Vanguard of the Eternal Night

translator: xiin

editor: kara

17 seconds into the start of the match, the knell of the Death God echoed somberly throughout the arena.

The sniper hadn't been able to move to his second location, but the tips of Tyron's blades had already arrived as promised.

Male commentator: "The surprise attack was successful! It's another ambush from above! There's really no way for a sniper to fight back on this terrain. His handgun is already gone, how will he fight back--"

He had just spoken to this point when he saw that Momo was still holding his sniper rifle steady.

Female commentator: "He turned on the scope! Oh my heavens! There's only a one-meter melee distance yet Momo opened the scope of his sniper rifle!! What does he want to do? Does he want to snipe Odin from one meter away?"

A sniper rifle wasn't easy to use in close combat--this was an ironclad rule. This was because the best distance for a sniper rifle was very far, and the telescope magnification of a sniper rifle started off at four times and had an upper limit of over a hundred times. What could be seen through the scope was also extremely narrow after magnification.

It was very difficult to find one's opponent through the scope in close combat, akin to the difficulty of using the naked eye to follow the flash of a bullet… If it was difficult to even target, then how could the rifle even be fired?

However, Momo did exactly that.

It wasn't only because his handgun had been destroyed, but also because he wanted to bet!

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The male commentator glanced at the time of the broadcast that was now at 18.42 seconds into the match and immediately said eagerly, "Can he hit!? Will he be able to create a miracle!? During this match, he must at least snipe Odin once in order to fight back!"

The accuracy of the sniper rifle in close combat was pitifully low, but the damage the bullet would cause was also heinously high--if the shot landed at a vital point, it could potentially become a desperate counter-kill!

Momo was betting on this chance.

When the blade arrived, he knew very clearly that he had about two seconds left, which gave him the opportunity for at most two shots!

The first blade took away 10% of his health even as Momo shot at Odin while looking through the sniper scope!

Following the gunshot, the male commentator shouted nervously, "It didn't hit! Odin used a flash to arrive behind him…"

His voice hadn't yet fallen when Tyron's figure moved from behind Momo without stopping, spinning quickly across his side while a dagger simultaneously drew out a graceful arc.

Momo's sniper scope couldn't catch him! The second shot had already been prepared, but there was no chance for it to be released!

At this time, his health had already been reduced to 20%

The two commentators shouted at the same time, "Hold steady! The key to victory is in this shot! Stay steady!"

"Shadow Dance--!! Momo has no vision at all. He can't find Odin's position!"

That flash just now hadn't been casual… Tyron hadn't ended up where he was 'by accident'.

It had been a prelude to Shadow Dance.

This shadow dance only lasted about two seconds, but it completely blocked Momo's chance of getting out his last shot from the sniper rifle!

The biggest feature of shadow dance was that it made it impossible for opponents to lock on to their position and couldn’t target them in order to cast their magic&#k2013;&#k2013;the same held true for shooting.

Tyron took away the last trace of the sniper’s health with two elegant consecutive swings.

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At the end of the first match, Odin won, and the score was 1:0.

The two icebergs left the arena and didn't show any intention to speak. The host standing in the middle between them felt so awkward that she wanted to cry.

The audience all comforted her and said, "We're already used to it 233333, if the War God actually pays attention to us someday, it'll definitely be the end of the world…"

"It's not a big deal! Just think of yourself as being sandwiched between two martial arts legends and have fun!"

"Don't look at how cold Momo is on the surface. In fact, he's shy…"

"Oh, Sister Mo is here!!!"

The lens director cut the camera to 'Sister Mo', and they immediately saw Momo talking to his wife on the big screen.

The cold-faced sniper's wife had come up to check on him after he left the stage, delivering tea and hot water. She waved when she saw herself on the screen, then happily tugged on Momo.

Momo didn't look too happy, but he still lowered his head slightly.

Sister Mo gave him a big kiss.

Yes, in front of countless tens of thousands of people in the audience, the tens of millions of people watching the live broadcast, and the unknown number of people who would watch the stream in the future, she not only gave the sniper a kiss but also left a smear of red.

Everyone: "……"

Public screen: "My god my god my god… I didn't have time to guard against chilly dog food, and it slapped me in the face!"

"Someone come and bring over our dog food! The interstellar limited edition one that was purchased just now!"

"Burn, burn, burn, burn…"

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Originally, it wasn't a big deal to have a public display of love, but they unexpectedly had a very bad director.

He gestured at the camera, and Odin's relatives area appeared on the big screen--

It was completely empty. Little Vic wasn't there.

The camera then swung towards Odin, who had just stepped down from the stage.

Odin looked expressionlessly over at Momo's side, then walked away indifferently.

The public screen was also full of whispers, "What is the meaning of this camera perspective? My War God is a real iceberg. Does he need your show of love?"

"Odin is such an amazing male god yet he's still single. I'm temporarily not in a hurry either anymore."

"No, do you remember the legal representative who was sitting there before? I thought that the War God and the representative had made it official…"

"The War God's hand speed is so fast that I bet he'll be single for at least a hundred years!"

