The Bloody Mercenaries easily won the first match, using just their dark archer to win. Also, it was a decisive victory, knocking out the opponents in 6 seconds. I bet the enemy team wanted to die from shame.

They were still in the arena, and waiting for the next opponents.

I searched the results. Snowy Cathaya, Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, Gods of Destruction, Mad Dragon and the other popular teams had won. They had not encountered much trouble.

This was reasonable. Even if Floating Ice City was filled with crouching tigers and hidden dragons, there was no reason they were so unlucky to encounter hidden experts in the first match. That was stuff of legends.

……

Several minutes later, the other battles finished and the second round started!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh...

White light flashed. Five players flashed and were sent into the arena. They were much stronger this time, two Level 48 warriors, two archers, one Level 42 and one Level 49. The highest was the Level 55 priest. Pity, if this was a mage, the entire team would be much stronger.

After the first round, many of the minor teams had been eliminated. This team was clearly much stronger than the previous team and was worthy of attention.

As a result, I typed a line, "All of you together. Take care of them in half a minute!"

"Alright!"

Gui Guzi held a spear and also activated Undying Shield with a shout. Beiming Xue raised her longbow slightly, the string flickering with threads of bloody energy. That was the result of the Undead Energy skill. As dark-type players, both I and Beiming Xue had this skill. Gui Guzi, the poor child, only had the Undying Shield.

This was probably due to our classes. Swordsmen and archers focused on attacking while Gui Guzi, an undead knight, was focused on defense and protection. Undying Shield was more useful to him than Undead Energy. But I was extremely lucky and obtained the powerful Ghost Deity Armor on top of my Undead Energy, a skill that could rival his Undying Shield. As a result, my skills combined Gui Guzi and Beiming Xue's trump skills, I was versatile and could be a tank or a DPS. Yes, long live Undead Swordsman!

The second battle was chaotic once it started.

Beiming Xue's Devil Piercing Arrow + Penetrating Arrow immediately killed one of the warriors. Then it was a harsh Volley with a rain of arrows that distracted the enemy players. Gui Guzi went forward with his spear, a round of Death Combo to kill the other warrior. Du Thirteen raised his sword and killed the two enemy archers.

As expected, victory was determined in half a minute. This team, which was only Level 48 on average, had no power to resist. They quickly finished their journey in the Who Will Fight Me tournament.

Following this, the third and fourth opponents did not create much obstruction to the four-person Bloody Mercenaries team. After a few rounds of real combat, Beiming Xue, Gui Guzi, Mamate and the others were much better at coordinating. Especially Beiming Xue's long-range attacks and control, Gui Guzi's charge to disrupt enemies’ formation, and Beiming Xue picking off the stronger attackers. Her arrows almost always hit weak spots, and she was that much closer to becoming a master archer.

I had a smile, leaning against the bed and watching the battles, my initial worry changing to pleasure. Even without me, the Bloody Mercenaries four-man team was so strong, almost indestructible as they reached the fourteenth round. They had encountered some strong opponents, and relied on their steady mechanics and teamwork to tear apart the opponent's attacks.

About five in the afternoon was the fourteenth round, the second to last. After winning this one, and the next, they would reach the Top 64 of Floating Ice City!

"Let’s go!” I typed into the spectating screen.

Beiming Xue held her longbow and smiled. "Boss, don't worry. We will win!"

"Mn!"

The next moment, the opponents appeared, a team of five assassins. They were all dressed in leather armor, and each person held a coldly-flashing dagger. Their gazes were dark as they looked at Beiming Xue and the others.

Du Thirteen gripped his longsword. "Damn, how to fight? Once they all stealth, and focus on killing one, we are done for...”

Beiming Xue looked calmly in the direction of the opponents and said, "I will use Volley to disrupt their concealment, Gui Guzi will charge immediately and kill at least two assassins upon contact. Otherwise, this battle will be hard...”

"Okay!"

The four gripped their weapons and waited warily during the countdown—

3!

2!

1!

The moment the countdown ended, the five assassins all went into stealth, escaping into the void!

"Damn!"

Du Thirteen cursed. Beiming Xue calmly pulled her bow into the shape of a full moon. In the next moment, a powerful Volley flew. The eight arrows shot in different directions!

Snap snap!

Two soft sounds. As expected, Beiming Xue managed to find two assassins with her keen battle sense. Gui Guzi immediately arrived, his spear moving. One assassin immediately knelt. With Gui Guzi's strength, it was not a problem to one-shot an assassin with Death Combo.

