translator: xiin
editor: apricot
The death knight was one of the older talents in Glory.
Having been launched early on, it was widely used and the favorite hero of countless players.
Throughout the history of Glory e-sports, many players have played the death knight to perfection, and quite a few players had become known as ‘gods’ with a single battle with this talent, but so far, no one had ever surpassed Yuan Ze’s record.
Complete victory with this talent in the singles competition.
And his win rate in team competitions was as high as 90%.
This win rate wasn’t based on a specific year or season but rather his total win rate over five full years, starting from when Yuan Ze first entered the professional circle.
Over the past five years, there have been countless competitions of all sizes, and being able to maintain such a terrifying win rate in team competition was enough to prove how strong Yuan Ze’s death knight was.
Not only was this Yuan Ze’s best hero, it was also countless people’s faith!
At this moment, Lu Feng also took out the death knight, wanting to use the same talent to compete with his former senior in this final showdown.
FTW’s previous top-laner, and FTW’s current top-laner.
They weren’t using the death knight just to compete for the singles competition title but also in order to fight for the throne belonging to the word’s number one top-laner!
Three years ago, Yuan Ze won.
Who would win three years later?
The death knights in light form rode on their hell horses, transforming into shadows and charging towards their opponent. Fiery hooves slammed against the arena, and scarlet flames marked their opponents at the same time. Enhanced basic attacks were thrown out, hitting their opponent’s key points and dealing maximum damage.
They had the same amount of health, the same talent, and even the same equipment!
The skills that were used at almost exactly the same time allowed the two to create a symmetrical painting, yet there was a heightened sense of tension behind the flawless moves.
It seemed that this symmetry would be torn apart with just the slightest shake of the painter’s hand.
There was the fear that they would fall out of balance but also the fear that they would remain endlessly locked together.
When Yuan Ze released his three-headed hellhounds and increased his movement speed to charge at Close, Close didn’t use the same tactics to confront him. Instead, he took the lead and shifted to heavy form, slashing with his demon long sword. The sparks from this clash caused sparks that splashed onto the magnificent stage, scorching the tens of thousands of people that filled the entire venue!
There was a huge bang.
The three-headed hellhound shattered into a black mist, then dissipated. Yuan Ze coated his body in magic armor, and his sturdy arm casually drew a pattern in the air with his long sword before stabbing out and charging towards Close to deal a high amount of damage. If this sanction triggered the magic seals on Close, then there would be explosive damage!
Close naturally wouldn’t try to take this attack head on. His long sword stabbed into the ground, and his weapon began emanating an eerie, insidious energy. The death knight wrapped up in magic armor held the energy of death within him, while the demonic knight devoured all fatal incoming damage.
Yuan Ze’s understanding of the death knight went all the way deep into his bones. How could he not understand what Close was doing? He reset his skill cooldowns with a combo, then returned to light form, jumping up lightly to avoid taking counter damage.
Close followed suit closely, stabbing twice with his short blade. The mark of decay appeared on Yuan Ze’s head!
When their skills were all used up and on cooldown, the two of them continued to fight in close combat. Everyone exclaimed that it was a wonderful show!
Melee fights were great to watch, especially when it was between peak players. Even if the audience couldn’t understand the details of their micro operations when watching at normal speed, just watching the fluctuations in their HP was enough to win them over.
Usually, when skills landed, there would be an accompanying sharp drop in health. However, these two were always able to keep their HP stable.
What was their secret? Positioning and prediction!
This battle lasted for more than ten seconds because these two gods forcibly extended the time by more than half.
Brother Mouth truly lived up to his name. When he really got into it, his words were easily able to fill the audience’s hearts with awe.
This wasn’t the same game.
Or even the same talent.
After seeing these two death knights, no one else present was worthy of playing the death knight!
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.
But no matter how close a game was, there would still be a moment when it came to an end.
Ktf akb qfbqif’r LU yjgr ofii ja jiwbra atf rjwf rqffv. 80%, 70%, 60%…
Ktfs mbeivc’a erf jcs tfjiat qbalbcr veglcu atflg olutar, jcv cflatfg bo atfw tjv j reqqbga ajifca.
50%, 40%, 30%!
Qfgf atfs ralii cba ublcu ab rklamt ajifcar?
