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20 minutes ago, at the Chinese team’s BattleNet Center.
The faces of the players emerging from the connector were stern.
“Ha. Seriously…”
“Defeated by one guy? Are these warriors really that useless?”
Even though players from other positions openly cursed, the Chinese warriors couldn’t say a word.
They were already considered the weakest among the four classes in China, and being the cause of the first-game defeat only intensified the insults.
“That’s why I suggested shaving our heads.”
Shinsong Il-ryong frowned as he looked at his fellow warriors.
“Because 108 Arhat Formation is less suitable, he’s killing players instead of monks.”
“I didn’t think they’d be that strong…”
“When we tested it, we thought this would be enough.”
Sigh…
Shinsong Il-ryong clenched his jaw tightly.
In truth, those words were right. When they secretly tested 108 Arhat Formation, they thought it would be enough to neutralize the opponent.
But the results were completely different, and now, with this level of 108 Arhat Formation, it wasn’t enough.
“Is the conversation over? Well, then, I guess we should shave our heads.”
“Yes, Coach.”
The Chinese coach approached with a stern expression. Behind him, several coaches holding clippers were waiting.
“Uh…”
“Can’t I be exempted? I’ll look really ugly with a shaved head!”
“Use a wig! They have good quality ones these days.”
“I wasn’t included in the 108 Arhat Formation…”
“What are you talking about? You should take responsibility for this. If you had performed well, we wouldn’t have lost the first game.”
With that, all of China’s warriors had their heads shaved.
In fact, it would be difficult to force them to do this under normal circumstances, given their high social status as top-class warriors.
Since the cause of the first-game defeat lay with them, they couldn’t rebel against having their heads shaved.
“Waa… My face…!!!”
“Seong Jihan… This time, I’ll kill him…”
The Chinese warriors, their heads gleaming, seethed with anger. Players from other positions couldn’t help but laugh as they watched from a distance.
“Warriors, can you at least do it properly this time?”
“Is it even worth being defeated by Weak Koreans?”
“Back when Sword King played, they were like this too! Tsk.” Other Classes kept making fun of Warriors.
In addition, the Chinese coach spoke to the warriors who were silently enduring the humiliation.
“18 people will go in for this 108 Arhat Formation.”
“18 people… Isn’t that a bit excessive?”
“We can win as long as Seong Jihan is absent. Right, Je Galheon?”
When the Chinese coach turned around, a man with long hair who had been muttering under his breath nodded calmly.
“Yes. The baldies just need to do well. Or rather, if we get rid of Seong Jihan on the battlefield, the game will be over.”
“Good. Then, the warriors will focus on stopping Seong Jihan. Just buy some time, don’t bother trying to subdue him.”
The strategy was to strengthen 108 Arhat Formation and keep Seong Jihan tied up. This strategy was based on the premise that a China team with 18 players missing could defeat the Korean team with only one player missing.
While it might sound humiliating for the opposing team to hear, this tactic worked extremely well for Korea.
***
-Oh no! 108 Arhat Formation!!! Everyone shaved their heads and came out… It’s definitely different from the first game! Seong Jihan’s movements have become sluggish!
-Chinese national team! 18 of their warriors are missing! The Korean national team’s warriors need to step up! They have more than a two-to-one advantage in numbers…!
Korea’s South Gate Defense. Seong Jihan, along with 18 enemy warriors, disappeared within 108 Arhat Formation. The Chinese national team’s warriors were reduced to only 12.
With such a disparity in warrior numbers, Korea’s warriors in a defensive stance had to launch an attack. However…
-Oh, we’re completely outmatched in the firepower battle! Je Galheon! He used the Eight Trigrams Overlap again! This time, it’s Flame?, and he’s pulled out Fire!
-Hellfire… it’s blazing… The ground is completely on fire! Korean warriors can’t even advance, let alone defend the gate…!
-Long-range firepower battle is way too unfavorable!
99 to 82. Despite the 17-player difference, Korea was overwhelmingly pushed back. In addition to Je Galheon’s transcendent magic, there was also an enemy supporter countering the Korean national team.
“Ugh… That damn Golden Dragon!”
Ha Yeonjoo, the archer leader, exploded in anger. The players she designated for concentrated sniping were not dying as planned. This was because the massive Golden Dragon, which circled the Chinese national team, would fly over to protect the target players whenever they were chosen.
