Only by knowing what was about to happen could they know what to do next. Rookie and Karsa understood this rhythm all too well. Just past six minutes, the jungler helped mid push the lane, then the two of them acted like they were heading bot to create lane control for the bottom lane, fighting for the right to push first and recall first.
Since the Upper Area had practically been abandoned, V5 did not really dare to enter it for vision if bot lane did not come over. They might as well free up the bottom lane first.
Luo Zhen was happy to take it easy. After recalling to upgrade his Noon Quiver, he immediately headed toward the Rift Herald with his support.
As for whether the enemy bot lane would come?
All he could say was, whatever.
If the enemy bot lane did not come, FPX's early game would instantly explode. Luo Zhen's side could simply swap lanes, and Caitlyn and Lulu could pressure Renekton so hard that he would not even dare last-hit under the wave. Add a jungler or mid laner, and they could dive his tower in minutes.
But likewise.
Even if you had Jinx, Karma, and Viego, could you do anything to Ornn under his tower?
Absolutely not.
In terms of individual skill, Luo Zhen truly had no way to deal with LWX. Even his brief advantages had come from riding his teammates' momentum and catching people off guard. But as the saying went: wasn't his teammates' strength also his strength?
Wu Zetian proved that success had nothing to do with gender. Zhu Yuanzhang proved that success had nothing to do with one's background. Jiang Ziya proved that success had nothing to do with age. Jack Ma proved that success had nothing to do with looks. And Ghost Emperor proved that success had nothing to do with skill.
As long as you hugged the right thigh, couldn't you still win a Worlds championship?
Besides, he was not really pure Scum. Caitlyn was just an awkward Hero. If you wanted to see her turn the tide, that had to wait until late game. Early on, she really was a long-range Utility Player who rode the momentum to push towers and collect Tower Plates. Her range advantage was only useful for applying HP pressure early and taking plates more conveniently.
But because he was laning against a darkened LWX this game, even with Trundle protecting him so thoroughly, Luo Zhen had gone all out and only managed to take two plates.
"Fight, fight, fight. They'll definitely contest us this time."
"Renekton is really strong. Can we keep Renekton under control?"
"Should be no problem... Wait, their top laner isn't here. Did he go to the Rift Herald position?"
"Fuck? That fast? I just left base."
Looking at the compositions, neither side really had much damage or Burst Damage early on. It was purely a test of team fighting and Kiting. V5 were very confident in that regard because they had Azir and Caitlyn's Dual Long Range. But FPX had their own ideas too, because Renekton was truly powerful at this point.
Was it coming? Were they finally going to fight?
This was hard for FPX to play, right? Trundle and Ornn were blocking the way, making it difficult to get in.
It depended on whether Little Tiger could flank. If he could get around and cut down the Double C, they could win. Karma would also make it easier to Kite.
V5 had Lulu. Their AD's damage was on a completely different level.
It was fine. At this point, everyone was dealing Scratching Damage. The only difference was whether the scratching hurt.
If V5 took the Rift Herald here, Caitlyn's Fast Push tempo could immediately be opened up through the Rift Herald. Even if FPX did not suffer a Sudden Death on the spot, they would be stuck passively taking a beating for a long time. Likewise, if FPX stole this Rift Herald, V5's Early Game Tempo would definitely be crippled, and Caitlyn's value would be greatly diminished.
Especially in the mid game.
The mid game was actually when Caitlyn and Azir were weakest, while FPX's Renekton and Viego were strongest. Once the enemy took the Rift Herald and entered their own tempo first, V5 would be in for an entire stretch of Jail Time during the mid game.
"Give me a chance to solo kill their AD!" Wanting to liven up the mood, Luo Zhen directly pinged the enemy LWX.
"Give it a rest. Forget Renekton, you can't even get past Karma. You really are young and fearless, daring to touch anything, huh?" Karsa could not help laughing. As far as the team atmosphere went, this New Bot Lane duo was at least much better than the previous bot lane. At least PPGOD only talked big but still did what he had to do, unlike a certain Gore Drinker.
"Scared? Of course I'm scared."
"Who? JKL, Viper, or Gala?"
"No, none of them. I'm more afraid of Japan, especially women surnamed Okita, Mikami, Shiraishi, Kawakami, Morita, Suzuhara, Momonogi, and the like. They kill without batting an eye, and their methods are extremely brutal."
V5 members: ???
