Chapter 55: Shining Proficiency Crystal! CC Cancellation, and it's f***ing

Fortunately, the Sejuani was low on health and unable to assist in the pursuit; both top laners were on their way to support, and neither side had any intention of continuing the skirmish.

Karsa scratched his head in frustration.

He did not understand how Yone could tank his W to rush in, coordinating with Sejuani to focus fire and land his full combo.

This should have been a huge gain in the jungle; his setup had clearly worked.

Yet, all he managed to steal was a single chicken!

Ye Bo’s understanding of Yone seemed to have absorbed the mechanics of every skill into his very bones, squeezing out every ounce of the hero’s potential.

"It’s okay, Karsa. Yone has no Flash now, he’ll be easy to kill next time!" Song Yijin said, offering comfort. "We can still handle them in the early game."

"Yeah, I can go in again when I find an opening!" Karsa maintained a positive mindset.

However, Yone had already purchased Berserker's Greaves at just level 4, causing the laning situation in the mid lane to change instantly.

Starting with Doran’s items requires saving up 1,100 gold to buy Berserker's Greaves.

Starting with a Long Sword saves a full 300 gold, equivalent to the value of a kill!

Song Yijin clearly began to feel that his laning was becoming strenuous.

Galio’s hero advantage lies in having the physique of a fighter or even a tank, while simultaneously possessing the prestigious percentage-based damage of a mage, four AOE skills, and three major crowd control effects: two knock-ups and one taunt!

Among these, the most important are clearly the two CC effects from his W and E, which is why he is a premier support-style hero.

But a very important problem had emerged.

Song Yijin realized that his Galio seemingly could not lock down this Yone!

The range of Durand Shield is less than 300 units; as long as Yone doesn't step forward to trade auto-attacks with Galio, there is simply no opportunity to land a point-blank W.

Not to mention the hit rate of his E, the previous exchange had already proven that Yone possessed the mechanical skill to handle it.

The only way seemed to be using Predator to accelerate and close the distance, or using Flash to get in range.

Galio’s only advantage in the last exchange was having an extra Flash, and Song Yijin really wanted to make something happen with it.

5 minutes.

"Karsa, is there a play in mid? I feel like we need to shut this Yone down once, he has no Flash."

Karsa pondered for a moment: "But I feel like Sejuani might still be counter-ganking mid. Jiejie always likes to protect the mid lane. It’s better if I go gank bot."

"OK, then I’ll bait him." Song Yijin responded in agreement.

The Senna-Tahm Kench duo in the bot lane was one of the top three most popular combinations in the S12 Summer Split.

This combination is strong because Senna, while in the support role, has high growth potential; once she has a cheap Umbral Glaive, she can quickly display damage higher than a conventional AD carry.

Meanwhile, Tahm Kench, in the AD position, consumes the resources of a carry, allowing him to possess the tankiness of a top laner.

This results in a combination that hits its power spike early, effectively functions as two carries, and provides late-game insurance and utility.

If there is one drawback, it is that before level 6, when Tahm Kench lacks his ultimate, Senna is prone to being burst down and lacks reliable engage.

This is why they pair them with Sejuani, a jungle-mid duo with strong engage.

Galio’s positioning in the mid lane suddenly became aggressive, constantly inching toward his W casting range; under Song Yijin’s veteran acting, it appeared quite natural.

Ye Bo and Jiejie, who was crouching behind, both fell for it.

But at this very moment.

Poppy had actually already quietly snuck into the bot lane’s tri-bush.

"I’m here, engage on Senna!"

Upon hearing the command, the support ppgod decisively operated Leona, suddenly flashing to throw out her Zenith Blade, utilizing the skill's ability to pierce and hit the target at the end of its range to lock down Senna, who was standing beside Tahm Kench!

Aphelios, with his gun ready, strode forward, casting his Infernum and Severum, while planting marks on both of them.

"Viper, there’s also a Poppy!" Meiko had already spotted Poppy emerging from the river vision.

Viper didn't speak; the moment the CC ended, he flashed backward to create space, then meticulously used a friendly backline minion as a "gun mount" to aim at Poppy, firing a precise QW.

