Chapter 221: Those Who Play Tactics Have Dirty Hearts (2/3)

"Is that the Cloak of Shadows?!" Xiao Yulv finally reacted.

"Cloak of Shadows?" Many in the audience were clearly unfamiliar with this skill, and their eyes naturally gravitated toward the scene.

"The Assassins of this world understand the arcane. For instance, the Cloak of Shadows weaves a massive blanket of darkness using mana, severely impairing the enemy's senses. The higher its level, the broader the domain it covers," Xiao Yulv explained, revealing his surprising depth of knowledge on the matter.

Yet, his confusion only deepened: "But where did an Assassin come from?"

Moreover, judging by the sheer scale of the encroaching darkness, it was several times larger than a Sorcerer's typical casting range—it had to be at least level thirteen or fourteen.

Even a dedicated Assassin would never waste so many skill points on such a utility spell.

As previous matches had demonstrated, a Sorcerer’s supreme advantage lay in their superb mobility and immense attack range.

These attributes practically guaranteed that a Sorcerer could toy with melee classes at will. But within this suffocating gloom, who could tell if a Teleport would land them right into the enemy's waiting arms? Who could tell which way to fling a spell to actually hit anything?

The outcome had suddenly become entirely unpredictable.

"Runeword: Nadir," Nalan Mingxue murmured from the sidelines, taking a casual sip of her cola. "Though it is a low-level runeword with rather mediocre attributes, the innate Cloak of Shadows skill it grants reaches level thirteen."

"Items with item-granted skills aren't just limited to Teleport staves being useful," she added quietly.

An Cheng had only just been transported onto the battlefield when the absolute darkness enveloped him. The only sliver of security he possessed was his mental perception radiating outward, barely illuminating his immediate surroundings.

An environment of utter obscurity was an absolute nightmare for a Sorcerer. At that exact instant, An Cheng instinctively sensed a mortal peril hurtling toward him through the blackness.

He threw his body to the side out of pure reflex. A succession of Blessed Hammers whizzed past his ears with a sharp, spinning roar.

Yet, one managed to strike his shoulder heavily.

Teleport!

A rapid succession of blinks quickly allowed An Cheng to break free from the darkness. However, not long after he finally caught sight of the Paladin's distant silhouette, another vast shadow swept over his position, plunging him into darkness once more.

Almost by instinct, An Cheng unleashed his Teleport yet again.

The darkness, relentless and unyielding, continued to close in.

Suddenly, he felt his Teleport slam hard against what felt like a solid wall.

He had hit the very boundary of the arena; the entire perimeter was hemmed in.

Within the shadows, several whistling gusts cut through the air. Thinking of nothing else, An Cheng cast Teleport one more time.

"The Sorcerer is in a horribly disadvantageous position right now!" Mu Donglai observed, his eyes glued to the screen.

"That remains to be seen," Xiao Yulv countered, waving his folding fan. "Brother An was merely caught off guard. The Sorcerer’s Hydra hasn't even been deployed yet. It's too early to call it a disadvantage."

On the screen, An Cheng seemed to realize that no amount of teleporting would allow him to escape this darkness. Thus, after a few final blinks, he raised his staff. Following a brief, frantic incantation, a raging inferno erupted, and a hideous, three-bodied, three-headed fire serpent manifested before him, shielding his form.

(The skill had been slightly modified: this Hydra could move, could be transported via Teleport, and behaved no differently from a living fire elemental, though its duration remained unchanged.)

After dodging several streams of scorching flames spewed by the hydras, Lan Yan vanished back into the gloom.

"But fighting like this..." Mu Donglai mused, "won't it easily stall into a deadlock? After all, if a Sorcerer chooses to run, no one can stop them."

"That is true," Nalan Mingxue agreed. "Which is exactly why there is no need to give chase."

Sure enough, the screen showed that Lan Yan had ceased her pursuit.

An Cheng finally caught his breath, intending to take a brief moment to regroup.

He had summoned several Hydras in quick succession. If the opponent dared to approach, he had little to fear; those fiery monstrosities would surely inflict devastating damage.

As the seconds ticked away, An Cheng suddenly sensed that something was amiss.

