For Your Own Good, You’re Still Cursing Me?

Total Darkness swung his sword, but this sword wasn't aimed at Troubling Rain. Instead, it turned around and struck the tree that 22 strikes had already hit.

With a loud bang, wood chips flew, and the giant tree fell, landing squarely on the off-balance Troubling Rain, which a counterattack had thrown off balance.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit…" Huang Shaotian cried out in a string of expletives. He wanted to turn and flee, but in his unbalanced state, even turning his view became extremely difficult. He was like a stiff stone.

Then came a thunderous crash, and everyone's anxious hearts finally relaxed. Huang Shaotian also felt utterly defeated.

The giant tree crushed Troubling Rain, resulting in his death!

Being crushed by a tree, Huang Shaotian had unlocked a new way of dying. Looking at his greyish-white screen, Huang Shaotian finally understood why Liu Hao said this match would be a lifelong humiliation for him. Being crushed by a tree—who could stand that?

Huang Shaotian was filled with rage, but the dead couldn't speak or type. Thinking about having to leave the stage and walk back to the Blue Rain player seats, Huang Shaotian didn't want to continue with the team match. He even considered escaping the venue.

Everyone stared blankly at the big screen, which was showing Total Darkness's spectacular moment, or rather, the tree's spectacular moment.

The scene was eerily quiet until a cute girl laughed, and then the whole place erupted in laughter.

"Oh my god, Huang Shaotian was crushed by a tree? That's just too impressive!"

"I originally thought it was a guaranteed loss for Hao Ge, but he turned it around! I even got a triple kill! A real triple kill!"

"This way of getting a kill is something I would never have thought of, even if I were killed!"

"This triple kill is probably the most valuable one of this season, right? Both Yu Feng and Huang Shaotian lost to Hao Ge."

"Hao Ge is rising! I see a new star rising!"

…

The audience passionately discussed and cheered for Liu Hao. The boys called out "Hao Ge" with genuine enthusiasm.

At this moment, the two commentators on stage were struggling. Did a tree crush the Sword Saint Troubling Rain? Everything happened too suddenly, leaving the commentators confused and unsure how to comment.

Not to mention laughing, they even questioned whether this kill was within the rules or if Liu Hao had exploited a game bug.

Esports ultimately relies on raw skill. Although Liu Hao cutting down the tree to kill Huang Shaotian is a display of skill, there were some clever elements involved. The commentators couldn't make a clear judgment and had to leave the decision to the referee committee.

The referee committee was also puzzled by this novel kill method. However, after some discussion, they accepted Liu Hao's kill method because one of the referees pointed out that in the first season finals between Excellent Era and Huang Feng, a Leaf in Autumn used a fire to burn the entire map, causing a lot of burning damage to everyone. Although the fire didn't achieve a kill, it still caused significant trouble for Huang Feng, so Liu Hao's method was deemed reasonable and valid.

With the referee committee's approval, Pan Lin and Li Yibo breathed a sigh of relief and solemnly announced Excellent Era's victory in the arena match, bringing the score to 5:0.

Huang Shaotian walked back to the Blue Rain player seats with his head down, like a sad Akita dog that had its meat taken away, wishing he could hide his head in his collar.

His teammates didn't comfort him; on the contrary, they were laughing heartily. They hadn't expected Huang Shaotian to fall into such a situation—crushed by a tree? It was just too funny.

Yu Feng added fuel to the fire, teasing, "Huang Shaotian, what's wrong? Why aren't you talking now? Don't like to talk?"

Yu Wenzhou couldn't help but laugh.

Huang Shaotian could endure his teammates mocking him, but when his team captain laughed at him, he couldn't take it anymore. He shot a resentful glance at everyone, continued to fold his arms, and remained silent.

Huang Shaotian felt he would never forget the scene of being crushed by a tree. Every time he thought about it, it was like a husband forgiving his wife's infidelity; he had to forgive again every time he remembered it.

"Seriously? Is Liu Hao playing this dirty?" Huang Shaotian finally managed to squeeze out a sentence after being frustrated for a while.

Yu Wenzhou nodded. "It's indeed filthy and unexpected but also very impressive, isn't it?"

"Impressive? Where's the impressiveness? Is cutting down a tree impressive?" Huang Shaotian was not convinced.