The slow from Piercing Darkness covered his retreat, masking the W Black Mist he applied.

But Karsa also operated with detail; before the delay on the Black Mist took effect, he chose to E into a minion for a "springboard displacement," sliding right into Senna’s face!

Aphelios followed up with a Severum root, coordinating with Poppy to land a full Heroic Charge.

Tahm Kench, lacking his ultimate, could not swallow her and could only watch as the fragile Senna was hard-killed, leaving his own thick-skinned self to flee toward the tower alone.

Meanwhile.

A battle was also breaking out in the mid lane.

The moment Ye Bo heard the voice comms, he knew he had been baited, and with lightning-fast reactions, he shouted for Jiejie to engage!

Of course, Song Yijin dared to be so fearless because he was prepared; the moment his teammates engaged bot, he had already retreated.

But because Yone’s reaction was too fast, a Q3 whirlwind was already flying toward him.

Galio simultaneously stepped out with a "sideways back-kick"!

The stone statue’s form was lifted into the air by the whirlwind, yet he still managed to kick forward from mid-air!

Galio’s CC cancellation!

Galio’s E skill is also a two-stage casting process; as long as one grasps the timing of the first back-kick and acts simultaneously with the incoming CC, one can forcibly kick out the E skill to complete a CC cancellation.

Song Yijin’s attention to detail was immense.

The reason it was sideways was that if he had kicked straight back, he likely would have collided directly with Yone, resulting in "treading water in place."

"Ah! Rookie!" Xiaohai Youshen couldn't help but cheer in advance.

But Yone did not stop the pursuit, because Galio’s E was sideways, and the distance had not been opened up.

Yone’s Q dash distance, utilizing the movement speed advantage of his tier-two boots, had already closed the gap again.

The strength of the Sejuani-Yone combo lies in the fact that although Sejuani’s E skill only has a 560-unit casting range, the distance at which melee teammates can help her stack charges is almost the entire screen!

In other words, although the level 4 Sejuani without Flash couldn't reach Galio herself.

She could still wait for Yone to help stack the charges, and then deliver the CC from a long distance!

Song Yijin saw through the opponent’s intention, knowing that no matter what, he could not let them have the chance to get in his face and start attacking.

Galio really didn't want to burn his Flash, but the opponent’s Q positioning was equally tricky.

He couldn't hesitate now; he flashed to escape into the tower, simultaneously spreading his wings to channel, attempting to deter them.

Yone no longer had his Q dash; if he used his E to chase, he would be stuck in place for 2 seconds after eating the full W taunt, unable to attack, giving Galio plenty of time to create distance.

Ye Bo clicked on Galio with his left mouse button, his eyes fixed on the top-left corner, the opponent’s status bar.

Galio’s W can be channeled for up to 3 seconds, with both {range} and {CC duration} reaching their maximum at 2 seconds, and then it can be held for at most one more second.

And just as Ye Bo saw the opponent’s W icon roll to two-thirds—he released his "Reverse E"!

Fatal Steel, tearing Yone’s spirit and body apart by five hundred units.

This wave was a battle of wits between the two regarding the timing of the W.

Ye Bo determined that if Galio wanted to deter him, he would aim for the full taunt’s intimidation effect, which is why he timed it to the final 1-second limit—the moment he was forced to release it.

And the moment his spirit and body separated, he rapidly pressed EE, immediately causing the two to merge back into one!

Galio’s taunt landed on empty air, having been dodged by the back-turned E.

And this reverse E not only dodged the taunt as Yone returned to his body, but it actually closed the distance, flying directly into Galio’s face!

{When Galio casts W, he self-slows}

{Yone’s E skill forces the body and spirit to separate for displacement, meaning the body does not remain in its original spot}

Utilizing the rapid reverse EE.

Yone’s E skill can actually also be a rapid displacement in any direction!

Point-blank AQWA, a silky-smooth manual sword dance timed to the attack interval, instantly landing the three-stack freezing mark.

Sejuani threw out her ice chain from five hundred units away, then rode the boar in with a QW!

