Chapter 1 Honghu's Choice

"Honghu… that guy actually placed himself in the 'General' position…" Sasaki Meiru, observing the battlefield from the spectator space as the four players participating in the fourth match were transported in, muttered thoughtfully.

At this moment, the intermission had ended. Since Qisha had lost to Uesugi Jin in the previous "Lieutenant General Battle," the two teams, now tied at two-to-one, entered the "Deputy General Battle."

The lineup that the [Worthless Union] put forth for this battle was [WearyDream] and [Zhaoying King]. The appearance of these two meant that the last remaining member of the team—Honghu—was definitely the "General."

"Hmph… that's a good thing." [Warring States]' "General," Akechi Nobu, responded after hearing Sasaki's muttering, "Anyway, we've had no way out since the last match. No matter what lineup the opponent puts out, we have to fight for it… If we consider it that way, Honghu being the General is good news for us. As long as we win this match, we'll have a big advantage in the final match. After all… I don't think I'll lose in a one-on-one fight against a long-range control-type player like Honghu."

"That's true…" Sasaki Meiru replied, "But the problem is… can we 'fight' for this match…"

"Hm?" Akechi Nobu, hearing this, couldn't help but ask doubtfully, "The combination of Date and Takeda should be our most stable match today. Unless they face monster-level enemies like Gui Xiao or Bi Lao Shi… shouldn't their chances of winning be at least seventy percent?"

"Ah…" Sasaki Meiru crossed his arms in front of his chest, frowned, and responded. Then, his gaze shifted to the two members of [Worthless Union] in the distance, "That's what I'm worried about…"

...

At the same time, on the battlefield.

It had been a while since the voice prompt [The match will begin in thirty seconds] had sounded.

On the [Worthless Union] side, [WearyDream] stood proudly, holding a long halberd and facing his opponents. [Zhaoying King] took a few steps back, summoned a stone golem, and waited in formation.

On the [Warring States] side, [Date Makoto] also stood still, looking at WearyDream with a half-smiling expression. His teammate [Takeda Tomo] took out a stack of talisman paper, a brush, and some cinnabar from his bag, quickly drawing some strange patterns and characters on the ground and the talisman paper, seemingly preparing for some kind of spell.

"Say…" Although the situation was about to erupt, Zhaoying King spoke in a very "ordinary" tone, "Should we retreat a bit first?" He paused and added, "I know a little about what that 'white hair (Takeda Tomo has a white-haired, pink-armored appearance)' is doing… It should be called 'Doman Seal' or something, it's a very troublesome 'curse' ability."

"Mm… I also think it's safer to keep some distance." WearyDream replied in a deep voice, without changing his expression, but his gaze never left Date Makoto on the other side. "That Date is also doing something quite dangerous… It's easier to respond from a distance."

As mentioned earlier, there were three members of the [Warring States] team who had mastered the "Weakening" technique. Obviously, in addition to Oda Ai and Uesugi Jin… the third person was Date Makoto.

Right now, with less than ten seconds before the official start of the battle, the two members of [Warring States]… one ready to unleash the Weakening technique, one having already set up his formation. In this situation, Lao Zhao and Meng Huan naturally couldn't stay in place and wait to suffer.

[Five… four…]

As the countdown sounded, WearyDream and Zhaoying King had already begun to retreat. The two hadn't discussed how far to retreat, but their battle experience led them to make similar choices—they retreated about twenty meters without prior agreement.

At this distance, whether it was the quickdraw attack under the effect of Weakening, or the fixed-point magic circle, they would definitely be out of reach.

Logically speaking… it should be like this…

[…One… fight!]

Cha—

A sound of wind, an odd cry.

The sword blade burst from its sheath, a killing shadow arriving in an instant.

Date Makoto's katana, its blade pure white, was incomparably sharp.

Instantly, the quickdraw strike was unleashed, cutting through the wind, the blade's point aimed directly at Zhaoying King, who was hiding behind the stone golem.

