[Infinity Arena Main Tournament Round of 16 – Match 11]
[Battlefield: The Place Where the Storm Sleeps]
[vs Qingyun Club Ape (Fighter)]
The punch I launched tore through the wind.
The heavy rain that was pouring suddenly ceased, leaving behind a moment of eerie silence.
I took advantage of this stillness to wound his robust wrist.
—
A single scratch wouldn’t halt an opponent as frail as that.
After all, a Fighter’s body, hardened through countless battles, does not stop easily.
—
The lines of rain returned, washing away the blood.
That mass of bulging muscles, resembling armor, began to move coarsely.
His straight punches came with precision and speed, accompanied by a powerful gust of wind from his kicks.
—
Short and rapid attacks continued one after another.
The shockwave caused by the wind pressure suggested an almost overwhelming force.
If I were to get hit by one of those roundhouse kicks directly, the game would likely swing in his favor instantly.
—
Of course, that assumes I’d actually get hit.
Regardless, to deal any damage to my opponent, I’d have to make sure I hit the mark.
—
[‘Vein Cut: Enhanced Damage’ effect has successfully activated.]
[An advanced bleeding toxin effect has been applied to the enemy.]
—
The Fighter’s attacks are nothing short of ferocious, one by one.
Even his body is brutally strong, and his ability to sustain battle is formidable.
Moreover, with his agility being exceptionally high, when it came to overall stats, this class might as well be the best in the game.
—
The problem, however, lay in the overly simplistic nature of his attacks.
—
Even swordsmen who wield weapons carry skills that can distort the battlefield.
When they prepare to fight, they can shatter the ground or conjure swords made of Magic Power to execute maneuvers like Shadow Sword techniques.
And for an Assassin like me, it goes without saying.
—
Yet Fighters lacked such techniques.
Whether they were engulfed in flames or encased in ice, their fists were still just fists, were they not?
Their skills were generally limited to ‘hit faster’, ‘hit harder’, and ‘take less damage’.
—
Hence, the battlefield dynamics tended to be monotonous.
In this particular fight, there was absolutely no need for me to dive in.
—
My opponent was essentially a primate swinging his body around as if it were a weapon.
While swords clashing lead to deadlock, when a blade meets a fist, it’s bound to leave a mark.
All I had to do was avoid any parry judgments, which would otherwise leave me vulnerable.
—
As long as I play by this rule, the enemy would obligingly offer up the spots to attack.
All it took was systematically targeting those extremities—starting from the limbs.
After all, humans didn’t just invent weapons for show.
—
[‘Tendon Sever: Paralysis Poison’ effect has successfully activated.]
[The enemy has been afflicted with moderate paralysis.]
—
The enemy did try to address this issue, to some extent.
A notable example was the frequent use of feints.
However, from my perspective—as an experienced Reaper—these attempts were hardly threatening.
—
Why, oh why, was the opponent fighting shirtless, anyway?
It seemed Fighters had a peculiar penchant for exposing their torsos.
—
Could he really think this was ‘cool’?
If so, it was a grave misconception. The grace and etiquette of martial artists stem from their neatly tailored uniforms.
That overly revealing attire, from a martial artist’s perspective, was nothing short of atrocious.
—
The movement of his muscles was glaringly obvious.
The way his back, chest, and arms flexed was laid bare for everyone to see.
Even if he tried to hide his movements with clothing, it wouldn’t be easy to evade my gaze.
—
“Hmph.”
—
I maintained a meticulous distance.
A hairsbreadth away from where his punches could reach.
A movement would allow me to dodge a kick, and a lunge would prevent me from getting pinned to the ground.
—
Since I had already inflicted bleeding and poisoning, time was now on my side.
All I had to do was evade his attacks and target his limbs with my daggers, just like this.
—
“Keep thrusting your arms like that. Watching you reminds me of an old teacher. Back in the day, they would smack palms with a ruler, if I recall correctly. Saw that in a movie.”
“Ugh…!”
—
Ah, he’s angry, it seems.
When I mocked him with a sneer, his movements only grew larger.
—
A midsection roundhouse kick. My target: the inner calf muscle.
A spinning hook kick reminiscent of Tae Kwon Do. Next, the Achilles tendon.
A greedy upward kick aiming for the head. This time, my spots were his thigh and ribs.
—
[‘Vital Target: Internal Organs’ effect successfully activated.]
[‘Enhanced Bleeding Toxin’ effect has been re-applied.]
[‘Unstoppable Bleeding’ damage has increased.]
[‘Paralysis Poison’ effect has been re-applied…]
—
Truth be told, I too felt a twinge of disappointment.
Didn’t I show how to handle a lance properly in my match against Rime?
