You call this thing stable?

It's dirty, really damn dirty.

At this point, he could only place his hopes on the players' individual skill. Of course, this wasn't the first time he'd resorted to such a tactic, as the Sailor combination was, in a sense, formed for the sake of miracles.

But in reality, where are there so many miracles for you?

Focusing on the early-game, heavily farmed Lucian, V5 immediately began their macro strategy. Except for when the top laner returned for objective teamfights, he spent almost all his time split pushing on the side lanes.

If you come to gank me, my four teammates will directly pressure your mid lane tower.

If you don't come to gank me, I'll happily farm and push the lane 1v1. The more I farm, the fatter I get, and the more I push. Eventually, Gwen alone won't be able to hold me back, and that's when V5 will initiate their next move.

"Don't get reckless, don't get reckless, brothers, give me a chance. I've never seen a trophy since I was a child, please." At this point, Luo Zhen was the most nervous and afraid of his teammates getting reckless.

Honestly, in his past life, he didn't feel much when he saw other players win trophies. Because from a god's perspective, except for the World Championship title, most other championships seemed to lack real prestige.

But now that he was on the stage himself, his perception instantly changed.

Isn't the Demacia Cup championship a championship?

Three MSI titles can be combined into one runner-up at the World Championship, so it's fine for me to combine three Demacia Cups into one regular season runner-up, right? Then if I cut that by a third, doesn't that mean that once I get my hands on the Demacia Cup, I'll have the strength of a playoff quarterfinals team right from my debut?

Thinking of this, Luo Zhen's motivation suddenly exploded!

"Okay, okay, okay, Xiao Zhen, why do you sound so nagging? You're like my mother hen."

"This is a championship, a championship! God's Whip is amazing, have you ever won a championship?"

"No." PPGOD's expression was a bit awkward because he hadn't won any significant awards. Instead, he had inexplicably gained a large number of foreign fans, or rather... believers?

"Then that's that. If you work hard, you can earn your own trophy. If you don't work hard, you might end up just touching other people's trophies. Ugh~~~ Just thinking about it makes me sick."

"???"

Luo Zhen's actions left the team in a state of not knowing whether to laugh or cry. When they led teams before, they were the ones, as the seniors, reminding the newcomers to play steadily, not get reckless, and pay attention to vision. Now, the roles were completely reversed, and they were the ones being worried about.

It just felt quite strange.

Of course, TES wasn't without a chance to turn the game around. To put it simply, all of V5's macro strategy revolved around the minion waves. But you still had to return for objective teamfights, and that's where TES could make a choice.

They could give up that minion wave and force a teamfight. Winning one small fight would be a small profit, winning two would be breaking even, and winning three would be a comeback. Of course, this was based on small wins. If they could achieve a wipeout plus Baron Nashor, they could end the game in one go.

So, they weren't stable enough yet. They needed to at least wait until the dual carries had their three-item build. Then, when the carries had their three-item build and the opponents had two and a half items, they could go for a big play. While diligently farming, Luo Zhen glanced at the game time of the fifth game and then at the completely dark Baron Nashor pit, muttering to himself:

"Diao Shen."

"What?"

"Have you ever done anything so outrageous, so unforgivable, so detestable, because you were poor?"

"No, why are you asking?"

"Working overtime on the night shift, no pay, and no meals provided. Do you think that counts? If it does, are we doing the first of three things right now?"

"It probably counts." PPGOD thought carefully and suddenly realized that this description was quite fitting. Playing a full BO5 was just overtime, and after the match and all the other messy stuff, it would be late-night snack time.

"Then since you know, why aren't you checking vision and getting it done quickly! Hurry, hurry, hurry!!!"

"..."

Chapter 59: We're All Adults Now

As Gwen's equipment on the side lane improved, Luo Zhen had to do more and more work among the four people responsible for kiting in the mid lane. One of these jobs was extremely dangerous: kiting.

Yes, just like those hostesses in nightclubs.

They had to occasionally go up and tease, giving the opponents the illusion that they could take them down, while constantly maintaining their composure and keeping a crucial distance, allowing for an easy escape at any time. It was like acting coy and unyielding, while intensely pressuring the opponents in the mid lane.

