Chapter 153: Win or Lose
“We have a good chance of winning!”
Guichu Qi finally breathed a sigh of relief after seeing his Thief teammate successfully tie down the enemy Mage and calculating the current situation. Although the battle didn't unfold as he expected, he felt that his side had recovered from the disadvantage and even had a high probability of turning it into an advantage!
After a brief exchange, he could clearly feel that Ya Ya, who was entangled with him, wasn't very strong. Although her resistance to attacks and speed were decent, her attacks lacked any real strategy, and she was particularly easy to trick. Just offering a fake opening would make the girl happily pounce forward to take a hit, showing that her combat intelligence was clearly not high.
“And Wuhuarou Rong, who can barely handle the attacks of both the enemy Mage and Engineer by himself, will soon be free to focus on that bird-girl. Although we don't know her specific class yet, someone so reliant on engineering tools probably isn't very strong herself. Besides, her equipment clearly isn't the heavy armor that high-HP, high-defense classes should have, indicating she's a squishy target!”
Guichu Qi used a sweeping attack to knock Ya Ya's claws away, then kicked her, sending her tumbling. A triumphant smile appeared on his face.
“The slightly disadvantaged points are Za Di Gang and Xiao Ma. That Sheep Knight… that darn Sheep Knight is not easy to deal with, but even if they just stand there and take hits, they can last for quite a while. Low-level Knights, whether players or NPCs, can't deal burst damage, so it's not a big problem. As for that Old Mage on the other side…”
A smile appeared on Guichu Qi's lips, hidden beneath his helmet.
That girl, who was either a Mage or a Healer, wasn't guarding him, and a Mage in a one-on-one situation would absolutely not last long against a Thief of the same level. The latter's extremely high attack speed, thanks to their mastery of dual-wielding weapons, was enough to interrupt any channeled spell. Even most instant-cast spells were difficult to land on a Thief who had skills like Shadow Step, Sprint, and Dash. In short, in most games, when a Mage is completely tied down by a Thief, Assassin, or similar class of the same level…
Unless something unusual happens, they will definitely die quickly!
Guichu Qi was quite aware of Meng Qin's strength. While not considered high-end, he was outstanding in the casual player sphere, at least not making any low-level mistakes.
“So, as long as a few of us hold on, no, as long as Xiao Ma and the class monitor hold on, the enemy Mage will definitely be eliminated first!”
Guichu Qi thought confidently, then began to deal with Ya Ya while looking around for the girl who had disappeared. He felt 'she' was the only variable!
The Mage was no longer casting spells, and the enemy Knight was too far from their backline (units usually positioned at the rear, characterized by long-range skills, low HP, and low defense; conversely, high-HP, high-defense units are often called 'frontline') to provide support anytime soon, so…
“What the heck is this!?”
Wuhuarou Rong's exclamation rang out not far away. Guichu Qi followed his gaze and looked at a certain spot, instantly exclaiming in surprise himself.
He saw the pretty girl who had disappeared earlier. She had somehow gotten in front of the bird-girl who had lost her Knight's cover, and she was covered in arrows like a hedgehog, looking utterly horrifying.
Just add some ketchup and she could be an extra on a horror movie set!
Wait, add ketchup?!
She wasn't bleeding?!
Guichu Qi was stunned. Innocent World wasn't some preschool game full of cute creatures. This game was very realistic. Not only was there a lot of blood, but in certain situations (in the eyes of players over 18), even gruesome injuries like severed limbs were incredibly lifelike, with excellent production quality that was a credit to the industry. But…
Why wasn't that girl bleeding even though she was covered in arrows?!
“Hehe, thanks, Lu Jiang!” Ji Xiaoge said cheerfully to Lu Jiang, who stood with her arms spread in front of her, then began rummaging through her backpack.
Lu Jiang, who had almost become an 'arrow-person,' happily shook her head: “You're welcome! I'm so glad I could help~”
Clearly, this unconventional Druid, despite maintaining human form at this moment, had activated 【Ancient Druid Shapeshifting (Intermediate)】, transforming her essence into a Primitive Slime. Not only was she immune to the most common 'penetration' effect of Ranger skills, but she also reduced physical damage by 99%. Therefore…
Despite being subjected to a barrage of attacks from the enemy Ranger Wuhuarou Rong, Lu Jiang, who had turned into an arrow-person, had only lost less than 10% of her HP so far!
“Although it was a vague tactical arrangement, it's surprisingly effective!”
Ji Xiaoge glanced at Mo Tan, who was relentlessly pursuing a certain Mage girl in the distance, and couldn't help but smile slightly.
