During the draw, each team was sizing each other up, with the most frequent glances directed at the Huaxia team, a mixture of apprehension and respect.
Most people didn't want to be grouped with the Huaxia team; it was a tough nut to crack.
The grouping was completely random, and the draw results were quickly announced. Dynasty was assigned to Group A, while Temple and Long Sky were both assigned to Group C, and all teams were randomly distributed.
Group A is the most normal, with a good ratio of strong to weak teams. Huaxia's Dynasty and the American Devil are the two strongest teams, and their chances of advancing are not small. Group B mostly consists of many lesser-known teams, making it the safest environment with a lot of weak teams, but there is still a chance of a dark horse. Group C is the worst situation, with a whole bunch of strong teams, such as Kimchi, Tulip, Rose Knight, TS, and Swedish Battle Axe, etc. Almost 60% to 70% of the strong teams have been placed in Group C.
In addition to the host, there are also specially invited commentators, all of whom are professional commentators or former retired players, who talk eloquently and analyze for the audience.
"Qualifying depends on total points, and the group draw has a significant impact on the outcome. If the group is full of strong teams, it will be difficult to gain points, and teams with the potential to qualify might actually fail. Conversely, if the group has many weaker teams, even slightly weaker teams can qualify! In this situation, the competition for qualification will be extremely fierce. No one will dare to hold back; even in a battle they are certain to lose, they will try to inflict as many losses as possible on their opponents and minimize their points. Therefore, the matches in Group C are sure to be extremely exciting!"
"Group C is the group of death! So many strong teams. If they were in one of the other two groups, they would have been guaranteed to advance. But now, nobody can predict the outcome, and every team could be eliminated. This makes the competition very interesting. I look forward to their exciting performances."
The result was decided. The teams in Group C had solemn expressions and their eyes were filled with fighting spirit. Li Ge and Hao Tian exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with inscrutable expressions.
"Heh, looks like you were right. We've been grouped together, and we're going to have an internal war." Hao Tian said expressionlessly.
Li Ge frowned but didn't say anything. The group draw was unfavorable for him, but that was something he couldn't change. With so many strong teams, advancing would be difficult.
Today is the opening ceremony. After the draw, all participating teams immediately began studying the information of their group opponents.
Four hours later, the forum's official announcement compiled the schedule. The international tournament has a low match density. In the game, each day consists of two team matches and one individual match for each group. This means that the international group stage will last for about 39 days, and each team will play against all 12 teams in its group once.
The competition officially kicked off on the second day, broadcast live across all channels and available in print media. Countless people witnessed the strength of the champions, runners-up, and third-place winners from each region, making it a true battleground of diverse talents.
Each team has its own unique tactics and gameplay, which are eye-opening and exciting to watch. The general situation of each group has been established. North American Devil is dominating Group A, performing impeccably in both team and arena matches, but they have not yet faced Dynasty in the same group. Group B consists of weaker teams with less fame, but they have all gone through a brutal elimination process to qualify for the international league. Overall, the strength gap is small, and the teams are evenly matched. The most outstanding team is the Australia Kangaroo Boxing Team. Group C has the highest viewership, with strong teams competing fiercely and making it the most exciting.
Huaxia's first match was on the third day, with Huaxia Dynasty facing off against Polish Wings. Huaxia players eagerly awaited their team's international debut.
Other teams also watched the game, seeing it as a great opportunity to observe the strength of the Huaxia teams. Although they were in different groups, most teams felt that they were very likely to encounter Huaxia teams in the final rounds and could not afford to be careless.
The highly anticipated third day of the competition arrived, and the match between the Dynasty and Wings began.
The night was pitch black, and no moon hung in the sky.
A desolate and ancient ruin, with collapsed houses and broken stone pillars, seems to tell the story of a once bustling city. Countless cold blue orbs of light wander aimlessly through the ruins, like lingering night watchmen, bringing light and dispelling the darkness.
This is an actual scene from a beginner planet, which has been replicated as a competition map. Team matches are all conducted in a dungeon-like replicated scene, with terrain randomly copied from various beginner planets.
The audience has God perspective, able to see everything the two teams do.
The Dynasty Team landed in a corner of the ruins. Each member was wearing Sunil Non-Commissioned Officer-Grade Armor and carrying different mechanical weapons, exuding a strong sense of technology. They turned their heads to observe the surrounding situation.
"Hmm, the ruined terrain has many obstacles, limiting ranged attacks. And since it's nighttime, it's ideal for melee combat and assassination. The Wings Team's class composition is a combination of defensive psychics, ranged mages, and battle mages, offering strong damage output, but their backline is relatively vulnerable. If a fight breaks out, we need to quickly eliminate their backline. The enemy likely... no, definitely has fast movement skills. Our agile players shouldn't follow the main force; they should act alone, lurking near the battlefield, waiting for an opportunity. The enemy's damage dealers fall into two categories: either they're heavily protected, or they're also acting alone, searching for a good opportunity to deal damage. Given the large number of enemy damage dealers, both scenarios might exist simultaneously."
"The only light source here is these erratic orbs of light. Entering a light zone exposes you to the enemy. Areas of light represent danger; lurking in the darkness is the safest option. Therefore, the battle can only erupt in the dark. It all comes down to who can spot the other first. They have mages who can cast [Cat's Eye Spell] and [Life Sense Spell] spells, while our strengths lie in the mechs' night vision, infrared thermal vision, and radar capabilities. In terms of detection, we have a slight edge..."
The Kings and Generals spoke calmly and with rich experience, quickly analyzing the situation and devising countermeasures. Team competitions are not just about head-on clashes; they test abilities in all aspects, including cooperation, reconnaissance, and tactics.
