Chapter 1706: Matter of Life and Death

Parrying against a long-ranged Gunner class character?

For normal players, this was unimaginable. Even if it happened, it was mostly due to luck rather than skill. But at the pro level, there were a decent number of players who could achieve it. Still, this happened only on occasion, and it was usually just parrying one or two shots.

Du Ming wanted to use a high-level skill to directly face the heavy artillery fire of a Launcher?

Astounded. Everyone was astounded. Today’s match was a rollercoaster everywhere you looked. And now, it was finally Du Ming’s turn to show his magic…

It was impossible to parry a Sharpshooter’s hurricane-like flurry of shots regardless of skill. You were limited by your attack speed.

However, a Launcher’s attacks wouldn’t be as dense as a Sharpshooter’s, thus making it possible for Du Ming to try this. However, even though Launchers were slower, every one of their attacks carried more power and AoE.

The explosions instantly enveloped Moon Luring Frost. But the explosions stopped there.

These explosions were meant to be centered around Soft Mist. But now, Moon Luring Frost became the center.

Moon Luring Frost’s health was dropping, but the explosions weren’t able to get past him.

The attacks were intercepted!

No matter how surprising this was, it was reality. In exchange for his health, Moon Luring Frost did not fall, or get sent flying. Du Ming was extremely precise at judging the trajectory of the incoming attacks.

Du Ming was sacrificing his health, but by doing so, he maintained the advantage that Samsara currently held. He was trading his health for One Inch Ash’s health. Compared to One Inch Ash, the health loss from parrying Dancing Rain’s attacks was far lower than the health loss from repeatedly getting stabbed in the back by Cruel Silence.

Readjust. Change the approach, or change the attacks?

Everyone who put themselves in Su Mucheng’s shoes asked themselves this question. Pan Lin and Li Yibo of the broadcast team were currently rambling away at a list of Launcher attacks that couldn’t be parried.

Like Laser Rifle, or Satellite Beam…

These two commentators were incomparably confident when talking hypotheticals. They spouted these skills like they had them written on the back of their hands.

But Su Mucheng did not make any adjustments. Dancing Rain continued to push forward, increasing her offense and keeping up the pressure on Du Ming’s Moon Luring Frost.

Du Ming can be unyielding, but she could also be unyielding!

Many people were speechless. Today, both teams seemed extremely stubborn. They were like a bickering couple!

It could be called stubbornness, but to say they were bickering was a bit shallow.

The pace of this match had already been set. It didn’t matter if it was Samsara, the team fighting for their third championship win, or Happy, the astonishing new team, both teams refused to give in. They even traded off their healers first, the roles typically viewed as the core of a team.

Both teams were fighting tooth and nail, fighting for the initiative. At times like these, success depended on the side that was more adamant in carrying out their plans.

Su Mucheng’s Dancing Rain forcefully attacked, while Du Ming’s Moon Luring Frost forcefully defended. Su Mucheng had the initiative while Du Ming had to be reactive.

But if she changed her tactics due to Du Ming’s defense, she would be the reactive one.

Being flexible isn’t a bad thing. Oftentimes, it’s necessary to adapt in a match. But this depended on the situation. Su Mucheng had no choice but to stick to her original plan, because Samsara was applying too much pressure. With the tempo that Samsara had established with their fierce counterattack, Su Mucheng had no space to be flexible; no time to be indecisive and try a new approach.

She must remain firm. She would remain firm.

Du Ming, you dare to get in my way? Then I’ll send you on your way to death!

How long could he keep up parrying? There was a reason people usually didn’t parry against Gunners. It was too risky and too difficult. Du Ming attempted it only because the situation called for it; if he was in a 1v1 against a Launcher, he definitely wouldn’t charge in headfirst, and try to slice apart the missiles coming his way.

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Seeing that Su Mucheng wasn’t letting up, those who were pondering Su Mucheng’s situation had now turned their heads to scrutinize Du Ming’s situation.

