Published at 25th of March 2019 9:37 pm

Chapter 819 - Low Morale

Lord Grim was inside Electric Wave Formation’s range. With the water slowing him down, this attack didn’t look like it could be dodged, but who would have thought that at this moment, Lord Grim raised the Myriad Manifestations Umbrella above his head. Ka ka ka. The umbrella contracted and the ribs merged together. Then, the ribs opened up and spun rapidly.

Mechanic skill: Rotor Wings. On land, it allowed the user to fly like a dragonfly. In the water, it was like a propeller. The spinning force pulled Lord Grim backwards and also created billowing waves, affecting Electric Wave Formation. Lord Grim easily escaped from Electric Wave Formation like a torpedo. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Go Forth.

Even though He An was in high spirits, he wasn’t prepared for something so unexpected. Being in good condition, his reaction speed was fast. However, Ye Xiu was even faster. As soon as Lord Grim was within reach of Go Forth, he turned his body and grabbed Go Forth.

Grappler skill: Toss.

Go Forth was thrown over the shoulder straight out of the water. Lord Grim followed after him and floated up, right when Go Forth was falling down. His Myriad Manifestations Umbrella transformed into a spear form and then arced up into a Sky Strike. Ding! Go Forth was actually able to block it. He An’s condition was vastly different from before.

This block negated Sky Strike’s damage and knock-up effect. Go Forth swung his sword downwards towards Lord Grim with a Falling Light Blade.

Bang!

The surface of the water exploded. Lord Grim wasn’t able to dodge the Falling Light Blade in time, but he had managed to to throw out a grenade. Lord Grim was hit by the sword, and Go Forth was hit by the grenade. The two characters were blasted away from each other, but the two both tried to follow with another attack. Go Forth used Earthquake Sword on the surface of the water. Lord Grim fired Anti-Tank Missiles towards Go Forth.

Hit! The two characters were both hit again.

Who received more damage from these exchanges didn’t matter. Go Forth was already at red blood. This exchange of blows was certainly disadvantageous for him. Moreover, after the trade, He An wanted to cough blood. Not only was that trade not worth it, Lord Grim was currently healing himself!

What am I supposed to do!

He An felt the urge to throw his mouse and smash his keyboard to bits. It hadn’t been easy finding an opportunity to deal some damage to his opponent, but his opponent could even heal himself! Even though it wouldn’t be more effective than a heal from a Cleric or a paladin, Go Forth only had a sliver of health left. If they kept trading, he wouldn’t win! It’s not like he was against some random noob.

In reality, Lord Grim had plenty of health left and didn’t need to heal. Ye Xiu still decided to give himself a heal. His purpose for doing so was worthy of looking into. This heal was clearly a low blow to He An’s morale.

For the following battle, Ye Xiu completely relied on trading health for health, which was what He An was most afraid of. After fighting each other for awhile, Lord Grim cast another heal on himself……

He An let out a long sigh. This was killing without spilling blood! Even if he released a powerful high-level skill, the damage done wouldn’t compare to the mental damage done by each heal that was cast. He An had lost all hope. He just didn’t want to surrender. The winner of this match was already obvious. He An’s brief burst of energy failed to result in anything. The Team Everlasting players were among the spectators, who became alive for a brief moment, but once that moment ended, the group arena ended in Team Everlasting’s loss.

Out of the individual competition and the group arena, Team Everlasting was only able to win one point in their home game. This situation was enough to make the glasses of many fall off and break. If they couldn’t win this team competition, Team Everlasting’s situation would be incomparably difficult. Team Happy would only need to win 2 points in their home game.

Team Everlasting’s practice room fell silent. The morale that He An ignited with his two victories in a row vanished with this single loss.

Seeing everyone’s expressions, He An felt a thread of fear in his heart. He suddenly noticed that he had missed something in the group arena match that just concluded.

This loss alone causing the morale of the entire team to plummet to the bottom was a bit too excessive. Although that victory was important, He An had to face three opponents in a row. Successfully achieving a reverse sweep was extremely difficult. A success would definitely boost their morale, but a loss was something that everyone had already been prepared for, so it should be mostly acceptable.

