Chapter 98: Luring the Opponent into the Urn: A Kill!

Under normal circumstances, the jungler starting alone and reaching level 3 happens at roughly the same time as the mid laner reaching level 3, but because the Sejuani was delayed by the tower dive attempt, she will inevitably be behind.

By tracking his own progress toward level 3, Ye Bo could roughly judge when the Sejuani would reach level 3 and move to the top lane.

Watching Sylas’s aggressive trading patterns, he began to form a plan.

The reason Sylas’s laning strength depends entirely on the player’s performance is that this champion’s trading method requires him to actively step up and land his E2!

The Q ability only deals low damage if it hits normally, the W requires being in melee range, and the passive is the same; all of them rely heavily on landing the E2.

That is why some professional players’ Sylas looks like they are just getting beaten the whole time, while others frequently appear in solo kills or get solo killed in lane.

It all comes down to the player’s laning style and whether they are daring enough to frequently fish for E2s.

However, Sylas has been out for three years now, and everyone has gained experience in how to deal with this champion—the simplest way is to stand parallel to the minion wave, giving the opponent no angle to land the E.

Like Ye Bo in the previous game, when he was level 6 on Zoe and guarding against Amumu, he retreated and stood behind the minion wave, which was the only reason he gave the opponent an angle to land the E.

Including the first time Sylas landed an E this game, it was only because Akali retreated to roam that she gave him the positioning.

Ye Bo examined the minion wave.

At level 1, Sylas rushed up to trade, drawing minion aggro while also hitting the wave with his passive AOE; the wave was currently pushing toward Akali.

This, perhaps, was an opportunity to exploit.

The director used a split-screen to show the laning footage of both the top and mid lanes simultaneously.

On one side was Gnar, who was being pinned under the tower and could only impotently throw boomerangs at Renekton.

On the other side was Akali in the mid lane, who was desperately trying to push the wave, appearing extremely anxious.

Just at this moment, the level 3 Akali retreated directly from the minion wave again.

Scout, of course, would not be unaware of his opponent's intentions.

Just like at level 1, as long as Akali wasn't hugging the minion wave, it gave Sylas the space to land his E!

Scout didn't hesitate to dash in with his E, Abscond, closing in on the backline minions and taking a step to jump over a minion.

His cursor hovered desperately, aiming amidst Akali’s somewhat "panicked" movement.

Sylas lashed out with his Abscond chains!

Both sides had been fighting for lane priority, and as two melee champions, the distance between them was not far to begin with.

This Abscond chain was launched at close range and aimed perfectly; it seemed Akali could only rely on a quick side-step E to dodge.

But Akali still used her E backward—and then suddenly used her Flash to retreat for no apparent reason!

A straight line, a standard E-Flash toward her own tower.

Actively seeking out the position to "collide" with that chain!

Sylas’s first E dash only covers 400 units, but the second E’s range is doubled to 800 units.

Although Akali’s Shuriken Flip dart can also travel 825 units, that "backward" displacement actually only covers about 350 units.

Therefore, Akali’s face-to-face straight backward E would, in all likelihood, still be hit by the Abscond.

But more importantly, it wouldn't be able to "bring" Sylas into that position!

That’s right.

The landing spot of Akali’s Flash was exactly the flight destination of Sylas’s second chain!

Scout was full of question marks the moment he saw the Flash, but the next second, he realized what was happening and felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

But the chain that had been thrown was like spilled water.

There was no turning back.

Don't forget, Sylas’s E ability has a "fixed cast distance" + "second-stage forced displacement" mechanic; the "warp-stretch E" Ye Bo used to solo kill in the first game utilized this exact mechanic.

That Abscond chain just flew straight forward.

It successfully hit Akali.

At the same time, Sylas’s Flash icon turned gray.

{Flash cannot be used while flying after an E ability hits}

Sylas was pulled forward 800 units by his own chain, flying straight into the enemy defensive tower!

Ye Bo had already applied Ignite in mid-air, and the Shuriken Flip successfully landed on his face.

Sylas reacted instantly, immediately flashing backward to try and escape the tower’s range.

But his position was far too deep.

When the defensive tower has no target, its target acquisition speed is extremely fast; it instantly locked on and fired a laser.

