You Call This 'Steady'?

He fell into thought.

At this point in time, Jinx had two possible builds. One was Kraken Slayer, Runaan's Hurricane, and Lord Dominik's Regards. She already had damage at two items, and with three, her damage became quite impressive. She would initially gain the ability to Take Over the Game. It was the kind of build that let her show off.

But considering the enemy Kennen, Zoe, and Leona, this build had an extremely low margin for error. Still, because those champions existed, the viewers would be more accepting if she suffered Sudden Death. After all, without mobility, building Kraken Slayer really did make it easy to die.

The other was the Steady Style centered around Galeforce: Galeforce, Cannon, and Infinity Edge. The advantage of this build was safety. With Galeforce's dash and Cannon's range, Jinx could maximize her survivability.

But it had its drawbacks as well. Before Infinity Edge came out, this build couldn't hurt anyone.

Because that meant she had to consume more resources and take longer to give back to the team. And once Galeforce came out, the audience's tolerance for her mistakes would approach zero without limit.

Heaven lay to the left; hell lay to the right.

But...

Gale Force had been purchased.

From the moment he decided to step onto the competitive stage, he had already sealed off every so-called retreat route with his own hands.

Cliff

The entire early and mid-game situation resembled V5's first win: avoid fights, defend, then trade resources.

Although their opponents were the newly formed TES war machine of S11, no one could deny that TES possessed an unmatched aggression in the first fifteen minutes that other teams simply did not have. If V5 had insisted on running a composition that fought skirmishes head-on with them, then Mid-Jungle would have been the only pair capable of holding off that pressure. Betting on a Late Game Lineup was, in truth, a rather helpless choice.

Since Jinx had chosen Galeforce, V5's strategy had to be even more cautious.

Elemental Dragon, give it up.

Rift Herald, give it up.

Jungle? Decide whether to give it up based on how many people the enemy sent.

Then they used the moments when TES took Map Resources to demolish enemy towers. Through V5's effective Resource Exchange, their economic deficit before twenty minutes was barely held at 3,000. On TES's side, every outer tower except the Mid Outer Tower had fallen. V5, meanwhile, had lost their Mid Outer Tower to TES's two Rift Herald charges, but their side lane outer towers remained standing.

This was when Azir's advantage showed itself.

He could create towers.

Although the towers Azir created only lasted for a limited time, they could still slow the enemy's advancing tempo somewhat, allowing their Double C to continue farming safely.

"Xiao Zhen, go take Wolves and Frog Consort. I'll watch the jungle for you."

At this point, Karsa had gradually begun starving himself. Since Trundle could steal the enemy's resistances with his ultimate, he did not actually need to consume much in-game resources to become tanky. He had started taking on the role of the third Sacrifice Role.

As for who was fourth?

Naturally, it was Rich's Gwen. With two Big Carries on the team, the safest lane went to the AD carry, the second-safest lane went to the mid laner, and by the time it was his turn, only the most dangerous lane remained. TES's picks were basically all aimed at him.

Fortunately, he was playing Gwen. Other than being helpless against Kennen, she could still do plenty in team fights with her W skill.

Luo Zhen said nothing. He merely headed silently toward the jungle, calculating how long it would take for his third item to go from nothing to complete.

Yes, at nearly twenty minutes, he had already finished his second item, Cannon.

But that was far from enough.

A Jinx with Galeforce and Cannon had initially gained some Kiting ability. Sometimes, in Cannon Form, she could use Cannon's extra range to poke the enemy and gamble on a critical hit. As for the damage... it was rather tragic.

Before her third Infinity Edge came out, Jinx could not be considered an effective source of damage on the battlefield. Her only advantage was that she could Clear Wave fairly quickly alongside Azir. As long as they kept a close eye on things and did not let Kennen find a flank, TES would be unable to push for the time being.

What terrifying pressure.

TES's offensive tempo before fifteen minutes had been maxed out, and V5 had already defended exceptionally well.

Normally, V5's composition would not know how to lose after thirty minutes. Yet they were down 3,000 gold at just twenty minutes. Soon, TES could force fights over the Dragon Soul teamfight and Baron Nashor.

Trust Rookie, all right? Trust Rookie.

Watching the attack-and-defense situation on the screen, Xiang Zhangmen got up, went to the refrigerator for a drink, took a huge gulp, then yawned as he returned to his chair and sighed. "So boring."

Macro play.

