Vanguard of the Eternal Night

translator: xiin

editor: kara

How would he get out of this predicament?

Under such strong wind pressure in a harsh mid-air environment, one needed a strong displacement technique that could launch fast enough, be powerful enough, and cover enough distance to instantly get out of trouble!

The techniques that could meet all of these conditions at the same time were rare, even across the entire world of e-sports.

However, Lord Four's flash was one of them!

The female commentator was so excited that the words 'continuous flash' were already on the tip of her tongue, just waiting to call it out loud in the next second.

However, her cry of 'flash' ultimately never came out.

Because, Lord Four didn't use flash. Instead, amidst the raging winds, a tiny, white light that was so slight that it almost couldn't be noticed emerged between his fingertips--

"Steel wire!" The male commentator shouted, "At the start of the match, Odin tied a steel wire to the ginkgo tree."

Female commentator: "There are many ways to break an aerial control skill. I didn't expect that he would use the most basic one…"

Male commentator: "A layman will watch for entertainment, but people in the industry will watch for skill. The steel wire might look simple, but it's actually only there due to a prediction he made before he even began. Just think about it, you haven't even started to fight, but Odin already knows what the result of your fight is--how would you feel?"

The female commentator went straight to the point, "I'm sorry, my IQ is too low!"

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As he spoke, Tyron pulled on the steel wire and was able to withdraw from the center of the storm.

At this time, Geng Chen, who was still dancing in the storm, didn't stop at all. The red ribbons on her wrists fluttered in the fierce winds, and everyone could vaguely make out that she had raised her hands to shape a different gesture.

As soon as her first move took place, Tyron abruptly released the steel wire in his hand!

In this nearly impossible situation, he changed directions, heading towards Geng Chen once again.

When he and Geng Chen passed each other in the storm, Geng Chen had just finished her second gesture--

She'd prepared a channeled spell: the rosefinch fan.

A bright red burst of flame spewed out of her mouth, scattering countless sparks of fire in the strong wind and covering everything in a cone-shaped area in front of her with a terrifyingly high temperature amidst the strong wind pressure.

However, Tyron had dodged even before the spell was completed!

This spell didn't hit him at all!

The female commentator shouted, "I didn't see wrong this time! Lord Four's godlike anticipation and prejudgment! His ability to read spells and adapt to the circumstances is just--"

She hadn't even finished speaking when she saw that the two people caught up in the wind had suddenly changed positions.

Geng Chen used the power of the strong winds to speed up her dance movements.

She was able to glide past Tyron’s right shoulder with a spin and continue on with a new dance move for another spell.

Male commentator: “She finished the move while shifting! Geng Chen’s spin was integrated into the casting process. Don’t take any small gesture from an elemental dancer lightly!”

The spell that Geng Chen had cast was another close-range spell: Flame Carnival.

She hadn't used the combo of storm, ice, and fire in the perfect order, because she had had to use a chant that matched the spin she'd executed in order to avoid Tyron's pursuit!

The ever-changing spell release and combinations was the thing that gave seasoned mages the biggest headache.

In the 0.5 seconds of time before the spell released, this 'instant reconstruction' ability to immediately rebuild the spell was enough to show that Geng Chen was worthy of her position as the top 35th in the national rankings!

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This time, the female commentator was able to see Odin's flash the way she'd hoped!

This flash was far more dazzling than what she'd seen in the recordings of the district competition. It was even more domineering!

Tyron used flash from behind Geng Chen, dealing damage even as he left the area where the spell caused the highest damage.

After that, he pulled on the steel wire and caught Geng Chen completely off guard by leaving the storm completely.

The female commentator yelled, "Geng Chen never thought that Lord Four would use flash to leave immediately! She thought that Lord Four would act like last time and take the opportunity to cut down her health first!"

At this point, it could be seen that Geng Chen had actually been preparing the next spell, only to find that the opportunity had been lost. She immediately and decisively stopped chanting.

By this time, Tyron had landed on the ground again, and there was a flash from the steel wire wrapped around his right arm.

He reached for the steel wire, then turned around, and pulled on it--

In mid-air, Geng Chen's figure suddenly tilted, and the ribbon on her right ankle was disrupted, waves appearing in the originally perfect arc in the air.

Male commentator: "I really didn't expect this! When did Odin catch Geng Chen?"

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Just now, Geng Chen had resisted Tyron's attacks twice with her ankle ring, but just when she'd thought that it was just that, she discovered that she'd been wrong--

How could a terrifying assassin, who could land seven knives a second, give up on attacking just because the tip of his knife had been blocked by an ankle ring?

Tyron's steel wire had actually threaded through her sturdy ankle ring, and when he tugged abruptly, he yanked the unsuspecting Geng Chen out of the air like a bird with its feet tied!

Because the movement of her foot was limited, Geng Chen was unable to release a spell during this entire process.

The moment she fell, the edges of Tyron's crossed blades flashed in front of her eyes like lightning!

Female commentator: "Three-hit combo! Eight… twelve hits! Seventeen hits!"

