Chapter 553: The Lost Land of Gold

Two days later, the first day of the playoffs.

If the atmosphere at the Challenge was buzzing, the atmosphere at the playoffs was almost boisterous, with people coming and going, floating machines everywhere hanging virtual banners, blasting electronic fireworks, and promoting their teams.

"Please support the Kabbalah Guild! It will not let you down!"

"The Gamblers' Union, a gambler's paradise, loaded with money!"

There were four games on the first day of the playoffs, so four viewing pools were opened. All four games of the eight-in-four were played in this round, and although the order of play differed, there were times when everyone was playing at the same time without being able to determine the time of the game, which meant that each viewer had to choose basically only one or two games to watch if they wanted to see the whole game.

The guilds were now setting off fireworks on every viewing pool to draw spectators' eyes over, and spectators were discussing and agonising over which viewing pool they were going to watch the game in.

"The killer sequence is against the Invisible Cloak Guild, and if Spades is confirmed to play, this one won't be much of a spectacle."

"The Gamblers' Guild is a bit interesting. The Gamblers' Guild was ranked fifth this year, but the second ranked King's Guild got squeezed out, so they moved up to fourth and got the right to draw against the Heavenly Masons, who are not too far behind them. ..."

"Kabala is up against the Deerhunters, right? The Deerhunters are double majors this year and have been going strong from mid-season to now, currently in second place, so it's going to be hard for Kabala to win."

"But to say that the most interesting game of the eight to four is really the one -"

All eyes surrendered to the same viewing pool - compared to the other pools that were constantly broadcasting commercials and blasting fireworks, this one was a little too quiet with nothing above it, but that didn't stop it from being the most crowded pool by far.

"Golden Dawn doesn't like publicity, it's an old tradition." One question from the audience was, "Why isn't this dark horse being promoted this year? I thought Charles was secretly investing in it? Can Charles, the peacock, stand to have his dark horse in the playoffs so quietly?"

"When the killer sequence he backed made the playoffs last year, Charles the guy was laying the hype for the killer sequence all over the TV section."

"It could be ......" a viewer tried to answer, " Charles doesn't like this dark horse much this year? After all, the playoffs were a loss to the Killer Sequence, so a late title win is less likely."

"Doesn't sound like it to me." A spectator retorted, looking at the pool percentage count panel outside the viewing pool, on which the Wandering Circus was riding a wave of support, almost tied with Golden Dawn, and spoke up somewhat arduously, "...... Have you guys ever thought that Charles isn't betting on the promotion just simply because the Wandering Circus might not need it anymore?"

"That's an approval rating that doesn't need too much more publicity to build momentum."

The spectator, in a trance-like state, continued to murmur to the steady stream of people pouring into the viewing pool of the Wandering Circus vs Golden Dawn.

"They are, by now, unknown to everyone and no one."

Inside the second ornamental pool.

Wang Shun stood up and walked back and forth, taking deep breaths as he did so, and after the MC called for both tacticians to come forward and shake hands, he took a heavy, deep breath, like a string that had been stretched to the limit, his entire back tensed up and he looked straight at Bai Liu who got up and took off his gloves, ready to come forward.

"...... is going to start the race." Wang Shun said in a hard voice.

"Don't be so nervous." Bai Liu smiled, "Didn't we already agree on the tactics?"

"It's just one game."

Wang Shun nodded and exhaled slowly, "Yes, a team game, no more pairs or singles."

The eight teams that made it to the playoffs this year all played surprisingly well, with all of them firmly within the line of immunity. In a playoffs that is so brutal that it doesn't require a single popularity match, almost all teams will only make one choice after receiving immunity - abandoning the single and double matches, which are a waste of energy and immunity. The team has to go straight to the team competition, which will determine the winner of the tournament.

"Although we are inferior to them in intelligence and do not have shield positions, because of this, we do not need shield player protection and will move far faster than them overall." Bai Liu raised his eyes, "We mainly adopted the tactic of spreading out our positions early on, avoiding head-on confrontation and gathering information on the copies and their skills quickly."

At the other end, Georgia, who was straightening the cuffs of her uniform, spoke in a steady voice: "Because of their unfamiliarity with our skills and the lack of shield positions, they will most likely adopt the strategy of running the map quickly and scattering to avoid us."

"This will limit the protection of our [shield] position and also allow us to collect information as quickly as possible."

"So we're going to strike early and fast to send them off this ace player before they run the map to familiarise themselves with the full copy of the map and the game pass key."

"Whichever side gets the copy clue sooner, the sooner they can win."

