Chapter 63 : Chinese – 6 Refugees (1)

In Nanmi’s voice, there was the dignity of a king.

It was a truly powerful voice!

A voice of confidence saying, “Come if you dare!” — the voice of a number one.

Of course, it’s not like Nanmi consciously said all that.

“That’s good confidence! Then there’s no need to drag things out. Let’s start the match right away!”

The first match began: Soseong VS Muruze.

The match could be summarized as Physicality VS Strategy.

‘Soseong’s team is kind of tough, after all.’

Honestly, no one expected those two to be on the same team.

And those two were none other than Inaring and Nana.

In this tournament, the strongest dark horse was clearly Nana.

No doubt about it.

“Wow, more than anything, I’m surprised. During this tournament’s practice period, Nana reached Master 5, right?”

As Eungtae said, she went from Diamond 1 to Master 5 in just two days.

“Among players, the gap between Diamond 1 and Master 5 is known as ‘the wall of lamentation.’

I never thought she’d rank up another tier during practice.”

There’s a reason it’s considered hardest to reach Master.

The wall of lamentation.

Some even say the promotion match to Master is harder than playing in the Master tier itself.

But that’s not the issue here.

I have to worry about Nana making a wish after this.

I knew Nana was good at the game, but I didn’t expect this level.

“Alright, then. No need for more words, right? Game start!”

As the match began, I focused on the screen.

I needed to understand the strategy of the team we’d face next.

But… uh… hmm…

Nanmi spoke to her teammates.

“Everyone.”

“Yes?”

“Coach~ What is it?”

“After the match with Danding, I think I’ll have something important to say. I’ll tell you after we win the game.”

“”Okay!””

The game ended with Soseong’s team winning 2 out of 3 matches.

‘Uh… hmm…’

Nanmi’s fears played out — the worst-case scenario.

Still, they hadn’t won yet, so it was too early for celebration.

“Bracket ‘The Six’ bracket close — please get ready.”

“””Okay!”””

Following the staff’s instruction, we entered the pre-made room.

Coach Danding from the opposing team spoke in all-chat.

[All Chat]

Danding: Let’s have a fair and honorable match, Nanmi.

That made us all flinch — a pang of guilt.

Given our strategy, “fair” felt very far away.

Still, I had to reply.

[All Chat]

ChargeKnight: Uh, sorry. We’re going to play a little dirty.

Even Danding burst out laughing.

“Pfft!”

Nanmi followed up with another message.

[All Chat]

ChargeKnight [The One]: Just saying — not joking around. Our strategy is a little on the sneaky side.

Danding: LOL. There’s no such thing as a dirty strategy. I’ll have to play tough too.

As expected of Coach Danding.

Despite his provocation during interviews, he was generous in spirit.

That made me feel better about going wild.

I shouted to my team:

“Everyone ready?”

“”Yes!”””

“Let’s show them everything we practiced. Alright then…”

Nanmi’s eyes turned to the screen.

The camera shifted, signaling the match had begun.

As soon as the game started, commentator Eungtae shouted:

“Ah! The match begins with Coach Danding’s team [2 Win With 2] rushing quickly toward the control point!”

“The team name is ‘2 Win With 2’ because all members have two-letter names,

and all they need is two wins to win the whole thing.”

Meanwhile, during the approach, Danding’s orders continued.

As soon as we engage, check if Nanmi is on the other side.

If not, she’s probably hiding nearby.”

Danding knew.

He knew how deadly Nanmi’s ambushes could be.

No matter which hero she used, her pinpoint aim made backstabs land every time.

There was no more dangerous opponent than Nanmi.

“Alright, get ready for the encounter.”

Around that corner, the enemy was likely waiting near the point.

From there, the brawl would begin.

But then—

Bang!

“!?”

A healing-ban grenade was thrown from behind.

As four were hit by it, the enemy team burst out from every direction — front, back, and sides.

‘A melee!?’

The fact that they were grouped up was devastating for Danding’s team.

They couldn’t believe the ambush came from near their own spawn area.

The biggest problem was the healing-ban.

Four players were hit.

That led to a disastrous brawl.

But Danding was a pro.

