Sharpening The Knife Doesn’t Delay The Cutting of Vegetables With The Bow[eSports]: Chapter 64

64. Snake King Quiller

During Chen Xingran’s absence from ZMD, a major event unfolded in the gaming community.

Many were aware of the retirement plans of the assault player from the All-Stars team. The new season had arrived, and various teams had already finalized their lineups, gearing up for the upcoming Destiny Cup competition. However, there was no movement from the All-Stars side.

With only a few days left in the transfer period, speculations arose outside about whether the All-Stars team couldn’t find suitable players and if this would lead to their decline. Suddenly, the official Weibo account of the All-Stars team posted an announcement, causing a sensation in the gaming community.

The newly recruited member of the All-Stars team was highly renowned in the gaming community, having a substantial fan base in China and being one of the top professional assault players in the European region. He was none other than Quiller “Snake King” Wylie.

When it came to this player, he was a household name in the Chinese gaming community. Unlike Yang Yunche, Quiller Wylie wasn’t very famous in the professional scene of the game Black Tide. The best achievement he had during his time in Black Tide was qualifying for the World Championship, but he was eliminated in the first round of the World Championship elimination round.

After transitioning to Destiny, Quiller seemed to find his own path and suddenly improved, demonstrating exceptional talent in close-quarters combat. His mastery of the dagger was unparalleled, making him difficult to defend against. In a short period, he gained fame in the European region, and his value skyrocketed. He was even bestowed the title “Snake King” in China.

For anyone who had watched Quiller Wylie’s game videos, facing the assassin lurking in the shadows on the screen would inevitably send shivers down their spine. Going from an obscure second-tier player in Black Tide to becoming the Dagger King of Destiny, Quiller Wylie was considered a successful example of transitioning within the professional scene.

[Peaceful Discussion: Regarding the All-Stars acquiring the Snake King, what are your thoughts?]

Countless discussion threads instantly appeared on gaming forums.

“Thanks for the invitation. I think All-Stars made quite a bold move. The Snake King’s value is definitely not cheap, and it must have taken quite an effort to bring him over.”

“I feel like All-Stars is up to something this season. Captain Lu + Snake King, a dual assault lineup, one dealing with the front and the other executing assassinations. Won’t they go crazy on the battlefield?”

“Going to other regions to find reinforcements? That’s quite speechless; All-Stars seems to have fallen.”

“In this day and age, many domestic teams buy players from other regions, right? Nationality discrimination is unacceptable.”

“I remember Lu Mingyu said before that they wouldn’t consider players from other regions. Isn’t this announcement a slap in the face?”

“Is this a “smells good” warning?”

“Oh, Lu Mingyu is not the director of All-Stars. He can’t make decisions on such matters.”

“ZMD and All-Stars, one looking for new recruits and the other seeking reinforcements from abroad. What’s going on with these two powerhouse teams? Is there no one left in the domestic professional scene?”

“Why do you care? As long as the matches are entertaining.”

“Hiss…”

Luo Baibai scrolled through his phone, watching Quiller Wylie’s past match videos and couldn’t help but inhale sharply, “This Snake King from the European region is quite fierce…”

“I’ve inquired about it.”

Xiao Nan, passing by Luo Baibai, grabbed a glass of water and casually extended a few fingers, “To recruit the Snake King for All-Stars, they spent this amount…”

“F*ck.”

Luo Baibai instantly turned into a teary-eyed figure, “This is way too much money. Why not let All-Stars recruit me? I offer great value for money!”

Xiao Nan glanced him up and down, “Tch.”

” What do you mean?” Luo Baibai was furious, “Do you want to fight!”

Xiao Nan ignored him, turning to Yang Yunche beside him, “Captain, both you and the Snake King have a professional background in Black Tide. Do you know him?”

Yang Yunche was currently looking at his phone, and without lifting his head, he responded, “Not familiar.”

“Our captain is a world champion, while the Snake King is just a second-tier player that no one cares about,” Xiao Nan added.

Luo Baibai blew a rainbow fart, “Are you reading chat messages again, Yun Ge? With Ran Bao absent, you’re daydreaming all day. Back when I had appendicitis and was hospitalized, I didn’t see you care about me like this…”

Yang Yunche lifted his head, his expression mirroring Xiao Nan’s, “Tch.”

Luo Baibai: “…”

I get it, I’m just a *marginal man, right? So, love fades away, doesn’t it?

*outcast

He returned to his computer uninterestedly, absentmindedly opening a live stream. Suddenly, he froze, “What the f*ck?”

