In the match channel, both Jiangcheng Team and Battle Axe Team entered a team battle scene on a plant planet.
The trees towered into the clouds, blocking out the sun. Only a few rays of sunlight slanted down through the dense canopy, the light being cut by the swaying branches, leaving lively patches of light on the ground.
The two teams appeared in different locations in the forest. Viewers on the competition channel could switch between the perspectives of different teams and players. The barrage of comments was dense, with most of them cheering for Jiangcheng.
"Go Jiangcheng! Take down the Battle Axe!"
"First place versus eighth place? That's a piece of cake."
"Go, Miss Maple Moon!"
The finals are best-of-five, with each round consisting of five matches in five different formats. The first matches are team battles, followed by arena battles, capture the flag battles, dungeon competitions, and Dungeon Generation. Different victory points are awarded based on the battle results, and the winner of a round is determined by the number of victory points.
As the one-minute countdown slowly reached its end, the first match of the first round of the finals officially began. The two teams on the screen immediately sprang into action. On Jiangcheng's side, Maple Moon threw out a compressed ball, which transformed into a half-person-high spire-shaped base station to conceal their tracks and mislead detection, thus masking the team's presence. Below the base station was the gleaming Black Star Army logo—Legion Product, Superior Performance, Guaranteed Quality.
On the other side, the Battle Axe also concealed their presence, but they used magical artifacts instead. The leader of the Battle Axe team, "Captain Viking," took out a black scroll from his magic pouch at his waist. The scroll was covered with dazzling golden magical runes. He tore it open with both hands, and a white gas containing a high concentration of magic flowed out, enveloping the entire Battle Axe team. Everyone's bodies became semi-transparent.
"Oh, is this Supreme Magic Scroll?" Han Xiao was also watching the forum battle and raised an eyebrow when he saw the special runes on the scroll.
This magic scroll is made of a very rare material, capable of carrying even stronger spells. It needs to be handcrafted. Han Xiao had seen Lagi make one before, and the inscription on it was at least a master-level spell. It was very expensive. Using Battle Axe to inscribe a concealment spell was obviously very extravagant.
"In the final rounds, all the teams have revealed their full strength," Han Xiao said with interest.
Once you reach the international finals, all teams will go all out, revealing their full strength and trump cards. This situation will introduce many variables, causing significant fluctuations in team strength, making it difficult to predict an opponent's strength based on past records.
Team battles have always been the dominant form of combat. Different tactics are developed based on different scenarios. In a large forest like this, jungle warfare is obviously necessary. The key is to conceal oneself and spot the enemy, and to outwit and outmaneuver them.
After concealing their movements, both teams began searching for their opponents. Jiangcheng relied on multi-dimensional detection radar, while Battle Axe used runic magic, adding spells such as "Insight," "Heavenly Eye," and "Aura Detection"—due to cultural reasons, the Swedish Battle Axe preferred magical methods.
Both sides moved stealthily, the atmosphere tense and oppressive. Under these circumstances, the commentators from the Huaxia Sports Channel began to explain the game and liven up the atmosphere.
"Alright, both teams have entered the arena. We can see that the battlefield minimap is divided into sixteen areas. The top left corner is A1, the bottom right corner is D4, and they are arranged horizontally by letters with different numbers. Jiangcheng Team is currently in A3, at the top of the map, while Battle Axe is in C1, in the bottom left. Now let's see what kind of movement they will take... Oh! Sure enough, both sides have used high-altitude maneuvers simultaneously!"
One of the Battle Axe fighters, a bird-human race, spread his Wings, broke through the tree canopy, and flew through the air, overlooking the battlefield. On the other side, Maple Moon threw several compressed balls into the sky, which transformed into floating soldiers, patrolling the high altitude at an even faster speed.
For today's players, flying is quite simple, but in this scenario, the advantage of flying isn't significant due to the obstruction of trees.
With the Compression Ball Technology, mechanical equipment is more portable. The capacity and speed of mechanical equipment carried by Mechanic Class have been greatly improved, bringing about revolutionary changes. In the previous version, Maple Moon could not carry dozens of mechanical types with her, or complete the board with a flick of her wrist.
In the scene, the two sides' air units quickly spotted each other, and the Battle Axe fighters easily destroyed the floating soldiers that were not equipped with Mechanical Force.