Especially the macro play when the attacking side was looking for an opening in the defending side's lines—it was the most boring kind. There would barely be any skirmishes during this period. Even if an occasional kill happened, it would definitely be someone getting caught alone while trying to collect a wave, a kill with no impact on the overall situation.

The truly crucial moment would still depend on how they performed in the key Resource Fight.

The current game was becoming a little Shakespearean.

"Don't try to hide it. If you've got kidney deficiency, you've got kidney deficiency. Instead of trying to muddle through with sleepiness, why not go to the pharmacy and get some mulberries and leek seeds? They're good for your body," Si Shao on the other end of the call said, showing this guy no mercy as he immediately exposed Xiang Zhangmen's lie.

"You're the one with kidney deficiency. Don't you know how fierce I am?"

"Getting defensive, getting defensive. But let me ask you this first—are you sure you want me to settle the score over your embarrassing history in the LDL?"

"Watch the game, watch the game." One Auto Attack had instantly triggered a critical hit on LWX.

"But... putting all that pressure on a rookie, aren't you afraid he won't be able to take it? If he eats all three lanes and then suffers Sudden Death in the team fight, after this Demacia Cup, won't he be finished too?" Si Shao looked at Jinx's build on the screen, and there was a rare trace of approval in his eyes.

Of course, only a trace.

"Ah, I actually talked to him about that. Since it was the Demacia Cup, we should have relied more on the veteran players. At least that would have been safer."

"So you were deeply moved and taught him your Jinx? What kind of third-rate hot-blooded King's Way script is that?"

"Don't put it like that. I didn't teach him anything." Seemingly recalling something, Xiang Zhangmen's smile gradually became strange. "This Jinx wasn't taught by me, but it wouldn't be right to say I had nothing to do with it either. He realized it himself after getting completely stomped in who knew how many games."

"???"

In the Demacia Cup patch, if one side took all three early dragons, then excluding the rare six-minute Fast Dragon Tempo, the most crucial Dragon Soul teamfight would usually break out around twenty-eight minutes. By then, Jinx would definitely have completed Infinity Edge.

In theory, this might have been their first chance all game to fight TES head-on in a team fight.

It had to be said that they really had Brother Zhuo to thank for dragging the game out this long.

Brother Zhuo's engage ability was simply too poor. TES as a whole did not truly make up for its lack of engage until Mark joined later. As a result, they gave V5 a huge opportunity in the early and mid game. Although Knight had been constantly trying to make plays and catch them off guard, against a Jinx with Galeforce, his Sleepy Trouble Bubbles had almost never landed.

There was no helping it. Luo Zhen's instincts were simply too sharp.

TES had set several traps in an attempt to ambush him, but he had deftly avoided them with Flash or Galeforce every time.

In the commentators' words: he was so steady that it was as if he had been through something before. He had not given TES a single opportunity.

"My Infinity Edge is done."

After holding out for a full twenty-seven minutes and consuming the fattest waves and the most jungle camps, Luo Zhen finally pulled out his third completed item, Infinity Edge, just as the Elemental Dragon Soul was about to spawn. Looking over at TES, their only Frontline was Viego, who had built Divine Separation and Sterak's Gage. Jinx's damage was probably enough now.

What? You were asking about Leona?

She was not within his consideration range.

"Nice! We can finally have a proper fight with them this time." PPGOD and Karsa were the first to cheer. They had held their breath for nearly thirty minutes, and they finally had a chance to strike back. They filled their remaining Equipment Slot spaces with Control Wards, then spread out in a chain formation and slowly advanced toward the Elemental Dragon Pit.

This game's Elemental Dragon Soul was Fire Dragon Soul, Map Resources they absolutely could not hand over to TES. So they were certain that TES would fight them to the death here. After all, if TES obtained the Fire Dragon Soul, their composition on the left would not really fear lacking damage in the late game.

But... Karsa had miscalculated.

When the V5 group finally reached the area near the Dragon pit through slow and careful scouting, just as the Elemental Dragon was about to spawn, something terrifying unfolded before them.

No one was at the dragon.

The empty river seemed to mock V5's shotcalling decision. At the same instant they appeared near the dragon, the Control Wards that had previously been placed inside Baron Nashor's pit were cleared almost immediately.

Using the fading vision from those wards, they saw every member of TES gathered there.

They had been played!

TES had never intended to contest the Fire Dragon. Their goal was to make a feint and strike elsewhere. They were taking Baron!

Everyone's voice in comms immediately grew frantic.

"Baron, they're on Baron!"