The tower’s damage increases over time, and at just over 3 minutes in, it had just finished increasing right on schedule.

The 218 attack damage hitting Sylas was almost equivalent to helping Akali deal two extra abilities for free!

The second part of Shuriken Flip surged up, the killing intent in hot pursuit!

Scout’s heart turned to ash; he could only make a desperate last stand, but it was clearly impossible to win, and he didn't even use Ignite.

Both sides had been trading intensely, and neither’s health was particularly healthy.

This sudden turn of events was already fatal.

Akali landed from her flip, auto-attacked, followed by W Twilight Shroud, chased with another Q Kama strike, and combined with the burn from Ignite to cleanly sever Sylas’s head!

Solo kill completed!

Because the director had just enabled the split-screen view, there was no need for a replay; everyone witnessed the entire process perfectly.

"My god, another solo kill in the mid lane!!! The third solo kill in this best-of-five!" Guan Zeyuan roared with high emotion: "Player Ye, he really is Ip Man!"

"Using his own body to Flash, seeking the chain to enter the Dao, luring the opponent into the urn!" Wang Duo also stood up, slamming the table with passion: "An incredibly detailed solo kill! What a brilliant idea!"

"If I remember correctly, even if Sylas flashes, he can't cancel the landing point of that E, and once the E hits, he can't use Flash anymore."

"Akali’s seemingly simple and casual Flash absolutely contained Player Ye’s ultimate understanding of these two champions!"

Rita, on the side, did a seal-clapping motion, appearing much simpler and more direct: "That was so cool!"

[Stealing-Saint laughs at me, breaking new records again~ Last game he at least lasted until level 6, this game he gets solo killed at level 3?]

[To be fair, you really can’t say the Stealing-Saint is bad; it’s just that Master Ye is too OP. Sylas’s play had no issues.]

[Scout: "Damn, Akali has one HP left."]

[IQ suppression, this is the King of Laning!]

[Didn't someone just say something about the Stealing-Saint's early game last match? Hmm? Where are they? Where are they!]

[Sigh, everyone stop overhyping, it’s just a solo kill on the Stealing-Saint. This guy has been solo killed by so many people this year, even Banana Wolf has killed him. It’s just a basic operation for my Master Ye~]

The director, looking for trouble, cut to Scout’s first-person perspective.

But everyone’s focus was on the camera in the bottom right corner; Scout’s expression was extremely ugly, he punched the air with a large motion, and clearly mouthed "ao, xi, ba."

The other four members of BLG didn't say anything, fearing they would further irritate the mid laner's fragile heart.

Only in the game did everyone tacitly switch their screens to the mid lane.

"Cybernetic Staring Contest"

The impact of this play was far more than just a single solo kill.

"Still diving? Akali is missing, and she's under half health." The Sejuani, having just finished the Red Buff, said while looking at the top lane minion wave.

Bin looked at the Akali who had disappeared from sight and fell into deep thought.

If they insisted on diving, it seemed they could still do it.

But Gnar still had Flash, and although Flandre’s minion wave was stuck, he had accumulated a bit of Rage with his boomerang; it was possible he could transform into Mega Gnar and drag out the time.

Renekton and Sejuani would inevitably use all their abilities after the tower dive, and their health wouldn't be very healthy either.

According to their original plan, Viego would finish killing people in the bottom lane, recall, and then walk from base to the top lane; there definitely wouldn't be enough time, so they could dive slowly.

But Akali’s early liberation, being able to rush over from the mid lane alone, was a completely different story.

If Akali came up and picked up even one kill, the mid lane would probably be completely unplayable, just like before!

"Don't dive, Akali has Twilight Shroud to stall you guys; if Viego arrives, you'll all die." The command came from the mid lane.

The two in the top lane heard this, and upon reflection, it seemed there was no rush.

After all, Akali couldn't keep coming to support the top lane; her wave-clear speed wasn't that fast.

Whether Gnar died this time or not, he was already ruined; for the next few minutes, Gnar under the tower, facing Renekton and Sejuani, would inevitably be a lamb waiting for slaughter.

"Alright then, wait for the next wave, be careful in mid."

