Chapter 360: Sleepwalking Isn't Called Macro!

After clearing the upper lane jungle monsters, Liang Yan, with red buff, retreated back to the lower lane, placed a ward behind the dragon pit, then went back to eat river crab, then came back to help the Marquis get blue buff.

By the way, in this version the second round of river crabs also has two, spawning separately in the upper and lower rivers, and their respawn times are independent.

After taking blue, Liang Yan originally intended to take the dragon as well, but Changzhang appeared behind the dragon pit, so Liang Yan canceled the plan to take the dragon and continued clearing.

If this were a practice match, Liang Yan would already have at least two kills by now.

But a practice match is after all not the same as an official match; both our side and the opposing EDG treat official matches more cautiously.

Moreover, judging from EDG's performance these few minutes, it's obvious that EDG had held back some of its strength when they previously scrimmed against VG, especially their macro play.

It's quite clear that EDG had seriously studied macro tactics during this offseason.

But in Liang Yan's view, it's just half a bucket of water wobbling.

If VG had gotten this composition and forced the enemy mid laner to flash early in the game, that small earth dragon would already have been in VG's pocket.

But Changzhang kept trying to catch the snake girl once more in the mid lane during times when she had no flash, yet the Marquis is a very steady player by nature, and Liang Yan wouldn't give him a chance either; ultimately both attempts came to nothing, wasting time for nothing.

When the Marquis's flash was about to come off cooldown, Changzhang finally realized that both our mid and bottom lanes had an advantage; if we didn't seize it, once the snake girl's flash refreshed and the bottom lane's ice arrow reached level six, the situation would immediately reverse, so Changzhang went to the bottom lane to help push, then brought along the duo lane and mid lane to take the dragon together.

"Never mind them, just cast."

Liang Yan glanced at the bottom lane situation, had Xiao Duan place his true sight ward behind the wall next to the triangular grass to prevent EDG from collapsing on them after taking the dragon, while he himself waded across the river to run into the enemy's blue buff jungle.

Given the mantis's current equipment, it's unrealistic to try to coordinate with the big tree to kill a already level‑six, well‑conditioned titan; if we tried to force a tower dive, the best outcome would be a one‑for‑one trade, so Liang Yan had no intention of going for a kill and simply went in to invade the enemy jungle.

When EDG took the dragon, Liang Yan had already left their jungle, and he had collected both jungle camps plus the river crabs entirely.

"Changzhang secured the dragon for the team, but our upper jungle was completely cleared out by the mantis, opening a clear gap in jungle opponent's economy and experience."

"From an individual perspective, Changzhang definitely lost this exchange, but from a team perspective, trading two jungle camps for a small earth dragon, I think EDG still came out ahead."

"Yeah, Changzhang's playstyle has always been very team‑oriented."

Both sides fought until the ten‑minute mark without a single kill being scored.

VG knows its lineup gets stronger the later the game goes; Liang Yan saw the enemy constantly doing macro, so he naturally felt at ease.

On EDG's side, it's because Changzhang's position could never escape the enemy's vision, they felt there was no good opportunity to engage, their own lineup hadn't reached its peak yet, so they didn't want to force a fight, wanting to wait until Zet's Jinx completes her first core item before team‑fighting VG.

At the same time, EDG also seemed to be showing off their newly learned macro play, constantly trying to pressure VG's bottom‑lane vision to limit the mantis's development space.

However, EDG's early advantage doesn't mean it will last; actually, during the period when the ice arrow reaches level six and gains its ultimate, VG has a small peak period.

Changzhang, however, failed to notice this, and kept repeatedly probing the bottom lane in a reckless manner.

Liang Yan began to pre‑emptively direct the layout, patiently waiting for a chance to educate Changzhang.

Just past the 11‑minute mark, VG's bottom‑lane jungle camps were about to respawn, and Changzhang once again invaded with Tahm Kench, relying on Scout's ability to quickly move to assist, daring to push deep into VG's jungle with just a single Tahm.

Looking at the mid‑bottom situation, the mid lane is basically even, while on the bottom lane Jinx, thanks to an already formed minion‑wave advantage, pushes forward and will soon be able to reach the tower; theoretically, Jinx has the advantage of being able to roam and support one step earlier.

However, Changzhang and Meiko had gone too deep.

Liang Yan had just come down from the upper lane when he woke up the three wolves; a false ward was then thrown over the wall, followed immediately by a light projectile flying from behind the wall that hit one of the small wolves with a soft 'pop'.

At that moment, Liang Yan's gaze swiftly swept across the three lanes.

Top lane, Fiora had already pushed the wave and was hiding in the river grass, recalling. At the same time, VG had a false ward in the brush behind the wolves' camp, and Changzhang and Meiko's silhouettes flickered at the edge of its vision.

Mid lane, both sides had cleared the minion wave; the Marquis's Cassiopeia was loitering near the entrance to the path leading into the enemy jungle, while Ryze had disappeared from the lane, and judging by the time, he should have reached a distance where he could quickly move to assist.

Bottom lane, Jinx was running toward the river, while Sima Laozei was clearing a big wave under the tower; it wouldn't be finished quickly in a short time, but Xiao Duan's Thresh had already moved forward and was now near the entrance to our jungle just in front of our second bottom tower.

We can fight.

Liang Yan made the judgment, decisively pinging twice: one to mark the ward's position, another to signal an attack on Changzhang's head.

He simultaneously shouted into the mic:

"Ma Ge is coming over to pick up the kill!"

The instant the ping landed, Fu Lan Duo's teleport was already on.

Ma Ge, hearing that, without hesitation dropped the minion wave and ran into the jungle.

Figure: Positions of personnel in the bottom lane

Wang Ji's voice rose at the moment Changzhang's second‑segment Q kicked toward us:

"Changzhang kicked over!"

"He has flash! Is he going to ward‑kick? But Jiao Shen is sly, directly going big and invisible! Changzhang's Thunderclap didn't hit either!"

"Sheng Qiang Ge teleported!"

"VG is going to counter‑attack!"

"Xiao Duan has already come over!"

"Changzhang and Meiko are in danger, they've gone too deep!"

"Wow, Ma Ge didn't even bother with the minion wave, he came straight to support!"

"However, Scout also entered the jungle, quickly placed a ward, and A Guang immediately readied his teleport, but it was much later than the big tree— the big tree is about to land!"

"After Changzhang's E missed, he wanted to come down to meet up with Scout, but upon seeing the snake girl he turned back to feel for the ward and ran down!"

"Meiko lacks any mobility, so she can only flash through the wall to follow Changzhang!"

"Scout tried to move up to meet the two, but seeing the big tree already landed he didn't dare to engage; moreover, Thresh had already come from below, leaving no path on either side, and the two EDG players were trapped in a tight encirclement, getting wrapped up like dumplings! What to do! It feels like EDG is about to blow up!"

"Zet stood in the river and unleashed his ultimate, trying to cover the teammates' retreat!"

"But the ice arrow's shot also arrived!"