Chapter 118 The Most Effective Strategy

The words had barely left his mouth when a rumbling sound echoed through the forest.

Before long, a massive figure slowly emerged, entering the view of the group.

The monster stood over two meters tall, with a pair of giant bat wings, sharp teeth and claws, beast hooves, and a lion's tail. The intense presence and overbearing aura emanating from it were undoubtedly manifestations of unique data.

"Samodier?" Two seconds later, Wusicanxuan recognized the newcomer. He had encountered this Boss in a previous script, though they hadn't engaged in direct conflict.

"What's going on?" Guixiao turned to look back, his eyes flashing again. "You're clearly not a Shi Guan..." (Time Official).

"I haven't been for a long time," Samodier replied, "But I have a way to make you 'think' I am."

Guixiao immediately understood what the other meant: "You deliberately created a 'Shi Guan zhi Jing' (Time Official's Realm), and made me sense it, in order to lure me here..."

"Very good," Samodier said coldly, "You were able to figure it out yourself, saving me a lot of explanation."

"Hey... Guixiao, what's the situation?" After another Boss-level monster appeared, Zuiwo Changran, already in a battle stance, sensed something was amiss. He turned his head and whispered to his teammate, "What's going on?"

"The situation..." Guixiao said solemnly, "You and the captain will probably be killed soon..."

"Heh..." Zuiwo Changran's lips twitched as he chuckled, "I see..."

As he spoke, he turned his head and gave Wusicanxuan a look. With just a glance, Wusicanxuan understood his teammate's intention.

In the next second, they both charged out with equal speed, launching a sudden attack. Their target was the same – Jibu.

The viewers watching the match never imagined that they would witness two superstar members of Order's first team launching a sneak attack on a small fry like Jibu.

But this scene did happen, and... it was perfectly logical.

Because... in the short five seconds it took for Guixiao to say "killed" to Zuiwo Changran and Wusicanxuan exchanging glances, the two professional gods had already calculated the situation in their minds:

First, although Guixiao's words sounded unbelievable, he was clearly not joking. Considering that this kid's prediction accuracy rate for battle results was 100%, it was basically certain that the combined strength of Dianhe Wang and Samodier could crush Zuiwo and Wusicanxuan.

Second, Guixiao only said "you and the captain" would be killed soon, but didn't say that he would die. This showed that... even if his teammates died, he was still quite confident in saving his own life.

Combining the above two points, Zuiwo Changran and Wusicanxuan thought... since the result of fighting head-on was definitely death, why not make a contribution to the team before dying? And what was that "contribution"? Naturally, it was killing Jibu.

In short... they spent five seconds accepting the fact that their lives were nearing their end, and reached a consensus on "what can I do right now" – we can't beat the two Bosses in front of us, but can't we join forces and kill you, Jibu?

Thinking this, Zuiwo and Wusicanxuan both went all out.

In the blink of an eye, the two had already reached Jibu... Zuiwo Changran went straight in, releasing the strongest fist technique in his skill bar – [Dragon Fist - Burst]; and Wusicanxuan was also merciless, using a pair of spray cans to unleash a large-scale control move – [Graffiti Domain].

One move was an absolute kill that could instantly kill high-defense players; the other was a super-strong control skill that combined attack reduction, speed reduction, defense break, and a series of other negative effects.

Faced with this terrifying combination attack, let alone Jibu, even if Shiva were here, his chances of survival would be slim.

However...

What happened next shocked Zuiwo and Wusicanxuan.

Not only them, but everyone involved, except Jibu himself, as well as every viewer watching the live broadcast, was stunned by Jibu's response.

…………

November 10th, 9:30 PM, in Feng Bujue's conference room.

"That's about it, did you write it all down?" Jue Ge lazily slumped in the main seat of the conference table, completing a rather lengthy narration.

"Of course, who do you think I am?" Jibu crossed his arms in front of his chest, sitting upright in the chair to Jue Ge's left, replying in a matter-of-fact tone, "Don't mention twelve plans, even twenty would be no problem."

"That's good..." Jue Ge responded, and then, as if suddenly remembering something, he changed the subject, "Oh... right, there's something I need to remind you about."