Why had the enemy not pursued him after all this time?

"Why is An Cheng suddenly running back?!" The crowd stared intently at the screen, utterly baffled by this bizarre reversal.

"Passive play. It appears he has received a warning for passive play," Nalan Mingxue explained. "Without a Teleport staff, it is impossible for a Paladin to catch up to a Sorcerer, under any circumstances. Therefore, the optimal strategy is to force the Sorcerer into a passive state, triggering a warning that compels them to turn back and engage."

"Furthermore, since the Sorcerer is the one actively avoiding combat, he must initiate the engagement. If he fails to enter combat within a certain timeframe, a second warning will trigger, followed by a third, which results in an immediate default loss."

The onlookers gasped in sudden realization. "So Young City Master An kept opening the distance, and because he couldn't discern his opponent's position, he accidentally drew too far away. Unable to make it back in time, he instantly triggered the passive play penalty?!"

For a Sorcerer to turn back and plunge into the dark to hunt down a warrior—one could only imagine how disastrous a disadvantage that was.

As An Cheng retraced his steps in search of Lan Yan, he suddenly perceived a figure rushing toward him from his flank with terrifying speed.

Teleport!

But the distance between them was far too narrow. In the blink of an eye, Lan Yan had already closed the gap.

A heavy shield slammed forward with immense force.

Smite!

The blow struck home right before the Teleport could manifest, disrupting the spell entirely.

A profound dizziness washed over him, and the violent shield bash sent him staggering back several paces.

In that split second, An Cheng’s heart sank to his boots. At this stage of the game, a Sorcerer’s margin for error was virtually nonexistent.

A follow-up assault instantly brought An Cheng’s health bar down to the brink of emptiness.

Visibly panicked, An Cheng raised his staff once more in a desperate attempt to Teleport.

Another Smite crashed down almost simultaneously, interrupting the spell a second time.

There was no longer any escape.

The scepter and the Blessed Hammer descended in unison.

Lan Yan victory.

Xiao Yulv stood frozen, speechless.

Nearly every jaw in the room dropped to the floor. "...You can even win like that?!"

"The decisive factor in a match involves more than just raw power and mechanical skill," Nalan Mingxue stated serenely. "Utilizing the rules to one's advantage is also a path to victory."

"You tacticians possess truly filthy hearts," a line of bullet commentary suddenly drifted across the main screen.

"That has to be a post from the Boss..."

Nalan Mingxue fell into a rare silence.

The next match featured Li Haoran, ranked fourth, against Zhou Hongying, ranked thirteenth.

"This young lady travels with Bai Lang, and she is also the senior martial sister of Miss Ye from the Cloud Ocean Sect," Xiao Yulv remarked. "Her strength is respectable, though I still favor Brother Li to win this one."

"Haoran managed to purchase a piece of equipment yesterday with excellent stats, featuring the 'Cannot Be Frozen' attribute," Mu Donglai nodded in agreement. "His chances of winning are indeed considerably higher."

"Can you two just shut up!" Lan Mo nearly leaped off the sofa. Every single time these two predicted a winner, that person invariably lost, yet they still dared to open their mouths.

"Li Haoran is about to win." Right at that moment, the screen flared with raging fire. Stripped of its slowing effect, the ice magic appeared noticeably weak. On the other side, Li Haoran pressed his advantage relentlessly with both his own spells and his Hydras. Before long, his opponent collapsed to the ground.

"He... he won?"

Lan Mo and Jun Yangzi stared blankly at the screen before slowly turning their heads to look at Xiao Yulv and Mu Donglai, as if still unable to believe their eyes. "...He actually won?!"

"Isn't that the Boss's friend?" Just then, many noticed the screen as the next match was quickly prepared.

"The opponent is... Elder Fu?!" Even Lin Shao, Xu Luo, and the others were momentarily stunned.

"Can he even last a minute?" Xiao Yulv shook his head. "If that fat fellow encountered anyone else, he might stand a ghost of a chance. As for this match, we might as well look ahead to the next one."

"..."

Many people started flooding the large screen with rolling commentary.

"Let us offer our silent tribute to the fat guy!"

"Joining in the silent tribute to the fat guy!"

.