Chapter 346: 《Trans-Dimensional Telekinesis Travel》! Seven Goddesses Scatter Dragon Balls

The so-called Plan B.

The foundation revolves around a playstyle quite common for Annie in the arena:

[Ultimate Ability Poke]!

As everyone knows, the true value of Annie’s ultimate is Tibbers, who can survive for nearly a minute, used for sustained AoE grilling in chaotic team fights, as well as for super-fast wave clearing and other capabilities.

Especially at level one, the base damage of the summon impact is pitifully low, a mere 150 points!

Therefore, many Annie players will accelerate and rush the face upon hitting level six, then unleash a full-health R-stun combo to immediately chunk the opposing mid-laner’s health, and then use Tibbers’ sustained combat power to make plays.

And the KR team’s design is very simple.

It is to have Annie lower the opposing mid-laner’s health—then have Annie rotate to the bottom lane!

This tactic is indeed quite shameless.

Because as long as the opposing jungler’s position is confirmed, and both sides have just returned to base and are at full status, no one could possibly have such defenses; Annie just needs to brainlessly drop her ultimate when the opponent goes for a last hit.

Although Ye Bo reacted extremely quickly and pushed back with a QE, he still got Tibbers smashed right into his face, and was still forcibly hit by the opponent’s acceleration combo, dropping to half health.

"Look, look, this is why I said before that Syndra isn't that easy to play against Annie!" Xu Xiu pointed at the screen, beaming: "Syndra's W actually cannot grab the bear; you'll just keep getting burned!"

"Throw the bear away? The bear will come back if it goes out of range! It's useless!"

"However, Ye also has a great understanding; he should know this too, so he didn't grab the bear at all."

Annie’s Tibbers has a massive scorching range, and Syndra’s W is equivalent to "grabbing" the target in her hand.

Although it looks like there is a certain distance visually, in reality, it is face-to-face, which is equivalent to stewing yourself in an iron pot.

Ye Bo naturally understood this point.

But his gaze was locked elsewhere.

"Why hasn't Ye left yet?" Xu Xiu watched his actions in confusion.

"The bottom lane has disappeared, and his own jungler is also moving toward the bottom lane; he should know that the opponent’s main force is preparing to take the Rift Herald, he’s going to get ganked!"

From his god's-eye view, he knew the CN personnel deployment.

But the people on the field did not.

Beryl, who had been switching screens to watch the mid lane, saw that the opponent was still chasing Annie with Q despite being in worse condition, and instantly sensed the opponent’s murderous intent.

"Watch out for the enemy jungler! They might be about to make a move on the mid lane!" Beryl pinged Vi’s icon a few times.

"We are all moving in, you can first..."

Before the words were finished, Syndra had already moved.

Carrying a dark sphere in her hand, Syndra threw her W just as [Force of Will] was about to end, bringing Annie to half health, and immediately after, another dark sphere exploded at Annie’s feet.

Chovy still had Flash in hand to dodge this WQ, but seeing his health, he chose not to use it.

Half health is a health threshold that looks absolutely safe no matter how you look at it.

The next second, Syndra raised her hand and activated [Unleashed Power]; the dark spheres filling the sky gathered at the command of the sovereign, bombarding toward Annie!

However, this action seemed inexplicable in everyone’s eyes.

—Because this ultimate clearly couldn't kill Annie; at most, it would just force both sides to recall.

But after Annie recalls, she can immediately TP to the bottom lane, while Syndra must TP back to the mid lane, otherwise the mid lane would be wide open waiting for the opponent’s Rift Herald to push!

Xu Xiu, however, stared at the screen with a deep frown, seemingly muttering something to himself.

"Two, four... six..."

The next moment, his eyes, which were usually narrowed into slits, suddenly widened, and even his voice cracked.

"How many!?"

The dark spheres whistling through the air bombarded Annie one after another, each collision splashing up intense black light patterns.

Chovy finally felt that something was wrong, but it was too late.

By the time the sixth sphere smashed down, Annie’s health bar already looked like it was about to be emptied!

And in the air.

There was still a seventh!

"My power is infinite!"

Just at this critical moment, a figure suddenly flashed outside the wall of the left river.

That figure, from the maximum healing distance of exactly 900 yards, raised a ripple of emerald green healing over Annie!

Green shade collided with darkness.

Annie, who had been frantically munching on bear cookies the whole time, finally had her health bar saved by the very last sliver of health.

And the bright single-digit number on the status bar looked both glaring and vivid.

