Chapter 294: How Can You Lose When 60 Population Fights 50? (6th Update, Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

Chen Xu placed his Io at the opponent's neutral creep camp, but failed to scout the Blademaster leveling up.

Arriving at the neutral shop in the center of the map, Chen Xu spotted the Blademaster who had already arrived earlier.

The Blademaster's Town Portal scroll had already been sold, and he now wore a Circlet of Nobility, along with a set of Dust of Appearance.

Clearly, the opponent was going for an armed Blademaster build.

Chen Xu had wanted to buy that Circlet too, but now that it was taken, he could only quietly leave.

Chen Xu chose to circle around the Blademaster and head straight for the Orc base, while at the same time, Guadi, through his Grunt, scouted Chen Xu's base.

A straight line blockade—completely impassable. So he switched to attacking a Sea Turtle and its two offspring down below.

"Don't know what you're playing, but I'll just go default—harassing my base to stop me from leveling?" Guadi, while farming creeps, saw the Demon Hunter rush into his base and recklessly attack his shop. After a few attacks, seeing only a Peon come to repair while the Blademaster didn't show up, Chen Xu understood—the opponent clearly wasn't going to respond.

Without wasting time, he led the Demon Hunter to the neutral shop and bought a Staff of Teleportation—an item that teleports the hero to an allied unit.

Meanwhile, he dragged out the Archer at home and started leveling, while immediately beginning the Tier 2 upgrade at base.

The audience and commentators were stunned.

"What's going on!? One Archer and straight to Tier 2 tech?"

"That's way too aggressive!"

On the commentary desk, Huang Donglai was confused: "Is Mr. Chen planning to rush Tier 3 directly and use a Mountain Giant? But that doesn't make sense either! With that, he can't possibly withstand a Tier 2 Orc Wolf Rider all-in push!"

"Yeah! And what's that teleport scroll for?" Watching Chen Xu guide the Demon Hunter home to drink from the Moon Well and restore health, Sun Yixie was also puzzled.

The moment Tier 2 was completed, a Beastmaster emerged from the neutral tavern. He summoned a Quillbeast and rushed into the Orc base. At the same time, Chen Xu's Demon Hunter bought a Staff of Preservation from the Ancient of Wonders shop at home (an item that teleports the hero back to the main base).

By now, the Beastmaster and Quillbeast had reached the Orc base. The Beastmaster attacked the shop from the outside, while the Quillbeast plunged deep inside, attacking a barracks under construction. Clearly, the opponent was going for a Two Production Buildings mass production strategy.

Suddenly, a teleportation circle appeared above the Quillbeast, and the Demon Hunter was teleported in—finally putting the previously purchased Staff of Teleportation to good use.

Buildings under construction were extremely fragile—after just two rounds of attacks, it exploded. Chen Xu then continued controlling his level 2 Demon Hunter, Quillbeast, and Beastmaster to attack the outer Burrows.

"Not leveling up anymore? Trying to harass me to death?" Guadi, who was leveling, finally couldn't take it anymore.

Earlier, just one Demon Hunter could be ignored.

But now, a Beastmaster, Quillbeast, and a level 2 Demon Hunter—if left unchecked, disaster was inevitable.

The distance was too far, and having already sold his Town Portal scroll at the neutral shop, he had no choice but to bring his Blademaster and Shaman back home.

By the time they arrived, one Burrow had already been destroyed.

Meanwhile, the Demon Hunter, already reduced to low health by the Burrow, continued attacking wood-chopping Peons alongside the Quillbeast. But the moment he spotted the Shaman, Chen Xu immediately used the Staff of Preservation to teleport himself back home.

However, the Beastmaster beside him was slightly delayed—hit by a Polymorph from the Shaman and surrounded by three Grunts. The Blademaster used Wind Walk to rush over, slashed the Beastmaster on the head, and after a flurry of attacks, the Beastmaster helplessly fell.

"Did you see that!? That's GOD! That's a legend! That's God himself! The strongest Orc player right now shouldn't even be considered a Warcraft player! That cross-shaped encirclement was flawless!" On the commentary desk, Huang Donglai knew commentators shouldn't favor any player, but recalling how the three players he'd previously favored had all suffered crushing defeats, he couldn't suppress his excitement.

"Indeed impressive. This time, Chen Xu is in serious trouble," Sun Yixie agreed, especially since his hair was on the line.

But Chen Xu showed no signs of mental stress—still playing calmly, and he noticed his state was improving, his operations becoming much smoother.

Methodically, he respawned the Beastmaster and continued with the same routine.

Beastmaster, Quillbeast, and Demon Hunter—targeting your Burrows.

What the hell!? Guadi was completely speechless. What kind of playstyle was this?

Trying to harass him to death?

Even after the Beastmaster had already died once, he was still doing this?

And you're not leveling up at all?

Guadi was getting increasingly frustrated from the harassment, but right now, he genuinely had no good counter to this Beastmaster and Demon Hunter combo.

Whenever the Demon Hunter was in danger, he'd just use the Staff of Preservation to return home. And after dying once, Chen Xu clearly wouldn't repeat that mistake with the Beastmaster.

The impact wasn't huge, but the constant harassment was seriously annoying.

