Chapter 688: Pre-battle ADHD and Elder Su AFK on the Battlefield

At this hour, barely over a fraction of the players had managed to grind their way past the tenth level.

After all, World of Warcraft was a far cry from the crude simplicity of Legend; it demanded a vast understanding of its lore and mechanics. Consequently, plenty of players were still wandering aimlessly through the starting zones like Elder Xiwei, or like the Golden Gryphon Knights, who had yet to grasp the concept of a Hearthstone and had only stumbled upon the Judgement skill by sheer luck.

Thus, those entering the battlegrounds at this stage were either blessed with a stroke of luck, possessed a modicum of skill, or had been entirely consumed by the leveling grind.

Take the new branch in Canglan City, for instance—the Dwarven Elder, Thork, had just been teleported into the fray, a testament to his undeniable prowess.

Meanwhile, in the old Half-City shop, a youth of thirteen or fourteen who went by the moniker 'King of Roaming' was also trying his hand at World of Warcraft today, having already conquered the maximum tier of the 60-cap era in Dungeon & Fighter.

His stream's popularity hovered in a modest middle ground. Playing a Night Elf Hunter, he clicked to confirm his entry into the battleground while glancing at the scrolling chat on his screen. "Show off some moves? Well... I'll try my best, try my best. Honestly, I have a feeling we might run into some big-time streamers in this battleground today. You guys believe me?"

"I don't know what the situation is over at the new branch right now, but I wager we might even cross paths with those experts from the Outworld." Removing his virtual reality headset, he added, "Let me grab a quick bite of instant noodles first and see how things unfold."

...

Simultaneously, on the Horde side, the teleportation deposited everyone within the confines of a stone tower. It was a completely sealed chamber. Having just materialized, Mister D gripped his two-handed sword, his gaze sweeping sharply across the surroundings. "To think there would be enemies the moment we step inside! This truly is a perilous place!"

"Activating Bloodrage! Charge! Cyclone Slash! Execute! Rua—! Rua—!" he bellowed, as if commanding his martial techniques through the sheer force of his voice. His two-handed sword whipped through the air in a frenzied dance, executing one elegant chain of maneuvers after another as he lunged straight toward a nearby troll.

"Immune to damage?"

"Hiss—wait, isn't this guy Horde too? Oh... looks like I chopped the wrong person..." Staring at the troll who was now paralyzed with fear before him, the Orc on the screen muttered to himself.

It was at that exact moment a system prompt flashed before everyone: The battleground will begin in one minute.

"So it hasn't even started yet. I thought we were supposed to fight the moment we arrived..."

"...Embarrassing." The chat exploded into chaos.

"Dog-headed man, absolutely a disgrace of a dog-headed man!"

"Almost hacked his own teammate to death..."

By now, all ten teammates had assembled. As the countdown ticked away, the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

"Hmm... what's up with this person? Why do they keep twitching like that?"

Over at the Jiuhua City shop.

"Still got a minute to wait, let me eat some noodles." Nalan Mingxue sat there thoroughly bored, taking a bite of her instant noodles with one hand while her other hand idly tapped away at the keyboard, moving left-right-left-right-left...

On screen, her Forsaken character darted side to side in a state of frenzied, twitching motion.

Beside her stood an Orc, frantically bashing his axe against the closed gates.

"Is damage disabled right now?" The troll who had been frightened out of his wits a moment ago was now conjuring a magical orb in his hand, casually hurling it at the forehead of a nearby player.

The Black Demon, a seasoned veteran, was currently operating a Forsaken Warlock. Taking a bite of a spicy gluten strip, his hands flew across the keyboard and mouse as he made his character bounce up and down, repeatedly thumping a teammate's head with his staff. "Seems like damage really is disabled..."

Next to him, a Tauren swung a massive axe right into the fray.

A one-minute wait was undeniably agonizing. Some players sprinted from the left side to the right, only to dash right back again. Others frantically channeled their skills like stage magicians, their hands glowing bright one second and dimming the next. Some beat mercilessly upon the gates. Others wielded staves and greataxes, trading blows—a strike of a rod returned with a swing of an axe—inflicting mutual, harmless violence in a display of pure, unbridled restlessness.

In that fleeting instant, the chaotic scene was almost too magnificent to behold.

The viewers watching Mister D's stream were completely dumbfounded. "..."

Wait... isn't this a battleground? Hasn't it not even started yet? What on earth... are you all doing?!

...

"I've taken a look at the rules..." Su Tianji's Human Mage was also inside the battleground at this moment. "It seems this battleground requires us to... capture three flags to achieve victory..."

By now, the final countdown had begun.

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

The gates finally threw open, and both factions surged outward like a pack of wild, untamed horses breaking from their stalls!

