LPL History

Chapter 153 A Hidden Clue: Three Arrows in Succession Shatter the Enemy's Scheme

Compared to the intense rivalry between the two sides in the first game.

In the second game, there were significantly fewer clashes between the two sides in the early stages.

Originally, NJS, as the party that initiated the lane swap, should have cooperated with the jungler to push down EDG's outer top lane turret as soon as possible.

However, perhaps in order to gain more time to develop and avoid laning, NJS deliberately slowed down their tower pushing pace in the top lane.

In a corner where no one was paying attention, the Frost Archer had already secretly pulled out a Greed Blade.

This item provides two gold coins to Ashe every ten seconds.

You will also receive two extra coins for each kill.

Furthermore, the Greed Blade is also one of the components for crafting the Statikk Shiv, so it won't be wasted.

Zhou Li went even further and chose to prioritize E as his skill point allocation method.

The passive effect of Ashe's E skill, the amount of gold it drops, depends on the level of the E skill: one gold at level one, two gold at level two, and five gold at level five.

The match had been going on for eight minutes when Hanbing reached level six.

Up to this point, although both sides had been probing each other during this period, no kills had yet occurred.

However, neither the commentators nor the audience seemed surprised by this.

In fact, this is the typical rhythm and situation in normal team matches in the current version!
Because there are no resources or maps to contest in the early game, and with various lane-swapping tactics, everyone tends to focus on farming in the early stages of the match.

It would be abnormal for a team like EDG did before, where they could dominate the lanes in the first few minutes and crush the opponent in just over ten minutes.

The AD carries on both sides were incredibly consistent in last-hitting.

"We can see that both ADCs have very solid fundamentals. Their CS (creep score) counts seem to be perfect, with not a single missed CS!"

In the live stream, viewers started discussing the CS (creep score) of the two ADCs.

Wow, Pray's got some skills.

[His finishing moves are on par with Zhou Yu's; Pray can brag about this for a lifetime.]

"Hey bro, stop messing around. He's the Rat King, after all."

To be fair, Pray getting crushed isn't the Rat King's fault; it's just that Zhou Chu was too strong.

【No, still calling him Director Zhou? Everyone call him Brother Zhou!】

[Zhou Chu: My whole life has been like walking on thin ice. Do you think I can ever reach the other side?]

[Baidu Baike definition: Zhou Chu: A section chief surnamed Zhou.]

[Dude, why is my Baidu Baike entry different from yours? Haven't you heard of Zhou Chu eliminating the three scourges?]

If Zhou Chu can eliminate Najin Black Sword and then defeat SKT to win the championship, that would truly be eliminating three scourges.

[I just realized how funny this guy's name is!]

Meanwhile, during the live stream, Najin had already taken the initiative to act.

Lee Sin is heading towards the top lane, intending to help Pray take down EDG's outer top turret first.

This allows them to switch lanes back to the bottom lane and try to secure the second dragon.

Zhou Li's screen was switching five times per second, and through the deep field of vision where Lu Benwei had been sitting, he saw the Blind Monk's movements.

He glanced at Mingkai's position.

Mingkai is still in the bottom half of the draw.

So he said:

"Lu Benwei, go to the top lane to help Shenchao, Mingkai, go to the mid lane to farm."

Faced with Zhou Li's command, EDG demonstrated absolute decisiveness.

After all, the boss is supervising the work, and nobody wants their wages to be docked.

In other teams, players might occasionally question the commander.

However, this situation would never happen with EDG.

Sometimes, opportunities are fleeting, and hesitation can cause you to miss them.

This is why EDG can suffocate their opponents as soon as they gain an advantage.

As Mingkai headed towards the middle lane, he asked:
"Brother Zhou, aren't we going to jump over the weapon this time?"

Lu Benwei spoke up:

"Wow, bro, who gave you permission to question Brother Zhou?"

Upon hearing Lu Benwei's words, Mingkai immediately became anxious.

"How can this be considered a question? I just want to learn from Brother Zhou."

In fact, it is perfectly normal for Mingkai to have such doubts.

In the normal course of action, after realizing that NJS intended to target the top lane, the safest approach for EDG would be to have Shenchao retreat to the second tower and then place the top outer tower.