"B~e~~~~y~l!" The Roaring Emperor reacted, immediately dragging out his tone and roaring: "He saved her!!!"

"Flash and Heal, the DF combo! Beryl actually saved Annie at the extreme range of the heal!"

"7 HP! Annie only has 7 HP left!"

At the same time, the mushroom-haired man in the Seoul booth had gone crazy.

Xu Xiu held his head with both hands, making an expression of disbelief.

"This is at most 20% CDR! Can 20% CDR hit seven spheres!?"

"Is he even human!"

Both sides only had one {Lost Chapter} equipped, and even adding the 10% CDR provided by {Transcendence} upon reaching level 8, it was at most 20% CDR.

The "Syndra Seven-Sphere Ultimate" is not some obscure technique.

—As long as you have enough CDR, it’s truly "anyone can do it"; it’s nothing more than QQQQ four times, then press R to connect with the three inherent spheres.

But the difficulty lies in the CDR!

The old version of Syndra required 60-70 Ability Haste to achieve it.

And in the Mythic version, Syndra’s item sequence, besides the 20 from the Mythic item, must prioritize the three major items: {Shadowflame} + {Rabadon's Deathcap} + {Void Staff}.

There were simply no extra slots to stack Ability Haste!

What provided the possibility was the new version of Syndra’s evolved Q, which has the mechanism to "store 2 charges."

Although the skill cooldown changed from 4 seconds to 7 seconds, being able to store one charge in advance meant that seven spheres went from needing to chain Q four times to only needing to chain Q three times.

But if it were just that simple.

Xu Xiu, this master of the champion, naturally wouldn't be so shocked.

Because, even for the new version of Syndra with an evolved Q, it normally requires a minimum of 40 Ability Haste to be used stably, and it still tests one's grasp of timing, with less than 1 second of margin for error.

And Xu Xiu, of course, knew how the opponent pulled it off.

"Although the text for Syndra’s Q says it exists for 6 seconds, the 1-second cast delay doesn't count toward the time, and in the final 0.5 seconds before it disappears, you can still use W to 'grab' the sphere out of the void—so theoretically, the first sphere can exist for up to 8 seconds!"

"Everyone knows W can hold a sphere for 5 seconds, but W can actually also be used at the very last 0.5 seconds before the skill expires to throw the sphere out, and after the sphere lands, it will also be delayed by another 1 second!"

"At the same time, the final Q must also be summoned within 0.4 seconds of the ultimate starting to count toward the ultimate."

"A Q with 20% CDR should be about five seconds, three spheres need at least 15 seconds... he basically hit the absolute limit at every single step!"

Xu Xiu counted on his fingers for a long time, his face full of shock.

He prided himself on being a Syndra expert.

But in an actual match, to have him pull off this move with this much CDR, Xu Xiu knew very well that he would find it basically impossible—because it requires calculating the time difference of every second while simultaneously aiming skills, dodging skills, and positioning!

Just thinking about it, one knows how difficult it is.

Unless he summoned his S10 self, it might be possible.

And at this moment, Chovy, who had narrowly escaped with his life, had a feeling of surviving a disaster.

But Beryl’s back was already soaked with cold sweat.

Because only he knew—the distance control in that exchange just now was truly only a step away from disaster!

Just imagine.

The KR bottom lane came up to take the Rift Herald, but the mid-lane Annie died; what would that mean?

It would mean Syndra wouldn't need to worry about the mid lane being empty and could TP out to try to harass and stop the opponent from taking the Rift Herald, or even skip recalling and directly start eating mid-lane plating.

At the same time, the bottom lane’s first turret would be in a completely "undefended" state with the gates wide open!

Even if KR got the Rift Herald, the mid and bottom lanes would have to lose at least four or five plates, and might even lose a first turret!

This would not only mean that the Rift Herald, the most important early-game tempo point, failed to generate any offensive momentum, but KR would even be heavily suppressed in economy by the opponent!

For the tempo of KR’s offensive lineup, this would be absolutely catastrophic.

Therefore.

It looked like the Heimerdinger used the DF combo to save the mid-laner’s life—but in reality, it saved this entire match!

Thinking of this, Beryl also thought about why he didn't want to come to the Asian Games in the first place.

This feeling of "being one step away from collapse" was really too familiar; at last year’s World Championship, they were the same, and in one wave without any warning, the tempo suddenly collapsed!

It’s funny to say.

Beryl, who never plays Syndra, obviously couldn't know anything about seven spheres, much less the kill threshold that even Chovy hadn't noticed.