Su Tianji remained seated all by herself right beside the Alliance flag. "Watch closely, everyone. Charging out blindly like that is definitely a mistake. That's why I'm staying behind to guard this flag, to prevent anyone from sneaking in and stealing it."

"666!"

"Elder Su has finally shown a stroke of genius!"

"A high-skill streamer, truly a high-skill streamer!"

"Naturally..." Su Tianji felt a small surge of pride. "Just wait until someone comes to steal the flag, then you shall witness this Elder's true mechanics!"

Warsong Gulch was situated on the fringes of the Night Elves' Ashenvale, a expanse of lush green grass dotted with massive, ancient tree stumps left from logging, and boulders that had stood for countless centuries.

Though the system version of Warsong Gulch was slightly grander in scale than the original, the terrain itself remained quite open. Because everyone had rushed out in a single, collective frenzy, it did not take long before they spotted the opposing side's positions.

"Time for some battle music." Nalan Mingxue finally ceased her idle keyboard tapping. "Let's put on Nightwish... Last of the Wilds, the Lingzhou dialect version."

As I Sink to the West.

With a click, the stirring, passionate music swelled into the air, and she initiated her assault to the beat of the song.

The ranged classes who had sprinted to the vanguard of the battleground had already opened fire. Pillars of lightning and bursts of flame spanned distances of dozens of meters, erupting across the terrain in brilliant flashes of light.

"Who clad in pale white... sits upon the shoulders of giants..." Nalan Mingxue hummed along with the melody as she maneuvered her Forsaken Warrior, maintaining her distance on the fringes of the battlefield, observing silently from the shadows.

Immediately following, a feral bestial roar echoed out as an Orc Warrior beside her initiated a Charge, lunging straight into the fray.

"Incredible!" Mister D's viewers had clearly not anticipated such sudden, ferocious bravery from him.

"Real men charge ahead!" — from 'Knights of the Sea of Sky'

"Orc swordsmanship!" — from 'Wolf-headed Man'

They were clearly using their voices to drive Mister D's offensive output.

At this level, a Warrior was exceptionally formidable. Because players' equipment and skill sets had not yet matured, they lacked proper defenses. Furthermore, without a digitized health system to buffer them, a strike to a vital spot meant instant death.

Observing from the periphery, Nalan Mingxue watched as the Orc Warrior closed the distance, delivering a standard strike followed by an Execute that instantly vaporized an Alliance Mage.

"Magnificent!"

"Lead the Horde to victory!" The viewers erupted in awe.

Yet, in that very instant, one couldn't help but feel that the Alliance's coordinated firepower was far inferior to that of the Horde.

In the blink of an eye, that very same Orc was completely engulfed in a barrage of multicolored magical spells.

"..."

"How embarrassing..."

"How can you not dodge these spells?! Can even these low-level spells lock onto one's spiritual consciousness?!"

In this system version of World of Warcraft, magic could indeed be locked onto a target using one's spiritual intent. Even if a player managed to leap aside, the spells possessed a tracking effect that made them incredibly difficult to evade. The absolute best counter was to parry with a sword, block with a shield, or neutralize them with a counter-attack.

"That was close..." Amidst the fading embers of the explosion, the Orc was visible with a mere sliver of life remaining, scrambling frantically to take cover behind a large boulder.

By this time, his teammates' counter-spells had also begun to rain down, leaving the enemy's ranged attackers with no leisure to pursue him.

Simultaneously, Nalan Mingxue had already utilized the concealment of a nearby rocky hillock and the dense foliage to flank around to the rear.

"???" The Mage whom Nalan Mingxue had set her sights upon was busy channeling a spell, though a single thought crossed his mind. "Why does it feel like we're missing someone on our side...?"

Charge!

An abrupt burst of terrifying speed propelled her forward as she slammed her greatsword heavily against the Mage's chest.

Interrupting the spell!

...

The entire battlefield was a raging inferno of conflict, yet back at the base, Su Tianji had been waiting.

Two minutes had already slipped by. "Why hasn't anyone come?"

Three minutes later...

"What is going on... do they even know how to play?"

Outside the immediate fray.

Roaming King, queued up on the Alliance side, was frantically discharging his firearm while looking entirely bewildered. "I told you the opposing team had a streamer, but why does it feel like our side is missing a player!"

"Ahhh, brothers, I can't hold them off!"

Ten minutes later...

Su Tianji had already resorted to munching on potato chips, her voice muffled as she spoke. "Why has no one arrived yet...?"

"Damn it, report them!"

"Teammates: We've been fighting for so long, why have we always been down a player?"

"Is this person just away from keyboard?"

"Blatantly going AKF!"

"Shocking: For what reason does Elder Su go AFK on the battlefield and ruin her teammates' game!"

"6666!"

.