Meanwhile, Mingkai came to the bottom lane to help them push down NJS's outer bottom lane tower, completing the resource exchange.

This is also why Mingkai will appear in the bottom half of the draw.

If Zhou Li were playing a different ADC, then this choice would undoubtedly be fine.

But he was playing Ashe this time.

In his hand, he still held a magic crystal arrow with the [Delivery] ability bonus that granted him access to the entire map!
Our top laner is Shen, who has strong crowd control!
This is a perfect opportunity to manipulate NJS.

If you can make a huge profit, why choose a plan that doesn't lose money?
Zhou Li's voice also rang out.

"Awei, you've sown discord and disrupted team unity. You're fined 500 yuan."

After saying this, Zhou Li saw the prompt from the Records of the Grand Historian.

[Lu Benwei has broken through your defenses. Your hand speed, reaction time, and awareness have all improved.]

Clearly, just one sentence has already triggered the ability to "foul-mouthed".

Zhou Li couldn't help but sigh. Since becoming the boss, he no longer needed to be foul-mouthed to trigger the [Foul-mouthed] ability. It was just too impure.

CJS's mid laner, Nagen, immediately spoke up after seeing Annie leave:

"Annie probably went up, EDG probably doesn't want to give up the top tower."

He originally wanted to move towards the top lane, but then he saw the spider coming over to push the lane.

And the watch's voice also came through.

"He won't have time; we can take him down in seconds."

Shen's health was only half at this point, and he had previously been caught out and forced to use Flash. If Sona could land her ultimate on Shen, NJS's jungler could easily kill Shen before the control effect ended.

"Cain! Flash in front of him!"

Upon hearing Watch's words, Cain didn't hesitate and flashed in front of the tower to unleash his ultimate, hitting Shen under the tower!
However, Nagen's voice rang out at almost the same time as the watch!

Watch placed a ward and flanked from behind, intending to kick Shen out from under the tower, hoping to use RQQ to instantly kill Shen with Twitch's damage, and then leave the tower unscathed.

However, just as he reached out to pry open the eye, he...

"boom!!"

An enormous magical crystal arrow struck the blind monk directly!
"oh!!"

An incredulous gasp erupted from the crowd!

At the Korean commentary booth, Jeon Yong-jun stared wide-eyed in disbelief and exclaimed:
"Oh! What is this?! Watch got hit by Ashe's ultimate!! What terrible luck!!"

Ashe's ultimate ability flew from the bottom lane to the top lane, and the control time had reached its maximum, lasting a full three and a half seconds.

Without Lee Sin's burst damage, Twitch's damage output alone is clearly insufficient!
Sona, who used Flash and her ultimate, couldn't withstand three tower hits and had to retreat.

Meanwhile, Shin has also been released from control.

"Pull back, attack Lee Sin, don't rush to use E, there are still 1.4 seconds left... E him!!"

Zhou Li's calm and collected voice rang in Shen Chao's earpiece.

Watch has already worn out the keyboard and wants to kick Shen.

But the instant the Ice Control ended, Shen's Taunt Control seamlessly followed.

Meanwhile, the rat on the other side activated his ultimate ability and hadn't entered the turret's attack range earlier, making Lee Sin the turret's immediate target.

The 1.5-second taunt duration allowed Lee Sin to be hit twice directly under the tower.

What disgusted Watch even more was that, because of a problem with NJS's skill combos, Shen had already activated his W skill's shield.

After he countered with RQQ, he still couldn't kill Shen, and his own health was already low. Helpless, he could only flash towards the direction behind the tower.

On the other side, Pray was clearly getting anxious.

His ultimate ability had ended, so he had no choice but to go under the tower to deal damage and try to finish off Shen.

Because of the rat's passive continuous damage effect, he will be attacked by the turret as soon as he enters the turret's range.

Fortunately, Shen's health was already very low, so he chased after him and managed to get a couple of auto-attacks, managing to secure the kill. After that, he could only flash towards the back of EDG's outer turret and quickly leave the turret.

The Blind Monk (W) even put a shield on the Twitch (rat) in an attempt to provide support.

The result is right now!

"Tibbers!" Annie's giant bear fell from the sky, instantly killing the rat and the blind man.

Wow! A complete pizza!

