Chapter 175. You Have Become a Defender
The first round, a bare-handed brawl, ended quickly amid a carnival of chaos, with Team Schicksal—Cecilia and her squad—taking the win.
Mother-in-law looks gentle and soft, but when she plays, she's unexpectedly fierce.
Seele's trio only managed to camp a lone Xander Masato, and they were soon downed by Cecilia's trio, who had just won a scramble and leveled their Evo Shields to Purple, casually knocking them to their knees.
In the second round, Elysia drew the "pistols only" ruleset.
This time Xander Masato's team could finally flex.
Each of them took a sidearm and began harvesting the lobby, ending with twenty kills and the win.
The third round was "snipers only."
With sniper rifles as the only option, almost every squad turned into rats.
Xander Masato's team got ambushed crossing a choke and bowed out with regret.
Finally, the fourth round arrived—standard mode.
As the last match of the night, both competitors and viewers hit an emotional peak at this moment.
No one cared that their throats were already raspy; everyone cheered with all their strength.
Very soon, the match began.
Contrails streaked across the sky, dropping into different zones.
In this last match, everyone played extremely cautiously.
They were all dignified people; nobody wanted to be the first eliminated and make a fool of themselves in front of at least tens of millions of viewers.
Two rings closed in succession.
Only then did squads drop from 20 to 18.
The broadcast cut to the minimap, and seeing the clusters of teams packed inside a tiny circle, every viewer tensed up together.
Now it finally felt like a pro match.
Because of their drop spot, Seele's trio ended up on the ring's opposite edge.
After looting in a rush, they had no choice but to run with the ring.
They got pummeled who knows how many times along the way, and, stumbling and scrambling, they finally slipped into the safe zone the instant before the ring would have killed them.
Huddled in a corner and popping resources, they fully restored their freshly turned Blue shields and HP.
Only then did the three of them exhale.
"I'm out of cells and meds."
Kiana frowned at her backpack, which now held only ammo and grenades.
"I'm out too," Seele said, troubled.
They'd practically been running while getting beaten the whole way.
With all the zigzags, there was no time to loot.
What few Shield Cells and heals they'd managed to pick up were basically burned dry on the road.
"And of course it's Kings Canyon—the poorest map of them all."
Grinding her teeth in a grumble, Mei suddenly said, "I still have a few small cells.
Let's split them."
As she spoke, she tossed four Shield Cells from her pack—just enough for two each.
Her Legend was Lifeline.
While escaping, she had summoned a Care Package, which happened to give her a bit of extra loot.
"Wow, thanks, Mei!"
Kiana and Seele quickly stashed them away.
At this point, there was one minute left before Ring 3 started closing.
"How do we get in?"
Kiana peeked over the edge of the wall, scanned the unnervingly quiet surroundings, and asked Seele.
"Don't rush it.
Let me check again.
There are still eighteen squads left.
We can't be hasty right now."
In a circle this small, the density of players was bound to be high.
If they dashed out now, the only outcome would be instant focus-fire and a quick death.
Soon, thirty seconds remained, but the field was still so quiet it was creepy.
"Seele, hurry and think of something!
The next ring hurts like crazy—we can't tank it!"
"Don't rush, I—"
At that moment, a distinct deploy sound for an Evac Tower rose from the ring behind them.
The Evac Tower is a deployable pickup in Apex Legends.
Placing it generates a hot-air balloon with a zipline.
Players ride the line up and then glide from the top, one of the most effective ways to rotate.
That unmistakable sound was like a flare gun going off.
In an instant, the entire quiet map erupted.
Not far from Kiana's team, a zipline suddenly extended from behind a big rock toward the safe zone.
Three enemies hopped on and zipped swiftly forward.
At the same time, heads popped out on both sides of the line.
Raising their guns—da-da-da—they poured crossfire into the middle.
Seeing the road instantly blanketed in overlapping fire, Kiana broke out in a cold sweat.
Good thing they hadn't rushed out just now; otherwise they'd be done for.
Twenty seconds left.
Kiana was just about to say something when Seele shouted anxiously, "Kiana, turn around!
That squad outside the ring is flying straight at us!!"
Snapping her view around, Kiana immediately saw three contrails diving toward them from beyond the ring.
"We have to take the team behind us!
