Battle Forty-Seven: The Clash is Imminent

Currently, Three Years Younger’s gear includes four sacred-grade items, and his weapon is also of the sacred-grade tier, possessing a special effect. Every time he attacks, it stacks an 'Ignite' effect on the enemy. Once this effect reaches ten stacks, it triggers instantly, dealing damage equivalent to the combined total of the previous ten attacks.

Luo Feng spoke at this moment, causing the expressions of the others to grow slightly solemn.

Of course, the duration of this special 'Ignite' effect is five seconds.

Upon hearing Luo Feng’s words, Ye Yu could not help but be stunned for a moment, and he said, "Could it be that Three Years Younger has actually adopted a somewhat unorthodox playstyle nowadays?"

Luo Feng raised an eyebrow at this and said, "Third Brother’s observation is quite piercing. This fellow currently belongs to the melee sword-user archetype, wearing penetrating light armor, with attack power and agility as his primary attributes. Overall, this guy is essentially adopting a Qi-Master sword-user build."

The Qi-Master sword-user build is a fragile archetype that prioritizes high speed as its main source of power. Supported by sufficient operational skill, this kind of sword-user build becomes a nightmare to deal with. The reason is simple: sword-user players of this type have extremely fast attack and casting speeds—even faster than normal sword-user players—and they do not even need to dodge enemy skills. When their agility reaches a high enough threshold, their movement speed effectively serves as a dodging mechanism, and utilizing basic skills along with explosive abilities is more than enough to deal massive, overt damage.

Compared to the currently mainstream sword-user builds, the Qi-Master sword-user path is basically a specialized, professional-tier route. Mainstream sword-user builds deal high, comprehensive, and wide-ranging damage, but when facing opponents with high defense, that damage is reduced by nearly fifty percent. Therefore, when facing special effects like 'Ignite', the damage is likewise diminished. Lacking armor-penetration effects, even when stacked to ten stacks, the numerical output is not as high as one might imagine due to the build's inherent attribute scaling.

"Since the battle has already been agreed upon, let us return to [Purple Void City] first to make preparations."

At this moment, Ye Yu crossed his arms over his chest and said in a deep voice.

"Inform them that they can temporarily halt the city's upgrade process."

Luo Feng asked, standing beside Ye Yu, as the current situation might require putting the city upgrades on hold for the time being.

Hearing this, Ye Yu shook his head slightly, a flash of cold light piercing through the depths of his eyes as he continued, "Continue upgrading whatever needs to be upgraded. There is no need to deliberately pause it."

Although Ye Yu spoke with absolute certainty and everyone around him listened to his words, Ye Yu himself did not feel entirely confident in his heart. For Ye Yu, this upcoming clash might prove far trickier than imagined. After all, within the [Mystic Heaven Server], how many people could stand alone against Three Years Younger and emerge victorious? Furthermore, based on intelligence gathered behind the scenes, the opponent currently wields as many as four sacred-grade equipment items. The special effects they grant are by no means absolutely balanced within the arena. Having four extra special effects alone would make the battle considerably difficult for Ye Yu.

"Do you have absolute certainty of victory?"

Old Hu walked over to Ye Yu's other side at this moment and asked, "After all, judging by the opponent's current gear, even I..."

Hearing what Old Hu said, 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero' shrugged his shoulders and said, "Even if we lack absolute certainty of victory, it doesn't mean we are bound to lose."

"Heh, exactly. If an accident happens and we end up losing experience points and getting our gold coins deducted, so be what of it?"

Huang Hong also said with a smile. Facing such an opponent was quite thrilling, so naturally, they wanted to see who would have the last laugh in the arena. Following that, Ye Yu and his party directly utilized the teleportation talismans in their hands to return straight to [Purple Void City].

As Ye Yu and his group returned to [Purple Void City], 'Understanding Human Warmth' and a group of other high-ranking members hurried over. 'Understanding Human Warmth' asked somewhat anxiously, "Did something happen? I received a message from Milk Dad, but later it seemed we didn't need to head over."