The commentator perked up, "Oh! A brief battle has broken out between the scouts of both sides. Let's see what they do next... It seems Battle Axe has adopted a rapid advance strategy, with the entire team rushing towards the scouts' location. Meanwhile, Jiangcheng... well, Jiangcheng seems to have pinpointed the opponent's location and is circling around! Maple Moon has laid down a large number of mines and mechanical traps along the way; she's trying to turn the entire battlefield into her own territory! As long as the Mechanic Class has time, they can continuously expand their advantage. Now Battle Axe is on the defensive..."
Jiangcheng Team's playstyle has always leaned towards the Mechanic Class. Captain Frenzied Saber himself is a mechanical warrior. After Maple Moon joined, their tactical choices have become increasingly inclined towards sneaky tactics... What's most terrifying is that they are not only good at sneaking around, but also more skilled at gunfights than you.
The Battle Axe team quickly suffered heavy losses, encountering the landmines set up by Maple Moon, and were blown to bits.
Amidst a series of deafening explosions, the lush forest was transformed into a sea of fire—putting everything else aside, when it comes to environmental destruction, the Mechanic Class is undoubtedly number one!
The opponent fell into the trap. Jiangcheng stopped hiding, changed his route, and launched a direct attack. The Battle Axe were all equipped with magic-powered armor, but compared with the Legion's products, these high-quality magic-powered armors were completely inferior.
Frenzied Saber charged left and right, wielding various mechanical melee weapons with dazzling skill. The other team members cooperated seamlessly, and after losing two members, they successfully annihilated Battle Axe, securing victory in the team battle.
On the match channel, Huaxia viewers were in high spirits.
"Haha, I knew it! Jiangcheng would definitely crush Battle Axe. They didn't just sit in first place in the regular season standings for nothing."
"Those who played with the Battle Axe now understand what it feels like to be completely overwhelmed in this version."
"With Miss Maple Moon joining the team, Jiangcheng is truly much stronger."
"This girl is so talented and has such a gentle personality, I'm a fan! When will she release a photobook?"
"Aunt Jiang Yuluo is already an old woman, how can she compare to Miss Maple Moon, who is young and beautiful? Sorry, I'm going to fall for someone else. It's not that you're not good enough, it's just that my standards are a bit too high."
"He's forgotten his wife who stood by him through thick and thin, now he's got a new lover. What a scumbag!"
Amidst the commotion, the two teams finished their rest and began their arena battle. The Battle Axe sent out an ordinary player to scout ahead, while Jiangcheng's selection of players invigorated the audience, with their captain, Mad Frenzied Saber, being the first to fight.
Now that Jiangcheng has won the team battle, the captain is going to fight first in the ring, clearly intending to completely overwhelm the opponent in terms of momentum and not give an inch. The audience can feel Jiangcheng's confidence and domineering presence from this ranking.
The commentator's tone was enthusiastic, his lips were pursed, and his speech was as fast as a machine gun.
"In the first match of the arena, Jiangcheng's captain, Frenzied Saber, requested to fight. Although he regretted not making it into the top 16 in the individual finals, he was ranked 18th in the international regular season. With a bit more luck, he might have made it to the finals. Now let's see how the match goes... Oh, as expected! Kuangdao decisively defeated his opponent. The Frenzied Saber Warrior class combines the advantages of Mechanic Class and Pugilist Class, giving it a significant advantage in this version where Mechanic Class are strong."
In the scene, Frenzied Saber adopted a tough fighting style, neither dodging nor avoiding, but directly attacking, throwing out compressed balls that turned into different mechanical traps, shooting out electric currents, and controlling the opponent's movement - in terms of control, mechanical warriors are much stronger than pure Pugilist Class.
After easily closing in on his opponent, Frenzied Saber unleashed a barrage of attacks, a style quite different from the melee combat of martial artists. He switched between mechanical weapons in a dazzling display, including swords, hammers, axes, spears, whips, locks, and cannons, using different weapons to connect moves. This highly complex combo was fluid and extremely flashy, depleting his opponent's health bar in less than a minute.
He's truly strong, and truly handsome. Although his profession is no longer that of a martial artist from his previous life, Frenzied Saber has clearly experienced a second spring in his life.
Battle Axe couldn't sit still any longer, Captain Viking immediately stepped forward to face Frenzied Saber, captain against captain.
The Captain Viking is a martial artist who has shed his heavy armor, activating a Berserk triggered in his unarmored state. His exposed skin is covered in blue rune enchantments that provide protection and regeneration. He dual-wields epic-enchanted Battle Axe of orange quality.
"Roar! Blood and Glory!" The Captain Viking clashed his two axes together, roaring at the Frenzied Saber.
