Above the mage

Chapter 758 Surprising Move

Three days after the semi-finals concluded, the highly anticipated finals of the Unparalleled Fighting Tournament officially began.

The final will still be held at the Dragon Ridge Arena.

To host this unprecedented showdown between young mages, the Mithril City government spared no expense, hiring high-level rune masters to work overnight to inscribe and set up a large-scale rune array on the Dragonscale Platform.

The magic array enveloped the entire Dragon Scale Platform in a transparent light barrier.

This transparent light barrier possesses extremely precise capabilities for capturing light and shadow and replicating scenes.

The magic array runes cover every inch of the Dragon Scale Platform, capturing every detail on the platform from every angle.

Then, the projection is amplified and replicated through the resonance array at the top.

Even if spectators cannot take their seats in the arena, they can still clearly see every detail of the offense and defense on the Dragonscale Platform from outside the Dragonspine Arena.

This maximized the viewing experience for all citizens of the city.

The sheer scale of Mithril City's spending to establish a massive rune array to satisfy unnecessary "entertainment" needs speaks volumes.

Moreover, this is an extremely advanced "broadcasting" technology, which has amazed countless people.

Of course, in Gaode's view, it is still quite crude and outdated.

Because it is unable to escape the limitations of spatial distance, it must rely on the core of the rune array of the Dragonspine Arena to achieve projection, and the viewing area is limited to Mithril City.

A truly mature, comprehensive broadcast should break free from geographical constraints, allowing viewers across the Nolan continent to watch the game in real time.

The atmosphere inside the Dragonspine Arena had already reached its peak.

The two sides of the field were facing off.

The banners of the Plantagenet Dynasty and the Holy Empire fluttered in the wind, standing at opposite ends.

One is simple and elegant, the other is solemn and awe-inspiring.

Amidst the interplay of light and shadow, the atmosphere of confrontation between the two top powers is fully conveyed.

All seven members of the Holy Empire team stood tall and straight in the contestant area.

In addition, the entire mage corps that accompanied the Imperial forces to Mithril City was also present, a massive, imposing force.

It shouldn't be considered that all of them came.

As Gao De's gaze quickly swept across the entire Imperial Mage camp, the mysterious Imperial spellcaster who had once cast a high-level spatial banishment spell to drag him and Liu Ying into the Desolate Soul Domain remained nowhere to be seen.

I guess they fled Mithril City as soon as they finished their mission.

In the front row of the audience, Gao De saw "old acquaintances"—the seven players from the Linhai City mage team whom they had personally eliminated.

After being eliminated in the quarterfinals, they did not return to Linhai City, but stayed in Mithril City until today, and today the entire team came to watch the game.

Cedric surveyed the bustling arena around him, finally fixing his gaze on the Holy Empire's contestant zone, which stood facing off in the distance, and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

"It's finally starting. I'm going to see what tricks and trump cards they're hiding."

Facing a formidable opponent like the Holy Empire, targeted tactical planning before the match is essential.

At the tactical deployment meeting, team leader Fritz, combining all the intelligence and battle records he had collected, meticulously dissected and explained the fighting styles of the seven members of the Holy Empire.

First, there are two substitute players:

Beatrice Vichy and Benedict.

Beatrice Vichy is the lowest-ranked mage in the team and the only third-circle mage in the Imperial team.

However, this "weakest" level is only relative to the top level of the entire empire; she genuinely possesses the level of a mage in the late third ring.

Among all the mages participating in this knockout stage, they are firmly in the upper-middle tier, and are by no means a weak team.

She specializes in highly mobile relocation systems, focusing on pulling and harassing, with agile movements and tricky positioning.

She is also the member of the Imperial Mage Team with the most appearances and the most transparent information.

However, in a top-level competition like the finals, unless something unexpected happens, she, with her third ring, will most likely sit on the sidelines and watch the whole thing, just like Arya, with little chance to play.

Therefore, Fritz only briefly mentioned it and did not elaborate further.

Another substitute, Bai Nuode, may seem like a substitute, but he actually possesses the hard skills to rival the starters.

He is a dedicated single-element turret mage, skilled in lightning elemental energy manipulation spells, with extremely high burst damage and outstanding area suppression capabilities.

According to Fritz's analysis, Bai Nold's actual combat strength is almost the same as Herbert's among the five main players, and he is fully qualified to be a main player.

Therefore, he may appear at any time in a situation where he can perform well, so we must pay close attention.

Following closely behind were the five official main force members of the Holy Empire.