He assessed the situation and gave a clear order.

“Everyone! It’s fine to die now — just group up and fall together!”

He decided to give up this fight.

This way, the spawn cycle wouldn’t be staggered,

and the ultimate meters would at least get a boost from damage dealt.

They had no real chance to win this brawl anyway.

As a result, though they were attacking, [2 Win With 2] didn’t resist.

[Yooz] > [Danding]

[Yooz] > [Saeum]

[ChargeKnight] > [Nibu]

[Rino] > [Longlong]

[Akemi] > [Juni]

Then it happened — a critical moment.

“Ahh! I’m down!”

Ette, one of the tank players, had been hit by a sleep dart.

Getting slept once was bad, but being chained in sleep was worse.

They would sleep him, wait, then sleep him again.

Even body block his escape to sleep him again.

A meticulous strategy to mess up the spawn cycle.

‘Damn, I didn’t know a strategy like that was possible.’

Danding was in awe.

It was too precise.

Eventually, when others respawned, the enemy killed Ette and returned to their formation.

“Wow… so that’s what they meant by playing dirty?”

Strategy.

A very precise strategy.

At least one thing was clear.

The match’s momentum had shifted from the very beginning.

But it was the coach’s job not to let things spiral.

Danding said:

“It’s fine. The game just started. There’s still plenty of time.”

Right, that was just the first skirmish.

They could figure out a counter.

Danding regrouped the team and said:

“We’re changing our path. Follow me.”

They weren’t going to fall for it twice.

They took a wide route and accelerated toward the control point.

Then they saw the enemy positioned in front of the objective.

But wait—

Where’s the Paladin?

“!?”

The moment Danding realized, he shouted:

“Watch out for the Paladin!”

Bang!

Another healing-ban grenade thrown from behind.

At the same time, the Paladin charged from the rear.

The enemy team rushed in, aiming to trigger a chaotic melee.

Nanmi’s Monkeyman dove deep, landing a knockback, then threw up a barrier.

The barrier placement in the center blocked both healing and attacks.

But Danding kept calm.

“Everyone! Fall back for now!”

They quickly pulled back with acceleration.

This retreat wasn’t a loss — it was a tactical withdrawal.

If anyone got caught, they were ready to pick them off.

They escaped safely — even if they couldn’t pick off the enemy support.

“Wow… this is brutal.”

Danding realized something.

All six of the enemy players were basically Nanmi clones.

Every one of them, an assassin-type.

He broke into a cold sweat without realizing it.

“Too bad.”

A true pro.

Their judgment in the moment was sharp.

Their coordination, too.

But just because one ambush failed didn’t mean the next one would.

“Akemi, come with me.”

“Okay!”

I brought Akemi, the restrainer, to the side.

This was actually bait — a lure.

“Be ready to pull back, Akemi.”

“Got it!”

“Let’s push a little.”

Come here.

See? We’re this far up — just the two of us.

Akemi and I kept dealing damage while hugging the wall,

showing ourselves just enough to bait the enemy.

They couldn’t resist, could they?

Boom~!

Then it happened.

The enemy Monkeyman and Armored Soldier jumped toward us.

Their Time Mage activated acceleration to chase me and Akemi.

I carefully timed the retreat.

Too early, and they’d give up the chase.

Too late, and we’d die.

Now!

“Akemi, don’t look back. Fall back.”

“Yes!”

I activated acceleration and pulled Akemi back with me.

At the same time, I issued an order.

“Everyone else — start tailing them.”

“””Yes!”””

It was called the “Tail Strategy.”

A move Nanmi named herself.

Lure a few enemies out into a bad position.

As they chased, the other 4 teammates took over their abandoned ground.

I stopped retreating and gave the next order.

“Sandwich — go!”

“”””Yes!””””

The enemy got surrounded from both sides.

Just like in practice.

[Yooz] > [Danding]

[Yooz] > [Saeum]

[Nibu] > [Yooz]

[ChargeKnight] > [Nibu]

[Rino] > [Longlong]

[Akemi] > [Juni]

[Ette] > [Akemi]

[Larne] > [Ette]

Although Yooz and Akemi died, they secured a team wipe.

They won the second fight as well.