Chapter 1338: I Can Too
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
Did Spirit Cat have an auto-targeting system?
Of course not. The summons of a Summoner, when set to free attack mode, would automatically attack any non-teammate target that wandered into its aggro range. Spirit Cat and a comparatively larger aggro range, more or less meaning that it's senses were sharper.
This map was carefully chosen by Luo Ji. There was no other one on one map that he was more familiar with. Jia Xing had thought that he would be able to sneak up on Luo Ji just by taking a more roundabout route, viewing Luo Ji as a complete newbie and underestimating his meticulous mind and familiarity with the map.
A sneak attack from behind was something Luo Ji he had accounted for! Spirit Cat had been arranged in a position where it would be able to sense if any enemies were in that area. Poor Jia Xing had no idea, happily waiting for a chance to strike. In the end, what he got was a Spirit Cat, and then another Devil World Flower.
Concealed Light had summoned another Devil World Flower, making sure Prideful Mage was placed within its attack range. Then, Frost Wolf rapidly approached as well.
Concealed Light, on the other hand, was continuing to cast, another summoning array appearing on the ground, followed by the cry of an eagle. Thunder Eagle burst out of the array and, after circling for a bit in the sky, darted towards where Prideful Mage was like a streak of lightning.
It flew through the air like lightning, spitting thunderbolts; this Thunder Eagle was one of Concealed Light's main summons.
Four Beasts Style!
Seeing Spirit Cat, Frost Wolf and Thunder Eagle appearing one after the other on the battlefield, the players more familiar with the game had an idea of what style Happy's debuting Summoner was using.
Young Wyvern, Frost Wolf, Thunder Eagle, Spirit Cat.
They were called the Four Summon Beasts, each being one of the four elements in Glory, Fire, Ice, Light and Dark respectively. Any summons combos that revolved around these four beasts were known as Four Beasts Style. With the level 75 update, an ultimate skill that could be activated when all Four Summon Beasts were summoned: Beast King Elemental Formation, once again increasing the strength of the Four Beats Style.
Now, Spirit Cat, Frost Wolf, Thunder Eagle had all appeared, so Young Wyvern probably wouldn't be long.
Luo Ji didn't disappoint. Young Wyvern was the lowest leveled of all four beats with a quick summon time. With a swift cast, Young Wyvern also flew out of the summoning array with a breath of flame, flying towards Prideful Mage after Thunder Eagle.
Seeing the beasts heading his way, Jia Xing's mood plummeted.
Spirit Cat was very, very hard to throw off and now that he was in Devil World Flower's attack range with the other three beasts rapidly approaching, aiming to surround him. If the Elemental Beast King Formation was then activated, then that would take a chunk out of Prideful Mage for sure.
This guy wasn't bad!
Jia Xing was careful to not underestimate him anymore, already realizing that Luo Ji wasn't an opponent he could easily wipe the floor with. Currently, with the summoned creatures coming one after the other, there were layers to this offensive, a system. It was almost too much.
Flee?
With Spirit Cat already on him and Thunder Eagle's speed, fleeing wasn't a good idea. Currently, it seemed like the only solution was to brute force his way out of these summons.
This guy was no easy opponent, managing to force him into a dire situation like this.
The situation was a pain, but there was no other choice. The earlier he acted the better.
Swinging his spear, he knocked Spirit Cat aside as it leaped at him once again. With a Dragon Tooth, he forced Frost Wolf to back off a little.
Boom!
Sparks danced across Prideful Mage's body. After two actions, he was then hit by the thunderbolt that Thunder Eagle spat out.
How troublesome.
Jia Xing no longer felt like showing off anymore. He could tell that Concealed Light's four summons weren't put on automatic, but being controlled manually instead. That was why it was so systematic, so well-paced, and so hard.
Wasn't he going to come forward a little?
Jia Xing kept an eye on Concealed Light's movements. Summoners had the skill Lash, which lashed the summons and increased their combative power. With him already in an encirclement, most Summoners would come over to lash their summons to strengthen them.
However, Concealed Light didn't. He merely stood far off, constantly using Mark to adjust the actions of his summons.
Looks like he'd have to wait for the summons to switch out...
Jia Xing felt helpless. He was rather helpless against these meticulously executed attacks. He couldn't flee and could only wait until one of the summons disappeared and his opponent summoned another. There might be an opening to be found there.
Thus, Jia Xing didn't bother trying to break through and started fighting the summons. One against four with a Devil World Flower disrupting him… if it weren't for summons having rather simple and bland ways of attacking, Jia Xing definitely wouldn't be able to last. Right now, though, he could just about hold on...
Summons depended on two things to live, one was time and the other was health.
Waiting for their time to run out was too passive, so Jia Xing had to attack and try and get rid of one. However, these four summons weren't so easy to kill. Spirit Cat was quick and nimble, hard to hit; Thunder Eagle and Young Wyvern were both fliers, even harder to hit; in the end, the easiest one to deal with of the four was Frost Wolf, but Frost Wolf just so happened to also be the tankiest one of the four, with a huge chunk of health.