"What else?" Jibu asked.

"There's a tactical detail I'd like to suggest that you adopt," Feng Bujue paused and asked, "You have a skill that can only be used once, called [Ice Prism Mirror Wall], right?"

"What the f*ck?" Jibu's expression changed drastically upon hearing this. "How did you know?" After asking this question, he seemed to have imagined an answer himself, "Did you plant a spy in my studio?"

"What do you think this is, a police movie?" Feng Bujue replied with narrowed eyes, "There aren't that many spies in real life... not to mention whether your studio is worth sending a spy into, let's talk about me... I'm not a professional player, and I have no conflict of interest with you, why would I send a spy to your side? Is it to be gay with you?"

"Hmm..." Jibu also narrowed his eyes, looking back at Jue Ge with a suspicious expression, remaining silent.

"Sigh..." Jue Ge looked at his reaction, sighed, and continued, "My last sentence was a rhetorical question, not a real question."

"Oh..." Jibu breathed a sigh of relief, "You scared me..." He paused for two seconds, then continued with the previous question, "Then how do you explain knowing about my skill? The fact that I have this skill is only known to people within our studio, not even those peripheral members who were newly recruited into the guild know."

"Well..." Feng Bujue considered for a few seconds and replied, "Well... it wouldn't hurt to tell you." He suddenly asked, "Have you seen *The Matrix*?"

"I've seen it, of course I've seen such a classic movie," Jibu replied, "Eh? Why are you asking this? Trying to change the subject?"

Feng Bujue ignored him, continuing on his own, "Simply put... like the protagonist in the movie, in the game world, I have the ability to see through the 'matrix code'."

"Ha!" Jibu immediately burst out laughing, "Hahahaha..." and he laughed very insincerely, "Why don't you say you have superpowers in the real world?"

"I do," Feng Bujue's expression remained unchanged, replying calmly, "I just haven't fully mastered how to use them yet."

"Oh..." Jibu nodded, imitating Jue Ge's expression, and replied with a serious face, "Seriously... I suggest you find a better hospital and go see a psychiatrist."

Who knew, Feng Bujue still responded calmly, "As for psychiatry, I went to see a doctor in the fifth grade of elementary school. At that time, I found two adults who had something on me to impersonate my parents and go to the hospital for a comprehensive examination and testing." Speaking of which, he used his hands to make quotation marks, "As a result, they gave me a 'perfectly normal' identification report."

After pausing for two seconds, Feng Bujue chuckled, "Hehe... but recently, I learned that I had already been monitored by a mysterious government department at that time. So now I can't be sure... whether the report I got at that time had been 'processed' or not."

"Alright, alright... you win..." Jibu put his hand on his forehead, shaking his head, "You're a novelist, I can't argue with you... I won't ask anymore, I'll just pretend you..." He also raised his head, extending the index and middle fingers of both hands to make a quotation mark gesture, "...'can see through the matrix code', alright." After saying this, he brought the topic back to the right track, "In short, I do have the [Ice Prism Mirror Wall] skill, and it is indeed a consumable skill that disappears after one use, so what?"

"I just want to tell you..." Feng Bujue replied, "No matter which plan you choose in the script, once the 'setup' I set takes effect, you – Jibu... will face two to three Order team players accompanied by two npCs. One of them must be Tun Tian Guixiao (Devouring Heaven Guixiao), and the other two... whoever they are, as long as they find that the situation is unfavorable to them, they are likely to launch a fierce attack on you at all costs." He spread his hands and continued, "When this happens, even without any analysis, you should understand... any combination of two of the four 'Zui, Sheng, Meng, Si' (Drunk, Life, Dream, Death) has the ability to instantly kill you."

"So, you mean, when that moment comes..." Jibu followed Jue Ge's train of thought, thinking and responding, "...I should decisively use [Ice Prism Mirror Wall] to counterattack them?"

"No," Feng Bujue denied.

"Huh?" Jibu was stunned, "No?"

Feng Bujue immediately revealed an evil smile, "When that moment comes, you should..."

…………

Time, back to the present.

The moment [Graffiti Domain] and [Dragon Fist - Burst] struck, Jibu was already prepared.

