You Call This Steady

To know what's about to happen is to know what you need to do next. Rookie and Karsa understand this rhythm perfectly. At around the six-minute mark, the jungler helped push the mid lane, and then they both feigned a move downwards to create lane priority for the bot lane, aiming to get the right to push and recall first.

Since the top side of the map was almost entirely abandoned, V5 didn't dare to venture into the top jungle for vision if the bot lane wasn't there. So, why not just relieve the pressure on the bot lane first?

Luo Zhen was also happy to have some downtime. After returning home and updating his Noon Quiver, he directly led the support towards the Rift Herald.

As for whether the enemy bot lane would show up?

He could only say, "Whatever."

If the enemy bot lane didn't come, FPX would be completely blown out in the early game. Luo Zhen's side could directly swap lanes. Caitlyn and Lulu could pressure Renekton so much that he wouldn't dare to last hit, and with the addition of a jungler or mid laner, they could dive his tower in minutes.

But similarly.

Even if you added Viego to Jinx and Karma, what could you do about Ornn under my tower?

Absolutely nothing.

In terms of individual skill, Luo Zhen really couldn't do much against LWX. Even the brief advantage he had was borrowed from his teammates' momentum and his own surprise tactics. But there's a saying: aren't your teammates' strengths also your own strengths?

Wu Zetian proved that success has nothing to do with gender. Zhu Yuanzhang proved that success has nothing to do with background. Jiang Ziya proved that success has nothing to do with age. Jack Ma proved that success has nothing to do with looks. And Ghost proved that success has nothing to do with skill.

As long as you stick to the strong players, you can still win the S championship, right?

Besides, he wasn't a pure tag-along. It's just that Caitlyn is a rather awkward hero. If you want to see her turn the tide, it really has to be in the late game. In the early game, she's just a long-range utility champion who borrows momentum to push towers and take plates. Her long-range advantage is only for making it easier to pressure health and take plates in the early game.

However, since he was laning against a "darkened" LWX this game, even with Trundle providing such strong protection, Luo Zhen could only get two plates when he played at full strength.

"Fight, fight, fight! They'll definitely engage us this wave."

"Renekton is strong, can we keep an eye on Renekton?"

"Should be fine... Wait, their top laner isn't here. Did they go to the Herald position?"

"What the hell? That fast? I just left base."

Looking at the team compositions, neither side had much sustained damage or burst in the early game. It was purely a battle of team fighting and kiting. V5 was very confident in this regard because they had the double long-range threat of Azir and Caitlyn. But FPX also had their own ideas, because Renekton was very strong at this point in the game.

[Is it about to happen? Finally, it's going to start.]

[FPX is in a tough spot, right? With Trundle and Ornn zoning, it's hard to get in.]

[Let's see if Little Tiger can flank. If he can flank and cut down the double carries, they'll win. It'll be easier to kite with Karma.]

[V5 has Lulu, so the AD's damage output isn't on the same level.]

[It's fine, it's all just scratching damage at this point, it's just a matter of how much it stings.]

If V5 took the Herald this wave, Caitlyn's fast-pushing tempo would immediately be amplified by the Herald. Even if FPX didn't instantly collapse, they would be passively defending for a long time. Similarly, if FPX managed to steal this Herald, V5's early-game tempo would definitely be hampered, and Caitlyn's effectiveness would be greatly reduced.

Especially in the mid-game.

The mid-game was actually the weakest point for Caitlyn and Azir, but the strongest for FPX's Renekton and Viego. Once they let the enemy take the Herald and enter their rhythm, V5 would have to endure a whole period of "sitting in jail" during the mid-game.

"Give me a chance, let me solo-kill their AD!" Luo Zhen marked LWX on the enemy team, trying to liven things up.

"Forget it. Don't even mention Renekton, you can't even get past Karma. You're really young and fearless, daring to touch anything?" Karsa chuckled, hearing this. In terms of the competitive atmosphere, this new bot lane duo was at least much better than the previous one. At least PPGOD was just trash-talking; he'd still do what he needed to do, unlike some "ship-breaker."

"Afraid? Of course, I'm not afraid."

"Who is it? JKL, Viper, or GALA?"

"No, none of them. I'm more afraid of those from the Land of the Rising Sun, especially those surnamed Sotoda, Mikami, Shiraishi, Kawakami, Morita, Suzuhara, Momono, etc. They're practically bloodthirsty, with extremely cruel methods."