Jbeiv la yf atja atfs kfgf gfjiis ublcu ab erf atf vfjat xcluta ab oluta ecali atf fcv?!
20%, 10%…
Seeing that they were on the brink of critical health, everyone held their breath, keeping their eyes wide open to witness the final moment.
Who would remain standing at the end? Who would become the first King of Sky Island? Who would remain standing at the end and force all the beasts to surrender?!
5%!
Red blood, critical health warning!
At this very last moment, the white light signifying talent switching shone, and both of them simultaneously switched to their second talent.
Yuan Ze transformed into a blood warrior and summoned his substitute to share damage. At the same time, he started up his ultimate move…
Close was even faster than Yuan Ze. He switched to the shadow thief in an instant and moved back, pulling away.
Oh no!
From those in the live broadcast room to those at the scene, to even those in the commentator booth, everyone who wanted to see Close win the championship felt their hearts leap up to their throats.
Only two people remained calm.
Wei Xiao and Jiang. One of them was filled with confidence, and the other was as stable as a rock.
It was a pity that none of the cameras aimed their way. Otherwise, everyone would definitely be unable to resist asking––
Little Lunatic Wei, do you really trust your captain that much?!
God Yan, are you really so indifferent as to who wins or loses?!
On the other hand, the fans’ hearts were about to burst. They were so scared that they were clenching their hands on their armrests or smashing their keyboards like crazy.
There was no way for a critical health blood warrior and a shadow thief to fight!
The blood warrior’s ultimate move made it immune to damage, and it also had a strong ability to suck back health. Just take a look at that HP bar that had already recovered to 30%!
The shadow thief had displacement and DPS, but he couldn’t resist a single hit from the blood warrior. The game would end even before he could brush out any light arcs!
Yuan Ze didn’t hesitate at all and threw his skills at Close, intent on winning the Heart of Sky Island.
The shadow thief who only had a sliver of health left made an extreme dodge and started stacking up marks at the same time.
Was he going to brush out light arcs?
Could this even be done?!
Light arcs required a series of moves to set up. Even if it was someone as strong as the great demon king, it was impossible to brush out light arcs without stacking up marks and dealing damage…
And unless he was able to brush out ten light arcs and Yuan Ze wasn’t immune to all damage, then he would just end up dead.
Next, Close showed everyone a stunning moment that shocked the entire Glory circle. It was likely that no one would be able to surpass it for the next few years!
The marks stacked up and the damage accumulated. He remained at critical health as he avoided the blood warrior’s attacks, operating at a limit that was almost impossible for humans to achieve as he played out a dazzling special effect that swept across the entire arena!
After triggering the fury skill, the nine light arcs instantly doubled up.
The holographic projection once again showed the effects of ten light arcs. The sky filled with light lit up the entire venue, and the zoomed out view made everyone feel like they were bathing in starlight!
The pitch black venue was so quiet that even the drop of a needle would be heard.
It was like a silent universe, the moment before countless stars might explode.
And after that dazzling light came earth-shattering sound effects!
They came from the stage, from the audience, and from countless pairs of excited hands at the other side of the internet connection.
As expected…
Close did not disappoint.
As expected…
The shadow thief remained standing at the end.
As expected…
The first owner of Sky Island of Light was Close!
The light arcs dissipated, and the shadow thief that had been immune to all damage remained standing at the end.
Yuan Ze was completely reconciled with his loss.
Everyone watching was also convinced.
Starting from when he took First Blood in the Moonlight Wetland, Close hadn’t relaxed for even a single moment.
He’d gone all out in this fight, and all of his preparations had been for this final burst.
He’d saved the special skill from taking First Blood until the end, in order to bid farewell to his former teammates.
He’d kept the fury skill that was the award for thirty kills until now, to bid farewell to the past.
The Team of Gods’ nine light arcs had been replaced by ten light arcs.
A legend had been recreated on top of another legend.
The shadow thief who was standing alone on top of Sky Island was no longer alone!
The 2021 global singles championships had come to an end, and the winner was Close, who had won five consecutive championships!
He’d been a world champion every year since his debut.
Five championships in five years – Close was awesome!
When Brother Mouth uttered these passionate words from the commentator booth, countless people’s eyes turned red. Their hands also turned red from clapping, and there were even people sobbing uncontrollably.