If we don't, we're dead!!"
As Seele spoke, she shouldered her gun.
Kiana, eyeing the dwindling ring timer, opened her scope and yelled, half mad, "Aaaah!!!
Why is this match so unlucky!!!!"
Her Spitfire spat scorching tongues of flame, but because the three enemies were still in a fast dive, her bullets only scraped a bit of armor off each.
Clack.
Out of ammo.
Kiana hurried to reload.
"Seriously, how did they stay in the ring that long?
Shouldn't they be dead by now?!"
No sooner had she said it than the three of them skimmed the ring's edge and braced for landing.
But then—maybe Kiana's words came true—right as they were about to enter the safe zone, whoosh—the three figures vanished in an instant.
In the bewildered eyes of Seele's trio, three death boxes whooshed past their Legends, bounced twice on the ground, and knocked against the wall.
In the top-right killfeed, a stream of messages rolled by: kills credited to Dominating Moonsea Fishy Cat.
"..." ×3
Hand clamped on her mouse, Seele glanced at the equally dumbfounded Kiana and chuckled dryly, "We should thank heaven for its gift."
"Ahem, yes, we really should."
Stifling a laugh, Mei chimed in.
Seizing the last ten seconds before the ring closed, the three of them thoroughly enjoyed this airdropped "delivery."
The three must have been playing a resource-farm strat, searching for items that grant Evo Shield progress along the way.
Opening their backpacks revealed one Red and two Purples—Red being the highest armor tier.
Clicking their tongues in amazement, the trio vacuumed up the resources.
Kiana even gleefully pulled a Kraber .50-Cal Sniper—the "big sniper"—from a box.
At that moment, the ring began to move.
There was no time to talk.
Following Seele, the three of them sprinted out.
Seele's Legend was Bloodhound.
As the name implies, her tactical can scan a 125-degree cone ahead for enemy positions.
After scanning, Seele quickly chose an entry route, then led Kiana and Mei as they dove into the chaos.
Gunpowder poured.
Grenades thundered.
Weaving and striking, Seele's trio took advantage of the brawl to wipe a squad and a half, then finally found cover inside the ring.
Sadly, Mei fell outside the ring while covering their retreat.
Her downed body soon became a little death box.
"Mei!"
"Go get 'em!"
Seeing her screen go gray, Mei slumped back into her chair as if all strength had left her.
Panting and suppressing the wild hammering of her heart, she smiled and cheered for Seele and Kiana.
"That adrenaline spike was a bit too intense.
Now that I've cooled off suddenly, I can feel the fatigue," she thought.
"We're down to two.
Eight squads left on the field."
"Half the lobby got wiped by that last ring."
"Mm.
Thanks to Mei, we made it in."
Crouched behind cover, the pair reset their state.
Thanks to the earlier brawl, both of their armors had leveled from Blue to Purple.
"What do we do next?"
They were in a two-story cottage.
Peeking through a second-floor window at the surroundings, Kiana asked in a low voice.
"Don't rush.
I scouted when we entered.
Our side is the weak side with fewer squads because it was farther from the ring.
When the circle shrinks, we'll edge in bit by bit, hugging cover."
Opening the minimap and pinging, Seele continued, "See my ping?
Barring surprises, the final ring will pull to the cliff's edge.
Aside from the height differences among the stone pillars there, there's no other cover."
"We'll creep in on the extreme outer edge, using that one bit of reverse slope."
"From here?
It's really exposed."
Eyeing the empty space beyond the reverse slope, Kiana frowned.
"It's already the safest option."
Brows knit, Seele said seriously, "If we get spotted, then we can only fight."
"Got it."
They fell silent and checked their packs.
Two quiet minutes passed.
With a buzzz, the ring began its work right on time.
Gunfire grew chaotic again.
Seele and Kiana moved in tandem, opened the door, and rushed out.
The reverse slope hid half the area, but to the other half it was glaringly open.
Sure enough, they were spotted.
Three players already in position at the edge of the ring poured a stream of bullets at them.
Seele and Kiana immediately AD-strafed their Legends, "dancing" left and right.
Sadly, just as they neared cover, Seele's last sliver of HP ticked away.
"I can't be revived—Kiana, run!"
Downed, Seele shouted in urgency, only to see Kiana not even glance back.
