Ka Ta Ka Ta Ka Ta
All the twenty players in the battleground arena were currently speeding towards the center.
It was not an easy task because balancing and running around on the spikes was like trying to maneuver across a bed of needles.
One slip-up meant game over. The bird flying on top of their heads was also not making it easy. Everyone tried to be as careful as possible, but shortly after they started moving, two loud screams resounded.
Ahhhh!
Arghhh!
Within seconds, two out of the ten were already down! The mage and the paladin players fell off the spikes and were instantly killed, their bodies teleported out of the battlefield.
The other side was also not doing that well. Three players from that team also seemed to be missing.
"Brother… ah brother, I think I am going to fall next." Mei Mei shouted, her voice trembling. A couple of others also looked nervous.
Seeing all of this, Liam slowed down. They needed to change their tactic. Maybe this wasn't the best approach.
"Everyone keep moving but slow down. No need to rush. Rey, can you target the other group from here?"
Long-range players were able to do long-range attacks but when the distance was this much, only specialized snipers could execute such attacks with accuracy.
Considering that Rey had taken such a big break from the game, Liam didn't think that he would have such a skill but surprisingly it looked like he had one.
"Yes, bro. I can do it." Rey shouted back.
"Good. You stay back and only focus on attacking. You don't need to hurry to the center. Make sure you aim for their legs or neck to make them lose balance."
"Yes, bro. Leave it to me." Rey immediately hung back and started firing arrows one after another.
"You guys also slow down. Make sure you are stable before moving." Liam warned everyone before proceeding forward. Even he was finding it difficult to move at a fast pace without falling and dying.
In the end, the group became divided into three. Liam, Shen Yue, and Mia were at the front of the group, all three of them having superior balance compared to the rest.
Mei Mei, Rey, and Derek were stuck at the back, their balance being the worst, with the thief and Alex in the middle.
The other side also seemed to have wised up because there weren't any more casualties from their end as well. All seven players were still alive and well, even though they were struggling with the spikes.
Especially when the bird circled around, everyone had to duck down at a moment's notice, and this was the most challenging part.
This continued on for a few minutes when suddenly Liam noticed something strange. Among both the teams, he was the one who was closest to the center, so he was also the one first to observe this.
As they moved closer, the spikes were becoming warmer. The rock or the stone he was clinging to was strangely warm, and the air around them in general was also warmer.
However, the gurgling sounds were also becoming louder at the same time. What was happening? Something felt off.
Liam continued dashing ahead while thinking about this when he caught the first glimpse of the gurgling bubbling river, except that it was a river of lava.
So it turned out that there weren't really any safe areas on this battlefield. The fight had to happen on the spikes.
"Hmmm… this could become troublesome. I need to finish this soon." Liam did not want to take any chances and settled on one of the spikes.
Before the others could realize what they were rushing towards, he wanted to use this chance first. So he started casting a fireball.
Now that they were a lot closer, aiming wasn't impossible. It was difficult but not impossible.
Liam aimed for the player closest to him and sent out three fireballs. Bang! Bang! Bang! The first one missed, but the second two were right on target and made the opponent lose his grip.
Now, there were only 6 more to go!
Mia and Shen Yue also arrived next to Liam, and they as well saw the obvious. This fight could become tricky if they didn't deal with it soon.
On flat land, they would probably overtake these guys easily, but if the opponent had some advantage on a terrain like this, this could make things difficult.
So just like Liam, they also started aiming for the players on the other side and shooting. Several bright, dazzling attacks started flying from one side to the other.
However, it seems they had worried unnecessarily. Their opponents this time weren't all that special or rather, their side was too over powered in this match up.
As soon as they started attacking, one by one, the players started falling apart. The remaining 6 players became only 3 in a matter of seconds.
Now the other side realized that they were under attack already, but they couldn't do anything. It was too late.
"Wow! Our first battle is going to be an easy win!" Rey shouted in excitement from the back.
"Dude! Don't jinx it!" Alex turned around and shouted, and exactly at that instant, a flurry of daggers swept past her, striking her at various vital points.
Normally, this wouldn't be difficult for Alex to evade, but this time, she was really caught off guard.
Even so, she dodged a few daggers and took hit from a couple, somehow also maintaining her position on the spire, but the next moment she started feeling dizzy.
Her body shook, and she fell off the spike without being able to do anything. Everything happened too quickly, and no one was able to react.
Where did the daggers even come from?
"The new guy!" Rey shouted.
Liam was fully paying attention at the front and attacking at full force, so he only noticed this when he received the system alert. It seems they were under attack! From their own group member!
"Mia, Shen Yue, Keep attacking! I will take care of this." Liam quickly hurried back. Why was this random guy targeting them?
The prizes this time were too attractive. So it didn't make sense for the person to sabotage their own team at an important tournament like this. Something did not add up.
In reality, any one of their core group members could have dealt with a guy like him, but the problem was the terrain. Otherwise, Alex would not have been defeated so easily.
"Where are you? Show yourself!" Liam shouted and cast a ring of fire around himself. He then gazed at the numerous spikes surrounding him, all of them empty and all of them unoccupied.
Grunting, he conjured a huge fireball on his palm, and then using it like a machine gun, he started sending out small fire bullets in all directions.
"Got you!" This attack revealed the presence of the thief in an instant. "Don't you want to win this tournament? Why are you attacking your teammates?"
Liam sent out another volley of attacks before the guy could get back into stealth.
Seeing that he was not going to be able to hide anymore, the thief started dashing towards Liam at top speed.
For a second, Liam was very shocked. The guy's balance and movements were so good that they might as well be fighting on the flat ground right now. No wonder he dared to attack so brazenly!
This person was definitely not an ordinary player. He was very talented in close combat.
Liam's talent came from the training, and the experience he had from both his lives combined but this person was naturally talented or perhaps he trained under some Master.
Either way, this was not an easy opponent. His speed was also extremely formidable. This guy had surely allocated a lot of stat points to his agility.
Watching the guy make a move, Liam vaguely guessed his point of attack and sent out a [Dark Slash].
If his speed was high, then his defense was probably very low. He only needed one attack to land to finish him off.
"Come on." Liam muttered and started to cast another wave of fire bullets when suddenly the person appeared behind him.
Shadow Steps! This was thief class player's special move, a high level skill, and this player behind him had it.
Liam immediately swung his sword down to block the dagger coming for him but using this as an opening, the other party swept his legs and made Liam lose balance.
However, it was still not enough to topple him completely. Liam steadied himself on a nearby spike, taking small damage to his health bar.
But almost as soon as he became stabilized, the thief once again appeared behind him.
This time Liam was more alert and he immediately dashed away from that particular spike, rather than try to fight the guy.
DANG! DANG! DANG! Sparks flew as his sword screeched against the spike's hard stone, and the two of them started a run and chase from one spike to another.
