Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Reversal
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The official explanation was straightforward, asserting with certainty that all the data related to Prairie Fire was normal, including the methods used to deal with the boss — there were no bugs involved.
Furthermore, it was stated that due to Xiayao Studio intentionally creating public opinion, attempting to incite collective anger to pressure the company, the company made a decision to ban forum IDs that once slandered Prairie Fire and stirred up many game players. They could only be unblocked after ten years.
If these were insignificant, the punishment that followed was unprecedentedly severe.
The company stated that due to the seriousness of this incident, it guided three hundred million naive players to blackmail the game officials into deleting Prairie Fire’s account.
The persons primarily responsible, including those from Xiayao Studio who participated in the provocation, as well as many agitators who fueled emotions, would be given a penalty of being banned from competition for three years.
During these three years, these players would not be allowed to participate in any competitions or activities organized by the officials. They would not be invited and would be added to the blacklist for three years.
The bans affected one hundred and twenty-six players in total, over thirty of whom were from Xiayao Studio. When the news reached Xiayao Studio, the entire studio fell silent.
Three years, being barred from participating in official activities and competitions in the first three years of the game was equivalent to stifling their gaming life, as if they started three years late compared to others.
The entire Second Team was wiped out, filled with gloom and despair. Many already regretted their actions, noticing Li Yao’s skills and the fact that they had indeed blackened Prairie Fire on the official website.
If other games banned competitions, they could simply switch games, but at this moment, they had no such choice.
“Boss, I was wrong,” the third member of Xiayao was pale as a sheet.
The leading big brother had a sullen look on his face and said coldly, “I told you not to slander Prairie Fire on the official website. Why didn’t you listen? Also, why did you privately contact Xiayao? Now that you guys are banned from competition, how are you going to compete against him?”
“I will figure something out and won’t hold the studio back,” the third member of Xiayao suddenly jumped up, furious.
“Sit down,” the leading big brother looked coldly at the third member of Xiayao and said, “It seems that you are not suitable to lead the second team anymore. Let’s disband for today. I will deal with this matter. You guys should go back and think about who should be the captain of the second team. Let’s vote tomorrow.”
The members of Xiayao studio looked at each other and then left with their heads down. This blow was too heavy. Although they were a studio, their income was largely derived from competitions. Moreover, without fame from participating in competitions, no one would hire their services.
The biggest blow was to the reputation of Xiayao Studio, which turned completely disgraceful overnight.
Warned sternly by the officials, the ordinary players had nowhere to vent their anger, and all turned against Xiayao Studio, treating them like despised rats crossing the street.
In a short span of time, the storm brewing against Prairie Fire turned towards
Xiayao Studio.
Beneath the official post, the analysis of the two commentators further fueled this trend, setting off an explosion.
Xiao Ze: Let me explain the first phase of Prairie Fire’s boss fight. Firstly, Prairie Fire’s repair of the bed crossbow is not a bug, but a feature of engineering. Officials also stated that there are many methods to kill a field boss and it requires players to think outside the box.
Take the Puppet for example, Prairie Fire repaired the bed crossbow using engineering and according to the game mechanics, used the Steel Arrow to jam the Puppet’s joints, preventing it from using its arm skills.
Don’t assume that Prairie Fire’s consecutive successful hits make this task simple. As we saw from the video of Super Power’s Guild, hitting a monster’s leg required more than ten attempts, let alone hitting a Puppet’s joints, which were much smaller targets.
A kind reminder to everyone, it’s best not to try this method when the boss respawns. Otherwise, trying to hit the joint might take you dozens of attempts, and the delay will cost a player’s life, a waste of effort.
As for the damage of Prairie Fire, along with his Arrow Tower and the special Poisonous Snake Trap, these are all things only Prairie Fire knows. But all data is completely normal. The officials guarantee that Prairie Fire is not unusually strong. In the future, each of you will definitely be far stronger than this. Please keep a clear mind and don’t let others manipulate you.
In the end, although I’ve held back for a long time, I couldn’t resist saying it, Leading Big Brother, you went too far this time.
Just a few hundred words let countless players understand what happened.
So they started to watch the second phase, the one they found most puzzling. The explanation for the second segment was given by China’s top male commentator, KB.
KB: I saw this video as soon as it was uploaded, then, I couldn’t help but go back and rewatch it more than ten times. At that time, my only thought was admiration, yes, genuine admiration.
I saw that Prairie Fire brought us a new way of playing, and without hesitation, allowed the video to circulate. Yes, what I admire is Prairie Fire’s character and magnanimity.
You may not realize that this new way of playing can save us so much time, and even make it possible for us to challenge the boss. You saw that video, in the end, the great god said, “Do whatever you want,” which means he really doesn’t care.
