Lakebed Battle (Part 2)

Xiang Hui endured the pain in his arm, found an opening, and suddenly raised his hand.

The Thunderforged Grappling Hook Gun shot out, heading straight for the small boat where Xie Yixin was.

To maintain Snipe distance, Xie Yixin did not go ashore on the Forge island, but instead Snipe from the bow of the ship. With the lake water blocking the way, ordinary charging skills had no path and were therefore ineffective.

However, Xiang Hui's unexpected move was a brilliant tactic that could turn the tide of the battle. After he was launched onto Xie Yixin's boat, he could do whatever he wanted in the cramped cabin. Xie Yixin had no choice but to jump into the water to escape, and Wu Chaojie couldn't directly Cover.

"Dream!"

Wu Chaojie sneered and reached out to grab Xiang Hui's waist. With his weight, if he could hold Xiang Hui, the Thunderforged Grappling Hook Gun would definitely not be able to carry the two of them.

Suddenly, a Lightning Strike struck from afar, and Wu Chaojie froze! Then, hallucinations began to appear before Wu Chaojie's eyes, and he was instantly gripped by Fear Status.

Without Wu Chaojie's obstruction, Xiang Hui easily took to the air and launched himself towards Xie Yixin.

"Not good..."

Out of the corner of Wu Chaojie's eye, he saw a small boat cutting through the waves on the lake surface through the thin mist. Two skeletons were rowing the boat, and Bai Xiaowen and the Bone Warlock were standing at the bow! The Lightning Strike and Ghost Path control just now were the work of the Bone Warlock.

Without uttering any unnecessary words, Bai Xiaowen raised his hand towards Wu Chaojie, and three summoned creatures appeared on the Forge island: Shadow Assassin, Rageclaw, and Skeleton Champion, forming a triangular formation around him and launching an attack.

Wu Chaojie was instantly plunged into a fierce battle. His defense was indeed strong, with the passive ability of Heavy Armor Warrior, and his output was not bad either. However, he was still struggling against the combined attack of a Boss Tier and two Elite Tier. What's more, Bai Xiaowen, a powerful ranged attacker, was also watching him closely.

On the other side, the instant Xiang Hui flew over, Xie Yixin decisively put away her Snipe rifle, dove into the lake, and planned to escape by diving underwater.

If you can't win, you have no choice but to sell out your teammates.

However, Bai Xiaowen could not let Xie Yixin escape safely. As soon as Xie Yixin entered the water, Bai Xiaowen immediately opened fire with his gun in Rapid-Fire Mode.

Under Bai Xiaowen's Psychic Sensing, Xie Yixin could not escape in any direction. Blood kept oozing from her body, and her Life Value was quickly depleted. She was forcibly turned into white light.

"I didn't even get an assist..." Xiang Hui, who was landing at the bow of the boat, shook his head.

"No need to look back, let's just sail south to the research institute," Bai Xiaowen said. "I'll handle this turtle shell."

Although the Research Institute does not provide direct benefits like the Forge, its strategic position is still very important. At the very least, it should not be allowed to be occupied by the enemy for more than ten minutes in a row, otherwise the war items it provides can easily disrupt the balance.

Xiang Hui nodded and rowed away.

"Damn it... They're so disrespectful!" Wu Chaojie gritted his teeth in anger, but there was nothing he could do. After his defensive stance disappeared, he was easily knocked to the ground by Bai Xiaowen.

With a score of 3-0, Jinghai University had a near-perfect start.

However, immediately after Wu Chaojie's kill notification, another kill notification sounded.

Han Xu died in battle!

The killer was... Qiao Rui.

"This is bad..." Bai Xiaowen quickly steered the boat around. Han Xu was the shield for the three-person team; if he were to die in battle, Feng Zi'ang and Li Shuyi would be in danger.

Sure enough, just two seconds after the notification sound of Han Xu's death, news came that Feng Zi'ang had been killed, and the killer was Zheng Bing.

"What's the situation? Do we need support?" Bai Xiaowen asked in the public channel.

"No need!" came Li Shuyi's curt reply over the public channel.

"Withdraw when you should," Bai Xiaowen said. This time, Li Shuyi did not respond.

A few seconds later, another kill notification came: Li Shuyi had killed Zheng Bing!

"I'm out, Qiao Rui's skills are too overpowered." Li Shuyi's voice rang out in the public channel.

"Good, that's already quite good. You managed to take down a mage under Qiao Rui's protection," Bai Xiaowen praised. He knew he couldn't be stingy with praise when it was time to compliment his own sister.

Bai Xiaowen continued westward, his goal being to defend the Central Gold Mine.

Northern section of West Road.

Qiao Rui stood on the small island in the Beast Pen, looking at the lake. The water was still splashing where Li Shuyi had disappeared. She shook her head, her finger touching the flagpole of the Beast Pen, and began the 15-second countdown to capture the flag.

