NOVEL NEXT Chapter 67
No matter how huge the dam is, just a tiny crack smaller than a finger is enough to bring it down.
Although it may start as a minuscule crack, it can gradually widen and eventually swallow the whole dam.
However, no one notices the tiny crack when it first appears.
It’s only after things get a bit more serious—when signs of trouble begin to show—that people realize there’s a crack in the dam.
Thus…
If SY’s five members had relentlessly pressured our team from the start, winning this game would have been utterly impossible.
Even if the opposing team isn’t in their main position, it’s the same for our team, and besides, the tiers of the other team members, excluding Nightmare and me, topped out at just Dia.
In such circumstances, luckily, the opponents aren’t giving it their all right now.
No, they seem to be enjoying the game to the point it looks like they’re not even trying.
It’s not just because this is a normal game.
Just a moment ago, Jarvan was pounding the cannon like it was some sort of joke.
“I have to seize this opportunity.”
Sure, if you look at it calmly, our current situation isn’t very good.
The opponents are the complete SY.
The world’s strongest team.
In contrast, aside from Nightmare, our team’s tiers are at most just average Dia.
If I had to draw a comparison, it’s like the difference between a middle school soccer team and a national team.
The only slight difference is that two former players from the middle school team are playing alongside.
– Our team has been defeated!
– Our team has been defeated!
– Our team has been defeated!
In any case, as if to prove that overwhelming difference, the top and bot lane scored solo kills within moments of the game starting, leaving us with substantial losses.
On the other hand, the crack I initiated in mid is still weak.
Moreover, the extreme matchup between Raise and Yasuon cannot be easily overturned with just one kill.
However,
What’s important is that a crack has already formed.
The size of the crack doesn’t matter.
What matters is that it has definitely appeared.
“First, I’ll take out their jungler.”
I moved towards the enemy red side with Raise, using his ultimate.
As expected, the innocent Jarvan was jungle farming when he spotted me and Lee Sin. He couldn’t hide his surprise.
“The spear is missing.”
And then it was ridiculously easy.
The spear is a powerful offensive and survival tool for Jarvan.
With such a skill blatantly absent, even a GuineaPig couldn’t easily escape from here.
“Not using Flash?”
As Lee Sin and I kept chipping away at his HP, Jarvan was eventually forced to use Flash.
– Flash!
Of course, I had no intention of letting Jarvan go that easily.
The opposing Yasuon showed no signs of backup.
“Not a bad judgment.”
A brief chase ensued.
“Time for the spear to come back up.”
Jarvan’s spear is one of those broken mobility skills.
The flag and the spear.
Neither skill is a mobility skill in itself, so unless it’s interrupted by some special CC effects like knockbacks or charms, Jarvan’s spear will mostly activate.
Naturally, with Raise having root-based CC, it means he can’t easily interrupt Jarvan’s spear.
“If that’s the case.”
Then I just need to kill him first.
“He’ll try to jump over the wall with the spear. He won’t get away easily.”
I immediately pressed against Jarvan, continuously whacking him.
“Frustrating, huh?”
Legends of League is quite forgiving with physical contact mechanics compared to other AOS games.
So, while it usually doesn’t cause issues like getting stuck between the map or minions, it can briefly disrupt movement, just like now.
– Shwoosh!
Jarvan’s flag, barely reaching the wall, was planted on the other side, just as his spear struck.
However, when Jarvan finally reached over the wall, he was already a lifeless corpse.
The following EQ combo dealt a fierce smash to his back.
– Enemy defeated!
“Nice.”
I looked toward the mid lane.
Fortunately, I had pushed the mid lane earlier, so the line loss wasn’t too significant.
I turned to head back to mid, but Yasuon showed no signs of backing off.
No, he was outright going for the turret shield.
“Hmm.”
Is he really going for the turret shield?
Of course, Yasuon’s actions weren’t baseless.
Just when Lee Sin and I were about to pounce on Yasuon…
[⨷] [⨷]
[IlIIIIIllIlIll(Lee Sin) targets SY Rainbow(Sylas)]
[IlIIIIIllIlIll(Lee Sin) targets SY Rainbow(Sylas)]
Rainbow’s Sylas emerged, having firmly gripped the bottom lane’s momentum.
In a 2:2 situation.
