"Holy shit, are these people cursed? Whatever I say just comes true?"
"Shut the hell up already! Is your mouth fucking blessed or something? How are you making prophecies like that?"
PPGOD was completely numb.
He had gone roaming all over the map, chasing the enemy jungler around, and had only just returned to bot lane when he was forced to burn his Flash too. The most outrageous part was that someone had literally just muttered that exact scenario in his ear. You couldn't even script a performance like this.
Poor Ziggs, poor Ziggs, poor Ziggs.
What heavenly law had V5's new AD violated to deserve TES hunting him down like this? Too miserable.
My support abandoned me, my enemies surrounded me, and the viewers had no faith in me, but I still hadn't given up hope. V me 50 for a meal, and I'll slowly tell you about my grand plan for revenge.
All he could say was, welcome to the LPL!
Having realized that bot lane was cursed, PPGOD stopped being polite with Luo Zhen. In this shitty situation, he couldn't even soak experience while staying bot, so he might as well keep roaming for opportunities. Luo Zhen had only just welcomed his support back when he had to watch him leave again moments later.
"Diao Shen, don't go, Diao Shen! What am I supposed to do if you leave?"
"Deal with it. Bot lane is Jail Time anyway, so I might as well go look for opportunities."
"No, at least stay with me until Level 6. At this level, I can't even clear jungle camps."
"Good luck."
Listening to those heartless words, Luo Zhen knew that the only person he could rely on now was himself.
In that case...
He could only use that.
"Diao Shen. Do you believe in the future?"
"Huh?"
"I really admire the first person who believed in the future."
"You might suddenly die during the Laning Phase."
"This game, once my items come online..."
"I will definitely return for revenge."
"People always find a way to get through their weak periods."
"One last time."
"Time will accelerate."
Ba Ge's Rule
Under-Tower God of War
Nasus Bar Optimism
Angel Bar Persistence
Gwen Bar lewds
Cho'Gath Bar moderator
Skarner Bar rework
Volibear Bar build
Pig
Dog
Chicken
"My words end here."
"Made in Heaven."
"In the name of Anti-Bar, I command the enemy to retreat."
To be countered...
I Want to See Everyone Smile
Over the next few minutes, Luo Zhen put on a textbook demonstration of soaking experience.
Combining the teachings of Nasus Bar with the patience of Angel Bar, then adding the vision-blocking and tower-stealing experience of Tryndamere Bar, Master Yi Bar, and Twisted Fate Bar, Ziggs' horizons were instantly broadened. Luo Zhen no longer obsessed over every single wave of minions. Instead, he focused on secretly soaking experience until he reached Level 6.
He had done the math in his head.
Since bot lane was not the tactical core of this game, as long as he developed normally and did not fall behind in levels, the gold he lacked early could be made up through the team's Upper Area economy. Even if that was not enough, he would definitely be needed to clear Side Lanes with his ultimate in the mid game.
In other words, he could make his push in the mid game and recover his gold then.
Having figured that out, Luo Zhen decisively gave up early-game gold. Over the next few minutes in bot lane, TES' bot duo was surprised to find that the opposing Ziggs ADC had suddenly vanished. Only when they pushed the wave under tower would Ziggs abruptly appear from around a corner, throw out a full QWE combo, and run away. At most, he would wait at maximum range for a Cooldown and toss out another Q, but he refused to take even a single step beneath his tower.
This playstyle directly broke support Zhuo.
This was no longer a matter of whether his hooks were good. It was the terrifying situation where the enemy did not even intend to let him see a hook target. At this moment, Luo Zhen was like Wu Yi from Three Kingdoms Kill: the entire internet searched for Wu Yi, yet he had already departed with another unit!
This kind of play left not only TES stunned, but even the commentators and viewers outside the match gaping in disbelief.
Was this Ziggs... a little too Steady?
If AK had appeared in Hou Ye's era, there probably would not have been any Hou Ye left.
I can practically see V5's two bot lane towers being defended, but if he plays like this, is he really giving up all early-game gold?
Who gives a damn about gold? As long as they delayed TES bot lane's tower push, that was enough. V5's top lane was practically killing its way through the game already.
Looking only at bot lane, Luo Zhen's situation was indeed miserable.
Ziggs and Aphelios were not even in the same league when it came to CS count. One last-hit whenever he could, while the other farmed without pressure. But in bot lane, Ziggs alone was tying down both the enemy ADC and support.
PPGOD was practically roaming wild in the Upper Jungle.
He helped mid push waves, assisted the jungle in catching people, and joined top in Stacking Minions for tower dives, fully displaying the value of a roaming support.
Top laner Qing Tian had never experienced anything like this. He immediately started AFKing in the Depressed Bush.
TES could no longer sit still.
For a jungler, watching the enemy composition gain momentum was even more painful than watching his own composition's tempo Collapse. TES could not wait to interrupt V5's rhythm, so they set their sights on the First Herald.
With bot lane holding priority to push first and recall first, TES' bot duo pushed out their wave and recalled at 7:30.
Just as they prepared to fight V5 to the death in the Rift Herald fight, V5... decisively changed their Formation Array again.
They did not take the Rift Herald. They went straight to bot lane.
"Not bad, Xiao Zhen. You actually managed not to die even once. How did you do it?"