At this moment, Ouyang Heng had already been resurrected—after all, he was the first to die, and only had one minute to revive.

"How did three of them die all at once?"

As soon as Ouyang Heng came out, he frowned and asked, "Qiao Rui, what happened?"

Qiao Rui didn't like Ouyang Heng's tone. After a few seconds of silence, she replied, "Wu Chaojie and the others were killed by Xiao Wen's reinforcements on the east side. They were several kilometers away, so there was nothing I could do."

"Leaving aside Wu Chaojie and Xie Yixin for now, how come Zheng Bing is dead too?" Ouyang Heng felt annoyed when he heard Qiao Rui's brief address to Bai Xiaowen. "Since Bai Xiaowen appeared on the east side, then the west side should only have a few weak defenders. How could Zheng Bing have died and wasted our respawn time?"

Qiao Rui patiently explained, "Li Shuyi is Xiao Wen's regular teammate, and she's very strong. Plus, she has a piece of equipment that's perfect for underwater combat..."

"Enough. Save those excuses. Don't portray Bai Xiaowen as some kind of monster, as if everyone even remotely connected to him becomes incredibly powerful and influential..."

Ouyang Heng interrupted Qiao Rui with a dark face, saying in a stern tone, "Qiao Rui, this is the final, it concerns the honor of our alma mater. I hope you can take this seriously and not make these easily refuted excuses. How strong can Bai Xiaowen's woman be? Just an Elite Template!"

Qiao Rui's tone turned cold. "Ouyang Heng, what do you mean? Do you suspect I went easy on you?"

Ouyang Heng had just been resurrected and was very angry, but he regretted saying those words as soon as he did.

However, despite feeling a little regretful, Ouyang Heng remained adamant. "Whether I threw the game or not, you know the answer in your heart. If the University Team loses the championship, your responsibility is undeniable!"

He had said those harsh words, but Qiao Rui didn't respond.

The public channel was completely silent.

After ten seconds, Ouyang Heng finally couldn't hold back any longer and spoke up, "Qiao Rui, actually, that's not what I meant. I just hope you can take it more seriously. Even if you and Bai Xiaowen have a good personal relationship, and he helped your second uncle, a competition is a competition..."

After speaking for a few seconds, Ouyang Heng received no response.

"Alright, Qiao Rui, Regeneration. Where are you? I'll come meet you..."

There has still been no response.

Ouyang Heng frowned and opened the Red Team's public channel.

Teammates Zheng Bing, Wu Chaojie, and Xie Yixin are in Ghost mode, their avatars are grayed out, which goes without saying. Qiao Rui's avatar is clearly lit up, so why isn't she answering?

With a hint of puzzlement, Ouyang Heng scrolled up the public channel's history.

As a result, he discovered a notification message that had been automatically blocked:

"Qiao Rui has left the Red Team's public channel."

Looking at the timestamp, Qiao Rui left the team's public chat immediately after Ouyang Heng uttered that harsh statement, "The responsibility is undeniable." In other words... Ouyang Heng's subsequent long string of words were all just talking to thin air.

Ouyang Heng's face immediately flushed red.

His three teammates were in Ghost form and seemed unaware of his predicament, but they'll definitely check the public chat logs once they respawn!

"Damn team chat, why can't I undo it...?"

Ouyang Heng was furious. He suddenly jumped onto the small boat, pushed off with a long pole, and shot towards the central Gold Mine like an arrow.

"The only way to save face now is to take down Bai Xiaowen in a one-on-one fight!"

"Qiao Rui thinks Bai Xiaowen is strong? Let's see what you have to say after I take care of Bai Xiaowen!"

As for whether they can defeat Bai Xiaowen?

Although Ouyang Heng was filled with shame and anger, he still carefully analyzed the situation.

"Bai Xiaowen's Life Value is not full; I already reduced him to almost half health. I just respawned, my health is full, and all my skills are restored! If I still can't beat him like this, then what's the point of fighting? I might as well just surrender."

Ouyang Heng was already fast at sailing in naval warfare, and now with the added speed boost from Qiao Rui's capture of the Beast Pen, he was incredibly fast, like the wind. In less than a minute, the Central Gold Mine island, shrouded in mist, was already close at hand.

At that moment, Qiao Rui's voice rang out again on the public channel.

"Don't go to the Gold Mine, go guard the research institute."

Ouyang Heng was slightly taken aback. "You... you're back?"

Qiao Rui's voice was indifferent. "Yes, I'll leave you alone for a while to calm down. I'm going to rob the Forge now, you go to the research institute, not the Gold Mine."

"Why? Bai Xiaowen should be guarding the Gold Mine. If we take him out, we can turn the tide!"