Although her headgear wasn't removed, that smile still made Lu Jiang, who had turned her head 180 degrees, a little dazed.
Guichu Qi and Wuhuarou Rong of the 'I'll Try' team were also a bit stunned. The two looked at the extremely bizarre scene not far away… In short, one girl was kneeling on the ground, constantly taking out various steamed buns, fried dough sticks, and biscuits as if planning a picnic on the spot, while another standing girl was covered in arrows, defying Newton and Darwin, and her head was eerily turned 180 degrees towards them.
And there were two arrows sticking out of the back of her head!
“Get out of the way!” Guichu Qi, filled with fear and anger, activated his strongest skill at this stage, 【Storm Counterattack】, which had a 30-minute cooldown. After enduring four or five attacks from Ya Ya, he swung his sword, sending the beast-eared girl flying, then used Charge to rush towards Lu Jiang and Ji Xiaoge!
Wuhuarou Rong, on the other hand, quickly retreated several meters and fired a volley of arrows at Mo Tan, who had just knocked down the Mage Mama with a Ramming Stab.
His awareness and overall strategic view were good. He knew the enemy Mage was being tied down by their Thief, so he didn't need to worry. And the girl who was making everyone's SAN value drop seemed to be immune to his attacks, so he immediately switched targets to support Mage Mama and Priest Za Di Gang.
As a result, as soon as this gentleman launched an attack, before he could force Mo Tan away from Xiao Ma, he was hit on the back of the head by a hidden weapon from behind, instantly becoming disoriented.
He was truly disoriented; he was forcibly put into a 1.5-second stun state.
At the same time…
Splish!
Guichu Qi chopped at Lu Jiang with his sword, then was horrified to find the girl in front of him blinking at him, seemingly cut in half at the waist. He quickly pulled back and glanced at Wuhuarou Rong's situation, only to find that the guy was frozen there.
“You useless idiot!” Having witnessed Ji Xiaoge's entire attack, he immediately yelled furiously at Wuhuarou Rong: “Are you scared senseless by a steamed bun?!”
Then he was knocked off balance by a fragrant fried dough stick.
“WTF?!”
Guichu Qi, who had lost 3% of his HP, looked back and saw that the bird-girl… the beauty who had been protected earlier, was excitedly holding a fried dough stick, ready to slap him in the face!
“Oh my goodness!” Guichu Qi panicked instantly.
“Huh?” Ji Xiaoge was also startled by his sudden shout and instinctively let out a 'huh.'
The former immediately felt a pain in his balls. What era was this? Why did people still want to take such cheap shots?
Ding!
The next second, as Guichu Qi reflexively blocked, the fried dough stick in Ji Xiaoge's hand was directly knocked far away.
“Very weak strength!”
Guichu Qi reacted extremely quickly. After realizing the opponent's strength attribute wasn't very high, he immediately raised his hand and swung out two sword lights. One sword blocked Ya Ya, who was pouncing from behind, and the other stabbed directly at Ji Xiaoge's heart.
Ding! Plop! Plop!
The less powerful sword was parried by Ya Ya, who crossed her hands and used her blade-claws. However, the other sword achieved unexpected success; that stab actually penetrated Lu Jiang, who had rushed to block, and then plunged into Ji Xiaoge's left shoulder, who couldn't dodge in time, drawing a spray of blood.
“Ugh!” The girl, whose basic attributes were extremely poor, instantly dropped from 100% to 63% HP from this single basic attack, stumbling and falling to the ground.
Fortunately, with Lu Jiang's cover and Ya Ya's subsequent attacks, Guichu Qi didn't have a chance to land another two swords on her, otherwise the 'Woof Woof' team truly might have suffered an early casualty.
“Ya Ya, come here!” Mo Tan, who had been watching, quickly called out to the beast-eared girl. Although he hadn't anticipated the enemy's move, he reacted immediately: “Lu Jiang, you too, come here! Ye Ge, fly!”
“Who is who? Did he say 'fly'… Oh my god, she's flying!!”
Guichu Qi was stunned for a moment, then saw the girl, whose defense was as brittle as paper, violently flap her wings and soar into the air, instantly escaping his attack range!
“Wuhua!” Guichu Qi quickly turned and called out. The 'I'll Try' team had already anticipated that Ji Xiaoge might fly, as the wings on her back couldn't be hidden. Their previously discussed countermeasure was for Wuhuarou Rong, as a Ranger, to snipe her!