Karsa's eyes were filled with approval, along with a trace of confusion. As JKL's former teammate, he understood JKL's personality all too well. Normally, once JKL saw that your support was gone, he would definitely Tower dive you.
But the question was, why had Ziggs not died even once and barely fallen behind in levels?
Did the Rift also have Conqueror's Haki?
"Simple. Just read more books."
"Books? The Art of War or On War?"
"Neither. The books I read cover all sorts of things, but I summed them up in one sentence: one mountain fortress gets recruited, two jade pieces know sorrow and joy, three factions fight for the realm, and four monks head west."
V5 members: ???
V5 side's strategic idea was actually very simple: avoid fights like crazy in the early game.
Whether it was Graves, Corki, or Ziggs, all of them needed at least two items before they could make an impact, and their damage was relatively unstable. So they did not need to contest the Rift Herald fight. If they discovered that the enemy bot lane had recalled and five people were rushing it, they would swiftly rotate lanes and push towers around Ziggs.
If the Rift Herald charged through three plates, they would use their numbers and a shovel to scrape off three plates themselves. Then Ziggs would use one W. Aside from losing a little tempo because they did not have the Rift Herald, they would actually break even in gold.
This flexible approach of shifting their focal point was V5's only chance to defeat TES.
In a team, someone had to take on the Sacrifice Role.
If a novel wanted to stay close to reality, there was no way a single position could keep dragging four people along the entire game. Even if there was, it definitely could not be the AD position. An AD's duty lay in early-game team coordination, mid-game tower pushing, and late-game insurance. Although an AD could have their own ideas and make plays after the Three Item Set, in the early game, every action they took had to serve the team's interests.
Luo Zhen had withstood the pressure of the Laning Phase. Then, starting with this play where four players rapidly grouped up and worked with Ziggs to break the Bottom Tower...
The balance of offense and defense had already shifted.
The moment the glow of Level 6 finally appeared around Ziggs, Luo Zhen's expression turned solemn. Vaguely, he could even feel a chuunibyou power quietly blessing him from the void.
"Minna-san, I... never want to see anyone miss CS again! I want to see everyone smile!"
"So, watch closely!"
"My transformation!"
"Henshin!"
R Scientific Hellfire Cannon
An ultimate launched from the bot river, crossing nearly half the screen, swallowed most of the enemy minion wave that was about to enter the mid tower.
From the moment Ziggs gained his ultimate, his function underwent a tremendous transformation.
He changed from a Pea Shooter into a double-barreled shooter. Before, he could only defend one lane. Now, he could defend two!
"Why is this new V5's style so unpredictable?"
Unlike the joy on V5 side, TES was somewhat bewildered by V5's decisions.
Hadn't they said V5 placed enormous importance on Rift Herald fights?
Hadn't they said V5 focused more on Team fight coordination?
Where were they?
They were not at the Rift Herald at all. Where had they gone?
"There's actually another lane we can look at." Xiao Tian glanced at Graves' development on the scoreboard before adding, "At least they really did mainly play around Top Mid Jungle early on. It's just that their AD's style is a little... peculiar?"
"You could just say he's a coward."
"No, I don't think mere cowardice is enough to describe his performance."
A Carry Position who could restrain his own urge to develop, a Ziggs who had barely appeared in bot lane vision all game—this Starvation Strategy where only bombs appeared during the Laning Phase, but never the person throwing them, was something even he had only seen for the first time after so many battles.
So had this guy quit drugs or something?
This Is Infinite Cooldowns!
The Demacia Cup was a rather special tournament.
At this time, nearly every team had brought in new players or new coaches. The arrival of rookies meant that every team's tactics and playstyle needed to be reshuffled.
This was when coaches showed their value.
Just like Operators in Arknights.
When clearing the same stages, some Doctors could perfectly replicate the Sargon Devil, while others could only become Sargon's hungry "zero." Not only was their Formation Array a complete mess, but they had to copy other teams' homework to clear stages.
Looking at it this way, LPL coaches really were quite similar to Doctors in Arknights. After all, tactics across the world were mostly copied from one another.
Although Bai Seyueya was already considered a fairly reputable coach, when it came to quickly fixing a team's discipline and tactics, Hong Mi was still a cut above him. The difference this created was that TES found V5 always seemed to be one step faster, whether they swapped lanes or exchanged resources.
Faster macro, Steadier defense, and more cautious decisions.
It felt like an "Arknights Rookie" tackling Contingency Contract 8 with an entire Golden Brigade, while also bringing along all Three Illusory Gods and the Four Great Cornerstones—careful and serious in every possible way.
The most direct feeling these decisions gave TES was... they could not engage.
Hong Mi's cruelest move was this: he knew Karsa was still adjusting his form. Karsa could create tempo, but he could not keep creating tempo forever. So V5 would exert force early, then once the Laning Phase ended, Karsa could peacefully become a bodyguard.
Jarvan IV's EQ would be blocked directly, Gnar would build Rage and immediately use his ultimate to hammer them away. Without hard engage, the enemy could not push in at all against Corki and Ziggs' Pushing Ability.
As for the Elemental Dragon?
Give it up!
Rift Herald?
Keep giving it up!
Before you continue