They are also the core fighting force of the empire that needs the most vigilance.

Half of their members have yet to make a move, and their true intentions remain a mystery.

Captain, Ellie Warwick.

She has remained a spectator throughout the entire competition, never using any techniques or methods, and no one has witnessed her actual combat skills.

There is very little relevant information, making it the team's biggest trump card and source of suspense.

Without a doubt, he was nominated by the Golden Bird Flower Association as their ace player.

Currently, only two key pieces of information can be confirmed.

Firstly, Ellie Warwick's mage level is a solid mid-fourth ring.

If we disregard the anomaly of Liu Ying, then she is the best in the entire event.

Of course, we can't let go of it.

Secondly, she is an extremely rare bloodline mage.

Her family, Warwick, has wolf blood.

Of course, over the years, through intermarriage and blood fusion, the wolf bloodline of the Warwick family has been greatly diluted, becoming thin and mutated, and has been severed from the ancient original wolf mage system.

However, the innate close-combat talent, physical strength, and close-range explosive power of the wolf bloodline have never ceased.

Therefore, it can be concluded that Ellie must be a melee-type mage.

Wielding their hands as weapons and relying on bloodline amplification and wolf-blood magic, they are extremely fierce melee combat mages.

It's highly likely to be a higher-spec version of Olivia from Linhai City.

Then there's Herbert.

He is an extremely rare assassin mage who has mastered special shadow magic, allowing him to use the surrounding shadows to complete short-distance spatial displacement, making him unpredictable and impossible to defend against.

In one-on-one games, Herbert's threat is limited.

Because his own direct magical output is relatively lacking, and in a one-on-one duel, the opponent is highly focused and has all their senses activated, making it difficult to perfectly conceal his figure and launch a sneak attack.

But in the chaotic battle of the five-person team fighting to the death, he is the most deadly hidden dagger.

With the help of the chaotic spells in team fights, blind spots in vision, and teammates' support, his Shadowmeld and stealth abilities can be maximized.

It can be used to target and instantly kill turret mages, tearing apart the enemy's formation.

Fritz accurately predicted that Herbert's most crucial appearance would be in the fourth inning, a five-man team battle.

Then there's Conrad, who also made an appearance and demonstrated some of his abilities.

He was born into a family of armorers in the Holy Empire, whose heritage existed even before the empire was founded, and whose status was noble and whose lineage was long-standing.

His signature red braids are a remnant of ancient barbarian traditions, and within the empire, they symbolize the highest level of ancient nobility and orthodox heritage.

Conrad's magical style is also extremely rare; he is an expert in weapon shaping and is said to be proficient in all conventional weapons.

Different weapons are suited to different battle situations.

His ability to attack, defend, control, and harass from a distance makes him an irreplaceable all-rounder in the team.

It adapts well to any lineup and any opponent, and has an extremely strong ability to adapt to changing situations.

In terms of positioning, it is somewhat similar to Gaode Maps, which focuses on being an all-rounder.

However, the difference in levels is obvious.

Conrad's versatility was limited to the diversity of combat weapons and combat styles.

Gaode's all-around capabilities truly cover offensive bursts, team support, crowd control, and sustained damage.

Furthermore, Gao De had already noticed during his previous match against Conrad that Conrad's mental strength was relatively weak.

This is a weakness that can be exploited.

The last two key players have also yet to play in any match.

The first one is Reginald.

Born into a low-level mining family on the border of the empire, he relied solely on his extraordinary talent to climb up the ranks step by step under the empire's meritocratic policy, eventually becoming a key member of the empire's mage representative team.

Because of his humble origins and the fact that he climbed up step by step, his early resume was open and transparent, and his information was relatively complete.

He specializes in earth elemental energy manipulation and also has a background in rare gravity-based spells. He can quickly build battlefield terrain and cover teammates' attacks, making him a defensive mage and the cornerstone of the team's formation.

The other one is Viola Morningstar.

This is the daughter of an imperial general, a top-tier noble genius mage.

He possesses the nobility of an aristocrat, and because his father was a general, he also has a dashing and heroic air, with a sharp temperament.

Her magical style is similar to Feng Lin's; she is a control mage who excels in enchanting and divination spells.

However, because her specific abilities were never revealed throughout the entire process, and information about her was largely blank, she was also a major unknown variable in the finals.

"Contestants, prepare to enter!"

The referee's booming voice echoed throughout the vast Dragon Ridge Arena.

The Dragon Scale Platform has long since been transformed into a battlefield in the clouds.

