Translated by 🎏
Edited by apricot, @babyybluebear
There was still an hour until the start of the tournament even after introducing all the competing players.
After all, it was a live tournament held across several venues. Even if the main venue was ready, the others might not be ready yet. There was bound to be some waiting time involved and concessions had to be made in order to sync everyone up.
It was at moments like these that commentators were needed.
Brother Big Mouth, who had been prepared for this, treated the commentary booth as an interview table. Even a casual chit chat with these two VIPs would not bore the audience.
Brother Big Mouth asked Wei Xiao. “They are just about to enter the pick-and-ban segment. I wonder which four talents will Close pick?”
Previously, during the opening match of the World Tournament, Close and Wei Xiao had chosen four identical talents, encompassing not just top, jungle, mid and marksman but support as well. With that kind of selection, they would have been able to play in the team tournament.
That was also when the world witnessed the dominance of a perfect all-rounder.
Screw roles and stats. In the hands of the Great Demon King, he handled every talent like a hot knife cutting through butter!
Although Brother Big Mouth made the inquiry, on the inside, he already believed that Close would almost certainly go for the ones he used previously.
Shadow Thief was a given; it was his main, he practically had to parade it around. The Immortal Warlock and the Storm Hunter could also deal high damage and thus were suitable for 1v1s. Lastly, rounding it out with the Blood Warrior should allow him to hold out for a while in a solo tournament.
Relying on the warrior to provide support was a relatively risky move, but it could pay off handsomely if played well.
Surprisingly, Wei Xiao smiled and said, “Death Knight, Shadow Thief, Immortal Warlock and Storm Hunter.”
Brother Big Mouth was faintly surprised. “The Death Knight?”
Wei Xiao: “That’s right!”
Of course, Brother Big Mouth couldn’t outright deny Close’s compatibility with the talents. He simply identified an underlying issue. “How long would he last with four slayers…”
His concern was shared by the audience.
How drafting worked under the new competition format was not a secret. While there was a lot of space to play around with, it was completely unnecessary for Close to dwell too much on it.
He didn’t have to consider whether they were part of his talent pool. He could just pick the strongest and be done with that.
Forget the composition. If he just focused on the fact it was a solo tournament, these four talents were indeed the best of the best. The Death Knight’s ability to wreck the Blood Warrior was uncontested, but the problem was how he’d have to handle four agile damage-focused melee talents. What if one ran low on health?
In a free-for-all, there were no revivals. Death spelled instant elimination.
Therefore, participating players would generally choose to bring a talent which could heal. Holy Priest was the favourite pick.
While it was understandable that Close wasn’t going to use a support, swapping the Blood Warrior out for the Death Knight…
Did he intend to forfeit his life just so he could be the biggest damage dealer?
While he might manage in the outer circle, he would be restricted to the central zone and later on the final elimination zone. How was he planning to stay alive amidst the chaos, then!
Fans who initially trusted that Close had the challenge in the bag were starting to fret.
Brother Big Mouth tactfully voiced their doubts, “I’d thought that Close would pick Blood Warrior or Blood Thief.”
Wei Xiao looked at Yan Jiang with a smile.
Yan Jiang quietly gazed on without adding a word.
On the far right, Sister Ji’s mind spun quickly, and she blurted out, “This is the winning team comp three years back.”
Once spoken, countless scalps prickled numbly.
Brother Big Mouth and Sister Ji were unable to mask their shock, and the audience at the stadium who understood those words were stunned. The livestream chat was simpler in nature, basically erupting into noisy wails.
The exceptions were Wei Xiao and Yan Jiang. They were somewhat involved, yet one was grinning while the other was composed.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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It was these five talents that had appeared during the championship finals that year.
The Team of Gods were born into infinite glory, and also collapsed in that split second, leaving only the brilliant stars of their past behind.
Aside from the Medical Warlock, the four talents that Close had selected were already in the arena.
Yuan Ze’s Death Knight.
Xie He’s Immortal Warlock.
Kim Sung-hyun’s Storm Hunter.
Close’s own Shadow Thief.
And in the team tournament, Y1 would certainly use the Medicine Warlock.
The belated farewell of the former Team of Gods.
By this point, could the fans still fail to understand?
Close had waited three years for this solo tournament.
His former teammates had at last laid down their burdens and once again set foot onto the competitive stage.
Not as teammates but as opponents.
However, they remained connected by Glory.
Brother Big Mouth was getting a bit choked up and was left unable to criticise Close’s selection.
He believed that Close could still make a brilliant showing even without a specific talent to drive the ship.
