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Sharpening The Knife Doesn’t Delay The Cutting of Vegetables With The Bow[eSports]: Chapter 17
17. One slash that breaks the limit
Yang Yunche speculated that the Shadow Dancer player beneath the cherry blossom tree, wearing the default skin, was the same person as Ye Shao.
There was no specific reason for this, just a pure intuition.
As it turned out, Yang Yunche’s intuition was quite accurate.
The City Lord’s mansion, which was eerily quiet, felt as if a sudden spring thunder had swept through the clear sky. The assassin in his field of vision disappeared for a while, and half a minute later, a surge of killing intent suddenly approached. A white figure, emanating a chilling radiance that made one’s hair stand on end, rushed out from the shadows of the building and appeared in front of him in an instant!
Yang Yunche swiftly turned around, his long sword colliding with Chen Xingran’s Tang sword!
He was testing the waters.
The reason Ye Shao’s ID caught his attention for the first time was because of the astonishing “Thunderclap” move performed with that sword. Even Xiao Nan, the other top assault player from the ZMD team, hadn’t learned that move yet.
Yang Yunche knew that close combat was his weak point, but as a professional player, even if his swordsmanship was weak, it was still barely enough to meet the professional threshold.
The brief clash was enough for him to gauge Ye Shao’s swordsmanship.
The two figures intertwined at lightning speed, exchanging several blows within a few seconds.
“Clang, clang—”
The exchanges were swift and decisive, without any hesitation or wasted movements.
Chen Xingran’s swordsmanship remained as fast and fierce as ever, like an approaching tidal wave or a raging thunderstorm that split the darkness, exerting an oppressive pressure that made one’s breath catch.
However, after exchanging two blows, he sensed that something was wrong.
Why did this sword feel as flimsy as paper?
Chen Xingran furrowed his brow.
He hadn’t fully entered the rhythm of the fight, yet his opponent was already struggling to defend and was on the verge of being overwhelmed. It even made him briefly doubt—was this guy intentionally deceiving him?
But his opponent had left numerous openings, full of flaws. Chen Xingran didn’t want to let such an opportunity slip away. He continued to press forward, the sharp glimmer of his sword intertwining, forcing the opponent to keep up the fight.
Yang Yunche made a decisive judgment. He slightly shifted his body, and as his movement unfolded, the edge of his sword deftly avoided Chen Xingran’s blade. In the next moment, he took a step back, and his long sword had instantly completed a weapon switch: longsword to bow and arrow, and back to longsword.
His hand speed was astonishingly fast. By the time the longsword was once again in his grasp, the sharp arrows had already shot through the air, their switching speed so fast that one would suspect their eyes had played tricks on them.
The arrow’s brilliance flickered, and Chen Xingran instinctively tilted his head, but he still couldn’t dodge it completely—
-338!
Although it didn’t hit a weak point, the high damage from the long-range weapon still had a significant effect. Chen Xingran’s armor instantly dropped by more than one level.
Yang Yunche wore purple armor, while Chen Xingran wore golden armor. His armor had one extra level, equivalent to 250 points, and this arrow had narrowed the gap in their health to the same level.
Without any hesitation, Chen Xingran swiftly adjusted his footwork and lunged forward, launching another attack with his Tang sword.
In this brief clash, he had already noticed that his opponent’s footwork was extremely agile, and he was proficient in archery to the core. He could launch a surprise arrow attack at any moment, like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, always ready to strike.
However, his opponent’s swordsmanship was weak, clearly not adept at close combat.
With his advantage in range, Chen Xingran wouldn’t give his opponent a chance to catch his breath.
The pressure on Yang Yunche suddenly intensified!
This Ye Shao was exceptionally skilled in close combat…
Even when facing Xiao Nan from the ZMD team or Jiang Yan from the Autumn Water team, two of the top assault players in the national server, they didn’t exert this much pressure on him.
For him, close combat seemed more than just a game of strategy. It felt like an instinct engraved in his bones. His combat intuition was terrifyingly sharp, and every angle of his attacks was cunning and ruthless. Just when Yang Yunche wanted to break away from the rhythm of their fight, Ye Shao seemed to have a premonition. The force of his Tang sword became even more oppressive, forcing Yang Yunche to continue clashing with him.
Under such astonishing dominance, he didn’t even have a chance to switch to bow and arrow for damage. Any momentary distraction would be a death sentence!
The clash of blades and the flicker of cold light continued incessantly, their movements so fast that even the viewers in the live stream couldn’t see clearly!
Chen Xingran stuck to Yang Yunche like a stubborn disease, not even bothering to defend against the opponent’s attacks. The relentless onslaught made Yang Yunche feel suffocated.
Yang Yunche’s health suddenly plummeted, rapidly draining away. In just a few seconds, not only had his armor been penetrated, but his health had also reached a critical level.
“Buzz—”
The Tang sword trembled slightly, emitting a piercing buzzing sound as it swung down with the force of thunder!
Yang Yunche activated his ultimate move!
The opportunity had come.
Chen Xingran swiftly reversed his Tang sword, sheathing it at an imperceptible speed. In the next second, his momentum skyrocketed, reaching its peak in an instant!
Thunderclap!
A faint purple blade light cleaved through the air, accompanied by the surging sound of thunder.
However, this fatal strike didn’t deal the expected amount of damage.
“Clang!!”
A chain, resembling a wandering spirit snake, suddenly burst out from behind Yang Yunche, colliding with Chen Xingran’s Tang sword and producing a teeth-clenching sound.