While Guadi was simultaneously leveling and resisting harassment, Chen Xu completed Tier 3 upgrades, built two Ancients of Wind, and capped at 50 population—since this wouldn't trigger repair costs.

Then he immediately started producing Master-level Raptor Druids.

Meanwhile, the Demon Hunter and Beastmaster had already bought the Potion of Invulnerability from the map's neutral locations.

Soon—

"What's going on? Mr. Chen is building Raptor Druids and capping at 50 population to avoid repair costs!"

"Look at the skills—Mr. Chen seems to be planning to use Cyclone to restrict the Blademaster."

"Actually seems feasible!"

"Too idealistic, isn't it?"

"Yeah, and Guadi's Wolf Rider army is already taking shape—the Blademaster is almost level 5!"

"Exactly! Mr. Chen has 50 population, while Guadi already has 60! How can this be won?!"

Bullet comments were already filled with speculation about Chen Xu's plan.

The commentators, Huang Donglai and Sun Yixie, realized it too.

"Just like the previous Frost Armor Spider strategy—looks like Guadi is in serious trouble," Sun Yixie said.

Raptor Druids were cheap and consumed little food. The Night Elf army formed quickly. Chen Xu rapidly assembled a 50-population army and charged toward the Orc base.

"Ah, relax! Look at the Raptor Druids' health—they're too fragile, die in a few hits. Sure, magic attacks deal more damage against heavy armor, and Wolf Riders aren't great against units, but with the health advantage here, how can 60 population lose to 50?"

"How can you lose with a Blademaster in Divine Gear?"

"One level 1 Beastmaster, one level 1 Tinker—how do you fight that? Just attack their faces and you win!"

"Battle is starting—charge! Let's see what Wolf Riders to the face looks like!"

Guadi, who had just finished leveling and was heading home to buy more Great Potions to push his Blademaster to level 5, noticed Chen Xu's army.

He was instantly shocked.

A level 3 Demon Hunter, two level 1 Tinker and Beastmaster, followed by two Quillbeasts and a swarm of colorful Raptor Druids.

The moment they met, the Tinker immediately dropped a house. Simultaneously, the Demon Hunter used Mana Burn on the nearby Shaman, while Faerie Fire was cast on the Blademaster.

The leading Beastmaster, Tinker, Demon Hunter, and other units furiously attacked the Wolf Riders.

The Blademaster, affected by Faerie Fire, tried to use Wind Walk upon landing—but instantly got blown into the air again.

Meanwhile, Wolf Riders charging into the formation were also lifted skyward.

The Grunts looked fierce, but under Faerie Fire's armor reduction, one round of focused fire from the Raptor Druids' magic attack attributes reduced them to low health.

Instantly, Guadi sensed something was wrong.

Right now, it seemed he simply couldn't win.

His entire Combat Prowess was focused on the Blademaster.

Once the battle started, his main force—the Blademaster and Wolf Riders—were flying in the air.

A Blademaster in Divine Gear, flying the entire time—how could he fight?

The Raptor Druids kept blowing his heroes into the air, while the Beastmaster and Tinker's summoned units surged like a tide.

Plus, the heroes had Potion of Invulnerability, Staff of Preservation, and Staff of Teleportation—go home, drink water, teleport back out to fight again. It was like having two lives. How could you possibly fight that!?

Collapse followed collapse.

Meanwhile, the two commentators who had made bold predictions were now completely stunned.

"What's going on!? Are Raptor Druids this powerful? Guadi lost too!?"

As Guadi typed 'GG,' players across the board erupted in excitement.

At Nebula Games' rest area, Qin Yi and others watching let out astonished cries.

Chen Xu stretched lazily.

From the moment the Blademaster was blown into the air, the outcome of the battle had already been decided.

To counter the Cyclone strategy, the best approach was to pick Far Seer as first hero and Spirit Breaker as second, pairing with a Spirit Breaker to抢 Mass Healing and Potion of Invulnerability.

With strong AoE, they could instantly wipe out the fragile Raptor Druids.

But this game, the opponent picked Blademaster first, Shaman second—not even Spirit Breaker. Using a versatile strategy, and unfamiliar with this routine, they didn't produce many Spirit Breakers—already giving Chen Xu a huge advantage.

There was another crucial reason Chen Xu chose this strategy:

The Cyclone strategy severely limited the opponent's operations.

When all units were flying in the air, how could you perform skillful positioning or precise low-health kiting?

Dream on!

Without Spirit Breakers, the Orcs had virtually no room for operations against the Cyclone strategy—relying solely on the opponent's mistakes.

Because the Night Elf Cyclone strategy was strongest precisely at the 50-food stage.

At 50 population, they could fight evenly against 60-population Orcs.

But once that window passed, every minute delayed reduced their chances of winning.

In the live stream room, the screen was flooded with spam.

"Damn it! Can Night Elves really beat Orcs like this?"

"I'm impressed! Are you a game designer or a professional player?"

"Seriously, if anyone ever says Orcs are overpowered in Warcraft again, Mr. Chen, I'll personally split them in half!"

"I'm saying it! Orcs are overpowered! Didn't you see that in Chen Xu's four wins, two were with Beastmaster!?"

"Bury that teammate upstairs deep. My Italian cannon has already fired!"

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