Chapter 354 - 330: Triple Plague, How Many Seconds Can You Withstand?
Pursuing the demon’s aura, Lee Min-ho spotted Da Fei from afar. This rumored Chinese player hadn’t moved from his spot. Was he fighting wild monsters? Perfect, this was the ideal opportunity for an ambush!
Calculating the rate at which his stamina limit decreased, Lee Min-ho decisively activated Rapid March, increasing his marching pace once again.
The distance became progressively shorter, yet Da Fei remained motionless. Lee Min-ho believed that if his opponent still relied on the visual alerts provided by Reconnaissance Skill, then, in this dark environment, his fate could only be defeat, even if he activated a Divine Artifact!
Lee Min-ho’s confidence stemmed from his Hero Special Ability, "Swift Striker"!
—Swift Striker: At the start of the battle, the attack speed of all troops increases by 50% in the first round.
Swift Striker was renowned during the open beta as a God-level Ranger skill, bringing the Elf Clan’s preemptive strike capabilities to their peak. It ensured that all Elven units, including the level 6 Tree Spirit, could potentially strike before their opponents (of course, for non-ranged, non-charging units like Tree Spirit, first strike isn’t very meaningful). However, this skill only applied to a unit’s first action; thereafter, it reverted to normal attack speed. In other words, once the flashy first strike was executed, the hero was essentially without special abilities.
This meant that whether or not the opponent was crippled in the first round was key to this skill! To cripple them, it wasn’t just about striking first but striking multiple times. To strike multiple times, Swift Striker’s attack speed needed to be at least double the opponent’s speed.
For example, the base attack speed of the Elf’s level 3 unit, Jungle Hunter, was 13. Equipping some speed-boosting gear, after a 50% increase, it could surpass 20. Human units generally had an attack speed of 10, which meant that once humans were struck by Swift Striker, the Jungle Hunter could attack twice before the human troops could even react. Human players could only watch helplessly as the Jungle Hunter instantly killed their archers and then their gunners at the start of the battle! If Swift Striker targeted undead players with zombies having an attack speed of 6, the undead player could be stunned as the Jungle Hunter executed three or even four consecutive strikes!
Thus, pairing Swift Striker with the most powerful level 3 unit, the Jungle Hunter, under an Elf Hero in early-stage battles provided an overwhelming advantage over other races. Consequently, during the open beta, the Jungle Hunter’s trade value among players rivaled level 5 units.
Such a powerful hero wasn’t labeled a God-level Hero simply because late-stage National Wars were too troublesome, heavily gear-dependent, and highly reliant on ranged units. Since Swift Striker’s speed must be at least double the opponent’s to ensure an additional strike, if the opponent equipped an item with +1 attack speed, you had to equip a +2 item for the same effect. Moreover, speed-boosting items usually provided little to no enhancement in attack or defense, leading to overall weak attributes for the troops.
Additionally, if the opponent was crippled, their first response would likely be to unleash several rounds of Lightning Magic to obliterate the naturally frail Jungle Hunters, making it hard for Swift Striker’s Jungle Hunter Unit to accumulate numbers.
However, this so-called trouble only applied to ordinary players with regular troops. For top elites like Lee Min-ho, who had a world-class professional team background, this skill was undoubtedly a God-level skill!
The Demon Hunter, a level 4 Special Soldier of the Elf Clan, had a terrifying base attack speed of 16. Lee Min-ho’s body gear, including various Speed Cloaks, Speed Gloves, Speed Necklaces, Speed Rings, and Speed Bows, provided about a 10-point increase in speed. The combination skill of Ranger and Arrow Skill, "Archer Swiftness," added +1 attack speed for ranged units, while the combination skill of Logistics and Attack Skill, "Agility Aura," added +1 speed to the entire army. This reached a mind-boggling 28 speed. With a 20% bonus from Corrosive Blood Frenzy Attack, it became 33.6, and activating Swift Striker at the start triggered a 50% boost to reach 50.4!
What did 50.4 mean? Against a Human race player with troops at an attack speed of 10, Lee Min-ho’s Demon Hunter could shoot like a machine gun, firing five consecutive shots at the start of the battle. The human troops wouldn’t have a chance to fight back until they were dead! Saying that the Elf Clan could instantly kill people was no joke! Even if Da Fei led Secret Archers and Banshees, as long as their speed didn’t exceed 17, they would still be subject to three full rounds of attacks! In the professional gamer world, no one had yet been known to turn the tables after being attacked three times in succession!
To be honest, even Lee Min-ho himself found his speed of 50.4 unbelievable and felt a slight thrill!
Now, the prey was unaware and right in front of him. Lee Min-ho could start the attack, but it wasn’t feasible yet due to the terrain!
The opponent’s units were lined up in a narrow passage, and once the battle began, he could only shoot the rear and couldn’t reach the front, making it impossible to instantly kill. Indeed, Swift Striker needed to attack right at the battle’s start; if moved, it meant "dissipating energy." This was another inconvenient aspect of this skill.
So, Lee Min-ho needed to get closer, even daring to shoot at zero distance! Only a top professional like Lee Min-ho, with audacity and skill, could pull this off!