As Quan Yongjun wailed, Zhou Li and Juanmao effortlessly pushed down NJS's outer bottom lane tower!
"This was such a huge loss! Two for one, and the outer turret in the bottom lane also fell. Plus, Annie has already come to the top lane, and Sona can't push the turret by herself."

"Wow!" Kim Dong-jun let out a unique Korean-style spitting "wow" and shouted, "What happened! It's all that Ashe's ultimate move's fault, the timing was just too good! Lion, his luck is just too good!"

At this point, the director began the replay.

Based on feedback from netizens, the director, who really wanted a bonus, wisely switched the replay to Zhou Li's first-person perspective.

The familiar five-second cut and one-out-of-bounds move excited netizens.

Only then did people realize this.

The arrow from the frost was fired even before NJS made a move!
Quan Yongjun instantly realized the detail he had overlooked earlier.

"Wow! Lion, he anticipated NJS's move and Watch's actions, so he unleashed his ultimate early on! I was wondering why the Crystal Arrow in the bottom lane was already there when NJS had just made their move! Lion clearly predicted everything!! It can't be explained by luck alone!"

"Wow! This is terrifying!" Kim Dong-joon's eyes widened. "He's already magnified it before even making a move? Is he really that confident?!"

And Zhou Li's voice also came out.

What did he say? What did he say?

Kim Dong-joon asked, somewhat excitedly.

Lee Hyun-kyung, who hadn't spoken until now, translated:

"Ah, he said... my arrow will hit the blind monk... it should be like this."

"So he even knows who he's going to shoot?" Kim Dong-joon's eyes almost popped out of the commentary booth. "Wow, this guy? Can Ashe's ultimate move change direction at will??"

Zhao Enjing's focus was not on this at all.

"Senior Hyunkyung, when did you learn Chinese?"

Everyone was stunned.

Yes, when did you, Lee Hyun-kyung, learn Chinese?
How come they, as colleagues, knew nothing about this before?!

Lee Hyun-kyung gave a somewhat awkward smile.

"I only know a little bit, because I received a notice that I would be interviewing EDG after this match, so I did some homework in advance."

Zhao Enjing couldn't help but ask:

"I remember Chinese being very difficult, how did you learn it in such a short time?"

"It is indeed very difficult, but for some reason, I feel like I have a talent for learning Chinese."

Zhao Enjing couldn't help but laugh:

"Senior Hyun-kyung is so interested in interviewing EDG that he even went to learn Chinese."

Hearing Zhao Enjing's teasing, Li Xianjing felt a little guilty for some reason, and her face turned slightly red.

Zhao Enjing stared at Li Xianjing's slightly reddened earlobes, seemingly lost in thought.

Jeon Yong-joon coughed and said, "Ah, our Hyun-kyung is indeed very serious about his work."

The conversation then returned to the game.

NJS players' bench.

Pray was raging and cursing.

"Damn it! What's going on?! Why is this happening?! Why?!"

Pray felt that he was incredibly unlucky.

Nagen offered words of comfort:
"Don't rush, didn't you get first blood?"

Nagen's words of comfort clearly had no effect.

Pray is turning into a dazzling tomato at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Although he got the first blood, the price NJS paid was far too high compared to the others.

And that Ice's development was even ahead of his, who had gotten the first blood.

On EDG's side, after Zhou Li pushed down the outer turret in the bottom lane, he switched lanes to the mid lane.

They're clearly preparing to take down a small dragon that's about to spawn.

In this version of Xiaolong, taking just one or two pieces won't have much of an effect.

Because there are no mechanics like elemental dragons and dragon souls yet.

The dragon in Season 3, when killed, provides each member of the team with 190 gold and a certain amount of experience.

Furthermore, you will gain one Dragon Slayer level, up to a maximum of five levels.

Each level of the Dragon Slayer grants 6% more attack power and spell power, as well as a small amount of health regeneration.

This Dragon Slayer buff, if you only get one or two stacks, may not have much of a noticeable effect.

However, once stacked, the effect is still quite terrifying.

Due to the lane swap, Mingkai killed the first dragon almost immediately after it spawned.

Now, if EDG takes the second dragon, such a fast pace will put enormous pressure on NJS.

