Chapter 46: Penta-Kill Marksman; 8-0-0, Beyond
“The bottom lane is untenable, and the top lane can’t find a rhythm. WIN is letting their marksman go to the mid lane to farm.”
“Having teammates around in the mid lane makes it safer, but if they do that, WIN’s bottom lane is wide open. Only the high ground tower is left.”
“With the bottom lane slaughtered, VEX invading the jungle is like walking into their own backyard. As soon as Pine showed his face in mid, VEX’s people squeezed into WIN’s jungle from the bottom. With Pine’s current ‘scratching’ damage, Million just has to stand there with his incredibly tanky hero, and Pine won’t be able to kill him even if he attacks for half a minute.”
“On the flip side, Beyond’s damage is terrifying now. No one on WIN can withstand it. Unless WIN’s top and jungle can find an opportunity to shut Beyond down, there’s no hope for the team fight.”
VEX didn’t lose their formation after entering WIN’s jungle. Fu Gui stayed at the very front to provide vision, Wall stood behind Beyond to prevent anyone from flanking, and Wu Yang used skills to clear every brush, ensuring a safe output environment for Beyond.
In the broadcast room, the commentator lamented: “VEX really doesn’t look like a team that was just formed before the Spring Split… they are too seasoned.”
“After skillfully establishing an advantage with the opening arrangement, the players have used their superior individual abilities to expand that lead. Now the problem is for WIN: do they give up half the jungle, or do they try to defend their Blue Buff?”
Land started on WIN’s Blue Buff as if no one were there. WIN was clearly unwilling to let it go, lingering around the buff, while Pine hid at the very back of WIN’s formation.
“WIN has no way to step up and contest the buff. After Land takes the Blue, VEX can collectively rotate to the mid lane to try and push the first mid turret—Beyond used a displacement skill to step forward and poke?! His Flash isn’t even up yet!!!”
The team fight was triggered instantly.
WIN saw the window where Beyond had no displacement and rushed toward his position all at once.
A sidestep, dodging a slow!
Stun was a targeted skill and couldn’t be dodged, but Wall timely gave Beyond a shield!
Fu Gui’s ultimate hit three people, and Wu Yang stood in front of him to block two skills. Beyond had time to retreat and pull back the distance.
Land used the Blue Buff as a springboard to jump into the middle of WIN’s crowd, heading straight for Pine. WIN’s formation broke; some wanted to continue diving Beyond, while others wanted to turn back and protect Pine.
Beyond had half health left! But WIN’s people could no longer touch him.
“Beyond wasn’t killed! WIN used almost all their skills in that wave and only managed to kill VEX’s mid-laner, Sea. But in this game, Sea is playing a mage-assassin who only provides supplementary control. The main damage dealer is Beyond!”
“Beyond starts kiting while attacking. His basic attack damage is huge! He took down the jungler in a few hits! Continues to displace forward, Q to break a shield, continues auto-attacking! Double kill! WIN has no front line left; they’re all dead! The back line has also been cut to low health by Land! VEX can continue to press the advantage!”
“Land is at low health but didn’t leave! He used his own life to stall WIN’s two carries from retreating! Beyond gets a triple kill!!! WIN has the marksman and support left. Can they leave?! Can they get away?! Quadra kill!!!”
“Only Pine is left!!! Pine has already run to the second mid turret!!! But Beyond dives straight in!!!”
“He takes the Penta-kill with a sliver of health!!! This is the first Penta-kill of the Spring Split!!! 8-0-0 at fifteen minutes!!! Beyond!!! A young rookie appearing in his first season!!!”
“Let’s congratulate VEX for ending the game in one wave!!! The biggest dark horse of the Spring Split has once again shown us the miracle of the weak defeating the strong in the knockout stage!!!”
1:0!
Massive red characters were displayed on the four large screens of the venue, and on the computer and mobile screens of every viewer watching the live broadcast.
A few seconds later, the camera panned over the faces of the players from both teams.
Surprisingly, the VEX players were very calm. There wasn’t much joy on their faces; they just took off their headsets with relaxed smiles and prepared to head backstage to rest.
On the other side, WIN’s Ma Song left the stage with an extremely foul expression, not waiting for his teammates behind him. Some of the other WIN players looked embarrassed, while others frowned in silence.
The moment Fu Yang saw WIN’s crystal explode, he picked up his phone and sent a WeChat message to Ning Luzhao.
[Fu Yang: Land-ge! VEX is too strong today. I’m watching the game with my roommates from the youth camp!]
[Fu Yang: Keep it up for the next game! Also… um, can you, can you tell Beyond-ge for me that I really like him? Our whole dorm is basically becoming his fans! Shy emoji]
The knockout stage followed a BO5 format, and the break between games was extended by five minutes. The players could go to the backstage lounge to drink water, eat, or discuss the tactical arrangements for the next game.
