As the battle between Hotpot and Galaxy went on it gradually increased in intensity, very much to the enjoynt of the audience.
Cheers rang through the arenas when Bleary Mirage interrupted Thunder Fairy. Simultaneously Falling Diamond was under extre pressure and had no ti to heal her.
Right then Star Gazer and Age of Frost both unleashed their ultimate skills. Three massive ice spikes ford in the sky, striking down on Bleary Mirage, Silent Acacia, and Quickstep.
Simultaneously thick, tenacious roots broke out in a huge area below everyone’s feet, attacking all the enemies who got too close.
Most of Hotpot's mbers were forced to dodge. Fortune perford flash step and almost broke through the ice after landing.
However, it wasn't smart from Age of Frost and Star Gazer to use their skills at the sa ti as Silver Blade also used her ultimate skill, mitigating a lot of the damage.
anwhile Bloody Edge and Severed Fang continued to stalk the battlefield, attempting to take each other out.
The audience could clearly see the thieves despite their stealth. Every ti those two brushed close to each other, the spectators inhaled sharply, thinking that the showdown would finally erupt. However, the thieves failed to discover each other.
Finally, the turning point ca when Severed Fang made the mistake of coming too close to Bleary Mirage. The veteran noticed a small crack growing in the ice, which finally gave Severed Fang away.
Liam inford Bloody Edge, who sneaked up on Severed Fang and caught him with a surprise attack.
Bloody Edge's holy daggers nailed the enemy to the floor, immobilizing him. The thief's daggers flashed with a combination of skills and emptied out his opponent's HP before he could escape.
At this point in the match most life-saving skills were already used up on both sides, so no one was able to save Severed Fang.
With one less player Galaxy was instantly facing a big problem. From now on Bloody Edge would be a constant threat, especially for their squishier players.
However, on Hotpot's side Watchful Eye was struggling as well. He had been focused by Galaxy since the beginning. Yet three major points helped him to survive for so long.
He had the damage-reducing [ditation] skill. Balm was free to help him. And Radiant Shield held back the enemies for quite a while.
The tank had [A paladin's challenge] to draw the aggro of multiple people and [Nesis] to draw aggro from a single person for a longer duration.
He used his skills to keep the crossbow-wielding dwarf at bay as she demonstrated her power throughout the tournant with rapid, piercing bolts which were a nightmare for her enemies.
Suddenly!
Galaxy's Candle had been protecting Falling Diamond, making sure their healer wouldn't fall to a sudden surprise attack by Bloody Edge.
However, Hotpot had a different idea. Bloody Edge erged behind Galaxy's other tank who had been restraining Cyclone and Fortune thanks to his specialization in magical resistance.
The thief erupted with a blinding light, severely lting the tank's defence. All of Hotpot coordinated perfectly and drowned the tank in a rain of skills. His HP emptied out before he could realize what had happened and he was thrown out of the arena.
Finally, Cyclone and Fortune could attack more freely. At this point almost no one had any stance remaining. The addition of Cyclone's and Fortune's magical damage was a horror for Galaxy.
From this point on Galaxy fell one by one. They managed to retaliate by taking out Watchful Eye, but this was all they could achieve.
In the end it were ironically Candle and Falling Diamond who survived the longest. They tried to support their teammates, but Hotpot's damage proved too high. They were able to almost ignore the opposing healer and still take out their targets.
Finally, even the last two standing players fell. Multiple arenas exploded. Millions of people cheered for Hotpot until their voices were hoarse. The outco of the match instantly spread on Falva Star like a wildfire, reaching even the furthest corners.
“Hahaha, did you see Star Gazer's face?”, laughed Cyclone after being sent back to the audience.
“Yeah. Finally, he couldn't keep up his mask.”
“Really, I finally understand why that guy always plays dirty. Their team was so weak!”
Liam nodded along with a smile. He wasn't that smug, however. As the only tier 2 characters in the tournant it would be embarrassing not to take first place.
Liam was curious how long it would take others to figure out the secret of promoting one's character. In his past life the first players only figured it out after reaching level 50.
