Chapter 4 The General

"Honghu... that guy actually put himself in the 'General' position..." Sasaki Meiru, watching the battlefield in the spectator space as the four players participating in the fourth match were teleported in, muttered thoughtfully.

At this moment, the intermission had passed. Since Qisha lost to Uesugi Jin in the previous "Lieutenant General Battle," the two teams, tied at two-to-one, entered the "Deputy General Battle."

The [Worthless Trash Alliance]'s lineup for this battle consisted of [Juan Meng Huan] and [Zhao Ying Wang]. The appearance of these two meant that the last remaining member of the team—Honghu—was undoubtedly the "General."

"Hmph... that's a good thing." [Warring States]'s "General," Akechi Nobunaga, replied after hearing Sasaki's mutter, "Anyway, we've had no way out since the last match. No matter what lineup the opponent puts out, we have to fight... Thinking about it that way, Honghu being the General is good news for us. As long as we win this match, we'll have a big advantage in the last one, after all... I don't think I'll lose to a ranged control-type player like Honghu in a one-on-one fight."

"That's true..." Sasaki Meiru said, "But the problem is... can we 'win' this one..."

"Hmm?" Akechi Nobunaga was puzzled by this statement and asked, "The Ida and Takeda combination should be our most solid one today. Unless they face monster-level enemies like Gui Xiao or Bi Lao Shi... their chances of winning should be at least 70%, right?"

"Ah..." Sasaki Meiru crossed his arms in front of his chest, frowned, and responded. Then, his gaze shifted to the two members of the [Worthless Trash Alliance] in the distance. "That's what I'm worried about..."

...

At the same time, on the battlefield.

It had been a while since the voice prompt [The match will begin in thirty seconds] had sounded.

On the [Worthless Trash Alliance] side, [Juan Meng Huan] stood proudly, holding a long halberd, facing his opponents. [Zhao Ying Wang] took a few steps back, summoned a stone golem, and waited in formation.

On the [Warring States] side, [Ida Makoto] also stood still, staring at Juan Meng Huan with a half-smiling expression. His teammate, [Takeda Tomo], took out a stack of paper talismans, a brush, and some cinnabar from his bag, quickly drawing some strange patterns and characters on the ground and on the talismans, seemingly preparing for some kind of spell.

"Hey..." Although the situation was tense, Zhao Ying Wang's tone was still very "normal." "Should we retreat a bit first?" He paused, then added, "I know a little about what that 'white hair (Takeda Tomo's hairstyle is white with pink armor)' is doing... It should be something called 'Doman Seal,' a very troublesome 'curse' ability."

"Hmm... I also think it's safer to keep some distance." Juan Meng Huan replied in a deep voice, without changing his expression, but his eyes never left Ida Makoto on the other side. "That Ida is also doing something quite dangerous... It's easier to deal with if we're farther away."

As mentioned before, there were three members of the [Warring States] team who had mastered the "weakening" technique. Obviously, besides Oda Ai and Uesugi Jin... the third was Ida Makoto.

Right now, with less than ten seconds before the official start of the battle, the two from [Warring States]... one ready to unleash weakening, and the other with his formation set. In this situation, Lao Zhao and Meng Huan naturally couldn't stay in place and wait to be taken advantage of.

[Five... four...]

As the countdown began, Juan Meng Huan and Zhao Ying Wang began to retreat. The two didn't discuss how far to retreat, but their combat experience led them to make a similar choice—retreating about twenty meters simultaneously.

At this distance, neither a weakening-enhanced quickdraw attack nor that fixed-point magic formation could reach them.

Logically... that's how it should be...

[...One... Fight!]

Cha—

The sound of wind, an unusual sound.

The sword blade left its scabbard, a killing shadow arriving in an instant.

Ida Makoto's katana, the blade pure white, irresistibly sharp.

In that instant, the quickdraw was unleashed, cutting against the wind. The blade pointed directly at Zhao Ying Wang, who was hiding behind the stone golem.