But when he looked back, well, that Knight on the other side wasn't bothering with the two spellcasters anymore. He had already mounted his sheep and was chasing Wuhuarou Rong, hacking at him while also keeping an eye on Mage Mama's attacks!
Although Za Di Gang's healing followed up immediately and could maintain Wuhuarou Rong's HP, it couldn't free him up to deal with Ji Xiaoge, who was soaring into the air!
“That beast-eared girl is closing in, and the other soft (no error) girl has turned into a puddle of silver liquid and is also creeping over there, at a surprisingly decent speed… This won't do!”
Guichu Qi immediately ran towards Mo Tan and the others, but his speed could at most match Ya Ya's. His only displacement skill, Charge, had just been used, so returning to support immediately was quite difficult.
“Damn it!” Guichu Qi, who had been acting as captain, was now a bit flustered. As he ran, he looked at the two figures on the other side of the arena and yelled exasperatedly: “Meng Qin, why haven't you dealt with that Fa… for so long?!”
BOOOOM!!!
A huge explosion sounded not far away, and then…
“Your teammate: Fu Qin has been eliminated.”
At that moment, the cold system prompt simultaneously rang in the ears of the other four members of the 'I'll Try' team.
!? !?
What the heck?
A Thief who had tied down a Mage for so long ended up being counter-killed?
“Ah ah ah ah!” The Elf Mage Mama immediately went berserk. While frantically casting spells on Mo Tan, who had activated Basic Knight's Spirit, she yelled: “Meng Qin, you bastard, do you want to break up with me?!!!”
“Calm down!” The Lizardmen Priest Za Di Gang, who had arrived next to Mama, said in a deep voice: “Maybe that Mage was hiding her strength all along, and Meng Qin was just caught off guard!”
Wuhuarou Rong, who had been driven by Mo Tan to Ya Ya's side, was now facing attacks from two people simultaneously. While fleeing in a disheveled manner, he roared: “Who the heck has nothing better to do than pretend to be a pig to eat a tiger in this noob-level arena! Class monitor, can you be a bit more reliable?!”
“Focus on dodging!” Za Di Gang gritted his teeth and threw another healing spell at him, saying resentfully: “I'm almost out of mana!”
Ya Ya, while scratching and clawing at Wuhuarou Rong, perked up her ears and turned to Mo Tan, asking: “He's almost out of woof?”
Mo Tan pondered for a few seconds, ultimately remaining silent.
If it were him in one of his other two personalities, he might have blurted out something like, 'It's okay, he has kidney deficiency.'
On the other side, Guichu Qi, Mage Mama, and Ranger Wuhuarou Rong's hearts sank when they heard that sentence.
The Healer was almost out of mana!
If this happened in a battle like this, especially with the opponent having no casualties and their side being one person down, it basically meant defeat was sealed!
At the same time.
A Fireball flew from a distance. Jia Deka, who had accidentally killed an enemy, was approaching the main battlefield at a hundred-meter dash speed!
A large number of steamed buns, fried dough sticks, and several sharp flying pancakes also rained down on Guichu Qi. Ji Xiaoge, after confirming that the enemy Ranger was incapacitated, also quickly flew over, pulling out a pile of food without a word and pelting the person closest to her!
Mo Tan, who had finished using his refreshed Knight skills, dismounted his sheep. A combo of 【Mad Rush】 + 【Ramming Stab】 once again split open the enemy's squishy target.
Lu Jiang, who had just arrived, took over from Mo Tan, transforming back into human form next to Wuhuarou Rong to block arrows with his body. Although his movement speed was reduced, his obstruction was still effective because Ya Ya was constantly trying to restrict the opponent!
Guichu Qi, trapped by a mass of ramen, stared blankly around the battlefield…
The light in Za Di Gang's hand no longer shone; he was out of mana.
Wuhuarou Rong's HP was rapidly declining under the combined attacks of Ya Ya and Ji Xiaoge; he was close to death.
He himself was trapped in place by a strange large net, unable to move.
The girl whose class was still unknown blocked all the arrows Wuhuarou Rong managed to shoot through the gaps.
The enemy Mage was approaching from a distance, carrying a staff billowing with black smoke, running incredibly fast.
And that Knight, who seemed to be the tactical lynchpin…
Was hit in the back by a flying stone summoned by Mage Mama, turned into a white light, and was eliminated.
The situation had returned to four versus four.
But…
“We lost.” Guichu Qi sighed, listlessly continuing to struggle with the noodle net on him.
“We won.” Mo Tan, who had already been teleported out of the arena, smiled and gave a thumbs up to his teammates who were still fighting hard below: “Well done!”
Chapter 150: End