Vampire vs. Sorcerer

The knockout stage schedule is packed. Dawei Tianlong was just carried off the stage, and the next match is already underway.

"Oh? The next contestant should be someone you all know very well."

Upon hearing the host's voice, the players in the audience were filled with anticipation, all pricking up their ears and focusing their attention on the players' passage.

Could it be another star player? Maybe even the one I'm cheering for!

"Let's welcome the red team for this match—number 00038, Lang Li Bai Tiao!"

"Alas--"

Immediately, a wave of boos erupted from the audience, almost engulfing the entire venue.

The Lang Li Bai Tiao" is already infamous throughout the gaming industry.

At the end of the passage, Vampire appeared, dressed in a black Nocturne uniform with dark red stripes.

His skin was pale and his body was thin, but he did not have the noble temperament of the "vampires" in the TV series at all. Instead, he gave off a kind of sleazy feeling.

"Ptooey! Ptooey! What bad luck!"

"I thought it was someone else, but it turns out to be Lang Chu."

"Don't worry, Lang Chu, no matter who's on the other side, I'll support them!"

But Lang Li Bai Tiao walked out of the contestants' seat with a beaming smile, completely unconcerned about the boos from the audience, and even waved with a smile.

"Haha, everyone is so enthusiastic! Thank you all for your support!"

"Support your sister!"

"Get out of here, Lang Chu!"

I'd love for you to die!

Shouts and curses erupted from the audience again. If it weren't for the protective shield, someone would probably have thrown stones and rotten eggs at him.

Despite his relaxed demeanor, Lang Li Bai Tiao even twisted his body and danced in the contestant tunnel.

He managed to give off a vibe of a spirited young man in that black and red "Nocturne" uniform.

Years of pranks had given him a thick skin, as tough as a fortress, allowing him to glare coldly at a thousand pointing fingers—though here it's the middle finger.

Hearing the constant stream of profanities, the commentator gave an awkward laugh, "Haha, it seems that the Lang Li Bai Tiao' contestant is quite popular."

"And in this match, his opponent is also a very popular player. Let's welcome the blue team member for this match – Xia Ye Qiuyu!"

"Oh oh oh oh oh!"

"Qiu Yu, I love you!"

"I'll carry the banner for the Qiu Yu!"

Amidst much anticipation, Xia Ye Qiuyu appeared at the end of the contestants' passage.

She was dressed in a magnificent robe, with long brown hair cascading down her shoulders. Flames flickered in her golden eyes, and streams of fire danced wildly around her.

Immediately, the cheering squad on stage waved their light boards in unison, and the audience erupted in a tsunami of cheers.

"Qiu Yu, burn away the Lang Chu!"

In stark contrast, the difference in popularity between the two is obvious, with almost unanimous support for Xia Ye Qiuyu.

Dark Night Wolf, one of the underlings of "Nocturne," still wanted to speak up for the guild leader.

He only weakly said "Go Lang Ge" a few times before he was stared at by the strange looks from the people around him, so he had no choice but to obediently shut his mouth.

Meanwhile, Keosius, standing on the high platform, was also drawn to the match. He leaned forward slightly, a hint of interest in his eyes.

Dragon Pact Sorcerer.

This is an advanced class that he recently made available to players, and it has not yet been tested in actual combat.

I wonder what kind of effect it will produce?

However, after he gained the [Elemental Controller] trait, the Dragon Pact Sorcerer's spell list expanded to include all fire spells.

The strength is definitely beyond the standard.

Although the Vampire template has strong regenerative abilities, it still can't compare to the overpowered advanced classes.

Don't let me down.

Keosius looked at the two players in the arena and thought to himself.

Amidst the deafening chants of "Go, Xia Ye Qiuyu!" that filled the entire stadium, the referee gave the order.

"The match begins!"

As soon as the referee finished speaking, the Lang Li Bai Tiao moved! Facing a strong professional player, he naturally couldn't choose the previous "standing and taking hits" playstyle.

That would allow you to speedrun!

Only by fully utilizing the Vampire's advantages can we have a chance of winning!

The Lang Li Bai Tiao channeled its internal energy, exhaling bursts of black mist that created a vast curtain of darkness.

Dark magic! Within this dark realm, light cannot penetrate, and non-magical light sources cannot enter.

As Vampire, the Lang Li Bai Tiao is born with the ability to see in the dark, allowing it to move freely in the dark and find opportunities to attack.

Hidden within this dark magic is the necromantic mist of the "Vampiric Touch," which drains life energy from anyone who touches it.

