Chapter Forty-Nine: An Easy Victory, Testing the Waters

Luo Feng pondered for a moment before offering a reminder. For this arena battle, the most crucial thing was for everyone to conceal their skills as much as possible, leaving no openings for 'Three Years Older' to exploit, while exerting maximum pressure on the opponent.

"Let's see who goes up first."

Following that, the PVP page of the arena battle interface began the selection process. Old Hu and 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero' immediately opted to participate. Just as the countdown for the duel was about to reach zero, the barrier in front of 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero' slowly lowered.

"Good luck, our Shaman King," Ye Yu said, waving at 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero'.

'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero' cast a sideways, exasperated glance at Ye Yu before smiling, clearly signaling that he would give it his all. He then strolled out leisurely. The map for this arena match was extremely compact—the total area might not even be half of a basketball court. The spectator stands naturally surrounded the space in a circular tier arrangement, projected holographically since this was none other than the summit of Mount Hua!

Many members from the [Purple Void Mirage] had come to cheer them on. High-ranking figures such as 'Knowing Warmth and Coldness' were all present to observe the duel, especially since [Purple Void Mirage] and [The Supreme Force] had already agreed to settle everything through this series of arena matches.

'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero' appeared on the left side of the map display, with the opponent's rest area roughly fifty meters away. At that moment, a swordsman player wielding a three-foot-long blue-glowing blade slowly walked out.

The player's ID was somewhat startling—Kirito.

When this 'Kirito' caught sight of 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero', the three-foot sword in his hand flashed with a faint radiance, a result of the sunlight refracting off the steel.

Shortly after, 'Kirito' switched to a dual-wielding stance, employing a dual-sword skill native to the swordsman class. This path inevitably led down the dual-blade specialization, which focused on high-speed combo attacks, though the damage of each individual strike was lower than that of a single-handed weapon.

However, a frenzied succession of consecutive attacks could leave an enemy completely unable to parry. Thus, such swordsmen possessed formidable control over combo chains. Furthermore, with the addition of the custom talent skill tree, dual swords could be significantly enhanced.

At this point, both sides faced a choice regarding the terrain: the combat would take place across an area divided into a rocky zone and a flat zone. This design introduced two distinct playstyles. The first option involved navigating the cluttered terrain where obstacles hindered movement and made launching attacks difficult; while mobility remained relatively easy, landing accurate hits on the target proved exceedingly challenging. By contrast, the second option offered unhindered movement and direct engagements, though this fighting style carried severe drawbacks.

When single-target tactics were required, the terrain offered limited strategic choices, especially when an offensive Shaman like 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero' clashed with a swordsman. It was a difficult matchup. If only one side occupied the rocky zone—particularly a Shaman who excelled at ranged combat—it would create a terribly unfair advantage against a swordsman.

Yet, for a swordsman, this map was a double-edged sword. Due to the restricted line of sight, the swordsman's usual charging momentum could not be fully utilized, though sprint attacks retained distinct utility. In the flat zone, however, the heavy equipment required for dual-sword builds naturally slowed movement, making actions less fluid than with a single blade.

"Let's see how they handle this," Ye Yu said, sitting cross-legged inside the resting room as he observed the unfolding scene. He spoke in a calm and collected tone, a faint look of amusement playing across his face as the corners of his lips curved into a smile.

"Though, speaking of which, sitting on a straw mat instead of hard rock to watch the match is pretty comfortable for us," Old Hu said with his arms crossed over his chest, looking immensely pleased with himself—an expression that, in Ye Yu's eyes, was utterly flamboyant to the extreme.

'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero' gave 'Kirito' a polite cupped-fist salute. Seeing this, the opponent naturally returned the gesture. Running into such a courteous opponent in the arena was always a pleasant surprise, given the frequent lack of sportsmanship among players.

However, the moment the fight broke out, 'Kirito' immediately claimed the rocky zone to conduct the battle.

"Choosing the rocky zone to fight means he intends to wear down the opponent through a war of attrition. It all comes down to who loses patience and makes the first move in the flat zone," Ye Yu remarked with a slight frown. Mount Hua's topographical design undoubtedly enhanced both tactical depth and visual appeal, but for the players actually fighting there, it was a tremendous headache.

"It's all about endurance. If the time runs out and it's judged a draw, not a single skill will have been leaked, and that's definitely not the outcome they want to see," Old Hu noted, clearly identifying the core issue and mocking 'Kirito's' choice of tactics.

Every arena match had a time limit, though the duration varied depending on the map design. Generally, if neither side managed to defeat the opponent after twenty minutes of combat, the match ended in a draw. Both participants were forcibly pulled from the stage, and each side had to send out a new replacement player.

In a team match, however, such a stalemate would count as a loss for both teams, resulting in direct elimination.

'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero' breathed a sigh of relief as black flames rolled around his body, forming a protective barrier that enveloped him. He adopted a defensive posture to face 'Kirito', fully aware that the opponent's combat strength outclassed his own. He was acutely conscious of this fact.

Therefore, upon seeing that 'Kirito' had chosen to occupy the rocky zone, 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero' secretly let out a breath of relief. With a small smile, he retreated to the far side of the flat zone and leisurely found a spot to sit down.

While the flat zone did feature a few boulders for cover, compared to the chaotic terrain of the rocky zone, these obstacles were glaringly obvious, instantly revealing anyone hiding behind them.