"Mid laner has no summoner spells." Scout spoke again.

"Yeah, I can come take a look later; I feel like there's a chance to gank him before he hits six." Weiwei responded immediately, tacitly ignoring the recent death.

After all, the top lane was a melee champion suppressing a ranged one; to keep Gnar from even smelling the experience, Renekton had to stand behind the backline minions.

So, in fact, Renekton hadn't been farming much either.

Since they weren't diving anymore, Renekton turned around and cleanly pushed the minion wave to avoid affecting his own growth, then recalled to convert his economy into an advantage.

"Seeing Renekton push the wave in, Akali also recalled nearby; Gnar can finally eat some minions now," Guan Zeyuan expressed his sympathy for Gnar.

"But it feels like this only delays death; it’s not enough to quench the thirst. Even if Viego arrives to counter-gank later, it will be of no use. They can't possibly win this 2v2, and might even end up crashing together!"

Wang Duo nodded in agreement: "Indeed, Gnar is still very dangerous under the tower. Even if the EDG mid laner has an advantage, he will likely be kept tied to the top lane."

The members of EDG on the field were naturally very clear about this.

Even if Akali’s solo kill saved them this time, it only barely helped Gnar get back into the game; the second tower dive would still be hard to defend against.

Although the "Renekton-Sejuani" combo’s burst was slightly lower than "Renekton-Elise," in terms of instant crowd control and brawling, it was definitely even stronger!

For a solo laner, the scariest thing is not being able to stand under the tower.

If Gnar were left in the top lane, it would inevitably lead to EDG’s tempo being led by the nose; the top and jungle would be continuously suppressed, which would also prevent the bottom lane from expanding their advantage.

Ye Bo also knew that solo kills couldn't happen frequently in the mid lane; no matter how anxious Scout was, he would definitely have to behave for a while after being solo killed once.

If things continued like this, the tempo would only become a stagnant pool of water.

Very quickly, Ye Bo made a prompt decision and formulated a tactical deployment.

"Holy Gun Brother, recall after you finish eating this wave of minions; I'm coming top."

Ye Bo repurchased items at the fountain, swapping {Oblivion Orb} for {Boots of Speed} + {Amplifying Tome}, then headed straight back out toward the top lane.

"Okay."

Li Xuanjun did not say anything more at this moment.

In his heart, he very much did not want his disadvantage to affect the team, but he quickly understood the opponent's intention and knew this might be the only solution.

The top lane is long, and Gnar is even in danger just trying to Q minions; it is very easy to fall into an infinite cycle of collapsing lanes.

But in the short lane of mid, at least soaking up experience is absolutely doable!

As long as Gnar's level catches up and he buys some tanky items, he will be able to return to the top lane then.

If not for the opening design, this is not a hero that is easily tower-dived!

As for whether Akali will be dived after switching to the top lane...

Clearly, there are not many heroes harder to tower-dive than Akali!

"EDG has performed a lane swap! Choosing to let Akali go to the top lane to deal with the shameless Crocodile-Pig strong-push!"

"Wow, this decision, it feels like there's really no problem; it seems it can solve EDG's urgent need!"

"Player Ye sacrificed his own advantage in the mid lane to come to the top lane and take on the most dangerous lane for the team. As long as he can hold on, perhaps he can lock down BLG's offensive firepower!"

"You have to know, BLG's bottom lane is actually also at a massive disadvantage; their top lane advantage wasn't gained for free!"

"And this matchup in the top lane... has quite a history!"

The commentary desk highly praised this decision.

The chat was suddenly like a spilled bottle of oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar; it was all very flavorful.

But Ye Bo felt it was fine.

Every game's situation changes in an instant; one must always make responses to various circumstances and flexibly deploy troops.

Rigid, formulaic responses are always inferior in terms of tactics.

Since the top lane most needs someone who can withstand the danger of being dived, as long as he can hold off the offensive, there is no doubt that in a 2-1 situation, the advantage lies with EDG!

And at the same time, the jungler was also brought back to life.

The top lane crisis was resolved, and Viego headed straight for the bottom half of the map upon leaving base, not forced to bite the bullet and go into the completely empty top jungle.