"It's nothing, it's just time to settle things with Three Years Younger once and for all. It doesn't involve [Purple Void Mirage], so it's fine."

"What? It's [Supreme Hegemony]? Three Years Younger!"

'Understanding Human Warmth' asked with a hint of nervousness, "They have quite a large number of people, are you alright? None of you got hurt, right?"

Although 'Understanding Human Warmth' was well aware of the capabilities of Ye Yu and his group, facing the sheer numbers of [Supreme Hegemony], no matter how strong one was, they would inevitably fall into a disadvantageous position. Naturally, what worried him was whether the group was safe, especially Ye Yu.

"No, rest assured." Ye Yu smiled, his gentle smile as warm as a mountain breeze accompanied by sunlight, as he placed his right hand on 'Understanding Human Warmth's shoulder and continued, "He merely issued a challenge to us to resolve past grievances. We will settle things on the arena stage during the final weekly tournament match. Therefore, you will see members of [Supreme Hegemony] appearing next as participants in the level-bracket arena weekly tournament."

"So that's how it is. That's good then, as long as you all are safe."

'Understanding Human Warmth' said with a sigh of relief. Even Xiao Mo and the others, who had rushed over, let out sighs of relief, believing that player deaths in the arena merely incurred some minor penalties, so they did not worry too much, their minds finally at ease. However, Ye Yu and his companions naturally did not break the silence regarding the true gravity of the situation. 'Understanding Human Warmth' then continued to ask, "Then do we need to reschedule the upgrade progress for [Purple Void City] because of this match..."

"No need, just proceed according to the original plan. The development of our [Purple Void City] cannot be altered and must be advanced without omission, no changes allowed. You can arrange any surplus resources as you see fit, and everything else will proceed as normal."

Luo Feng directly rejected the concern raised by 'Understanding Human Warmth' and continued, "The matter concerning this arena match is our war, and it will not drag you into it. You have nothing to worry about; the development of [Purple Void City] must be maintained."

Immediately after, the group entered an inn in [Purple Void City], ordered their respective drinks, and walked over to a corner to chat.

"He will definitely regret making this decision and choosing to fight us in the arena. Let's bring an end to him along with his so-called pride."

Old Hu slumped down onto a stool, crossed his legs, and chuckled coldly.

At this mention, the expression on Old Hu's face abruptly changed, clearly recalling something, and he immediately issued a reminder, "Regardless of who ultimately defeats Three Years Younger, we must strive to utterly slay this fellow. The penalties inflicted within the [Mystic Heaven Server] will likely leave a lifelong impression on that guy, because the sudden widening of the gap will surely exceed all our imaginations."

"That goes without saying; we must deal with this fellow and prevent [Supreme Hegemony] from ever threatening our [Purple Void Mirage]."

Ye Yu nodded, his expression appearing completely calm as he spoke, "Given that it's Three Years Younger, he would undoubtedly stop at nothing to hunt us down and cause our characters to die. Furthermore, the crucial point is that this is merely a game, so we have no need to show any mercy whatsoever toward this guy."

At this moment, 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero' rested his chin in one hand and said somewhat nonchalantly, "Killing Three Years Younger will inevitably shake his status within [Supreme Hegemony], and it will also implicate the standing of the entire guild faction. Before long, it is highly likely that [Supreme Hegemony] will no longer be able to coerce other guild factions into serving them."

"Indeed, this is a fine method; for them, it means they are completely finished."

Luo Feng also nodded from the side and explained, "A player like Three Years Younger is no longer an ordinary figure, especially someone who acts as high-profile as he does. The enemies he has made in the [Mystic Heaven Server] are naturally not few. A single death penalty will surely make him feel despair, and his enemies will unite all factions to oppose [Supreme Hegemony]. Without a doubt, [Supreme Hegemony] will no longer be as powerful as it is now. Once the status of [Supreme Hegemony] is shaken, other factions will naturally be willing to step up and drag this behemoth from its pedestal, ultimately plunging it into a new power struggle."