The distance of twenty meters was reduced to a stone's throw the moment Date drew his sword. He flashed forward, arriving with a single step… when he stopped, he had already bypassed the stone golem, directly in front of Zhaoying King.

At the start, Date used this surprise attack that ignored distance and obstacles to catch the two members of [Worthless Union] completely off guard.

However!

Even though unexpected, it was still dealt with adequately.

Clang—

As the sword rose, a resounding crash of metal echoed.

A halberd shadow rose diagonally in response, a horizontal blow blocking the blade.

"Oh?" Date Makoto, his advance stopped, ceased his movements. His expression also changed slightly.

His Weakening quickdraw strike was aimed at Zhaoying King, who was weaker in terms of physical skills. He hadn't expected to be easily blocked by WearyDream, wielding his halberd with one hand.

"Heh heh… this is getting interesting." However, the emotion Date Makoto showed at this time was more delight than surprise.

The exchange just now was merely a test, not a display of both sides' full strength.

Indeed, Date Makoto's strike was already very strong… strong enough to kill Zhaoying King in a single blow without being surprising. But in reality, Date's attack only used about forty percent of his strength… there was no Battle Qi attached to his blade, only pure strength and speed.

"'Shrinking Ground' is used quite well…" WearyDream coldly said, glancing at Date Makoto, who was several meters away from him and still wielding his weapon against him, "It's just that your strength seems a little lacking."

"Is that so?" Date Makoto's eyes sharpened instantly upon hearing this, his Battle Qi ignited, and he ruthlessly propelled his blade.

The blade then turned, following the halberd's shaft towards WearyDream.

Seeing this, WearyDream still used strength in his single arm, spinning the halberd to draw it back slightly, and then blocking it horizontally again…

Clang—

Date Makoto's sudden strike after increasing his strength was still steadily blocked. Even though he was already swinging with all his might, the blade was still stopped by the shaft of the halberd, unable to advance even an inch.

"Yeah." WearyDream replied with a calmer tone than his opponent and a condescending gaze.

At this time, Date, whose attack was blocked, had already reached WearyDream's front. At this distance, it could be clearly seen that the difference in their body types… was very large.

Date, who was only seventeen years old this year, had barely grown to 1.70 meters, which could be considered one level above the same-aged Gui Xiao (by one centimeter). His body type was quite slender, and even wearing battle armor couldn't hide his thinness. As for WearyDream… his height was more than ten centimeters taller than Date, and his figure was also heroic and upright. When these two stood together, WearyDream looked more than a circle larger than Date.

Judging from their body types alone, the difference in their basic strength was obvious. Under the same circumstances of being level sixty, the one who was bigger and more muscular would naturally have stronger basic strength. Although this "gap" could be compensated for by equipment, skills, or pure energy, the result of Date's "second strike with all his strength" colliding with WearyDream's halberd showed… that WearyDream had the upper hand in terms of "strength" no matter what.

"Sigh… there's really no way, I admit I'm afraid of you." Even after his attack was blocked again, Date still maintained a calm and playful attitude. He said he was "afraid," but his killing intent could not be reduced but instead increased. "Since I can't win against you in 'strength,' I have to use 'speed' and 'skill' then…"

As soon as he finished speaking, his left hand suddenly reached towards his waist.

In the next second, a short katana, about half the length of an ordinary katana, hidden behind his waist, was drawn.

Unlike the pure white sword in Date's right hand, the blade of this short katana was jet black.

"So that's how it is…" Seeing the black light suddenly appear, WearyDream's heart tightened, and his Battle Qi rose, wanting to change his stance to meet it. "This kid is a dual-wielder…"

Just as his attention was focused on Date, suddenly, another change occurred!

Chi Ying—

Accompanied by a sharp sound of wind breaking, Takeda Tomo, who had quietly arrived at the rear side of WearyDream, also swung his blade horizontally.