Let My Name Resound Throughout the Arena!

The two points adjacent to the Blue Team's Main Base are the Beast Pen on the northern section of the western route and the Forge on the northern section of the eastern route.

The two points adjacent to the Red Team's Main Base are the Mill on the northern section of the western route and the research institute on the northern section of the eastern route.

The Gold Mine is located at the midpoint of the central route.

The straight-line distance between any two adjacent buildings is one kilometer.

Of course, straight-line distance does not necessarily mean journey distance, because the terrain on the battlefield is very treacherous, with mountains and rivers blocking the way in many places, so the roads are very winding, some in an S-shape, some in a B-shape...

If you don't want to take a roundabout route, you have to jump and climb between steep cliffs.

As an awakened being, one possesses considerable extreme athletic ability in climbing cliffs. However, no matter how strong one's climbing ability is, unless one can fly, it will always be much slower than traveling on flat ground. Often, haste makes waste, and it is better to run along a winding path, which saves more time and energy.

There are also some special skills or items that can be used in this kind of terrain, such as Bai Xiaowen's Tribal Feather Cloak...

During the Resource Raid Mode practice and discussion, Xiang Hui surprised everyone with a tool that was perfect for rock climbing, called the "Thunderforged Grappling Hook Gun".

[Thunderforged Grappling Hook Gun: C-Tier Silver Tier Item. When used, it fires a rope with a grappling hook that can be quickly extended and retracted, with a maximum range of 100 meters. Uses: 5/5, replenishing one use every 30 minutes.]

To be fair, this is an unpopular item. The reason it's rated as Silver Tier item is largely due to its rechargeable count and short 30-minute recharge time. Recyclable items usually have very long recharge times, often several hours or even a day, so 30 minutes is indeed very short in comparison.

In the Resource Raid Mode, this Silver Tier item is quite useful. Xiang Hui was originally Agility Specialty- type Awakened, and with this item, he could quickly move from one resource building to another, making him extremely mobile.

However, the recovery time should still be considered.

For items, a 30-minute recharge time is unusually fast. However, in a resource-plundering battle, the outcome is usually decided within 100 minutes at most, and many matches don't last that long.

In other words, Xiang Hui can only use the Thunderforged Grappling Hook Gun a maximum of seven or eight times in a single match (including the initial five times). He needs to carefully consider when to use it and when to use it sparingly.

The two teams waited patiently at the entrance to the Large Psionic Training Ground beneath the auditorium.

"Hi." Duanmucheng walked over and greeted Bai Xiaowen.

Bai Xiaowen nodded slightly. He had a so-so impression of Duanmucheng. Back in the Dead Spirit Lake, Duanmucheng had even tried to come and freeload off monsters... Of course, compared to Qi Ruifeng, Duanmucheng was not bad.

"Bai Xiaowen, you're only a freshman this year, right? You've already become a captain, that's really impressive. Although I'm also Hero Class, I only took over the captain's armband in my junior year," Duanmucheng said with a smile.

"No problem," Bai Xiaowen replied calmly.

Duanmucheng's seemingly casual remark, though flattering, actually revealed ulterior motives.

The subtext is that Jinghai University has no one else to fill the captaincy, so they made a freshman the team leader.

Also, what if the juniors and seniors on the team have any strange thoughts after hearing this?

Bai Xiaowen felt that if Liu Fei were still on the University Team, he would most likely be dissatisfied.

However, Duanmucheng's little tricks were destined to be useless. At this point, Bai Xiaowen's authority as captain of the University Team was completely established. As for the other four main members, Li Shuyi was a given, Xiang Hui was also a freshman, Han Xu was simple and honest and wouldn't care about such things, and Feng Zi'ang had even managed to get into the University Team by clinging to Bai Xiaowen's coattails... Who would look down on Bai Xiaowen because of his lower grade?

Of course, as a new team leader, Bai Xiaowen's authority is not only due to his personal abilities and skills, but also to the trust and delegation of authority by his mentor, Yan Xiaoxin.

"I noticed you chose the blue side without much hesitation. Do you have some special tactics?" Seeing the lack of reaction from the students from Jinghai University, Duanmucheng changed the subject, intending to probe for something.

"Of course there is. Unfortunately, I can't tell you." Bai Xiaowen nodded, effectively cutting off Duanmucheng's next sentence.

"..." Duanmucheng was momentarily speechless.

Standing behind Duanmucheng, the other four students from Wannan University were somewhat resentful of Bai Xiaowen's cold attitude. One handsome young man said indignantly, "What's there to be proud of? He's just destined to be eliminated in the first round every year."

