Chapter 142 – Sky Arena (Part 3)

Losing 5 points due to disconnection seemed to unlock the floodgates of victory for Mad Lad. After that, he surged straight to 150 points, losing only three matches along the way!

Players who reached 150 points were automatically sent to the second tier of the Sky Arena—the 2v2 Arena.

The rules of the 2v2 Arena were as follows:

1. Both teammates and opponents were randomly assigned by the system. The battle ended when one team was completely wiped out. The losing team (both members dead) would lose 10 points each. The winning team was divided into two scenarios: the “Major Victory,” where both teammates survived (each gaining 20 points), and the “Minor Victory,” where only one teammate survived (each gaining 10 points).

2. After each 2v2 battle, the winning team could choose to continue teaming up with their current partner to face the next randomly assigned opponents or disband and return to the initial interface for new random teammates. The losing team would automatically return to the initial interface for reassignment.

3. After five consecutive wins, players would get a 10-minute break.

4 Upon accumulating 350 points, players would be automatically sent to the final tier of the Sky Arena—the Team Battlefield.

“Tonight’s been pretty fast, huh?” 2B teased in the YY channel when he saw Mad Lad had already hit 150.

Mad Lad’s soaring mood was instantly clouded. “Do you love me so much that you’re keeping tabs on me?”

2B was speechless, racking his brain for a comeback when Blood Bull suddenly chimed in: “Get a room.”

2B completely lost it, immediately spewing a string of syrupy declarations of loyalty.

It was so cringeworthy that the entire team roasted him mercilessly.

Blood Bull said nothing more—whether because she couldn’t be bothered or because she’d already run to the bathroom to puke was unclear.

2B’s flirting with his in-game “wife” had become a habit, much like how Crossplayer always buffed up before a fight or how Your Uncle muted YY the moment he entered a dungeon. It didn’t necessarily carry deep meaning, much less reflect his true feelings. In fact, while spouting that nonsense, he was busy fighting two ruthless Berserkers alongside a clumsy Spirit Master, hammering his keyboard so hard it might’ve flown off. So when Blood Bull ignored him, he didn’t push it and refocused on the battle.

Jiang Yang, first embarrassed by Blood Bull’s teasing and then disgusted by 2B’s declarations, entered his first 2v2 match with half his combat morale already depleted. =_=

Fortunately, the system took pity on him, assigning him a healer as a teammate while matching him against two Spirit Masters. He immediately closed the distance and harassed the two squishy ranged classes, quickly securing a decisive victory before the poor Spirit Masters could even finish their cast times.

The healer, impressed by his ferocity, quickly chose to continue teaming up. Jiang Yang hesitated but clicked “Agree”—only to regret it in the next match. The healer turned out to be completely useless, forcing Jiang Yang to single-handedly drag them to victory. After barely surviving the second round, he decisively broke off the team at 190 points.

But the next few matches paired him with even worse teammates. Maybe all the competent players had already advanced to the Team Battlefield, leaving only the oddballs behind. His points plummeted back to 150. Desperate, Jiang Yang vowed that from then on, as long as his next teammate wasn’t completely inept and had an IQ of at least 80, he’d cling to them like grim death. TAT

With a mix of anxiety and anticipation, Jiang Yang watched as the screen transitioned to the 2v2 battlefield. His opponents stood ten meters away, his teammate one meter beside him—both slowly coming into focus.

30 seconds of preparation time remained.

Jiang Yang checked his opponents first—a Blood Warrior and a healer. His heart sank. Damn, that was basically an ultra-tanky Blood Warrior! They didn’t even need high DPS; as long as the Blood Warrior wasn’t wearing White-tier Gear, he could just outlast him with the help of the healer.

With little hope left, the Assassin turned to his new teammate—and the last flicker of fire in his eyes died. =_=

At the same time, his new teammate greeted him in YY: “Holy shit, where’d you get that casual outfit? Looks sick.”

Jiang Yang sighed, too exhausted to even yell. “If we win this, I’ll gift you an even cooler set.”

2B laughed. “It’s on me.”

