Arrogance Beyond Measure

Host: The map has been selected. Please go back and begin your preparations, choosing the BOSS and monsters for this match. The competition will begin in ten minutes.

If you haven't selected the BOSS and subordinates to deploy, the system will automatically select them for you.

Xiao Yu and Maximus nodded to each other and returned to their respective groups.

Since it's a plains map, mobility is crucial. However, considering the enemy is Centaur, even with good mobility, they can't outrun them. Only wind elementals can compete with those beasts in speed, but wind elementals are relatively weak in combat and can only be used as scouts. So, after thinking it over, Xiao Yu really wasn't sure what combination of troops to deploy this time.

But suddenly, he remembered what Ma Xiaoyun had told him before: this time, he not only had to win, but win beautifully. His goal was to take first place, so he had to show overwhelming strength. Besides, the opponents were a group of Centaur, while he was the mighty Elemental King. With such a huge difference in strength, was there any need to worry about it?

As Xiao Yu pondered, a bold idea suddenly popped into his mind, and his thoughts became clearer.

Open the array table and add 300 fire elementals (600 population), 100 fire demons (200 population), 10 hydras (100 population), and 50 wind elementals (100 population) to the king's array, totaling 1,000 population.

As for the bosses that will be deployed, they will naturally be Ragnaros and Leah Bloodmoon.

After adding these two names to the array, Leah Bloodmoon heard the system notification and hurriedly came over.

Leah Bloodmoon (High Elementalist): "By the way, your troop composition is a bit strange. Don't you need any tanks?"

Azathoth (Elemental King): "Meat shields are useless. Those Centaur are as fast as the wind. Rock golems and the like are meaningless; we can't even catch them. And the Water Elemental's Frost Nova can only be cast on close-range enemies. I don't think those Centaur will dare to engage us in melee combat. They will most likely adopt a mounted archery tactic, using their mobility and range advantage to kite us."

Leah Bloodmoon (High Elementalist): "Oh, how so?"

Azathoth (Elemental King): "First of all, in terms of strength, I am stronger than my enemy. They have no chance of winning in a head-on confrontation. If they try to attack us with a dense formation, I can teach them a lesson with a single AOE attack."

Secondly, the Heaven's Chosen Clan. The name Tianjiao mostly refers to the line in the ancient poem, "A generation of Tianjiao, Genghis Khan, only knew how to bend his bow and shoot eagles."

Since the opposing team uses "Tianjiao" (天骄) as their guild name, they are most likely following the Mongolia cavalry strategy of overwhelming numbers. Centaur are natural-born cavalry (literally, naturally born), so mounted archery tactics are undoubtedly the most suitable for them.

If you're playing a ranged attack strategy, what could be stronger than a combination of fire elemental and fire fairy?

Besides, I have another idea for this competition. I'll do this and that, do you understand?"

Leah Bloodmoon was taken aback. "Are you sure? Isn't this a bit too risky?"

Azathoth (Elemental King): "Hahaha, how can my power be shown without taking risks? Don't worry, the enemy is just a cannon fodder team, I don't even consider them a threat. This time, our only real enemy is Naiser; the rest, we can just crush them all."

Leah Bloodmoon nodded in agreement. "Anyway, you're the captain, so you call the shots."

Ten minutes passed quickly. With flashes of white light, all the selected units, including Xiao Yu himself, were teleported onto the game map.

All he saw was darkness, then suddenly it became bright. Xiao Yu looked around and saw that he was in a huge camp surrounded by a sturdy stone wall. At the four corners of the wall were four elemental towers, all of which were shining and active. The elemental towers had a durability of 1 million.

Directly in front of him was an open exit, and behind him, in the very center of the camp, was a miniature version of the Immortal Throne, about ten meters high and twenty meters in diameter.

The screen displays a large line of text. "Camp Core, Durability 500W, Current Durability 100%".

"It seems this is the defense system gifted by the system. How thoughtful! Now, it's time to take action," Xiao Yu thought to himself.

Xiao Yu had already anticipated what the opponent would do in this match. If he was right, they would most likely send people to search for the altar, the Furbolg village, and the statue of the god immediately.

Centaur have a significant advantage in these situations due to their mobility, but thankfully we also have fast-moving units.

