The elimination schedule was packed tight. Dawei Tianlong had barely been carried off before the next match got underway in full swing.
"Oho? Our next contestant is someone everyone should be very familiar with."
Hearing the announcer's voice, the players in the stands brimmed with anticipation. They pricked up their ears and focused their eyes on the players' tunnel.
Could it be another star player? Maybe even the one they cheered for!
"Please welcome the red corner for this match—Contestant Number 00038, Langlibaitiao!"
"*Boooooo!*"
Instantly, a surging wave of boos erupted across the stands, almost drowning out the entire arena.
Langlibaitiao was already notorious throughout the entire gaming scene.
At the end of the tunnel, a vampire appeared, clad in the Nocturne uniform—a black base layer accented with dark red stripes.
He had deathly pale skin and a scrawny build, but he didn't possess a shred of the noble bearing typically associated with the "Kindred" in TV dramas. Instead, he gave off a distinctly shameless, punchable vibe.
"*Ptui!* How unlucky!"
"I wondered who it was—turns out it's the Lang-beast."
"Don't worry, Lang-beast! Whoever's on the other side, I'm rooting for them!"
Yet Langlibaitiao strode out of the competitors' area with a beaming smile, completely unfazed by the audience's boos. He even waved cheerfully.
"Haha, you guys are so enthusiastic! Thanks for the support, everyone!"
"Support your sister!"
"Get lost, Lang-beast!"
"I can't wait for you to die!"
Cursing and spitting rained down from the stands once more. If not for the protective barrier, people would probably have pelted him with rocks and rotten eggs.
Langlibaitiao maintained a relaxed expression, even wiggling his hips and busting out a little dance right there in the tunnel.
That black-and-red Nocturne uniform looked less like an elite outfit on him and more like the tracksuits worn by hyperactive street punks.
Years of pulling unhinged stunts had granted him skin as thick as a city wall. He could coolly face the condemnation of thousands—or rather, their middle fingers.
Hearing the ceaseless chorus of profanity, the commentator gave an awkward laugh. "Haha, it seems Contestant Langlibaitiao is extremely popular!"
"And his opponent in this match is equally full of popularity! Please welcome our blue corner—Xiaye Qiuyu!"
"*Oooooh!*"
"Qiuyu, I love you!"
"I'll carry the banner for Qiuyu forever!"
Amidst thousands of cheering calls, Xiaye Qiuyu appeared at the end of the players' tunnel.
She wore an exquisite robe, her long brownish-auburn hair cascading over her shoulders. Sparks of flame flickered in her golden eyes, and streams of fire danced freely around her.
Instantly, the fan clubs in the stands waved their light boards in unison as a tsunami of cheers swept the arena.
"Qiuyu, burn that Lang-beast to cinders!"
In stark contrast to her opponent, the disparity in popularity was immediately obvious—it was an overwhelming landslide in Xiaye Qiuyu's favor.
Anyezhilang, Langlibaitiao's little lackey in Nocturne, had wanted to cheer for his guild master.
Yet the moment he timidly mumbled "Go, Brother Lang," the surrounding spectators glared at him with bizarre looks, forcing him to obediently shut his mouth.
Up on the elevated dais, Cassius was also drawn to this match. He leaned slightly forward, a glimmer of interest surfacing in his eyes.
*Dragon-Pact Sorcerer.*
This was an advanced class he had only made available to players recently, and it had yet to be tested in actual combat.
He wondered what kind of performance it would deliver.
Still, once he had acquired the Element Master trait, the spell list of the Dragon-Pact Sorcerer had expanded to include all fire spells.
Its power level was definitely overtuned.
Although the vampire template's regenerative abilities were powerful, they still couldn't compete with a cheat-tier advanced class.
*Don't disappoint me...*
Cassius looked down at the two players in the arena, thinking quietly to himself.
Amidst the arena-drowning, rolling waves of "Go, Xiaye Qiuyu!" the referee gave the command.
"Match begin!"
The moment the referee's voice fell, Langlibaitiao moved!
Facing a powerful pro player, he naturally couldn't stick to his previous gimmick of just standing there taking hits.
That would get him speedrun!
He had to bring the vampire's strengths into full play to have any hope of winning!
Langlibaitiao mobilized the energy within his body, breathing out billows of black mist that formed a massive, shadowy curtain.
*Darkness!*
Within this sphere of darkness, no light could penetrate, and non-magical light sources could not enter.
As a vampire, Langlibaitiao had innate darkvision, allowing him to traverse the blackness freely and look for an opening to strike.
Moreover, the necrotic mist of Vampiric Touch was concealed within the Darkness spell. Touching even a trace of it would drain one's life force.