The VEX kids took a detour, first going to the coaching staff to surround Zuo Chi and Manager Li before heading to the backstage lounge.
Beyond had clearly been praised by his teammates since the end of the game. His face was flushed, and he looked like he wanted to bury his head in the ground.
However, there was only the praise of teammates on the field. Once they left the match area and the soundproofing was gone, the cheers of VEX fans throughout the arena could be heard.
Most VEX fans who came to see this match in person had initially come with the mindset of “viewing this as VEX’s last match.”
Beating LTY in the group stage was already considered incredible.
Now beating WIN? Beating a top-four team? Was it possible?
1:0, 8-0-0.
The VEX fans at the scene were caught off guard and dazed by happiness.
Even if they only took this one point today, they would enjoy this moment first!
“Beyond—OP—”
“VEX, do you dare to win two more games today and scare me to death!”
“Beyond!!! Look at the camera!!! Penta-kill marksman!!!”
Zuo Chi stood up and said leisurely, “Oh, our Penta-kill marksman isn’t too shy to speak, is he?”
As the words fell, the kids burst into laughter.
Fu Gui put his arm around Beyond’s shoulder as they walked backstage: “Aiya, what’s there to be shy about when you play well? Look at all those fans holding up their phones wanting to take a picture of you! Turn around and give them a smile!”
Wall was also cheerful and somewhat gratified: “Yeah, the fans came from all over to see the match. Some spent thousands on plane tickets just to see us win and take a few photos for a souvenir.”
“But, but I’m not very good at taking photos.” Beyond looked at him pleadingly, “Coach Zuo…”
The big screen in the venue happened to show the MVP screen for this round. In the picture, Beyond was holding his glasses frame, his smile obedient and shy, yet carrying a hint of confident and lively youthful energy.
This background was very good and looked great in photos.
Zuo Chi quickly held Beyond’s shoulders and turned him toward the audience.
Suddenly facing the flashes of phones and cameras from the stands, Beyond was stunned. Then, under the urging of his teammates, he turned red and awkwardly made a “V” sign with his hand.
“Beyond—so cute—”
After the photo was taken, Beyond fled in panic.
Zuo Chi checked the time; there was still enough for the kids to go back to the lounge, eat some fruit, and relax.
The tactics for playing WIN had been drummed into their ears many times before the match. Coupled with the fact that the kids performed exceptionally well in the first game and their morale was high, there was no need to put too much pressure on them at this time.
He would just briefly arrange the next game and discuss the BP.
Back in the lounge, with milk and fruit arranged, Zuo Chi saw Ning Luzhao typing on his phone with one hand while trying to grab a toothpick with the other. He tried for a while without getting a single one out, which made Zuo Chi laugh.
“Land, what are you looking at?”
Ning Luzhao looked up and tilted his phone screen so Zuo Chi could see: “It’s Fu Yang… the trainee the coach was interested in before. He messaged me saying he’s watching our game in the camp and asked me to pass a message to Beyond, saying he’s a fan of Beyond.”
“If I remember correctly, didn’t Fu Yang say he was a fan of both of us last time?” Zuo Chi raised an eyebrow, “It seems Beyond’s charm is greater…”
Beyond choked on his milk.
Zuo Chi felt that if he continued, Beyond would go up for the next game with a face as red as a monkey’s butt.
He stopped the teasing in time.
“Alright, alright, let’s talk about the next game. WIN will definitely make some adjustments. Starting on the side to catch them by surprise is likely impossible now.”
The kids stopped smiling and gathered around the whiteboard used for review in the lounge.
“Even though starting on the side won’t be easy, our strategy of attacking the bottom lane and aggressively targeting the marksman remains unchanged. WIN is used to playing with a top-jungle rhythm; they won’t be able to switch to a ‘Protect the Carry’ style overnight. At most, the mid and support will help Ma Song more.”
“Fu Gui, you’ll have to endure a bit and pick a tank to soak pressure again. If many people come to gank you and you can’t get minions, it doesn’t matter; just hide under the second tower.”
Fu Gui nodded: “Heh, what’s there to endure? I believe the brothers will definitely kill Ma Song faster than they can break me. I can take today’s match as a chance to practice soaking pressure. I can’t always play a warrior and just charge in blindly, right?”
“Then Land, I won’t say much about early-game shot-calling, but you can pay more attention to the river. WIN’s mid-laner is very likely to rotate to the bottom lane to help Ma Song after clearing the wave. You can camp the enemy mid-laner in the river a few times.”
“Mhm, I understand.”
“Wu Yang, want to have some fun with a Grand Mage?”
“Sure! I’ll follow Coach Zuo’s arrangements!”
“Wall, remember to control the team fights. Don’t let these kids get too carried away.”
“Finally, Beyond. Carry three games today and we’re in the top eight. Do you have confidence?”
Recommended Reads
![Enemies on a Narrow Road [Esports]](https://beereads.space/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/enemies-on-a-narrow-road-214x300.jpg)
