As Fu Xuan summoned the four 'Ape Gods', Pei Guang's expression turned serious.
Fu Xuan: "Your little Aether Spirits alone won't be enough to defeat me. And don't say I'm bullying you: I'll even allow you to use Overlord-class Aether Spirits against me."
Looking at the four-Ape God lineup, Pei Guang grinned. "When you lose later, don't come crying!"
As they exchanged words, Pei Guang also prepared his Aether Spirits: the Voidranger Eliminator and the Silvermane Cannoneer.
Seeing that Pei Guang had brought out two basic Aether Spirits, Fu Xuan's arrogance swelled even further. "Ha? You underestimate this seat and my Aether Spirits that much? Pei Guang, your underestimation will be the reason you fail this challenge."
Seeing that Pei Guang had only brought out two of the most basic Aether Spirits, Fu Xuan was a little irritated. On her side, she had powerful Aether Spirits: just from a raw stats perspective, each Malefic Ape could smack Pei Guang's two Aether Spirits into oblivion with a single hit.
What were those two, anyway? A human cannoneer and an Antimatter Legion Voidranger! Fu Xuan wasn't exaggerating: her Ape Gods could take on the Cloud Knights two-on-one and still come out ahead, let alone handle these two nobodies.
Sure, converting to Aether Spirit form causes some stat balancing, but still, two normals versus four Overlords? How was he supposed to win?
What? A Grand Omen?
Even if it could divine the future to a degree, the future wasn't set in stone. As the saying goes, man proposes, heaven disposes. Pei Guang's appearance alone had thrown everything into uncertainty: so if he decided to stir things up, what was stopping her from winning?
But soon, Fu Xuan realized something was off. March 7th was smiling. Stelle was smiling. Even Pei Guang was smiling. And the kind of smile he had—that smug, infuriating grin—was enough to send chills down her spine.
Fu Xuan: "Wait a minute... are you cheating?"
Pei Guang shrugged: "No way. I never cheat in competitive games."
Fu Xuan: "Damn it, why do I feel like you're all looking down on me? Fine, I'll show you just how strong I am!"
The Aether Spirit battle between Pei Guang and Fu Xuan began. Despite Pei Guang only deploying two Aether Spirits, Fu Xuan remained cautious, mentally plotting out her strategy.
While her Ape Gods were slightly slower than Pei Guang's units, his didn't have a clear advantage either. Fu Xuan planned to let him make the first move, then have all her Ape Gods focus fire and wipe out his units.
A confident smile crept onto Fu Xuan's face. She knew Pei Guang meant what he said: if he claimed he didn't cheat, then he really didn't. And if there was no cheating... how was he supposed to win a 2v4? Just imagining herself beating Pei Guang—the famous player—brought a grin to her face.
But soon, that smile disappeared. Because something was clearly wrong with Pei Guang's Aether Spirits.
The Silvermane Cannoneer buffed the Voidranger: Eliminator, which then launched its first attack and immediately followed up with its ultimate. After using its ultimate, it attacked again.
While it attacked, the Cannoneer followed up with a combo attack. And then the Eliminator attacked again. And again.
The two gunners had seemingly triggered some bizarre mechanic—they just kept attacking without pause.
"Wait, what's going on!?"
Fu Xuan noticed the two gunmen acting as if they were in some infinite action loop. Normally, after they finished their turn, her Ape Gods should've acted next—so why were these two firing like they had cheat codes enabled?
Especially that Eliminator: its HP was nearly gone, and it still kept attacking?
Fu Xuan briefly considered the possibility that Pei Guang was cheating… but she dismissed the thought.
Pei Guang was a master at exploiting loopholes, but when he said he wouldn't do something, he meant it. If he said he didn't cheat, then it wasn't due to cheating.
So then how was he doing this? She wanted to ask him, but all he did was look at her with that same smug grin. Seeing that expression made Fu Xuan furious, but there was nothing she could do.
"Damn it!"
She wanted to stomp her foot in frustration, but held herself back for the sake of her dignity.
"Just one turn! Let me act just once!!!"
Staring at the Voidranger: Eliminator whose HP was nearly depleted by its own passive drain, Fu Xuan clenched her fists. The twin gunners didn't deal much damage per hit—just little chips at a time.
But the problem was, the Voidranger: Eliminator simply never stopped attacking. Like two best buds, one would shoot, then the other, then back again in an endless rhythm.
Watching her Aether Spirits' health slowly whittle away, Fu Xuan became more and more anxious.
When her Ape Gods' HP dropped below one-tenth, Fu Xuan blurted out instinctively: "Stop it! Just let my Aether Spirits act—just once! One move and I could wipe you out!"
Seeing Fu Xuan's desperation and hearing her plea, Pei Guang's face took on the same scummy grin as Stelle's. "One move? Impossible. Behold my perpetual motion combo! The reason you lost is simple: I took the first turn! Now, sit back and embrace defeat under my endless barrage."
"No…"
Fu Xuan watched helplessly as her Aether Spirits' HP dwindled. As the Ape Gods dropped lower and lower, the expression on her face slowly vanished.
One. Two. Three.
And when the final Ape God—down to its last sliver of HP—was picked off by the Silvermane Cannoneer's gleeful "hehe" laugh, Fu Xuan's expression went completely blank.
She stared at Pei Guang with a calm face: "Congratulations. Congratulations on your victory. These Aether Spirits are yours now…"
Fu Xuan handed over the prize Aether Spirit awarded to the victor. Seeing her in this state, March 7th asked with concern, "Fu Xuan? Are you…"
Fu Xuan: "It's fine. Just a loss in a game. This seat doesn't mind at all. What a shame… If only I had gotten a single turn. Just one turn would've been enough…"
Though she said it didn't bother her, she was far from at peace inside. Her lineup might not be invincible, but against most challengers, it could at least take a few down. And yet? Against Pei Guang's two Aether Spirits she didn't get to act even once.
Especially that Silvermane Cannoneer's giggling laugh during its attacks: it was still echoing in her head, making her feel like her brain was going numb.