Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
What happened? Why did Vlad die? These questions would remain unanswered by the deceased companion. Behind Ding Lan, Ding Nuo immediately headed towards the area where Vlad had fallen. The distance was not far, and it was close to their own jungle. Ding Nuo suspected that Vlad had accidentally wandered into the territory of the Giant Serpent, which was indeed within this jungle and could be endured. Driven by a natural instinct to uncover the truth, Ding Nuo forgot that this was a Competition Match. If it was the Giant Serpent, there would be no meaning in it; if it was an ambush, wouldn’t going there be a death sentence?
As Ding Nuo walked, a Yellow Card flew out from the mist on the left, immobilizing him. Three shurikens shot out from the mist on the right as Mi Xiaonan lunged at Ding Nuo. Before Mi Xiaonan even reached him, his Ninjutsu activated. Ten meters above Ding Nuo, Mi Xiaonan's entire Force suddenly extinguished, leaving only a thin residue of energy. As Mi Xiaonan descended, his palm struck Ding Nuo, unleashing a Thunderstorm that resulted in Ding Nuo's silent death.
Cui Ming waved his hand, and Mi Xiaonan immediately charged towards Midway. This technique allowed him to convert all his protective Force into Chakra for a momentary explosive power without harming the normal operation of his Force; it did not fall under the category of destruction, and his body’s Force would quickly replenish.
After Ding Nuo's death, no one from the Ding Family group alerted or adjusted their tactics. While guessing the situation, Ding Lan was in contact with Ding Wen, hesitating between completing the mission for money to revive or retreating to assess the situation. Just as Ding Lan decided to retreat, Cui Ming had already cut off their escape route from Arrow Tower. The damage from Arrow Tower to Cui Ming was significant, but it didn’t matter anymore; Ding Lan prepared to initiate a surprise attack and charged out. Cui Ming's Yellow Card had already immobilized him again as Mi Xiaonan followed up with a familiar tactic, swiftly moving in to eliminate Ding Lan. Mi Xiaonan transformed into lightning and dashed out of Arrow Tower territory while Cui Ming activated his teleportation ability.
As members of the Ding Family Group continued to fall one after another, Li Qing had entered the jungle from Bottom Lane and quickly approached Ding Wen. Ding Wen was very alert; upon discovering that Ding Nuo had also died during his conversation with Ding Lan, he began to retreat. When he was still over three hundred meters away from their base, Cui Ming descended from above. A Yellow Card once again immobilized him. The Card Play also had another function; for example, it could be used to trap and catch Ding Lan. After Ding Lan's death, Cui Ming could immediately draw another Card Play; this was something he discovered in the arena. Whether it could be used outside remained unclear, and Cui Ming currently had no enemies to test it on.
Cui Ming threw a flying card at Ding Wen; while its attack power was decent, killing Ding Wen seemed nearly impossible. Reinforcements were arriving—Li Qing might not be the fastest but was among the top three in terms of speed through the jungle during this match. He didn’t even take a detour and directly kicked through the territory of the Red Dragon, able to walk in a straight line through the maze-like jungle. Arriving late but ahead of others, Li Qing reached the battlefield just as Cui Ming’s Card Play time was about to expire. Li Qing knew he couldn’t kill Ding Wen in such a short time but didn’t intend to do so either. Upon landing, he delivered a heavy kick that sent Ding Wen flying towards Mi Xiaonan.
This time Mi Xiaonan did not use Chidori; Chidori required coordination with Cui Ming’s immobilizing card to be effective. Instead, Mi Xiaonan employed Ninjutsu’s Shadow Clone Technique, transforming into four copies that rushed towards Ding Wen. Unfazed, Ding Wen swung his Greatsword at one of the clones. Mi Xiaonan took a hit but managed to grab hold of Ding Wen.
