Glory [e-sports]

Translated by 🎏 Edited by apricot, @babyybluebear

It was nothing new to see a Storm Hunter killing a Gold Hunter in the bottom lane in competitions. After all, the Storm Hunter shone in the early game; targeting a defenceless Gold Hunter was like a high schooler bullying a puny grade schooler.

However, what was wrong in this particular scenario was that it was Yue Wenle who had killed Dunn.

The former was a marksman whose trip to Worlds ended at the qualifiers last year, whereas the latter was a marksman who could go toe to toe with Kim Sung-hyun.

Just half a year ago, the difference between them could also be likened to that of a grade schooler and a high schooler. But now… Yue Wenle had managed to solo kill Dunn at the opening of the game, so it was easy to see why Chinese fans were bursting with joy!

It was a complex feeling. The closest analogy would be that of a mother hen hoping that her son might get a passing score, only to learn that the little rascal had somehow stumbled into first place –even ranked first citywide at that.

How could that not be a cause for celebration!

However, as the saying went, out of extreme joy came extreme sorrow…

The fallen Dunn respawned and received a gift of unprecedented warmth.

Before this game, never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that his cry for help would be answered by his idol.

Wait for me – the three words struck him to the depths of his heart with dizzying strength.

Dunn: “Xie…”

Xie He: “Attack after me.”

Every moment was filling Dunn with another shot of adrenaline.

Right after, EVE launched a furious wave of attacks in the bottom lane. Yue Wenle, who had taken a kill, was bound by a chthonic hand that appeared out of nowhere.

The Void Mage blinked behind him, and a nightmare loomed overhead.

Bogged down by the nightmare, all of Yue Wenle’s abilities would be released in the reverse direction. At that split second, Potato Chip Le was heartbroken. He had hit his flash in advance and naturally moved the cursor to his own defense tower, but the spell failed due to the bind arriving one step earlier. However, since he had cast the spell, the flash would activate after he was released from the bind.

Regrettably, with the nightmare looming overhead, the originally lifesaving ability would end up sending him backwards instead.

The crowd gaped, wide-eyed. “Shit, God Xie is delivering the Storm Hunter straight to the Gold Hunter’s arrow!”

“Godly play!”

“My heart aches for Lele, flashing to his death.”

“For some reason, I can’t stop thinking that God Xie is super cool in this game!”

“Totally! God Xie is way cool when he takes revenge for Dunn.”

“Ahhhh, I also want to be pampered by God Xie!”

The instant that the chthonic hand withdrew, Yue Wenle’s flash took effect. He should have been able to flee to his defense tower, but due to the interference of Demonic Bog, he moved in the reverse direction and appeared squarely beside the Gold Hunter.

If Yue Wenle had just a little bit more health, there would have been no cause for worry. He could fly away on a rainstorm and maybe even take the short-legged Gold Hunter down if he was lucky.

Unfortunately, he currently only had a third of his HP left, so when the Gold Hunter’s arrow came flying, President Le was instantly sent home.

System announcement –

EVE.Dunn killed FTW.Le.

An apple for an apple, a kill for a kill. They had drawn even now…

What the hell!

Unlike the joyfulness that the characters in his name represented, Lele was fuming!

Wei Xiao comforted Lele: “I’ll avenge you.”

System announcement –

FTW.Quiet killed EVE.Smith!

In the top lane, Wei Xiao’s sneak attack succeeded and, with the captain’s help, he took down the Berserker Warrior.

Yue Wenle: “…”

Xie He and the Grandmaster had both avenged their fallen comrades, yet the vindication received was miles apart!

Both sides were already waging all-out war despite not having access to their ults. After level 6, hostilities grew even more rampant, sparks flying at every encounter. The pace was alarmingly fast-paced as both teams attempted to plunder everything in sight.

As the game wore on, FTW’s plays became smoother and even more cohesive, taking big-picture strategy and long-term planning into account.

The Little Lunatic led the rhythm while the Great Demon King controlled the map, and the three cubs played with wild abandon under the sky and the blazing sun.

Even non-professionals could sense the tacit understanding connecting each of the five team members.

There was no need for anyone to make concessions, wait, or hold back.

They each focused on what they had to do and accomplished it to the best of their abilities.

The intensity of the game had the crowd in a chokehold.

They no longer cared for the result; they only wanted them to play to their hearts’ content and leave no regrets, filling the canyon with their adrenaline and youthful vigour!