He invented the technology, and without hesitation, he shared it with us. We are the beneficiaries, and I had intended to comment again on this revolutionary technology in the video. However, when I looked in the forums, all I saw was one-sided accusations.
Perhaps you think I’m overstating things, but I assure you, I’m not. I even asked for confirmation from the official channels. They replied, admitting that they had received the details of this technique from the gaming god, Prairie Fire, and they had passed the information on to me.
This game-changing skill is known as a countermove, and generally speaking, it only works when fighting a boss opponent one-on-one.
To break it down, a countermove happens when you strike at the boss’s power node during the casting of their abilities or attacks — this interrupts their abilities or attacks.
Moreover, it puts the boss into a temporary paralysis for 2-5 seconds, during which time the first attack will cause high damage and guaranteed critical hit.
The genius of Prairie Fire has showcased to us the nuances of executing counter moves and knockdown attacks, providing a unique approach to fighting bosses in the wild.
He’s turned conventional tactics on their head and shared it openly through his videos.
But look at what the Xiayao Studio has done. They tried to steal Prairie Fire’s boss, failed, and then turned around to bite the hand that feeds. At this point, if anyone is still being manipulated by Xiayao Studio, I have nothing more to say.
I cannot stand by idly in the face of wrongdoing. I will not hesitate to call out the toxic behavior of the Xiayao Studio that’s ruining the esports atmosphere.
In close collaboration with Oz, I will release a narrated video detailing every moment of Prairie Fire’s boss battle. I will explain every move in detail, and we aim to release it in two days time. You must judge for yourself what’s right.
This has truly been a rollercoaster. The public opinion just flipped. The comments below have gone crazy.
Floor 59, Healthy Walker: As member of one of the top ten studios and allied with Xiayao Studio, I feel deeply ashamed. If you really didn’t understand or appreciate Prairie Fire’s technique, then you don’t deserve to be ranked among the top ten. If you did understand, then you’re knowingly twisting the truth. I was friendly with their leader, but I now openly declare that all ties are severed.
Floor 1254, Dislike Floral Pants: As a professional player, I greatly admire Prairie Fire’s technique.
Floor 5687, Lone Unrestrained: As a solo player, I can’t thank Prairie Fire enough. The technique you created gave me hope for soloing bosses. Thank you, Prairie Fire.
Floor 12547, Scared Little Bunny: As a newbie, I didn’t understand the techniques when I first started the game, but I loved it. I hope to be able to solo bosses one day. I was misled by Xiayao Studio, criticized Prairie Fire, even reported him. Now, I’m filled with regret, I hope Prairie Fire would forgive me. I just want to say, I’m sorry. Lastly, I despise Xiayao Studio.
Floor 35847, Brother’s Rich: I too was misguided. I’ve been a long-time client of the Xiayao Studio. I now publicly declare that I would rather throw my money into the sewage than conduct business with Xiayao Studio. Using our trust to discredit others is dishonest, and they are unworthy.
When Li Yao finished reading the screenshots that Dondon had sent him, he smiled slightly and said: “It looks like Xiayao Studio is in for a tough time.”
“Not just a tough time — they’ve absolutely been served their just desserts,”
Dondon excitedly said. “Big brother, you’re brilliant! How about you teach me your strategies too? I want to fight bosses as well.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take you to fight a boss tomorrow,” Li Yao laughed.
“Really? That’s wonderful,” Dondon happily ended their private voice chat.
Li Yao then made a call to the “Shapeshifting Witch” and said: “Get in touch with Xiayao Studio again and let them know that I accept the bet. However, there’s a twist — if they win, I’ll have the journalist delete all the footage about them.”
The Shapeshifting Witch asked in confusion: “You’re obviously holding the advantage here. Why would you bet with them again?”
Li Yao shook his head and replied: “Naturally, I want to maximize my benefits. Right now, Xiayao Studio must want to have the footage of them stealing the boss deleted. If not, their images will just keep on worsening. It’d be a pity not to milk this opportunity some more.”
“I understand, I’ll speak with their leader,” the Shapeshifting Witch said with a complex expression, then hung up the call. The act of kicking a man when he’s down wasn’t Li Yao’s usual style.
“It looks like you’ve really changed,” she whispered to herself.
After ending the communication, Li Yao took some time to find the friend request from Captain America. After a brief chat expressing gratitude, he ended the call. He hadn’t asked for this back-up.
Being able to kill a boss in such a short time was truly impressive. The
American team had never fallen out of the top three in the ten years of competition, winning the championship three times. Their strength is evident.
Li Yao doesn’t meditate on this further. He returned to creating his Fire Eagle Puppet, just the core remained. It was intricate work that required his full attention, but not too complex. It could be completed in ten minutes. In other words, his first pet would be born in ten minutes’ time…