Chapter 121 War on the Prairie

The map, War on the Prairie, was divided into several areas by rocks and bushes and was distributed in a staircase pattern. The initial spawn points were in the northeast and southwest corners. After crossing the two-story areas below their respective spawn points, they could meet on a prairie at the bottom. Relatively speaking, this was a team battle map with very short spawn points, which was often used by teams that liked quick attack tactics. It also had a certain degree of restraint on tactical teams because, with the close distance, if the attack was launched fast enough, it was possible to prevent the opponent from deploying tactics in time.

Commentator Pan Lin introduced the situation at a rapid speed during the map loading phase before the two sides entered the match. However, as far as Happy and Thunder were concerned, both teams had strong tactical capabilities. Having chosen this map, who was restraining whom? Happy chose the map. Pan Lin didn't dare to speculate about Happy's intentions, so he only mentioned the objective characteristics of the map and stopped there. As for the intention behind the map selection, whoever wanted to guess could guess. Pan Lin shut his mouth, and also thoughtfully didn't pass this hot potato to Jia Shi's Li Yibo. Li Yibo understood and smiled at Pan Lin.

A map suitable for quick attacks.

So, after the loading was complete and the game began, the audience's eyes began to flicker between the two teams' spawn areas, wanting to see which team would launch a quick attack.

"We're going for a quick attack!"

Then, they saw the Thunder team, with Xiao Shiqin giving clear instructions.

Everyone was stunned.

Although Pan Lin and Li Yibo didn't analyze and guess during the live broadcast, anyone who understood Glory would have some ideas in their minds. Even these two, not saying anything was just to avoid being wrong, but they definitely had their own opinions.

In their opinion, Happy had chosen the map, so Happy should launch the quick attack. But now, the one who resolutely launched a quick attack was the Thunder team.

The Thunder players had no objection to their captain's instructions and immediately formed an offensive formation to begin moving as a whole.

Thunder spawned in the northeast corner. This map was divided into three levels of platforms in a staircase shape. The six three-story platforms were two spawn points and four substitution zones, arranged symmetrically east and west. The two spawn points and the substitution zones in the east and west were connected by two-story platforms. The two three-story substitution zones in the southeast and northwest corners were directly connected to the central prairie on the first floor via a large slope. There was no direct contact between the six three-story areas; they could only be accessed through the second and first-floor areas, so the battle on this map usually concentrated on the first and second-floor areas.

Thunder wanted to execute a quick attack, so naturally, there was no detour. The team rushed out of the three-story respawn point and went straight down to the first-floor prairie.

How close were the spawn points on this map? It could be seen at this moment. As soon as the Thunder characters reached the prairie, they saw that the Happy team's characters had also rushed down, and the two sides were already facing each other from a distance.

"Yo, a quick attack!" Ye Xiu sent a message in the public channel.

"Aren't you guys as well," Xiao Shiqin replied.

"No, we're making a tactical transfer," Ye Xiu said.

"Isn't that transfer a bit too grandiose?" Xiao Shiqin replied.

A tactical transfer had to be a little more concealed. On this map, walking on the second-story platform after leaving the respawn point wouldn't allow a quick attack opponent to see you. But Happy charged straight to the first-floor prairie. What kind of tactical transfer was that? Unless they made their decision based on the assumption that Thunder wouldn't launch a quick attack.

"You went straight into a quick attack. Isn't that supposed to be your style? Aren't you supposed to observe first and then develop targeted tactics?" Ye Xiu said.

"There's no way to observe because you're the same," Xiao Shiqin replied.

A word that revealed the secret...

The so-called observation consisted of two parts: one part was in actual combat, and the other part was preparing lessons in advance, studying the opponent, and making some targeted arrangements in advance. Both teams had this kind of tactical style, so when they met, it was awkward.

Simply put, both teams were used to waiting for the opponent to make the first move and then responding. If no one made the first move, it would be difficult to fight.

"So what?" Ye Xiu asked.

"So we can only fight directly," Xiao Shiqin said this in the public channel. It was by no means a bluff because, in the team channel, he clearly instructed his teammates: "Attack!"

The Thunder team started, rushing towards their opponent like thunder.

Everyone was shocked. Thunder's team this season had received a lot of attention, but this kind of active, head-on, aggressive attack seemed to have never happened before. After all, their players and character qualities were not the most advantageous. In a head-on collision, they often needed to rely on the players' performance and the characters' strength to dominate the situation.

But now, facing Happy, Thunder had launched a fierce attack!

No one would regard Happy as a weak team anymore. The returning Ye Xiu, Su Mucheng who returned from the relegated Excellent Era, and Fang Rui who transformed, three All-Star players had also proven that they still had top-notch abilities. In terms of player quality alone, Thunder, with only Xiao Shiqin who could be called top-tier, seemed to be inferior to Happy. But now, Thunder had brazenly launched a fierce attack on Happy. This kind of arrogant posture was unprecedented. They had never done it when facing any other team.

Why was this?

Anyone who understood Thunder's battle history this season was puzzled.