Yuan Ze leaned back and let out a small sigh.

Kim Sung-hyun side-eyed him.

Yuan Ze’s slender finger was tapping lightly on his leg.

Kim Sung-hyun spoke in a low voice. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing.”

Yuan Ze: “…”

Despite also feeling smothered on the inside, Kim Sung-hyun still fixed a firm look on him. “He has already done well!”

Yuan Ze got up again, startling Old G who was seated to his left. “Huh?”

Yuan Ze: “Washroom.”

Gary: “But… the game is about to end…”

Yuan Ze glowered at him. “Laozi can’t hold it in anymore!”

Gary: “……”

The big man made space for his captain to pass but not without thinking to himself: Frequent urination is a disease, captain, you need to get it checked.

Yuan Ze wasn’t going to the washroom, of course.

He just didn’t want to watch on; he couldn’t stand it.

L&P had fared the worst this year, but looking at it realistically, it could be considered a good wake-up call for the team. He was dead-set on bouncing back next season.

But when it came to Xie He…

He couldn’t take it.

In the past, the one with the softest heart in FTW was no doubt the one whose mouth was soldered shut.

He had a tongue as sharp as daggers and a heart as soft as tofu.

While the audience were still anticipating the results, Yuan Ze could already see the ending.

EVE had lost steam. Chances were, it was going to be 3:0 to FTW.

If someone had predicted this before the match, forget about others, even the five on FTW would be unable to believe it.

Are you dreaming?

How could EVE possibly get clean swept by FTW?

As audacious as Wei Xiao was, even he wouldn’t have been able to take such a prediction seriously.

But now… The world of esports was cruel.

It was like rowing a boat upstream – if one stopped moving forward, they’d fall back.

EVE, who had fallen short of the podium last year, should have previously sought to resolve the root of their problem.

“Here…” Kim Sung-hyun offered Yuan Ze a cigarette.

The proud flower had also slipped away with the same excuse, but not for the same reason. He just wanted to check up on Teacher Yuan.

Yuan Ze’s eyelids flicked up at him. “Where’d you get this?”

Kim Sung-hyun: “Old Park.” Both he and Li Heran didn’t smoke.

Eyes hooded, Yuan Ze gazed at the cigarette for a long moment.

Kim Sung-hyun frowned. “If you don’t want it, forget it.”

Yuan Ze accepted it, though he only held it between his fingers and didn’t light it up. “I never expected that I’d lose in the quarterfinals.”

Kim Sung-hyun, “…”

Yuan Ze said in a neutral tone, “Actually, losing isn’t a big deal.”

Only by letting go of the past and seeing the present can we embrace the future.

Being defeated in the quarterfinals had actually taken a weight off Yuan Ze.

Kim Sung-hyun’s brows furrowed. “You’re underestimating him.”

Yuan Ze glanced at him from the corner of his eyes.

Kim Sung-hyun: “Xie He is much stronger than you.”

Yuan Ze: “…”

Kim Sung-hyun didn’t look at him. He fixed his eyes on the starry night outside. “He won’t fall.”

Indeed, Xie He would not fall.

EVE’s Xie He did manage to keep his team standing!

Yuan Ze and Kim Sung-hyun missed the game’s climax.

The game was indeed nearing its end and FTW had indeed obtained a huge advantage. But nobody could foretell the final outcome while the clock was still ticking.

Didn’t the charm of competition lie precisely in its unpredictability?

Wasn’t the spirit of competition epitomised in persevering to the end?

Indeed, EVE’s teamwork was unable to match up to FTW’s now.

The switch to a new comp was too abrupt; they lacked practice with it.

The closer it got to end game, the more apparent FTW’s advantage became. Even the crowd could tell. If this pressed on, EVE would lose, 3:0. They would be clean swept, and their season would end here, brutally terminated by FTW.

Echo was sitting ramrod straight, her slender fingers threaded together, joints pale.

The assistant seated beside her was so fraught with anxiety that they didn’t even dare take a breath.

While the rest of EVE’s crew off-stage were so nervous their hearts were practically leaping out of their chests, the five on stage really weren’t that concerned.

Their situation was bleak; FTW had established a dominating gold advantage over them.

But so what!