The black mist continued to spread. Subtle rustling sounds echoed from within, accompanied by Langlibaitiao's obnoxious, cheeky laughter.
The commentator spoke in a grave tone: "Contestant Langlibaitiao is establishing field advantage! He wants to push the vampire's traits to their absolute limit!"
"If she doesn't react, she can only watch the Darkness expand. But if she enters the spell's radius, she risks falling prey to Langlibaitiao's sneak attack..."
"The Lang-beast's heart is truly pitch-black!"
"What kind of cursed playstyle is this? The Lang-beast is like a pile of dog crap—you can't wipe it away, and if you step in, you're covered in it."
"Qiuyu won't lose, will she?"
"There's still a way. She could dispel the Darkness with ranged spells, but that also leaves her vulnerable to a sneak attack..."
*Swoosh—*
Poison-tipped darts shot out of the darkness from multiple directions, flying straight toward Xiaye Qiuyu's face.
Yet a gossamer veil of flame coiled around her body, forming a shimmering shield of light that deflected the darts.
"Darkness, is it...?"
Xiaye Qiuyu floated upward, flames surging in her golden eyes, her crimson robe billowing in midair.
She extended a slender hand toward the cloud of black mist, softly chanting an incantation.
*Bang!*
With a sharp crack of displaced air, a blazing sphere of fire manifested in the darkness, obliterating a vast swath of the black mist and illuminating the surroundings.
It was Flaming Sphere!
The vampire was exposed to the light, his skin instantly stinging from the heat.
"What the hell?!"
"Nigerundayo!"
Langlibaitiao cried out, snapping his cloak as he flew low to flee toward the remaining shadows.
*The wind's blowing ill—time to bolt!*
Even as he ran, he didn't forget to aim the hand crossbow hidden in his sleeve, sneakily loosing several bolts.
*Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!*
Several more poisoned arrows whistled through the air.
Xiaye Qiuyu dodged them with a sidestep, then lightly waved her arm, directing the Flaming Sphere to roll forward at high speed.
And so, a bizarre sight unfolded in the arena: a vampire sprinting for his life in front, pursued relentlessly by a rolling ball of fire.
Yet even while fleeing, the vampire constantly shifted and flickered, hurling all manner of poisons, darts, and even bombs behind him.
Xiaye Qiuyu furrowed her brow slightly. *I can't let this drag on. Langlibaitiao plays way too dirty.*
With that in mind, she cast another spell.
*Wall of Fire!*
A blazing wall of flames suddenly erupted right along Langlibaitiao's escape route, nearly making him run headfirst into it.
"Holy crap—"
"Hot, hot, hot!"
Langlibaitiao patted out the flames catching on his clothes, letting out an undignified yelp before making a sharp turn.
Xiaye Qiuyu pointed a finger toward the sky. Blazing, violent spell energy poured forth, coalescing high above.
A massive, flame-wreathed sphere of rock hovered in the air.
*Melf's Minute Meteors!*
Langlibaitiao looked up and almost jumped out of his skin in fright. "What the hell? Planetary Devastation?!"
Yet he had no time to think—the next strike was already descending.
Xiaye Qiuyu slashed her hand downward, pointing her fingertip straight at Langlibaitiao's location.
Under her control, a fiery meteor detached from the rock mass, screaming piercingly as it hurtled straight at him.
*Whoosh—*
*Boom!*
Fire swept in all directions as an explosion roared into the sky, leaving a massive crater and billowing smoke in its wake.
Chaotic dark silhouettes emerged from the smoke alongside the frantic fluttering of wings.
Langlibaitiao had split into dozens of vampire bats, narrowly escaping the terrifying blast.
One of the bats wailed in indignation: "Hey, are your spells free or something?!"
*Boom!*
*Boom!*
Xiaye Qiuyu didn't bother answering. What answered him were meteors continuously raining from the sky, accompanied by one terrifying explosion after another.
*Boom!*
Flames engulfed several bats at once.
Even in bat form, escaping the relentless chain of explosions was impossible. Soon, only a tiny handful remained, darting around frantically.
The regenerative power Langlibaitiao was so proud of was worthless before this dreadful, incinerating fire.
The commentator's voice grew impassioned: "Contestant Langlibaitiao is in a very passive position! When it comes to energy output, an Arcane Trickster simply cannot compare to a Dragon-Pact Sorcerer!"
"Empowered by the Heart of the Dragon, Xiaye Qiuyu's bombardment doesn't stop for a single second! Contestant Langlibaitiao must find a way to break this deadlock!"
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Rays of Scorching Ray blasted out. Several more vampire bats let out shrill squeals, blown charred-black as they plummeted from midair.
Bursts of laughter echoed from the stands.