The black fog continued to spread, and from the darkness came faint rustling sounds, as well as the sly laughter of the Lang Li Bai Tiao.

The commentator said in a somber tone, "The player 'Lang Li Bai Tiao' is creating a field advantage for himself; he wants to bring out the Vampire's traits to the fullest!"

"If we don't react, we can only watch the dark magic spread, but if we enter the dark magic, we'll easily be ambushed by the Lang Li Bai Tiao '."

"That Lang Chu has a truly black heart!"

"How do you use the 'bizarre fighting style'? The Lang Chu' is like a pile of shit, you can't clean it off, once you go in, you'll get covered in it."

"Won't Qiu Yu lose?"

"There is still a way. She can use ranged spells to dispel the dark magic, but that would make her vulnerable to ambushes by Lang Chu."

"Whoosh—"

One after another, darts coated with deadly poison flew out of the darkness, attacking from different directions, heading straight for Xia Ye Qiuyu's face.

However, thin, ethereal flames surrounded her body, forming a shimmering shield that blocked the darts.

"Dark magic?"

Xia Ye Qiuyu rises suspended, firelight surges in golden pupils, and a crimson robe flutters in mid-air.

She stretched out her slender hand, pointed to the black mist, and softly chanted a spell.

"Bang!"

With a loud popping sound, a blazing fireball appeared in the darkness, extinguishing a large swath of black mist and illuminating the surrounding environment.

That's Flaming Sphere!

The Vampire, too, was exposed to the light, his skin slightly burning.

"Holy crap?"

"Give the road some oil!"

With a startled cry, the Lang Li Bai Tiao flung its cloak and flew low into the darkness.

The wind picked up, time to run! As he ran, he didn't forget to aim at his opponent with the Hand Crossbow hidden in his sleeve and secretly fire a few arrows.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Several more poisoned arrows came flying.

Xia Ye Qiuyu dodged the attack, then lightly waved his arm, controlling the Flaming Sphere to roll at high speed.

And so, a strange sight appeared on the field— Vampire was running ahead, and a fireball was chasing after it.

But as the Vampire fled, his figure constantly shifted and flickered, and he threw out various poisons, darts, and even bombs.

Xia Ye Qiuyu frowned slightly. "We can't drag this out any longer. Lang Li Bai Tiao is too cunning."

With that thought in mind, she cast her spell again.

Wall of Fire! A scorching wall of fire suddenly rose up, blocking the direction in which Lang Li Bai Tiao was fleeing, almost causing him to run headfirst into it.

"Holy crap—"

"It's so hot!"

The burning clothes were extinguished by the Lang Li Bai Tiao. He let out a strange cry and then made an abrupt turn.

Xia Ye Qiuyu points to the sky, and scorching and frenzied magical energy pours out, gradually condensing in the air.

A huge, flame-wreathed rock sphere floats in the sky.

Melf's Meteor Swarm!

The Lang Li Bai Tiao raised its head and was immediately startled, almost jumping up. "Holy crap? Earth Explosion Star?"

However, he had no time to think further—because the next attack was imminent.

Xia Ye Qiuyu reached out and slashed downwards, pointing his fingertip to the location of the Lang Li Bai Tiao.

Suddenly, under her control, a fiery meteor fell from the rock formation, accompanied by a piercing shriek, heading straight for the Lang Li Bai Tiao.

"Whoosh—"

"Boom!"

Flames spread in all directions, explosions resounded through the sky, and huge craters and billowing smoke appeared on the ground.

A series of swirling black shadows appeared in the smoke, along with the faint sound of flapping wings.

Suddenly, the Lang Li Bai Tiao transformed into dozens of vampire bats, miraculously escaping the horrific explosion.

One of the bats was still howling in grief and indignation. "No way, magic doesn't cost money?"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

However, Xia Ye Qiuyu did not answer; instead, he was met with a continuous stream of falling meteors and one terrifying explosion after another.

"Boom!"

The flames spread and engulfed several vampire bats.

Even bats could not escape the series of explosions, and soon only a few remained, hiding in various places.

The Lang Li Bai Tiao ' pride in its regenerative abilities is utterly worthless in the face of these terrifying, burning flames.

The commentator's tone was impassioned. "The player ' Lang Li Bai Tiao' is extremely passive! In terms of energy output, the Arcane Trickster is no match for the Dragon Pact Sorcerer."

"With the blessing of the Dragon Heart, Xia Ye Qiuyu's relentless bombardment continues without pause. Player Lang Li Bai Tiao must find a way to break this deadlock!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Scorching Ray shot out, and several more vampire bats howled in agony as they were blasted black and fell from mid-air.