Male commentator: "With close-combat melee attacks that land like a storm, this contestant is worthy of his fame for his explosive power. It's indeed terrible."

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Geng Chen's composure was very stable. Other than the 25th ranked Goddess, who he'd played a casual match with before, Tyron had never seen another mage-class player who was comparable to her in composure.

While the bloody storm was playing out, Geng Chen had already finished dancing a new spell: ice chains!

It was precisely the spell she'd failed to use previously to trap Tyron. At this moment, instead of rushing to defend, she directly launched a counterattack--she didn't intend to suffer through it and would charge straight on! They were both close-combat players, so they'd see who was scared of who!

This time, Tyron didn't dodge. Instead, he struck with Deep Silence in his right hand--

It was a stunning sword light!

This strike started later, but it arrived first. It flew lightning fast from half a meter away to land on Geng Chen's body. Even as the light flashed in the retina, there was already no time to react!

This strike was bright and cruel, aiming straight at Geng Chen's throat!

It wasn't until the system had already judged the series of moves that the male commentator finished with, "It must be a spell interruption effect!"

His speculation wasn't wrong!

This was indeed the assassin's killer move when dealing with mages--throat slice. If it was aimed accurately and damaged the vocal cords, it could interrupt the spell the mage was chanting.

With the master assassin's vision and experience, no mage could avoid his blade from such a close position.

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Geng Chen's spell casting was interrupted, and she took a critical attack, causing her HP to drop by 50% instantly.

However, she could still organize a counterattack!

Her chanting was stopped during the third, small, ice-element segment. At this moment, all possible magic spell structures were flickering rapidly through her mind, countless words seeming to shine in front of her eyes--

During this 0.5 seconds, Geng Chen raised her head, spread her arms, and made a beautiful dance move that looked like a sacrifice.

Customized spell: Dancing Ice Fan!

This time, a breath of ice came out of her mouth, covering everything within her cone-shaped range.

The female commentator was clutching her own wrist in excitement as she shouted, "Why is it a cone-ranged attack? The last cone fire spell failed to hit Odin! This technique that Geng Chen reconstructed is very gorgeous, but it doesn't seem to be useful at all?!"

The male commentator frowned, then said, "It wasn't a mistake!"

His voice had just fallen when the ice that Geng Chen spat out gradually filled the air, causing a few stars of light to suddenly flash in the air.

And, it was when the steel wires were covered with a light coating of white frost that they transformed from nearly invisible wires into thin, white strands.

The steel wire lines criss-crossed through the air, and there were three of them waiting underneath the ginkgo tree!

If Geng Chen hadn't been careful just now and had encountered one of them, one could imagine that she would have lost her ability to cast spells for a short time once again--and when facing a close-combat assassin on the ground, being in such a state would be extremely fatal. Even if it only lasted for one second, it might still have been enough to directly determine the victory or defeat for the match.

Female commentator: "I never, ever expected that Odin would be so terrifying! As early as three seconds into the start of the match, he had already arranged so many things. How much experience is needed for this tactical thinking to come into being?"

Male commentator: "Geng Chen's caution and her ability to instantly reconstruct skills could be said to have saved her life!"

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After the steel wires were exposed, Tyron immediately decided to abandon the trap.

He could have continued to use the steel wires, but an assassin's careful nature told him to never use any trap that had been exposed in front of the enemy even if it could bring about extremely attractive results!

He flipped his dagger, then went up to fight with Geng Chen once again.

At this second, both players pulled apart at the same time, landing onto the ground almost synchronously.

Then, Tyron spat out an almost undetectable syllable from his mouth.

Shadow jump!

--Hide in the shadows, and then appear in the shadows behind the enemy.

It was recognized as one of the most powerful tricks assassins had in their arsenal, and it was the second time that Tyron had used this skill on the stage.

It wasn't so much a melee skill as it was a special type of spell--because it used supernatural forces. Assassins needed to prepare a syllable. It was like the stealth skill or a mage's instant-cast spell, and it required 0.5 seconds of chanting before the spell activated, and the player entered the shadows.

And, top-tier mages such as Geng Chen could also read spells!

Even if it was only a 0.5-second-long, instant cast, single-syllable spell, it was still possible to read it!

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At this moment, Geng Chen's pupils suddenly contracted. She had already recognized that it was 'shadow jump'--an assassin's trick that was absolutely deadly when used at a critical moment.

In the face of possible death, she raised her hands and performed a move at the fastest possible speed: eye of the storm!

Male commentator: "When faced with shadow jump, Geng Chen chose to use her signature wide-range skill, eye of the storm. It seems that she's ready to lose a little health for the sake of making Odin enter a passive state again. This is a very wise choice. As long as she has the chance to launch even a single wave of counterattacks, it would be difficult for the squishy assassin to survive under the next onslaught!"

However, he wasn't able to finish his analysis.

Tyron's figure emerged slowly from behind Geng Chen like a shadow deep in the night, killing in the silence.

Even his two blades hadn't yet detached from the shadows, the edges of darkness overlapped with the blades that were positioned in a deadly stance--

Throat slice!

Spell interruption! Critical attack!