The reason he was so decisive in preparing the DF combo in advance was simply because he was convinced that the person on the other side wouldn't do anything meaningless or uncertain.

It was entirely a "gambling" mentality.

And this "trust" in Ye Bo was indeed a bet he won.

The situation returned to the starting point, and all results seemed unchanged.

Annie didn't die, and after recalling, she could immediately take Tibbers and TP to the bottom lane, guarding the minion wave for the Yuumi and Zeri without any pressure; even if Vi wanted to force a dive, she would have the strength to fight back.

Once the Rift Herald was taken, whether pushing top or mid, there would be a breakthrough point for the tempo.

KR’s plan was still advancing steadily!

However, even though Syndra had no skills left, the Heimerdinger, having witnessed that terrifying scene just now, still cautiously helped clear the minion wave, which resulted in a somewhat slow pace.

Annie, who was recalling under the turret, saw this and immediately beckoned Tibbers, who was standing idly by, to go up and help.

Chovy knew that Tibbers could also receive the rapid healing from the fountain, so losing a bit of health to go home was of no consequence.

Little did he know.

Just as Ye Bo on the opposite side saw that bear walk out, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Annie will be able to Teleport bot as soon as she recalls, and Syndra still wants to drag the bear away, not wanting you to clear the wave."

The Roaring Emperor at the commentary desk had just let out a sigh of relief; seeing the distance between Annie and Syndra under the turret was definitely over 2000 units, he completely set his mind at ease.

Yet the very next moment.

A kill notification sound suddenly echoed throughout the Rift for no reason!

[Ye Bo killed Chovy!]

"??"

"What happened? Aigoo, how did Chovy die!"

"What happened!!!!!"

The Roaring Emperor was bewildered, and everyone else was stunned as well.

Because the director hadn't provided a camera angle, no one knew what had happened.

But in truth, even the fallen Chovy, as well as the Heimerdinger who was only a few hundred yards away from Annie, had no idea what had happened, and were even more confused.

Because everyone clearly remembered that just a moment ago, Syndra and Annie were not even on the same screen!

The confused director quickly replayed the footage.

"Ahhh!?"

"This is actually possible!!!"

What Syndra did was actually very simple.

She picked up Tibbers from a long distance—and threw him out to the furthest distance behind her.

This was, of course, not to throw Tibbers under the defensive turret to get beaten and killed; after all, if Tibbers went too far from Annie, he would immediately be forcibly pulled back to her side.

That's right.

That was exactly what was needed!

As Tibbers was forcibly yanked back, his bear paw, pitch-black, stomped onto the ground beside Annie, having stunningly brought back a circle of heavy and lethal "Dark Energy"!

It was a direct "Interdimensional Black Bear Drop!"

Everyone in the live stream chat instantly boiled over the moment they saw the truth, and even the previous seven-sphere scene was cast to the back of their minds.

[Holy crap, this works too!!! It feels like it has the same miraculous effect as that interdimensional kick from Lee Sin, this is Master Ye!!!]

[I'm an old farmer, this is a sugar beet!]

[Referee! I want to report Syndra for harassment! She's actually grabbing my bear!!!]

[I envy Syndra, let me grab one too.]

[Dark Witch turns the fire bear, little Annie's tears dye the July snow!]

[Feels good, using Annie's bear to smash Annie to death, isn't this a kind of NTR?]

Never mind the chat, even Xu Xiu slid back in his gaming chair, his two eyebrows seemingly merging with his bangs into a single line, staring at the screen in shock.

If the previous seven-sphere play was about mechanics, then this was a stroke of genius in terms of synergy!

If there were any details to speak of.

It had to be thrown behind her because it had to be ensured that the bear had already exceeded the distance while in "mid-air," being pulled back before it even landed—because the damage from [Force of Will] is {calculated upon landing}.

Another detail, one has to blame Chovy for bringing it upon himself.

Actually, Annie had consumed a biscuit and had already recovered some health; the damage from a level 2 W might not have been enough, just enough to interrupt the recall.

But Annie had let Syndra stack her passive too quickly in the early game.

By now, nearing 8 minutes, she had easily stacked to 60 layers, completing the evolution of her W.

And the evolved [Force of Will] would add extra {True Damage}; even at just level two, the damage was quite considerable!

The KR representative team fell into a momentary silence, and Beryl's complexion also turned somewhat ugly.

The thing he feared most had happened!

