Chapter Twenty-Nine: Who Killed Whom?

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Top lane.

Zoom was still astonished by Luo Ji’s accuracy with the first two strikes of his three-part Q.

But down bot, Zhuo had been rendered completely speechless by some of JackeyLove’s antics. Before he could even say anything, JackeyLove spoke first.

“I suspect the enemy support was hiding his true strength earlier.”

“Hm?”

“He’s throwing his Qs with insane accuracy. It feels like he’s deliberately predicting my position every time. So far, I haven’t dodged a single one. It’s like he has cheats enabled.”

“...”

“Could it possibly be that the problem isn’t the enemy support, but you?”

This was getting ridiculous.

Fortunately, the enemy bot lane was Ashe and Braum. No matter how accurate Braum’s Q was, all it could do after landing was discourage them from starting a fight. If the opposing support or AD carry were playing Ziggs, how were they supposed to play out the bot lane?

He was a world champion AD carry, for heaven’s sake.

How had he cultivated a physique that acted like a magnet for every skill shot?

At the same time, Zoom’s voice came from top lane.

“Jack’s not wrong. I feel like the enemy has cheats on too. This Aatrox’s Q is ridiculously accurate. I can’t dodge it.”

Hearing both solo laners say that, Knight thought for a moment. He probably shouldn’t be the odd one out.

“Actually, I also—”

“Don’t say anything. The champion you’re laning against only has targeted abilities.”

“Oh. All right.”

The moment Zhuo cut him off, Knight clamped his mouth shut and even made a zipping motion across his lips.

Something was wrong.

Terribly wrong!

Their side was the one at a disadvantage on the scoreboard, yet somehow it was the team facing match point that was giving off the spirit and determination of a desperate last stand.

They had thought that, since everyone was bringing out their signature picks this game, they would teach the enemy bot lane a lesson it would never forget.

What was that saying about thirty years on one side of the river and thirty years on the other?

They were supposed to beat the enemy into a tale of miserable beginnings, youthful poverty, middle-aged poverty, old-age poverty, honoring the dead, coffin lids rattling, grave robbers shedding tears, and dying in the womb after reincarnation.

And yet...

After attacking so aggressively earlier, why had they suddenly become so cowardly this game?

Yes.

With Ashe and Braum forming a classic Freljordian combination, all they had to do was stubbornly refuse to fight and focus on farming. Draven and Thresh genuinely had no way to deal with them.

As long as Braum planted his shield in front of them, Draven could throw his axes all he wanted; they might as well have been harmless.

It was absurdly strong.

Earlier, the jungler had played aggressively and kept them under pressure. Now that the jungler was gone, the enemy bot lane had become so timid that it refused to give them any opening at all.

That extreme change from one moment to the next...

What kind of “complete golden spiral energy” was this?

There was nothing they could do.

With no advantage to be gained in bot lane, and no way to chip down the enemy’s health when they refused to fight, Diana could accomplish nothing before level six. Tian could only bury his head and farm.

Meanwhile, Karsa had been astonished by the performance of the Aatrox in top lane.

By the time he reached level three, Gnar’s rage bar was almost full. Even so, anyone could clearly see from his health bar that Zoom’s top lane had already fallen into a natural disadvantage.

“Though I expected it to be outrageous...”

“But...”

“This really is a little too outrageous.”

As a teammate of Luo Ji’s, Karsa naturally knew about his signature Aatrox. On countless nights, deep into the early hours, Luo Ji had used this champion to repeatedly cast his abilities, tempering his muscle memory until the motions became numb and instinctive.

Knowing how formidable it was was one thing.

Actually seeing it used, witnessing the results, and then experiencing the sheer visual impact of it firsthand was something else entirely.

“Brother Ka.”

“I’m here, sweetheart.”

“Help me intercept the enemy jungler. We can’t kill him this time, but we should be able to force him back to base.”

“Received, over.”

In truth, Luo Ji had not needed to call for him. With Karsa’s experience, he would have appeared at the necessary position automatically.

But if someone had called in the fleet, then naturally, the fleet had to respond.

Top lane.

Zoom had already realized that this game’s draft had deceived him.

He had originally assumed that V5’s tactical core would be Xiao Yan in bot lane or Rookie in mid. Yet in this match-point game, this Aatrox pick—one that could even be called a signature weapon—had caught him completely off guard.

If he had also brought out one of his own signature champions, Zoom would not have been suffering so badly.

But the problem was...

Which LPL top laner’s signature champion was damn Gnar?

Well, perhaps no top laner’s. Although that certain “Gao the GAY Tiger,” who had once switched from mid to top, supposedly played it, and the invincible Tong from the ancient days of Season Five might have as well.

In that case, never mind.

As Gnar’s rage bar entered the yellow zone, the Aatrox pressed forward again and cast Q from a short distance away.

Zoom tried desperately to dodge.

But he simply could not dodge it!

He understood the feeling. Everyone had a signature champion that suited them particularly well.