It was equivalent to instantly revitalizing two people!

When Chen Zebin returned to the lane.

Seeing that Akali had appeared in the back, his little eyebrows immediately began to twitch.

"Lane swap?" Weiwei said with some surprise.

"Doesn't matter, swap if they want, we can still dive!" Bin's tone was high, and he looked very high-spirited.

"I can come once I chip away some health in the laning phase; she can't block my damage with her shroud, we can just brute-force her to death."

Scout didn't speak, and there was no expression on his face.

He had the look of 'it doesn't matter who I play against.'

But clearly, laning against a Gnar who is starved for experience is much less stressful than laning against Akali, and he could even turn the tables overnight!

The two who had repositioned in the top lane looked at each other from a distance.

The Crocodile flashed a [Thumbs Up] emote, and Akali followed by flashing a [Thumbs Up].

Although the two had no prior interaction, and even up to this point had not seriously spoken a single word.

But it was definitely well-known that they had quite a history!

One was an "exchange and study" during the early years.

The other was a fated encounter during the fame-seeking period, becoming the reason for the other's first rise to prominence.

The top lane matchup suddenly became the only focus of this game!

"This matchup has a story, damn, I feel like Ye Wen playing against Bin in the top lane shouldn't be that easy to play!" Uzi in the secondary stream was so excited he sat up straight.

"By the way, Akali versus Crocodile, what are the odds?"

The director's perspective was locked tightly onto the top lane.

It's just a pity that this matchup didn't start from level one; both had already reached level four, and the period of the most intense detail-oriented competition had already passed.

Laning is a long-term job, especially in the top lane; a failure in one wave of trading can lead to continued failure in the next, so the true laning gap is often exposed before level three.

Both sides started the laning phase holding advantages, so it was destined not to be a one-shot deal like ordinary laning.

Ye Bo placed a ward in the river, calculating the time, confirming that Sejuani should still be clearing her own blue buff area at this moment.

From the game against Xiaohu, it could be seen that Ye Bo had a lot of understanding of Crocodile.

He knew that Crocodile's weakest period is when he first enters the lane without fury; he cannot give the opponent the chance to slowly auto-attack minions to stack fury and then start trading, otherwise, it is impossible to win the trade.

Akali stepped forward past the minions to apply pressure, pushing right up against Crocodile.

The purpose of doing this was to prevent Crocodile from easily approaching the minion wave "without taking damage."

But Bin also understood this matchup very well.

Crocodile pushed forward, passing Akali, specifically wanting to use E to initiate and dash into the minion pile—otherwise, if his health was chipped away to a disadvantage first, it would be even harder to get close to the minion wave to stack fury.

Crocodile adjusted his position to dash in a straight line, spinning out [Tyrant's Reign] in the minion pile.

His fury bar suddenly jumped by nearly 40 points!

{Crocodile's white-fury Q, W, and E all instantly grant 10 fury upon hitting a hero, while hitting each minion grants 2.5 fury}

However, although this can stack fury quickly, if he cannot land a red-fury W, the damage will not be very high.

But Crocodile's strength in laning lies in his powerful sustain, which is exactly what Akali lacks.

It looks like he lost a bit of health, but in reality, he can earn it back with interest in the next wave.

And Ye Bo, facing the charging Crocodile, did not immediately use his Shroud.

Because he knew that since Crocodile had already used QE to stack fury, he must be holding his W for deterrence to avoid being easily hit by Akali's full combo.

Akali pulled back with QA, using her Passive to trade with Crocodile; Crocodile's fury reached 45 points.

And it was at the moment of the trade that Akali dropped her [Twilight Shroud] on the spot to hide her figure.

The blue side minions immediately lost their attack target.

But the red side minions were still continuously attacking Crocodile, who was in the middle of the minion pile!

Crocodile's second E dash only has a 4-second free release window.

The experienced Chen Zebin pondered for a moment, decisively held back the second auto-attack he was preparing to use on a minion to avoid his fury reaching 50 points, and turned to E out of the minion pile to drop the aggro.

Afterward, Crocodile turned to auto-attack a minion to reach 50 fury, deliberately standing outside the open minion wave to bait Akali's E.