How did it end up like this? Jia Xing felt like crying. He had originally thought he could easily bully this newbie, but now who'd have thought he'd be struggling to survive. In these 27 rounds, he, as a rookie on a rookie team, had been through so many hardships. Why was he falling into the same position against a rookie from a new team, in their debuting match, too?
Could it be that he had become overcautious by habit?
Did he turn to defense whenever he met any sort of trouble?
After facing off against so many experienced seniors, could it be that he had been so oppressed that he had lost his aggression?
These questions surfaced in Jia Xing's mind one after the other.
He wasn't willing to continue like this!
However, if even this opponent could suppress him like this, then when would he ever be able to gain the initiative in battle?
Initiative!
He had to take the initiative!
He shouldn't get used to this passivity. If he accepted it, then wouldn't he just continue to live in this mediocrity?
Dragon Breaks the Ranks!
As if suddenly waking up, Jia Xing saw an opening in front if him and acted without even thinking. The subconscious nature of his actions had his fingers darting across the keyboard much swifter and more dexterous than before. Prideful Mage charged out!
Bang!
Spirit Cat had lunged a moment too late. It's priority was nothing compared to Dragon Breaks the Ranks, and it was flung to one side. Thunder Eagle's thunderbolt and Young Wyvern's fireball all struck the spot behind Prideful Mage, missing him entirely.
He broke through!
Delight washed over Jia Xing, though even he was a little confused as to how he had succeeded. That opportunity just now… If he hadn't been reckless, if it hadn't been subconscious, then he'd probably have given it up, thinking he couldn't do it, no?
So he really could do it!
With his delight, Dragon Breaks the Ranks broke out of the formation made by the Four Beast Summons. Devil World Flower's vines quietly creeped out of the earth, but Jia Xing was ready for it.
Shattering the Lands!
Prideful Mage leaped skywards, surging magical energy pulsing from the tip of his spear. This only made Jia Xing feel a delighted warmth spread through his heart and mind.
This wild battle style was something he had only seen in the matches of gods! Yet now, he had managed to execute the same style in a match! He could do it! He really could!
Prideful Mage landed, and the magical energy roared, bursting out. Even the flying Young Wyvern and Thunder Eagle couldn't approach.
Luo Ji's Concealed Light backed away quickly, escaping from the range of this attack. However, by then, he had already been separated from his summons by this powerful, surging skill. How would a Summoner face the powerful Battle Mage without any summons?
How did everything fall apart?
Luo Ji was puzzled. His control over the situation wasn't bad.
Under Ye Xiu suggestion, he ended up choosing the Four Beasts Style as his Summoner style because he was decent at controlling four summons at once to make offensive arrangements. Though the Spirit Style and its sea of summons was powerful, especially with the new level 75 skill Spirit Sacrifice which was the ultimate damage skill for a Summoner, he wouldn't be able to maintain control. Even with that skill, he wouldn't be able to utilize it properly.
However, his opponent had still managed to break through the four beasts Luo Ji was confident in being able to control. Did he miss some important detail?
As Luo Ji thought to himself, he was already making new arrangements.
If a summon died, it could be re-summoned, so they could stay and tank damage, usually. However, Shatter the Lands came with a huge shockwave. Even if you let your summons tank out the damage, they'd still be knocked away by the magic energy. The four beasts had their way blocked and couldn't immediately come to help, so Luo Ji hurriedly had Concealed Light resummon a creature while Prideful Mage was still in his ending lag.
He could make it!
As for his ability to calculate, that was something Luo Ji had even more confidence in. As expected, Concealed Light managed to summon a new Frost Wolf to protect him before Prideful Mage arrived, but...
Circle Swing.
Just like that, Frost Wolf was tossed behind Prideful Mage and then a Dragon Tooth struck him.
A Summoner that had been closed in on was helpless. The good thing was that even if he didn't make any moves, so long as his summons were still on the field, they would attack automatically.
However, Prideful Mage darted back and forth as he struck again and again before suddenly disappearing.
Teleportation!
This Battle Mage had shockingly chosen to add the Elementalist's Teleportation into his weapon.
A Falling Flower Palm hit from behind, and he was shoved forward. That's when he saw his Four Summon Beasts standing obediently in a straight line.
Summons without manual control really weren't any good! Luo Ji hurriedly had them scatter, but, it was too late.
Rising Dragon Soars the Sky!
Prideful Mage's spear shot forwards, magic energy forming a massive dragon which devoured Concealed Light and all of his Four Summon Beasts.
Boom!
The magical energy erupted, darting and flashing through its multiple victims, absolutely spectacular.
I really can do it!
Jia Xing was very satisfied with his performance today.
Ai… It had been going so well in the beginning, so how did things end up like this? Luo Ji, on the other hand, was lamenting.