The opponent information comes from the regional competitions. Now that so much time has passed, although the professions will not change, the tactics of each team will definitely have new changes. The reason why Huaxia is so fearsome is that they have broken out of the barriers of the newbie planet. There are too many opportunities in StarCraft. It is impossible to guess their tactical style and equipment. The unknown is the biggest enemy!
The Dynasty's class composition consists only of martial arts and supernatural abilities, but they wear high-quality mechanical equipment, which means that each member has some Mechanic Class ranged attack capabilities. Even without Mechanical Affinity amplification, their power is considerable, giving them an absolute advantage in raw strength. Under these circumstances, the Dynasty took the initiative to attack and search for the enemy.
In the live broadcast, the Wings Team used various stealth spells to sneak away from the enemy, clearly indicating that they did not want to confront the Dynasty head-on and were very wary of it.
In the past, the side that avoided battle was often the Huaxia team, which was both stable and timid. Now the roles have been reversed. They take the initiative and attack. Through God's perspective, the Dynasty is seen chasing its prey like a hunter, taking the initiative, while the opponent is running away everywhere. Such a powerful scene makes the Huaxia audience feel very comfortable. They can feel the strong confidence of the Dynasty even through the video!
The confidence of the Dynasty comes from Han Xiao. Following Han Xiao in the interstellar world, their equipment and skills are among the best of all teams, making them extremely strong. This is the advantage that Black Phantom brings them.
There's no point in professional players on other beginner planets being envious or jealous; they can't find anyone as flashy as Master Han on their planets.
"In the past, it was always the Huaxia teams that were getting chased and beaten, but now it's the other way around. Not bad, not bad at all. They're all promising young men." Han Xiao smiled, quite pleased.
The Wings Team acted cautiously, employing [Chameleon Spell] and other tracking spells. However, the map was only so big, and they couldn't run far. Sooner or later, a fight would break out. The Kings and Generals commanded their team members to fire shots into the air to break the stalemate and let the enemy know the direction of the gunfire. This would disrupt the uncertain situation and limit the possibilities. Either the enemy would approach, or they would flee in the opposite direction, or the enemy would flank and surround them, gaining a numerical advantage. The Dynasty was not afraid of the enemy knowing their location.
The outbreak of the direct battle stemmed from an unexpected event. As the Kings and Generals predicted, an enemy battle mage was acting alone around the group. Tai Erzi was also acting alone on the Dynasty side, keenly spotted the lone enemy.
Although Tai Erzi is usually unreliable, he is very decisive and ruthless during matches, launching sudden attacks.
Tai Erzi is a martial artist who follows an agile path, or you could say an assassin. He uses Reconnaissance -type officer mech with a streamlined and lightweight body. His wrist blades are like deadly fangs, and he strikes like a cheetah with Thunder. His assassin combos are executed with perfect timing, not only flowing smoothly but also as fast as lightning. There are almost no gaps between his combos and positional shifts, making his skills excellent even at a professional level.
The battle mage was caught off guard and was instantly and severely injured by Tai Erzi's chaotic and violent attacks. He did not survive until the main force came to his aid before he turned into a white light and died.
Solo kill!
Tai Erzi retreated into the darkness once more, vanishing without a trace, leaving only bloodstains on the ground, his merits and fame hidden deep within.
The way of the assassin is to strike once and retreat a thousand miles.
"Holy crap, that knife skill is awesome!"
"Although the Second Prince has some mental issues, his strength is still formidable."
The audience perked up and became excited.
This sudden solo kill opened up the situation. The Wings Team lost a teammate, which made matters worse. They were caught up by the main force of the Dynasty and were completely crushed in a team fight, with no way to turn the tide.
The Dynasty delivered a crushing victory with zero casualties, shining brightly and thrilling the audience!
He continued to perform steadily in the subsequent arena matches, defeating his opponents. This one-on-one expert, Kings and Generals, knocked down two people and crippled another, displaying extreme ferocity.
The first match was a perfect start; compared to the Devil in the same group, their performance was in no way inferior.
A resounding victory Inspiration morale of the audience and also increased the wariness of other teams.
The Dynasty's mechs made their debut in the competition. This equipment provides players with comprehensive enhancements. If they were to go head-to-head with the Dynasty, no other team would dare to claim a win rate of over 50%.
"It seems that we need targeted methods to deal with the Huaxia team." Many team captains had the same thought.
Tai Erzi made a great contribution this time, and during the post-match interview, he couldn't hide his excitement at all—he didn't even try to hide it, and reverted to his old ways, wildly boasting about how important his role was, saying that a key player like him should be the captain, and that the current captain was too weak, etc. Kings and Generals were already used to this, so they simply pretended not to hear it.
The competition was intense, with a round completed in four days, meaning that every team had played and made their debut.
Like the Dynasty, Hao Tian's Long Sky Team has a style completely opposite to that of the previous life. They were indirectly changed by Han Xiao, becoming unrestrained and extremely fierce. Unfortunately, they encountered a strong team in Group C. Although they won in the end, it was a Pyrrhic victory, and they did not score as many points as the Dynasty.
Li Ge's Temple Team is exactly the same as in the previous life. Even though they have the advantage in raw strength, they play steadily and only seek to avoid mistakes. Their debut match was a game where they had to hold their pee, which drew a lot of criticism - they are clearly so good at fighting but they are as cowardly as dogs. Can't they be a little more passionate!
However, Han Xiao had little hope for the Temple in the first place. The Temple always sought to avoid mistakes rather than achieve merits. To get them to take a radical stance would be like asking a sow to fly to the sky.
Fortunately, with the presence of both the Dynasty and the Long Sky, the Temple's actions didn't draw much criticism. After all, the concept of one team having a good bladder is different from three teams having good bladders.