"In the end, [Supreme Hegemony] will very likely be spurned by other players." Old Hu's tone naturally carried a hint of mockery. Evidently, Old Hu had witnessed far too many such matters in the old servers; if someone died as a result of this arena match, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Ye Yu sighed and said directly, "There is no help for it; if we lose, we will undoubtedly face catastrophic disaster. If we win but fail to slay this fellow within the arena, for the sake of the glory he currently clings to, he will undoubtedly instigate open hostilities. Therefore, we have no choice. We must protect the brothers of [Purple Void Mirage]."

At that exact moment, a group of players who had just entered [Purple Void City] behind Ye Yu began discussing a certain topic. Hearing this topic, the expressions of Ye Yu and his companions turned bizarre, and even the depths of their eyes flashed with a hint of awkwardness.

"You guys saw it too, didn't you? This [Ancient Evil Bloodwashes the Martial World] event actually affects the entire 《God's Fall》."

"Indeed, it even triggers mandatory city-siege warfare, and we'll be attacked by the forces tied to this [Ancient Evil Bloodwashes the Martial World]."

"I heard this event was triggered and activated by players. Which blind-eyed player actually went and triggered such a high-difficulty event? Damn it!"

"The game is already difficult enough as it is, and they have to go and stir up an event like this. It's giving us a massive headache. The game isn't easy to begin with, and they pull a stunt like this."

...

After deliberating among themselves, Ye Yu and his group first reached a shared consensus: Three Years Younger was no pushover and had already embarked on the Qi-Master sword-user path. Old Hu deduced that there must be an extremely formidable person behind the scenes guiding this fellow in mastering the Qi-Master sword-user build, to the extent that even his custom talent skill tree seemed shrouded in absolute secrecy.

Although there was the so-called principle of a fair and square duel in the arena, to put it nicely, it was merely a facade to avoid gossip about relying on powerful sacred-grade gear. Still, anyone could guess without trying hard what Three Years Younger's true intentions were.

The reason Three Years Younger scheduled their duel for the final championship match of the arena was naturally to elevate [Supreme Hegemony]'s fame. Because [Purple Void Mirage] possessed Ye Yu and his team, its reputation had already soared to become the most prominent faction cluster within the [Mystic Heaven Server]. Thus, defeating Ye Yu was tantamount to shifting all the spotlight onto himself and [Supreme Hegemony].

Three Years Younger had naturally gathered plenty of intelligence reports concerning their group; he was by no means underestimating Ye Yu and his companions. On the contrary, his caution was so meticulous that hearing about it made one gasp in astonishment. After listening to 'Understanding Human Warmth's report, Ye Yu and the others felt a tingling sensation across their scalps—it was clear this was going to be a truly hard-fought battle.

As long as the team members who initially registered for the arena match were present, new members could be added to the roster. This meant Three Years Younger simply needed to secure a spot on the team entering the arena championship finals and lower the overall rating balance just enough to meet the threshold for a balanced match against Ye Yu's group. Furthermore, he could bypass the preliminary qualifiers entirely by resting safely in the championship finals without needing to sweat through the early rounds himself.

When the group of players previously discussing the [Ancient Evil Bloodwashes the Martial World] event finally dispersed, everyone present drew a deep breath, feeling a sense of relief.

"Our best course of action right now is to rely on Third Brother alone to fight his way to the championship finals. Doing so can ensure that the skills of everyone else remain unexposed, but under these circumstances, Third Brother will have to make a sacrifice. It is very likely that all of Third Brother's skills will be exposed, but the upside is that not a single skill of the rest of us will be revealed."

Old Hu muttered to himself for a moment before speaking.

"I feel that's pushing it a bit too far, and doesn't doing this essentially remove me from the battle against Three Years Younger? But isn't the person with the grievance against this guy actually me?"

"What Third Brother said is also reasonable, in the name of fair competition." Luo Feng also mused and said, "Why don't we take turns entering the ring? I believe that among the players currently participating here, there is no one capable of forcing us to reveal all our hidden trump cards, right?"

The battle was on the verge of breaking out!

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