V5 members: ???

While chatting, both teams continued to kite each other. Meanwhile, PPGOD's Lulu frantically roamed nearby, placing wards and trying to catch Renekton flanking. Of course, Luo Zhen also had a premonition that the enemy Renekton might be in the bush above the river path in the enemy jungle, just a wall away.

As for why he had this premonition?

Because that's how he used to watch that person flank.

And so...

Several traps were quietly placed in the river area. Luo Zhen didn't bother to remind his teammates, because... what if his prediction was wrong?

"Hmm, is it happening again? Player AK's incredible danger sense?"

At this point, countless camera lenses were focused on the river. Caitlyn's two inexplicable traps caused the casters at the commentary desk to exclaim in surprise.

Because, in the bush not far away, just across the wall, Little Tiger's Renekton was indeed teleporting to that position, ready to engage at any moment.

[It's wallhacks, he must be cheating!]

[Why call him AK? Might as well rename him "Old Six." If he wasn't Old Six himself, how could he have placed two traps in this spot?]

[Holy crap, V5 is pushing forward, and FPX's teammates can't provide vision to see these two traps. It feels like trouble is brewing.]

[Stop talking, I can already imagine the scene.]

The moment the Herald spawned, V5 immediately started rushing it. Of course, during this time, the top and jungle laners kept their eyes on the enemy backline. On the surface, they were fighting for the Herald, but in reality, they were more interested in starting a team fight.

How to avoid being invaded?

It's simple.

Just kill everyone on the enemy team.

When the Herald was halfway down, FPX finally couldn't hold back.

The Renekton activated his ultimate early and used an explosive fruit to enter the fray. Viego then used his scorched earth ability, pushing towards the Rift Herald. Karma, acting as the team's lubricant, directly cast her ultimate and an ability to grant group-wide acceleration. In that instant of coordination, FPX's offensive appeared quite fierce.

Then...

Upon landing, Renekton saw two traps placed before him, firmly blocking him from V5's backline.

???

Little Tiger: "Holy crap, how are there two traps!!!"

PPGOD: "Holy crap, trapped!"

"Trapped your ass, hurry up and polymorph, hurry up and polymorph!" Luo Zhen was dying of anxiety. He truly hadn't expected this damn Renekton to actually be here. He was the closest to Renekton, and Lulu's polymorph had a casting animation. If he was even a little slow, he'd be screwed this wave.

His nerves stretched to the breaking point, he forcibly stopped Little Tiger's E skill dash after landing, changing it to a Flash directly over the two traps. But in that split second of reaction time, with the forced halt and on-the-fly adjustment, V5's backline had enough time to respond.

Lulu polymorphed.

Caitlyn's EW followed up with crowd control.

Renekton, who had entered the fight in a rage, was firmly controlled in place by Luo Zhen and PPGOD before he could even unleash his power.

The bottom lane duo alone was enough to keep the entering Renekton in check, while Rookie continued to focus on the front line. His mission was to create a battlefield split in the front.

"This is bad!"

The moment LWX realized the coordination between front and back had gone wrong, he felt the tempo was already out of control. What made it even more troublesome was that as they charged forward, attempting to force their way through, V5's counter abilities appeared.

E [Pillar of Ice]

Suddenly, a magical pillar forcefully interrupted the acceleration buff granted by Karma.

It wasn't over yet.

Ornn's Call of the Elements struck, briefly splitting the river terrain and simultaneously lifting Viego, who had entered the fight with his E skill.

Trundle's Smite landed!

[Red team has killed the Rift Herald]

It's over!

Renekton's entry was blocked, and the jungler was lifted while trying to secure the objective. Now, there were only two outcomes.

Either run, or go all out. There was no third option.

And LWX chose to... pull the trigger!

At this moment, only Ornn was at the forefront for V5. At eight minutes and with a laning phase disadvantage, Ornn's equipment wasn't exactly tanky. Under the combined focus fire of Jinx and Viktor, Ornn's health was visibly dropping.

But...

On V5's side, they had more than just one skill that could split the battlefield.

A flash of yellow light streaked across, and in this moment of crisis, Rookie finally found the most opportune moment to engage.

Drift activated, [Wall of the Imperial Guard] charged forward.

A perfect ninety-degree arc, and then a fierce push, a line of Sand Soldiers appeared out of nowhere, dividing the entire river into two distinct areas.

Seeing this, Rookie finally curved his lips slightly.