While they chatted, both teams continued to Kite around. At the same time, PPGOD's Lulu frantically moved around nearby to ward, trying to locate Renekton's flanking position. Of course, Luo Zhen also had a feeling that the enemy Renekton might be in the brush above the enemy jungle path leading to top lane, just over the wall from them.
Why did he have that feeling?
Because in the past, he had watched that person flank like this.
And so...
A few traps silently landed near the river. Luo Zhen did not remind his teammates either. After all... what if his prediction was wrong?
"Hm, here it comes again? Player AK's inexplicable danger sense?"
At this moment, no one knew how many cameras were focused on the river. Caitlyn's two inexplicable traps immediately made the commentators at the Commentary Desk cry out in surprise.
Because in the brush not far away, just over the wall, Little Tiger's Renekton had indeed Teleported to that position and was waiting to enter at any moment.
X-ray Vision. He definitely had X-ray Vision on!
Why call himself AK? He might as well change his name to Old Six. If he were not Old Six himself, how could he possibly place two traps there?
Fuck, V5 are pressing forward. FPX's teammates can't give vision to see those two traps. This feels like trouble.
Say no more. I can already picture it.
The moment the Rift Herald spawned, V5 immediately started to rush it. Of course, throughout it all, top and jungle kept their eyes on the enemy Backline. On the surface, they were taking the Rift Herald, but in reality, they wanted to start a team fight even more.
How could they make sure the objective was not stolen?
Very simple.
Just kill all the enemy fish.
When the Rift Herald was down to half HP, FPX finally could not hold back any longer.
Renekton activated his ultimate early and auto-attacked the Blast Cone to enter the fight. Viego cast his burning ground and advanced toward the Rift Herald. Karma, the team's lubricant, directly used RE for AoE Haste. That instant coordination made FPX's offensive look incredibly fierce.
Then...
After landing, Renekton saw the two traps laid out before him, firmly cutting him off from V5's Backline.
???
Little Tiger: "Fuck, why are there two traps here!!!"
PPGOD: "Fuck, trap him!"
"Trap your ass, turn him into a sheep! Turn him into a sheep!" Luo Zhen was nearly dying of anxiety. He really had not expected that fucking Renekton to actually be there. Damn it, he was the closest person to Renekton! Lulu's polymorph had a cast windup. If it came out even slightly slow, he would be dead this fight.
His nerves stretched to the limit, Little Tiger forcibly stopped the E skill dash he had intended to use after landing and instead used Flash to blink directly over the two traps. But in the split second it took to force that stop and change plans on the fly, V5's Backline had already been given enough time to respond.
Lulu polymorphed him.
Caitlyn followed up with EW crowd control.
Renekton entered with Red Fury, but before he could even unleash his power, Luo Zhen and PPGOD had firmly locked him in place.
The bot lane duo alone was enough to keep Renekton under control after he entered. Rookie, meanwhile, continued focusing on the frontal battlefield. His task was the front line: find a way to split the battlefield!
"Damn it!"
The instant LWX realized the front and rear had fallen out of sync, he already felt the tempo slipping out of control. What made things even more troublesome was that at the moment they Charged Forward to force their way through, V5's counterplay appeared.
E [Pillar of Ice]
A suddenly magical pillar forcibly interrupted the acceleration Karma had granted them.
It was not over yet.
Ornn cast Call of the Elements, briefly splitting the river terrain apart while knocking up Viego, who had entered with his E skill.
Trundle's Smite came down!
Red Side has slain the Rift Herald.
It was over!
Renekton's entry had been blocked, and the jungler trying to Steal Dragon had been knocked up. There were only two outcomes now.
Either run, or force it. There was no third option.
And LWX chose... to pull the trigger!
At this time, Ornn was the only one standing at the very front for V5. At eight minutes, and with a Laning Phase disadvantage, Ornn was not particularly tanky yet. Under Jinx and Viktor's focused fire, Ornn's HP was visibly dropping.
But...
V5 had more than one skill that could split the battlefield.
A flash of golden light appeared. In this moment of crisis, Rookie finally found the best timing to enter.
He began drifting, charging forward with [Wall of the Imperial Guard].
A perfect ninety-degree arc, followed by a vicious shove. A row of Sand Soldiers appeared out of nowhere, dividing the entire river into two separate zones.
Only then did Rookie's lips finally curl into a slight smile.
"Sorry, our AD is still handling some minor trouble in the back. We're not receiving guests for now."
