"Stellar Sword will be killed?"
That prediction completely contradicted the commentary. They had been saying Su Mucheng would be the one to fall, even claiming her performance had declined since Ye Qiu's retirement.
Chen Guo's heart skipped a beat. She was startled at first but then shocked when Ron confidently declared that Stellar Sword would die instead.
Although Su Mucheng was her idol, Chen Guo couldn't help but ask, since the image on the screen was still unclear.
"What do you mean Stellar Sword will be killed? Wasn't he at an advantage based on the commentary and the way he followed the footsteps? "
"It was a trap," Ron said simply.
"What trap!? Can you elaborate!? " Chen Guo was getting impatient! She barely contained herself and was on the verge of strangling him, but Ye Xiu quickly stepped in.
"Haha, Boss, calm down! He's saying Su Mucheng deliberately left readable footsteps as a trap."
"Yes," Ron followed up. "If the map has many blind spots where someone could hide, the best way to locate them is to move to the one place they can only hide."
"Never mind, Boss, just look at the screen! " he said, pointing at the projection.
Su Mucheng's Dancing Rain fired an aerial fire straight toward Gao Jie's hiding spot. Stellar Sword had been crouched behind a wall, but Su Mucheng quickly gained distance using another Aerial Fire, then followed up with Anti-Tank Missiles. Not only avoiding his ambush but counterattacking as well.
Gao Jie hadn't anticipated the sudden ambush and was caught off guard. Dancing Rain unleashed three artillery shells in succession. It was too late to dodge—so Stellar Sword had no choice but to take the full impact; his character slammed violently into the wall, creating a spiderweb-like pattern.
Taking advantage of his immobility, Su Mucheng aimed her massive black cannon directly at him. The muzzle spat a short burst of flame before firing another round—this time a cluster missile. The projectile exploded mid-air, dividing into eight smaller rockets. It was the area-of-effect launcher skill, FIM-92 Stinger!
Gao Jie knew this attack was unavoidable. He uses Quick Recover to reposition himself. Weighing his options, the best choice was to close the distance. He charged forward, using the skill Triple Slash and tanking two artillery missiles to get himself out of the predicament.
Using that momentum, Stellar Sword chained into another Blade Master skill—Rising Dragon!
His sword swept upward, propelling him into the air. But instead of targeting Su Mucheng, he aimed for the roof to secure high ground where he could fight her freely. During that moment, Su Mucheng was still in animation delay and wouldn't be able to stop him.
However, when Gao Jie landed on the roof, Su Mucheng had already retreated using Aerial Fire, knowing it. This decision completely nullified his positioning advantage.
Having maintained her aim during the retreat, she immediately launched another attack—Heat-Seeking Missile!
The clicking sound of the cannon gave it away. Gao Jie instantly recognized the skill. Though powerful, it was notoriously slow.
During midair animation, Gao Jie executed Sword Draw, slicing at the missile with perfect timing. His blade connected with the heat source—detonating it before it reached him.
"Beautiful! "The commentator shouted.
But in that brief moment of glory, Gao Jie failed to notice Su Mucheng's follow-up. A small emoji appeared in the chat window—a smiling face.
A red crosshair suddenly formed beneath Stellar Sword's feet.
Before Gao Jie could react, a massive explosion erupted, stunning his character. Four enormous light pillars shot down from the sky, forming an X-shaped pattern around him.
It was the Launcher's ultimate skill—Satellite Beam!
Realizing there was no escape, Gao Jie had to bite the bullet. Su Mucheng held a big advantage this time, but the battle was far from over. Doing his best until the end, Stellar Sword still put up a fight.
"GLORY!"
There was a brief silence in the café before everyone erupted into cheers. Everyone was thrilled by her win—it wasn't an easy victory for Su Mucheng, but who cared? She won!
"Su Mucheng!"
Meanwhile, Chen Guo was flabbergasted by the outcome, remaining in a daze. What started as Su Mucheng's disadvantage turned out to be a setup. She had been setting a trap all along, flipping the tables until Gao Jie's Stellar Sword was killed.
"How did things end up that way?" She still found Su Mucheng's victory unbelievable despite the "GLORY" flashing on the screen.
"It's hard to believe she won, right?" Ron said, answering her question. "Because sometimes, planning ahead isn't always a good thing."
"Why is that?"
"Although I'm not in the pro scene, as someone from business, I've failed countless times—which is the fun thing I like about Glory. You'll never know the outcome, no matter how perfect you think your plan is."
"Yes, that's what makes Glory fun," Ye Xiu nodded in agreement.
Then it was time for the highlight reel. They chose the part where Su Mucheng finished off Gao Jie using Anti-Tank Missile. The video was played in slow motion, showing three consecutive missiles in succession—this skill was called Tri-shot!
Although it was classified as a skill, it could only be performed by players with excellent mechanics. Another example was Aerial Fire, which the Gunner class could use infinitely depending on a player's APM—how much manuever they could handle while using the skill.
This type of advanced mechanic wasn't limited to Launchers. There were also versions for Battle Mages, Strikers, Assassins, Ghost Blades, and many more. It was up to the individual to discover them.
Similarly, when Ron used slashes, they fell into the category of Double Slash with a bleed effect. Although it was a normal attack many could use, triggering the bleed required two perfectly timed consecutive strikes—similar to Double Stab but it's only a single slash. These weren't available to everyone. Skills like these were called advanced skills, requiring not only APM but also experience.
The broadcast highlights weren't limited to Su Mucheng; they showcased multiple teams, switching between matches. Players could choose which one to watch.
The individual competitions proceeded, followed by the team matches. In contrast to Su Mucheng's performance, her teammates didn't manage to win a single match. This made the upcoming group competition crucial. But Excellent Era had a rough start! After losing both individual matches, they also dropped the first two group matches—leaving their ace player to carry them.
When the name One Autumn Leaf appeared, everyone in the café erupted in cheers. This time, it was even louder than when Su Mucheng was fighting. Even Chen Guo was jumping excitedly, blending into the crowd as they shouted repeatedly—
"Battle God!"
"Sun Xiang!"
When One Autumn Leaf appeared on screen, Ye Xiu was unusually quiet, though no one noticed. That account had originally belonged to him—they'd been together for almost ten years—but now, it was gone, being controlled by someone else.
Still, Ye Xiu didn't dwell on his feelings and continued watching the match. As everyone expected, Sun Xiang turned the tables, winning an incredible 3v1 fight that made the crowd even more excited!
"The Battle God has been revived!"
"Battle God! Sun Xiang!"
Once again, the cheers grew even louder—but two people remained silent: Ye Xiu and Ron.
Since the two were close to her, Chen Guo noticed their reactions. She frowned and asked, "Hey! What's wrong with you two!? Why do you look disappointed? Don't tell me you're secretly supporting 301!"
"Not really!" Ron immediately denied the accusation.
"Then what's with that reaction? If you're not glad Excellent Era won, then you must be a 301 fan!"
"Is that how it works?" Ron stared at her blankly.
Chen Guo's face burned red; her toes curled as she wished she could dig herself two meters underground. "If not… then why?"
"I just noticed something…" Ron began. Ye Xiu and Chen Guo both turned to look at him.
"I see… so you noticed it too?" Ye Xiu said, nodding slightly.
"Yes…"
"What is it?" Chen Guo asked curiously. But Ron didn't say anything else and left. Ye Xiu followed soon after, heading to the smoking area to play. They left her with nothing but unanswered questions.