Chapter 422: Dark Omen

Throughout the arena, everyone in the audience was craning their necks to peer up at the screen.

“Huh, Mars of Team Sky went in too soon. Obviously the two Daemons players were ready for him, so he got deleted right away. Looks like Blood Eagle will have to call off this gank—oh, not good… Blood Eagle is going in anyway! He’s Stunned Belial’s Amumu, and then one skill combo is enough to finish the kill!”

Blood Eagle was playing very aggressively. Although one of his teammates had already fallen, he’d still dared to attack.

Still, one couldn’t help but be impressed by Pantheon’s early-game damage. A single skill combo had been enough to do in an Amumu at half health. Even Charon’s Renekton, up in the Top lane, took grievous harm from each use of Pantheon’s E-skill ‘Heartseeker Strike’.

Gravely wounded, Pantheon circled around the stone wall as he fled. Charon’s Renekton caught up with him just as he reached the tribush.

Renekton still had maybe half his health left, whereas Pantheon had just about run out of health and mana. It was the end of the line.

Renekton dove into the tall grass, only to smack head-first into a metal shield. This was followed by a skill combo, which brought Renekton down to critical health as well.

He’d pushed boldly into the brush like that, because he’d been sure Pantheon wouldn’t be able to kill him off with a skill combo. Nevertheless, Charon was alarmed by the critical damage he’d taken from Heartseeker Strike.

“You’re dead, now!” Charon cackled.

That had cost Pantheon the last of his mana, and he had no hope of defeating Renekton with basic attacks alone. Meanwhile, Renekton’s E-skill was about to come off cooldown. With that, he’d be able to lunge in, unleash a skill combo of his own, and bring an end to Zhao Tinghua!

“Zhao Tinghua stuck his neck out too far, this time!” Lin Dong muttered from beneath the stage. “There was no need to go in just now—sure, he managed to take down Amumu, but now he’s going to get killed in exchange. Never mind that counting as an Assist for Amumu, it’s also a Shut Down on him. Big mistake!”

That was the truth of it. Tinghua had been too reckless, this time.

“That’s right. He’s all out of mana,” Wu Sen observed. “If he still had mana, he could try to drag out the fight a moment longer and maybe come out of this on top.”

They watched as Tinghua’s Pantheon came round the corner and rushed for the nearby minion wave. Depleted in both health and mana, he was as good as dead.

Then he stopped, and turned around to deal a basic attack to Renekton.

The crowd was stupefied. Even if he was done for, he could at least die with some dignity! To have the gall to strike Renekton now!

Charon’s Renekton naturally hit him back, deciding to just finish the job right then. After all, Pantheon was one last basic attack away from death.

But it was at that exact moment when Pantheon regained the use of his Barrier, which he used to absorb the damage from that attack.

No matter. One more Q and he’d be dead.

Charon hit Q to use ‘Cull the Meek’, but Tinghua was even faster with his Flash, just managing to dodge the skill.

“It’s no use!” Charon remained untroubled by Tinghua’s Flash dodge, because ‘Slice and Dice’ would very soon be ready. With incoming enemy minions to serve as stepping stones, he’d be able to dash twice!

Meanwhile, after Flashing into the minion wave, Pantheon even stopped to cut down a wounded minion!

As that minion fell, some kind of energy swirled up around him, and a little of Pantheon’s health and mana was restored!

Despite having regained only that infinitesimal wisp of mana, Pantheon whirled around and used his Q-skill to hurl a spear forth!

The tables had turned!

Renekton was already lunging in, and the spear caught him in mid-air, somehow doing exactly enough damage to reduce his health to zero!

Renekton fell!

No one in the audience had expected that Renekton would be the one to go down in the end!

Cries of shock rang out across the hall, because Zhao Tinghua’s god-like skills had brought every LOL player to the verge of collapse, ready to fall on their knees in worship!

“Oh my god!” Da Luo and the fellows beside him stared with their mouths agape.

That situation just now… even a child could tell that Pantheon, out of health and mana, should have met his end there!

But that unbelievable play had flipped everything upside-down!

At critical health and zero mana, an enemy in pursuit, he’d Flashed over to the minions and killed one for himself—thus levelling up and regaining just enough mana for another Spear Shot, which had been enough to cut down Renekton, also already badly wounded!¹

Pretty much everyone playing LOL would just flee in blind panic when they were near death. Flash would only be used purely to get away. Who on earth would think of Flashing over to last-hit a minion, so that they’d just manage to level up, thus regaining just enough mana to strike back?

That was a Double Kill. After seeing that, it was a long while before the audience settled down again. Meanwhile, the vanquished Charon continued to stare blankly at his screen, uncomprehending.Read more chapter on vipnovel

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To be able to keep track of one’s experience bar while running for their life… what’s more, being able to come up with the idea of Flashing over to last-hit a minion, level up, get some mana back, and then retaliate…

This latest death he’d suffered had left Charon utterly defeated.