When you played your signature champion, there came a moment when, once the enemy’s health reached a certain threshold, you simply knew you could kill them. The same applied to using abilities. When to use which skill—your hands moved faster than your brain. It felt as though the preview animation appeared directly inside your head.

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The extreme-range Q1 into EQ2 connected once again, forcing out another use of Gnar’s E.

After completing the combo, the little squirrel successfully transformed into a big squirrel three seconds later. But Zoom, who had already been taught the same lesson by repeated Qs, no longer had the confidence to step forward and trade, even though he had been playing Gnar since childhood.

“Tian...”

“I know. I already died for you, didn’t I?”

“?”

In the team voice chat, everyone had seen Tian start moving toward top lane early to help with the matchup.

But before he could get close, he ran straight into Karsa, that treacherous ambusher who had been waiting in the river brush.

Karsa was grinning from ear to ear.

Didn’t see that coming, did you?

The sky waits for spring rain; I am waiting for you. Smoke curls gently upward from the kitchen, and I slip quietly into the brush.

Diana’s clear speed was fast—at least faster than Volibear’s. If both junglers had immediately gone top after reaching level three, Karsa would naturally never have had a chance to lie in wait.

But Diana had never planned on going top in the first place. In his view, how could Gnar possibly lose to Aatrox badly enough to need help?

And yet, somehow, that was exactly what had happened.

There was no helping it. He had to come and stabilize the lane. But because of the time it took him to arrive, Volibear could enter early and wait for him if Karsa was willing to gamble.

It was an inescapable ambush.

Top lane was now like this:

If you did not come, Gnar could no longer lane properly and might even be dove under the turret.

If you did come, you had to accept the possibility of being caught by Volibear hiding in the brush.

As everyone knew, Karsa, a true man of the anime world, had always been fond of twin-tails.

And this game, controlling a white-haired, beast-eared, twin-tailed Volibear, he seemed to have awakened his true martial spirit. His compatibility with the champion was absurdly high.

The moment Tian’s Diana entered the brush, Volibear abruptly crashed into him and brutally unloaded his entire combo.

A level-three Volibear already had terrifying burst damage. Even with Diana’s ability shield absorbing part of it, the combo still tore away half her health and forced her to flash to safety.

But then...

Flash!

Perhaps Luo Ji had initially only wanted Karsa to stop Tian from reaching top lane.

But with such an enormous advantage in top lane, how could Karsa possibly pass up the opportunity?

In mid, Rookie’s LeBlanc had already begun rotating over, arriving ahead of Knight’s Lee Sin.

Do not be fooled by the fact that the two of them were veteran players.

In the world of esports, Faker was still standing strong at twenty-eight.

What did that prove?

That age only made the roots stronger and the branches more luxuriant. The old master could still wield his pen with steady hands—let alone play a little professional game.

“Oh, no.”

LeBlanc was in front of him and Volibear behind. Tian had originally intended to rescue his teammate from danger, only to find himself trapped in danger instead.

What else could he do?

He was finished!

Seeing the situation, Knight decisively abandoned the rotation he had followed for part of the way. Top lane was pinned beneath its turret, and the jungler was surrounded from both sides. What good would it do for him to go?

The professional stage was no place for a “Calabash Brothers rescuing their grandfather” chain of suicides.

And so...

V5 Rookie killed TES Tian.

First Blood!

First blood went over to V5.

[What?]

[What do you mean, “killed”? Was Diana’s life just being given away for free?]

[Don’t worry about that. Just tell me whether Diana managed to rescue her teammate from danger by coming over.]

[Diana: If I do not descend into hell, who will?]

Although...

From the way it had played out, it seemed Zoom had accidentally dragged his teammate into trouble. Still, Diana’s death had successfully drawn the attention of V5’s mid and jungle.

With only Aatrox left in top lane, Gnar’s health was still high enough for him to hide under the turret, farm, and develop safely.

At least, that was what he thought.

He never expected Knight’s anxious voice to suddenly explode through the team chat a few seconds later.

“Run! Get out of there!”

“Huh?”

“LeBlanc hasn’t returned to mid. I think they’re heading top!”

“!!!”

By the time Zoom reacted, V5’s top, mid, and jungle had already completely surrounded him.

In that instant, his expression resembled that of a housewife whose drunken husband was being escorted home by his boss, a girl with terrible grades encountering a sinister-looking private tutor, an athlete who had performed badly being kept behind by the PE teacher, or a newly debuted idol meeting their manager...

This was not going to end cleanly.

V5 Mebius killed TES Zoom.

With both jungler and mid laner supporting him, Luo Ji successfully tower-dived and “executed” the enemy Gnar.

The kill was secured.

Hearing one death notification after another, JackeyLove and Zhuo in bot lane finally began to lose their composure.

Before the game, they had clearly agreed that this would be their signature-pick showcase. So why, after the match began, had the enemy taken the initiative, predicted their movements, and sealed off their positioning?

And then...

My turn. My turn. Still my turn.

