On the main stage of tonight's event, Huang Donglai was genuinely beginning to doubt himself.
"Brother Huang, it's still not too late to repent! Your predictions are really a bit off!" Sun Yixie added fuel to the fire on the main stage, clearly astonished.
He was obviously surprised by how the Human race and Night Elves could be played in such unconventional ways.
"This shouldn't be happening!" Huang Donglai felt depressed. He believed his reasoning was flawless, so why did the results always turn out completely opposite to what he expected?
"Brother Huang, do you now admit that Mr. Chen is a veteran player?" Sun Yixie launched a round of 'interrogation'.
"Ah, I've always acknowledged Mr. Chen as a skilled Warcraft player, but I'll repeat: there's still a gap between Mr. Chen's detailed operations and those of professional players," Huang Donglai insisted, refusing to change his stance.
"Well, the contestants competing tonight have something to say. If it were before, I'd definitely think Jiedong would win, but now it's different."
"Honestly, I know Jiedong personally, and we have a fairly good relationship. But I have to say, among these players, Jiedong is definitely just an amateur. Losing to Mr. Chen in matches like Shu Ben and Satellite wasn't due to inferior technique, but rather inferior tactics. Now, I just want to say that if Mr. Chen has some new tactics, Jiedong might really struggle to win," Huang Donglai sighed with emotion.
"Brother Huang, are you saying Jiedong will lose?" Sun Yixie asked.
"It's a 50-50 split. Both have a chance. Although I feel Jiedong is just an amateur, in terms of raw skill, I still think he's slightly stronger than Mr. Chen," Huang Donglai performed another round of constant flip-flopping.
At this point, the game began.
The map selected was TR, which is generally considered unfavorable for the Orcs.
This is because the major neutral creep camps on the map are Turtles, which deal additional counter-damage to melee attackers.
For the Undead, it's merely average.
After the initial greetings, Jiedong immediately sent a Peon to scout.
Although this wasn't a match against Night Elves or Humans, who knew if the Undead could break new ground?
But soon, Jiedong noticed something: Chen Xu was actually using a standard default opening.
First the Graveyard, then the Crypt, followed by the Altar of Darkness and the Ziggurat.
This was different from before!
Moreover, the Undead couldn't employ a Fast Expand strategy, as it's widely recognized that the Undead are strongest when operating from a single base.
Additionally, the Undead generally can't execute complex maneuvers. Typically, their peak strength comes at Tier 3, where they sell all possible buildingsâincluding their mine and Necropolisâto mass-produce units up to 100 food in one decisive push. If they win, they win; if not, they lose.
Though puzzled, Jiedong continued developing according to his usual plan.
On the other side, Chen Xu was also employing a largely standard Undead strategy, starting with the Death Knight.
However, the Ghouls produced from the barracks were only used for chopping wood. The main units produced later were Broodmothers.
He brought the Broodmothers to a nearby neutral creep camp to attack.
Chen Xu controlled the Death Knight to level up, constantly kiting creeps with no damage taken, and the efficiency wasn't low either.
After clearing the camp, his level reached two.
The skill points were allocated to Death Coil and Unholy Auraâstandard choices.
Midway, Chen Xu encountered the Orc's Blademaster, who was also leveling up.
He was chased and hit a few times, but with Unholy Aura active, he had natural healing and increased movement speed.
The Blademaster and Grunts were too clumsy to catch up, so they gave up and returned to continue their development.
Chen Xu similarly continued leveling up methodically, while at home, three Ghouls were already chopping wood.
The base was about to start upgrading to Tier 2.
The Ziggurat at home had already been upgraded to a Spirit Tower early on, and buildings were placed cautiously to defend against potential harassment from the Orc's Blademaster.
The early game passed peacefully, with both sides developing without harassment.
This was considered basic Macro play, yet it left many players and commentators momentarily taken aback.
After all, previously, whether it was the Night Elf's multi-expansion strategy or the Human's Fire-Demon Tower, the playstyles had been flashy and unconventional.
But now, the Undead was playing it safe and standard!
................
"Mr. Chen is going for Macro with the Undead, a normal opening?" Huang Donglai felt a bitéˇ (muddled), expecting Chen Xu to bring something new.
"Is he just going to develop steadily? Then Jiedong is secure! Look, Wolf Riders are already out, and Ensnare has been learned," Huang Donglai analyzed the battlefield situation.
"Brother Huang, are you making judgments already!?" Sun Yixie merely repeated what was happening on screen, without making the 'professional' analysis Huang Donglai did.
"Of course! Mr. Chen seems to be going for a Fiend strategy. He's probably cautious about the Turtle's retaliation damage while leveling, but there are many drawbacks. Jiedong's Wolf Riders are already formed, and their speed is so fastâeven with the Death Knight's aura, they can't match up!"
"And from the brief skirmish earlier, although neither side lost units, it's clear Mr. Chen's raw skill still has a slight gap!" Huang Donglai offered a simple analysis.
"Wait! Mr. Chen isn't leveling the Lich? He didn't take Frost Nova at level one, but chose armor instead? Doesn't that reduce his killing power even more?" Huang Donglai noticed something unusual.
In the game, after reaching Tier 2, Chen Xu spent some time leveling the Death Knight alone, without bringing out the second hero Lich to split experience.