In that moment of distraction for Ding Wen, Mi Xiaonan unleashed Chidori…
On his way here, Mi Xiaonan had been injuring himself by stabbing himself with Chidori. As soon as the Chidori mark time was about to end, he stabbed himself again—by the time he reached Ding Wen, he had stabbed himself six times in total before activating Ultimate Thunderstorm. Ultimate Thunderstorm was Mi Xiaonan’s trump card—a large-scale Thunderstorm technique learned three years ago while protecting Jayce's Sister. At that time, following Cui Ming's dubious advice while trapped in a cage, he used Chidori on a mouse before breaking free from its cage; this caused area damage that also harmed Jack.
However, since Ding Wen wasn’t the main target of Chidori’s mark, he didn’t suffer much damage from it; yet Mi Xiaonan wasn’t trying to kill him but rather aimed to Paralyze him instead. As Thunderstorm erupted, Ding Wen was struck by lightning and paralyzed while his rolling knife broke apart; he also fell due to losing balance.
Mi Xiaonan himself was immune to Chidori and Thunderstorm—that was primarily why he transitioned from killing mice to self-harm. Suddenly all of Mi Xiaonan’s Force vanished again as something rapidly spun into existence in his right palm. This object was created from Chakra energy—half of it formed a sphere spinning rapidly while the other half resembled a drill-like sharp spike.
Ding Wen watched helplessly as that object crashed into his chest; in an instant it pierced through his protective energy field—Ding Wen even thought he felt a large hole appear where his heart should be.
Ding Wen vanished, and Mi Xiaonan flipped twice before landing, raising her right hand with two fingers pointed up. "Hey! Four kills for Mi Xiaonan, unmatched in the world. As the sun sets in the west, I am number one." Li Qing wasted no time and kicked Mi Xiaonan on the head.
Five minutes passed; the match started and ended in just that time. The Midway ambush began, with only one minute and thirty seconds left until the end, and that was due to Ding Nuo wasting time in ambush.
Ye Wen watched with cold sweat on his forehead. Although he was confident he wouldn't lose as badly as the Ding Family, he had to admit he had completely underestimated the North Moon Group. In a real fight, he would likely lose nine out of ten times. This kind of defeat was unbearable for him and the Ye Family. Ye Wen pointed to a few people in the arena who were watching the Red Dragon and asked, "Who are they?"
"Cui Ming," Yellen answered from beside him. "Cui Ming is very cunning; they deliberately created internal strife and abandoned watching our match against the Fire Cult. Everything was laid out for today. Mi Xiaonan's strength surprised me; killing Vlad like that requires immense offensive power. Not to mention Ding Family, even I would fall for it. Cui Ming's ruthlessness was expected, but Mi Xiaonan's abilities were beyond my expectations. And Li Qing's speed has increased; she crossed into Red Dragon territory without getting hurt or hindered. Then there's Ding Ze... Ding Ze and Mi Xiaonan are two powerful attackers, and Li Qing's rapid advance can directly strike at the backline's face. Coupled with Cui Ming's sinister schemes, this group won't aim for just the top three."
Ye Xin said, "I believe there's still an element of luck involved. Cui Ming and Mi Xiaonan chose to ambush on the left; how could they be sure Vlad would go that way? How could they be certain they would be on either side of Ding Lan?"
Ye Wenda replied, "I know the answer. In previous matches, Vlad frequently moved along the left side. The second question is that there were no sightings of Ding Family Group members in any of the three lanes, which allowed North Moon Group to earn money effortlessly. But how did they manage to pinpoint it so accurately?"
Yellen stated, "Li Qing has True Sight Guardian."