However, it's clear that NJS is currently unable to compete with EDG for the dragon.

Putting aside the previous team fight, which almost depleted NJS's summoner spells.

Speaking of EDG's lineup, Shen was still pushing lanes, so NJS had to send out Jax to deal with him.

However, once a fight breaks out, Shen's ultimate ability can quickly provide support, helping EDG instantly create a five-on-four situation.

It can be said that because of Ashe's ultimate move, NJS made a mistake that led to their complete defeat, and all subsequent tactical arrangements were affected.

And then, NJS quickly experienced the same suffocating feeling as in the previous game.

Once EDG gains an advantage, they will completely reveal their greedy fangs.

And this time, compared to the previous game, NJS appeared to be more passive.

Because of Ashe's E skill, NJS players are frequently exposed to EDG's vision.

After taking down the dragon, Zhou Li used his E skill to see that there was only one person, Jax, in the upper half of the map.

Expession played with great confidence against Shenchao's Shen.

After all, Shen, the Weapon Master, can indeed smash things at will.

But the next second.

"boom!"

Along with the sound effect of Ashe's ultimate skill hitting, Expession's string of curses also rang out!
He originally planned to engage in a fight and take down the low-health turret in the top lane.

As a result, when both sides were down to half health, he was pulling in front of the tower when Ashe's ultimate hit him right in the face!

Meanwhile, Shenchao, who was under the tower, immediately attacked him and then used his E skill to taunt him, pulling the weapon into the tower's range and killing him under the tower.

Thirteen minutes later, NJS finally found an opportunity and killed the lost Mingkai.

As it turns out, Mingkai is not invincible.

He just wouldn't let the team get wiped out.

Mingkai's escape skills are only enhanced when teammates are sacrificed.

NJS seized this opportunity, grouping up in the mid lane, hoping to take the chance to win back some territory.

However, a giant crystal arrow shot from the bottom lane shattered NJS's dream once again.

The Frostfire ultimate skill precisely located Pray within the crowd.

White under the tower immediately used Flash and his ultimate, instantly killing Pray's Rat.

Although they were both focused down and killed by NJS, by then the rat was dead and the minion wave was cleared by Annie's ultimate, NJS's mid-push plan was thwarted once again.

Sixteen minutes later, Ashe's ultimate ability once again traversed Summoner's Rift, helping Shen escape from NJS's four-man gank.

Nineteen minutes in, the Magic Crystal Arrow hit the fox under the tower, and EDG tower-dived and killed her, then pushed down NJS's second mid-lane tower.

At 23 minutes, Ashe initiated a team fight with her ultimate, killing Lee Sin who was trying to steal the dragon near the pit. EDG secured their fourth dragon!
The baby's screams never stopped from the commentary booth.

"Wow! What is this thing?! Zhou Li's ultimate skill is so accurate! So far, he hasn't missed a single shot! And they've all been long-range initiations!"

Miller couldn't help but speak up:

"Actually, there was a lot of strategy behind his ultimate move; it wasn't just luck. He didn't use it on several seemingly good opportunities. I only realized later that Zhou Li probably knew the opponent had Flash. And in the fight where Ahri was engaged on, he deliberately adjusted his position so that his ultimate would glide off the wall, so Nagen didn't even realize it because it was already in his face by the time he saw it."

Hearing Miller's words, the doll spoke up:

"To be honest, Zhou Li's ultimate move was truly terrifying, it was like he had an automatic tracking system installed. Luckily, Zhou Li is an LPL player. Imagine, there's a player who pulls out Draven and plays like a bot in professional matches. You think you've cracked his Draven, but then he picks Caitlyn and dominates the Korean number one seed's bot lane, preventing them from even getting a CS. Then you crack Caitlyn too—and now he picks Ashe, this time it's not just the bot lane that's suffering!"

Miller smiled and looked at the equipment slots of both ADCs.

"And did you notice that the CS of the two ADCs are not that different? Ashe only got a few assists, but now, his equipment is already ahead of Pray by a Bloodthirster. The gold difference is almost 4,000. His development is too far ahead."

"Actually, neither side has had a real 5v5 team fight yet."

"I think we probably haven't seen the most terrifying part of this ice yet."

(End of this chapter)