Chapter 58: Advancing to the Semifinals — A Textbook Team Fight
On the big screen, Wu Yang and Fugui were still split-pushing the side lanes. At the dragon pit, the jungler and marksman were in their own red-side jungle, while Wall held his ultimate, stepping forward to periodically check the dragon’s health.
On the other side, BLUE firmly held the front vision of the dragon pit. However, even after getting the dragon to half health, they didn’t dare to commit to finishing it.
The stalemate lasted for nearly ten seconds. Wu Yang and Fugui were almost at the side-lane high-ground towers.
“The dragon still has half its health! Does BLUE choose to ignore the high ground and keep taking the dragon, or send people back to clear the waves? If they go back—BLUE chose to engage on Wall, who was checking vision! They’re going to force a team fight with VEX!!!”
The moment BLUE’s skills landed on Wall, Fugui’s teleportation shield was already applied to him. Simultaneously, Beyond used a displacement skill to exit the red-side jungle brush and began kiting with basic attacks.
“Million has teleported down and gave Wall a shield! Wall hasn’t fallen yet! However, BLUE’s dual carries have basically finished their items. Despite the gold gap, it’s currently a 5v4. Wall and Fugui are struggling to tank the damage!”
“Is Sea still not teleporting? He’s pushed down a high-ground tower and is clearing the next wave. Is this VEX’s team plan? Are they trying to stall 4v5 so Sea can solo the crystal?!”
“It’s likely too late to solo the crystal; there are still two nexus towers to clear. If the frontline team fight is lost, BLUE can end the game directly!”
“VEX is kiting and retreating. Wall is the first to fall! They’re retreating through the narrow choke point in the red jungle toward their own bottom-lane Tier 2 tower. BLUE doesn’t want to let the low-health Million escape; they’re continuing the pursuit!”
The narrow choke point in the red jungle was situated between three small monster camps. If several heroes were to pass through together, their positioning had to be very tight.
As the five members of BLUE passed through nearly half of the choke point, the three “fleeing” members of VEX suddenly turned around. The low-health Fugui sold an item and instantly bought a Guardian Angel, turning back into the fray.
The Guardian Angel was immediately triggered, and BLUE’s members instinctively stayed in place to “camp the corpse.”
A blood-red ripple enveloped the entire choke point. Dancing spider lily petals, accompanied by a shadow, projected onto the heads of the five BLUE members. It was the passive effect of the hero “Equinox Flower” (Higanbana)—within the ultimate’s range, enemy heroes receive a ‘Death Fear’ mark, reducing their dual resistances (physical and magic defense)!
“Sea has opened his ultimate to teleport in! The Equinox Flower’s ultimate mechanic is very unique; the passive ‘Death Fear’ marks stack. In other words, the more enemy heroes hit within the ultimate’s range, the more resistances are shredded!”
“But the Equinox Flower’s ultimate range is actually quite small. I’ve rarely seen an Equinox Flower hit five people in a pub match, let alone on a professional stage!”
“VEX intentionally lured BLUE to chase them through here! This time, it’s Million’s turn to ‘enter the game with his own body’!”
The moment the Equinox Flower descended, a river of blood pierced through the choke point—the Q skill, a 0.5-second stun plus magic damage!
All five members of BLUE were trapped in the choke point, simultaneously taking damage from the blood river. With their resistances shredded, their health bars dropped by a quarter in an instant.
During the 0.5-second stun, Beyond and Land had already closed the distance to follow up with damage. Another line of blood precisely linked to BLUE’s marksman—the W skill, slow plus continuous health drain!
Manager Li watched the instantaneous reversal of the team fight on the big screen. The paleness of his face from seeing Wall fall was replaced by a vibrant flush of excitement. He kept shouting something: “HOLY SH*T!!! WU YANG!!! HANDSOME!!! THAT WAS INSANE!!!”
His shouts merged with the nearly voice-breaking cheers of the VEX fans in the audience. Zuo Chi’s eardrums were under assault. On one hand, the volume from the crowd was incredibly loud; on the other, his own heart was pounding like a drum, beat after beat, thundering in sync with the match footage on the big screen.
The five members of BLUE were like they were stuck in a swamp. By the time the stun ended, their only options for retreat from the choke point were using displacement skills over walls or walking backward.
But if they retreated, the dragon would be lost, one high-ground tower was already gone, and they might not even be able to get away…
“BLUE chose to continue the fight with VEX! They’re focusing their fire to melt Sea’s Equinox Flower—ZHONYA’S!!! Sea used the Golden Body (Zhonya’s) to absorb two key skills and didn’t die!!! Land has entered to clean up! BLUE’s dual carries are down instantly!!!”
“Beyond is unstoppable!!! He’s chasing down BLUE’s remaining frontliners. KILLED!!! A 2-for-5 ACE!!! Sea’s Equinox Flower was like a god of death, hitting five people and maximizing every CC and damage skill. Finally, the Zhonya’s baited out BLUE’s key skills, deciding the game!!!”
“They can push the crystal!!! Let’s congratulate VEX in advance!!! After a grueling five-game set, they win 3-2 and advance to the Semifinals!!!”