"This is a one-way street!"
Chapter 32: Believe in Your Potential
League of Legends was a team game.
Ever since Hong Mi had joined V5, he had been instilling this idea in the players. There was no denying that darkened LWX was strong, but no matter how strong he was, could he be stronger than the occasional explosion of Rookie and Karsa working together?
Champion against Champion, and I even have an extra MSI Champion over you.
The moment the battlefield was split, LWX was instantly numb.
He could only watch helplessly as Renekton on the far side was Kited to death by Caitlyn and Lulu. Then, gritting his teeth, he chose to lead his team to take the dragon. There was no point even thinking about the Rift Herald now. They should honestly Stop Loss.
Fuck, Song!
That Renekton was so desperate. He came down through the Blast Cone and immediately had his path sealed off by two traps. I predicted your prediction?
If I were Little Tiger, I would already be demanding a pause and asking the referees to inspect the players' computers. This is absurd.
With this Rift Herald taken, Caitlyn is about to take off!
True, V5 in their Previous Life had not even made it out of the Group Stage in that year's Demacia Cup. But you also had to look at who V5 had fielded back then.
Rookie and Karsa had not even played then. Their Mid-Jungle was directly their Second Team. Of course they could not win. But now they had Rookie and Karsa, two incredible bargains Pinxi xi had picked up for V5. Their form might not have been good enough to challenge the very best Mid-Jungle duos for now, but could they not beat Beichuan and Gori?
Don't underestimate us!
"Fuck, Brother Yijin, My Superman!!!"
That one ultimate had V5's entire team soaking wet. The Sand Soldier formation spread out and covered most of the river, directly turning the rear into a trap-the-dog-behind-closed-doors situation. Although the great FMVP jungler, The Shoe King, had once said: Rookie's Azir was invincible before Level 6.
But after Level 6, he seemed to occasionally rise from the dead too!
Hmph!
Didn't expect that, did you? You could darken and become three times stronger, but I had teammates who could become five times stronger, you bastard!
After taking the Rift Herald, it became an endless operation game.
V5 were not in a hurry to use the Rift Herald. Instead, they directly sent their bot lane duo to top. Caitlyn and Lulu began relentlessly chipping away at the Tower Plates on FPX's top outer tower. FPX did not dare come over and could only take dragon before going bot to collect Tower Plates.
But... V5 had Ornn.
Though both sides were taking plates, Ornn dared to defend. By the time Luo Zhen's side had destroyed the enemy top outer tower and returned to bot lane, their own bot tower still had over one bar of HP left. It had not been demolished.
The tempo became very simple after that.
Mid-Jungle moved bot to drop the Rift Herald, letting the AD take plates and push the tower. FPX did not dare defend at all. After pushing bot, they rotated mid to chip away at plates, then used their Vision Advantage to take the Second Rift Herald and crash it into the Mid Tower. V5's tempo was extremely smooth.
And during this period, Luo Zhen finally began to display the brilliance that belonged to him alone: Basic Mastery.
His terrifying control over his 650-range attacks, his outrageously high Q skill hit rate, and his footwork that felt like dancing on a blade's edge allowed his Caitlyn to maintain relatively high-intensity damage even during the dullest Kiting exchanges.
Well, the damage numbers did not make it look particularly shocking, but under this slow, flesh-cutting offensive, FPX's defense gradually appeared weaker and weaker.
"This rookie... you've got to be kidding me, at a time like this."
LWX muttered to himself as he began reassessing the enemy New AD. In the first three games, even when the enemy picked a Functional AD, at most Luo Zhen had seemed steady and troublesome. But this Caitlyn was actually making him feel a trace of pressure.
His tempo was slowly correcting itself, and his movements were steadily becoming cleaner. The enemy AD was rapidly adjusting his condition.
It felt like... he was constantly perfecting his rhythm, slowly growing stronger.
Rookie and Karsa seemed to notice that Luo Zhen's form was gradually improving as well. Rookie even directly gave up the bot lane minions and stayed by his AD's side. Before the screen controlling Azir, the anticipation in his eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"It's here. Believe that you possess limitless potential. As long as you desire growth for even a moment, it will support you as you blossom and bear fruit."
"This is the foundation of every Star Player!"
In the backstage area, Hong Mi stood up directly from his chair, staring wide-eyed at Caitlyn's transformation on the screen.
Without exception, everyone who could appear on the Pro Scene was a genius.
Before you continue