Just as Vincent Fox was preparing to end the match in one swift assault…
The East Arts Academy side had already erupted into chaos.
"What the hell happened with you three?!"
One of the East Arts Academy teammates barked over the comms. "It hasn't even been a full minute and you already gave them a triple kill?!"
Zachary Liu, who had just respawned, shouted back, "Damn it, how was I supposed to know some nobody from a third-rate academy would be this strong?!"
Miles Langston, another of the defeated players, added, "Seriously! That guy's flame ability hits way too hard. With him on the field, we might really be screwed in this match!"
"Screwed or not, you better figure something out! If we get knocked out in the first round, how do you plan to face the academy? You think the instructors will just let it slide?"
"You're not wrong… but this is a real problem now!"
"We'll need to adjust our strategy..."
"Yeah. If that guy's this powerful, we can't push mid anymore. Let's shift the focus to top or bottom lane!"
Emily Han, still shaken from earlier, quickly cut in, "Wait, then what about me?"
Zachary Liu, the team leader, said firmly, "Lily, I'm counting on you to stall mid. Don't engage him head-on. Just turtle under the tower and buy us time!"
"Oh, easy for you to say!" Emily snapped. "That guy can one-shot me! How am I supposed to stall him?"
"Even if you can't stop him, just stall long enough. We can afford to lose the first two towers if we can protect the high-ground tower."
"I'm not doing it!" Emily protested. "It hurt like hell when I died just now! I want to switch lanes. Let someone else stall him, I'm not getting killed again!"
Just then, all the East Arts players received a system alert their mid-lane tower was under attack.
"Crap! That bastard's pushing mid tower already!"
"Quit wasting time and get someone over there! We can't let him just take it!"
"Lily, please! I'm begging you as your captain. Help us out just this once. After this match, I'll buy you that designer bag you've been eyeing, deal?"
"…Captain, you better not go back on your word!"
Finally, they managed to convince Emily to hold mid.
But before they could even breathe a sigh of relief, the defenders on bottom lane started yelling.
"Not good! Their main team is pushing bot! It's three of them… Damn, that girl's archery is insane! The damage is through the roof! We need backup, I can't hold them off!"
Meanwhile…
Vincent was still assaulting the mid-lane energy tower.
He had just cleared the first wave of enemy minions, allowing his own mechanical soldiers to reach the tower. As they arrived, the energy tower switched from idle to attack mode.
Its power was formidable.
Each regular minion could only survive under its fire for about five seconds before being obliterated.
Vincent tried a test strike with Flame Fist.
A single hit managed to drain about one-seventh of the tower's HP. A full bar was visible above the structure.
That meant he needed seven Flame Fists to destroy it.
Given his current Spirit stat, each Flame Fist packed devastating explosive force comparable to an anti-tank missile.
No wonder his earlier enemies were instantly vaporized.
This tower's defense was already quite impressive to resist that level of power.
But after losing two of his mechanical minions, Vincent pulled back his assault.
Even so, the first mid-lane tower had already lost more than half its health.
Before long, the second wave of minions arrived.
Vincent stepped forward to clear them.
With his Flame damage output, a single strike was enough to kill each mechanical unit.
Then, he noticed someone hiding beneath the tower a girl peeking out hesitantly as if she wanted to clear the minions, but didn't dare to step out fully.
It was the same girl who had given him First Blood earlier Emily Han.
Vincent chuckled when he saw her.
She was still hiding under the tower, and he didn't bother acknowledging her.
In no time, he cleared the enemy wave.
With no enemies left, his mechanical soldiers charged forward toward the energy tower.
Vincent followed behind them.
Once the tower began targeting his minions, he unleashed another Flame Fist on it.
At that moment
Vincent himself stepped inside the tower's aggro range.
That was the rule of King's Canyon.
To damage a tower, you had to enter its activation radius.
Seeing Vincent attacking the structure again, Emily finally lost her nerve.
If she didn't stop him now, the first tower would fall.
She rushed out but instead of targeting Vincent, she went straight for the mechanical soldiers.
Smart move.
She knew that minions were the real threat. If she could wipe them out, Vincent couldn't damage the tower.
Watching her madly hack away at the bots, Vincent gave a cool smile.
Did she really think hiding under a tower meant she was safe?
He'd already tested the tower's power.
Yes, its attacks hurt.
But breaking through his defenses? Not easy.
In other words, the energy tower wasn't much of a threat to him at all.
Vincent could absolutely dive and kill someone, then walk out unharmed.
Fwoosh!
A massive fireball burst from his fist, flying straight toward Emily.
"Ahhh!!"
She barely had time to scream before she exploded into pieces, killed on the spot.
The tower fired a retaliatory blast, slamming into Vincent with a fierce strike.
He took the hit directly, absorbed the damage, then calmly stepped out of the tower's range.
He wasn't actually worried about the tower's damage.
But since everything was being streamed live, appearances mattered.
If he stood under the tower and tanked everything without dying, it might make people suspicious about his body stats.
His flame power was already shocking.
If his physique was also off the charts, it would raise red flags.
After all, no one with just two trips into Forbidden Zones should have attributes that high.
"Contestant Vincent Fox has slain Contestant Emily Han…"
The system's broadcast echoed across the entire King's Canyon.
Vincent's personal kill count now reached four.
Three more, and he'd achieve the ultimate milestone in this match Godlike status.
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
p@treon.com/_theon
Change @ to "a"