Chapter 15 Midnight Melee

At 1:15 AM, the first match of the semi-finals, [Hell's Frontline] versus [Red Sakura], came to an end.

The result: another flawless victory for Hell's Frontline, with zero casualties.

Thus, [Hell's Frontline], a team composed entirely of non-professional players, became the first team to officially enter the finals.

Moreover… they had never suffered a single kill during their advancement, the only death they experienced… was due to friendly fire.

Their strength had clearly made them a favorite to win the championship.

...

Next, there was a three-minute break.

This "three minutes" referred to three minutes in the real world, of course.

In the game world, the next thirty minutes were a break.

Even in sleep mode, watching more than ten hours of matches would fatigue the audience, so there was no need to rush into the second match.

This was the perfect time… for some commercials.

In addition, the official host of Dream Corporation (this round of matches was conducted at different times, so there was commentary, and viewers of the live broadcast could choose whether or not to listen to the commentary's audio) also took this time to summarize the situation of the first match.

What they said… was mostly content aimed at the grassroots audience, nothing more than the strengths and weaknesses of the team members, their on-the-spot performance, and some after-the-fact strategic deployments.

Of course, they couldn't say anything too profound anyway; if they went into too much detail, they might reveal the two teams' intelligence.

After about fifteen minutes of idle chatter, the online director felt it was time, and then sent a signal to the hosts.

So, the hosting team stopped talking about the first match and smoothly began their pre-match predictions for the second match—[Trash Alliance] versus [Jianghu].

Every match in the semi-finals was full of highlights, and this one was no exception...

First of all, [Jianghu] was a well-known studio, a leader among mid-sized studios. Their reputation, word-of-mouth, individual player strength, etc., were all excellent; many industry insiders believed… that if their company were as large and organized as Order or Gods, then the current "two-way struggle" might become a "three-legged standoff."

And in this match, the performance of the [Jianghu] team was also remarkable. In addition to the well-established "Blade Sword Smile" trio, there was also the [Cai Bupa Ne] and [Bu Tiange] brother-sister duo; the former had only recently transitioned to a professional player, while the latter was sporting the aura of a "former Stardust member"... Both of them proved their ability to reach the front lines in S2 with their battle records.

Now, let's look at [Trash Alliance].

Although this team did not have a studio background, all four of their main players were professional players fighting in the game under their own names, and all of them were recognized as top players in S1 or even earlier.

The word "Alliance" perfectly reflected the form and spirit of this team.

And their path to advancement was, to some extent, very similar to that of Hell's Frontline... Most of the time, they achieved flawless victories, always giving people the feeling that they were more than capable.

In summary, it was really hard to say who would win or lose in the clash between these two teams...

...

At 1:19 AM, the second semi-final officially began.

The script that the two teams randomly drew was a place called "Moving Maze."

This maze had constantly changing characteristics, and… the maze was filled with all sorts of powerful monsters.

In addition, there were two NPC factions from different camps active in the maze, and they were clearly important figures who could influence the course of the battle.

In terms of personnel… [Trash Alliance]'s lineup was unwavering, [Trash Uncle], [Honghu], [Zhao Yingwang], and [Juan Menghuan] were responsible for playing the match, while [Bi Laoshi] was just there for show.

But [Jianghu]'s troop deployment was a bit unexpected, they sent [Wu Daoke], [Kuang Zong Jianying], [Cai Bupa Ne], and [Bu Tiange] to participate in the battle, but let [Xiao Wen Cangtian], who ranked highest on the individual strength list (within the team) and served as the "captain," be a substitute.

Outsiders couldn't understand this situation, but the higher-ups of Jianghu knew… that this was [Xiao Wen Cangtian]'s own intention.

As mentioned earlier, Jianghu was a studio founded jointly by the "Blade Sword Smile" trio, and they were not only online players, but also real-life company operators.

Unlike Jin Fugui's "Ice Emperor," these three didn't have any rich fathers to "invest" in them, they were standard self-made men… Under this premise, "spending money to hire someone" to manage the company for them was obviously unrealistic.

In the early days of the studio's establishment, the three of them were doing the work of eighteen people, they did everything from CEO to cleaner, and only then did they slowly make it through...

Today, Jianghu's business was growing bigger and bigger, and although they no longer needed to clean and buy takeout themselves, they had all gradually realized… that the days of juggling both the game and the operation were coming to an end.

Don't look at how Shiva of Gods was also a man who combined the identities of studio owner and player, but his identity was "Chairman"... Apart from some major decisions, most of the other daily affairs could be left to his subordinates.

But Jianghu's situation was different, they were now at a turning point… If they wanted to further expand the size of the company, they had to make a decision...

So, [Xiao Wen Cangtian] made his choice.

His plan was… to "fade out" first, then "retire," and then focus all his work on the operational level of the company, striving to make Jianghu a top-tier studio within a year. When everything was on track, he would consider whether or not to "come back" as a player...

Of course, he also knew very well… that in the e-sports industry, there were basically very few players who "came back" successfully; especially those projects that required physical strength and instant reaction, usually... as long as a player was over twenty-five years old, their overall condition would begin to decline, and if they stopped systematic training for a period of time at this point, then their condition would probably never return.

Xiao Wen Cangtian had also thought… that rather than letting the fans lament that Lian Po was old, sighing over the player's declining condition, it would be better to retire bravely while still in good condition.

Xiao Wen Cangtian originally didn't want to participate in this S2 competition; but in order to support the newcomers and ensure that they could go further in the competition... he still took the time to participate in some of the preliminaries.

Now that the team had reached the semi-finals, he felt that the time had come.