"Shi Feng, say less," Duanmucheng said with good manners, seeing that Bai Xiaowen was unmoved by his words, and wisely ended the conversation. "Then I'll wait and see what Jinghai University's special tactics are like in the game."

Shi Feng snorted, "What tactics? Just making things complicated."

"Wait... Your name is Shi Feng, right?" Bai Xiaowen suddenly called out to the other person.

Shi Feng turned around, looking down at Bai Xiaowen with his nostrils. "So what if it is?"

"It's nothing. I just wanted to let you know in advance... don't appear in my sight during the upcoming matches," Bai Xiaowen said.

"What do you mean? Are you threatening me?" Shi Feng snorted. "Do you think I'm easily intimidated?"

"No, it's a well-intentioned reminder," Bai Xiaowen said with a smile.

Shi Feng didn't see Bai Xiaowen's suggestion as a well-intentioned reminder. How big was the entire battlefield? The red and blue teams' Main Base were only two kilometers apart. By designating the area within sight as a no-go zone, Bai Xiaowen was practically telling Shi Feng to stay obediently in Main Base and not come out...

Finally, inside the Psionic Training Ground, the battlefield map took shape.

The entrance gate flashed blue light, and Bai Xiaowen and four others entered first. Then the gate turned red, Duanmucheng and four others entered.

After the familiar feeling of weightlessness subsided, Bai Xiaowen and the other four appeared at the northernmost point of the battlefield, inside the blue team's Main Base.

The Main Base was an enclosure about 100 meters in diameter, surrounded by high walls that were insurmountable. As for the main gate, it was covered by a thin layer of light, allowing only exits, not entry.

To the north is an altar, upon which stands a tall, gilded statue, radiating abundant life energy.

Searching for information about the altar will provide clues.

[Life Altar: Revives fallen allied warriors. Duration: 1 minute.]

As the number of resurrections increases, the energy of the Life Altar weakens, resulting in longer resurrection times. At the foot of the statue on the Life Altar, you can see that the current number of resurrections is zero.

A loud notification sound rang out:

"The battle is about to begin. Countdown begins."

"15--"

"14--"

"13--"

Seeing the slightly nervous expressions on the four members of the University Team, Bai Xiaowen smiled and said, "Calm down, just proceed according to our previous plan. I really can't find a reason to lose this battle."

In fact, that was what Bai Xiaowen was thinking too. After using his Insight to examine the attribute data of the five opponents, Bai Xiaowen was considering how to win the match while concealing part of his strength, in order to prepare for the subsequent elimination rounds.

Countdown is over.

A resounding announcement rang out. "Charge, warriors! For survival!"

Xiang Hui went straight to the west road. He ran at full speed towards the first resource building on the west road— the Beast Pen.

Ahead lay a steep cliff. Xiang Hui didn't detour; instead, he used the Thunderforged Grappling Hook Gun. A claw shot out and gripped the top of the cliff, then the rope snapped back! Xiang Hui seemed to have grown wings, leaping to the top of the cliff and disappearing from everyone's sight in a few bounds.

Bai Xiaowen and the other three went to the middle route, their target being the Gold Mine.

Unlike Xiang Hui, who moved in a straight line, the four of them proceeded along the road, taking a roundabout and circuitous route.

After traveling halfway, a loud voice suddenly rang out:

"The Blue Team has captured the Beast Pen! Flag Capture Warrior: Xiang Hui!"

Upon hearing this notification, Bai Xiaowen and the others suddenly felt a lightness throughout their bodies, and their movement speed increased by 40%!

"47 seconds have just passed. Including the 15 seconds for capturing the flag, Xiang Hui only took 32 seconds to traverse the one-kilometer straight-line distance to reach the target location," Bai Xiaowen's voice rang out clearly in the Blue Team's public channel. "With the speed boost from the Beast Pen, we will definitely be able to reach the Gold Mine first!"

It's worth mentioning here that communication in the public channel is done through Divine Might, without needing to speak. Otherwise, Bai Xiaowen, currently running at high speed, would have lost her breath if she spoke.

The notification sound indicating that Xiang Hui had captured the Beast Pen on the western route rang throughout the entire battlefield, and both sides could hear it.

On the southern section of the western route, Duanmucheng and Chu Li, another member of the red team, were heading towards their first destination— the Mill. They had only gone halfway when they heard the notification, exchanged a glance, and were somewhat surprised.

"How long has it been? Half a minute?" Chu Li, with two crossbows hanging from his waist and quivers of crossbow bolts strapped to his legs, said in surprise, "How could it be so fast?"