He planted his hands on the ground, and spiritual energy burst from his body. As the skill was activated, a giant silver-white, translucent spiritual wall appeared.

[Name: Ice Prism Mirror Wall]

[Skill Card Attribute: Active Skill, disappears after one use]

[Skill Category: Spiritual Art]

[Effect: Creates an Ice Prism Mirror Wall that can be maintained for five seconds. All attacks sustained by the mirror wall will be absorbed and converted into pure energy; this energy can be blasted towards any target within thirty meters according to the user's will. Unreleased energy will explode on the spot as the mirror wall disappears after five seconds.]

[Consumption: 50% of maximum stamina and spiritual power]

[Learning Conditions: Level 50, Spiritual Art Specialization B, Fighting Specialization B]

[Note: An ice spiritual art created by a nameless expert, possessing absolute defensive capabilities against all skills below S-rank, and can absorb 70% of the power when attacked by an S-rank skill.]

This skill, if it were the "permanently mastered" version, would definitely be S-rank. However, Jibu's "consumable version" is the same as the permanent version in terms of effect, only the learning conditions have been lowered.

The moment Jibu made his move, Dianhe Wang and Tun Tian Guixiao had already seen what the special effect of the skill was, and they all thought that Jibu would use this move to counterattack Zuiwo Changran and Wusicanxuan.

But... Jibu didn't do that.

In an instant, the skill effect sprayed out by Wusicanxuan and the fist of Zuiwo Changran both landed on the mirror wall. Then, a cluster of colorful energy and a giant golden dragon were injected into the translucent mirror wall.

The two forces merged and swirled in the mirror wall, quickly brewing into a completely mixed force with variegated colors, and then broke through the ice and blasted directly towards – Tun Tian Guixiao.

"Tch... Not bad..."

Objectively speaking, Guixiao was caught off guard by Jibu's unexpected counterattack, and he rarely showed a little panic.

However, that was all...

"But it's useless against me!" Facing the huge energy ball rushing towards his face that he could no longer dodge, Guixiao shouted lightly, and raised his right arm sideways, "[Denial Right Hand]!"

The audience didn't know what kind of skill this [Denial Right Hand] was. In fact, if Guixiao hadn't reported the skill name in a very chuunibyou (delusions of grandeur) manner, they wouldn't even be sure if this was a skill or not.

But the effect of this skill was still visible...

It was seen that Guixiao's entire arm was covered by a white stream of light when he used the skill, and then, he used his right hand to directly catch the flying energy ball...

"This kid... could it be..." Seeing this scene, Samodier, who was watching the battle from the sidelines, changed his expression drastically, and thought to himself, "Damn it... I seem to have been tricked by Feng Bujue again... Could it be that he wants to use a borrowed knife to kill someone, and get rid of me..."

"I see... no wonder he went to hunt down Shi Guan..." On the other side, Dianhe Wang was thinking about other things, "Since he has already obtained the 'Right Hand', it shows that he even knows the secret of the 'Left Hand'. If he collects the 'Power of the Twelve Shi Guan' before Ragnarok, the situation will be difficult to control..."

Chichi chi...

After a few seconds of stalemate, the energy ball dissipated like a ball of ice cream being roasted under a spray gun, disappearing in an instant.

"Hoo..." After taking a breath, Guixiao's arrogant chuckle reappeared on his face, "Jibu, right... I always thought that the captain of Hyotei (Ice Emperor) was a fraud, but now it seems that he is quite capable."

"Is this guy too strong..." On Jibu's side, although he was still trying his best to appear calm on the surface, his heart was on the verge of collapse, "The move that Zuiwo Changran used to hit me should be [Dragon Fist - Burst] without a doubt. Since it's an S-rank skill, I still took 30% of the damage head on, and that 30% alone made my survival value drop by half... but that guy actually blocked the dual-skill energy refracted by [Ice Prism Mirror Wall] with one hand, and still looked like nothing had happened..."

"Alright, the warm-up is almost over." Guixiao's voice soon sounded again, and his gaze also shifted to Samodier, "You're the tallest here, let's start with you..."