Chapter 68

“Let’s go, it’s our turn!”

Timing it perfectly, knowing staff wouldn’t come again to remind them, Jiang Ming waved to his teammates.

“GO! GO! GO!”

“Win 2-0, we’re done for the day.”

During the break, the five NXG members, basking in the online forum’s praise, walked with heads held high.

Among them, Song Yuan, the top laner dubbed the Prehistoric Crocodile by players, wore a grin so wide you’d think he could step straight into the role of the returning Dragon King of the city.

“Woo! Woo!”

“NXG!”

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Watching the NXG players stride out of the tunnel, full of energy and clad in sleek battle robes.

The audience’s reaction in the seated stands contrasted sharply with their earlier response when the team first appeared.

Much more enthusiastic.

Especially when Jiang Ming, dressed in a suit, stepped out last—the crowd’s excitement over this novelty was palpable.

“Look, this is the essence of esports—strength owns everything.”

Arriving at their positions, Jiang Ming opened the strategy board and, while the players installed their peripherals, unexpectedly delivered a bowl of chicken soup.

“Applause, cheers, flowers, money—even glory!”

“Win, and it’s all yours.”

The five boys, untouched by the cruelty of the real world, had never tasted such soup—they felt their blood boil instantly!

They didn’t understand why Ming-ge, who rarely spoke of anything beyond training, had suddenly changed his tone.

“Heh… but it feels pretty good, actually.”

The third match of Group A’s promotion stage pitted the winners of the first two matches against each other, with the victor advancing directly to the main event.

The losers, BLQG and DD, would face off in the elimination bracket—the winner entering the standby zone for the fourth day’s six-to-three elimination, the loser ending their brief 2013 LPL Spring Split journey.

“For the blue side allocation, since NXG had a mid-match break, LGD—the team playing back-to-back—received the pick/ban advantage and chose blue.”

“Blue side first pick—wow, they banned Jax right away.”

“A rational choice. Many players must’ve seen plenty of highlight reels lately of Jax instantly killing full-health heroes. The earliest to pull off that move? Jiang Ming, NXG’s coach… uh, also their owner. Even though Yihan is playing mid now, no one would say he can’t play Jax.”

“Indeed, Jax poses too great a threat to ADCs. If blue side isn’t planning to pick him first, it’s best to ban him outright.”

Inside LGD, having witnessed firsthand how NXG crushed BLQG, their respect for this team had reached its peak.

Though inwardly they still clung to the hope that, as all were masters, the gap couldn’t be that wide, during the pick/ban phase, all five were frantically brainstorming how to defeat their opponent.

In bans, their first three picks were ruthlessly targeted.

Jax, Cho’Gath, Thresh!

Full coverage, no blind spots, protecting the bottom lane.

“The other team’s cheating—six against five? That’s unfair!” complained Xiao Xingxing on top.

Taobao Quan tapped his forehead. “What’s the difference from when someone AFK in-game and we’re four against five?”

“Who says we even have a coach?”

“So what should we pick? Don’t show mid or top first—those guys are all targeting our picks.”

“Learn from NXG—pick jungle first. Harder to counter in the jungle.”

“Better to build around Sweet’s bottom lane. Stick with Caitlyn. Top lane needs a fast-clear, non-reliant-on-engaging hero.”

In the previous match against DD, LGD had reversed the game thanks to Sweet’s Caitlyn. Now his teammates clearly wanted to replicate it.

“Caitlyn won’t work.”

Sweet, still unnamed Styz, thought for a moment and suggested: “I’ve watched NXG’s past matches. We can’t fight them early—they’re too good at punishing mistakes. If they catch us, Caitlyn won’t push towers, and we won’t even have time to catch up on items.”

“If we’re going for late game, what if I pick Lulu to support your Draven?”

“Feasible!”

They reached consensus. After Jiang Ming banned Jelai, Stone Golem, and Blind Monk, LGD’s first pick locked in instantly.

“Bear King of the World.”

—Thunder’s Roar: Volibear!

“Oh, LGD picked Volibear first—wonder if they’re using him top or jungle,” said Wawa, unable to judge, and tossed the question to Joker beside him.

“Jungle. Volibear’s range is too short early—he struggles against most top laners.”

“Let’s see how NXG picks in their first and second slots.”

“Hey, these two heroes?”

On the right hero selection panel, a handsome man wielding a massive hammer appeared.

“Fighting for a better tomorrow!”

“Glad to meet you.”

The Future’s Protector—Jace and the Faerie Witch—Lulu.

“Jace? That’s rare these days. Is he going mid?”

“Probably. As a melee fighter, he’s too fragile for top lane…”

Jace, released on the Chinese server in July last year, drew immediate attention for his high Yanzhi , dual-form switching, and seemingly perfect long-range poke. But once players actually tried him, they cursed loudly.

Not only was his frame frail, but his EQ combo was hard to land mid-lane. Against S2’s stat monsters, he’d often die before even finishing his form switch.

So he never gained much popularity on the Chinese server. Jace only became truly popular after Shy’s legendary four-PDD one-shot at the 2013 All-Star event, and later in S4, when assassins were nerfed into oblivion and the meta shifted to poke mages.

Jiang Ming wasn’t bringing Jace here to duel S3 assassins mid. Whether it was Ahri or Warwick’s magic assassins, or Jax and Renekton’s physical ones, Jace’s meager sustain was useless. After level six, he’d easily become the enemy’s RBQ.

So if you pick Jace, either counter a mid-lane like Cassiopeia or Sona, or stick to top lane and use his range against short-range opponents.

Pick rights exchanged.

Seeing NXG’s bottom lane pick a soft support, LGD’s second and third picks swiftly locked in Draven and Lulu.

“Preparing to four-protect-one?”

Jiang Ming, seeing the icons of Draven and Lulu, sighed helplessly.

Clearly, a region’s playstyle isn’t formed overnight. Since WE, teams in this region had only ever focused on strengthening their bottom lane to beat opponents, completely ignoring meta shifts.