The audience was still guessing at the War God's emotional life.

Several of the people who worked in the media knew Victor. After all, there was a lot of news about him in the circle.

The director was now thinking: Hey! You've abused others for so long. Now it's time for you to be abused back… Good and evil will get their just rewards in the end!

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Nobody could see any hint of emotion from Odin. The master assassin had always been extremely mysterious and cool, making it so that nobody could predict him. The audience didn't pay much attention to this episode during the break.

Five minutes later.

The second match soon began, and the randomized map was: Lava arena.

A rare volcanic map! This was another map that Tyron had played on before during the Team Competition.

Players must obtain supplies after certain intervals of time, or their health would keep dropping. It was equivalent to killing someone off. The venue was also very dangerous; if they fell, they would be sentenced to death as soon as they entered the lava.

Female commentator: "Ohhhhhh my god, a volcanic map! Both players are squishy professions with low defense, a sniper and an assassin. After they both enter the map, that small amount of health will only last them for several dozens of seconds before they're done for…"

The male commentator picked up where she left off, "In a one-on-one individual competition, the players usually won't go to get supplies if they are assigned to the volcano map. One reason for this is that the fault tolerance rate is too small, and it's too easy for their opponent to seize the opportunity when they're distracted in an individual fight, making it not worth the potential loss. Another reason is that the duration of individual matches is naturally very short, and in most situations, the contestants won't have much of their health burned off before the winner or loser is determined, and there isn't much need to waste time obtaining supplies…"

Female commentator: "In any case, the map is quite impartial, so both players will need to hurry up as soon as the match begins."

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The countdown had already begun.

The two men stood at both ends of the arena in the lava and looked at each other across the rubble.

There were many places to hide on this map, such as stone piles, lava ridges, volcanic ash, and so on. Additionally, the three-story main building in the arena also provided more places to hide in.

The 30-second countdown ended. The sniper rolled on the spot and directly entered the broken building complex and was momentarily unable to be found.

As for Odin, to everyone's surprise, he didn't start with stealth!

Even the experienced male commentator was surprised and said, "This is really too provocative! This, this…"

Female commentator: "What's going on? Is Odin giving up on hiding in order to let Momo get the first shot? Isn't this very dangerous for him?"

The male commentator explained, "In this case, I can only think of one explanation--Odin voluntarily gave up the initiative and is waiting for Momo to show up! It's the same as saying, 'Come out and take the first shot. I'm sure you won't be able to kill me! And, I'll immediately figure out your position!' It's not just provocation but contempt for the sniper…"

The female commentator looked puzzled, "What good does this do for him?"

The male commentator wanted to say 'Doing it this way will make it so that you don't need to test out each other's positions and saves a lot of time', but his eyes shifted as he thought: Didn't Odin always keep his matches at 20 seconds? In that case, isn't it pure provocation? A taunt?

The male commentator's mouth twitched. In order to prevent provoking a war between the fans of both sides, he laughed dryly and said, "Friendship first, entertainment second, and the competition comes last…"

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Tyron didn't use stealth at all as he slowly stepped up onto a high platform in the middle of the arena. Not only did he obtain a panoramic view of the surrounding terrain and environment, but he also exposed himself to the sniper's view.

He didn't even pull out his weapon and simply waited quietly as he stood there on the platform.

The lava at his feet continued to rise and fall like a fire-breathing snake, the bright fire and dark shadows constantly playing over his face, his clothes moving gently in the air. The scorching heat waves distorted his figure, and only by chance could a small bit of metallic reflection be seen--from his scabbards and buckles.

Suddenly, he turned his head slightly.

At the same time, the male commentator suddenly shouted out, "Momo is making his move!"

They were about 70 meters apart!

Momo had set up his sniper rifle behind a bunker in silence. He completed the set of actions in under a second: putting together his gun, opening the scope, aiming, and then shooting. The entire series of actions was as smooth as floating clouds and flowing water!

This anti-matter sniper bullet travelled through a distance of 70 meters in the blink of an eye and aimed straight at Tyron's chest--

Momo chose not to aim at the head, which in itself showed that he didn't have the confidence that he could guarantee a hit! When snipers felt confident about their attack, they would always choose the head as the damage dealt that way would reach over 300% more than normal; only when they were unsure would they choose the chest. The target was bigger, but the damage bonus was also smaller.

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If there was a slow-motion camera, the audience would have been able to see that Tyron's hand was on the hilt of his short sword when the bullet was halfway through its trajectory.

However, when his hand touched the hilt of his sword, it took only an instant to suddenly shine with a brilliant sword light!

This all happened in a mere flash, and everyone heard two shrill whistling sounds--

One from Song of Triumph's scabbard.

The other one came from the bullet.

Silenced anti-matter bullets were soundless. Therefore, this was the sound produced when an intact bullet shell suddenly broke apart and encountered resistance in the air!

The shell had been split in two!

A piece of debris came close to Tyron's profile, leaving a small bloodstain beneath his right eye.

And, Tyron's figure had disappeared into the shadows the moment he crossed paths with the bullet.

--Shadow Jump.