Galio and Yone had both recalled at the same time in the previous wave; Yone had one extra kill to afford Berserker's Greaves, while Galio only had an extra Cloth Armor.

His full magic resist build was useless against the attacks of the Sejuani-Yone duo; near the tower, his stone wall was shattered by the back of Yone’s blade.

"Ah!!! Rookie!!!" The same words, different tone, expressing the user’s immense grief and psychological fluctuation.

Galio had successfully performed a CC cancellation this time, and the angle of his E skill was also handled with detail; he was just one move behind in the final W casting game.

But in top-tier competitive play, being one move behind can often lead to vastly different outcomes.

"Oh no! How is Ye Bo outplaying even Rookie! He’s not right!" Xika was going crazy: "Can my Rookie really be played this miserably?"

"Karsa doesn't even know how to come and help! What is he doing! What is he doing!" Xiaohai Youshen was fuming: "It’s all the problem of this trash hero Galio!"

"Look, getting anxious again!" Sun Yalong watched the easily baited Xiaohai Youshen with a grin.

"Actually, this wave was Rookie over-extending himself. The jungler wasn't there, why would he dare to show off like that to Yone? And did he get a bit greedy for his Flash?"

The audience perspective did not know the communication between the V5 teammates.

From the god’s-eye view, it really did look like Galio’s positioning was too far forward, giving them the opportunity.

Xiaohai Youshen was just worried because he cared, but calming down, he could figure out the reason.

"No! This time he was sacrificing himself to bait for the bot lane, and the bot lane also got two Flashes and a kill, it’s not a loss! If he hadn't died, they would have taken the dragon!"

"It’s a pity, truly a pity!"

After finishing, Kid didn't forget to immediately look for a topic to shift the focus and share the heat.

"EDG should be able to take the dragon, but Poppy can also take some plating with the bot lane duo, that’s still okay, the economy is acceptable!"

"And with this, the bot lanes have no Flash, the next Rift Herald fight, the advantage is with V5!"

"But, is Flandre really playing this heroically today?"

In the gap while EDG was taking the dragon, the director’s perspective suddenly cut to the top lane.

Since all four members of both sides had already appeared on the map, the isolated top lane also seized the time to break out into a struggle.

Flandre’s Kennen took the initiative to strike, seizing the window before Gnar could transform, stepping up to lock in his W passive and apply the lightning mark.

Although Mega Gnar has the highest base stats in the League, compared to Mini Gnar, his sustained damage and mobility are leveled out, especially before reaching level six.

The beast Gnar leaps out with a W to pummel, but Kennen instantly transforms into Lightning Armor, his movement speed skyrocketing; he confidently sidesteps, even dodging the incoming giant boulders one after another!

Mega Gnar's giant boulder doesn't boomerang; if you miss and can't pick it up, you're just a lost clown!

Kennen chases the clumsy, helpless Mega Gnar, poking him wildly; he is kited to numbness, seizes the opportunity to use his ultimate to amplify his laning advantage, forces him to recall, earns a free Teleport, and establishes a personal lane lead.

[What is up with EDG today? Are they on drugs? Did WBG charge them up after playing them last week?]

[How bold! You call them a power bank! Who!]

[Karsa turns his head to look at his own top laner, feeling something is wrong; why does this Gnar look a bit familiar!]

[Master Ye really has a different feel when he gets Yone; last week's Zoe and Akshan, people on the forums were still calling it a mechanic hack, but hey, what about this one? This is all pure childhood training!]

[After all, these are his three signature picks from before he debuted, rock solid; have you forgotten the dominance of one Yone taking up three spots in the top 10 from the week before last?]

[So, tell me, can I actually see an Akali versus LeBlanc today? It's urgent!]

In fact, they really were "charged up."

At least for Flandre, they were.

Although his form might not necessarily be adjusted back to last year's level, at the very least, his mentality and confidence have returned, and he is more daring to make plays and gamble.

Flandre's long-standing impression has always been "slippery."

But this slipperiness was never simply about being hard to gank or just coasting.

It is the steadiness during the laning phase, showing his fangs only when it is absolutely safe to do so.

