character.

It was best to avoid them, if possible.

She ducked under the waterfall swimming below the surface until she was clear past it. She raised her head slightly, so that Windy Rain was not visible on the surface but she could still breathe. She surveilled the area, making Windy Rain turn left and right.

Nobody in sight. Very expected. Even if her opponent had been running, or swimming, towards her at full speed, he still would not have arrived. Elementalists were not speedy classes. In fact, the only skill that could be characterized as a movement skill was Teleport and that would not be used to simply travel faster.

So she moved cautiously, advancing towards the only piece of land in her sight. Chu Yunxiu was a pro. She knew that in aquatic battles, your reaction time may be the same as in a land battle, but your character moved slower, skills could have their effects amplified, nullified or a hidden effect could be triggered.

Since there was a strip of land nearby, she predicted the battle would devolve into a fight to stay on land and keep the opponent underwater. The strip looked small even as she neared it and by her calculations, it was roughly in the middle of the map.

Meaning her opponent would be near as well.

What Chu Yunxiu did not calculate or predict was that her opponent would rise from the water with a splash and stand on the tiny island. She immediately dropped below the surface, making sure to keep Windy Rain's head hidden.

There was something wrong here, she thought. How was he so fast?

There were still several yards separating her from the island, and she had not made any detours, more or less swimming in straight line on her way here. So how did the Elementalist get here before her?

Chu Yunxiu thought back to earlier in the day as she revised the information on the Australian team, in preparation for the match. There were two Elementalist players. The one she currently faced was called Evergreen Cedar.

He had four pieces of Silver equipment, with Orange filling up the remaining slots. There was no Orange equipment on him that increased movement speed and while she did not know exactly what the stats of the Silver equip were, the videos on him gave her a rough estimate.

No movement enhancing equip. The only option was Teleport. And that made no sense.

"That, I'm sure, is what everyone wants to know," Pan Lin said into his mic. "Why did the Australian Elementalist use Teleport?" He turned to Li Yibo. "Coach Li…"

Li Yibo's gut twisted. That's what he would like to know as well. Why use a high-level skill like Teleport simply to travel faster? He had waited to see if there was any benefit but no, he had simply moved from one place to the other.

"As a pro player, one has many instincts honed from years of experience. It may be that he knew there would be a favourable spot to fight from and was eager to get there before his opponent did."

Pan Lin almost scoffed. That was a perfect example of using many words to say nothing. The live feed had shown Evergreen Cedar's camera view when he used Teleport and the only thing he could see was water. So how did he know there was a piece of land nearby?

There was truly no obvious explanation as to why the Australian Teleported. But hopefully, the reason would reveal itself and they could stop looking stupid.

"Thank you, Coach Li. Returning to match, Chu Yunxiu is in a slightly disadvantageous position. Her opponent has the higher ground while she is in the water. What would be her response?"

Fans all around the country held their breaths, nervous and terrified; fans of Misty Rain all the more so.

"Captain. You can do this," they whispered fervently.

Chu Yunxiu herself was not particularly nervous. Her opponent was not aware of her location in the water. She could swim up to the island and sneak up on him. The problem, however, lay in those precious seconds she would use to climb up the piece of land.

He might not see her but every pro was sensitive to noise. The splash of the water as she rose from the sea would alert him to her presence. So how to go about it?

Create a diversion.

She reached the tip of the island, clicked and tapped. She raised her staff and a Frost Ball shot out, hitting the waters on the left of the island. A wave rose from the sea as ice formed, crinkling and cracking, on the surface of the water.

Evergreen Cedar reacted immediately to the sound, waving his staff and casting a Fire Ball to the left while keeping an eye out for attacks on the right and his flank. Truly a pro-level reaction. He was alert against any back attacks. A pity but his opponent was also a pro.

Predicting that he would remain on guard, Chu Yunxiu immediately activated Mobile Cast, swimming and casting the Level 30 skill, Magic Shackles. It was a skill available for all Elementalists, regardless of the path they choose to learn. It silenced the target and prevented the target from casting any magic-based skills.

The Glory community described it as the Elementalist skill for taking down Elementalists. Because all Elementalist skills were magic-based skills. If Magic Shackles were used on a Battle Mage, for instance, only about half of their skills would be silenced, with all other skills that dealt physical damage free to use.

For the Elementalist, however, Magic Shackles was as devastating as the Cleric's Sacred Fire. Total silence.

Although Mobile Cast reduced her speed, her APM burst forth and she climbed up to the land, using the ice as a stepping stone, waved her staff and released the Magic Shackles on Evergreen Cedar.

A collective ohhhh resounded from all over the stadium. What a way to start the World Cup.

"Make a sound in the east and strike in the west, they say. But Chu Yunxiu is doing the opposite, she made a sound in the east and struck in the east as well, knowing fully well that her opponent will be on guard for attacks on the west. Reverse reverse psychology," Li Yibo said, happy there was something he could commentate on.

"Yes. Now, all Evergreen's Cedar's skills have been silenced." The feed showed his skill bar. "All of his skills have been silenced; the entire skill bar is gray. What a dramatic start. Chu Yunxiu is not wasting anytime. She's charging right in!" Pan Lin shouted enthusiastically.

Windy Rain raised his staff and cast another spell. Heavenly Lightning Earthen Fire.

Fire shot up from the ground and lightning struck from the clear blue sky. All converging on Evergreen Cedar. His view looked like an apocalyptic scene. Fire and lightning consumed him, making him panic and freeze.

A sweat bead rolled down the side of his face and fell onto his unmoving right hand.

He looked frantically at his skill bar, waiting, praying for the silence to elapse. Two seconds left. One. Zero.

Evergreen Cedar shot out, waving his emerald staff. Teleport. He inputted all the correct taps but he didn't move. He gasped and looked down at the skill bar. Gray. All his skills locked. How? The cooldown for Magic Shackles was not that short. So…

The answer came to him immediately. Magic Prison. No spells could be cast within the range of the prison for four seconds. Four whole seconds.

He was a pro-player. He knew the implication of such a silence. Evidently, his opponent knew as well. The gap between them was closed and Evergreen Cedar was hit with a barrage of spells.

Fire Bird, Fire Storm. Level 75 and Level 70 spells.

Chu Yunxiu released the most damaging of spells on Evergreen Cedar, pushing him off the island and into the sea below.

He plopped into the sea, sinking a few metres due to the force of the attack. He flailed, trying to get to the surface before his vitality ran out, leaving him without oxygen. He swam to the surface and Chu Yunxiu had readied a Piercing Lightning for him.

The lightning struck him and the water around him triggering a hidden effect. He was being electrocuted. The damage count racked up and his health dropped drastically.

Elementalists have high attack but low health and low defense. It didn't have to be said that the effect of one Elementalist dominating the other was brutal. Evergreen Cedar's health dropped in large chunks, the bar hitting red in no time.

Evergreen Cedar had been struggling this whole time, trying to dodge the attacks and even attempting to retaliate. But now he just sat, all but slumped on the seat. He remembered his captain's words the last time they had a meeting.

"She is not a fierce player. Whoever faces her should attack vigorously and cut off any chances of escape. That's the way to victory."

That was why he had used Teleport at the beginning of the match. He wanted to get the first attack in. To shock her and frighten her. He had no idea there was a piece of land here. It was a welcome surprise, though.

He could take the land and kite her in the water, attacking vigorously and cutting off all her chances of winning.

Now, he was the one in the water, being attacked without mercy, with no chance to escape. Not a fierce player? As he watched his health hit zero, he wondered: If she was not a fierce player, then who was?

Either way the first battle over. China 1 Australia 0