Did he really believe that someone incapable of handling a bombardment could be defeated with a mere fist?
—
This is your fault for underestimating me, after all.
So, wouldn’t it be fair for me to have a little fun with you?
—
Maybe you should’ve brought something more mechanical, like the previous round.
At least then, there would’ve been a semblance of back-and-forth combat.
It was his choice to switch to a physical enhancement build—likely because he thought his overall combat prowess fell short in the previous match—that became his downfall.
—
“Ahahat. Did you almost slip just now?”
—
As the kick flies in, I sweep the ankle and knock him down.
While he’s getting up, I play with my dagger. When he charges at me, I throw it toward his eyes.
I leap high into the air and kick him hard on the back of the head.
—
I was prepared to keep playing with him.
However, after a few minutes, the opponent declared his forfeit.
Rather anticlimactically.
—
Thus, my Round of 16 match ended in quite an unspectacular manner.
—
《It seems this match didn’t require any complex commentary. The player simply evaded the attacks visually and skillfully. Utilizing physical prowess without any mistakes, the outcome was utterly dominant.》
《Indeed, we have seen this kind of play from top-tier players in previous matches. Fighters, despite being straightforward, reach a point of limitation inevitably. The player capitalized on this limitation effectively.》
《That’s correct. While Ape showcased his trademark physical strength, Ga Wol wasn’t one to be outclassed in that department. In a way, this result feels somewhat preordained.》
《The preparation of Ape does leave one with some doubts…》
—
The commentators seemed busy sugarcoating things, which made me feel a bit sorry for them.
It was simply that his matchup luck was good, and now it was time for him to make an exit.
Of course, such a statement could never make it into the official commentary.
—
Given my nature, I would find it difficult to hold back unkind words.
Hence, I struck out “commentaries” from my list of “things I want to try someday.”
—
*
—
After concluding the rather dull match, I went ahead and gave an interview.
Chinese journalists showed some sharp responses, but, honestly, who cares?
I answered them in a way that wouldn’t cause any issues.
—
The articles must’ve been posted by now.
I checked the strategy site, and sure enough, my interview was already at the top.
—
– Ga Wol 2:0 Victory Against Ape. Unblemished Progress to the Quarterfinals.
– What Makes Blingk’s Mage Knight Different?
– Ga Wol: “The Overconfidence of the Opponent Decided the Game.”
—
[Title: Ape: “An Unpleasant Match Conducted Without Professional Etiquette”]
[Author: Tombkeeper Journalist ([email protected])]
—
Infinity Arena Main Tournament Round of 16 Match:
Player Ape from Qingyun Club has expressed dissatisfaction, describing the match as “unpleasant.”
While acknowledging his defeat, he implied the match was conducted without professional awareness.
During the bout, Ape was reportedly kicked on the back of the head more than five times while his vision was impaired.
—
Ga Wol reportedly said, “The opponent was arrogant despite lacking skill,” and another statement noted, “Since the opponent didn’t properly prepare, victory was inevitable.”
—
Netizens responded with comments such as “Ga Wol isn’t even a pro, so what’s he talking about?”, “Too many words after a boring match,” and “If I were him, I’d be angry about such a game.”
—
It seemed my opponent, the Fighter, was pretty upset.
Given there was no chance of meeting him again, I didn’t bother reading the full interview.
Instead, it would be better to watch matches featuring Luche or Traveler.
—
I’d also need to start analyzing Cerberus soon.
He may be an unlucky guy, but he’s undeniably one of the strongest in Europe. Based on reputation and career, he’s certainly no weaker than Reaper.
The rules change to a Best-of-5 from the semifinals, so I’d better start preparing.
—
In the previous Round of 16 draw, I ended up in the worst possible scenario.
In this match series, I faced the weakest opponent, and my next adversary was also relatively low-tier.
Though I should still prepare thoroughly…frankly, I didn’t find them threatening.
—
No. The issue wasn’t my side of the bracket.
Rather, I faced the most ideal opponents one could wish for.
If everything continued like this, I was likely to advance to the semifinals and possibly the finals without significant hiccups.
—
But my smooth run also meant someone else’s nightmare.
In the assumption that both of us would win, Traveler faced Cerberus in their quarterfinal.
And similarly, Luche was scheduled to face Cerberus before meeting me.
—
Even Reaper’s quarterfinal against Luche seemed likely.
All I could do was watch their battles unfold.
—
I should’ve brought Luche over during the group stages.
I couldn’t help but want to punch my past self for this oversight.
—
“The next match features Luche from Sigma eSports against Player from Blingk. Quite the coincidence, isn’t it? This will be a battle between the sword and the shield.”