“What’s wrong? Startled for no reason,” Xiao Nan said with a side glance, “Trying to get our attention this way?”

“No, come and see this.”

Luo Baibai pointed at the screen, “The Snake King is live!”

Upon hearing this, both Yang Yunche and Xiao Nan quickly looked up and approached.

“Isn’t this a bit too much?”

Luo Baibai, looking at the live stream, exclaimed, “How many gifts have been sent?”

In the live stream, the Snake King was adjusting his equipment, appearing to have just started the broadcast. The public chat was filled with numerous expensive gifts continuously rolling, not stopping for a second. Obviously, it was the All-Stars Club members showering him with gifts.

The abundance of gifts instantly propelled the Snake King’s live stream to the front page, attracting countless viewers.

[Europe’s Snake King Debut: Challenge from Top Chinese Players]

The glaring live stream title hung overhead, impossible to ignore.

“Front row!”

“Is this the real Snake King? He looks pretty handsome.”

“Challenge to top Chinese players? Wow, quite bold.”

“Don’t tell me they really think there’s no one in the Chinese server? So arrogant? Is there someone powerful to go shut him down?”

“So many gifts being sent? Must be from the All-Stars Club. They really have money.”

“Support the newcomer. Back when the new player joined ZMD, it was the same, even collaborating with the official for some nunchaku challenge. Compared to that, Snake King’s approach seems normal.”

“Spreading rumors with no cost, right? Didn’t the official already make an announcement? They never marketed the Ye Shao, you guys just come up with things out of thin air.”

“Hehe, believe it if you want. I, for one, don’t believe it.”

In the live broadcast, the Snake King, Quiller Wylie , finished adjusting his operation cabin, sat inside, and the screen immediately switched to the game interface. At the same time, Quiller Wylie’s voice echoed.

“Hello? Answer me, family moat.”

Quiller Wylie’s Chinese was not very fluent, but it sounded quite decent. “I am All-Stars’ new assault, Quiller Wylie. Nice to meet you.”

Like most foreigners recognized by the Chinese, Quiller Wylie seemed a bit simple when speaking Chinese, not very intelligent-looking. Combined with his deep foreign features, he appeared somewhat honest, eliciting some teasing in the barrage.

He chatted away, and although his pronunciation was not perfect, the basic meaning was still understandable. He introduced himself as a new member of All-Stars, expressing his eagerness to spar with the numerous experts in the Chinese server.

Simultaneously, Quiller Wylie opened a martial arts mode room, named the room the same as the live broadcast title, and set a threshold for the room. Only players in the Asura rank could enter.

“What does this mean?”

Luo Baibai looked at the screen, frowned, and said, “Challenging others?”

“It’s to attract attention to the new player, the Snake King,” Xiao Nan explained.

“Isn’t this going to offend a lot of people?” Luo Baibai wondered, “Ordinary Asura-ranked players surely can’t compete with him. Even if they win, it’s meaningless. Could it be that real professional players will join? It’s unlikely.”

“Who cares? Just watch.” Xiao Nan shrugged. “Let’s see what tricks All-Stars can pull off this time.”

The Snake King, renowned in the European server, was not well-known among Chinese players. Destiny, the game, had only been out for a little over a year. So far, the official Destiny Cup had only been held in major regions, and there hadn’t been a world-class event yet. Chinese professional players had not officially faced players from other servers on the professional stage.

The live broadcast continued.

After Quiller Wylie opened his martial arts room, he quickly received the first challenger.

The player with the ID “Superior Old Lin” is the challenger.

“This ID looks familiar.”

“I remember this person, on the solo ranking, now around 39th place, right?”

“I’ve encountered him before, he’s pretty skilled.”

“Oh, a strong opponent right from the start, this should be interesting.”

Superior Old Lin: Ready?

Quiller Wylie opened the virtual keyboard, slowly tapping the keys, and typed out a few words: Are you skilled?

“Wow, my grandma types faster than him.”

“Hahaha, that’s how foreign players are.”

“I wonder how the Captain Lu will communicate with them in matches in the future.”

“Kind of cute.”

Superior Old Lin’s reply was also not polite: You’ll know after playing.

“Oh, I like confident friends,” Quiller said in the live broadcast room, then started the game.

Martial Arts mode, no restrictions, no Soul Gems, purple armor and weapons, one kill determines victory, simple and straightforward rules.

Both sides entered the character selection interface, with Superior Old Lin using Lingxiao, and Quiller choosing the Shadow Dancer character.