He An hadn’t considered this situation though.

After awakening the team’s morale with those two victories, he should have struck the iron while it was hot in the third round. That did not mean he needed to win. As long as he could show vigor, even if he lost, the morale obtained from the previous two matches wouldn’t plummet all the way back down.

Both the process and the results of the third round were important. He An had ignored this point. Like the previous two rounds, he continued to use the same strategy to win. This approach failed to work. The image of Go Forth looking as if he were a little fish trying to run from a great white shark.

Even though He An was able to display a glimmer of hope in the last few moments, that glimmer had been too brief. Lord Grim quickly switched to a trade-blood-for-blood strategy…… At that time, He An had already lost all hope. His mental state was reflected in his playing. His teammates could see it too.

Morale…… He An had lost it all through his string of performances. This was his mistake. Seeing his teammates downcast, he realized that he had been too late to notice. He couldn’t provide any evidence. Just saying a few words wouldn’t be enough to stir up everyone’s spirits either. He An felt his head hurt. The team’s morale had fallen even further. He had already said what encouraging words he could say. At this moment, he could only hope that everyone realized the importance of the team competition!

“Everyone, cheer up!” He An was still melancholy. He didn’t think Wu Chen would speak. Wu Chen was Team Everlasting’s true captain. However, because of He An’s existence as the ace player and manager, the team captain’s authority became very awkward. Even so, Wu Chen’s feelings towards Team Everlasting was deeper than anyone else’s. He was the only one left who had stayed with Team Everlasting since its creation. He had been together with Team Everlasting through the Pro League, through relegations, and through the Challenger League. From start to finish, he was the only one, who never gave up on the team.

The next team competition would likely decide Team Everlasting’s existence. At this moment, although he was only the captain nominally, he still stood out to speak.

Team Everlasting was used to He An leading the team. When they suddenly heard Wu Chen come out at a crucial moment, they were surprised, but they soon remembered. Wu Chen was Team Everlasting’s captain. Moreover, their only point came from him, even if it was mainly because his opponent had gotten lost.

“At this point, we’re at the ends of our rope. If we cannot win the following team competition, we’ll be very disadvantaged in the next round. Everyone probably already knows that Team Happy isn’t as easy to defeat as we had imagined. We must fully utilize what we have. Don’t we have the home team advantage in the following team competition too? Our practice everyday has been for this very moment.” Wu Chen didn’t shout, worry, or say anything encouraging. He calmly described their situation.

“Correct!” He An discovered that Wu Chen’s calm explanation had accomplished its desired effect. He didn’t want to miss this opportunity and added, “Don’t forget. We’re going to be challenging Team Excellent Era. How can Happy compare to Excellent Era?”

With this comparison, Team Happy not being anything was easily accepted by everyone. Everyone suddenly felt like their situation wasn’t as frightening as they thought.

“In the team competition, let’s show Happy our strength!” He An shouted powerfully. Even though the other players didn’t become as excited, they at least no longer looked dead like before.

The break time after the group arena quickly passed. Team Everlasting came out with their usual main force for the team competition.

Spellblade, Launcher, Warlock, Qi Master, and Cleric. Their reserve member was an Elementalist.

On Team Happy’s side, their team lineup also appeared on stage.

Lord Grim, Soft Mist, Steamed Bun Invasion, One Inch Ash, Little Cold Hands. Their reserve member was Wei Chen’s Windward Formation.

The lineup on both sides wasn’t anything unexpected.

The face slappers among the crowd were quiet. They didn’t know what to say. They discovered that Team Everlasting’s match didn’t seem to be any different from the ones, when Team Happy had been openly accepting challenges. They could only cheer for Team Happy’s opponents, but their opponents would end up getting beat, causing them to lose face. After experiencing the same thing again and again, the face slappers had learned to be cautious. However, Team Everlasting had originated from the pro scene and dominated Steamed Bun Invasion in their first fight. Their expectations rose, but they still fell into the trap! Their shouting and cheers had been traded for swollen cheeks just like before.

This time, the face slappers weren’t going to speak first. They should at least wait until Team Everlasting had a clear advantage, right?

Team competition. 3, 2, 1, start!

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