Chen Xingran’s sword was deflected, and his momentum suddenly dissipated. The Thunderclap strike had been in vain.
Why?
Surprise filled Chen Xingran’s eyes.
This was something he had never encountered before.
But Yang Yunche remained calm, as if he had anticipated it.
Secret Technique – Unchanging Hook and Sickle.
This was the secret technique of the Iron Chain Sickle. It summoned four chains from behind to automatically attack the enemy. Each chain would disappear after dealing a certain amount of damage. It could also be manually activated, consuming one chain to perform a short-distance displacement.
Yang Yunche had long known that he would unleash his ultimate move. He had already released his secret technique just before Chen Xingran made his move.
In the state of the ultimate move, he would enter a brief period of stiffness, which was mandatory and couldn’t be evaded even with Heavenly Frost’s Sword Qi protecting him.
However, the one experiencing the stiffness was his physical body, while the chains summoned would autonomously continue attacking the enemy, unaffected by the stiffness.
It may sound simple, but in reality, the frequency of the chain attacks from the secret technique was fixed. To disrupt Chen Xingran’s Thunderclap with the automatic chain attacks, it required precise calculations and understanding of the opponent’s attack rhythm. Being even a split second too early or too late would not work.
Taking advantage of the moment when Chen Xingran was stunned, Yang Yunche swiftly moved away from the battlefield. One of the chains behind him disappeared instantly, performing a short-distance displacement and widening the gap. Then, he raised his hand and shot an arrow!
Weak point attack!
The arrow hit Chen Xingran’s chest, depleting another notch of his armor and health.
The figure of the white-clad Shadow Dancer once again moved forward.
The chains were consumed once more, enabling a short-distance displacement.
Another arrow!
Yang Yunche’s health was now precarious, but his movements remained calm. While Chen Xingran pursued him and tried to anticipate the angle of the arrows, evading their attacks, Yang Yunche’s arrows consistently hit their mark, flawlessly avoiding his blade and hitting his body.
He didn’t pursue high damage on weak points, but each arrow ensured that Chen Xingran’s health was gradually whittled down.
The four chains’ displacements quickly depleted, and Chen Xingran was hit by four consecutive arrows, breaking through his armor directly.
Both of their movements were executed with utmost precision. One chasing, the other fleeing. As long as Chen Xingran approached within 5 meters of Yang Yunche, his health rapidly dwindled. Conversely, once Yang Yunche created a distance greater than 5 meters, Chen Xingran couldn’t escape the pinpoint accuracy of his archery.
Damn annoying.
Chen Xingran gritted his teeth, and a visible trace of annoyance appeared in his eyes.
That’s why he hated battles with archers the most—they were slippery as an eel.
Seeing that Yang Yunche had exhausted his four displacement skills, Chen Xingran no longer hesitated. He activated his Blink Step, and his figure instantly glided through the air, leaving behind a faint afterimage as he charged straight towards Yang Yunche!
The blade swiftly approached!
“Swish—”
The chains made a light sound as they detached from the iron chain sickle on Chen Xingran’s arm. The Hook Bind skill caught onto the protruding eaves of the Lord’s Mansion, and in the next moment, Yang Yunche’s body was propelled into the sky!
The blade once again grazed past him.
Instinctively, Chen Xingran looked up, and the first thing he saw was a feathered arrow hurtling down from above!
—Aerial Snipe!
“
At this moment, the atmosphere in their live streaming room turned eerily quiet. The barrage of bullet comments on the screen dwindled to sporadic few.
It wasn’t that the viewers had decreased; it was that everyone dared not speak.
Frame after frame on the screen resembled scenes from a movie, filled with extreme danger. Every wrong step could lead to irreversible consequences. This knife-edge dance of a match made people hold their breath, afraid of disturbing the battle taking place on the screen. Subconsciously, everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed on the screen without blinking.
Is this a live stream?
Is this a showdown in the Platinum tier?
It’s on par with professional matches! Compared to the intense and intricate team battles on the competitive stage, this 1v1 solo duel was thrilling and heart-pounding. People’s adrenaline surged, afraid to take a breath. Subconsciously, they placed themselves in the perspective of either player and could feel the terrifying sense of oppression emanating from the opponent.
“Master Ta Xue, it’s time for dinner!”
In a certain luxurious mansion in reality, a person resembling a butler knocked on the door but received no response. Pushing open the door, he saw someone sitting upright in a chair, motionless, staring at the screen as if they had lost their soul.
“Master Ta Xue?”
“Don’t disturb me!”
Ta Xue waved his hand dismissively, not even lifting his gaze from the screen. As the butler grew increasingly perplexed, Ta Xue suddenly widened his eyes and exclaimed, “Holy shit!”
Faced with Yang Yunche’s renowned Flying Sky Sniper and the feathered arrow hurtling at an incredibly tricky angle, Ta Xue believed there was no escape for himself if he were in Chen Xingran’s position. It seemed like a certain death situation.
However, Chen Xingran made a move in the next second.
His Tang Sword flashed like lightning, moving at a speed that sent shivers down one’s spine. It was as if one could even hear the sound of his muscles tightening in an instant.
“Swish—!!”
The rapidly rotating feathered arrow was just a hair’s breadth away from his forehead when it was cleanly and decisively severed by the slender and straight blade!
Not only Ta Xue, but the viewers in the live stream room also exclaimed in disbelief.
Is this for real?
—Is this a humanly possible reaction?
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