Page 3 of 3

Not a sound had come from the lower half of the map, while two people had already died in the upper half?

“This Aatrox...”

Inside the TES lounge, White Crescent stared intently at Luo Ji’s Aatrox. From the all-seeing perspective of a spectator, he could tell that the fundamental cause of this entire chain of plays was Zoom’s Gnar being suppressed by Aatrox.

But even he had never imagined that a rookie top laner with a signature Aatrox had been hidden by Nofe all the way until the finals match point.

As expected.

The hearts of people who played tactics were filthy.

The consecutive deaths of the top laner and jungler suddenly severed TES’s early-game rhythm. Tian’s Diana had to bury herself in the jungle and farm to make up for the lost development. At least until level six, she would not be able to emerge again.

In its place, V5’s early-game tempo opened up completely.

“V5’s early-game rhythm has come alive.”

“Karsa couldn’t really contest TES for the elemental drake before, but after this play, he can start fighting them for it. V5 has profited enormously from this sequence!”

In the commentary booth, all three casters were practically bursting with words, desperate to let them loose.

At this point, Knight had an experience lead in mid thanks to Rookie’s roam. But before level six, that advantage did not mean much. On the contrary, because Rookie had secured a kill, Knight would have to buy a Negatron Cloak on his first recall.

At the same time, he could not afford the Ironspike Whip yet, so his wave-clear was hardly impressive. He could not withstand their burst, nor could he push the wave quickly. Faced with Karsa openly starting the dragon on the lower side of the map, he had no answer at all.

Bot lane was no different.

JackeyLove and Zhuo retreated together. Their strongest phase had not arrived yet, and against V5’s early momentum, they could only temporarily avoid the enemy’s edge.

But...

Mid could play cautiously because the lane was short. Bot could turtle because they had the numbers.

What was top-lane Gnar supposed to do?

After returning to lane, Aatrox now had an Ironspike Whip, and his wave-clear had improved tremendously. There was nothing more to say. The moment he got back, he pushed forward and applied pressure.

The core of the Aatrox-versus-Gnar matchup came down to whether the EQ portion of the second Q could connect. The first Q was merely incidental damage, while the third was almost impossible to land unless he was willing to risk everything.

That was exactly where Zoom was suffering now.

He could use E to dodge, but after spending E, he would be unable to avoid the EQ in the next exchange. His only option was to play timidly.

And that was precisely what he did.

The advantage of an old veteran revealed itself here.

Zoom had already decided to build Plated Steelcaps and Thornmail early, then merge with the turret beneath his tower. A fragile little Gnar could not win the fight, but if he could not beat the enemy, he could at least make himself tanky. Once the mid-game team fights began, he would become useful, and the enemy would still have no easy way to deal with him.

Facing Zoom’s sudden caution, Luo Ji could do nothing but gradually whittle down his health. Even with a one-kill lead, he did not dare act recklessly.

Until...

At the beginning of the seventh minute, TES suddenly unleashed its first bot-lane play.

The most unreasonable thing about Thresh was not the three forms of crowd control in his kit, but the unpredictable lantern. Zhuo tossed it slightly backward, and the instant Tian clicked it, he flashed forward decisively, dragging Diana along with him.

“Not good!”

Although Xiao Yan and PPGOD had been extremely careful, the same question remained: how were you supposed to dodge an attack that began with zero frames of warning?

Near the end of Season Eleven, bot lane still had an experience decay mechanic.

At this moment, both bot lanes were just short of level six. When Diana lunged forward, PPGOD stepped in front to grant Ashe bonus resistances and immediately raised his shield.

But...

The shield accomplished very little.

Diana struck point-blank and unloaded her entire combo. Her damage completely ignored Braum’s shield. JackeyLove did not conserve a single ability, flashing past Braum and hammering Ashe with one basic attack after another.

Xiao Yan was about to flash away.

Then PPGOD’s voice exploded in his headset like thunder.

“Do not use Flash!”

The command made him instinctively hesitate. A moment later, under the relentless bombardment of three TES members, he painfully surrendered the daisy of his KDA.

TES JackeyLove killed V5 Photic.

At the same time, in mid lane, Rookie decisively launched an attack on Knight’s Lee Sin.

With his mastery of the two-spheres-and-LeBlanc style, he easily chained his E onto Lee Sin.

Although he was kicked away afterward—

the chain had already taken effect.

“Face the storm.”

Karsa charged out of the river and rolled his fingers across the keyboard before flashing in, successfully slamming Knight’s Lee Sin into the ground.

V5 Karsa killed TES Knight.

That was professional competition.

Everyone was playing a turn-based game. The only difference was that some players’ turns produced positive results, while others completed an entire sequence of actions and ended up with nothing to show for it.

While all the spectators were still dazzled by the simultaneous clashes in mid and bot, another kill notification suddenly rang out above Summoner’s Rift.

V5 Mebius killed TES Zoom.

Wait!

What?

Just now...

Who killed whom?