Season 5: Chapter 142. The Knight Order Comes Alive (3)

The gathered coaches burst out laughing.

"You’re out!"

Sardine's team had been eliminated right from the start.

She screamed, "KYAAAAAAAA!"

— What kind of crow sound is that

— lmaooooo

— Are you getting an organ harvested LOL

Takoyaki laughed excitedly beside her. "Bwahaha! Total first-round elimination!?"

The next moment, his expression stiffened.

"Hm...?"

The Red Turtle's position was quite tricky.

"This?"

The routes of Can't Can't Can't and the Knight Order were overlapping. Though Can't Can't Can't was a few steps ahead, they'd already started attacking the Red Turtle.

"Oh, good. With Raina...!"

Raina was a difficult carry to actually play, but Can't Can't Can't had noticed Raina's potential in Survival mode and had been gradually deploying her. Raina's damage exploded after stacking a lot of target combos. Stacking this against actual players was hard, but it was fairly manageable against monsters. Farming speed was most important in Survival mode.

Playing Raina was like activating a farming speed boost, which was why they'd contracted her early as a carry.

'On top of that, taking Raina prevents Almond from picking her.'

Selecting Raina in advance meant never having to encounter the natural disaster that was Almond's Raina.

'Well... they wouldn't show Raina in a scrimmage anyway.'

Of course, the Knight Order wouldn't use Raina card here. Their practice wouldn't be done properly that way.

'They really are something.'

Bang bang bang!

Zelo had practiced Raina quite a bit and strung combos together better than expected.

[Mana Burst]

Whoooosh!

Zelo's combo burned through the Red Turtle.

"Oh, the farming speed is indeed..."

Coaches watching from beside commented in admiration.

"Is Raina really like this?"

"Zelo has been practicing a lot."

Zelo never dropped a combo during monster farming, even if his combo-stacking speed was a third of Almond's. Regardless, the damage being dealt to the monster kept increasing the more combos stacked.

[Mana Burst]

Bang!

It was the third Mana Burst for a nine-hit combo.

"Quick... quick...!"

The Knight Order's two-person team headed toward the Red Turtle. They didn’t have any champions, but both of them had reached level three.

The enemies were only at the tail end of level two.

Sardine asked, "Hm? Why are they fighting the Turtle at the tail end of level two? Is it a staggered strategy?"

Whether they had just reached level two or were at the tail end of level two, the combat power was the same. Only the time invested was different. Ideally, they would want to reach level three first or come right at the start of level two. Going for such an important monster at the tail end of level two was unusual.

"No, that's not it. Their plans just changed."

— Staggered strategy LOL

— There's a limit to staggering LOL

— No monsters nearby

— Oh

— It's not staggered it's just forced!

It was a case of an unfavorable route. Like all games, but Survival mode especially, things rarely went as planned. Even the map had significant randomness. On top of that was the uncertainty of where others would land.

The Knight Order had landed in a wide area specifically to avoid people and still ran into Magical Girls. Can't Can't Can't's route got tangled too.

"Sigh. This is why continuously scrimmaging the same teams isn't ideal." Sardine pushed her hair back, apparently heating up. "You keep reading each other, and the strategies get all messed up."

Takoyaki was also heating up, except he had no hair to comb back.

Instead, he clenched his fist. "But it's fine as long as Emperor Zel’s combo doesn't break! If we kill it fast, everything will resolve itself!"

The Red Turtle's nickname was Rank Defense Turtle. It was a monster that played a decisive role in defending one’s rank with runes, buffs, and experience points.

"Looks like it'll happen? The Knight Order still only has two members close, and the other three are far..."

"The combo... just the combo...!"

Takoyaki read the situation similarly.

The Red Turtle would die if no mistakes occurred with the combos.

The players thought the same. The tension was palpable through the screen. Voice chats grew fainter, and countless blue arrows flew over Zelo's dark sunglasses.

Simultaneously, the Knight Order's two members were approaching.

Sardine was skeptical. "Ah. It won't work even if they come over. They're better off waiting for after the kill."

"Oh oh oh!? Wh-what, he's going to try that!?"

Almond started running quickly. Anyone could see he was going to do something.

"There's nothing he can do?"

The other coaches added their opinions.

"He'd need to stop the combo to have a chance."

Combos didn't break with CC skills, only when Raina's attempt failed. Rushing in couldn’t stop it. The Knight Order only had two members too.

"...!"

Smack.

Takoyaki hit his own gleaming head. "Oh no, don't tell me!"

He knew Almond, which was why he’d realized in advance what Almond was trying to do.

'Will it actually work?'

Almond's arrow flew. It didn't fly toward Zelo, ForeverAlone, or Acorn Jelly, whose health had dropped from taking the Red Turtle's attacks.