Here, we have to mention the core items that allowed Lucian to play like this – Nami and Statikk Shiv.

Firstly.

Statikk Shiv was suitable for Lucian because, in professional play, it allowed Lucian to execute the WAA combo from a safe distance, giving him the ability to find poke opportunities. However, it must also be understood that this item was only suitable when paired with Nami.

Because a standalone Galeforce + Statikk Shiv build wouldn't be able to deal enough damage.

Nami's primary role was to allow Lucian to deal damage at the right time, even while building these steady-playstyle items.

Thus, Luo Zhen's performance began.

Like a hunting viper, in the 4v4 kiting in the front line, he always hovered in a position that seemed relatively easy to engage, looking for poke opportunities. But if you wanted to engage him, he always had an E + Flash or Galeforce + E ready.

After several ambushes, TES not only failed to trap Luo Zhen's Lucian but instead lost a significant amount of HP to the opposing Lucian.

They started to get anxious.

"Why wasn't this Lucian mentioned in the scouting reports?"

Smooth skill execution, precise distance control, and keen battlefield awareness. Just observing this Lucian's fluidity from a god's perspective provided a visually comfortable sensation.

Don't be surprised.

Many people watch videos and think, "I could do that combo," or "I could pull off that play." They might even brag about pulling off some ridiculous plays themselves, but as soon as they watch their own replays.

The scene would be a complete mess, like a free-for-all in the ICU.

Operations and playstyles that appear fluid to viewers from a god's perspective are already considered signature move level plays in professional matches.

[Such terrifying pressure.]

In terms of raw strength, TES's sailor combination is definitely stronger, but in other aspects, V5 is indeed stronger.

Training, strategy, and resolve are not enough. If the sailor can't make a sound this game, TES will likely be doomed.

I'm already looking forward to the Spring Split, with a bunch of Galactic Battleships fighting. Just thinking about it is exciting.

Just like V5 in the previous few games, TES now can only place their hope on crucial teamfights. This is how it is in the fifth game of a BO5. The high-fault-tolerance format leads to fewer and fewer mistakes and a steadily improving momentum. When V5 strictly followed their macro strategy to spread out their front line, TES felt only one thing: they couldn't keep up.

The side lanes were being pushed, but the person sent to the side lane started to lose.

When multiple people went to the side lane to encircle and annihilate, they couldn't do anything about the pressure from the opponent's Lucian in the mid lane.

If they wanted to push out the minion wave, their lineup's wave clear and rotation capabilities were not on the same level as the opponent's.

They were completely controlled.

"Just play like this, hold on for a few more waves, and they'll definitely get reckless out of impatience and give us an opportunity. We'll play steady."

"Xiao Zhen, take it easy. Your positioning is making me a little scared."

"Don't worry. Based on my years of experience getting instantly killed as an ADC in ranked solo queue, this game won't be much pressure."

"No, you're a marksman, how are you managing to constantly predict the enemy's ambushes and counter-attacks?" PPGOD was completely baffled.

For a normal ADC, a large part of their protection relies on their teammates' assistance. But their own ADC relies entirely on predicting enemy ambushes for self-preservation.

What is the basis for such absurd reactions?

Is it danger sense?

"You wouldn't understand. In the professional marksman field, the transition from a rookie to a veteran can be summarized as starting with sniping and mastering fist and foot combat with secondary weapons."

"I don't get it."

"Let me put it this way: I reached Korean server Master using male and female models, and only then did I switch to playing ADC. Do you understand now?"

"!!!"

Empathy is actually a very suitable method for mastering a corresponding role.

For example, someone who plays a lot of top lane will be very strong when playing engage support, and someone who plays a lot of assassins will directly understand the 'anti-burst' passive when they switch to ADC. Like Luo Zhen's cheap master, LWX, who eventually had his own signature Irelia top, which was extremely strong after he mastered it.

Luo Zhen wishes to call this method specialized training for positional advancement.

With the synchronized cooperation between Lucian and Gwen across lanes, Rookie's Azir's items were rapidly gaining momentum. Professional matches usually have a 3+2 or 2+3 configuration for team compositions. Their game was a 2+3, with the jungle and support protecting the development of the three primary carries.

The only difference is that among the three carries, one must be able to step up at different points in time.