Even if they won this match, there would only be one match left to play, so Xiao Wen Cangtian simply wouldn't play this match.

Win or lose, let Bupa and Xiaobu, these two rising stars, gain some more experience in major competitions. In the future... there may be more occasions where they will have to cope.

...

At 2:40 AM, that is, "thirteen and a half hours" of game time later, the result of the second semi-final was revealed.

This match ended with [Trash Alliance]'s victory.

Although it took longer than the first match, the process of the match was not considered to be particularly difficult.

Honghu's calculations allowed Trash Alliance to borrow a very favorable "momentum," and Zhao Yingwang's reconnaissance abilities with those summoned creatures could also be called unparalleled.

Therefore, from one hour after the start of the competition, they had always occupied the initiative in terms of intelligence and strategy...

And the [Jianghu] team members had been in a state of being busy with their lives.

Logically speaking… In this situation, a slight carelessness would lead to attrition or even a team wipe, but Jianghu still relied on its strong strength… to stubbornly support itself for more than ten hours.

But in the end… Trash Alliance still won without using their full strength.

Mysterious strength, mysterious limits, like Hell's Frontline... another team without a studio background entered the finals.

...

Still three minutes of rest time.

The advertisers were all waiting impatiently...

The hosts were also very busy, the players were resting, but they couldn't rest (during the competition, the hosts had many opportunities to rest in between, after all, not every minute had content to talk about), and the inter-match analysis and commentary were essential.

Although [Jianghu] lost, and lost quite badly, the hosts and the audience still had a high opinion of them, and the two newcomers in the Jianghu team who had just emerged were also highly praised.

The result of this match also proved that sometimes... "losing badly" is not equal to "losing ugly." Perhaps there is a gap in strength between you and your opponent, but as long as you try your best within your own ability, you can still win respect even if you lose.

As for [Trash Alliance], the hosts also offered a lot of praise. Under the instruction of the director, they had begun to consciously compare this team with the [Hell's Frontline] team that had finished the match earlier...

...

At 2:44 AM, the third semi-final began.

[Warring States] vs [Mountains and Rivers].

Before the match, the predictions for this match were one-sided… even the official hosts, who should have maintained an objective and neutral attitude, revealed a message in their words – [Mountains and Rivers] was probably in danger.

Indeed, [Mountains and Rivers] was also a very strong studio, led by Pikachu… Oh no… led by [Qiufeng Se], with [Matcha Su] as the vice-captain, this first team of Mountains and Rivers could be said to be the "strongest in history."

But… after watching the previous rematch, even the analysis team of Mountains and Rivers believed that… the chances of defeating [Warring States] were very slim.

The analysis conclusion on the individual strength of the [Warring States] team members was very pessimistic, putting away those prejudices against foreign studios, and objectively analyzing... the strength of the first team of Warring States was clearly at the level of Gods and Order.

Before entering the semi-finals, although their strength had been affirmed by many parties, they were still underestimated for various reasons...

It was not until [Warring States] stood at the threshold of the final that people seemed to belatedly realize that... their captain had defeated the defending champion in a one-on-one battle; their road to promotion was a quick and decisive victory, using force to break through skill; so far in the competition, their players had never lost in a single duel.

The reason why this first team of the [Warring States] studio failed to rank in the top ten in the preliminaries was not because they were not strong enough, but simply because of their almost "arrogant" attitude in terms of strategy. Most of the time, they simply did not consider borrowing "momentum," so in many matches... they won by facing the combat power of both the enemy team members and the NPCs.

But in the rematch stage, their style changed slightly, although it was only "slightly," they had indeed become cautious... at least they would no longer ignore the power of the NPCs or rush into obvious traps.

To defeat such a [Warring States], [Mountains and Rivers] needed a miracle...

...

At 2:52 AM, the miracle did not appear.

A match that lasted "eighty minutes" ended here.

Qiufeng Se had tried his best, and only half an hour after the start of the script, he had successfully obtained the strong support of the NPC forces. Then, he used ten thousand volts… Oh no… I mean he mobilized 100,000 troops (script forces, cold weapon armed) to encircle and suppress the four members of the enemy team.

As a result, he found that each of the Warring States team members... had very rich "grass-cutting" experience.

Each person averaged 320 enemies per minute, 3 minutes to complete a thousand kills, four people are four thousand kills...

At this speed, 100,000 troops could only last for less than an hour and a half.

Fortunately... those 100,000 NPCs were not fools either, after seven or eight minutes, when they found that the troop losses had exceeded 10,000, and the enemy showed no signs of fatigue... they decided to run away.

Otherwise... the audience would really have to watch nearly an hour and a half of grass-cutting Musou...

As a result, the "momentum" borrowed by Mountains and Rivers was transformed into nothing by the opponent's "force."

Seeing this situation, Matcha Su used a trump card that she originally wanted to use in the final, which could only be activated once – she used her S-level mechanical specialization to produce a Gundam.

However, the four members of Warring States dismantled the Gundam with swords...

At this point, the match had lost its suspense.

...

In this way, the three matches were settled, and the three final teams had been decided.

The remaining final match will determine the final qualifying spot.

And the two sides in this match... were also worthy of the role of finale.

[Order] vs [Gods].

The word "Peak Battle" is the best interpretation of this victory.

However... just as people's blood was boiling, Dream Corporation suddenly poured a bucket of cold water on them.

[Important Notice: All players please note, all players please note... In order not to affect the normal lives of players during the day, our department has negotiated with and decided by the members of the two teams, the fourth semi-final – "Gods vs Order" match will be postponed to tomorrow at midnight, today's match ends here.]