“VEX, the undisputed number one dark horse of the Spring Split!!! This five-man squad, formed and polished just before the Spring Split, hasn’t stopped their ascent to the throne—the camera is on the coaching bench. VEX’s manager looks ecstatic, shaking Coach Zuo’s shoulders in celebration!”
“Speaking of Coach Zuo Chi, this young coach has repeatedly injected fresh blood into our league. Whether it’s picking off-meta heroes or introducing brand-new macro strategies, his final pick of the roaming composition today, combined with the players’ execution, created a textbook-level team fight!”
The cubs couldn’t hide the smiles on their faces. After a group hug, they quickly packed up their peripherals and practically ran toward the coaching bench.
Wu Yang was the first to arrive. The boy, who hadn’t even cried when his parents called, was now in tears. With a trembling voice, he said, “Coach Zuo, I did it. I didn’t let the brothers down—”
“You didn’t let yourself down.”
Fugui laughed from behind: “Yo, Wu Yang is crying! Come on, let Big Brother see what you look like crying~”
Wu Yang cursed with a laugh: “Scram!”
Beyond looked like he was suffering from physical exhaustion, walking slowly while rubbing his eyes, but the smile on his face wouldn’t go down. Wall supported him, the veteran’s footsteps three times lighter than usual.
Ning Luzhao was the last to walk over—for no other reason than the other cubs had run off too fast, leaving their water bottles behind in the arena.
Ning Luzhao carried his peripheral bag, holding his own water bottle and the four bottles belonging to his teammates.
Zuo Chi was quickly surrounded by the cubs, countless hands reaching out to hug him—one-sided hugs, as his phone was ringing non-stop. Coaches from WIN and LTY were sending congratulations on WeChat, Fang Tong was contacting him about the streaming contract, and President Zhang was calling.
In the middle of the crowd’s embrace, he struggled to answer the phone, turning the volume to max, yet he still couldn’t hear President Zhang over the cheers and the roar of the audience.
“President Zhang, it’s me.”
“Today’s match was played… satisfied… Coach Zuo… Wu Yang… starters… contract… salary…”
“What??? I can’t hear you, President Zhang! It’s too loud! I’ll call you back once we’re backstage!”
By the time he was sweating from the heat, the cubs’ initial excitement had passed, and they withdrew their hands.
“We’re in the Top 4, Coach Zuo! We’re in the Top 4!”
Zuo Chi nodded: “We’re in the Top 4.”
Fugui: “Coach Zuo, you’re way too calm! Get hyped with us!”
“Calm? My heart rate could probably break 180 right now.”
“Is that so? Let me hear—”
He was pulled back a step by Ning Luzhao grabbing his wrist. The other was still holding the five bottles, but he had managed to free a hand to pull him.
“Coach, I…”
Zuo Chi gave him a hug. The team jacket was a bit cool and carried a faint, pleasant scent of the laundry detergent they all shared. “I know. You haven’t had your celebratory hug yet. I’m making it up to you.”
The bottles in Ning Luzhao’s hand clattered against each other as he hugged him back, his grip quite firm.
“It’s their fault for not taking their own bottles.”
“You should have just taken your own and made them run back for theirs,” Zuo Chi said with a light laugh. “Let’s go, back to the lounge. I didn’t hear a single word President Zhang said on the phone; I need to call him back—I bet he’s throwing us a celebratory dinner tonight.”
At the mention of a “celebratory dinner,” the cubs all started shouting about how hungry they were, ushering him toward the backstage.
Zuo Chi reminded them to stop by BLUE’s lounge to say hello to Storm and the others while he dialed President Zhang back.
President Zhang was concise. His first sentence was a compliment on their performance today.
His second sentence stated that even if the Heavens fell, this team would not be split up for the Summer Split.
His third sentence was about raising their salaries to the top tier and letting them pick the endorsement deals they liked.
His fourth sentence was about tonight’s dinner: “Pick any restaurant in all of Nancheng tonight, order whatever you want. Send the bill to me; I’m paying!”
“President Zhang is the best!”
“As he should be. I got tired just watching five games on the stream, so I can only imagine how you feel. Relax and eat well. Don’t worry about saving me money!”
Zuo Chi hung up. They had just reached the door to BLUE’s lounge. The door was open, and the BLUE players were packing their things inside. Seeing them, they immediately stopped what they were doing and came out to greet them.
Storm put an arm around Wu Yang’s shoulder. “Today’s match was very satisfying. Your Equinox Flower play in that last game was incredible—have you considered coming to our team? In the future—”
Zuo Chi maintained a smiling face, while Wu Yang looked wary.
“Just kidding, just kidding.” Storm cleared his throat. “Anyway, congrats on making the Top 4. We’re definitely coming to watch the Semifinals. You have to make it to the Finals and represent the Hua Country region in the World Championship!”
“From your mouth to God’s ears,” Zuo Chi said with a smile. “Land and I will stop by your place tomorrow morning. That works, right?”
“Works, works! See you tomorrow!”
Translator’s Note: “Million entering the game with his own body” is such a classic esports trope for a tank player! That Equinox Flower (Higanbana) ultimate stack sounds absolutely broken in that choke point.
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