The audience burst into laughter.

"The scoundrel fled in Lang Chu."

"What Lang Chu!"

"Isn't this just a punching bag?"

However, in a corner unnoticed by everyone, an invisible bat quietly slipped behind Xia Ye Qiuyu, manipulating a cloud of blood mist.

"Look, what's that?"

Finally, someone with sharp eyes noticed the anomaly: the blood mist and bats gradually coalesced into a gaunt human figure—it was the Vampire, Lang Li Bai Tiao.

"Holy crap? Mini Lang Chu?"

Due to severe blood loss, the current "Lang Li Bai Tiao" is less than a meter long, resembling a miniature doll.

In fact, in a 1v1 contest, the Rogue relies on ambush as his main method, is at a great disadvantage.

In terms of ranged combat, it cannot compare to mages and Sorcerer; in terms of melee combat, it cannot compare to Fighter Monk. Its advantages are also limited.

Hiding?

Where can one hide in such an open space? Or should one launch a sneak attack?

With only one opponent and them focused intently on you, how can you draw their fire? In the Preliminary Round, the Lang Li Bai Tiao can easily outmaneuver opponents by leveraging its unique Vampire template and level advantage.

However, in the knockout stage, advanced players have no shortage of ways to deal damage, and as Arcane Trickster of the Rogue branch, all he can do is fight! Come on, let's fight to the death! He is betting that the Dragon Pact Sorcerer's close-range ability is not strong and that he cannot resist his deadly sneak attack.

"Haha, come on!"

"So what if they're professional experts? You didn't expect this, did you? This is exactly the route I used for my sneak attack!"

"Little Lang Li Bai Tiao," wielding a poisoned dagger and sporting the same arrogant smile, leaped towards Xia Ye Qiuyu.

The blade surged with extremely cold Psionics, which would greedily drain the flesh of any contact it made.

That's the Vampiric Touch! Several more highly poisonous darts pierced the air and flew in.

This was his final sneak attack!

However, Xia Ye Qiuyu was surrounded by flames, which once again blocked the incoming darts.

The powerful physique granted by the Dragon Heart also gave her exceptional reflexes.

Xia Ye Qiuyu suddenly turned around, her beautiful golden eyes blazing with fire, meeting the blood-red eyes of Lang Li Bai Tiao.

"Whoosh—"

But from her seemingly slender arms, a strange strength emerged, firmly gripping the hand of the Lang Li Bai Tiao that held the knife.

The smile on Lang Li Bai Tiao's face froze instantly. He struggled desperately, trying to swing the dagger.

"This seems a bit ominous."

"No, with this kind of power—you still call yourself a Sorcerer?"

The Lang Li Bai Tiao's face, revealing charred black spots, and his eyes reflected a blinding light.

Xia Ye Qiuyu's mouth opened slightly, and the scorching flames that had been accumulating for a long time poured out from it.

"Boom!"

That was the [Dragon Breath]! When the flames subsided, the Lang Li Bai Tiao had already turned to ashes.

No matter how powerful Vampire's regenerative abilities are, they cannot gather the swirling ashes together and return to human form.

A deafening roar erupted from the audience, the players were incredibly excited.

"Well done!"

"As expected of my Qiu Yu wife!"

"Am I the only one who feels that Dragon Pact Sorcerer are a bit overpowered?"

"Yes, they're casting spells like they're free, and each spell is incredibly powerful, even adding to strength and physique."

The commentator's voice remained passionate. "Let's congratulate Xia Ye Qiuyu, she has won this match with a bang!"

"And this is the result everyone expected. Even if the Lang Chu,' no, the Lang Li Bai Tiao ' player uses every means possible, he sees no hope of victory whatsoever."

The commentator seemed to have inadvertently revealed his stance.

During the selection of the chief player, many professional players looked serious and carefully analyzed the match.

Generally speaking, Sorcerer only use a few spells they are proficient in. Their spell lists can be figured out in just a few battles, and then targeted preparations can be made.

But the battle in the Xia Ye Qiuyu overturned that.

The Dragon Pact Sorcerer's spells were far more diverse than they had imagined, leaving even a mage player like Charlotte speechless.

It's one thing to max out spell power, but you also have so many spells?

How are orthodox mages supposed to compete now? It's no exaggeration to say that Xia Ye Qiuyu acted like a mini-boss in this match.

On the throne high above, Keosius listened to the players' discussions and thought to himself, "The advanced class that I personally granted power to is obviously overpowered."

"Want to become one of the best players? Want to possess immense power? Then work hard for the Empire!"