It was at this time that Da Fei’s radar detected him!
—System Prompt: Reconnaissance Skill alert! You have entered Player Da Fei’s alert range!
Lee Min-ho’s heart skipped a beat; he was discovered! He was more alert than expected, which indicated his Reconnaissance Skill was at least Master-level! To have Master-level skills as an amateur was impressive.
Lee Min-ho immediately drew out a scroll surrounded by dark smoke and crushed it! A cloud of dark smoke instantly enveloped his troops.
—System Prompt: You used a Master-level Dark Magic "Dark Sky" scroll, reducing both sides’ vision by 80%, with a 30% increased chance to evade enemy physical attacks and a 50% increased chance to evade enemy magic attacks, lasting 5 seconds!
Indeed, with the Demon Hunter’s inherent evasion skill and this God-level Scroll, this was Lee Min-ho’s confidence for zero-distance shooting! Although both sides’ vision was reduced by 80%, Lee Min-ho relied on "aura" to kill, fighting even with eyes closed. Now, Da Fei was cornered and inevitably doomed!
...
The appearance of Dark Sky coincided with the red dot on Da Fei’s radar blinking out of sight!
The sudden emergence of an enemy startled Da Fei greatly! Damn! Someone actually managed to approach right under my nose! And they were so close I couldn’t even see them?
Quickly, order the troops to turn around!
In that moment, Da Fei understood the precarious position he was in. His troops were arranged such that the first row was 5 level 7 Storm Druids as meat shields leading the way, followed by Artillery Emperors with high blood defense rivaling Storm Druids, and in the rear were the fragile Banshees, Druids, Secret Archers, Forest Goddesses, and others. Now, with the entire formation turning around, the back became the front. What a mess! I should have sent those 5 Storm Druids to the rear for support!
Even if my Invincible Luck were amazing and I managed to defeat the enemy, reclaim victory, and resurrect the dead troops—which would be useless now—they were plagued with two major plagues, barely hanging on when alive. After resurrection, in a weakened state, there was no way they’d withstand anything! Probably collapsing upon revival! And not to mention that Banshees can’t even be resurrected!
In other words, my plan to attack the final BOSS was utterly ruined! Had I known earlier, I wouldn’t have just waited here but charged in directly!
For a moment, Da Fei was filled with endless regret! And just then—
—System Prompt: You have transmitted "Super Black Death Plague" to Korean player "Alilang"!
—System Prompt: You have transmitted "Insect Swarm Plague" to Korean player "Alilang"!
—System Prompt: You have been transmitted the "Corpse Poison Plague" by Korean player "Alilang," reducing your troops’ move speed, stamina, stamina limit, life limit continuously decreasing! Corpse Poison Plague may spread to other players, duration unknown!
—System Prompt: You are currently in "Corpse Poison Plague" status. If you can completely overcome the plague’s influence or collect 10 Hero’s Proofs while under the plague state to qualify for the match, you will receive the match achievement "Corpse Poison Plague Antibody"...
Da Fei’s eyelid twitched in shock! Damn you, Koreans, ambushing isn’t enough; you even use plague to mess with me! But—do you not know I already have two major plagues? Want to mess with me? First ask if you possess Extreme Survival or have any Lizard God’s Wand! I refuse to believe you can withstand the triple plague for several seconds! I’ll wipe you out!
...
—System Prompt: You have been transmitted the "Super Black Death Plague" by Chinese player "Da Fei."
—System Prompt: You have been transmitted the "Insect Swarm Plague" by Chinese player "Da Fei."
In that instant, Lee Min-ho’s unit’s remaining stamina after Rapid March plunged to the bottom in an instant, halting them entirely! Simultaneously, health plummeted at an incredible rate!
The answer was, the sudden triple plague didn’t allow Lee Min-ho to withstand even a second! Lee Min-ho was utterly bewildered! The present scenario, not to mention fighting, he couldn’t even walk! Although Lee Min-ho had experienced countless challenging scenarios during the open beta, encountering a situation with three simultaneous plagues was a first!
Should he still fight?
Of course, fight! The dignity of a professional player demands fighting to the last breath!
—System Prompt: You launched an attack on Chinese player Da Fei! Battle begins!
However, even with a 50% speed boost, what use was it when the troops were too exhausted to lift a hand?
At that moment, a fierce wind pressure swept through the passage!
—System Prompt: Vice Hero Selvia of Da Fei released "Storm Attack" Magic on your troops, your Flying Army cannot be dispatched, and the remote troops cannot ensure an effective hit rate!
Lee Min-ho was greatly shaken—he’d been preempted! Storm attack! His Vice Hero could use Master-level Light Magic storm attack!
Then, amidst the darkness, a flash of fire, Flame Chain, arrow shafts, and Magic Bullets came roaring!
I, the world’s top professional player, was defeated just like that! Not defeated by his Divine Artifact, but by his triple plague! Lee Min-ho let out a long sigh, releasing the Big Healing Scroll he was about to use—only for the screen to go dark! (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to go to qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)