Just when the entire alliance no longer dared to underestimate Happy, Thunder was doing the opposite. Was this... psychological warfare?

"Here it comes, are we being underestimated?" Ye Xiu said on Happy's side.

"Of course not," Xiao Shiqin, who had already started charging, replied in the channel.

"Then it seems we need to be careful," Ye Xiu said.

"Matches always require careful consideration," Xiao Shiqin said, giving further instructions in the team channel: "Scatter!"

The charging Thunder team scattered into a line, fanning out to surround Happy. At the far left was Dai Yanqi's elementalist Luan Lu Yin Chen, and at the far right was Xiao Shiqin's own mechanical expert Sheng Ling Mie. These two wings were inserted very deeply, and there was a strong suspicion that they were breaking away from the team.

In the center was the judoist Sui Sui Feng, played by Cheng Tai. Zhang Jiaxing's cleric Hui Feng was between Sui Sui Feng and Luan Lu Yin Chen. Between Sheng Ling Mie and Sui Sui Feng was Fang Xuecai's assassin Gui Mei Cai.

"Thunder is really proactive. They quickly spread out their formation, very skillfully. Is this intentional training they did specifically for Happy? What do you think of this formation, Coach Li?" Pan Lin had been holding back for a long time, but he was still a passionate commentator. Thunder had chosen to attack aggressively for the first time, and this unexpected situation instantly ignited him. While shouting passionately, he also dragged Li Yibo into the water.

Li Yibo was embarrassed! He hadn't figured out why Thunder would choose to attack aggressively against Happy yet, but Pan Lin directly asked him to interpret Thunder's aggressive formation...

"Uh, this... looks like they want to encircle and shrink," Li Yibo hummed.

"But Happy isn't lacking in aggressive players either!" Pan Lin immediately said.

"Thunder must have countermeasures, let's watch," Li Yibo said, passing it off.

These two could gloss over the situation, but what about Ye Xiu on the field? He couldn't be as vague as them.

Xiao Shiqin's choice of a fierce attack surprised him somewhat. He said "being underestimated," but he knew that Xiao Shiqin wouldn't be the kind of person to have that mentality. Even against Seaside and Misty Blue, the two weakest teams this season that seemed to be on the verge of relegation, Thunder's tactical arrangements were very careful. Xiao Shiqin obviously wouldn't underestimate any opponent. He dared to attack fiercely only because he was confident, that Thunder had a greater chance of winning against Happy in a direct team battle.

The chance of winning certainly wouldn't come from the players' and characters' strength. Thunder wasn't strong in this area, which was common knowledge. Thunder's chance of winning still came from their tactics, like the current dispersal, which must also be a targeted arrangement.

What was it targeting?

There was more than just Ye Xiu guessing this question.

However, no one's judgment would be more accurate than Ye Xiu's because Ye Xiu knew the weaknesses of this team better than anyone else.

Lord Grim retreated and stood next to Little Cold Hands.

"Concentrate, from..." Ye Xiu typed, wanting to instruct the whole team to concentrate and break through the gap in Thunder's scattered formation. However, after a quick glance, the distribution of Thunder's five classes made it impossible for Ye Xiu to find a breakthrough direction he could decisively commit to.

The simple arrangement of five characters made good use of each person's class, forming the best response and suppression. Attacking from any direction could be met with annoying entanglement and trouble. There were no obvious flaws, no clear weaknesses. It was troublesome to attack from anywhere, which naturally meant that attacking from anywhere was the same.

"Luan Lu Yin Chen, breakthrough!"

Ye Xiu's hesitation was only for a moment. Soon, he made a decisive decision. Hearing his instructions, Happy's actions were no less decisive than Thunder's.

"Oh, we're being underestimated!" As soon as Happy's intention was revealed, Dai Yanqi, operating Luan Lu Yin Chen, immediately used Ye Xiu's previous words to say. Obviously, the area chosen as the breakthrough direction was probably the area that Happy thought was easier to break through.

"However, it's also what the captain expected!" Dai Yanqi added.

This public statement made everyone's hearts skip a beat. Everyone didn't believe that Thunder was just rashly attacking, and they all felt that they must have some confidence. In comparison, Dai Yanqi's "as expected" statement immediately made everyone believe it.

Whether the audience believed it or not didn't affect the outcome, but Dai Yanqi's words had a real psychological impact on the players on the field. But whether the players on the field believed it or not, Happy probably couldn't make any adjustments at this time, right?

This was the thought of most people, but standing on the field were the most special small group of countless Glory players...

"Hey, that girl said that side was in their calculations, let's change the breakthrough point," Wei Chen shouted.

"Okay," Ye Xiu said.

So Happy really changed, collectively turning their heads, not attacking Luan Lu Yin Chen but attacking Xiao Shiqin's Sheng Ling Mie.

Damn!

Countless people were dumbfounded. This was the highest level of professional competition! You guys changed your tactical intentions just because the other side said something? Where was your determination? Where was your decisiveness? Where was your confidence?