Chapter 59: Bright Mark and the Night's Warm Glow—A Double Victory with Four Packages and Two Captures

“Don’t fight at level one.”

Although EDG had Thresh in their lineup, they lacked follow-up crowd control, making it hard to secure kills.

Therefore, Chen Yan didn’t ask his teammates to waste effort.

WE, however, was somewhat disappointed. They had been cautiously guarding against EDG initiating a level one team fight, even planning to counter-ambush EDG.

EDG’s decision completely thwarted their plan.

“No fight broke out.”

Seeing this, WaWa was rather disappointed. “Looks like it’s going to be a standard opening.”

“Mm,” Miller nodded, his gaze fixed on both teams’ lineups.

“EDG has the advantage in all lanes—it all depends on how much of an edge they can build in laning, especially mid…”

Everyone smiled.

Since Yasuo was picked, naturally all eyes were on the mid lane matchup.

The director knew this well, keeping the camera mostly focused there.

But Chen Yan chose to play defensively at level one, voluntarily ceding lane control to Xiye.

It looked like he was being pressured by Karma.

“What’s going on?”

“This Yasuo is too passive.”

“Just Q him! Learned E? Then use your E!”

“Does the chat know how to play Yasuo? How does Yasuo fight Karma at level one?”

Karma’s level one RQ combo, along with her long-range poke, made it tough. Even though Yasuo had his passive shield, engaging directly would only give Karma chances to harass him.

In the game, Chen Yan quietly cleared the minions under the tower.

Xiye’s Karma carefully kept distance, using her auto-attacks to chip away at Yasuo’s shield.

Then, she aimed RQ at Yasuo.

But Chen Yan was alert to Karma’s RQ; at the moment Karma raised her hand, he used E at a tricky angle to dodge the skillshot.

“Did he just dodge that?”

Xiye frowned slightly; missing such a crucial skill made him frustrated.

However, Karma wasn’t the type to recklessly force opportunities, and in this match, stalling was enough for WE to win.

So, Xiye remained calm.

After Yasuo reached a higher level, Chen Yan played cautiously, giving no openings.

This showed Xiye’s mastery of Karma, understanding her mechanics and strengths with great precision.

Chen Yan sensed this too and gave up on trying to kill Xiye early.

Against such a seasoned player, forcing a fight would only expose vulnerabilities.

“Xiye’s laning is pretty good,” WaWa commented while watching the creep score. “A few minions behind is totally acceptable.”

“So far, Yasuo hasn’t really done much, but that’s how the champion is—finding opportunities early on isn’t easy.”

The flashy Yasuo solo kills seen in highlight reels rarely happen in professional play.

After all, pro players aren’t idiots—they turtle up as soon as they sense danger, leaving no room for solo kills.

Chen Yan was patient.

As he leveled up, Yasuo gradually took control.

EEEE.

Yasuo dashed through the minion wave, occasionally dashing in front of Karma and teasing with Q. Although Karma’s E blocked some damage, Chen Yan enjoyed the play.

It was simply stylish.

The chat went wild watching Yasuo’s continuous dashes.

But when Yasuo looked good but didn’t produce real results, criticism inevitably followed.

Another minion wave approached, and Chen Yan’s Yasuo kept dashing around.

Dashing was one thing, but Yasuo even started flashing his icons.

“This…”

WaWa exchanged a glance with Miller.

“Quite cheeky.”

“Just livens up the atmosphere.”

They covered for Chen Yan.

At first, Xiye didn’t mind, but he couldn’t stand Yasuo constantly flashing icons.

Landing a Q? Flash icon.

Using E to dodge Karma’s W? Flash icon.

Blocking Karma’s Q with Wind Wall? Flash icon.

…

After another flash, Xiye’s frustration climbed rapidly.

“What the hell are you flashing here!”

His hand trembled, missing a cannon minion last hit.

“Automaton!”

The chat flooded with “Automaton!”

Missing that cannon minion broke Xiye’s heart.

But he knew Chen Yan was playing mind games, so he took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

“You may be strong, strong as the gentle breeze over the hills; you may be bold, bold as the bright moon shining over the river…”

Xiye steadied his nerves, laned methodically, farmed, and tried to maintain control.

It worked, but only slightly.

Chen Yan’s Yasuo kept his Wind Wall up, reliably blocking Karma’s Q, making it frustrating for Karma to farm under tower.