He actually hoped Akali would E into him; if both sides traded their full kits, Crocodile would definitely win the trade.

1 second later.

Akali's figure did indeed "fly out" from the Shroud... but it was a "reverse E"!

Akali and Crocodile's E skills are the same, both being fixed-distance displacements that cannot be adjusted.

Ye Bo didn't fly out immediately because he was walking backward under the cover of the smoke, adjusting and calculating the distance and position of the reverse E flight.

The Q [Five Point Strike] landing at this moment... was exactly the distance to "pick up the passive on the spot"!

The Passive mark was added to her hand.

With a 40% high movement speed bonus, Akali spun her kama, charging toward Crocodile with fierce momentum.

Both of their attack ranges were [125] units.

And when Akali picked up the passive mark, and when Crocodile activated his W, their attack ranges would both coincidentally reach [225] units.

Crocodile was slowed by 50% from the edge of [Five Point Strike] and had already entered the kiting range, unable to retreat.

But, Chen Zebin did not activate his W immediately.

Because he saw that since Akali had already used the reverse E, it was obvious she was trying to bait his W!

As long as Crocodile activated his W, Akali would use the smoke from the reverse E to turn back, and this way, whether the W hit or not, it would have to enter a 16-second cooldown.

And if Crocodile didn't activate his W, Akali could also use the energy boost from the Shroud to wait and land another Q, making the trade highly profitable!

Chen Zebin knew that he had to first kite within range, then instantly activate W and auto-attack to win this trade.

But for a top laner who has fought in melee combat for years, this is like a half-step chasm!

Chen Zebin's eyebrows were twitching wildly as if electrocuted, his mouse cursor darting back and forth between two points, driving Crocodile and Akali to dance a "duet tango."

One wanted to close the distance to within 225 units to land the red-fury W.

The other wanted to ensure the distance was outside 225 units, but not too far, to avoid being unable to land the next Q.

Ye Bo noticed that Crocodile's blade hadn't changed color and guessed the opponent's thoughts.

His earlobes felt hot and twitched slightly, his attention fully focused, as if he had instantly submerged into Summoner's Rift, playing out the game of wits between a kunai assassin and a giant-axe beast.

You advance, I retreat.

You retreat, I advance.

Advancing and retreating together.

Just at this moment, Akali's next turn seemed to suddenly move half a step further back!

Crocodile seemed to respond in sync and moved half a step forward, but immediately after, he saw Akali's footsteps suddenly stall—it was the S key pressed for an extremely short instant!

The distance between the two sides closed instantly, then opened instantly.

Akali hit S+A to immediately trigger the [Passive auto-attack] while maintaining her backward positioning, then fired her third Q [Five Point Strike].

Akali had undoubtedly won the first wave of kiting!

Immediately after, the second wave began!

This white-damage trade had shifted from the original baiting of the W to a health deficit that the Crocodile had to accept by landing his W.

Chen Ze’s breathing grew rapid, but his finger resting on the W key remained steady.

Akali once again relied on the movement speed from the ring to pick it up from the side, gaining movement speed to chase.

2-2-3-4, one more time!

The original tango turned into a chase step; the Crocodile’s pace became hurried, stepping forward three steps and back two.

And Akali seemed to have made a matching set of steps.

This time, Chen Ze felt he was in range and pressed W [Ruthless Predator], clicking on Akali to initiate auto-targeting!

Yet, that second step of Akali’s forward movement paused again in an instant.

The distance between the two was just a hair’s breadth away from 225 yards!

And yet, that very hair’s breadth meant the Crocodile, without his E, simply couldn’t land the hit!

Seeing the opponent’s axe blade "turn red," Akali contentedly pressed Shuriken Flip and flew back to the rear.

The audience’s perspective could not directly perceive the game of wits that occurred within these few short seconds.

In the eyes of the audience, they only seemed to see the Crocodile looking slightly dull as he kept "pacing back and forth"—only to be hit by Akali for free!

This trade was equivalent to the Crocodile only landing a white-fury EQ.

Akali, however, landed QA + QA + Q, plus the burst from Electrocute, almost a full combo!

The most intuitive health status: the Crocodile dropped from full health to 60%, while Akali still had 90%!