Wei Xiao, who was full of confidence, also felt a slight stinging sensation in his nose. Although the corners of his lips were curved up and his small tiger teeth were flashing, his eyes were filled with tears.
No one knew how difficult this journey has been for Close.
No one knew how much Close had put in for this moment.
No one knew how many days and nights Close had endured and held on for.
Fortunately, as time went by, his persistence had finally paid off.
Lu Feng rarely accepted post-match interviews.
However, this time he had to stand at the interview booth no matter what.
The trophy representing the singles champion would remain with FTW. The host congratulated him.
A smile overflowed from the eyes of the great demon king who was always serious, and his cold face was like winter snow caught in the spring breeze, exuding a refreshing aura that soothed the heart.
The host couldn’t help but say, “Although this is the fourth time you’ve won the singles championship, you seem happier than before.”
Close’s eyelashes drooped slightly as he looked at the trophy in his hand. He said quietly, “I am really happy.”
The host’s eyes heated up, and they couldn’t help but say, “Please continue to work hard in the next season!”
They still wanted to see him win the championship next season, and they still wanted to see the trophy remain with FTW!
Everyone thought this way, but to their surprise, Close smiled briefly, “Next season…”
He raised his head and said firmly, “The singles trophy will remain at FTW, but it may not necessarily be me.”
As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar from the entire audience. And then, everyone understood.
The scrolling comments in the live broadcast were going crazy––
“F*ck me, does this imply that the little lunatic will sign up for the singles next season?”
“Oh my god! The CP I ship is real! It’s as real as gold and silver!!!”
“Holy shit holy shit holy shit, this is too crazy and arrogant. The current FTW really makes people love it, love it, love it!”
Wei Xiao’s heart skipped a beat when he heard this sentence.
Only one person per team could sign up for the singles competition.
If Wei Xiao participated in the next season, that meant that Lu Feng believed that he would definitely be able to hold on to the championship trophy and keep it at FTW!
Wei Xiao really wished that he could rush up to the stage, hug the captain and give him a kiss!
How could there be such a cool man.
And this man was his!
Wei Xiao was elated just thinking about it.
Wei Xiao didn’t have time to worry about anyone else and headed backstage immediately after coming out of the commentator booth.
When Lu Feng came over, Wei Xiao hugged him tightly.
Lu Feng chuckled, “Don’t mess around.”
Wei Xiao looked at him with bright eyes, “You’re too handsome!”
He was talking about the ten light arcs that had burst out at the end of the singles competition.
In return, Lu Feng asked him, “Scared?”
Wei Xiao understood what he meant. He grinned, showing his tiger teeth, “Not at all!”
What was there to be afraid of?
Declaring war on the whole world – this was the unique trust that Close had in him!
He didn’t even have enough time to enjoy it so how could he be scared already!
Wei Xiao wanted to lean up and kiss him, but Lu Feng pressed against his waist, “Go home first.”
Go home! It only took two words to coax the little lunatic.
Lu Feng ultimately couldn’t hold back. He couldn’t do anything out of line here, but he also couldn’t bear to let go of Wei Xiao’s hand.
Wei Xiao secretly interlaced their fingers. The two of them held each other tightly, hiding their overflowing joy and happiness.
On the car on the way back to the base, Wei Xiao suddenly remembered something and said regretfully, “Not good!”
Lu Feng looked at him, “Hm?”
Wei Xiao sighed, “I forgot about Captain Yan…”
Lu Feng: “What, did you have plans to have dinner together?”
Wei Xiao naturally wouldn’t hide this from him, “Earlier, Captain Yan saw me wearing your championship ring and said he would give me a gift after the singles competition.”
… I’m not even into any real-life e-sports but here I am, tearing up at a fictional team for a fictional player of a fictional e-sports game :’D
Ahhhhh me too!!!!
I’m right here with you! Made me think about what it would be like to actually attend a match and feel the excitement, if only for a moment. It was thrilling.
Thanks for the chapter
thank you for the chapter!
FTW for the win! (ftw ftw heh)
Thanks for the chapter!
Little lunatic Wei once again abandoned Captain Yan😂
I love this novel! Thanks for the chapter.
Thank you for the chapter! So good so good!!