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Panda Novel

Was it a feint? Or was it a bluff?

There seemed to be only these two possibilities. Which one was it?

The viewers were merely guessing for the fun of it, but for Samsara, the guessing would affect whether they won or lost this match.

As a result, Samsara’s guess was crucial. Everyone was staring intently at Samsara’s team chat, observing the rapid discussion taking place there.

Samsara didn’t hesitate. They didn’t waver because of these possibilities because they didn’t even bother discussing whether it was a feint or a bluff. From the beginning, the direction of Samsara’s discussion was to look for a solution to both possibilities.

Samsara rushed out.

Whether it was a feint or a bluff, Ye Xiu was targeting their understanding of the terrain. Samsara had given up on utilizing the area that they were familiar with. Instead, they chose to leave and welcome Happy directly.

Did Ye Xiu’s words really have that much of a psychological impact on them?

Not necessarily!

But Samsara didn’t lower their guard. It was similar to when Happy had been on top of the pyramid, fully prepared in the unlikely scenario that Samsara would brainlessly charge up the pyramid. In contrast, instead of just being prepared, Samsara wanted to eliminate even the unlikeliest of scenarios.

Because of Ye Xiu’s imposing air, everyone felt like the atmosphere of the match had been ruined. In reality, from these small details and from the way both teams approached this fight, the atmosphere wasn’t ruined at all. It was completely in line with how the finals should be: careful and cautious as if this was their last hope, refusing to let even the slightest possibility go.

Finally, the two teams met.

Samsara charged out from the ruins, while Happy charged down from above the pyramid, losing their height advantage.

The two sides gradually approached, intentionally controlling their pace. Their footsteps were neither too fast nor too slow.

Dancing Rain raised her handcannon. Cloud Piercer raised his dual guns. These two long-ranged classes were about to enter each other’s attack range.

But the first to erupt wasn’t the two long-ranged attackers, but Happy’s team chat.

“An, fall back.”

“Tang, right, go around 3.”

“Qiao, right, follow 2.”

“Su, stay back, go high.”

Four orders in quick succession. Go around three? Follow two? Most of the viewers were confused. A few of the more attentive ones, who paid attention to how teams communicated with each other, could understand the general meaning behind these two phrases.

Pan Lin and Li Yibo, the two commentators, had to be mentioned. Even though the two often made mistakes in their analysis, the two were quite diligent with their work. If they weren’t skilled enough to understand the team’s intentions, then there wasn’t much they could do about it. However, the two had spent time going over things that could be studied like how the team shot callers worded their orders to the team.

Although Happy was a new team, their shotcalling style and wording wasn’t too strange. After all, their shot caller was Ye Xiu, who had led Excellent Era for close to eight years. His same shotcalling habits had been brought over to Happy, so Pan Lin and Li Yibo didn’t need to put in much effort to grasp it again.

Most people were confused by the phrases like “go around three” and “follow two”, but Pan Lin was already yelling in astonishment: “Go around three? Follow two? This map…”

Pan Lin’s astonishment wasn’t towards Ye Xiu’s arrangements but the way he worded his orders. Because from what he understood, the phrases “go around three” and “follow two” were frequently used in their home game matches. In other words, they really only used these phrases in maps that they were familiar with.

The numbers “two” and “three” weren’t coordinates, but rather an agreed upon direction. It was suitable for some maps, while unsuitable for others. But for a random map…

A random map?

Pan Lin blanked. Li Yibo had realized it faster than Pan Lin. He had been trying to piece together his understanding of these two phrases and the map’s terrain, and he soon discovered that the pieces fit together perfectly.

“This terrain…”

“Happy had observed this terrain from up on top of the pyramid,” Li Yibo said.

“But they never communicated anything about it in the team chat!” Pan Lin said.

“Certain agreed upon things don’t need to be communicated…” Li Yibo said.

Changes had begun happening in Happy’s formation. Tang Rou and Qiao Yifan started moving towards the right, while Su Mucheng and An Wenyi had started moving back. Ye Xiu’s Lord Grim started moving to the left, leaving the front completely open.

For a moment, Happy’s healer was in Samsara’s direct line of sight. This seemed to be a good opportunity for them to charge right through the middle to him, but Ye Xiu, Tang Rou, and Qiao Yifan were clearly planning on surrounding them.

A pincer?

It looked like one!

But seeing the orders “go around three” and “follow two,” Li Yibo explained that Happy’s intentions were to “separate the enemies!”

A random map has its advantages!

Li Yibo sighed with emotion. His eyes were practically brimming with tears of excitement. If every match had shot callers clearly listing out their team’s every move, then he would never make humiliating mistakes in his analysis. Communication through glances, tacit understanding, Li Yibo hated those deeply.

“Let’s see how Samsara will respond. Right now is indeed a good opportunity for them to directly go for Happy’s healer, but that would only be the case if Happy’s goal is to pincer them. In reality, Happy’s goal is to separate Samsara, as a counter to Samsara’s attempt to charge straight through the middle…” Li Yibo said.

“What will Samsara do… they haven’t said anything in their team chat, but they’re starting to make adjustments too…” Pan Lin shouted, “Cloud Piercer is lined up in the middle, One Autumn Leaf in front, healer at the center, Jiang Botao and Wu Qi behind… Samsara is planning on engaging in a frontal assault!!”

A frontal assault?

The expressions on the spectating pro players were grave.

That was what their formation looked like, but it was too early to tell if that was their plan. Pan Lin elaborated on the positions of each of Samsara’s players, but he didn’t go in order of when they moved into position.

This ordering was crucial. Communication through glances was done starting from one character, creating a butterfly effect where everyone else would react and fall into place. Samsara’s change in formation had started with Zhou Zekai’s Cloud Piercer, and Pan Lin had mentioned him first. By the time he had started discussing this point, Samsara’s formation had been completed. He had just been going in order from front to back. But if you looked more closely, there was a difference in who moved first and who moved later. Zhou Zekai had been the first to move because he was the team’s core. Next was Jiang Botao’s Empty Waves, and then Fang Minghua, Wu Qi, and finally Sun Xiang.

Sun Xiang moving last wasn’t because he was the new player on the team or because he was the most lacking in synergy with the team.

It was actually the opposite. Sun Xiang moving last was precisely the reason for why the ordering mattered.

If Samsara had truly been planning on a full frontal assault, Sun Xiang’s One Autumn Leaf, the team’s spearpoint, should have been the fastest to react to Zhou Zekai’s Cloud Piercer. Because this frontal assault would be led by him. He needed to be the first to act so that the others could respond to his actions accordingly.

But he moved last. The average viewer might not find anything strange about it, but to the pro players, it was suspicious. If Samsara’s intentions were for a frontal assault, then this would be considered a mistake on Sun Xiang’s part for being absent-minded.

However, this wasn’t a mistake!

The steadiness that Samsara displayed in their formation gave the pro players a sense that Sun Xiang’s lateness was to cover up something.

But what was it?

There wouldn’t be a replay for it. For a moment, no one could see through it. They could only wait and see what would happen next.

Samsara continued forward!

It really did look like they planned on charging straight for Happy’s healer.

Happy’s left and right flank had formed and were beginning to converge…

Charge!

A character suddenly rushed out from Samsara’s formation towards Happy’s healer.

One Autumn Leaf?

No, Cloud Piercer!

Samsara’s offense had begun, but the one at the front was Zhou Zekai’s Cloud Piercer!

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