Chapter 322 Bai Li Ruofeng
“Everyone, keep fighting well....”
Little Wolf said, “After one more round, we’ll be in the top 32. It was my dream to make it this far. I, Song Han, have never been so close to reaching a dream....hehe, if at least 5 of us make it into the top 32, I’ll be treating tonight. We can have a Hunan-style Feast. How about it?”
Old K laughed, “Yeah! Actually, I’ve been waiting for this moment!”
Little Wolf looked closely at Old K and said, “Old K, how come you haven’t been eliminated yet?”
“What the f*ck do you mean....”
I looked at the screen and said, “Our opponents in the next round are also in the top 64. Don’t be careless; it’s the last round for today. Who knows what kind of opponents we’ll face.... but I hope we don’t face each other. I also hope we won’t be pit against Fang Ge Que, Q-Sword, Jian Feng Han, and all those scary opponents..”
Dong Cheng laughed next to me, “Why do I feel excited all of a sudden?”
I looked at her, “Why?”
She smiled, “Because Fang Ge Que, Q-Sword, Jian Feng Han and the others are considered legendary figures in the game, and we get to be on the same stage as these people. That means we have a chance to create a new legend. Isn’t that exciting? Have you thought about.. what would happen if you won the Rise of the Heroes Tournament?”
I was shocked, “This.. I haven’t really thought about it. Me as the winner of the tournament? That’s too hard. How many experts do I have to beat to reach that godly stage?....”
Wan Er looked at the screen and said, “Maybe you will. As long as you don’t meet Fang Ge Que early, I think you have a 40% chance of becoming the champion. Your Emperor Qin’s Sword, Magic Spite Armor, and Flaming Tiger God are terrifyingly strong. In addition, with your 6500 health, you could just stand there, let them smack you continuously for a long time and still not die..”
Yue Qing Qian smiled wryly, “I just pray that we don’t meet our own people. With others, I can use 100% of my strength, but against you guys, I can only muster around 50%....”
“Yeah. Let’s hope we don’t get paired up with each other..”
At this time, the screen finally lit up and the pairings for the last round appeared——
Xiao Yao Zi Zai [Lv 71 Dragon City Nightwatch] vs Bai Li Ruo Feng [Lv 71 World Archer]
Cang Tong [Lv 70 Gold Assassin] vs Immortality Codex [Lv 69 Gold Healer]
Yue Qing Qian [Lv 69 Gold Assassin] vs War Tent [Lv 67 Gold Swordsman] ....
Looking at the matchups, Matcha’s face turned purple, “This is bad! Really bad!!”
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Boss, your opponent....”
“Bai Li Ruofeng?”
“Yeah”
“A Lv 71 Archer..what of it? We should show contempt to the enemy’s strategy but place importance on the enemy himself in our tactics.”
* [Editor note: this idiom means to downplay your enemy to boost your morale and confidence while not actually underestimating them]
“That’s not it, Boss....”
Matcha was at a loss; she didn’t know what to say. Instead, she waved her hands and a bunch of data appeared. Looking at it, the others and I were shocked——
Bai Li Ruofeng [Lv 71 World Archer] City: Jiu Li City
Guild: [House of Prestige] Position: Guild Master
Biography: From Xiamen. A descendant of the Bai Li clan. He has very high gaming talent and has defeated many peak level experts. He created [House of Prestige] in November of 2013. Since then, he led [House of Prestige] to become the 4th rank guild in China and 2nd rank guild in Jiu Li City.
Strength: CBN Battlemaster Ranking number 4. He is preceded by Fang Ge Que, Q-Sword and Little Demon. He has original insight in the usage of an Archer’s hit and run kiting tactic.
historical
....
“F*ck....” Old K clenched his fist, “Xiao Yao Brat has such good luck. It’s as if you struck a hornet’s nest, seeing as you have to battle against the 4th ranked peak expert..”
Matcha looked at me and smiled, “My beloved boss, do you still think your opponent is a pushover?”
*Gulp....*
I swallowed, “Can I change my opponent....?”
“Not possible!”
I gripped the hilt of my sword and straightened my chest, “So what? It’s better that they let me fight this 4th ranked elite. I want to see exactly what the abilities of a peak-level expert are like.”
Wan Er stood next to me and said, “This time you’ll have to give it your all.. Bai Li Ruofeng is indeed very strong. I’ve met him 7 times in other games, beating him only three times, and losing the other four. His kiting abilities are extraordinary. You need to use your Flaming Tiger God when you have a chance. Then maybe you’ll be able to insta-kill him....”
“Got it!” I nodded firmly.
Looking at the screen, Bai Li Ruofeng’s name was glowing. Dancing Forest said with some regret, “Actually, Bai Li Ruofeng is my idol; after all, he’s the best Archer-class player in all of China. But right now he’s my Boss’s opponent so.. good luck, Boss. Destroy him! It’s regretful to say this, but between [Zhan Long] and [House of Prestige], only one of the two Guild Masters will enter the top 32!”
I laughed, “Don’t worry. I’ll go all out and leave no regrets!”
....
At this moment, the system started transferring players to the arena!
“Shua!”
I appeared at a place familiar to me. It was my 17th time here today. My opponent was a refined expert, clad in a set of leather armor; in his hands held a frosted floral bow. Bai Li Ruofeng gazed at me and laughed, “I knew that advancing from the top 64 into the top 32 would mean that I would have to duel against an expert. However, I didn’t expect to meet [Zhan Long]’s Guild Master, revered as the man who turned Ba Huang City upside down - Xiao Yao Zi Zai. I’m really in luck!”