To any discerning observer, it was clear that 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero' also intended to stall for time, dragging the match out until the clock ran down to secure a draw.

This was a sound strategy. Under these conditions, Ye Yu and his companions' primary objective was to avoid exposing their skills, and they were certainly not going to pass up such an opportunity.

'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero' had no intention of launching an offensive right now; he simply maintained a cautious defensive stance to guard against any fatal strike from 'Kirito'.

Unable to locate 'Kirito's' whereabouts, 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero' felt his vigilance rise steadily.

Meanwhile, moving swiftly through the boulders, 'Kirito' noticed that 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero' had no intention of attacking and was simply stalling to run out the clock. Decisive action was required, so 'Kirito' launched an offensive. With three rapid spatial blinks, he arrived directly behind 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero'. Enshrouded in black flames, 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero' did not immediately notice that 'Kirito' had closed in from behind.

Cross-stitching the air, the two swords in 'Kirito's' hands thrust simultaneously toward the black flame barrier at 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero's' back. Realizing that the defense of the black flames was weakest at the rear, 'Kirito' seized the opening to unleash a lethal assault.

A piercing sound of a blade tearing through the air reached 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero's' ears. His brows twitched slightly, and a chilling glint flashed deep within his eyes.

Suddenly, the black flames behind 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero' fused with numerous swirling fire currents, instantly growing far more intense than they had appeared a moment ago.

Clang—!

A crisp, metallic resonance echoed off the black flames, shocking many in the audience. Could the black flames actually possess metal-like defensive properties?

'Kirito's' attack was completely repelled by 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero's' flawless defense, and the recoil even inflicted a debuff status on the attacker.

Watching the scene unfold, Ye Yu remarked with growing interest, "Is this skill akin to an omnidirectional defense? It even carries a metallic effect, functioning just like a shield with a perfect-defense judgment. It neatly compensates for any lack of mobility—the skills on this guy's custom talent tree are truly remarkable."

Seizing the brief window of the debuff state, 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero' spun around and threw a punch. However, because he was still locked in a defensive posture, his turning speed was slightly slower than normal. The wasted time allowed 'Kirito' to recover from the sluggish debuff just in time. Sliding sideways, 'Kirito' easily dodged the blow.

Using his agility, 'Kirito' slipped back into the cover of the rocky zone. 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero's' counter-attack struck the terrain instead, sending a brilliant shower of sparks flying in all directions. Taking advantage of the chaos, 'Kirito' wove back and forth through the boulders to evade 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero's' consecutive strikes. Finding an opening, he flashed instantly to 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero's' left side.

Wary of 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero's' omnidirectional defense this time, 'Kirito' executed only a light, probing strike. The objective was clear: to test the defensive strength of the skill. If the defense proved weak, 'Kirito' could immediately inflict a slow debuff on 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero'.

If 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero' maintained his defense, 'Kirito' would withdraw the attack and use the sword in his right hand to deliver a fatal slow debuff instead—a foolproof calculation.

Yet, just as the blade was about to strike, 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero' suddenly surged forward.

His movement appeared bizarre and erratic, wreathed in a shroud of black flames that formed a rudimentary defense. Charging in a straight line directly into the rocky zone, he instantly widened the distance between himself and 'Kirito'. Using this momentum to brake, he spun around to face 'Kirito' without pausing to charge his footing. Stamping hard against the ground, he leveraged the sudden burst of momentum to launch a direct charging attack.

Even so, the charge failed to connect with 'Kirito', who easily dodged the onslaught by activating 'Overdrive Mode'. Though he managed to evade the lethal center of the attack, 'Kirito's' shoulder was scorched by the black flames clinging to 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero's' charge.

The damage dealt by 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero's' charge left many spectators astonished. Few expected an offensive Shaman to possess a charging skill capable of dealing such massive damage. Furthermore, the damage scaling appeared to increase with the distance traveled. With such data multipliers, the resulting damage output was far from negligible. Because 'Kirito's' class possessed inherently low defense, the impact sent him stumbling backward. He slammed heavily into a massive boulder before staggering further back in a lurching retreat.

Realizing the situation was turning perilous, 'Kirito' felt a surge of alarm. Maximizing his agility to the absolute limit, he dashed toward the depths of the rocky zone. But 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero', having also activated 'Overdrive Mode', locked onto the timing, took a single stride, and flashed forward to intercept him.

Bang—!

A deafening crash echoed out as 'Kirito's' dash collided with 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero's' black flames. The metallic ring of impact sounded once more, accompanied by another wave of thermal burns from the black flames. The force of the collision sent 'Kirito' reeling backward several paces, plunging him back into the slowed debuff state. Without a moment's hesitation, 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero' curled the fingers of his right hand into a fist, locked onto his opponent's chest, and unleashed a furious punch.

"This guy's fundamentals are rock-solid," Old Hu muttered, resting his chin in his right hand as he observed the unfolding situation. Throughout the fight thus far, 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero' had barely used any active skills, relying entirely on fundamental positioning and seamless transitions between offense and defense. Conversely, 'Kirito', despite being a Qi-宗 Swordsman, had employed numerous skill-based attacks, only to have every single one thwarted by 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero's' sturdy, flawless defense.