His arrow continued through the air.

"Hm?"

"Oh, come on..."

The coaches didn't understand what had just happened.

Takoyaki jumped to his feet in shock. "IT ACTUALLY WORKED!?!"

Ting!

He saw something get caught in mid-air.

Zelo's mouth fell open on the screen.

The other coaches gradually opened their mouths one by one as they each understood.

"It... just now..."

"What? Don't tell me he landed that arrow?"

"And a R-Raina arrow at that?"

***

"Eek!"

Lemon nearly fell over from the shock.

'Is he out of his mind?'

She'd played alongside Black Tea, a Challenger carry, for many years.

Black Tea also possessed considerable physicality and could probably pull off the kind of super plays Almond had shown earlier. However, this was on a different level.

'That’s impossible with a bow.'

Somehow, Almond had a far higher accuracy with a bow than a gun. His level was incomprehensibly beyond imagination.

After firing one shot, he casually called out while running, "Combo stopped~."

— ?

— ?

— ???

— Hm?

Lemon and her viewers didn't even understand what he'd said at first.

The opposing team screamed, “Why did the combo stop, you madman!”

Then, the situation became clear.

'Almond hit Zelo's arrow.'

Even Lemon took as long as the enemies to internalize this.

Around three seconds later, everyone understood what had just happened.

In that gap, Almond was already sprinting. Since he'd started it himself, wasn't he naturally the most unfazed? Following his own mental blueprint, he closed the distance and rapidly fired arrows.

Bang!

Bang!

"Enemies!"

"Enemy! Enemy!"

"Damn, the combo just had to break now!?"

The one who initiated had the advantage. The enemies hadn’t known why the combo had stopped, but Almond entered knowing everything.

'Oh no.'

Lemon realized she had been too stunned and quickly called out.

[Lemon: We broke the enemy Raina's combo! Turtle is at 15% HP! Join us!!]

Lemon simultaneously swung her staff. She had to disrupt the enemy formation first with wind magic.

[Air Bomb]

Bang!

The magic dealt very low damage, but pushed the enemies in all directions. She had aimed at the Turtle, where all the enemies stood around. Only one person was an exception.

[Roll]

Raina was wearing sunglasses. Having been the one directly targeted, he had already grasped the situation.

"Ah. As expected, that arrow was..."

Creeeek.

He precisely aimed at Almond. "The Lord, wasn’t it?"

From the moment he'd chosen Raina, he sensed this fate.

"An arrow of that caliber, I believed no one else could have done it. Kyo kyo kyo!"

— What?

— Meeting fate on the bridge

— “Kyo kyo kyo” lmaooo

— What kind of concept is this LOL

— Revenge for great-great-grandfather!

— Knight Order? Is that them??

— Did that seriously hit the arrow just now??

— Don't try to look cool with Raina, Zelo you're gonna become a porcupine LOL

— But what arrow is he even talking about?

Zelo had noticed, but most of his viewers didn't know what arrow he was referring to.

Almond understood Zelo's words and genuinely felt surprised. "Oh. You saw that?"

A kind of arrogance practically radiated from Almond that Zelo, of all people, had seen that arrow.

— LOOOOL

— lmaooooooooo

— Hahahahaha

— Almond suddenly being like this is ridiculous LOL

— King Streamer? Lord Almond~

"I saw it. Wearing sunglasses doesn't make me blind. Kyo kyo kyo?"

"Then, can you see this too!?"

They were like two martial artists who had found someone to converse with for the first time in a while.

Creeeek...

Both drew their bows at each other and quickly moved.

— What is Almond doing LOL

— That tone lmaooo

— Raina vs regular archer, is this real?

Swooosh!

Swoosh!

Arrows flew at each other as Zelo rolled around. Their sacred duel didn’t last long. This was Survival mode, where survival was the one and only priority. Romance had no place here.

"Those two over there! Kill them all! It’s a perfect chance!" Acorn Jelly called out.

ForeverAlone charged with spear, Choco Shroom fired a Fireball, and Bubblegum came running with shield. Their HP had dropped somewhat from the Red Turtle, but killing two people would be no problem at all.

Even Bubblegum added a mental attack with a taunt. "Hey~ Almond! You guys were 7th last game, right? Wahaha!"

— Wow

— lmaooooo

— Bubblegum LOL

— Knowing he's the most effective one to taunt...

— lmaooooo

— This would sting a bit lmaooo

Bubblegum felt very satisfied with making fun of Almond.

Kiiiiiiiiing!

A very familiar sound came from far away.

"This... what was it again?"

— Iron Ball!

— lmaooo you don't even know your main champion

— Run!

— The son comes to kill the father!!

— How many years has it been with Iron Ball?!

— Iron Ball?

— “I’m coming for you, father...”