His thoughts were momentarily chaotic, desperately trying to think of a countermeasure, yet he felt somewhat helpless.

But just at this moment.

A sound suddenly came from the top lane.

The director's camera instantly switched to the top lane, seeing Gnar frantically chasing Kennen.

Sun Ye certainly knew the opponent was definitely in the top half of the map, so he ran back under the turret without even fighting back.

But Gnar was still chasing, and had even chased into the turret!

Sun Ye's fingers were placed on the R key in advance, but he just hovered without moving—Kennen's ultimate was obviously the most important skill; if it were easily baited out, it would have no effect, and he might still need it to Teleport out later to find an opportunity to fight for the Rift Herald.

Seeing Gnar's rage bar about to be full and Kennen's health nearing half, he pulled his vigilance to the maximum and adjusted his positioning to avoid being near the wall.

However, Gnar seemed to be just intimidating him to see if he could bait out the ultimate; the defensive turret was about to fire its second shot, which was already starting to hurt, and Gnar turned back to leave the turret without even finishing his third proc.

Seeing this, Sun Ye also slightly relaxed his vigilance.

But the next instant.

A sudden change occurred!

Zeus's Gnar threw his boomerang and turned back, but as he took his second step, the slowly growing rage bar suddenly surged to the red threshold due to a basic attack, and Gnar suddenly transformed in mid-air, turning around and growing larger!

Sun Ye realized something was wrong and decisively pressed his ultimate; fortunately, it went off.

Slicing Maelstrom rolled, but Kennen's body had already been lifted into the air.

"Gnar!"

Gnar used a lightning-fast Flash-E to step on his face, triggering the final third proc of his W, then transformed in mid-air and instantly used his R to deliver a giant beast-paw slam that knocked Kennen vertically, hitting the edge of the wall exactly to trigger the second stage of critical damage!

Not only that.

The giant Gnar, performing a second jump in mid-air, had his second E {Hop} transformed into {Crunch}—and the direction of Gnar's second E jump was actually the destination of his ultimate slam!

"E-Flash-R Throw Double Stomp"!

The first stage triggered the Hop of the third proc, and the second stage, with doubled damage from the Crunch, all landed.

The giant foot stomped heavily onto the top of Kennen's head; one could almost hear the sound of bones cracking!

Because Kennen was knocked up and stunned immediately, he could only rely on the ultimate he had barely managed to activate; if he could have stunned Gnar, perhaps he would have had a chance to Flash away or trade kills.

But relying solely on the lightning storm that triggers every 0.5 seconds, it would take 1.5 seconds to stun Gnar.

Gnar had already tanked the lightning, turned around to [Wallop] and [Boulder Toss], and relying on the full skill rotation executed in that instant combined with precise damage calculation, he slammed down his final blow.

Before the third lightning orb could light up, he killed Kennen exactly!

And Gnar, who hadn't been stunned, tanked the last two turret shots and walked out from under the turret with a sliver of health.

"Solo kill!!!" The Roaring Emperor sat up from his deathbed in shock.

"Zeus! It's him again!"

"Although he had slight errors in the previous game, in this one, he stood up to redeem himself! And he secured a precious solo kill for his team!"

[Nice, Xiba! That's how you should play! I knew someone on the other side would have a brain fart too!]

[What's the use? Still can't beat Ye!]

[Indeed, Zeus is just atoning for the sins of the last game! It's not enough! Kill a few more for me!]

[What is the top laner doing, why is he starting to feed?]

[Comparing it to the situation in the last game, it really is...]

[To be honest, this play by Zeus is really cool, right? Daring to go in like that, I feel like if he had been traded at the end, it would have been a huge loss!]

Because the first game looked like it was thrown away by Jayce, and he had just been criticized as a war criminal, the LCK live stream chat was quite strict with Zeus at this moment.

But this solo kill was truly a potent heart-saving needle.

"Come, come, come! Come fight for the Rift Herald, hurry up and fight for the Rift Herald!" Beryl was also instantly invigorated, giving commands with rapid speech.

"Zeus, you don't need to recall, just push top! The opposing jungler is definitely bot, trust me!"

"We're coming to drop the Herald immediately!"

If the top lane hadn't died, Kennen could have Teleported back at any time after recalling, and there was also Syndra's Teleport to keep watch at any time.

After all, KR was missing a key mid-laner; it could be said that even if they got this Herald, it would only push one layer of plating, and there was absolutely no possibility of threatening any of CN's tier-one turrets; on the contrary, their own bottom tier-one turret would be in jeopardy.