Du Ming was also in a difficult position.

He was being stubborn to try and scare Su Mucheng off by creating a troublesome situation for her. He wanted her to reassess and change her approach. However, Su Mucheng stood her ground and welcomed the troublesome situation. This put Du Ming on the spot: should he retreat or not?

Everyone was closely linked to each other. If he retreated, the cannonfire would reach Sun Xiang’s One Autumn Leaf, which would then allow Tang Rou’s Soft Mist an opportunity to break free. In turn, she would be able to attack Cruel Silence, allowing Qiao Yifan’s One Inch Ash an opportunity to escape.

The final ring of the chain was as such: a matter of life and death for One Inch Ash. And this chain currently involved every character on the battlefield. Thus, a question was posed to Du Ming, and his answer would cause a whole chain of events to unfold.

Retreat?

Du Ming eliminated this answer.

No one had chosen to retreat in this match. Even An Wenyi, that mediocre healer, dared to harass Zhou Zekai’s Cloud Piercer. Du Ming needed to let Happy know that Samsara also had this kind of determination and courage.

Stand strong!

Flames and smoke from the explosions continued to unfurl. Du Ming had cancelled the Formless Phantom Blade early because he didn’t want the long ending lag from the last strike. Even without the high-level skill, his sword still shone brightly. Every missile fired by Dancing Rain was sliced apart by Moon Luring Frost’s blade.

“Keep it up!!!”

Right now, shouts came from the Samsara fans. Right now, many had already forgotten why Du Ming needed to parry Dancing Rain’s attacks head-on; forgotten what the consequences of his actions were. They were only moved by his actions. Happy had shown this resolution, this stubborn persistence. Now, so would their Samsara!

Keep it up! Just keep it up.

In this moment, even Du Ming had forgotten why he had to do this. He had no time to think about anything else, as he felt the pressure increase under the continuous attacks and growing list of exhausted skills.

Boom!

This sound was heard countless times, and everyone was becoming desensitized to it. But this time, everyone’s hearts jumped. Because this time, Moon Luring Frost was sent flying.

Sure enough, he wasn’t able to keep it up?

Even though they know Du Ming had already performed sufficiently, that he did all he could, that what he had achieved was nothing short of incredible. But this result would inevitably still sadden some.

Couldn’t keep it up?

No!

Not yet.

Moon Luring Frost was blasted away, but sword light flashed out once again.

Sword Draw!

Sword light slashed out and two more explosions were heard. Even though his character was flying away, he still managed to block the following attacks. When he landed, he quickly rolled and used Triple Slash.

Moon Luring Frost’s body was still bent when he shot out.

Boom boom boom, another three explosions. Moon Luring Frost once again dove headfirst into the artillery fire. Once again, he parried Dancing Rain’s attacks.

Applause. Unending applause. Samsara’s fans wanted another way to express their emotions right now, but they could think of any. They could only yell themselves hoarse, clap their hands raw.

No one paid attention to how much health Du Ming sacrificed to keep up this defense. All they knew was that Du Ming had given a very satisfying answer to the conundrum that he had been faced with. He was doing the impossible, and his teammates had to live up to their own expectations too. Sun Xiang’s One Autumn Leaf had a vice grip on Tang Rou’s Soft Mist; Jiang Botao’s Empty Waves also held Steam Bun Invasion back. Ye Xiu was aware of what was happening, but any character being pursued by Cloud Piercer would have a very hard time attempting to do anything else at all.

At the core of the problem, Qiao Yifan had already used everything at his disposal, including the tactics that he learned when he trained as an Assassin player. Everything he tried was of no use. He was facing a real Assassin, one who was more proficient than him. With the rest of Samsara creating the necessary space for him, and with how close he was to his target, he would lose his job if he let One Inch Ash get away.

And Wu Qi did not let him get away. Cruel Silence’s attacks chained together seamlessly, cutting away One Inch Ash’s life.