"Quick, quick, quick! Rush over!"

"Watch Kennen, watch Kennen! We don't have complete vision in the Baron pit."

"Focus on stopping Kennen from entering. Brother Ka, go first. Even if we can't get this Baron, we have to keep them there!!!"

The situation had reached the worst possible point for V5.

Flower of Hope

At the Commentary Desk, the commentators sat up straight and stared at the screen, their voices growing more and more excited.

"V5 are all moving toward the Elemental Dragon Pit. Jinx has completed Infinity Edge. It looks like V5 want to take this team fight."

"But TES don't intend to team fight you at all! Can V5 react in time? They haven't reacted!"

"Here it comes, TES have started Baron! V5 spotted TES's intentions through a Control Ward at Baron, but at this distance, V5 don't seem like they can make it in time."

"Can they rush it down? TES aren't taking Baron very quickly. It looks like there might be a chance!!!"

At that moment, millions of eyes on the big screen fixed on the Baron pit. TES's plan was good: taking advantage of the enemy heading to the Elemental Dragon, the entire team went All In on Baron. If this succeeded, then with only three-item builds on the enemy Double C, they would not be enough to threaten TES with Baron Buff. As for the Elemental Dragon Soul?

They could give it up.

But likewise, why had V5 failed to anticipate this possibility? Because they had noticed TES's Baron-taking speed was not fast.

This Baron attempt.

Whether for TES or V5, was quite the shock.

Rich's Gwen used Teleport to reach top lane, taking the uppermost position in the river to provide his teammates vision at the Dragon pit entrance. But he did not dare enter immediately. His development was already poor, and if he charged in recklessly before his teammates arrived, the entire team would definitely explode.

At the same time... he was using himself as bait.

The language barrier made it difficult for Rich to communicate with his teammates in-game. He could only maintain normal communication with Rookie. But within the same team, the will and drive in his teammates were things he could feel even without words.

They wanted to win.

They desperately, desperately wanted to win!

Everyone wanted to win this BO5 together, to take the championship. For that reason, not only did he have no complaints about Coach Homme's tactical changes, he had even proactively cooperated with the composition and taken on the Sacrifice Role.

Everyone was sacrificing for one another. Everyone believed in one another.

He felt that perhaps he could still do something more for the team, so his movements became increasingly impatient.

Then, at the exact moment Karsa's Trundle stepped into the river, Gwen's W skill, Threaded Arrow, suddenly activated. As the field expanded sharply, Zoe, carrying a Paddle Star, suddenly leaped over the Baron wall and appeared before him.

Gwen Unaffected

"Just as expected!"

He frantically placed prediction pings behind the location where Zoe's ultimate had appeared. He had guessed that the enemy would definitely try to ambush him at this moment. As long as they forced Gwen's W skill out early, the upcoming team fight would be much easier to play. Even if they failed to force it out, they could still use the little head-flick to leave him low. It was guaranteed profit.

And for Rich, Zoe's appearance at least confirmed that when his Backline arrived, they would have one less mid laner threat to worry about. Now they only needed to watch out for Kennen's entry.

Before the team fight had even officially begun, both sides had already gambled something for their teammates.

Then...

V5's main force arrived.

Karsa's Trundle charged at the very front, only to be firmly entangled by the enemy support Leona. Although TES's composition did not take Baron particularly quickly, during V5's journey from the dragon to Baron, TES had already had enough time to reduce Baron's HP to the Kill Threshold.

This was the twenty-eight-minute mark. Even if they rushed Baron slowly, with the jungler carrying two Smites, their Baron damage was enough.

They wouldn't make it!

With the river vision Rich kept providing through constant movement, they could clearly see the situation inside the Baron pit. Baron was already near the Kill Threshold, yet he was still trapped here by Leona. Steal Dragon was basically hopeless.

In that case, then...

"Keep them!"

His ultimate landed on Leona, and Trundle's body instantly swelled by a full size. At the moment Baron Nashor let out its dying wail, his E skill, Glacial Prison, was fiercely cast toward the Baron pit entrance.

With the HP Baron had consumed from them earlier, along with the Dual Resistance reduction Baron inflicted on them.

This fight was winnable!

As the pillar rose, the TES members who had just rushed down Baron and were about to leave the pit were almost instantly slowed.

Trundle advanced, Gwen charged into formation, and the top-jungle duo fearlessly launched an assault on TES's composition.

"Can we fight?"

"I'm flanking, I'm flanking."