Chapter 1 In the Beginning

Amidst a burst of light, Feng Bujue... won.

It was undoubtedly a narrow victory...

Qiu Fengse lost because... he died about half a second before Feng Bujue.

Yes, just_we not only blew Qiu Fengse up, but also shattered Jue-ge in the process.

In fact, it not only killed two players but also destroyed the battlefield.

...The entire battlefield.

The epicenter of the explosion was the point of contact between Qiu Fengse's fist and just_we, and the limit of the explosion's range... was uncalculatable. If the barriers at the edge of the battlefield hadn't been there, who knows how far the light burst could have spread.

It is worth mentioning that this big explosion tested a piece of information that had not been discovered before – "the shape of the battlefield."

Since the energy released by just_we destroyed all matter, including the ground and the air, and continued to spread and fill the entire space... in the time before the light energy dissipated, if the audience pulled their perspective to a very far place to observe (watching the replay also works), they could see a capsule-shaped, upright glowing body in a dark void... and this was the outer contour of the battlefield.

Of course, most people don't really care about details like this, and the major media outlets basically didn't mention it in their reports on the game the next day.

Entertainment media wants traffic. Without traffic, they don't even have the qualification to "speak for money." Instead of painstakingly writing a bunch of highly professional or detail-oriented technical articles, it's better to come up with an eye-catching title... even if the content is empty, full of errors, or has obvious traces of "paid promotion," it doesn't matter much... as long as it attracts people to click, it's a success.

In summary, the most popular report about this game the next day was titled: "Extremely Evil! Sick! Feng Bujue Actually Used a Nuclear Bomb in a Battle Against His Old Friend."

…………

"Heh heh..." Back in the spectator space, Feng Bujue crossed his arms in front of his chest, smiled in a rather smug manner, and said to his teammates, "See? Easy win."

"Do you have any shame?" Miss An immediately retorted when she heard this, "You clearly threw a last-ditch, mutually assured destruction item at the brink of death and then won by sheer luck, okay?"

"Yeah... there were clearly many ways to win, but you had to show off some 'Triple Transformation,' and almost messed up." Ruoyu also nodded in agreement.

"Tch..." Feng Bujue still put on a stubborn front, "What do you guys know? This is all strategy! Strategy! You'll understand in the future."

Obviously, none of the six people present believed his "forced justification to save face," even Xiao Tan could only smile wryly.

But what Feng Bujue said... was actually true.

During the match, when Qiu Fengse asked, "Why did you have to use this kind of tactic against me?", Jue-ge didn't tell the truth, but his infuriating answer convinced both Qiu Fengse and the audience.

And after the match, when his teammates complained, Feng Bujue explained his true intentions, but no one believed him...

To be so successful that it's hard to be "seen through" is quite something.

…………

[The match will begin in thirty seconds]

Although the system took a particularly long time to repair the battlefield this time, it was still done within five minutes. As the system voice sounded, the second "Mid-Tier Battle" started on time and entered the "preparation phase."

As Feng Bujue had previously predicted, Shan He sent out Matcha Su and Qiang Si for this match.

Since Jue-ge had already anticipated the opponent's lineup, he naturally chose a lineup specifically designed to counter them, which was Si Yu Ruo Li and Shi Shang Hua Jian. In other words... a traditional "sword master + healing support" combination, against an emerging combination of "super-strong mechanical specialist" and "half-summoner, half-spiritualist support."

In terms of tactical diversification, strategic changes, and error tolerance, the latter had an absolute advantage. On Shan He's road to promotion, Matcha Su and Qiang Si had repeatedly proved that non-mainstream specializations plus composite abilities could often have miraculous effects against those old-fashioned combinations, and even win against the strong in some extreme situations.

Even so, Feng Bujue still sent out Ruoyu and Huajian, showing that... he was confident about this battle.

"They ran away..." Just three seconds after the preparation time had passed, Huajian, who was using the Scepter of Asclepius to cast a "resurrection buff" on Ruoyu, looked at the two figures running away across the barrier and muttered calmly.

"Ah... they ran away..." Ruoyu also responded casually, her expression very calm.

Because Jue-ge had pretty much analyzed all the possible tactics the opponent might implement before the match, the two of them couldn't get nervous at all.

"Judging by this... should we use Plan C?" A few seconds later, Huajian said again.

"Hoo..." Ruoyu sighed, looking unmotivated, "We already discussed it, so let's use it..."

…………

One minute later, somewhere on the battlefield.

"Strange... why haven't they come yet?" Qiang Si, who had already made preliminary preparations and was on full alert, looked at the open plain outside the cover and couldn't help but mutter, "Even if they're coordinating with Huajian's movement speed, this much time should be enough for them to get closer."

"Yeah... using thermal imaging, it's also empty..." Matcha Su, who was responding next to her, was wearing a very exaggerated beetle helmet and observing the front through the helmet's built-in lenses, "Could it be... they took some route that we 'can't see'?"

"You mean..." Qiang Si said, while already turning her gaze to the ground ahead.

"'Going underground' is just one possibility..." Matcha Su pondered, "Don't forget that there's also a mechanical specialist in their guild who's very strong... if he created some kind of tradable space technology creation, then Siyu and Huajian might directly come over through phase space or some other transfer device..."

"Understood." Qiang Si nodded in response and immediately turned around to arrange a monitoring summon behind her.

Their tension and caution were understandable. After all, one of their opponents was the "monster level" Ruoyu. Once she got close, they could die in any number of ways.

Therefore, the tactical idea they were implementing was – "fixed-point defense after creating distance."

When fighting a "melee + support" double team, this tactic is undoubtedly very useful; most melee-support combinations have relatively poor ranged attack methods, or even none at all. Once these combinations encounter fortress-style defensive forces in open areas with very little cover, they can easily fall into a helpless situation.