The distance of twenty meters was reduced to a mere foot the moment Ida drew his sword. In the blink of an eye, he arrived... Standing still, he had already bypassed the stone golem and was directly in front of Zhao Ying Wang.

From the very beginning, Ida used this surprise attack that ignored distance and obstacles to catch the two members of the [Worthless Trash Alliance] off guard.

However!

Even though it was unexpected, they were more than capable of responding.

Clang—

As the sword rose, only the resounding clang of metal could be heard.

A halberd shadow rose diagonally, a horizontal strike blocking the blade.

"Oh?" Ida Makoto, his advance blocked, stopped his movement. His expression also changed slightly.

His weakening quickdraw attack was aimed at Zhao Ying Wang, who was weaker in physical combat. He didn't expect to have it easily blocked by Juan Meng Huan, wielding his halberd with one hand.

"Heh heh... this is getting interesting." However, besides surprise, Ida Makoto's expression showed more enjoyment.

This exchange was merely a probe and didn't represent the full strength of either side.

Admittedly, Ida Makoto's strike was already very strong... so strong that it wouldn't be surprising if he had killed Zhao Ying Wang in one hit. But in reality, Ida only used about forty percent of his strength in this strike... There was no Battle Qi added to his blade, only pure strength and speed.

"'Space Shrink' is pretty good..." Juan Meng Huan said coldly, looking askance at Ida Makoto, who was a few meters away from him and still struggling with his weapon. "It's just that your strength seems a little lacking."

"Is that so?" Ida Makoto's eyes narrowed instantly, Battle Qi ignited, forcing the blade forward.

The blade turned, following the shaft of the halberd and cutting towards Juan Meng Huan.

Seeing this, Juan Meng Huan still used his arm strength, spinning the halberd and pulling it back a bit before blocking again...

Clang—

Ida Makoto's sudden strike after adding strength was still blocked steadily. Even though he was swinging with all his might, the blade was still held back by the halberd.

"Yes, it is." Juan Meng Huan replied with an even calmer tone than his opponent, and with a condescending look.

At this time, Ida, his attack blocked, had reached Juan Meng Huan. At this distance, it was clear that the two were very different in size.

Ida, only seventeen years old this year, barely reached one meter seventy, which was a bit better than Gui Xiao's height (by one centimeter), and he was quite slender. Even wearing combat armor, you could tell he was thin. As for Juan Meng Huan... he was more than ten centimeters taller than Ida, and his figure was also heroic and upright. When these two stood together, Juan Meng Huan looked more than a head taller.

Judging from their size alone, the difference in their base strength was obvious. In the same level sixty, the one with the bigger frame and stronger muscles would naturally have more base strength. Although this "gap" could be compensated for with equipment, skills, or pure energy, the result of Ida's "second strike with all his strength" colliding with Juan Meng Huan's halberd... Juan Meng Huan had the upper hand in terms of "strength."

"Oh well... I can't help it, I'm afraid of you." After his attack was blocked again, Ida Makoto still had a calm, playful attitude. He said he was "afraid," but his killing intent increased rather than decreased. "Since I can't beat you in 'strength,' I have to use 'speed' and 'skill'..."

As he spoke, his left hand suddenly reached for his waist.

In the next second, a short katana, about half the length of a normal katana, hidden behind his waist, was drawn.

Unlike the pure white blade in Ida's right hand, the blade of this short katana was jet black.

"I see..." Seeing the black light suddenly appear, Juan Meng Huan's heart tightened. Battle Qi rose, ready to change his stance to meet the attack. "This kid is dual-wielding..."

Just as his attention was focused on Ida Makoto, suddenly, another change occurred!

Chi Ying—

Accompanied by the sharp sound of air being torn, Takeda Tomo, who had quietly arrived behind Juan Meng Huan, also slashed horizontally with his sword.