Two minutes later—

2B: “The fuck is this, Rhino Hide?! His defense is insane!”

Three minutes later—

2B: “I told you to kill the healer first! Why are you still hitting the Blood Warrior?!”

Four minutes later—

2B: “Dude! Your gear’s enhanced, right?! Is it just for show?! Your DPS is worse than if I used my feet to play!!!”

Five minutes later—

2B: “This wipe is so embarrassing! Screw this, I’m not teaming with you anymore!”

Jiang Yang: “Stop stealing my lines!”

Before meeting Milk is Mom, Jiang Yang had thought teasing young boys was the pinnacle of sleaziness. After meeting Milk is Mom, he realized he’d been downright wholesome. Before meeting his Ghost Server Legion comrades, he’d thought himself a hardened businessman—not exactly pure, but not the worst. After meeting them, he realized he was the snow lotus atop an iceberg.

After sending off 2B Fighter Jet, Jiang Yang prayed silently for his next teammate to be a truly reliable warrior.

The RNG God heard his plea—and sent him Everything Breaks.

[Local] Mad Lad: ……

[Local] Everything Breaks: Small world.

[Local] Mad Lad: ……

[Local] Everything Breaks: Sorry about earlier in the solo matches. Was in a bad mood.

[Local] Mad Lad: ……

[Local] Everything Breaks: Oh, auto-reply.

Before Jiang Yang could clarify that those eighteen ellipses were heartfelt, the match began. =_=

This time, their opponents were two healers—both DPS Healers who refused to heal each other, just spamming attack skills wildly. As healers, their damage was decent, but compared to dedicated DPS classes, it was lacking. Jiang Yang and Everything Breaks focused one down first, then cleaned up the other—a clean, decisive victory.

After the win, Everything Breaks said nothing, but the system showed he’d chosen to keep the current team.

Compared to Fighter Jet, even Everything Breaks’ poker face seemed adorably naive to Jiang Yang. Considering the guy’s combat prowess, he clicked “Agree.”

The second, third, and fourth matches went smoothly, and by the time his score hit 220, Jiang Yang’s mood finally brightened. In a rare gesture of friendship, he extended an olive branch—

[Local] Mad Lad: Let’s win our way straight into the Team Battlefield!

Everything Breaks responded earnestly—

[Local] Everything Breaks: Sorry, can’t stick with you till the end. My points are higher, so I’ll advance first.

Damn, this guy must have a permanent poker face! TAT

The fifth match began!

Jiang Yang’s eyes widened. Talk about a small world—their opponents were the same Blood Warrior and healer duo he and 2B had lost to earlier! Clearly, they’d hit it off and stuck together.

Jiang Yang wanted to warn Everything Breaks that this pair was tough, that he’d lost to them before—but there was no time!

3!

2!

1!

Fight!

The enemy clearly recognized Jiang Yang too. The Blood Warrior charged straight at him with a Wind-Splitting Slash!

Jiang Yang dodged, sprinting toward the healer and landing a Bloody Handprint! But Everything Breaks was faster—his AoE skill, Bloody Sandstorm, had already engulfed the entire battlefield!

The enemy healer wasn’t a pushover either. Seeing the AoE and realizing both opponents were targeting them, they instantly cast an Insta Heal followed by Trickling Stream!

But Everything Breaks was relentless. After Bloody Sandstorm came Long River Sunset + Solitary Desert Haze combo!

The healer’s HP dropped by half!

Meanwhile, the enemy Blood Warrior wasn’t idle either, rushing to rescue their healer by focusing Everything Breaks first!

Thus, the mighty Assassin was ignored. =_=

But two days of Sky Arena battles had forged Jiang Yang’s mental resilience. The more he was overlooked, the sharper his blade would be!

With this noble ambition, the Assassin seized the moment the healer began casting a heal—and lunged with a simple physical attack!

Strangely, the attack barely scratched the healer’s HP but successfully interrupted their cast!

The healer froze—just as Everything Breaks unleashed his second combo!

Jiang Yang followed up his physical attack with Heartstab, so when Everything Breaks brought the healer’s HP down to almost nothing, the Heartstab finished them off.