It is having extremely strong execution, always perfectly fulfilling the tactical system responsibilities assigned to him by the team.

There will always be people who feel that EDG's top laner doesn't have any flashy presence.

But if you look closely at the analysis, you will know that the top lane has always been a core link in the tactical system; in an environment where jungle resources are limited, being able to support a lane on one's own without eating resource priority is very critical.

EDG pulls off a small climax, holding a small gold lead of 1.5k; only the bottom lane is a little uncomfortable, though that is also partly due to the inherent weakness of their combination in the early game.

"We have to contest the Rift Herald; we have to break their mid-jungle tempo, otherwise Rookie will have a hard time playing." Karsa's thinking is clear.

Although Galio's development is lagging, it's not by much and is acceptable, but he is indeed being locked down in the mid lane by Yone.

Karsa's radar detection always feels like Sejuani is constantly protecting the mid lane, causing Poppy to not even dare to provoke a 2v2, fearing that it might really cause the mid lane to collapse in one wave.

The good news is that resources are always limited, and the essence of operations is displacement.

Although Rookie is being pinned down, at the same time, Sejuani hasn't done much either.

This is also because in this game, neither EDG's top nor bottom lanes are easy to kill; this system itself is designed to keep the mid and jungle connected, while the top and bottom lanes rely on the characteristics of their heroes and combinations to develop into the mid-game and unleash the power of team fights.

Meanwhile, Poppy has been focusing on attacking the bottom lane during this time, restricting EDG's bottom lane quite a bit and successfully bringing the gold difference back to within 1k.

At 7 minutes and 30 seconds, the Rift Herald is about to respawn.

Both teams' personnel are gathering toward the Rift Herald.

For V5, this wave is important; they have a gold advantage in the bottom lane, and at this time, Tahm Kench and Senna are still a utility-oriented combination.

"It feels like neither side wants to give up this Herald, but actually, it feels like EDG is in a bit of danger." Sun Yalong suddenly and rarely starts analyzing seriously with Xika: "But I've noticed that ever since EDG changed to Ye Bo, their aggressiveness in contesting the Rift Herald has increased by a huge amount!"

"That's true, maybe because Ye Bo plays flashy heroes; it's the kind where, once you hurry up and push the mid tower, he can go wild all over the map~" Xika nods.

"If you replaced him with Scout, if you pushed the mid tower early, where would he go to farm and get gold? Then they would have to swap lanes, but the husband and the sister are meant to be laning, so that would be very awkward~"

The two analyze for a while and find that these are people from two completely different systems.

Essentially, it's hard to say who is better or worse.

It's just that, as it stands, EDG has won their recent matches this way.

And they win very quickly!

The Herald spawns; V5's bottom lane, having gained lane priority due to the jungler's crazy attention early on, is able to arrive first.

The EDG members gather at the mouth of the F6 camp and approach the Herald pit, looking for a good opportunity.

"Don't rush to finish it yet, wait for me to find a chance to hammer someone away." Karsa's eyes are fixed.

A well-placed Poppy ultimate could change the tide of battle.

But obviously, everyone will dodge a face-to-face charge; the opponent isn't stupid, and it's not that easy to achieve an ideal effect.

"Must be careful of Poppy, don't rush later, remember to stand towards my side." Ye Bo commands while kiting the F6 to stack his wind.

And at this moment, a wolf head mark suddenly lights up above everyone's heads.

"Don't be afraid! Galio doesn't have Flash!"

Ye Bo quickly realizes that the wolf head is just for intimidation.

Poppy's Flash is back up; the biggest hidden danger this wave is being hammered away by Poppy into a key target.

It's just that the EDG members didn't expect that Galio's position was not inside the dragon pit at all.

The Predator warning range is about 2000 yards, which is roughly the distance from the mid lane minion wave to the middle of the river; it's not that far, but not that close either.

But this time, in the vision of the EDG members, they could only see the opponent starting the Herald; in their vision was an Aphelios stacking his chakrams while fighting the Rift Herald, so they naturally assumed the people were ambushing in the dragon pit.