Because of the Golden Dragon, their kill rate dropped from 10 to 5.
On the other hand, the enemy’s archers was still wreaking havoc on the Korean players.
-Seong Jihan is holding strong! He eliminated the 9 players hidden among the enemy warriors! Now, if we can find a few more…!
-Ah. But… Kim Dongwoo has fallen! There are no warriors to block the gate!
-Chinese players are entering the gate…!
-Oh… It’s a shame… It was 99 against 82…
The commentators couldn’t help but lament. China was known to be strong, but to suffer such a crushing defeat with such a numerical disadvantage was shocking.
The chat windows of viewers watching the broadcast were filled with reactions:
-This is really bad, lol!
-Without Seong Jihan, it’s over.
-Are these skills for real? Why does Je Galheon keep pulling out crazy spells?
-Holy moly, Golden Dragon is amazing! It immediately protected the sniped players.
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-Hey, how did we win against China? It looks like a complete counter with the archer team getting blocked.
-We won against them because of the Sword King lol!
Even with Seong Jihan and 18 Chinese players inside 108 Arhat Formation, the result turned out like this. It was a defeat that made the first game’s victory fade away.
And for the third match, the map was the same as the Russia match, a Train map. Just like in long-range battles, the result was similar here.
-Seong Jihan. He’s going to strike down from the sky as he did in the Russia match…
-China’s supporters are perfectly prepared! The protective shield imbued with Golden Dragon is incredibly strong! It seems that those who received fatal injuries can still survive.
-He truly acts like an SSS-class gift supporter. Joo Ryung-Ryung, you’re amazing…!
-Oh no! Je Galheon pulled out Flame again…! Hellfire erupts from the Korean train! The players are getting massacred!
‘It seems like there’s no easy solution to this.’
Seong Jihan observed his surroundings from the burning train. While it was expected to be a fierce battle against China on the Train map, he didn’t anticipate getting pushed back so one-sidedly.
‘Maybe I should just fly over to the enemy train.’
Seong Jihan made a huge leap from the train. As he soared through the air, magic spells were unleashed.
“Stop him!”
“Focus on him! Block him!”
“Reverse Gravity!”
“Slow!”
Numerous spells were cast. This time, it wasn’t direct attacks but rather slowing spells that aimed to immobilize him. They caused some interference, but…
‘This is nothing.’
They couldn’t completely halt Seong Jihan’s progress.
-Oh, Seong Jihan is still advancing despite the enemy’s magic!
-Thanks to him, the enemy’s offensive against the train has weakened even more! His contribution to the team is truly remarkable!
Thanks to Seong Jihan flying to the enemy train, they could prevent the immediate annihilation of their team.
“Seong Jihan, is coming at the landing spot! Prepare 108 Arhat Formation!”
“If we can get rid of Seong Jihan, we win!”
Still, I couldn’t change the game’s outcome. 108 Arhat Formation was a game-changer, a team that could completely annihilate players on the field. For a 1 person powerhouse team like Korea, this was the worst counter.
In the first game, the game was tough because they weren’t fully prepared.
“108 Arhat Formation”
From that point on, 108 Arhat Formation showed exceptional effectiveness.
“Today, I’m drawing great cards! Meteor Strike!”
Shoooong!
A massive meteor fell onto the Korean train.
Already demoralized as a support and mage-infested Korean team, they couldn’t stop the meteor impact.
Bam!
“The train derails.”
Entering 108 Arhat Formation, Seong Jihan, who was looking for the real among the bald heads, frowned.
“No, it seems like we lost already?”
“Game over.”
“Hahaha! Is it over already? Your team is so weak. Instead of being in such a small country, why not come to our great nation, China?”
Next to Seong Jihan, Il-ryong, who was suppressing him, logged out while grumbling.
This conversation was broadcast as is.
-Ugh, that Chinese guy is so annoying -_-
-They have 18 players and act like they’re so great, lololol. But our national team is really bad…
-No, we don’t even hope to win. Can’t they at least drag it out while Song Jihan is stuck in the 108 Arhat Formation?
-Nah, it was Seong Jihan who couldn’t come out quickly, lol.
-Ah, lol. They have to sweep them in 10 seconds… what are they doing… what are they doing ㅠㅠㅠ 2 out of 3 games were complete losses, and the atmosphere in Korea was no different from a funeral parlor.
With Seong Jihan’s card locked, it felt like a losing situation no matter what they did. People paid attention to the next game.