However, in this life the butterfly effect had already taken root. Liam didn't know if it was solely because of him but players had learned about upgrading their skills earlier than expected. He estimated that the first tier 2 characters might thus be born around level 43 or 44.
Now so players in obscure forums had already begun calling out Hotpot for cheating. They did the calculations and realized that Hotpot's damage made no sense even if their stats are estimated most generously.
It remained to be seen if this information would spread and how others would react to it. Of course, the notion of cheating in Crunaboul was absolutely unbelievable but perhaps it can lead to other people figuring out the real reason.
For now, though, Liam and his friends would remain the only tier 2 characters in the tournant, giving them a huge advantage.
This was obvious in all their subsequent matches. No matter if they faced teams who barely made it to the final, so dark horses, or genuine favourites, Hotpot erged victorious.
Their most difficult battle was against the team belonging to Five Heavens, whose captain GraVe was a dreaded necromancer. The five skeleton warriors he summoned were difficult to deal with for all his enemies.
This was the only battle where Hotpot had to go on the defensive, protecting Cyclone and Fortune so they could take out the opponents with their ranged AOE attacks.
However, after winning against Five Heavens, finally not even the biggest doubters could deny that Hotpot had the makings of a top team.
Hotpot's matches attracted more and more fans, especially with less and less teams left in the competition. Their na rang in everyone's ears and wouldn't be forgotten even after the end of the tournant.
Finally, only the top 32 teams remained as the finale approached its peak. Billions of people were watching as Maycos eagerly announced the tournant tree for the last few matches.
Cyclone held her breath. Her emotions were in a conflict between anticipation and nervousness. She elbowed Balm, announcing loudly:
“Look, look, Maycos is drawing the first match!”
Balm grabbed her friend's hand, answering:
“I can see it! Who do you think our opponent might be?”
“I hope it’s Galavant, they should be the weakest!”, said Cyclone. Quickly the others also gave their opinions.
“I want to fight Kings and Queens. Get the most difficult battle over with.”
“Are you crazy? It would be best if we don't fight them at all. Let them be kicked out by others.”
“But whoever is able to eliminate Kings and Queens is sure to be a difficult opponent.”
“Whatever, I hope Maycos draws Ouroboros for us. Other teams might find it tricky to deal with them but in my eyes their weird skills are just petty tricks.”
“I agree.”
“No way, I don't want to fight a bunch of mages. I look forward to clashing with Semi-Immortal. They remind of Force of Nature.”
“Why is no one saying TCTT? It's ti for Acacia and Quickstep to take revenge!”
Suddenly the friends stopped talking and focused on Maycos. The young woman fanned the flas. She did a pirouette, her wide dress fluttering beautifully in the wind, and pointed towards the sky.
Finally, a golden text appeared, shining brilliantly, revealing all the match-ups. Liam and his friends searched frantically and finally found their na.
“Haha, Semi-Immortal! Great!”
Radiant Shield grinned brightly as his favourite opponent was drawn. The others stayed rather indifferent. Semi-Immortal was neither too strong nor too weak. The friends were more interested in the other matches.
“The first match is Galavant against Libra Legion? Silver, your cousin is quite lucky.”
“Damn, Kings and Queens against SenX? That's basically a free pass.”
“TCTT faces Verdant Hills. This probably won't stop them.”
“Hey, don't say that. Wouldn't it be the funniest thing if TCTT fumbles? I say that would be more of a revenge than if they were kicked out by us.”
“Haha, right! I want to see that!”
Suddenly a tir appeared below the tournant tree, counting down ten minutes. Maycos disappeared from the arena and was replaced by a real orchestra made from hundreds of people. It was a collaboration of multiple groups coming together specifically for the finals.
The orchestra began to play, and their music reached every corner of Crunaboul.
A lody telling of heroism and companionship resonated deeply with the souls of the audience.
The orchestra continued playing until only 30 seconds were left on the tir. A mont of silence set in. During the last ten seconds billions of players in millions of arenas spontaneously began to count down, their mighty voices shaking the world.
“Three, two, one, GOOO!”
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