Because the {Oracle Lens} requires level 9 to purchase, it was thanks to EDG's early advantage in the top half of the map that the vision set up early near the river brush allowed them to grasp the information.

But at this moment, Galio is hiding in the corner in front of the mid lane's first tower!

And at the same time... there is a Poppy swinging a giant hammer, also right there!

The two sides are separated by only one corner of a wall.

Because this is in front of V5's first tower, EDG has absolutely no vision information.

"Pressure them!"

Leona hears this and fires a Solar Flare from a long distance.

Such a long-range, obvious ultimate is unlikely to hit multiple people, so everyone quickly scatters and separates their positioning.

But this, in fact, is V5's intention.

The Poppy in the back finds an opportunity, seeing Kennen and the toad leaning back together, her giant hammer hungry and impatient.

"That's the position! Engage, engage, engage!!"

Poppy suddenly flashes from the back and swings her giant hammer!

A massive ground shockwave strikes from behind!

"Poppy! Behind!"

Ye Bo has been on guard the entire time for a Poppy who might flash and hammer at any moment.

Even though the direction was completely unexpected from the rear.

But the Unforgotten, Yone, is still able to prevent all of this from happening!

Yone flashes backwards, standing horizontally with his blade in front of his two teammates under the golden flash, facing the incoming shockwave alone.

The only timing.

Mortal Steel, the wind Q, collides with the shockwave!

Yone's body is first thrown high into the air on the spot, then immediately returns to the ground and continues to charge forward!

It is as if the whirlwind slash has forcibly swallowed and dissolved the shockwave.

"What the hell!? Even that can be negated!!" Karsa couldn't help but curse.

But the teammates in the back have already arrived; Gnar prepares to jump and pounce from the air, while Aphelios and Leona kill from the rear.

Rookie reacts extremely quickly, using Poppy as the center point to jump in with Hero's Entrance, coordinating with Gnar to complete a pincer attack!

"Charge the backline directly! We can win this! I'll take these two!" Ye Bo twitches his upper and lower lips excitedly: "The support is up to me!"

Poppy looks at what seemed to be a successful hammer-away of the two, but due to the appearance of this scene, the situation changes instantly.

Sejuani and Kennen both use their ultimates to counter-charge the backline; Glacial Prison and Slicing Maelstrom form a cage!

Tahm Kench bravely steps forward, while Senna retreats first to escape the danger zone, unleashing a Piercing Darkness to maximize AOE and shields!

And Yone narrows his eyes, aiming at the straight line formed by the landing point of Hero's Entrance and Gnar's giant palm in the air.

He uses his E, Soul Unbound, to charge forward instead of retreating, adjusting his orientation to stick to the center point of Hero's Entrance.

Just at the moment of impact———Red Dust Sword Qi, Fate Sealed!

Yone slashes with both swords, cutting through space and teleporting.

Gnar lands from the air and swings his giant palm, combined with the Justice Punch from the landing of Hero's Entrance; the damage from the double ultimate causes Yone's health bar to plummet.

But despite this, his figure remains motionless!

"Another goddamn control negation!!!"

The moment Galio and Gnar land, they are gathered and merged by Fate Sealed and pulled forward.

Directly wrapping both of them into the Glacial Prison and lightning bombardment zone!

Yone lands; Leona still wants to control him to finish off the low health, but the spirit returning yet again negates the control, and he is swallowed by Tahm Kench in the back, once again blocking Poppy who wanted to pick up the scraps.

A seemingly simple control negation.

But every collision is actually a difference of a hair's breadth.

Yet they are all shining crystals of proficiency!

The sound waves in the Performing Arts Center converge, letting the shock of the live audience echo heavily throughout the venue!

5k+5.6k, still 4.4k to go.

Sorry, this chapter might need to wait a bit longer; I have to go to sleep first. I haven't slept for a whole day since yesterday, and my brain is a bit dizzy.

Sleeping for five hours; I will finish writing and post it in the early morning when I wake up, which won't affect the next day's update.

From now on, the normal update time will be 12:00 PM + 12:00 AM; I'll apologize if I'm late, but I won't flake.

Persisting in writing ten thousand words a day!

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(End of chapter)