At this point, the Death Knight had reached level three, with two points in Death Coil and one in Unholy Aura. Meanwhile, the opposing Blademaster was only level two, and Chen Xu already had five Broodmothers stockpiled at home.
Next, Chen Xu directly chose to upgrade the Broodmother's attack technology.
Watching Chen Xu's actions, commentator Huang Donglai was momentarily taken aback.
Generally, the second Undead hero is most likely to be the Lich.
But almost always, they take the first skillâFrost Nova.
Because it's the hero spell in Warcraft with the highest damage burst.
Combined with the Death Knight's Death Coil, it can easily drain three to four hundred health from the enemy heroâreaching the kill threshold without items.
But why did Chen Xu make the Lich take Frost Armor instead?
This puzzled Huang Donglai.
"It must be Mr. Chen's tactic. Jiedong might be in trouble!" Sun Yixie said from the side.
"That's impossible. Jiedong has two extra Wolf Riders, and the Blademaster's gear is quite good. More importantly, this skill allocation makes it impossible for the Lich to secure hero kills," Huang Donglai analyzed the battlefield situation.
"They're engaging! Jiedong is extremely aggressive! Wolf Riders are moving inâcharge, charge, charge!" Huang Donglai described the unfolding situation.
Near the Tavern in the middle of the map, Jiedong's forces encountered Chen Xu's army.
Originally, he planned to go for an item, level the Blademaster to four, train a Kodo Beast, and then test an attack.
But upon seeing the enemy army, Jiedong changed his strategy and decided to push all-in immediately.
He felt he was in a very strong position, and the Wolf Riders quickly formed a surrounding formation.
This Tier 2 phase was a very strong time for the Orcs. Although Wolf Riders have Siege attack, putting them at a slight disadvantage, they had Ensnare.
One Ensnare could lock down a Broodmother, and a single round of attacks would instantly kill itâperhaps even before it could burrow.
As Jiedong launched his attack, the audience and commentators erupted.
"Mr. Chen, at a huge disadvantage!"
The Blademaster rushed forward with a Critical Strike, nearly halving the Broodmother's health.
"Mr. Chen, pale as death!"
The next moment, a Wolf Rider cast Ensnare on the Broodmother, locking it in place.
"Mr. Chen, poor positioning!"
The Death Knight charged alone into the Wolf Riders' formation.
"Mr. Chen, fighting while retreating!"
The Death Knight, having lost half his health, saw his Ice Armor about to expire and began retreating slightly.
"Mr. Chen, caught between a rock and a hard place!"
Then, a Death Coil instantly restored the Broodmother's health, and Ice Armor was applied to the freed Broodmother.
"Mr. Chen, the Blademaster is right in your face!"
The Wolf Riders' attacks dealt almost no damage through the Ice Armor. The only damage came from the Grunt, Blademaster, and Tauren's attacks and shockwave.
But after attacking, all units were slowed, their movements as sluggish as dancing.
"Mr. Chen, focused fire!"
Leveraging the Death Knight's Unholy Aura, the remaining Broodmothers instantly created distance and began focusing fire on the Grunt, the biggest threat to them.
Wolf Riders surrounded and attacked the Broodmothers, but due to Ice Armor, they didn't lose any health.
Moreover, with the Death Knight's Unholy Aura, the Broodmothers' speed was no slower than the Wolf Riders.
"Mr. Chen, he's winning!" Sun Yixie exclaimed, describing the unfolding events.
Beside him, Huang Donglai looked completely bewildered.
Wasn't the situation overwhelmingly in favor of Jiedong?
"What's going on? Ice Armor with +2 attack Broodmothers are this powerful!?" Huang Donglai couldn't help but blurt out in confusion.
On screen, Chen Xu's Broodmothers split into three small groups, turned, fired in unison, then instantly kited away.
The Death Knight used Death Coil, while the level-two Lich cast Frost Nova, instantly eliminating a Wolf Rider.
Meanwhile, the Death Knight chugged an instant potion, his Ice Armor still active, charging into the Orc army and relentlessly cutting down Orc units.
Complete reversal!
Earlier, the Town Portal scroll had been sold directly at the shop by Jiedong to buy a pair of Boots of Speed, leaving him unable to use it to retreat his army. With the Broodmothers' speed boosted by Unholy Aura, they were no slower than the Wolf Riders.
Two rounds of focused fire combined with abilities meant one unit dead per exchangeâeventually, they were chased all the way back to base.
The tide had turned. Jiedong typed 'gg' and conceded.
In the RTS Group Chat, the professional players watching were equally astonished.
"This Fiend strategy is something else! Broodmothers naturally have slow turning and movement speed, but with the Death Knight's Unholy Aura boosting their mobility, they become highly maneuverable."
"Yeah, the units Broodmothers usually fear are Wind Riders and Wolf Riders, but with Ice Armor boosting their defense and slowing the enemy, Wolf Riders can't pose a threat anymore. Instead, they can freely kite Grunts."
"And even if they focus fire, Death Coil heals them instantly, and Broodmothers have burrow to survive."
"So this is how the Undead can counter the Orcs!"
"Though Orcs can adaptâonce they see the opponent massing Broodmothers, they should prepare to produce Kodos and Wind Riders."
(End of Chapter) <