NOVEL NEXT Chapter 250: Road to champions [1]
The Imperial Flame Pavilion in Beijing, China, was as silent as a ghost house.
Zhao Feng, one of the commentators broke the silence. "I don't believe it… h-he outplayed Divine Judgement itself".
Anthony Hales was hysterical. "Oh my world! He turned the game's best Paladin into a practice dummy at the end there, good grief!"
And finally…
BOOM!
The stadium erupted.
It was a cacophony at the Imperial Flame Pavilion in Beijing, China, as tens of thousands of Chinese fans let their voice heard.
[England: 1 point]
[Japan: 0 point]
And just like that, England led the semifinal 1-0.
Japanese fans at the Imperial Flame Pavilion were shellshocked. This was their captain's first defeat in the individual battle round in almost 2 seasons.
They thought they had to be wary of only Meng Wu Ya, they never expected that there was another pro player in the World Cup who could defeat their captain but here they were, facing the brutal reality.
The tension in the stadium rose even more, becoming palpable.
The game didn't stop because of the Japanese's shock. It continued, moving on straight to the 2nd individual battle.
[Second Battle:]
[Reckless Storm (Blademaster) vs Shiori (Elementalist]
The tempo skyrocketed.
Behind already, Japan was desperate to clinch a victory. They were ready to dig in and lose themselves in this game to clinch victory.
But against Aria, against the Sword Saint, it was an uphill task.
Aria could feel her blood boiling like she was in a furnace, dopamine filling her brain. She was excited, she was driven, she was in the flow already.
Aria came in like a whirlwind, flicker-stepping through firewalls and breaking through Shiori's arcane zones. But Shiori was no amateur. Her spell chaining was flawless, bombarding Aria with flame prisons and frost novas.
It was a battle of precision and fury, intense, fast-paced just like Lord Doom and Ghost of Tsushima's legendary duel.
In the end, Shiori pulled off a bait-and-burst maneuver, trapping Aria mid-dash and finishing her with an explosive spell combo. Or so she thought, because then…
[LAST STAND!]
Reckless Storm's S-Rank unique skill triggered.
BZZZ!
The Elementalist didn't even know how she died.
She was blitzed to death.
---<VICTORY>---
[England: 2 points]
[Japan: 0 point]
BOOM!
The stadium exploded again, English fans letting loose, while on the other side, the Japanese fans only turned quieter.
Their whole world was being rocked this game.
[Third Battle:]
[Enlightened Flame (Summoner) vs Riku (Combat Monk)]
The Combat Monk is a variant of the Combat Mage class.
This was a brain war.
Caleb flooded the field with summoned minions and summoned a temporary terrain warp. But Riku played the attrition game, dodging and disrupting Caleb's cast time with relentless counters.
The game was drawn out.
At the 6-minute mark, Caleb unleashed his Titanus Ifrit summon, but Riku used a full-kit invulnerability to outlast and execute.
Caleb went down grinning, impressed.
His calculations failed to account for this. A first when he was this focused.
Caleb lost, but he played a perfect game.
[England: 2 points]
[Japan: 1 point]
By the end of the individual battle round, England was leading but it was not a sizeable advantage yet. The game result was still very much up for grabs.
[LOADING…]
[SECOND ROUND: 3 VS 3 BATTLE RUSH]
Like planned ahead of time, Lord Doom led Reckless Storm and Captain Batman into the arena for England. Ghost of Tsushima, Shiori, and Riku represented Japan in the 3 vs 3 battle rush.
It was another thriller.
Lord Doom started, and he was outlasted by Ghost!
It was a shocker.
Earlier, Japanese fans around the world were shocked, and this time, it was the turn of English fans to be bamboozled by the result of this battle.
This was the first 1v1 encounter that Lord Doom lost all season. It may not be in the individual battle round, but Ghost of Tsushima got his revenge.
And it tilted the scales of the 3 vs 3 battle rush.
Aria sliced down Ghost in revenge, but she sacrificed a lot of health to make it happen. Shiori bombarded the Blademaster to death next.
