One vs. Two

After defeating "Negative Nine Degrees," the rest of the operations became much more straightforward. "Total Darkness" began chanting, with ice-blue waves spinning rapidly on the broken blade.

Frost Wave Sword.

Although "Negative Nine Degrees" was airborne, he could still act. Even though Wang Chixuan couldn't see "Total Darkness" in his field of vision, he guessed that Liu Hao was chanting the Frost Wave Sword.

Wang Chixuan, being a professional player, quickly stabilised his view after being launched into the air—a skill most ordinary players lack. With a quick flick of the mouse, he corrected the "Negative Nine Degrees'" view.

"Negative Nine Degrees is firing mid-air! Wang Chixuan is trying to use the Gunslinger's flying gun technique to manoeuvre in the air!" commented Li Yibo.

"Can he dodge it?" Pan Lin eagerly asked.

The next second, "Total Darkness's" Frost Wave Sword struck out, precisely predicting the trajectory of "Negative Nine Degrees'" flying gun movement. Such a prediction was elementary for Liu Hao, as simple as eating or drinking water.

"Negative Nine Degrees" was solidly frozen. Liu Hao naturally would take advantage of this excellent opportunity for damage. With a series of skills—Triple Wave, Wave Formation, Evil Light Slash—he cut down "Negative Nine Degrees'" health by half in an instant.

Wang Chixuan was stunned. Was he playing "Glory"? How did he lose half his health in one exchange? He felt like a complete newbie in front of Liu Hao.

After the combo, the big screen in the arena began replaying the highlights. The professional broadcaster played "Total Darkness's" Z-shaped dodging movements at 0.5x speed, ensuring the audience could follow along.

On the screen, "Total Darkness" slowly but precisely weaved through the dense bullet fire, some bullets even bouncing off his short sword.

"What kind of manoeuvre is this?" Pan Lin was puzzled.

Although surprised, Li Yibo, being a former professional player, recognised Liu Hao's manoeuvre. "This twitching is actually a type of movement known as the 'Z-shaped dodge,'" he explained.

Upon hearing this, the audience focused intently, noticing that "Total Darkness's" left and right movements indeed resembled a Z-shape. However, this Z-shaped dodge seemed extraordinarily fast.

"But, Coach Li, do you think the Z-shaped dodge alone can evade rapid-fire bullets? After all, bullets are small and hard to see," Pan Lin still didn't understand.

Li Yibo twitched, scratching his forehead subconsciously. He thought to himself, "If you ask me, who should I ask?" However, he wouldn't admit his confusion on camera and forced an explanation, "Dodging bullets is quite common. As long as you stay focused and move quickly, you can achieve it. You can try it in the game."

Pan Lin, in an admiring tone, said, "As expected from Coach Li. Your game understanding is profound. I'll try the Z-shaped dodge after tonight's match."

Liu Hao didn't know that players would soon imitate his impressive manoeuvre and even professionals would eventually be named "Glory Driving Test One."

With "Negative Nine Degrees'" health below half and his skills on cooldown, the Magic Swordsman was in a tough spot. "Negative Nine Degrees" quickly attacked "Total Darkness," unleashing a barrage of skills—Floating Bullet, Explosive Shot, Stiffening Bullet.

But Liu Hao had improved. He could see the bullet trajectories and deflect them with his short sword. Although he couldn't block all the bullets, he minimised the damage significantly.

Wang Chixuan was dumbfounded, cursing internally, "Is this guy even human?" He knew that regular bullets wouldn't harm "Total Darkness," and once his skills cooled down, he'd be defenceless.

"If I can't win, I'll at least deal more damage!" Wang Chixuan decided, pressing the ultimate skill button.

Bullet Storm! The Gunslinger's ultimate: firing in all directions from the centre.

With Bullet Storm, Liu Hao couldn't predict the trajectories anymore. His predictions were based on the opponent's gun direction and habits, but Bullet Storm fired randomly.

"Total Darkness" was riddled with bullets, and Liu Hao laughed, "Guess this really is a foolproof skill against experts."

Not wanting to give Wang Chixuan any advantage, Liu Hao controlled "Total Darkness" to endure the damage. When Bullet Storm ended, Liu Hao's skills were ready...

Two minutes later, "Negative Nine Degrees" was defeated.

"Congratulations to Liu Hao for defeating Tyranny's first contestant with 65% health remaining!"

"It looks like Liu Hao is in great form today. With 65% health left, the chances of him taking down a second opponent are high."

During the break, Liu Hao picked up a sponsored juice drink, faced the camera, took a sip, and smiled with a thumbs up.

The juice tasted mediocre, but Liu Hao was professional. Since the sponsor supported them, he wanted them to feel their sponsorship was worthwhile.

Watching the live broadcast, the sponsor's boss was moved to tears, "Liu Hao is so considerate, unlike that camera-shy Ye Qiu. It would be great if Liu Hao became the captain of Excellent Era..."

Liu Hao was pleased with his victory, and his teammates applauded. However, Cui Li's face was grim.

"Liu Hao dared to defy the boss's orders!" Cui Li murmured. With Ye Qiu set to face Han Wenqing and win the match, he could already anticipate the boss's rage. "Liu Hao, I hope you have an explanation ready for the boss and don't drag me down..."

Tyranny's second contestant was Zheng Chengfeng, a professional Knight with the ID "Moonsplit."

Without much exchange, the match began.

Zheng Chengfeng immediately controlled "Moonsplit," raising his shield and charging toward "Total Darkness" like a wild boar.

In the last match, Liu Hao used close-range suppression against the long-range Gunslinger, but now, facing a Knight, his mid-range attacks would give him the upper hand.

Liu Hao knew precisely what to do. He planned to kite the Knight, minimising his health loss to defeat Zheng Chengfeng and hoping to face Han Wenqing.

He wasn't sure if he could take down three in a row, but he was confident that even if Ye Qiu faced Han Wenqing, he would have a significant health advantage. So, even if Ye Qiu won, it wouldn't prove his superiority...

That way, he could explain to Tao Xuan...

(End of the chapter)

P.S. Chapters 62-66 are up on my Patreon. Do support me there. winks

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