For some inexplicable reason, after this latest demonstration of Tinghua’s puissance, every team which had an upcoming match against Team Sky was now feeling the chills.

An opponent like him was too much to handle!

***

Team Daemons lost the second game as well.

Pretty much everyone was of the opinion that they’d lost the first game due to some major mistakes in their Bottom lane, after which it had been downhill all the way.

Team Daemons had been expected to get something back in the second game, but Tinghua foiled these predictions by carrying the whole game single-handedly, starting with a magnificent Double Kill up in the Top lane, which he’d used to help his team secure a dominating advantage in all the lanes.

Pantheon Junglers were occasionally seen in regular games, but they were a rare sight in serious competitions.

Zhao Tinghua was the first to use Pantheon in the LPL. He wreaked havoc from Top to Mid, and then used his ulti to crash down on the Bottom lane, halting the enemy’s momentum. No one could stop him, and in the end Team Daemons lost the series to Team Sky with a score of 0 to 2.

In years past, Team Sky had always lost to Team Daemons, and that’s what everyone had gotten used to seeing. This year, Team Sky had suddenly become an overpowering juggernaut, capable of beating even Team Daemons 2-0. It was an unfathomable turn of events.

After sitting through both games, Wu Sen, Lin Dong, Zhou Yan and Da Luo could all feel a sense of dread weighing down upon them. Zhao Tinghua’s return to Team Sky was a dark omen upon the horizon.

They’d faced Team Sky the previous year, and the only thing that could be said about them was that they were a step up from Team Revelation. Tinghua’s addition to the team had changed things completely. Every player on Team Daemons was someone to be reckoned with, and their teamwork was nothing besides impeccable—and yet, they’d lost to Team Sky.

Team Sky’s performance this year had exceeded everyone’s expectations—including Team Skycrown, who had been planning to wipe the floor with them.

Currently, the team with the highest total score was Team Sky, with perfect 2-0 victories across the board.

Team Skycrown would be going up against Team Beijing again the next day. Looking at the tournament schedule, their next opponent straight after that would be Team Daemons!

If they could triumph against Team Daemons, they would also hold one of the top scores in this stage, ultimately leading to a grand showdown against Team Sky in the LPL finals!

The LPL tournament was like a mountain. In the end, only two teams would meet at the very peak.

Currently, Team Sky was on an unstoppable charge for the top. Team Skycrown would definitely be making their way up there, too—where they would kick the other team right back down again!

***

Back at the hotel, the Team Skycrown players didn’t find Luocheng waiting in their room.

“Let me try and find him.” Lin Dong threw on a coat and went out.

One phone call later, Lin Dong found him in a garden nearby, sitting beneath the dusky light of a street lamp.

“What’s up?” Lin Dong asked in bewilderment, walking over to him.

“Nothing. My little sister just paid me a visit.” Luocheng shook his head, as though to cast away his worries.

“She wants you to go back?”

“Something like that. How did the match go?”

“Daemons lost. Both games.”

“They lost both games?”

Luocheng was startled to hear this. From what he understood of Team Daemons, not even Tinghua’s dramatic power boost could have caused them to lose so completely. Team Daemons had flawless teamwork, and there should be no team that could prove their equal. It wasn’t just a matter of skilled individual players, but moreover a seasoned, measured sort of temperament which other professional players lacked.

Lin Dong gave a general outline of how both games went. Luocheng frowned, his expression sober.

“Originally, I thought that after taking down Team Sky, we’d be facing Team Daemons in the finals,” he said. “To think that Team Sky would be the final opponent this year…”

The feud between their two teams could only be settled in an official match, anyway. What Luocheng didn’t get was how Team Sky had suddenly become so powerful.

“I asked around, and word is that Xu Pingyang spent a pretty penny bringing in some trainers from abroad,” Lin Dong said. “Then he threw down some more money so that the Team Sky players had to train day and night. He’s going all out to get first place this year, because he’s eyeing the position of secretary-general of the Ace League.”

The Ace League was a major organization in e-sports. If Xu Pingyang managed to claim the highest position of secretary-general, e-sports would take a downturn in the eyes of the world.

Making money was important, but so was maintaining professionalism. There were some people who milked something only while it was profitable, and then tossed it aside without a second thought, leaving behind an unsalvageable mess. For the players of Team Skycrown, who hoped to find a lasting future in the world of e-sports, this was an unimaginably bleak prospect.

Xu Pingyang could not be allowed to bag the position of secretary-general of the Ace League. Yu Luocheng would absolutely never allow it!

“What an adorable dream he has! As long as I’m here, Sky Club will never lay their hands on first place!” Luocheng declared.