Chapter 169: Shot in the Dark

The most epic battles are the ones where your opponents astound you, while your teammates surpass your expectations!

Up in the Top lane, Riven seemed to have sensed that the fight going on down in the Bottom lane might get out of control, and so had made the prescient decision to hurry over there and help out.

Luocheng hadn’t withdrawn, even though he’d run out of mana, because he’d noticed Riven’s portrait tearing across the minimap in the corner of his screen!

Once Shen had successfully been lured into the Dragon pit, Riven decisively activated her ultimate skill and Flashed in to join the fray, charging headlong directly at Shen!

At Level 6, Riven’s ulti granted her tremendous burst damage potential. Already reduced to half health, Shen was instantly slain before he could get out any skills of his own!

Following right behind him, Orianna also took grievous damage from Riven’s runic blade. When she witnessed how quickly Shen fell, she was frightened out of her wits. Throwing down a ‘Command: Dissonance’ to speed herself up, she turned tail and fled.

***

It had been a back-and-forth battle, and it had been impossible to judge which side would be the victor until the very last moment.

The 5v5 team fight in the Bottom lane which broke out at the sixth minute, lasting nearly a full minute in itself, had at last come to an end when Shen was abruptly vanquished by Riven.

It was hard to imagine that the 2v2 match-up in the Bottom lane could suddenly explode into a frenzied 5v5 team fight, the like of which you’d only expect to see in the late game!

There had been a whole series of startling arrivals, each one at exactly the right time. On both sides, everyone’s teamwork had been superb.

Luocheng couldn’t help but admit that he’d encountered a remarkable assortment of players this round. The fight had left Lin Dong, Xiao Bei, and Qianqian speechless in awe. It had been a rollercoaster ride, alternating non-stop between dismay and glee—and not just as a result of the duel between Luocheng and Shallow Dream, but also because of these random players they’d been teamed up with!

They weren’t even ten minutes into the game, and already there had been a battle so intense and nerve-wracking that, at various times, one could have cried out in raw emotion!

***

“Luocheng, aren’t you going to Recall yet?” Xiao Bei inquired.

The battle had ended, but Ezreal still hadn’t returned to base. Rather, he went back to his lane.

“Just checking things out,” Luocheng answered with a smile. A few minions later, and he’d made it to Level 6.

Immediately, he put a skill point into his ultimate, and hit R!

“Haaah!”

Aglow with magical power, Ezreal formed a broad crescent of blinding golden light before his outstretched hands!

With a great shout, he released it, and the teeming mass of stars swept forward at speed, racing along the Bottom lane and past the enemy tower, keening with lethal promise!

The view followed along with that wave of magical energy. The three spectators behind Luocheng watched in bewilderment. What was he up to, firing his ulti at nothing?

(Translator’s Note: Of course, even a Bronze-tier player should know what’s up. Just go with it. We’re trying to tell a story, here.)

In the midst of their confusion, a lone figure appeared in the path of the attack!

It was Vayne!

She was channeling to Recall, with just one second left!

Whoosh!

The Trueshot Barrage sliced clean through her unsuspecting form.

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Xiao Bei and Lin Dong stared with eyes as wide as dinner plates. They’d never suspected that Vayne would have been hanging around all this while. Certainly, Luocheng had never caught sight of her before this—how could he have known that she’d be in the middle of a Recall, and at this spot?

Like the name of the skill, the shot had found true, catching Vayne before she could make it back to safety!

Shallow Dream had pinnacle-tier reflexes. In the last instant before Ezreal’s ultimate skill stole away that final scrap of her health, a Barrier was thrown up around her!

That Barrier absorbed almost the entirety of the damage from Ezreal’s perfectly deployed ulti, leaving behind a nearly imperceptible sliver of health.

Vayne had just barely managed to survive!

A chill ran down her spine. That ulti had very nearly caught her by surprise, and even an expert player like Shallow Dream had almost failed to react in time. If not for her having kept that card up her sleeve this whole time, Ezreal would have ended her life right then and there.

“Holy crap! She’s still got her Barrier?” Lin Dong nearly fainted dead on the spot!

Ezreal had used his ultimate skill with flawless precision, and still it had failed to kill Vayne!

Even more incredible was that, during the fierce battle earlier, where Vayne had quite nearly been slain by Ryze, she’d still held on to her Barrier. Surely no one could be that thrifty with their resources!

Earlier, Luocheng had spotted Vayne on his minimap. Perhaps she’d still needed just that little bit more gold so she could get something, and that was why she’d farmed a few more minions before disappearing back to her side of the map.

Coming away from the fight, Luocheng had half-guessed, half-deduced where Vayne might have retreated to before beginning to Recall. With the mana he’d restored through leveling up, he’d been able to fire off his ultimate skill…

… and it had hit—but it hadn’t killed her.

He watched as Vayne began to Recall again, untroubled. He had Ezreal do the same.

It took eight seconds to finish performing a Recall. Luocheng continued to watch Vayne the whole time, the ghost of a smile upon his lips.

(Translator’s Note: Er… but how can he still have vision of Vayne for eight whole seconds, behind enemy lines…)

He’d more or less figured out who she was.

With the two chance encounters they’d had previously, as well as this duel face-to-face, Luocheng had been able to observe her ADC play-style and tendencies. The final clue, which had allowed him to arrive at this conclusion, had been that Barrier at the end.

That level of discipline and precision, which allowed her to retain her cards until the last possible moment… it reminded him of a certain someone.

***

After picking up some items back at base, Luocheng brought Ezreal back to lane. At that moment, Vayne should be doing the same.

He’d managed to strip Vayne of her Barrier at the end of their first battle. Would their next one also be a fast and frenetic all-out brawl?

Even Luocheng couldn’t wait to find out!

In all the time he’d been playing LOL, this was the first time he’d felt his fingers positively quivering with excitement!

“That style distinctly reminds me of somebody…” As he returned to his lane, he murmured this thought aloud.

“You know who that is?” Lin Dong gasped.

There could only be a handful of people who were able to fight Luocheng to a standstill like this. Furthermore, based on what she’d said, she was probably a pro-gamer of some international acclaim, since she’d stated that she was entitled to challenge Hawk to a duel.

Lin Dong and Xiao Bei had been wracking their brains trying to figure out the true identity of the player called Shallow Dream.

It had to be a professional player who’d switched from DOTA to LOL, but they couldn’t think of anyone whose username had anything to do with a ‘Shallow Dream’, and famous pro players generally never changed their IDs.

“I’m mostly certain, but let me observe a while longer…” Luocheng didn’t actually provide a name, because the person he was thinking of was quite a special case.