Georgia looked up at Armand who was standing opposite him: "- this is a battle with speed at its core, do you, as our main attacking player, know who the core player is that you're going to snipe?"

"And they're bound to go crazy early on and send our most important players away." Bai Liu looks to Mu Sicheng, "It's a speed rush against, do you know what kind of responsibility you have in this game?"

Mu Sicheng took a deep breath as he clenched his fist, which had turned into a monkey's paw, "I know."

Armand raised his eyes and the butterfly resting on his shoulder flicked its wings: "On command."

"As a thief, run with all your might and escape from that dangerous hurricane they brought." Bai Liu ordered calmly.

"As a team member, use all your chase to keep that restless thief in the middle of your hurricane." Georgia said indifferently.

After they finished, they turned and stepped onto the stage, walking step by step towards each other and to the centre of the big screen, both sides shaking hands in a very polite and courteous manner, the calm atmosphere contrasting with the intense screaming of the hosts:

"Everyone! It's a strong showdown between the strong dark horses that won the King's Guild, the Wandering Circus and our perennial powerhouse Golden Dawn!"

"And the first big, winnable game to open this year's playoffs!"

"Who will actually win! Let's wait and see!"

Bai Liu looked up at Georgia across the room.

At close range, Georgia's unconscious stern nobility was even more compelling. Although it seemed that this man was suppressing some of his minor habits, some details still showed that this man had been educated in quite good, even harsh social etiquette - from the angle of his eyes to the way he looked at people, the way he shook hands, even the angle between his toes and his feet It was as if he had been ordered to practise these manners a thousand times, as if he had engraved them into his bones and still did not lose his poise in the face of an enemy like him.

With just one glance, Bai Liu had a definition in his mind - the Golden Dawn captain must not swear or talk trash before a match.

It's really hard to imagine this kind of person who seems to be a materialisation of the term [elegance and nobility] fighting people in a bloody fight on the field.

"You've met me." Georgia held out her hand, palm up, and looked down at Bai Liu, " Georgia, Captain Golden Dawn."

" Bai Liu ." Bai Liu smiled and reached out for a handshake, "Captain of the Wandering Circus."

" Captain Georgia, who do you think is faster, the wind or a man?" Bai Liu smiled softly and answered himself, "I think people are faster."

Georgia straightens her body without hurrying, her tone even: "I think the person who can make the wind is the fastest."

"Then it seems we have different views." Bai Liu said with a smile, "But there's no need to argue now."

"We'll get the answer to that question at the end of this game."

The host waved his hand and ordered with passionate fury, "Will both tacticians please return to their positions and the match, now begins!"

Bai Liu walked towards the entrance next to the big screen, followed by Mu Sicheng, Bai Liu walked forward without a glance while calmly ordering, "The other team will come to control us as soon as they enter the field Team Quan, until then I will try to create a gap for you to get out and run the map, but after you run out, the other team will definitely release someone to chase you. "

"The man who is chasing you, and you know who it is."

Hearing this, Mu Sicheng subconsciously glanced back across the field at the Golden Dawn team, who were also entering the field a short distance away, and then paused.

The guy with the short brown hair turned his head this way and was staring at him with a good eye while walking in with a cold look on his face.

This man's pupils do not waver when he stares as if he were dead, and his vision is so focused that it is creepy, almost as if Mu Sicheng can detect the meaning within the eyes the moment the man meets them.

-- [You can run, but I will catch you.

Mu Sicheng's scalp exploded at the stare and he bared his teeth at his opponent, only to have Bai Liu calmly turn his head around with a twist: "Don't get confused before you get in, the secret to running fast as a thief is to think that your opponent must not catch up with you, it's easy for Armand to catch up with you if you can't keep your mind on it. "

"If he's going to catch up with you, circle back to me and I'll figure it out."

"But I'll come back and bring back Armand, the core of the other side's output, too, right?" Mu Sicheng frowned and quickly objected, "The pressure on you guys will skyrocket."

"Yes." Bai Liu doesn't deny it, "The fact that the opponent doesn't have a CD will put a lot of pressure on us, so while you're running the map and collecting clues back to me, it's best to also function as a roaming position at the same time - hanging off the opponent's main attack."

"But without being sure of the copy and the skills of the rest of the opposing team, all our tactics are based on current intelligence."

Bai Liu looked up at the entrance to the game in front of him, "All, subject to my orders once inside."

[...... is loading the game ......]

[System Alert: Both players have logged into the game The Lost Kingdom of Gold]

[(Golden Dawn) vs. (Wandering Circus), five-man team competition, official start].