"How did they do that?!" Mu Sicheng was completely confused.
Bai Liu said calmly, "Intelligence gathering and targeted skill screening."
"I tend to agree," Wang Shun nodded. "Russell Cemetery collects a large number of new players with low-tier skills, then selects a team whose abilities specifically counter the opposing guild based on the enemy's skill composition."
He continued, "This tactic has been demonstrated in multiple matches. Their players' skills deliberately target the enemy's ace members."
"The most obvious example was the Russell Cemetery vs. Killer Sequence challenge."
Wang Shun clicked the panel, and a short video appeared.
In the clip, Spades was visibly trapped in a quagmire.
"In that match," Wang Shun explained, "the tactician of Russell Cemetery had a skill that swallowed an enemy player into a quagmire, restricting their movement speed and reducing their attack power. However, activating the skill required sacrificing one of their own players."
"This ability is practically useless in daily games or standard league matches."
"In normal gameplay, no teammate would willingly sacrifice themselves just to trap a monster. In the league, no guild would throw away a carefully trained player merely to hinder an opponent."
Wang Shun glanced at the image of Spades trapped on the panel. "But against someone like Spades—who tends to break away from the team and relies on high mobility and rapid attacks—this seemingly useless skill became extremely effective."
"Once Spades was restrained, the Killer Sequence's aggressive rhythm was instantly disrupted. A day later, one of their members was killed."
Turning to Mu Sicheng, Wang Shun added, "If Spades hadn't broken through at the last moment, last year's championship wouldn't have gone to the Killer Sequence."
Mu Sicheng stared in disbelief. "Using that method, they achieved a 93% win rate?!"
"Precisely because of that method," Bai Liu replied quietly, looking down at the paper. "They gather a large pool of new players and select abilities that specifically counter their opponent. The lineup rotates according to the enemy. Each team is carefully assembled as a disposable unit—replaced once they die."
"An excellent tactic," Bai Liu concluded calmly.
Wang Shun sighed. "It's brutal. But brutal tactics are often effective in this game. I haven't come up with a good counter yet."
"How can there be no solution?!" Mu Sicheng protested. "They develop strategies against us—so we can do the same!"
Liu Jiayi, who had been silent, suddenly spoke. "We can't."
Mu Sicheng turned to her. "Why not? They're just ordinary newcomers with average skills. As long as we get their information—"
"The problem is obtaining it," Liu Jiayi said evenly. "Russell Cemetery has between five hundred and a thousand reserve players. To minimize exposure, they abandoned star-player training and gave up singles and doubles matches. Most of their players have no recorded game footage in the Small TV archive."
"Under those circumstances, gathering skill intelligence on so many unknown newcomers is nearly impossible."
Mu Sicheng looked at Wang Shun. "We could have Wang Shun infiltrate them and use his abilities to gather intelligence—"
"The King's Guild has already tried that," Liu Jiayi cut in coldly.
"First, even if Wang Shun successfully infiltrated Russell Cemetery and gathered information without being discovered, it would still be nearly impossible to determine which of those hundreds of skills are specifically tailored to counter us."
"Second, Mu Sicheng, do you know how many five-person permutations can be formed from hundreds or thousands of players?"
Before he could answer, Liu Jiayi continued, "Tens of thousands. Hundreds of players can form tens of thousands of different five-person teams—and that's tens of thousands of potential skill combinations."
She looked at him steadily. "We're in the open; they're in the shadows. There are only five of us, while they have hundreds of barely exposed newcomers."
"On top of that, because our skills are strong, our exposure rate is high. Except for Tang Erda, most of us have multiple recorded matches in the Small TV archive."
"We can't abandon our star players the way they do. We need audience support to earn a golden ticket to immortality. Our exposure will only increase, making it easier for them to gather intelligence on us."
"The information asymmetry is overwhelming," Liu Jiayi concluded coldly. "It's impossible to formulate a targeted strategy."
"During last year's mid-season tournament, even the King's Guild didn't know which lineup Russell Cemetery would field until the players walked onto the stage."
Mu Sicheng slowly leaned over the table, eyes wide. "…How are we supposed to fight that? Isn't that shameless?"