Close had never disappointed them!
Everyone was visibly affected and, unexpectedly, it was Little Lunatic Wei who steered the conversation away. He directed a question to Yan Jiang. “Captain Yan, could you tell us which talents God Hai will pick today?”
Yan Jiang paused.
Brother Big Mouth hurriedly composed himself and also turned his gaze onto Yan Jiang.
Fans familiar with Yan Jiang were already answering for him on the inside. Captain Yan would surely, without a doubt, give his standard three-word response – I don’t know.
However…
Yan Jiang: “Death Knight, Blood Thief, Flying Thief, and Divine Warrior.”
The livestream chat: “????????”
What the hell? Such an amenable response?
Was this an Ask Me Anything session?
So High Lady Yan really did volunteer to take up commentary!
The expressions of the fans just then were as if a comet had collided into the Earth. They were left absolutely dumbfounded.
Brother Big Mouth was also slightly surprised. He had assumed that Wei Xiao would be rebuffed, and thus was taken aback by the direct answer. He got around to commenting on this line-up of talents right away, which to him, seemed to be a solid selection.
Wei Xiao also thought favourably of the line-up. God Hai was the top jungler last season and had a deep talent pool. Even his Shadow Thief was decent. While it might not be comparable to Close’s, with Yan Jiang’s support, it could perform as well as Wei Xiao’s Shadow Thief.
Noting God Yan’s amenability today, Brother Big Mouth puffed up. Conversation began flowing so easily that they even touched on the duo tournament.
Although they were at the solo tournament now, there were few actual differences between it and the duo tournament. They both utilised the same map and the same mechanisms. The only dissimilarity between the two was that one involved two people fighting shoulder to shoulder and the other was a single person fighting alone in a bloodbath.
Nevertheless, the difference between having a partner and not having one was huge.
Under the revised competition format, it was impossible for support players to participate in the solo tournament, but they could excel during the duo tournament.
A killing machine who brought along a divine support would definitely be able to slaughter everyone on the Sky Island of Light.
There were a fair number of peak-tier Glory supports. Li Heran was one of them; the flawless combo that he formed with Kim Sung-hyun had been immortalised in Glory’s history.
However, if one were to discuss who was the strongest support, then it would unanimously be the person sitting with them now.
Yan Jiang’s pinpoint precision and superb compatibility made him capable of pairing with anyone and still attain a good ranking in duo tournaments.
But Yan Jiang had never participated in a duo tournament. Not ever with FTW nor with Y1.
Fans had come up with all sorts of reasons, both normal and abnormal, as well as logical and illogical ideas. Some had even written ten-thousand word essays expounding on wild speculations such as Yan Jiang abstaining from duo tournaments due to injury.
Today, before the global audience, straight-ball pro player Wei Xiao asked bluntly, “Why doesn’t Captain Yan like duo tournaments?”
The question instantly frightened Brother Big Mouth.
Good grief, the actual competition had yet to begin, yet why did it feel as if a fight might break out in the commentary booth already?
This time, Yan Jiang didn’t respond.
Wei Xiao, oblivious that he was entering a minefield, turned to look at Yan Jiang, awaiting his reply.
Brother Big Mouth and Sister Ji stopped breathing, and everyone in the livestream was covering their eyes.
Little Lunatic, can you not stir shit!
Upsetting God Yan will not bode well for you!
It will only spell your miserable death in the finals!
Brother Big Mouth got ready to step in before things could turn stiff.
Why would God Yan reveal such an age-old secret? If he didn’t change the subject now, wouldn’t God Yan just depart with a flick of his sleeves!
Just as Brother Big Mouth was about to speak, Yan Jiang glanced at Wei Xiao out of the corner of his eyes and said, “Didn’t we play together before?”
Wei Xiao froze.
The whole stadium likewise froze.
What?
Whaaat?!
Yan Jiang turned to the camera, speaking slowly, “Didn’t we play together after they revised the duo tournament format.”
Wei Xiao recalled that now. “How can a random game count?”
They had queued together before in the past, but these non-official games couldn’t be compared to real competition.
Yan Jiang refuted him. “Is the grand opening a random game?”
Wei Xiao: “!”
All of a sudden, it struck everyone.
Just after the competition format was revised, the official game put together a solo tournament worldwide where both Yan Jiang and Wei Xiao had participated. During that game, Wei Xiao had the luck of being in the same outer zone as Yan Jiang.
Wei Xiao audaciously carried God Yan to the final elimination, just to help his own captain chain ten Light Arcs.