-The 4th game is map selection, right?
-Yeah, please, make it an individual match, Warrior’s Individual Match, please ㅠㅠ – Archer’s Individual Match is okay too. As long as it’s not a mage support ㅋㅋㅋㅋ – Even in a team battle, if it’s 50 or fewer players, they might not be able to use 108 Arhat Formation…
The game outcome will be decided by luck.
In the regional leagues, the first three games followed predetermined maps for the month.
However, the 4th and 5th games were randomly assigned maps.
There were various types of maps, including team battles with 100 players and individual or small elite group battles.
Koreans hoped for the drawing of two hands to favor a Warrior or Archer individual map. Despite the odds, Seong Jihan and Ha Yeonju were individually stronger than the Chinese players. However…
“The map for the 4th game is an individual match, ‘Mage’s Tower.'”
“Only Mage class players can participate.”
Korea had no luck in the draw.
One of the most powerful magicians in existence, Je Galheon, had to face other magicians.
We lost, damn it.
-Where’s the win from the first game? Sigh.
-Turning off the TV to go to sleep~^^ Goodbye!
As soon as the map was confirmed, Koreans in the chat started leaving like a flood.
Meanwhile, the Chinese were in a festive mood.
-It’s over.
-Je Galheon will finish the game.
-Beating Koreans this way wasn’t very satisfying, but 108 Arhat Formation showed its effect after I shaved my head.
-Those trash warriors only have some use in shaving their heads.
-Keep working hard until Wang Lin (Cheonma) reaches Diamond.
Was that the reason?
– The Korean national team has requested a timeout!
– Oh. It’s an individual mage match… is there anyone to replace Je Galheon?
– As far as I know, there isn’t… I’m curious about Coach Noh Youngjun’s intentions!
Even though the Korean national team requested a timeout, there were almost no expectations for what would come next.
Until the list of replacement players was revealed.
– Uh, what…?
– Wait, wait! What is this…!
– Representing South Korea, Seong Jihan will compete!
***
“Hahaha…”
Coach Noh Youngjun, watching Seong Jihan participating in the 4th game, recalled what had just happened.
“Coach, I’ll go in.”
“Jihan… This game is for mage class only…”
“Coach, you do know that I’m an all-class, right? I can participate as a mage.”
“Oh… Oh! That’s right! I forgot about that! Then you can participate in this round as well!”
Noh Youngjun, the coach, had considered Seong Jihan’s value as equal to that of the Sword King until now. Even though his power might still be weaker than the Sword King, he had evaluated Seong Jihan as having the potential to surpass him once he leveled up.
But at this very moment, Seong Jihan’s value was being re-evaluated once again due to one overlooked fact.
“That’s all I need. I can win the individual matches with him!”
An all-class. In this BattleNet game, it was because it provided an overwhelming strategic advantage.
With trembling eyes, Coach Noh Youngjun watched the live broadcast of the 4th game.
“What, what is this? How are you in this match?”
“I’m a mage too. See, watch this. Fire.”
Seong Jihan showed the basic mage spell, Fire, to the surprised Je Galheon on the screen.
“This… This is… It’s a cheat! It’s rigged!”
Je Galheon yelled when he saw it, but he couldn’t stop Seong Jihan’s approach.
Je Galheon tried to resist with various spells, but even with multiple stacked barriers, it was impossible to defeat Seong Jihan in a one-on-one battle.
Bam!
[Player ‘Je Galheon’ has been defeated.]
The 4th game ended in less than 5 minutes. Viewers from both countries were in a state of confusion at the completely unexpected game result.
-???????? What’s this?? Why is he playing as a mage?
-We lost this game… like this?
-Do we need to report this crazy game to the authorities? This is how they manage it!?
-They should have rules like ‘If it’s a mage map, only magic fights’ in sacred mage duels!
Chinese viewers were angry about missing a winning game.
-This game…? This? This?
-Hahaha, Fire is so ridiculous! Is this real? With Seong Jihan, is it a free pass in individual matches?
-Pray to god, 5th match is also an individual match!
Korean viewers who turned off their TV when they saw Seong Jihan came back, and the atmosphere was festive.
The score was tied at 2:2.
The drawing of the next game map became more important than anything else.
“Please, team match…”
“Please, individual match…”
Viewers from both countries were on edge, wondering what was at stake for the 5th game.
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