Even though the enemy Sylas’s position was as a supporter, after getting two kills and returning from base, aside from being slightly behind in level, he was practically like a laner.
“If Sylas’s chains connect, our situation becomes very unfavorable.”
It’s not just about getting caught in CC; Sylas’s E skill and Yasuon’s ultimate would connect.
Yasuon’s ultimate isn’t just about responding to teammates’ airborn effects.
Without a minion wave, Yasuon, who is practically a tank, can suddenly close the gap to the enemy and gain an additional 50% damage reduction.
On top of that, the consumed passive would also recharge, making it no surprise to see numerous Yasuon mad moves cropping up.
“If he’s aiming for Lee Sin, there’s no guarantee Lee Sin will dodge his skills.”
As much as he’s been performing unexpectedly well, Dia is Dia.
It isn’t possible to ask for that level of detail-oriented skill during engagements.
Therefore, I intentionally took on the role of bait and stepped forward.
From a logical standpoint, it would be obvious what the opponents would target between the nimble Lee Sin and the lumbering Raise.
“Alright, give it a shot.”
From here on, it was purely a test of mechanics.
Whether they hit the skill shot or not.
And in that clash, Rainbow’s Sylas charged at me aggressively.
“If it’s Rainbow, he’ll Flash about a beat too late.”
True to my prediction, Rainbow immediately closed the distance with Flash and tried to pull off an E-W combo.
However, what Rainbow didn’t expect was that I read his movements.
“Moving left here.”
As the chains at such close range missed, a flicker of panic was evident in Rainbow’s movements.
That skill shot clearly had a strong sense of certainty.
Naturally, Yasuon, who was looking to join the fight through his ultimate, also came in late.
Soon, Sylas, who had used all his W and E skills, was left with nothing but a pathetic beatdown.
– Enemy defeated!
– Double kill!
In an instant, we took down both Sylas and Yasuon.
Meanwhile, the bottom lane, which had reversed to a 2:1 situation, began freezing the lane and torturing our bot lane carry, Yoon-ki, as if releasing all the frustrations of the match so far.
“Nice.”
The crack I first initiated is gradually widening.
I will now turn the massive fortress known as SY, which no one could break, into a sandcastle.
*
Often, the top lane is referred to as a lonely and solitary lane.
And in that top lane, Li Zhi-Xuan could only momentarily daze off.
He felt a strange sense of déjà vu from the recent skirmish in mid.
“What is this?”
Despite everything being different in position and champion, for some reason, he found the image of Raise overlapping with that of Prisoner.
That puzzlement was brief.
– Our team has been defeated!
“Ah.”
In the moment I got distracted by mid, I had fallen prey to a solo kill.
The opponent was SY Longbow.
Along with the team ace, MobyDick, he’s hailed as the world’s best bot laner. The price for my careless lapse was inevitable.
“…I must be out of my mind.”
Prisoner is dead.
Or rather, in a state where he can no longer play the game.
There was evidence supporting that notion.
“If he were in a state to play again, there wouldn’t be any reason for him to disappear like that.”
It was a given.
The first-ever 2000-rated jungler.
This wasn’t something you could undermine simply because Prisoner had yet to make his professional debut as an amateur.
Every pro had their days as an amateur.
When viewed in that light, Prisoner was the amateur with the greatest potential to reach the top.
In such circumstances,
Li Zhi-Xuan had reasons unrelated to rank games for playing normal games.
At first, it was just a wrong click,
The second time, it was half a resignation,
And finally, there was no reason at all.
“Ugh.”
The game continues.
Before long, Raise and Lee Sin, having invaded the enemy jungle, manage to take out Jarvan.
Soon, they score a significant victory in the mid skirmish against both Rainbow and TheOne.
It all felt like a picture.
And oddly familiar.
Where did I feel this sensation before?
It felt as if, despite being on the losing side, I was unknowingly turning things around.
Especially since the opponent was SY, who just defeated GRS to claim victory in the previous Red Cup.
“…….”
With Raise’s consecutive exploits, Li Zhi-Xuan felt a question he had kept in his heart slowly bubbling to the surface.
That shouldn’t be possible,
It can’t be,
It mustn’t be,
In the end, Li Zhi-Xuan could only spit out that question sitting at the back of his throat.
“……Prisoner?”