Suddenly, he straightened and slammed the table. "Wait! Russell Cemetery burns through all those reserves and sends them to their deaths. Those players can't possibly want that!"
"We can exploit that!" he said excitedly, looking at Bai Liu with bright eyes. "Bai Liu, this is your moment. With your persuasion skills, you can convince those reserves to join our Wandering Circus!"
For a moment, Bai Liu, Wang Shun, and Liu Jiayi all looked at Mu Sicheng with unusually gentle expressions.
"Actually," Wang Shun said tactfully, "you don't need to be quite so enthusiastic about tactical discussions, God Mu."
It took Mu Sicheng a moment to process that. Realizing what Wang Shun meant, he slumped onto the table again. "…Did I say something wrong?"
"They can't possibly know they're being used as cannon fodder and still willingly participate in the league for Russell Cemetery, right?" he muttered.
Wang Shun sighed. "They do know."
Mu Sicheng blinked. "Why?"
Liu Jiayi rolled her eyes. "Idiot. Do you know why it's called Russell Cemetery?"
Mu Sicheng froze, then said in disbelief, "No way… Cemetery? You mean that kind of cemetery?"
"Exactly," Liu Jiayi snapped her fingers. "New players who join this guild know what they're signing up for. They understand they're likely to be sacrificed."
"They know they're walking into a collective graveyard—and they're prepared to become part of it."
Mu Sicheng leaned back in his chair, staring blankly. "…I don't understand why anyone would do that."
"You don't follow this kind of news because you dislike guild politics," Wang Shun explained. "Russell Cemetery is essentially an escape-type guild that accepts large numbers of new horror-game players."
"Some newcomers are terrified of the game and want a way out. The president of Russell Cemetery established the guild as a collective burial ground."
"He promises them: deposit your death here. If Russell Cemetery wins one day, I'll use the wish to revive you from this graveyard, distribute the points to fulfill your desires, and let you leave the game."
Mu Sicheng scoffed. "Who would believe that?"
"Many do," Wang Shun replied. "After high-tier players are recruited by major guilds, a significant number of mid- to low-tier players choose Russell Cemetery."
"And if Russell Cemetery never wins? Wouldn't they die for nothing?" Mu Sicheng asked.
Liu Jiayi nudged him and gestured toward the win-rate statistics on the screen.
Mu Sicheng fell silent again, but still frowned. "Even if they win, how can they be sure the guild leader will keep his promise?"
Liu Jiayi gave him another look that clearly said you're hopeless. "Do you know their slogan?"
"What is it?"
"'May we die in hope.'"
"These newcomers were rejected by major guilds. At first, they had high expectations for their abilities and believed they could survive on their own. Later, they realized their skills were mediocre, and no one valued them. Their sense of self-worth collapsed."
She paused before continuing, "Eventually, they stopped believing they could survive independently. They lived in constant fear, convinced they would die sooner or later. Rather than being tortured to death in a horror game, they chose a way to die with hope."
"Most of them don't even expect the president to fulfill his promise," Liu Jiayi added quietly. "They just want a peaceful death."
Wang Shun sighed. "God Mu, you and Bai Liu don't pay much attention to guilds like this because you're high-tier players. But for low-tier players, Russell Cemetery is often the last refuge."
"I still find it astonishing," Liu Jiayi reflected, "that a guild made up of low-skilled players could wield such destructive power. Even when Hearts won last year, it wasn't an easy match."
Bai Liu turned to her. "How did Hearts defeat Russell Cemetery?"
After thinking for a moment, Liu Jiayi replied, "They had no effective counter to Hearts. Her abilities involve altering appearance and charm. It's extremely difficult to find someone immune to her influence."
"But the rest of her team struggled."
"Hearts fought a prolonged war of attrition. It was grueling, but the opponent was still composed of newcomers with inferior boards. In the end, she prevailed."
Bai Liu then looked at Wang Shun. "And how did the Reverse God defeat them last year?"
Wang Shun and Liu Jiayi fell silent simultaneously.
After a long pause, Wang Shun gave a wry smile. "I didn't see it clearly."
Bai Liu raised an eyebrow. "You didn't?"
"One minute after the match began," Wang Shun said helplessly, "Russell Cemetery's tactician surrendered to the Reverse God."