"Look at the Lang-beast scurrying like a rat!"
"Good riddance to the Lang-beast!"
"Isn't he just a glorified punching bag at this point?"
Yet in a corner no one was watching, an invisible bat silently crept up behind Xiaye Qiuyu, manipulating a cluster of blood mist.
"Look, what's that?!"
Finally, a sharp-eyed spectator spotted the anomaly. The blood mist and bat gradually condensed into a scrawny figure—it was none other than the vampire Langlibaitiao.
"What the hell? A mini Lang-beast?!"
Due to excessive blood loss, Langlibaitiao was currently less than a meter tall, looking like a pocket-sized doll.
In truth, in a 1v1 duel, a rogue relying primarily on sneak attacks was at an enormous disadvantage.
At range, they couldn't match wizards or sorcerers; in melee, they couldn't match fighters or monks. All their advantages were heavily suppressed.
Stealth?
In such an open arena, where could one hide?
A sneak attack?
There was only one opponent, and their eyes were glued to you—how could you distract them?
During the preliminaries, Langlibaitiao had been able to toy with his opponents by relying on the unique nature of the vampire template and level suppression.
In the elimination rounds, however, none of the high-level players lacked damage output. As an Arcane Trickster, a rogue subclass, the only option left to him was a desperate gamble!
*Come on, all or nothing!*
He was betting that the Dragon-Pact Sorcerer's melee combat ability was weak and couldn't withstand his fatal sneak attack.
"Haha, let's do this!"
"So what if you're a pro god? Didn't expect this, did you? This was my flanking route all along!"
Clutching a poisoned dagger, "Little Langlibaitiao" flashed his signature arrogant grin and lunged at Xiaye Qiuyu.
Extremely frigid necrotic energy surged over the blade. The moment it touched flesh, it would greedily drain the victim dry.
*Vampiric Touch!*
Several more poisoned darts pierced the air, flying ahead of him.
This was his final ambush!
Yet the flames coiling around Xiaye Qiuyu once again deflected the incoming darts.
Furthermore, the robust physique granted by the Heart of the Dragon endowed her with exceptional reaction speed.
Xiaye Qiuyu whipped around, her beautiful golden eyes blazing with fire as she met Langlibaitiao's blood-red gaze.
*Whoosh—*
A bizarre surge of immense strength erupted from her seemingly slender arm, firmly grabbing Langlibaitiao's dagger-wielding hand.
Langlibaitiao's smile instantly froze. He struggled desperately to swing the dagger.
"Uh, this doesn't look good..."
"Wait, with that kind of strength—how can you call yourself a sorcerer?!"
Langlibaitiao's face was illuminated by the firelight, to the point that charred dark spots were already forming on his skin. A blinding glare reflected in his eyes.
Xiaye Qiuyu opened her dainty mouth slightly, unleashing the scorching flames that had been gathering within.
*Boom!*
*Dragon's Breath!*
When the flames dissipated, Langlibaitiao was already reduced to ash.
No matter how formidable a vampire's regeneration might be, it couldn't gather ashes scattered across the wind to reform a human body.
A mountain-shaking cheer instantly erupted from the stands, the players thoroughly thrilled.
"Beautifully done!"
"As expected of my waifu Qiuyu!"
"Am I the only one who thinks the Dragon-Pact Sorcerer is a bit overtuned?"
"Right? Spells flying out like they cost nothing, every spell hitting like a truck, and it even boosts strength and constitution!"
The commentator's voice remained full of passion: "Let us congratulate Contestant Xiaye Qiuyu! She swept to victory in this match with an overwhelming barrage!"
"And this is truly the result everyone hoped for. Even after exhausting all his tricks, the Lang-beast—ahem, Contestant Langlibaitiao—never stood a sliver of a chance..."
The commentator seemed to have inadvertently slipped and revealed his true feelings.
Meanwhile, in the competitors' section, many pro players wore solemn expressions, carefully analyzing the match.
Generally speaking, a sorcerer only used a handful of proficient spells. One could figure out their spell list after just a few fights and prepare specific counters.
Xiaye Qiuyu's battle, however, overturned that assumption entirely.
The variety of spells available to a Dragon-Pact Sorcerer far exceeded their expectations, leaving even wizard players like Charlotte dumbfounded.
Maxing out spell power was one thing, but having such an immense spell repertoire on top of it?
How were traditional wizards supposed to compete?
To say she looked like a mini-boss in this match was no exaggeration.
Upon his elevated golden throne, Cassius listened to the players' discussions and thought to himself, *An advanced class whose power was granted by my own hands—of course it's overtuned.*
*Want to stand at the pinnacle of the players? Want to possess formidable power? Then work hard and sweat for my Empire!*
Chapter 483