Frenzied Saber stood opposite him, hands on his hips, looking utterly speechless.
"As expected of a martial artist, their resistance to embarrassment is truly high..."
So deeply immersed in their roles, these foreign friends clearly have a special fondness for role-playing.
Just then, a muscular phantom suddenly appeared behind Captain Viking, disappearing in a flash. Immediately afterwards, Captain Viking's muscles bulged like inflating balloons, and the martial arts aura attached to his body, which was originally burning, now seemed to have turned into napalm, exploding and shooting out.
With a thunderous boom, the aura surged!
His status bar displayed a new buff – the Captain Viking had used a Character Summon Card!
The commentator's expression changed drastically. "The Glory Clan's Berserk +50% melee attack power, +30% physical resistance, +400 strength, +200 agility, +20% maximum health, +40% movement speed, and an additional 300 frost damage per attack, lasting for five minutes! This character card is incredibly powerful!"
Upon seeing this, the live chat exploded with comments.
"They've used character cards; this game is in trouble."
"Let's see if Frenzied Saber has any powerful character cards. If not, this match might be over."
Character Summon Card are rare, and the more powerful the character card, the harder it is to obtain. Professional players treat them as trump cards. Now that it's the finals, no one will hold back anymore. At this moment, the Captain Viking played a trump card.
It's normal for overpowered items like the [Black Star Army Badge - Evolution] to be banned since only one region has them. Character cards are different; any player has a chance to obtain them, with only differences in their effects. Therefore, they aren't on the ban list, although they are subject to restrictions.
Because each round consists of five different types of battles, the rules state that character cards used each time cannot be carried over to the next battle. In other words, even if the Captain Viking dominates the arena, the effect of the character card has not yet ended, and he must be refreshed by dying. The character card's buffs cannot be carried over to the next capture the flag match.
Professional players' character cards are even rarer, and showcasing them to the audience during league matches is itself a highlight prepared by the organizers to make the matches more exciting and attract attention. This rule provides excitement while reducing the impact of character cards on the overall competition.
After all, each round is best of five, with at least fifteen matches. Character cards are bound and cannot be traded, so being able to produce fifteen awesome character cards is a skill in itself. Besides, others also have character cards, and who knows whose treasures are even bigger.
Seeing the change in his opponent, Frenzied Saber's eyes hardened, and he activated a character card as well.
A shadowy figure of a handsome man in black appeared behind him, towering as if reaching the heavens. The audience recognized the figure at a glance and instantly became excited.
"Whoa, Black Star!"
"Here it comes! I knew it! How could Frenzied Saber not have a character card!"
"I remember that the Mad Frenzied Saber also used Black Star's character card in the last tournament?"
"Now that Black Star is Beyond Grade A, how can its effects be the same?"
Many legion players became excited. Han Xiao Han Xiao's stats had always been marked with question marks, and they could only get a glimpse of his strength through dungeon battles and character cards. Now, their curiosity was immediately piqued.
A new buff appeared on Frenzied Saber's status bar, and all the spectators looked over.
[Character Summon Card - Black Star: [Undying Body] -- When you are attacked, you are immune to and absorb 25% of the damage. 60% of the remaining damage is converted into stamina. At the same time, you can convert stamina into health at a ratio of 1:9, with a maximum health recovery of 35% per second. The effect lasts for 10 minutes.]
Upon seeing the character card's effect, the live chat was silent for a moment, then suddenly exploded with comments.
"Holy crap, what kind of insane ability is this?!"
"No wonder Black Star has that nickname in the universe... Who the hell can handle this?!"
Countless Legion players were dumbfounded.
While Captain Viking's character card was powerful, it was still acceptable. However, Black Star's character card effect far exceeded their comprehension, leaving everyone watching in awe!
--Is this the Beyond Grade A?! Just one ability alone is terrifying!
High damage output, many minions, and incredibly tanky...
With Black Star possessing such capabilities, let alone now, they probably won't be able to overwhelm such a terrifying BOSS in the future!
"Huh, how come he has my character card?" Han Xiao was taken aback; he didn't remember issuing such a task.
On second thought, Han Xiao understood. It was most likely that Kuang Frenzied Saber had obtained Blank Character Card and eagerly replicated his abilities, merging the two specialties into his nickname—[The Undying Body].
"Well, I haven't even used my skill much myself since it was upgraded, but you've got to enjoy it."
Han Xiao shook his head and chuckled.