Before the two-item build, Lucian and Nami were the core.

From the two-item to the three-item build, the 4-1 split push strategy was optimal.

After the three-item build, they could start considering forcing crucial objective teamfights with the 4-1 strategy, and then transition to 131.

There's also the concept of value, or more mystically: Light and shadow.

Jinx in the third game successfully carried due to everyone treating themselves as trades and leaving the hope to Jinx. In this game, Luo Zhen completely reversed that. Luo Zhen used the early game strength of his Lucian and Nami to protect his teammates' mid and late-game momentum, thus forming a positive virtuous cycle.

Then, remember Coach Homme's core strategy point.

That is:

"We don't need to do too much. What we need to do is wait for the opponent to make mistakes."

"They will gift us."

Time gradually moved to 27 minutes. At this point, there were only 30 seconds left until V5's Dragon Soul spawned. Relying on the huge advantage they had slowly snowballed from the early game, V5 not only secured river vision first but also successfully forced the entire enemy team to the bottom river area, while they themselves firmly held mid lane priority.

Are they going to fight?

This game's Dragon Soul is Earth Dragon Soul. You can't say it's useless, but to be honest, it's not very useful either. This is because V5 primarily uses kiting and zoning to block skills, rather than pure tank, point-blank fighters. The buff from the Earth Dragon isn't very significant.

But would TES be willing to give up this dragon?

Of course not.

The minion wave in the mid lane had already pushed, but TES had no one assigned to defend it. They wanted to go all-in on this teamfight, attempting to recreate TES's "color miracle" once again.

However...

"The enemy seems to have taken the bait."

"Slowly transfer over, don't reveal your intentions too quickly."

"Got it, got it. Brother Yijin, the Solar Disk is ready, right?"

"It can be used anytime, but I have to say, your feint to the east, attack to the west tactic is a bit dirty, but I like it."

There's a saying on the battlefield.

It's called "once a drumbeat, then it weakens, then it's exhausted."

How could they not know about the enemy's desperate gamble? But now everyone is an adult and knows that in the end, it's all about the results. If that's the case, why would they not utilize their massive economic advantage, item advantage, vision advantage, and minion wave advantage, and instead give the opponent a chance to gamble their lives in a narrow river?

They at V5 aren't fools.

"Alright, listen to my command, 3... 2... 1..."

"Let's steal!"

Chapter 60: Telepathic Chemistry

On the casting desk, the two commentators were still providing detailed explanations for the teams' maneuvering in this play.

"TES has even recalled Qing Tian this time, so it looks like they're planning to go all-in with V5 in the Dragon Soul teamfight."

"It's hard to predict. No one expected a team that lost consecutively last season to perform like a phoenix reborn this season."

"V5's entire team is also slowly moving closer. So, come on, let's see what kind of amazing play both sides will contribute in this Elemental Dragon teamfight... Huh?! Wait, no, V5, what are you doing?"

"The other team has already given up everything and is ready to engage you, wow, V5 is really twisting the knife here. They don't plan to take this Dragon Soul, their target is TES's mid lane high ground!!!"

That's right.

Holding all the advantages, V5 never intended to confront the opponent head-on from the start.

While the feeling of crushing the opponent and winning in a 5v5 teamfight is certainly good, for V5, who had already given their all and fought to the fifth game, their only thought was to win the match.

Because they had occupied all the key passages near the mid lane in advance, TES had no vision here and didn't dare to pursue rashly. However, if they were to circle back home from the other side, their response speed wouldn't be enough to match V5's pushing speed.

This was because, at this moment, TES's mid lane only had one high ground defense tower left.

They were getting anxious.

"Quick, quick, quick, hurry back to defend!"

"Damn these sneaky old men, do they dare to fight us head-on in a royal city PK!"

"No, the tower's HP is dropping too fast. Zhuo, you go around, we'll force an engagement with them directly in the mid lane."

"Hold them! Hold them!!!"

The mid lane, pushed by five people with no defense, was nothing more than a joke in the face of such a numerical advantage. Due to the opponent's slow response speed, they even had time to destroy the enemy's mid lane high ground nexus crystal.

Is trading an Earth Dragon Soul for the enemy's mid lane high ground worth it?