Chapter 1189: Ghost Chaining
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
Behind?!
Zhou Yebai went pale with shock upon seeing this message, hurriedly having Rangoon Creeper turn around.
Unfortunately, Qiao Yifan was focused on the match, and not here to joke around. He had tactically managed to swerve around and get behind Rangoon Creeper. When he sent the message, One Inch Ash's sword was already on its way down.
Moonlight Slash!
Phantom Demons usually wouldn't put too many skill points into slash attacks, and Qiao Yifan didn't intend for damage to be the purpose of this strike. It was just a simple opening attack. Unless the other was under a Super Armor status, any attack would be enough to disrupt the target a little. Combos were built upon such a foundation.
It was definitely far too late for Zhou Yebai to dodge after seeing Qiao Yifan's message. Considering Qiao Yifan's caution, he naturally wouldn't expose himself without having an absolute grasp on the situation. Zhou Yebai's Rangoon Creeper had happily and brainlessly charged forward, while speaking with Qiao Yifan like a senior to his junior in the chat. Meanwhile, Qiao Yifan's One Inch Ash had successfully and precisely gotten behind the other. The audience could see all of this with clarity. Zhou Yebai had become a joke at the very start of the match, one that didn't seem to understand his own place at all.
Now, moonlight arced downwards, not doing much damage, but still stunning Rangoon Creeper for a split second. One Inch Ash followed up with a Ghost Claw. A sliver of the Phantom Ghost's power drifted through the air, throwing Rangoon Creeper up. This was the Ghostblade's knockup skill.
Knockups were usually a good time to follow up with a combo, but for a Phantom Demon, they shouldn't hurry and deal as much damage with slashes as possible, but quickly set down as many Ghost Boundaries as possible.
Ice Boundary!
Plague Boundary!
Ghost Boundaries had cast times, so you couldn't instantly set a boundary. It was a struggle to finish casting these two Ghost Boundaries during Rangoon Creeper's knockup. However, Qiao Yifan very smoothly transitioned between the two Ghost Boundaries. After setting down an Ice Boundary first, he began chanting a Plague Boundary, carefully keeping an eye on Rangoon Creeper. Upon seeing the other land, Qiao Yifan was prepared to cancel the chant already, but the effects of Ice Boundary activated!
Rangoon Creeper, slowed by the Ice Boundary, definitely wouldn't be able to get to One Inch Ash's side in time. His blade trembled, and instead he sent forward a Spellblade skill: Earthquake Sword.
He could make it!
Qiao Yifan made an accurate judgement. Even as the Earthquake Sword came over, he continued his cast. The Plague Boundary was set before the Earthquake Sword swept at him, as expected. He wasn't interrupted. After that, he had One Inch Ash roll to the side and Earthquake Sword was dodged cleanly. Qiao Yifan was very familiar with the characteristics of these skills.
Plague Boundary lowered the defense of the characters inside the boundary. If he didn't attack, then there was no point to the Plague Boundary. Zhou Yebai was a Phantom Demon player, so how would he not understand this? Now, in two overlapping boundaries, he didn't ignore everything and try to run out of the two boundaries, but instead carefully observed One Inch Ash's movements. He couldn't predict what Qiao Yifan would do next. That was when he realized, despite living together for a year, seeing each other everyday for a year, he didn't understand Qiao Yifan at all. Perhaps, as a team member that he often had to train with, he knew a little of Qiao Yifan's style in Glory, but now, Qiao Yifan had switched classes to the class he was most familiar with: Phantom Demon.
What was Qiao Yifan's Phantom Demon like? Zhou Yebai didn't have a clue. However, he believed that he had more experience as a Phantom Demon than Qiao Yifan. He might've been caught off guard in the beginning, but, so long as he didn't panic, and kept a clear view of the situation, dealing with each action as it came, there was nothing to fear.
Ice Boundary, Plague Boundary, one focused on control, another focused on weakening. These two boundaries wouldn't deal any significant damage, he could slow down his pace and observe slowly. Bring it, Qiao Yifan!
Wait!
What was this?
On the screen, the blade in One Inch Ash's hand was spinning. It was less like an attack and more like some sort of spell being cast. As a Phantom Demon player, how could Zhou Yebai not know what this was?
The Ice and Plague Boundaries under Rangoon Creeper's feet seemed to be responding to come sort of summons, the Phantom Ghost's power pulsing, resonating! Zhou Yebai wanted to get his Rangoon Creeper out of the boundaries, but it was already too late.
Ghost Feast!
With only two Ghost Boundaries on the field, Qiao Yifan already had One Inch Ash use Ghost Feast.
The two pools of the Phantom Ghost's power, representing ice and plague erupted. Compared to a Ghost Feast with multiple overlaid boundaries, the power of the explosion of two boundaries had been reduced, but was also much clearer. Everyone could even see Rangoon Creeper struggling under the corrosive power of the Phantom Ghost's power.
The match had just started and Zhou Yebai had taken an ultimate to the face, but now his nervousness after being ambushed had disappeared along with it.
A Ghost Feast with just two Ghost Boundaries?
Zhou Yebai wanted to laugh. From his point of view, this was a display of Qiao Yifan's lack of experience and his stress from facing him. He couldn't figure out what to do next, so he just hurriedly made the Ghost Boundaries erupt. Every little bit of damage counted, after all.
How pitiful!