Yu Wenzhou shook his head. "Shaotian, you understand that amateurs see the spectacle while experts see the details. Liu Hao had this tactic in mind from the beginning."

After Yu Wenzhou's explanation, Huang Shaotian gradually regained some rationality and began to think. Liu Hao had said something baffling at the start, which matched the tactic he was implementing. If that's the case…

"Liu Hao had to precisely gauge the damage the damned tree could take right from the start! And when I faced Liu Hao, his mana didn't change, meaning he used regular attacks to damage the tree," Huang Shaotian said.

"Yes, I've studied how characters interact with their environment. Different attack points and directions produce different damage. Liu Hao, at the start, was chopping around the tree, making 22 strikes, each hitting a specific point. I suspect Liu Hao was controlling the damage output to ensure the tree's fall direction was controllable."

Yu Wenzhou's analysis gradually stopped Blue Rain's laughter. Everyone, including Huang Shaotian, stared wide-eyed in shock and exclaimed, "How is this possible?"

Although the audience didn't have a high academic background, they were skilled in Glory and highly sensitive to its data. What Yu Wenzhou just analysed wasn't something one person could calculate alone. Even if a genius could do it, it would take an immense amount of time and effort. With that effort, it would be better spent practising hand speed!

"How could Liu Hao be so bored?" Huang Shaotian muttered. "This tactic has such a low margin for error, and a mistake would ruin everything. Why would Liu Hao spend so much time developing such a fleeting tactic?"

Yu Wenzhou shook his head. He also didn't understand. If it were him, he wouldn't study such a tactic. While it was surprising and unpredictable, the margin for error was too low to be worth using. Only someone like Liu Hao would dare to take such a risky approach.

"Perhaps this tactic wasn't developed by Liu Hao," Yu Wenzhou offered a bold hypothesis. "Liu Hao might have conceived the tactic, but he didn't do the data analysis."

"Is it surprising that Liu Hao, being the kind of person he is, would play online games and come up with this stuff?" Huang Shaotian said.

Yu Wenzhou shook his head. "The world is fair. All the good things can't be given to one person. Moreover, as far as I know, Liu Hao hasn't even finished high school. How could he have studied the data so precisely?"

When Yu Wenzhou mentioned education, everyone on the scene fell silent because they hadn't finished high school either. If they had been good at their studies and got into university, their parents wouldn't have let them become professional players.

"Captain, are you saying…"

"Excellent Era has experts!" Yu Wenzhou declared firmly. "In the club, there is always a role for data analysts. As far as I know, Liu Hao met a player named Mei Guang in online games and likely invited Mei Guang to be a data analyst."

"You know this too?" Huang Shaotian was incredulous.

"Know thyself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle," Yu Wenzhou smiled. "I specifically asked Che Qianzi to investigate what happened in District 10 and learned from Zhongcao Tang's intelligence that Li Yan Chou, who is Liu Hao's acquaintance, talked with Mei Guang for quite a while."

"Captain, you inferred so much from this tiny clue?" Huang Shaotian was astonished and didn't know what to say. In the end, he could only praise, "Captain, you're truly amazing."

Yu Wenzhou modestly waved his hand. "This is my only skill. Compared to you, I'm still far behind."

Flattered by Yu Wenzhou's praise, Huang Shaotian finally raised his head, and his mood slightly improved.

Seeing this, Yu Wenzhou finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Huang Shaotian recovered his state, it wouldn't affect the upcoming team match. The team match would rely heavily on Troubling Rain's performance!

Here's the translation of the provided text:

---

Finally, the team match began.

The situation for Blue Rain wasn't very optimistic. The current score was 0:5, and if they lost this team match, Excellent Era would sweep them 10:0.

Being swept would be a massive blow to their reputation, especially since it was the crucial period for All-Star voting. A sweep would significantly affect Blue Rain's All-Star votes. This year, Blue Rain planned to have three All-Star players.

Yu Wenzhou and Huang Shaotian were two of them. The last All-Star spot would naturally be reserved for Yu Feng. Therefore, to achieve this goal, they absolutely could not lose the team match.

Yu Wenzhou took a deep breath. "This match will be a psychological game between Liu Hao and me!"

Huang Shaotian, feeling the familiar keyboard and mouse, finally recovered completely from his earlier disappointment. "Leave that clueless kid, Sun Xiang, to me!"