I peered at him silently. Bai Li Ruofeng’s gaze made me feel uncomfortable. It was the kind of look the strong would give toward someone who was weaker. He probably didn’t even think of me as a worthy opponent. But then again, I was only among the top few hundreds on the CBN Battlemaster Ranking Charts half a year ago and have only just achieved a ranking of 22. Especially in the Master category, climbing the ranks was a very difficult feat. The difference between the 4th and 22nd rank was too great. Someone like me would not be considered strong to him at all.
Quietly, I summoned Flaming Tiger God. The little tiger purred softly next to me while activating its buffs from [Dragon’s Whistle of Thunder and Lightning]: attack and defense +40% for 30 minutes. All the buffs would be used to face this Guild Master of [House of Prestige]!
He licked his lips and laughed, “Don’t be so nervous. It’s only the Rise of the Heroes Tournament. Our friendship comes before the tournament’s results. No matter who wins or who loses, we can still be friends.”
I lowered my sword and smiled as well, “Ah, you’re right. Friendship is always number one. Well, I hope you don’t hold back at all, or else you’ll regret it.”
“Of course!”
Bai Li Ruofeng waved his hands, and his bow appeared. At the same time, he summoned his pet; a giant engulfed in flames: Flame Beast. It had both high defense and health. I’d heard rumors about this pet, but had never seen one before. It had been mentioned on the forums before that this was an Emperor Tier BOSS pet; I didn’t think that it would be in Bai Li Ruofeng’s hands.
The air around us seemed to freeze as I scanned the area. On the south side of the battle field, stood a stern NPC soldier clothed in bright armor. In the distance, was a huge, towering tree. The autumn breeze brushed past as leaves danced around the arena. Bai Li Ruofeng stood sternly on the other side of the arena; not a single muscle on his face twitched but I could feel him concentrating on every movement in the vicinity. It was to the point where he would even notice the flow of every leaf. This Archer must have had shockingly good insight or he wouldn’t be recognized as an expert Archer!
The system started the countdown, making my heart race in excitement. This was the real deal; the most important battle thus far——
“3!”
“2!”
“1!”
As soon as the battle started, Bai Li Ruofeng came at me!
I retreated immediately, backing out of Bai Li Ruofeng’s attack range. We were 40 yards apart from each other; this was both our lifelines that had to be cherished otherwise I would die a miserable death. the contenders in the top 64 were not weak at all, thus relying on my 2800 defense wasn’t feasible; especially against an Archer which was considered an assassination class. Experts in this class would usually pursue equipment that ignored defenses. My 2800 defense was practically nothing against a master Archer.
“Shasha....”
My Divine Battle boots smoothly stepped across the stone floor of the game’s battle arena. Bai Li Ruofeng pulled his longbow. “Pa.” A cold gust of wind followed the arrow as it flew toward my chest.
“Bang”
I sensed the danger and immediately stopped in my tracks, causing his attack to MISS. My heart inwardly screamed danger; that arrow had just barely grazed past my nose, it was really too dangerous!
“Heh!”
Bai Li Ruofeng laughed and lifted his bow again. “PaPaPa”. Three arrows shot out, [Triple Arrow]!
He knew that it was not probable that all the arrows would hit, so he shot them from three different angles. I knew this as well, so I did not retreat, but rushed forward instead. I dodged the arrow flying toward my head and allowed the other two to hit. Activating [Haste], I rushed in to attack!
MISS!
734!
801!
Looking at the damage, even an idiot could tell that Bai Li Ruofeng could easily break my defense!
Flaming Tiger God let out a roar as it separated from my side and changed it’s direction. Together, we effectively flanked the enemy from both sides.
However, Bai Li Ruofeng commanded his Flame Beast and it rushed toward Flaming Tiger God. I began to grow anxious; he clearly intended to kill Flaming Tiger God first so I’d have to fight alone.
[Burstfire Raid]!
The tiger’s body suddenly grew larger!
But Bai Li Ruofeng was unaffected, and easily shot the escaping Flaming Tiger God with a “Pa!”. It was [Scattered Shot]! The angle of release and the speed of the arrow was perfect. There was absolutely no way the Flaming Tiger God could have dodged that!
....
The Flame Beast roared and attacked the Flaming Tiger God. Bai Li Ruofeng then shouted, “[Electric Star Shot]!”
“Shua!”
Lightning surrounded his body, increasing his attack speed. “PaPaPa” He shot three arrows at Flaming Tiger God. Fortunately, the Flaming Tiger God’s defense was high; it would’ve been insta-killed otherwise!
With [Haste], I ran and found a suitable angle to unleash my attack from. With a sweep of my sword, I activated [Seven Star Fragment Slash]!
Bai Li Ruofeng had anticipated this strike and with a sneer, he activated [Crystalize], just barely dodging the attack.
After the duration of [Crystallize] ended, we were less than 5 yards from each other. This time I activated [Great Realm of Desolation] in hopes of instantly killing him!
Unfortunately, Bai Li Ruofeng saw through my attack and calmly took three steps back, causing [Great Realm of Desolation] to miss. His movements and reaction speed were so fast, that he gave me absolutely no time to use [Binding Chains]!
I lowered my Emperor Qin’s Sword and used [Blade Rush]. I was close enough for my attack to land!
“Kacha!”
I rushed forward, quickly appearing right in front of him. My Emperor Qin’s Sword stabbed at his neck like a thorn!
....
“Hmph?”
Bai Li Ruofeng coldly sighed. A wave of energy gathered under his feet, and a violent gust of wind energy exploded in between us. This exploding radiance seemed all too familiar —— it was [Combo]!
How did an Archer like him learn a [Combo]??!!?!?!?!?