Chapter 112

Xu Jintang and his four companions entered the venue wearing matching ghost face masks.

The moment they appeared, enthusiastic shouts erupted from the surrounding stands, "Mask Squad! Mask Squad!"

Li Xiang rode a hovering ball around the arena, then raised the microphone, "Hello everyone, both in the stadium and watching the live stream. I'm Li Xiang, the host of this semi-final match."

"The team now entering is the Mask Squad! Please welcome the five members to the stage!"

Rhythmic background music started playing, and laser lights flashed throughout the venue.

Xu Jintang led the way up the steps, walking step by step toward the arena.

The spotlight shone on her, drawing everyone's attention.

Following them, Song Tianqi, Yan Yuting, and Xue Zhongqi took the stage one after another.

Jiang Shiyi was the last to leave, bringing everything to a close.

The five people stood in a row facing the audience and the satellite cameras.

"Hello everyone, we are--" Xu Jintang started by saying.

The other four said in unison, "The Mask Squad."

The image on the screen behind them changed, and the four large characters "Mask Squad" appeared above them. Black and red light projections intertwined on their bodies, creating a dazzling effect.

The stands, which had just quieted down, erupted in enthusiastic shouts once again.

Riding his hovering sphere, Li Xiang announced the next team to take the stage, "Now, let's welcome the Dark Horse Team!"

The spotlight came on again, shining on the entrance.

A short while later, Ji Nanqing led her team onto the field. The five players were all dressed in black, their faces expressionless, creating a very serious atmosphere.

After the five people went on stage, they stood opposite Xu Jintang others.

"That's right, today's first match will be between the Mask Squad and the Dark Horse Team! We'll now randomly select the battle mode for both sides."

Li Xiang pointed to the floating light screen behind him.

The audience's eyes immediately turned to this.

The text on the screen flickered for a few seconds before settling on "[1v1 Gauntlet Battle]".

"This is going to be interesting today. A 1v1 match is the best way to see the individual skills of the members of both teams."

"It's 1v1! That means we can watch several matches. This ticket was a great deal!"

"The Mask Squad will win!!"

"The Dark Horse Team is invincible, they will definitely win the championship!"

The fans of both teams started cheering again, and the arena suddenly became lively.

Li Xiang's amused gaze swept over the two teams as he stepped back to the edge of the arena. "We'll have a ten-minute break now. The captains of both teams can think about how to arrange their players for the match."

Xu Jintang and his four companions quickly stepped down from the stage.

Song Tianqi was the first to chime in, "Should I go first?"

Xu Jintang glanced across the opposite side, pondered for a moment, and said, "You need to stay until later. The first person to go up is mainly to test the opponent's strength."

Upon hearing this, Xue Zhongqi raised his hand, "Then I'll do it."

"Okay, you can go." Xu Jintang nodded in agreement.

Xue Zhongqi turned around and started to stretch his wrists.

After the ten-minute break, he stepped onto the ring, steadied himself, and instinctively reached for the grappling hook at his waist, assuming a fighting stance.

The opposing Dark Horse Team sent out a male player with Peak Third Tier strength.

He had long golden hair, emerald green eyes with a hint of bewitching allure, fair skin that glowed, and an extraordinary and handsome demeanor.

"Hello, I'm Xiu Delu from the Dark Horse Team, at the Peak Third Tier tier of mental power." Xiu Delu raised his sexy thin lips and extended his hand.

Xue Zhongqi stepped forward and shook hands with the other party, "Mask Squad Big Watermelon, Peak Second Tier mental strength."

[Good heavens, are First Tier difference in their mental strength levels? How are we supposed to fight like this?]

[It just dawned on me, the Mask Squad's performance in reaching the semifinals is already considered an exceptional achievement?]

[Yes, their average age is only sixteen. But the Dark Horse Team is the same age. I seriously suspect that both teams were sent by the top five military academies.]

Below the ring, Xu Jintang stood with his arms crossed in front of him, looking up at the stage.

Li Xiang rode onto the hovering sphere, raised the microphone, and announced, "The first 1v1 duel is now beginning!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xue Zhongqi swiftly drew his grappling hook gun from his waist and pulled the trigger.

A sharp grappling hook shot towards Xiu Delu's feet, and the powerful traction immediately pulled him to the other side.

Xiu Delu simultaneously activated his supernatural abilities.

His special ability is Two Aspects Poison Gas. He opens his hands and lifts them up, and the gray-black poison gas quickly spreads throughout the entire area.

Xue Zhongqi narrowed his eyes slightly.

This superpowered class monitor specifically studied this for them.

The Two Aspects Poison Gas are respectively Yin and Yang. In the Yin state, the poisonous gas appears grayish-black and has a strong killing and corrosive effect on enemies.

When in the sun-facing position, the poison gas appears pale white and greatly enhances one's strength and speed.

If one is in a state of both Yin and Yang, the Two Aspects Formation will be triggered, which is a domain-type superpower with extremely high attack power.

Xue Zhongqi took a deep breath, then quickly held it, pressed his lips together, and rushed toward Xiu Delu.