Precisely because they saw this... the two from Shan He turned around and ran as soon as they saw the Hell Front's lineup.

In the previous minute or so, Matcha Su and Qiang Si were racing against time... in the initial movement, they ran at their highest speed, regardless of stamina, striving to create as much distance as possible. Moreover, during the movement, the two were already preparing for "creation" and "summoning," respectively. When they found a small high ground suitable as a stronghold, they started "construction" without hesitation.

Matcha Su's Engineer Ant Corps Module can greatly increase her efficiency in building mechanical creations, while Qiang Si's summoning skills mostly rely on "materials" to implement, without spending too much time preparing (he refuses the method of summoning through paper dolls like Zhao Ying Wang).

The two cooperated quite tacitly. In less than a minute, they built a semi-circular metal wall half a meter high, blocking them and the enemy.

After they lay down behind the cover and set the initial defensive firepower, the two entered a state of alert. At the same time... they also used their respective skills to silently accumulate the number of mechanical and summoning creations.

It can be said that the longer the time drags on, the more advantageous the situation is for the two of them.

Because the longer they wait, the more armed forces they can create... and since they have been constantly engaged in "construction" behavior, even if they stay in place and do not move, they will never be judged as playing passively.

Seeing this, some people may think that this combination and tactic are a bit too invincible (shameless), right?

Actually, no...

If they encounter opponents specializing in shooting, or players with skills like Dragon Break Slash, this tactic is no different from waiting to die. Furthermore, encountering someone like Long Aomin, who can hold a shield and charge through the firepower, is equally useless.

In fact, even with the current combination of Ruoyu and Huajian, it is not entirely impossible to break this tactic. If, at the first moment after the barrier disappears, Ruoyu uses the maximum speed she can achieve to catch up, find the opponent's location, and launch a sudden attack... then she should be able to gain some advantage during the weak period when the opponent's fire net has just been deployed.

However, at this stage, these assumptions are just assumptions.

One minute, two minutes...

It wasn't until a full five minutes later that Ruoyu's figure appeared on the horizon.

Five minutes is a very long time on the stage of the Peak Hegemony... long enough to end a duel.

Such ample time has naturally been enough for Matcha Su and Qiang Si to improve the defensive capabilities of this "stronghold" to a very amazing level. Logically speaking, they should be relieved at this moment, but seeing Ruoyu appear alone made them feel suspicious again.

"What's going on?" Qiang Si wondered, "After waiting for so long, she just appeared in our sight so swaggeringly, and there's only one person?"

"Only one person can be explained... they may be guarding against us using sniping methods for long-range strikes, so they let Huajian, who is less skilled in body techniques, hide first." Matcha Su replied, "But... these five minutes are indeed very suspicious... what exactly did they do during this time?"

Yes, what did they do?

Actually, they didn't do much. During this time, Ruoyu and Huajian simply combined some parts provided by Snow, added a few relatively rare raw materials as catalysts, and created a very powerful small explosive device – the Smite Compression Bomb.

[Name: Smite Compression Bomb (Synthetic)]

[Type: Consumable]

[Quality: Perfect]

[Effect: Releases internally compressed high-concentration smiting power (0.3 second delay after pulling the pin, kill radius approximately 9 kilometers, this item cannot be placed in the bag after it is generated)]

[Note: A multi-universe traveler from the planet Cybertron experimentally combined the military technologies of two universes after traveling through the world of Worms, giving birth to a batch of extremely deadly weapons. The Smite Compression Bomb is one of them; by formatting the smiting energy contained in the Holy Hand Grenade and compressing it into a cubic space with a side length of less than or equal to 15 centimeters, the destructive power of this weapon can be increased geometrically.]

The practicality of this thing is originally very poor: First, it cannot be put into the bag after it is "made into a finished product," so it can only be made in the script world and cannot be taken out after it is finished; second, the way this compression bomb is used is similar to a grenade, requiring oneself to pull the pin to detonate it, but its power is nuclear-weapon-level... that is to say, the user himself is basically impossible to escape the detonation range.

In the competition, it is hard to imagine your opponent giving you five minutes to make this thing; even if you really make it, it is just an item for mutually assured destruction.

However, if you know the other party's tactics and actions in advance, you can use it with peace of mind and boldness.

At the moment, Huajian has run to a place ten kilometers away... the reason she didn't show up is simple, to escape the explosion range; and Ruoyu, holding an item that will most likely kill herself too, wearing a "resurrection buff," is trying to get close to the enemy's two members...

"Wait! She's holding something with a high-energy reaction!" Soon, Matcha Su, who was observing with visual aids, saw that something was wrong.

"What is it?" Qiang Si's sentence... strictly speaking, is nonsense.

"No matter what it is, I don't intend to let her approach us with that thing..." As Matcha Su spoke, the mechanical legion she had created around her swarmed up, some rushing towards the target, and others activating various ranged fire to suppress it.

Seeing this, Qiang Si immediately directed her various summons to follow up, and very vigilantly built a spiritual energy shield around herself and her teammates, just in case.

But...

"Sigh..." Ruoyu, watching the tide of attacks surging from afar, just sighed softly and muttered to herself, "With so many obstacles, maybe I shouldn't go over... Something with an explosion range measured in kilometers, it doesn't matter if it's a few hundred meters..."

Thinking this way, she pulled the pin casually.

Judging from the later war report titled "Heroic! Tragic! Sacrificing Herself for the Team, Si Yu Ruo Li Resolutely Used a Nuclear Bomb!", entertainment media does have a bottom line, mainly depending on who the protagonist of the report is...