The Blood Warrior never expected their healer to die from an interrupted cast—the odds of that happening were minuscule. But PvP was like that—a single turning point could decide the match.

With half-HP Everything Breaks and nearly full-HP Mad Lad working together, the Blood Warrior was quickly dispatched.

240 points!

Jiang Yang nearly laughed out loud. At this rate, 350 was totally within reach!

Since they’d won five in a row, the two were sent to the rest area for a 10-minute break.

[System] Everything Breaks has sent you a friend request. Accept?

Jiang Yang happily clicked “Yes.”

[Whisper] Mad Lad: Those two wrecked me earlier. Feels good to get revenge.

[Whisper] Everything Breaks: Because you interrupted the healer’s cast.

[Whisper] Mad Lad: I was just testing it out. My DPS was trash this whole match ’cause I swapped weapons after that wipe. This dagger’s got low damage but a chance to interrupt casts.

[Whisper] Everything Breaks: Nice.

Such blunt, succinct praise left no room for follow-up!

When the 10-minute break ended, the screen returned to the battlefield, and new opponents slowly materialized.

Jiang Yang’s eyes nearly popped out—was he hallucinating?!

No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains + 2B Fighter Jet—what kind of unholy pairing was this?! This combo was more cursed than coffee with cilantro!!!

“How the hell did you two team up?!”

“Fate works in mysterious ways…”

“Have you no server pride?!”

“Nope.”

“……”

“Mad Lad, not gonna lie, acting all high and mighty gets you nowhere. Look at our Commander—morals fed to dogs, dignity thrown away, worldview—shit! I wasn’t done talking! Though this sneak attack of yours does fit our Legion’s spirit…”

While Mad Lad and 2B bickered like an old married couple, Everything Breaks and Thousand Mountains were locked in fierce combat. They’d fought once before, with Everything Breaks losing decisively, but he bore no grudge. He didn’t care much about server rankings—he just recognized the skill gap and had gone home to train relentlessly.

To Thousand Mountains, Everything Breaks was just another defeated opponent, but this time, his skills had improved dramatically. He was happy to oblige the rematch. For Everything Breaks, this was another valuable learning opportunity—he wasn’t about to waste it!

Thus, the match effectively split into two separate 1v1s on the same battlefield.

In the end, Jiang Yang won, Everything Breaks lost, and Thousand Mountains stepped over two corpses to corner Mad Lad.

[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Come here, sweetheart.

[Local] Mad Lad: Huh?

[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Let me see what you’re wearing.

[Local] Mad Lad: Huh?!

[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Hurry up, I can’t wait!

[Local] Mad Lad: I don’t have a webcam!

[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Huh?!

[Local] Mad Lad: If you want a video call, go to a paid site! Don’t pretend you just wanna see my clothes—ask them to strip for you directly!

[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: The fuck?! Who wants to video call you?!

[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: I want to see your gear! That Resistance effect! Damn it!!!!

[Local] Mad Lad: Oh. I thought you were into guys too.

Thousand Mountains stared at the screen for two full minutes, shuddering involuntarily—because that “too” seemed to carry terrifying implications.

In the end, Mad Lad showed him the gear, leaving Thousand Mountains marveling. He pestered Jiang Yang for details on how he’d forged that attribute, but Jiang Yang didn’t want to reveal it. Just as he was about to refuse outright, 2B’s “wisdom” from five minutes ago flashed in his mind—so he changed tactics and traded the forging method for Thousand Mountains’ suicide.

With this single-player victory, Jiang Yang’s score hit 250.

But Everything Breaks also hit 350, forcing Jiang Yang to bid him a reluctant farewell.

Not long after, 2B also maxed out at 350 and started gloating in YY again. If perseverance was a war of endurance, then Jiang Yang could confirm—2B Fighter Jet was both the noose and the dagger. =_=

Burning with determination, Jiang Yang pushed through until 3 a.m., clawing his way to 350. The moment he stepped into the Team Battlefield, he could’ve kissed his keyboard.