Her anxious expression froze.
Kiana had made the correct decision, so why did it feel a little irritating?
Kiana quickly dashed into the ring and tucked herself alone into the lowest corner of a sheer cliff.
Her pale-yellow skin split made her blend into the rock behind her.
She crouched and topped off her state, but before she could exhale, a tangle of footsteps sounded nearby.
Someone was closing in!
She reflexively swung her aim and saw a full trio charging toward her, their lead Octane juiced on Stim and sprinting like a rocket.
"Kiana!!"
Seele blurted, then clamped her mouth shut.
Anything she said now would only distract Kiana.
Better to let her play it out alone.
She and Mei held their breath, watching Kiana line up on the Octane's head.
Was she going to fire?
Even if she knocked the Octane, there were still two full-health teammates behind him.
Thoughts raced.
Watching Kiana's hands, Seele's eyes widened.
All at once, Kiana had a flash of inspiration.
She released her mouse and squatted motionless.
This scene was projected onto the big screen.
Just when everyone thought Kiana felt outmatched and was giving up to await death, the leading Octane tossed a Launch Pad right at Kiana's feet.
Bang, bang, bang—his whole squad trampolined up onto a stone platform by the cliff edge and went off to enjoy a brawl with the team up there.
They didn't spare the crouching Kiana a single glance.
A wave of question-mark chat spam flooded the live feed.
[Huh????]
[T-They just… went past?]
[This is the static eyesight of Apex players.
Do your game's players have this kind of static eyesight?
So very static indeed.]
[That trench formula.]
The audience was confused at first, then—every last person at the venue burst into laughter and cheers.
As much as brawls are fun to watch, this kind of meme moment is what everyone loves to talk about most.
"How does that even work?!!"
Seele was stunned and turned toward Kiana, who was acting like an old sage.
She had only been trying it on a hunch and had been internally panicking, but that didn't stop her from striking a pose now.
"Hmph.
Everything was within this lady's plan."
"..."
Seele had been about to compliment her, but seeing that smug face killed the mood.
The fighting in-game raged on.
Except for Kiana, the remaining seven squads were blasting each other's brains out.
The killfeed churned nonstop.
Especially an ID named Jack Cooper—nobody even knew how many he'd killed already.
Seven squads… six… five… down to two!!
Xander Masato's trio had picked a great spot this time, almost dead center of the ring.
After looting, all they had to do was hold the edge.
From Ring 3 onward, they had the positional advantage and were having a blast fighting, scooping up kills until their hands went numb.
With everyone on Red armor and fully kitted guns, they stood on a stone platform at the cliff's edge and fended off wave after wave.
The ground below was almost carpeted with death boxes, and Xander Masato's three were somehow still alive.
"You two top off.
I'll cover you."
After wiping the last push, Bronya and Kaguya were down to a sliver.
They each grabbed a fresh shield from a box on the ground and started popping Syringes.
Right then, a very conspicuous sound rang out.
Seeing the lobby drop to two squads, Kiana realized this might be her last chance to win.
The winner of the mixed brawl would definitely be low.
If she didn't push now and the other squad reset, she would have no chance.
She swapped to her long gun and dashed.
Suddenly—bang—her POV shot skyward.
"Ahhhhh!!!!
I forgot there was a Launch Pad at my feet!!!!!"
At this time, players hadn't yet developed the tech to redirect in midair.
Kiana could only watch as her Legend flew right off the cliff and dove headlong into the ring's damage.
The extra height from the pad let her see the trio on the stone platform, standing together, looking at her while topping off.
Her hands jabbed frantically at the keys.
Her HP was eroded by the ring.
The rapidly falling bar was a countdown to death.
Grenade, gun, injector—she cycled through them in a panic until finally a Kraber .50-Cal Sniper appeared in her hands.
"Ahhhhhhh!!!!!
I don't care anymore!!!!!"
On reflex she aimed downward and pulled the trigger with her eyes shut.
Boom!!!
The muzzle flared blindingly.
A single round—the highest-damage bullet in the entire game—hurtled down.
In the next instant, three fountains of blood erupted.
Ding!!!
A metallic chime flashed.
A flashy badge popped up on screen.
"You have become a Defender."
The Entertainment Invitational drew to a close on a single shot worthy of the annals of Apex.
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