Ye Wen nodded; that made sense. True Sight Guardian was a personal treasure, entirely different from the scouting guards available for purchase. It could be deployed to a designated location, allowing Li Qing to report Vlad's position via intercom based on True Sight Guardian's information. After Cui Ming immobilized Vlad with a Yellow Card, Vlad couldn't use his intercom and was taken down by Mi Xiaonan instead. What they didn't know was that Cui Ming had also used deception; emerging from the fog, he threw out a Yellow Card. Without hesitation, Vlad activated Blood Domain only to realize it was just a yellow Poker card. Just as he regained his form and before he could use his intercom, the real Yellow Card arrived. The only consolation for Vlad was that this humiliating detail wasn't captured by cameras.
The North Moon Group showed some understanding; aside from Cui Ming and Mi Xiaonan risking their lives to watch the giant snake, the others worked together to destroy the unguarded Main Base. There was no choice; Competition Match rules dictated that they must destroy the Main Base even if all opposing members were dead. However, it took quite some time during which Ye Family couldn't communicate or leave, forced to hover above their base while enduring humiliation.
Vlad felt frustrated; despite all his calculations, he hadn't anticipated that Cui Ming would choose to target him first. Yes, Cui Ming had schemes, but if Vlad were still alive, no matter who Cui Ming betrayed or killed, Vlad would have immediately realized something was wrong and ordered a retreat. Even if North Moon Group had an advantage, it wouldn't lead to them swallowing up Ding Family Group whole. Vlad didn't blame Ding Nuo; Ding Nuo lacked leadership qualities but resembled a fierce general or politician instead. Vlad blamed himself; Ding Family could lose but not like this—it felt like having skin peeled off painfully. The Ye Family would rather face off against Fire Cult than choose North Moon Group; why hadn't he asked more questions back then?
Finally, the Main Base was destroyed. Vlad and his four companions left the arena and returned to the field. They exchanged glances without speaking and silently followed Ding Nuo out of the venue. Even Ding Nuo's younger brother, Ding Dewen, who had prepared to interview him, was pushed aside by Ding Nuo.
The atmosphere was filled with shock and disbelief. Liu Meier commented during the live broadcast that although North Moon Group won, their success was purely due to luck. If Vlad hadn't taken that route or hadn't died, there wouldn't have been such an outcome. If Ding Lan had heightened his vigilance after retreating into Arrow Tower range, he might have escaped Cui Ming's pursuit... If only...
As the President of the Alliance, Bufon patted Wandering on the shoulder. "Baldy, from now on, you call the shots."
Wandering Path replied, "I know the North Moon Group has a good chance, but I didn't expect them to be so ruthless, swallowing everything in one go. The Ding Family didn't even have a chance to struggle. Liu Meier was right; Cui Ming's tactical appetite is too big. I understand targeting Vlad is normal, but Li Qing reporting Ding Nuo's position and not retreating, then ambushing Ding Nuo again, was already very risky. Then there’s Ding Lan, who completely relied on Ding Lan's panic to succeed. Even the final interception of Ding Wen was extremely precarious; with Li Qing and Mi Xiaonan arriving in succession, it was quite a close call. This guy not only has strong adaptability but also has a gambler's spirit, with a hint of arrogance. I'm really worried about Ding Nuo. He’s a politician and the first person of the Ding Family due to their merger. He can't possibly accept this kind of loss calmly. As President, I need you to speak up."
"We're here to do just that," Bufon replied.
The guest room was already prepared with exquisite food and champagne. Once the hotel learned of the match results, they immediately sent celebratory food for the victors. Cui Ming and his team returned to the hotel laughing and chatting, closing the door behind them. Ding Ze opened the champagne and filled everyone's glasses as they toasted, "Cheers." The joy of victory was evident without needing further words.
The Pirate Team advanced against the Cao Liu Family Group.
The Ye Family Group faced off against the Fire Cult, with the Fire Cult competing.
The Ding Family Group went against the North Moon Group, with the North Moon Group competing.
Only one match remained: Silent City versus Little Wave Team. This match promised to be quite exciting as Little Wave Team was composed entirely of Yorkians and had considerable strength, but Silent City came prepared. (To be continued.)
Comment 0 Comment Count