Captain Batman came in last for England.
Benjamin played one of his best games all season, but against the young, talented, and surprisingly shrewd Japanese Elementalist, when England needed it the most, Benjamin failed to get the decisive victory.
---<VICTORY>---
[England: 2 points]
[Japan: 4 points]
England lost. Benjamin lost.
Immediately after the game, as they went for halftime, Noah took the liberty of consoling his teammate as he knew just how traumatic such an experience could be, but Benjamin was stubborn. He was not having it.
He was angry at himself and raging.
He could not wait for the team battle. Benjamin was out for blood.
10 minutes later, it started.
[LOADING…]
[THIRD ROUND: TEAM BATTLE]
[England's Lineup:]
>Lord Doom (Combat Mage).
>Captain Batman (Elementalist).
>Reckless Storm (Blademaster).
>Caleb (Summoner).
>Genevieve (Cleric).
>Substitutes: Jeff (Combat Mage), Rosalind (Warlock)
…
[Japan's Lineup:]
>Ghost of Tsushima (Paladin).
>Shiori (Elementalist).
>Riku (Combat Monk).
>Yuno (Assassin).
>Haruka (Support Mage- Spellblade)
>Substitutes: Koji (Berserker), Hinata (Warlock)
The team battle began and it was the prelude to a bloodbath, one of the most intense and brutal battles in the history of professional Warstar.
The arena shifted again, this time forming the "Celestial Divine", a massive floating arena split by a golden energy chasm that constantly rotated.
The opening skirmishes were a blur. Aria and Yuno vanished from the center immediately, a side duel of blades and death.
Lord Doom and Captain Batman anchored the core, combining elite AOE DBS plus a Combat Mage's explosive strength to devastating effect to disrupt formation and zone out Japan's ranged backline.
Shiori countered with Aether Cyclones, and Riku went in, pressuring Caleb.
Genevieve kept the tam up, weaving Holy Shields and Sanctuary zones, but Haruka matched her step for step.
It was a brutal showdown.
Minutes passed.
Chaos erupted when Hinata, Japan's Warlock sub entered and immediately unleashed [Womb of Silence], silencing England's backline for 4 seconds.
In those 4 seconds, Captain Batman fell.
Now 4v5, England subbed in Rosalind, the Warlock.
Rosalind entered like a sniper in a storm, moving with deadly precision as with a skill, she headshot Haruka mid-cast with a dark bullet, nullifying her healing.
Caleb summoned Infernal Seraphim, and Noah typed out a call.
["Final strike pattern! Reverse Delta!"]
England executed a reverse flank, luring Ghost and Riku forward while Aria came in from behind, assassinating Shiori.
Genevieve kept the frontline barely alive. Lord Doom activated an Awakened level skill, Apotheosis Burst, turning the battlefield into a lightstorm.
Ghost of Tsushima dropped.
Japanese fans felt like a knife was just driven through their hearts as they saw their captain fall, his Avatar dissolving into motes of light.
It was now a 3v3.
Caleb vs Riku.
Aria vs Yuno.
Noah vs Hinata.
Seconds felt like eternity.
Riku knocked out Caleb, only to get gutted by Aria. Yuno struck Aria down, but not before she baited her into position.
It was brutality.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Noah's fingers flew across his keyboard in a mirage.
His in-game Avatar responded, Lord Doom blinking behind Yuno, chaining [Singularity Break] into [Star Collapse].
Yuno fell.
Only Hinata remained.
Noah typed. ["Time to go."]
[Oblivion Cross]
Another Awakened level skill!
BOOM!
The final blast struck clean, then…
DING!
---<VICTORY>---
[England: 7 points]
[Japan: 4 points]
[WINNER: ENGLAND]
BOOM!
The Imperial Flame Pavilion turned upside down as English fans let loose.
The arena exploded with cheers as Lord Doom stood tall, cape fluttering in the winds of victory. Echelon embraced. Genevieve dropped to her knees in relief. Caleb pumped his fists in the air.
It was tough, tight, but England had done it.
They progressed.