"Rest assured with the offence. I won't let Excellent Era's poke strategy gain an advantage!" Yu Feng said confidently.

...

Everyone got ready, the map loaded, and the characters entered the game.

When Blue Rain noticed Excellent Era's lineup, they were stunned!

"What's going on? Excellent Era's team isn't bringing a healer?" Pan Lin exclaimed from the commentary desk.

"A strange decision. This must be Liu Hao's doing. After Ye Qiu retired and Liu Hao took over as team commander, he's been a bit too reckless," Li Yibo said with a smile.

Though commentators are supposed to be neutral, Li Yibo was convinced Excellent Era would lose the moment he saw they didn't have a healer.

As someone from Tyranny, Li Yibo knew how vital a healer was to a team. It's the team's logistical support and safety net. During Season 4, there was a saying: as long as Zhang Xinjie stays alive, Tyranny would never lose.

So, during Season 4, every team targeting Tyranny had the primary goal of killing Zhang Xinjie's Immovable Rock!

"What's going on?" Huang Shaotian was the first to voice his confusion. "Is Liu Hao out of his mind? He's not bringing a healer."

Yu Wenzhou didn't comment. He felt things wouldn't be so simple.

Yu Feng then asked, "Captain, should we change our tactics? Since the opponent has no healer, would a defensive strategy work better?"

Yu Wenzhou was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "Our lineup isn't suited for a defensive play. If we change to a defensive strategy, Liu Hao's poke strategy will directly blow us up!"

"Then we…"

"Follow the original plan!" Yu Wenzhou said.

"But Captain Yu, the opponent might not have a healer, but they've increased their damage output. Your pressure will be greater," Yu Feng said.

If someone else were playing, increasing the pressure might not be such a big deal, but the key is that Yu Wenzhou had poor mechanical skills!

"Follow the original plan!" Yu Wenzhou emphasised again. He slightly moved his fingers, and sweat began to form on his forehead.

He suddenly felt a bit intimidated by Liu Hao. Liu Hao's no-healer tactic caught him off guard.

...

"Liu Hao, I hope your tactics work. If you lose, you'll definitely be scolded by the fans," Sun Xiang seemed a bit gloating.

The others were very anxious. The lack of a healer made them feel uneasy, and even Su Mucheng pursed her lips.

Although Liu Hao had prepared for the worst and confirmed the tactical arrangement, executing it now still seemed too risky.

"Shouldn't team matches focus on low-risk strategies? Your tactic is too risky!" Su Mucheng finally couldn't help but voice her first comment in two days.

Liu Hao smiled slightly at her words. "Isn't this more entertaining?"

"You were just aiming for entertainment?" Su Mucheng suddenly became a bit angry.

"Yeah, with the All-Star event coming up, a unique match could also earn us more votes. Maybe we'll even improve our ranking," Liu Hao said with a smile.

"All-Star? You're taking such a big risk just for All-Star rankings?" Su Mucheng questioned again.

Liu Hao frowned. He thought Su Mucheng, this pretty girl, was talking too much. It was better when she was quiet like before.

The reason he adopted such a tactic, although there was an All-Star voting factor, was mainly because it was a strategic game against Blue Rain! Blue Rain's strength was undeniable, and Huang Shaotian was an unpredictable element. He always hovered on the edge of plans, sometimes being planned, breaking out of calculations, making situations too unpredictable.

Though Sun Xiang was confident in battling Huang Shaotian, Liu Hao knew Sun Xiang would be blown away the moment he encountered Huang Shaotian.

And Su Mucheng? She was matched against Yu Wenzhou, one of the four tactical masters. Although Su Mucheng's skills far exceeded Yu Wenzhou's, in a confrontation, Su Mucheng would still be overwhelmed by Yu Wenzhou's tactics.

This was a situation Liu Hao didn't want to see. His reason for implementing this tactic was to protect Su Mucheng. At the crucial time for All-Star voting, Su Mucheng could not be wholly outmatched!

While Liu Hao wanted his ranking to be above Su Mucheng's, he didn't want Su Mucheng's ranking to be too low.

Unfortunately, Su Mucheng couldn't understand his good intentions, and he ended up getting scolded by her. Ye Qiu's influence on Su Mucheng was too deep. In esports, conservative match viewers didn't like to watch such games.

(End of chapter)

P.S

The Series will be on indefinite hiatus starting today.