Unfortunately, the other assassin threw fluorescent powder and then disappeared again!

My heart raised. I quickly typed. "Mamate, dodge right, Thirteen, follow Mamate. In three seconds, use War Cry. Force those assassins out. Make sure Mamate doesn’t die!"

The two people immediately acted according to my orders. Yamete quickly moved and Du Thirteen followed. After three seconds, he was glowing red, and shouted into the sky. This was a special melee skill, War Cry. It was a skill that increased attack by 5% for all teammates within 5 yards. Of course, this skill had another use. It could take enemies out of concealment, just like a Lion’s Roar!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh

Three figures were taken out of stealth. As expected, the three assassins were attempting to kill Yamete first. After killing the priest, their chance of winning would be greater. Their plan was good.

"Dammit...”

Yamete put a healing spell on himself with a swing of his staff. Two pops came from behind him. He had clearly been struck with the enemy's Cold Blade attack twice. That healing spell came just in time. Otherwise, he would have died!

Gui Guzi charged back, his spear sweeping and forcing an assassin away. A red light flashed through the air, this was Beiming Xue's Devil Piercing Arrow. With a "bang", the first assassin player shook, and was stunned senseless. A basic attack later, Beiming Xue claimed his life.

Good, the situation had turned. Four against three!

Yamete threw a recovery spell to Gui Guzi and then fled for his life. He took out a health potion and quickly recovered to full HP. The assassins chased after Beiming Xue and Gui Guzi, especially Beiming Xue. This super strong long-range DPS was their bane. Just a basic attack of hers would take away half of their HP. Their captain shouted, “Damn, is this an archer? What kind of attack power is this...”

I laughed. What an unlucky child you were to encounter Beiming Xue. Not everyone could withstand Rank 6 Undead Energy.

In the end, Du Thirteen killed the last assassin. The battle ended!

Ding~!

System Notice: The Bloody Mercenaries team have won the battle and entered the Top 128 of Floating Ice City!

……

Very good. We’ve successfully reached Top 128. Just one more round and we would qualify into the finals.

Beiming Xue held her arrow and said with a smile, "Boss, review our battle?"

"Yes.”

I quickly typed. "Thirteen, your movements are slightly lacking, you lack decisiveness. You have to do your best to be ahead of the opponent, and use your body to shield your teammate. You cannot follow them, you lose the initiative. Mamate’s positioning is very good. Gui Guzi, your killing attacks lack smoothness. Lil Beiming’s long-range attacks are very good. Everyone, keep up the good work and win the next match!”

"Alright!"

Du Thirteen smiled. "However, we don’t have to be very worried about the next match. They are… very strong… haha, look at their team...”

I opened the brackets and found the Bloody Mercenaries' next opponent. I was dumbfounded—

Tofu Diamond:

Tofu Cauliflower LV-47 Archer

Tofu Small Shrimp LV-45 Archer

Tofu Loach LV-48 Archer

Tofu Live Fish LV-50 Archer

Tofu Old Duck LV-44 Archer

Damn, a team of long range attackers, and all archers. But their levels were low. This kind of team was very shameless. Undoubtedly, they were able to reach the Top 128 based on their rounds of attacks. With concentrated fire, they could kill all their opponents, and thus made their way to Top 128!

But I was not worried at all. When this type of team encountered the Bloody Mercenaries, they could just die! This was because the Bloody Mercenaries possessed the tankiest player in Floating Ice City—Undead Knight Gui Guzi!

Gui Guzi had the Enhanced Bones, Undying Shield, and other skills. His Defense was extremely high. Undying Shield could absorb a lot of damage, so he was practically unkillable. Also, all of them were under Level 50. Even if they were Level 60 third-promotion archers, I feared that they wouldn’t be able to kill Gui Guzi. Coupled with Mamate’s healing, there was no reason our team shouldn’t win!

Therefore, I laughed softly and typed, "Good luck. I will return to Suzhou tomorrow afternoon to fight together with everyone.”

"Alright!"

As I spoke, I left the spectating system. The following battle was clear and I did not have to pay attention. What was more worthy of attention was the situation of the other teams.

Just as I expected, the seed teams were all among the Top 128. Snowy Cathaya, Gods of Destruction, Mad Dragon, Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, Peach Garden and the other strong teams had all reached the Top 128. After another round, they would all appear in the Top 64. The Top 64 play-offs were nothing like the prelims. The fights would be BO3, so teams had to win two fights. That made for a more pleasurable experience.