It wasn’t too long ago that it had happened so the memory was fresh in everyone’s mind.
The reminder caused Wei Xiao to jam up briefly. “Th-That’s was the solo tournament.”
Yan Jiang: “What’s the difference?”
Wei Xiao: “…………”
Anyone else saying this would be doubted but not Yan Jiang.
It was impractical to heal enemies in a solo game, but the crux of Yan Jiang’s playstyle as a support wasnever his healing but his terrifyingly precise crowd control.
Wei Xiao could still remember how effortless it was to tear his way through the entire central zone.
Therefore, there really wasn’t a difference. Yan Jiang could, in fact, support Wei Xiao in a solo tournament.
Yan Jiang suddenly said, “If there’s an opportunity, I can play with you in a duo tournament.”
No sooner were the words spoken before the entire livestream blew up.
What did Yan Jiang say? What did he say?!
Who did he want to play with?
What did God Yan, who had rejected every duo tournament from debut until now, say in front of the whole world?
While the whole world was reeling at the sheer privilege, the man himself, the little lunatic, rapidly shook his head. “No thanks, I’m good.”
In the face of such a curt refusal, not only did Yan Jiang not get upset, a smile had even entered his eyes. “Why not?”
As for Wei Xiao, he was always feisty no matter the reason or occasion. “When it comes to duo tournaments, I will naturally play with the person I like most.”
The livestream, whose shock at Yan Jiang’s words had already brought them halfway to death, puked blood again at Wei Xiao’s words.
The half-dead fans instantly expelled a cloud of white smoke from their mouths, leaving them near death.
Wei Xiao flashed Yan Jiang a smile. “The only duo partner I want is Close!”
Brother Big Mouth: “!”
Sister Ji sucked in a sharp breath: “!!!”
Below the booth, Brother Cai could not even manage a gasp before fainting.
On the contrary, Ning Zhehan and Yue Wenle were utterly calm. Brother Ning was even stealing chips from God Le. “No way, I can’t believe people are still falling for Brother Xiao’s sass.”
Chen Feng and Xiang Liu as two people in the know: “………………………………”
Don’t question it unless you intend to do a bulk purchase of quick-acting heart relievers!
Then, the originally shaken livestream started flooding the chat with comments: “Little Lunatic Wei, speak some sense!”
“Right in front of the whole wide world too. Is he not afraid of being misunderstood?!”
“If laozi hasn’t been stanning you this whole season, I really would have taken your word for it.”
“Pitying the international audience now. They probably believe that something big happened in the livestream.”
“Brother Big Mouth and Sister Ji’s acting skills support the scene so well. They’re already experts.”
There had been too many of such public ‘confessions’; everyone was desensitised to it by now.
The little lunatic only spouted senseless stuff. Those who invited him as a commentator should know this truth.
Brother Big Mouth and Sister Ji didn’t rise to the bait but nobody could have expected that Yan Jiang would. He lowered his head and smiled, murmuring, “Fair enough, I Like Close The Most.”
‘I Like Close The Most’ – the flashy ID Wei Xiao had used when participating in the opening game for the solo tournament.
@babyybluebear: Yo, don’t you love it when the ship sails by itself? And guys, correct me if I’m wrong because it’s been so long since I read the front chapters, but I remember the old setting where none of the FTW boys ever played solo again after leaving FTW, and Close had played it 3 years straight, this time finally being able to play against the 3 ex-members, which made his champion choices particularly nostalgic ;~;
Ahhh I was expeticing this chapter!! Yes, so nostalgic the choice of champions, and he’ll defeat all of them with their signature champions!
Is it just me or Cap Yan feels something for the little lunatic? He is all smiles with Wey Xiao!
🤨
Thanks for the chapter!!! <333
OwO Captain Yan… >^< Don’t try and steal our Quiet from our Close!!!
Ah, but… It’s possible he’s particularly amiable to the person supporting the youngest, most pitiful member of the Team of Gods- >^< AAAAAH DON’T SHAKE MY CORE BELIEFS-
Thanks for the chapter
I love Wei Xiao’s straightforwardness! I laughed when he bluntly turned down duo-ing with Captain Yan. 😂
I think Captain Yan recognizes Wei Xiao’s playing excellence and does want to play with him BUT I think part of him trying to “pursue” that is to tease Close a little in a friendly way. The Close who had been “closed” off. As a concerned family member, wouldn’t you want to get to know the person who opened up your youngest? 😂
Man this chapter made me so excited! So happy for FTW being able to let go and play against each other. Thanks for the chapter.