"If I directly tell you you can't beat him, will it provoke your rebellious side?" Qiao Rui said calmly. "However, the fact is that even if you were at full strength, you couldn't defeat Xiao Wen in a one-on-one fight right now. Besides, even if you did defeat Xiao Wen, what would be the point? His respawn time is the same as any other team member's, but the difficulty of killing him is completely different."

After a pause, Qiao Rui said, "The assassin on the other side went to steal from the research institute. If you go and kill him now, it will slow down the blue team's respawn time, and the benefit is the same as killing Xiao Wen."

However, Ouyang Heng did not listen to what was said next.

His rationality automatically shut down upon hearing, "Even if you're at full strength... you still can't defeat him."

"I've arrived at the Gold Mine."

After saying this, Ouyang Heng immediately left the public channel.

On the other side, Qiao Rui saw the notification that Ouyang Heng had left the public channel and gave a soft hum. Her small boat did not continue eastward, but turned right and headed south.

"He's still too naive. Has he never experienced setbacks or hardships since childhood? His family still treats him like a big shot, wanting me to pin my entire happiness on him... That's really short-sighted."

"If I weren't worried about losing too badly, I wouldn't be willing to change my tactics and compromise... Oh well, hopefully I can catch up."

With this in mind, Qiao Rui rowed towards the Gold Mine.

Suddenly, Qiao Rui's slender eyes narrowed, as if she had sensed something. She stopped rowing, took out her emerald green bamboo flute, and assumed a defensive posture.

Sizzle!

Two gleaming sword tips pierced the hull of the boat, and then, with a swift movement of the two swords, the small boat was cut into three pieces!

Qiao Rui fell into the water, but she didn't panic. Instead, she played her bamboo flute, and a transparent Sonic Wave Arrow out.

The Sonic Wave Arrow left a clear trajectory in the water, its speed greatly reduced. The water rippled, and a figure, like a mermaid, nimbly dodged it.

Qiao Rui gently paddled the water with both hands, keeping her shoulders above the surface, and stared intently. In the ripples of the water, another head emerged, wearing a transparent swim bladder. Ignoring her pretty little face, just looking at the shape of the swim bladder helmet, it resembled a fathead fish.

It's Li Shuyi.

"Sorry, senior, how about you play with me for a while?" Li Shuyi smiled smugly. Although they were rivals, they had met a few times in the past few days and had a good impression of each other.

Qiao Rui said helplessly, "You tricked me... Can you make way for me? I'm not going to the Gold Mine, okay?"

Li Shuyi giggled, her voice clear and crisp. "No way."

Qiao Rui suddenly lowered her head and dived into the water, swimming all the way to the bottom of the lake.

Seeing this, Li Shuyi also dived down. The two powerful female awakened individuals engaged in a unique contest at the bottom of the lake.

Qiao Rui's sonic attack was significantly slower underwater, and Li Shuyi could easily dodge it by maintaining a certain distance. However, when Qiao Rui attempted to walk on the lakebed towards the Central Gold Mine, she was stopped by Li Shuyi.

Qiao Rui had no choice but to temporarily activate Soulwalk, even though it would continuously consume her Divine Might.

Li Shuyi had specialized training in underwater combat, and with the aid of her swim bladder, she was even more formidable. She had previously achieved the feat of killing a high-ranking Wokou Pirates Boss Tier underwater when she was only level 5. If Qiao Rui hadn't been protected by her Soulwalk ability, she probably wouldn't have lasted even a minute.

Li Shuyi didn't try to take credit; her main strategy was to harass and intercept them. Their figures kept intersecting and then separating at the bottom of the lake.

Time passed by, second by second.

Suddenly, a notification tone sounded again:

"Red Fang Yong: Ouyang Heng has been killed! Killer: Bai Xiaowen."

Upon hearing the notification tone, both of them were slightly startled, and then they both smiled.

Li Shuyi smiled triumphantly, while Qiao Rui gave a helpless, bitter smile, tinged with a hint of mockery.

"The battle is over, can you let me go?" Qiao Rui's voice echoed in Li Shuyi's heart.

Li Shuyi's smile deepened, and she shook her head, her attitude clear.

"So mischievous," Qiao Rui's smile turned slightly sly, like a little fox who had just stolen a chicken, "But you don't have a choice."

Light flashed beneath Li Shuyi's feet, and Qiao Rui suddenly raised her hand. "Sonic Strike Array."

Li Shuyi was instantly Imprisonment and unable to move until she was harmed.

"I'm leaving now." Qiao Rui lifted her foot.

However, just as she took a step, a phantom image of a giant python burst forth from the ground, binding Qiao Rui firmly to the spot.

"Senior, why don't you stay with me and wait for the competition to end?" Li Shuyi's smile was just like that of a little fox who had stolen a chicken.