"They probably used some special climbing equipment. Hmph, they really spared no expense," Duanmucheng said coldly in the Red Team's public channel, his previous gentle demeanor in front of Bai Xiaowen completely gone. "However, choosing the Beast Pen as their first stronghold is far too short-sighted."

"All five resource buildings have special functions. Aside from the Gold Mine providing extra resources, only the Beast Pen offer no combat benefit!" Duanmucheng continued, "We're using a 2-1-2 formation. Our tactical strategy is to capture the functional buildings on both sides first: the Mill and the research institute. Shi Feng, scout the Central Gold Mine area and determine the enemy's numbers and movements!"

"If the opponent also uses a 1-2-2 formation, we can try adjusting our forces and forcefully take the Gold Mine! If they use a 1-3-1 formation to defend the Gold Mine, the Forge will inevitably be vulnerable, and we can take it! With three buff buildings at our disposal, we can easily win a head-on battle at the Gold Mine!"

"If we win the first team fight, the enemy's respawn time will be extended to more than 6 minutes! We'll have the upper hand."

As for why we didn't speculate that there were two or more people in the Beast Pen on the northern section of the western route, the reason is simple: Xiang Hui used special climbing equipment to reach it, so he must have been acting alone.

Duanmucheng's tactical approach was quite good.

However, what he didn't expect was that Bai Xiaowen didn't use a 131 or 122 split, but instead adopted a crazy 140 route, where Xiang Hui was alone on the west lane, the other four grouped together to push the middle, and no one was on the east lane...

Duanmucheng never expected this. To anyone else, the Forge in the northern section of the eastern route and the Mill in the southern section of the western route were strategic locations that military strategists would fight over.

The Forge's buffs of 20% increased physical attack and 20% increased armor for the entire team, and the Mill's 30% instant health regeneration from food, are both top-tier head-on combat skills!

Therefore, the Forge and the Mill are located in the north and south sections, respectively, close to the blue team's Main Base and the red team's Main Base. The original intention of the map design was to achieve balance.

The reason why Bai Xiaowen so ruthlessly led the four of them to the center and had Xiang Hui occupy the Beast Pen in advance to speed things up was actually very simple, just two words: "Scheming".

"We've finally arrived at the Gold Mine, but the other side hasn't arrived yet," Li Shuyi said with a sigh of relief.

"Shall we raise the flag?" Feng Zi'ang asked.

"No, lie in ambush near the Gold Mine," Bai Xiaowen said. "Wait 45 seconds; someone from the enemy should appear. If we take control now, we'll alert them."

"How many people will they be sending?" Li Shuyi asked.

Bai Xiaowen shook his head. "I'm not too clear on their tactical formation. The least likely scenario is a 2-1-2 formation, with one person scouting. The most likely scenario is a 1-3-1 formation, with three people grouped together to directly seize the Gold Mine. Hopefully, more people will come. We're grouping up as a group of four to deal with the most extreme situation."

"If the enemy sends three people, we can wipe them out in one small wave, which will delay their respawn time to more than 4 minutes! This will give us the upper hand," Bai Xiaowen summarized.

At this time, Xiang Hui had already set off from the Beast Pen in the northern section of the western route towards the Central Gold Mine in the middle route.

He didn't use the Thunderforged Grappling Hook Gun for extreme climbing this time, also to save on attempts.

In the blue team's public chat, Xiang Hui couldn't help but say, "Actually, with your strength alone, you're worth all four of us. Even if you went to the Gold Mine alone, as long as the enemy team had three or fewer members, you could take them down without taking any damage. There's no need to specifically gather four teammates, is there?"

Bai Xiaowen smiled and said, "Firstly, I don't want to develop the habit of relying on fists to solve problems. Although it's the simplest and most effective way, it will eventually backfire. It's good to hone my tactical skills. Secondly... this is only the first round of our knockout stage, and it's not appropriate to reveal all our cards now."

Xiang Hui was silent for a moment. "I really don't want to be your opponent, you freak..."

25 seconds after Bai Xiaowen and the other three men laid an ambush.

On the southern section of the central route, Shi Feng was approaching his destination; he could already see the Gold Mine's flag.

The flag is currently gray, indicating that it is unoccupied.

"Hmph, I really am the fastest!"

Shi Feng felt a surge of pride; the unclaimed Gold Mine was as alluring as a naked beauty.

Shi Feng deliberately didn't inform his teammates of the situation; he planned to show off and capture the Gold Mine first. Anyway, his teammates would know what happened when the notification sounded.

"Now, let my name resound throughout the entire venue!"