Azathoth (Elemental King): "All wind elementals, heed my command, take to the skies and conduct a comprehensive reconnaissance of the entire map area. If you discover any trace of the enemy, do not engage them in battle. After reconnaissance, disperse your forces in the air to monitor the area. If you discover any large-scale enemy operations, report to me and Leah Bloodmoon."

Azathoth (Elemental King): "Ragnaros, you lead ten Hydras and one hundred Fire Elementals to guard this place."

Azathoth (Elemental King): "Leah Bloodmoon, as we agreed before, take 200 fire elementals and 100 fire demons and head straight to the temple ruins. The statues of the gods and the altars are there. Activate as many altars as possible to improve your personal strength. If you find any statues, that would be even better. Until I give you further orders, just stay there and guard the place—unless our base is attacked."

The order was given, and the troops immediately sprang into action. The slow-moving Hydras remained in the camp, while Leah Bloodmoon led the majority of the troops toward the temple ruins. Xiao Yu himself transformed into Chaos Dragon and flew toward the Centaur camp on the other side of the map.

Meanwhile, in the Centaur camp...

The bosses appearing this time are Maximus (Centaur Warlord), Maradona (Centaur High Priest), and Second Senior Brother (Boar Chieftain).

Maradona (Centaur High Priest): "Boss, our scouts have been sent out and should be back soon. What should we do next?"

Maximus (Centaur Warlord): "It's simple. To win this match, we must acquire map elements. After all, if we fight head-on, we'll undoubtedly lose. So, this time, Second Senior Brother will guard the camp, while the two of us will lead our Centaur to attack from all directions, collecting as many map elements as possible to build an advantage, especially that Sun God Statue. We must get our hands on it; the key to victory this time might lie in that statue. Once we have a sufficient advantage, we'll engage in a decisive battle with the enemy. I estimate they'll make the same choice, but we have a speed advantage, and we have many player squad leaders leading our teams. Our squad combat capabilities are stronger than theirs, so we have a significant advantage. Second Senior Brother, are you sure you can handle guarding the camp by yourself?"

Second Senior Brother (High Chieftain of the Boarmen): Don't worry, leave the camp to me. My boarmen warriors are incredibly powerful.

The three had made their plans, and the two Centaur bosses led their Centaur armies out of the camp. The sound of rolling hooves and shouts of men and neighing of horses gave it a real feel of a war movie. The two cavalry armies moved together, intending to separate at the crossroads ahead. However, before they had gone even a mile, a Centaur scout suddenly appeared from the front, who turned out to be a player from the Heaven's Chosen Guild.

Wait, weren't these Centaur scouts supposed to be out searching for the Sun God's altar and the Furbolg village? How come they've found something so quickly? The two men's questions were immediately answered.

Spur the Swift Horse (Centaur scout): "Chieftain, it's terrible! Azathoth has come knocking!"

Maradona (Centaur High Priest): "What? So fast? How is that possible?"

Maximus (Centaur Warlord): "How many troops did he bring, and what were their composition? Were they all wind elementals?"

(Spur the Swift Horse Centaur): "He didn't bring any troops, just him alone. He's transformed into a giant dragon and will be here soon."

Upon hearing this, the members of the Heaven's Chosen Guild —or rather, the entire guild—immediately erupted in uproar.

Maradona (Centaur High Priest): "Damn, this guy is too arrogant!? He dares to come all by himself. Could he be here to distract us so his men can collect map elements?"

Upon hearing this, Maximus hesitated. This was something that couldn't be guaranteed. Should we continue? Or should we ignore it? With four defensive towers, the Second Senior Brother, and three hundred Quilboar Warrior, we should be able to hold out, right?

A shadow suddenly swept overhead. Maximus looked up and saw a giant dragon made entirely of black energy flying swiftly towards the camp like a dark cloud.

After a long period of contemplation, Maradona's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty. Suddenly, a sinister smile crept across his lips. "Let's go back!"

"Boss, are you sure? How about one of us go back and the other goes to collect map elements? If we give away the wilderness, it'll be hard for us to win."

Maradona shook his head with a cold laugh. "No, we'll go back together. If we can take down that Azathoth, even giving up the map elements will be worth it."