The long gap before that was not just waiting idly, but rather allowed the team leaders of both countries to finalize the lineup for the first game.

With the roster verified and the venue remodeled, the first round of the finals, Capture the Flag, officially began.

The moment the command was given, players from both the Golden Flower Dynasty and the Holy Empire's player zones stepped forward simultaneously.

The starting lineup for the Holy Empire consists of Reginald, Herbert, and Viola.

The three members of the Plantagenet dynasty who stepped forward instantly stunned the entire audience.

Feng Lin, Cedric, Evan.

This starting lineup overturned the established system that the Plantagenet dynasty had maintained throughout the first two rounds of the knockout stage.

In the previous capture-the-flag matches of the knockout stage, including the crucial battle against Linhai City, the Golden Flower team consistently used Evan...

The iron triangle combination of Gareth and Gao De.

Evan quickly captured the flag, Gareth defended the flag, and Gao De adapted to the situation.

The trio has a mature and stable playing style, and can adapt to various situations.

In addition, their numerous appearances in capture-the-flag battles and their excellent teamwork make them the best capture-the-flag lineup in everyone's mind.

But in the crucial first game of the finals, this mature system was actually dismantled.

Of the trio, only Evan retained his starting position, while Goud and Gareth were both substituted off, replaced by players with different styles of play.

Cedric and Feng Lin have completely different positions.

The stands were instantly abuzz with uproar and heated discussion, with countless people wondering about the risky move by the Golden Broom Flower.

In conventional understanding, the core of capture the flag game is nothing more than holding the line, pulling and scrambling, and capturing the flag.

Why bring in two mages who are completely unsuitable for the core gameplay of capture the flag?

Fritz, as an experienced team leader, was certainly not acting rashly by suddenly changing the formation.

In fact, he had already planned out this lineup before the match against Linhai City.

The reasoning behind it is not complicated.

In the tough quarter-final match against Linhai City, the iron triangle formation of Gao De, Gareth, and Evan has been fully revealed to all opponents.

The Holy Empire, observing from the sidelines, possesses complete battle data and intelligence, and with a full week to prepare, it must have already developed a targeted strategy to break the deadlock.

They even created a counter lineup specifically for this trio.

The starting lineup of Reginald, Herbert, and Viola was very likely selected specifically to target these three players.

Therefore, to win against the Holy Empire, the lineup must be changed and the tactics must be innovated.

Fritz deliberately continued to use the same lineup in the semi-finals, intentionally maintaining his playing style. This was actually part of his plan to further mislead the Holy Empire's intelligence assessment.

This will convince the opponent that they will continue to use the old system of Gao De, Gareth, and Evan in the final capture the flag battle, allowing them to confidently devise counter-tactics around their old lineup.

The real killer move is to completely overturn the established tactics.

Yes, Gareth and Feng Lin's spell system is not suitable for capturing or defending the flag.

However, the tactical objective of the Golden Flower in this game was not centered around the flag from the very beginning.

Who says a capture-the-flag game has to involve capturing the flag?

This has never been the only way to win.

If we defeat all three enemy players and force them to leave the battlefield, leaving no opponents, then the battle flag will be within our grasp.

The idea that a capture-the-flag battle should be fought with the goal of capturing the flag is a ingrained mindset.

Clearing out the battlefield is the true victory.

On the battlefield in the cloud, the changing expressions of the three starting players from the Holy Empire undoubtedly confirmed Fritz's calculations.

The three men's eyes flickered, and their expressions became more serious.

Tactically, Fritz believed he had done everything he could.

But these can only be considered auxiliary factors.

Ultimately, victory depends on the performance of the players on the field.

boom!

A cloud of mist shot into the sky, announcing the official start of the capture-the-flag battle.

The moment the battle began, the three members of the Holy Empire started casting spells almost simultaneously, without the slightest hesitation.

As Reginald raised his hand, dark, earthy-yellow magic surged forth.

With a rumbling, trembling sound, layers of jagged rocks and soil piled up, and several earthen walls immediately rose up, surrounding the flag platform.

This is his core starting tactic: to solidify the terrain and establish his own position, which can protect the flag, avoid surprise attacks, and prevent the Goldfinch from quickly attacking and capturing the flag.

Of course, this function is no longer effective.

In addition, the earthen wall can also block the line of sight and provide cover for teammates.

As soon as the Reginald terrain was completed and blocked the view, Herbert's figure, temporarily in the blind spot, completely disappeared into the shadows.

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