This was why mages hated Yasuo.

When the minion wave pushed forward, Yasuo would place the Wind Wall right on the mage’s face, causing them to miss last hits consistently.

Plus, Yasuo didn’t consume mana.

With his passive shield, no mana costs, and Wind Wall combo, mages often ran out of mana first in the early game.

Xiye’s Karma was no exception.

Once out of mana, Karma had to teleport back to lane.

Chen Yan took the chance to recall and buy Boots of Swiftness.

By now, Yasuo was nearing level six.

“Moving into WE’s bottom jungle.”

Upon reaching level six, Chen Yan dropped his casual demeanor and grew slightly serious.

Indeed, he hadn’t planned to make anything happen earlier.

Yasuo’s power spike was at six.

Pointless aggression would only waste momentum.

Either don’t fight, or fight decisively.

Of course, the early pressure wasn’t meaningless—Karma had no teleport, so she couldn’t assist the bottom lane.

Maintaining lane control took time, and teammates needed time to suppress the enemy…

Chen Yan glanced at the bottom lane, which was doing well.

Kalista was a signature pick for Zet, easily pressuring a Lulu and Tahm Kench lane with little early combat strength.

But a kill was nearly impossible.

“Bottom lane’s a go; I’m on my way.”

Chen Yan moved Yasuo toward the bottom lane.

EDG’s Clearlove’s Jarvan had invaded WE’s bottom jungle.

“No Mantis spotted,” Clearlove reported.

Chen Yan immediately realized the Mantis was probably top lane; according to half-map control principles, when they pressured the bottom side, the enemy would likely target top.

“mOUSe, don’t die.”

“My ultimate clears minions—they can’t stop it.”

“Okay.”

Rumble was reliable that way—his ultimate cleared minions, ensuring his survival.

With no worries behind, EDG’s four players formed a pincer, trapping WE’s bottom duo.

Meanwhile, Jarvan took the opportunity to kill WE’s Malphite, reaching level six.

WE’s bottom lane saw Jarvan, but in pro play, once you spot the enemy, reacting is often too late.

“EDG chooses to initiate their first tempo play on bottom lane.”

“Four versus two—what does WE do?”

Miller surveyed the situation and analyzed, “WE’s bottom lane looks grim. Four enemies means little room to maneuver. It depends on whether they can trade one for one…”

WE’s bottom lane was basically doomed.

EDG’s players were hyped, shouting “Kill, kill, kill!” in voice chat.

Chen Yan remained unusually calm, speaking in a low voice, “Everyone quiet, listen.”

“Jarvan initiates first. Mei Kou, don’t flash.”

“Don’t get traded!”

Chen Yan spoke quickly and seriously.

EDG’s players felt an imposing aura from Chen Yan, compelling them to obey.

As the minion wave pushed under tower, Jarvan struck first.

“Demacia!”

Jarvan engaged, trapping Tahm Kench and Lulu.

“Polymorph!”

Lulu instantly transformed.

Then Tahm Kench and Lulu flashed out of Jarvan’s ultimate.

It was futile—EDG was too agile.

Jarvan EQ’d onto Tahm Kench and Lulu, slowed with W.

Thresh arrived, using his E to knock Tahm Kench backward.

Thresh’s E included a brief knock-up.

Chen Yan’s Yasuo capitalized on the knock-up, instantly diving into the fight.

Last Breath!

“Ouch! Feel the pain!”

Yasuo swung multiple swords midair, landed an auto-Q, then dashed through minions to refresh Q cooldown, dashed back onto Tahm Kench, auto-attacked, and followed with Q.

Everyone watched Yasuo’s relentless dashes, dazzled.

When the camera returned to Tahm Kench, he was already under the effect of his passive.

With a boom, the system announced the kill.

“First Blood!”

The crowd erupted in cheers.

But it wasn’t over—without Tahm Kench, Lulu was doomed too.

Chen Yan said, “Give me the kill.”

Teammates immediately stopped attacking.

Moments later, the system sounded again.

“Double Kill.”

A double kill!

Miller shouted excitedly, “Yasuo secures a double kill!”

Meanwhile,

Chen Yan typed on screen the cooldown times for WE’s bottom duo’s Flash, then smiled faintly.

“Game over.”