"Apologies, my AD is still in the back dealing with some minor troubles, not receiving guests for now."

"Here, Accelerator!"

Chapter Thirty-Two: Believe in Your Potential

LOL is a team game.

Since Coach Homme joined V5 some time ago, he had been instilling this concept in the players. Undeniably, the "darkened" LWX was strong, but could he be stronger than the occasional burst of Rookie + Karsa working together?

To win a championship against a championship, I even have an MSI championship advantage over you.

As soon as the battlefield was split, LWX was immediately overwhelmed.

He could only watch as Renekton on the far side was kited to death by Caitlyn and Lulu. Gritting his teeth, he chose to lead his team to take the dragon. There was no way they were getting the Rift Herald this wave, so they had to cut their losses.

[Holy crap, Song!]

[This Renekton is so desperate, entering with an explosive fruit only to be blocked by two traps, I predicted your prediction?]

[If I were Little Tiger, I'd already be asking for a pause to have the ref check the player's computer, this is too ridiculous.]

[With this Rift Herald secured, Caitlyn is going to take off!]

Indeed, in his previous life, V5 didn't even make it past the group stage in the Demacia Cup that year, but you also have to consider who was playing for V5 back then.

Rookie and Karsa weren't playing, and the mid-jungle duo were from the second team. It was perfectly normal for them to lose, but now they have Rookie + Karsa, a gem V5 painstakingly picked up. They might not be able to match top-tier mid-jungle pairs in their current state, but can't they at least match Beichuan + Gori?

Don't underestimate them!

"Holy crap, Brother Yijin, you're my superman!!!"

This play made the entire V5 team emotional. The Sand Soldier formation spread out, covering a large portion of the river, directly turning the back into a situation of trapping the enemy. Although the great FMVP jungler, The Shoe King, once said: Rookie's Azir is invincible before level six.

But after level six, he seems to occasionally come back to life!

Hmph!

You wouldn't believe it, you can get three times stronger when you go dark, but I have teammates who can be five times stronger, you idiot!

With the Foremost taken, it was endless strategic play.

V5 wasn't in a hurry to deploy the Foremost either; instead, their bot lane duo immediately moved up. Caitlyn and Lulu began relentlessly harassing the outer turret plating of FPX's top lane. FPX didn't dare to engage and could only take the dragon before heading bot lane to chip away at turret plates.

But... V5 had Ornn.

Even though they were also taking turret plates, Ornn was brave enough to defend. By the time Luo Zhen had pushed down all the outer turrets in the enemy's top lane and returned to bot lane, their own inner turrets still had more than a sliver of health left, not destroyed.

The tempo then became very simple.

Mid and jungle rotated to bot lane to deploy the Foremost for the ADC to gain plating and push turrets. FPX didn't dare to defend. After pushing bot lane, they rotated to mid lane to chip away at plating, then, based on vision advantage, took the second Foremost to crash into the mid lane turret. V5's tempo was playing out very smoothly.

And it was during this period that Luo Zhen finally began to unleash his unique brilliance: Basic Mastery.

With a terrifying 650-range control, an incredibly absurd Q skill hit rate, and movement techniques that felt like dancing on a knife's edge, his Caitlyn maintained a relatively high intensity of output even during the most tedious kiting phases.

Well, although the damage didn't make it look that spectacular, under this slow, meat-grinding offensive, FPX's defenses gradually became weaker and weaker.

"This rookie, is he kidding me, at this point."

LWX muttered to himself, beginning to re-evaluate the opposing new AD. In the first three games, the opponent picking a utility AD had, at most, made him feel that they were steady and troublesome. But this Caitlyn now genuinely made him feel a hint of pressure.

The tempo was slowly being corrected, movements were becoming more concise, and the opposing AD was rapidly adjusting his state.

There was a feeling... of constantly refining his rhythm, of slowly growing stronger.

Rookie and Karsa also seemed to have noticed Luo Zhen's gradual improvement. Rookie even abandoned the minion wave in the bot lane, staying by the AD's side, his gaze on the screen controlling Azir growing brighter with anticipation.

"It's coming. Believe in your infinite potential. As long as you desire growth for a single moment, it will support you to blossom and bear fruit."

"This is the foundation of every star player!"

Backstage, Coach Homme stood up directly from his seat, his eyes wide as he watched Caitlyn's transformation on the screen.

Everyone who appears on the professional stage is, without exception, a genius.