Chapter 80: The Grandmaster’s Unexpected Defeat

[A’si is a mage; even if his intelligence has taken a dive, it shouldn’t be that easy for him to suffer a crushing defeat, should it?] someone posted in the forum thread.

[A ‘mage dog’ (TL Note: A derogatory term for mages), doesn’t he just need to stand there, spamming fireballs to barrage their face? If he can still mess that up, he might as well delete his account and start over!]

[You’re the dog! Do you even know how exhausting it is to be a mage? Do you know how much effort we put in?]

Naturally, no one held any faith in Su Yingning’s victory. From every perspective, be it her class, the treacherous terrain, her skill, or her equipment, she was undeniably at a severe disadvantage, leaving no logical path for her to claim victory.

Private Chat Channel: [Su Shunhua: In a moment, first, execute a slight side-step to the left to dodge, then crouch in place. After that, perform a large forward leap… Upon landing, don’t hesitate; immediately follow with another large leap, aiming to ‘mount’ his face and knock him down… Remember the sequence precisely. One mistake, and you’re dead.]

[Ning Beibei: This… can this possibly work?]

Su Yingning was utterly stunned. This was A’si! He was nothing like those ‘little salted fish’ (TL Note: A slang term for casual or weak players) from before; A’si was an undeniably renowned grandmaster! Even if she possessed foresight, would A’si truly act precisely according to a pre-written script?

[Su Shunhua: You guess~]

[Ning Beibei: Guess your head off! This is a matter of life and death, no time for jokes!]

Taking a deep breath, Ning Beibei quickly swapped her weapon for the divine artifact Su Shunhua had forged. She then positioned herself at the one-third mark of the log bridge, standing rigidly, poised for battle.

She found herself compelled to heighten her vigilance, for this was A’si, after all.

Upon observing Su Yingning’s swift weapon change, A’si’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. The blade of her new weapon crackled with fearsome purplish-red electrical arcs, dazzling to behold and clearly no ordinary item.

A’si, unlike what others might have assumed from his outwardly calm demeanor, was now on high alert, his vigilance stretched to its absolute limit. As a grandmaster mage who had clinched first place in numerous past competitions, he would never condescend to underestimate an opponent. Nor would he, like the casual onlookers, dismiss these unfolding events as mere coincidences.

A single occurrence might be an accident, but a continuous string of events? That was undeniably no accident at all!

Regardless of the woman’s actual strength, she undoubtedly possessed some hidden tactic capable of leading her opponents to a crushing defeat! And this secret, while potent enough to fell others, might very well be capable of bringing about his own downfall.

Yet, having stepped onto this stage, it was time for him to bring an end to this charade! For he was A’si! The grandmaster A’si!

The moment he reached the opposite one-third mark of the log bridge, both he and Su Yingning sprang into action simultaneously!

Su Yingning shot forward with the directness of an arrow, while A’si, with a swift raise of his hand, unleashed an instant fireball capable of inflicting a momentary stun!

Though the fireball’s damage was negligible, a direct hit would undoubtedly pave the way for a barrage of high-burst skills aimed squarely at Su Yingning’s face! This was merely the opening gambit of a fire mage’s devastating combo.

Su Yingning’s body flickered slightly to the left, narrowly evading the projectile. Only after the fact did she realize the fireball’s trajectory had veered ever so slightly to the right. Had it not, her leftward dodge in such a confined space would have been utterly futile.

A single missed fireball fell well within A’si’s calculations. Immediately afterward, he abruptly hoisted his staff skyward, his chest swelling as a blazing Ring of Fire erupted explosively from his very core! A scorching aura, imbued with a slight gust of knockback force, surged forward, hurtling directly towards Su Yingning!

Su Yingning instinctively crouched in place, lowering her center of gravity, and with sheer willpower, managed to resist the powerful knockback force of the fiery blast.

Given that the Ring of Fire inflicted a brief stun effect upon its caster, A’si found himself unable to immediately follow up with further damage. However, as a grandmaster, he was, of course, far removed from the ranks of ordinary casual players.

Astonishingly, even before the Ring of Fire’s stun effect could fully trigger, he had already initiated the channeling sequence for Flamestrike! The moment both their stun effects dissipated, he would be poised to unleash an instant, devastating Flamestrike.

Flamestrike’s destructive power was ten times that of a mere Fireball! Moreover, it carried an immense concussive force, capable of knocking back any target it struck!

A’si already harbored a degree of surprise. For a mage, having skills miss and being engaged in close combat typically spelled certain death, making skill accuracy and efficacy paramount. Fortunately, two consecutive failed spells still fell within his acceptable parameters. After all, the instant Flamestrike, flawlessly timed with his Ring of Fire, remained his ultimate trump card.

Although this particular Flamestrike had begun charging moments ago, the channeling animation itself had been entirely obscured by the Ring of Fire’s mandatory stun. Consequently, no one could possibly have detected his preparatory actions! This meant the ensuing Flamestrike would strike without the slightest warning, a truly terrifying blow.

Crucially, Flamestrike boasted a flight speed vastly superior to that of a conventional Fireball! Once its channeling was complete, dodging it would be an absolute impossibility.

Moments later, both combatants simultaneously broke free from their stunned states. Without a moment’s hesitation, A’si unleashed the Flamestrike, a spell he believed would unequivocally determine the victor.

A mere half-second later, Su Yingning’s equally unhesitating great leap and dash sent a jolt of utter horror through him!

‘Could she truly possess foresight?’

‘Why would she suddenly leap into the air? Didn’t she understand how vulnerable she was while airborne? No experienced player would execute such a meaningless, sudden jump!’

Yet, her seemingly ‘brainless’ leap had, with uncanny precision, allowed her to evade the instant Flamestrike he’d so meticulously timed with his Ring of Fire! ‘Fxxk! What in the world was this luck?!’

‘Was he overthinking this? Perhaps his opponent wasn’t a true master after all? A genuine expert would never execute a pointless, grand leap for the sake of stability! Unless… unless his opponent had reached such an exalted level that they could perfectly divine his intentions! Perhaps they even knew about unrevealed PvP secret techniques, such as the precise timing for a Flamestrike!’

‘Thankfully, he still had one last secret weapon in reserve…’

“Frost Nova!”

Frost Nova, a spell designed to freeze all struck targets rigidly in place!

The instant Su Yingning’s feet touched the ground, he unleashed this potent crowd-control ability, a spell not native to his fire mage class—this was his ultimate trump card! No one could have conceived that a fire mage would possess the ability to cast Frost Nova, for it was an ultra-rare, intermediate skill granted by special equipment. He had never intended to reveal it, but at such a critical juncture, this Frost Nova held the power to deliver a decisive counter-kill.

Much like Flamestrike, Frost Nova boasted an incredibly swift flight speed. The moment an opponent perceived its casting animation, or even heard him utter the incantation, any chance of evasion would be irrevocably lost!

To his utter despair, however, he witnessed Su Yingning, immediately upon landing, execute yet another seemingly ‘brainless’ leap without the slightest hesitation. With an almost absurd coincidence, she soared over the Frost Nova’s incapacitating embrace.

A half-second later, A’si felt the distinct impact of a foot against his face. Another half-second elapsed, and a clear footprint was visibly imprinted upon his cheek.

His body lurched, then toppled from the precarious log bridge.

A soft splash—

Followed by a gurgling descent—

Elite Squad’s A’si, perished.

A profound silence descended upon the entire arena.