Prolonged inhalation or contact with this toxic gas can cause paralysis, so he must eliminate the opponent as quickly as possible.

Chapter 112

The hook gripped Xiu Delu's feet, Xue Zhongqi flew swiftly through the air, throwing out several Attack Inscription rapidly hurtled towards Xiu Delu.

A crisp "ding--" sound rang out.

Xiu Delu raised his hand to deflect the attacking air blades, and a cold light reflected off his arm.

It's a defensive armband magic item, perfectly countering the attacks from inscriptions.

Xue Zhongqi frowned slightly, immediately retracted the hook, and swiftly retreated.

At that moment, Xiu Delu charged straight at them.

A faint light flickered from his palm; it was a hidden weapon-type attack artifact. With a few "whoosh" sounds, sharp arrows swiftly shot towards Xue Zhongqi.

Xue Zhongqi immediately changed direction, attempting to avoid the arrow attack.

As a result, the arrows in the air actually followed him, making a turn and tracking him again.

Xue Zhongqi paused, momentarily stunned.

Does this arrow also have a tracking effect?

While he was still in a daze, the sharp arrowhead had already pierced through.

A flicker of panic crossed Xue Zhongqi's eyes. He quickly turned to the side, but the arrow was faster, grazing past his arm.

The arrow tore through Xue Zhongqi's clothes, grazing his arm, and fine beads of blood splattered.

As pain shot through him, Xue Zhongqi's brows furrowed instantly.

Xiu Delu's lips curled slightly. Without giving him a chance to think, he raised his hand again and activated the hidden weapon on his arm.

Three more arrows flew swiftly from the shadows.

Xue Zhongqi clutched his wounded arm and quickly retreated to dodge. But the homing arrow was impossible to dodge and soon struck his arm again.

This time the stab wound was deeper, and Xue Zhongqi's face turned paler.

Xu Jintang, sitting in the audience, pursed his lips slightly.

"No way, their hidden weapon is totally copied from the class monitor's, isn't it?" Song Tianqi complained speechlessly.

Yan Yuting's expression wasn't good either. "No wonder Qiu Zhuyu and the others hate the Dark Horse Team so much. Their methods are too cunning."

Under the relentless pursuit of Xiu Delu's hidden weapons, Xue Zhongqi had nowhere to dodge, and within just two minutes his body was covered in arrow wounds.

Fans of the Mask Squad in the stands around the perimeter started shouting anxiously, "Go Big Watermelon! Big Watermelon! Big Watermelon!"

But this time, the miracle did not happen.

Xue Zhongqi's only weapon against Xiu Delu was a level-two array pattern, but Xiu Delu didn't give him a chance to prepare his array pattern, attacking one move after another.

As Xue Zhongqi's wounds multiplied, the poisonous gas permeating the surrounding area began to seep into his body.

"Pfft—" Xue Zhongqi had been shot in the chest, spat out a mouthful of blood.

He immediately raised his hand, "I concede."

Upon hearing this, Xiu Delu, who had been giving chase, had no choice but to stop and halt on the other side.

Li Xiang's supernatural light struck at the same time, lifting Xue Zhongqi, who was almost unable to stand, off the stage.

Xu Jintang immediately stepped forward, supported him, and asked, "Are you alright?"

Xue Zhongqi shook his head, his face weak, and said, "This time... it's really not good."

Immediately afterwards, Yan Yuting, Song Tianqi, and the other two also gathered around.

Seeing Xue Zhongqi covered in wounds, no one knew how to comfort him.

Before long, the medical staff on site arrived and activated their healing abilities.

The healing white light shone on his wound, immediately stopping the continuous bleeding, and the wound began to heal slowly.

Xue Zhongqi's pale lips regained some color, but he was still a little weak.

"I'll take care of him, you all continue with the competition," the medic said gently with a smile to Xu Jintang and the others.

Xue Zhongqi leaned on the medic's shoulder and weakly waved his hand, "I'm fine, you can go back to your work."

Yan Yuting rolled her eyes speechlessly. "You're crazy."

Song Tianqi's lips twitched. "I give up."

Seeing that Xue Zhongqi was alright, Xu Jintang ignored him and turned to lead his team back to the team's waiting area.

"Never mind him, Song Tianqi, you're up for the second match."

These words immediately drew everyone's attention back to the game.

Song Tianqi's expression also turned serious.

In the previous round, Xue Zhongqi was completely dominated by his opponent, with no chance to fight back. Besides the opponent's superior mental strength, there was also that most disgusting hidden weapon, the sleeve dart.

Xu Jintang whispered a few words of advice in his ear.

Song Tianqi's previously serious expression gradually relaxed. "I understand."

[The Mask Squad's first loss was too crushing. How are they going to fight in the later matches?]

[But the hidden weapon used by Xiu Delu of the Dark Horse Team is exactly the same as the one used by the leader of the Mask Squad. Is this considered a knock-off?]

[I also watched the Dark Horse Team's last match. Their victory over Qiu Zhuyu was thanks to a specific counter-strategy.]