As the countdown ended, the match began. Quiller appeared very relaxed, while his opponent looked serious. Facing a world-renowned blade fighter, no one dared to be careless.

As time passed, Superior Old Lin gritted his teeth and then rushed forward with a Tang Sword.

Let’s test the waters first!

Quiller’s expression remained calm with a hint of playfulness. Faced with the rushing Lingxiao, he showed no sign of nervousness. The dagger spun in his palm a few times, and then he gripped the handle, raising it to meet the attack!

Clang!

“This guy’s dagger…”

Inside the ZMD base, Luo Baibai looked at the screen with a puzzled expression, “…Quite sinister.”

His description was apt. Quiller’s dagger had a distinct personal style, with cunning and vicious trajectories. It bore some resemblance to Chen Xingran’s initial use of a dagger. When Chen Xingran started his live broadcast, some viewers even mistook him for the Snake King.

“He’s got some skills.”

Xiao Nan stared at the screen without blinking. The Snake King joining All-Stars meant that they would be ZMD’s competitors in the arena in the future. With an opportunity to understand their opponents, Xiao Nan naturally wouldn’t miss it.

Xiao Nan’s own dagger skills were formidable, well-recognized in the Chinese server. His perspective was naturally different from ordinary viewers. Just in a few rounds of confrontation, he could see that the Snake King’s dagger skills were far beyond what the opponent, Superior Old Lin, could compare with.

“He hasn’t used his full strength yet.”

Xiao Nan remarked, “He clearly had the chance to counter-attack just now, but he let that opportunity slip. It’s a bit strange…”

In the live broadcast, compared to Superior Old Lin’s full-on assault, the Snake King, Quiller Wylie, dealt with it effortlessly, even managing to make it look easy. As a well-known player on the solo rankings, Superior Old Lin’s technical skills were not weak. Layers upon layers of dazzling knife lights, like waves, made it a bewildering sight.

However, as time passed, a bead of cold sweat gradually formed on Superior Old Lin’s forehead.

Finding absolutely no opportunities.

The sword could be considered the least suitable weapon for direct confrontation. Although flexible, both defensive stance and blocking ability were far inferior to broadswords. Yet, in Quiller’s hands, it completely overturned the common understanding of swords.

A left-side cut with both hands thrusting, blocked.

A frontal horizontal slash, attempting to break through the midsection using the sword’s distance advantage, effortlessly blocked by the opponent.

Quiller seemed as if he had already seen through his intentions. No matter how Superior Old Lin feinted, the opponent remained unmoved. It was like a cat toying with a mouse, every move landing the sword precisely in his most vulnerable spot, rendering his attacks futile.

“Why didn’t he unleash the full force when there was a chance?”

Xiao Nan found it increasingly strange, “It’s like… he’s…”

“Mocking the opponent.”

Yang Yunche, quietly watching from the side, suddenly spoke, “Yes, you’re right. He’s playing with his opponent.”

In the footage, Snake King Quiller executed another horizontal block after stepping up, blocking Superior Old Lin’s blade once again. It seemed like he was done playing; after this block, his style abruptly shifted from defense to offense. His arm, in an instant, transformed into a soft, boneless snake, snaking up Superior Old Lin’s arm at a peculiar angle. The sword, glittering with a cold light, resembled the fangs of a venomous snake, swiftly, accurately, and ruthlessly cutting in. It paused for half a second at Superior Old Lin’s neck before being swung outward!

A massive amount of damage floated above Superior Old Lin’s head!

His attack rhythm was instantly disrupted. Faced with Quiller’s sudden and intense onslaught, he had no power to parry. The few hurried strikes he attempted were effortlessly dodged. Two seconds later, he was decisively beheaded by the Snake King.

“Swoosh—”

A cold light flashed, and a bloodline appeared on Superior Old Lin’s neck. Subsequently, the entire person turned into a soul mound, lying stiffly on the ground.

“What the heck, died so fast?”

“This won’t do, move him away, next one.”

“Is this the solo rank player?”

“Snake King is awesome; no wonder he caught the attention of All Stars.”

The Snake King looked at the soul mound in front of him, still wearing that somewhat dull and innocent expression, as if he found it inconceivable that his opponent was so weak.

In unskilled Chinese, he said, “This, not good, I haven’t warmed up yet, already dead. Are there stronger opponents?”

The expression was pure and innocent, but the three individuals in ZMD’s base were professional players who had experienced many storms. It was easy for them to discern a different meaning from his tone.

“This guy.”

Xiao Nan’s face became somewhat serious, “Trouble is approaching ah…”

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