And the Crocodile’s red-fury W had been baited out!

It was impossible for the Crocodile to waste his fury by W-ing a minion, so he had to stand behind the minion wave for another 5 seconds, waiting for the W to expire before entering its 16-second cooldown.

Although Uzi, streaming on the secondary channel, was not a top-laner, he could naturally see the details and understood spacing very well.

And this play made him exclaim in admiration repeatedly on the stream!

"Holy crap, Bin got spaced to death here! He got kited by Akali!"

"Honestly, Bin’s spacing is definitely top-tier, but Ye Bo’s control of this distance... is truly something."

"...No, what do you mean 'can the streamer do it'? Hey, that’s just malicious slander. When the streamer was young, he definitely could; that’s what the streamer does for a living!"

Seeing the slight skepticism in the stream’s chat, Uzi defended himself, red-faced and anxious.

[Oh? If the streamer is so good at spacing, why did he space himself into a streaming room to do commentary?]

[This play, isn't the jungle gap showing? I’m asking you, where is the jungler!]

[One pull, one push, the Mi! Ra! Cle! Wor! Ker!]

[Do you understand the gold content of a master Akali player? Little Bin should just be glad he’s a top-laner, otherwise you wouldn't be much better than Dao Chu!]

[Heh, isn't it the trash mid-laner’s fault for feeding and letting Akali get an extra pair of boots? Unfair, unfair!]

[Go Bin! You must strip Ye Bo’s pants off for me!]

Chen Ze consumed a health potion and stood dazed behind the minion wave, waiting for the W to fade.

His face was filled with disbelief.

He couldn’t believe... he had actually been "spaced."

As the person involved, and also as an Akali player, he knew best how terrifying this play was.

Just in the first wave, the opponent was able to so precisely use the "Reverse E" during laning to aim for the landing spot of that already difficult "In-Place Passive" point!

He understood the techniques and operations, but executing them in a real match was a completely different story.

Just for this one move, what level of proficiency and control was required?

Not to mention the subsequent several instances of positioning and mind games.

"Bin, should I come now?" Weiwei, who had finished clearing the bottom half and reached level four, asked: "I don't know where Viego is right now; he might be counter-ganking in the back."

Theoretically, there was no reason for Viego to be in the top half.

But considering Ye Bo’s tactical status in EDG, BLG could not rule out the possibility that the opponent might force a move to protect him, making it impossible to determine his location.

"It’s hard to gank now, better to wait for the next wave. You can clear the opponent’s top jungle first."

"Mid, mid!"

Scout’s voice suddenly came through.

The Sylas in the mid lane had been happily and easily suppressing his opponent.

But at this moment, Viego suddenly circled out from behind, and the previously passive Gnar jumped in with a second-stage E, changing forms in mid-air and landing with a W to hold him down!

Fortunately, although Viego’s items were decent, his level was too low and his damage wasn't high.

It seemed this play was just to chip away at Sylas’s health.

However, immediately after, the true purpose of this EDG top-mid-jungle coordination was revealed.

"Viego successfully ganked the mid lane, chipping away health and helping Gnar push the wave into the tower, then they both entered their own top jungle!"

"After the lane swap, Akali pulled off a beautiful trade in the top lane! With the health advantage in the top lane, if BLG wants to force a 3v3, EDG will definitely have the winning odds!"

"Brilliant... EDG used this lane swap to seize control of the top jungle in one fell swoop!"

Under normal circumstances, the top lane couldn't be ganked, and Sylas in the mid lane certainly wouldn't give an opening.

This 3v3 in the top half should have had no chance of winning.

And once Sejuani continued to invade the respawning red buff area, she could maintain the state of swapping halves, leaving EDG’s top lane effectively exposed.

But, the one-sided trade in the top lane, combined with a successful gank in the mid lane.

The top-mid-jungle coordination seized the timing of the top jungle respawning!

BLG’s top and mid were unable to provide support in time, and Sejuani had no choice but to turn to her own bottom half.

The jungle information became unknown again, and both junglers returned to contesting the half-map.

And the core of BLG’s ability to continuously "unilaterally" attack the top lane.

Had already been dismantled by Akali alone!

(End of chapter)