Zhou Yebai lamented to himself. Did the other really think that he'd become something great just by switching classes? How naive!
"Grow up already!" Zhou Yebai sent into the chat, admonishingly, as Rangoon Creeper charged out of the smoke and lights made by the opposing Phantom Ghost's power.
Moonlight Slash, then Full Moonlight Slash!
The two strikes were formed as one, arcing beautifully through the air, but, if there was nothing to hit, then the two arcs of light merely looked awkward!
Where was he?
Zhou Yebai was shocked.
He had seen One Inch Ash at this very spot just now. He was fast enough, so how could this happen? How was this possible?
What on earth happened?
Zhou Yebai was shocked, the audience was shocked and Pan Lin, in the middle of his commentary, was also shocked.
"What is Zhou Yebai doing?" Pan Lin wondered aloud. The audience, with their omniscient view, clearly saw Qiao Yifan's One Inch Ash standing just off to the side behind Rangoon Creeper, but Zhou Yebai had Rangoon Creeper strike the air with a beautiful two hit combo while yelling something like that. Was this some sort of… tactical trap?
"Er…" Li Yibo was very awkward. As a special guest and commentator, as Adviser Li, he had to give an answer in this sort of situation. However… what the hell was this guy doing? Li Yibo was very confused as well.
"Let's watch the match first!" Coach Li's commentary IQ was expert level. Knowing that the players on the field wouldn't give them time to analyze this one detail, he quickly suggested they watch first, analyze later.
One Inch Ash, stood behind Rangoon Creeper, had already struck. By the time Rangoon Creeper's two slashes were soaring through nothing, another Ghost Boundary had been placed. Dark Boundary! Another boundary that focused on inflicting a status effect. This time, Qiao Yifan wanted to take Zhou Yebai's sight.
The screen went dark...
Dark Boundary!
Zhou Yebai immediately realized what this meant.
Where was this guy? Where did this Ghost Boundary come from?
A chill ran through Zhou Yebai's heart as he stared at the dark screen that looked like it had shut down. He was finally feeling pressured. Qiao Yifan was no longer someone he could defeat with ease. Definitely not.
Zhou Yebai was so shocked that he forgot to move. One of the characteristics of Ghost Boundaries was that while inside, you'd definitely feel the effects, but as soon as you stepped out, then it'd all disappear. Characters in a Dark Boundary would be blinded, so no character would give up trying to make their character move out of it. They'd usually even use movement skills to help them move a large distance at once, just to escape this annoying effect.
However, Zhou Yebai, too lost in the shock over the trouble Qiao Yifan was giving him, forgot such a crucial thing as to move.
He was stunned, but Qiao Yifan wasn't. One Inch Ash closed in, sending out slash attacks and setting down ghost boundaries whenever given an opening.
One boundary...
Two boundaries...
Three boundaries...
The effects of Ghost Boundaries were stackable, but Qiao Yifan didn't let all the Ghost Boundaries he send out overlap completely. The boundaries overlapped, chained together across a larger area. The very center had several overlapping Ghost Boundaries, but as you got further away from the center, some areas only had one or two boundaries presiding over them. However, with this arrangement, the area under One Inch Ash's control had greatly increased. The Dark Boundary had disappeared by then and Zhou Yebai's sight returned, but he couldn't escape the control of the chained Ghost Boundaries at all.
This was...
Ghost Chaining!
Zhou Yebai recognized this playstyle and was once again filled with shock. Ghost Chaining required a player to have a very good awareness of the situation at large. Each boundary was set down individually, but needed to be placed so that it formed a whole with the other Ghost Boundaries. As a player did this, they also had to use slash attacks to fill in the gaps left by the Ghost Boundaries. The timing of these slashes, of these boundaries, what boundaries to place, where to place them, they all needed to be planned out. It wasn't something a person could achieve by mechanics alone.
This guy… can use Ghost Chaining, and so well… As for me...
Zhou Yebai didn't want to admit it, but had no choice. He was incapable of performing such a beautifully done Ghost Chaining.
How is this possible?
Zhou Yebai felt like he was going crazy. This was Qiao Yifan? That little nobody? Had he really already mastered something as high end as Ghost Chaining? Was his skill already above mine?
No! Impossible!
Zhou Yebai didn't believe it, or rather, he didn't want to believe it. How could that Qiao Yifan be so strong? How could he defeat me?
Of course he could!
Glory!
When the word flashed on the screen, Zhou Yebai's Rangoon Creeper had fallen with his denial and disbelief. When he walked out of the competition booth, his face was still set in an expression of disbelief. He returned to Tiny Herb's player stands, head down as he stood to the side.
He had lost to Qiao Yifan, that Qiao Yifan...
"Someone you never bothered to take notice of has grown to such an extent… Is it scary?" Wang Jiexi suddenly asked.
Zhou Yebai opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. He suddenly realized, if Qiao Yifan hadn't left, if Qiao Yifan was still in Tiny Herb, both of them as Phantom Demons, would he still have a place in Tiny Herb?
Zhou Yebai suddenly felt a creeping sense of terror. He knew that Qiao Yifan was no longer in Tiny Herb and he wouldn't have to compete with the other for this place, but he still felt a formless pressure on his shoulders, trying to tell him something.
"You can't stagnate! In this Alliance, survival is swimming against the tide," Wang Jiexi said.