The game was approaching the thirty-minute mark. Close was managing the minions in the top lane, Yue Wenle was managing those in the bottom lane, and Wei Xiao and Ning Zhehan were herding the minions down the mid lane. When the laning phase ended, EVE’s defeat would be set in stone.

Should they sit around and wait for death? Wait for the game to end?

Miller: “The dash totem is ready.”

Xie He: “Initiate.”

On command, Miller’s totem glided out at once, covering half the mid lane. Xie He’s movement speed instantly rose when he stepped on it, and the chthonic hand behind the void earl was primed for a fight, nebulous and haunting in appearance.

CC and Smith also stepped on the totem at the same time. The Berserker Thief had high movement speed to begin with. With this added boost, his avatar whizzed over like the wind.

Dunn came last. He wasn’t in a hurry to expose his position; instead, he waited for an opening.

All of a sudden, Xie He’s chthonic hand flew out, firmly locking the Immortal Warlock down!

Ning Zhehan sucked in a breath. “Brother Cai!”

Bai Cai cast his ultimate at once, topping up his health.

To Ning Zhehan, rooted to the spot, this one second seemed to draw out for an eternity.

When at last the binding dispelled, Ning Zhehan did not fall due to the health restored by the Holy Priest. He swiftly set about using Connecting Clouds as he had a hunch that the cooldown for Berserker Thief’s sickle was up. He had to deal a wave of damage for his teammates.

The fog thickened and just before Thousand Cloud Layers landed, Xie He executed Void Displacement and the long-prepared Demonic Bog appeared over Ning Zhehan.

Thousand Cloud Layers descended but the aim was off!

Ning Zhehan inhaled sharply. “Crap!”

He had long been prepared to counter the Void Mage’s ability to reverse his attack trajectory and had kept a constant lookout for it, afraid that the direction would change when he summoned Thousand Cloud Layers.

Little did he expect that Xie He would actually use a displacement to hide the bog and not give him a single chance to fend it off!

Thousand Cloud Layers missed and the Berserker Thief’s sickle swung over.

Right at that moment, Wei Xiao and Lu Feng charged EVE’s backline, focusing their abilities on Dunn.

Miller reacted swiftly, quickly spelling a resurrection totem over Dunn.

Dunn drew a small breath. “Don’t worry!”

When he got up, golden arrows flew everywhere with explosive damage.

Miller collapsed. Lu Feng and Wei Xiao were barely hanging on thanks to the strong health leeching abilities of the Blood Warrior and Blood Thief.

However, Ning Zhehan was unable to block CC’s sickle and bit the dust.

The arena was completely fractured.

At the front were Xie He and CC taking on Ning Zhehan, Yue Wenle and Bai Cai, whereas at the back, Lu Feng and Wei Xiao were charging down Dunn, Miller and Smith.

It wasn’t a showdown between old teammates and yet it was!

Xie He killed Ning Zhehan and dispatched Yue Wenle. CC sent off Bai Cai.

Lu Feng killed Miller and chopped down Smith. Wei Xiao restrained Dunn with Blood Raven’s Kiss, and dark feathers cloaked the sky as he collected his second kill.

Xie He and Lu Feng turned around in unison.

Nobody wasted a single moment of opportunity.

CC rushed up, locking down Wei Xiao with his sickle. Wei Xiao had already expended his ultimate, and even his movement ability had been used up from killing Dunn.

Seeing that CC was just about to kill Wei Xiao, bloodlust swirled around Lu Feng, and he delivered a combo at a tricky angle to the Berserker Thief who was already below half health.

The system released the verdict instantaneously –

CC killed Wei Xiao.

Lu Feng killed CC.

Only two remained alive on the field.

CC: “Xie, I’m leaving it to you.”

Xie He: “Okay.”

The pale-complexioned earl vanished, and just when everyone believed he would immobilise Close, the chthonic hand closed around his own avatar instead.

Tendrils swum menacingly and an eerie chill permeated the air. The void earl sunk into the demonic bog, leaving only the vague image of a cold, white lower jaw.

When the Bloodthirsty Warrior unsheathed his blade and sent a slash towards the Void Mage, the chthonic hand exploded abruptly, blocking the blade whilst doling out an explosive burst of damage.

System announcement –

EVE.xiehe killed FTW.Close!

The Void Mage killed the Bloodthirsty Warrior.

This time, Xie He was the last man standing!

But while there was now hope for EVE to win the third game, everyone was fixated on something else…

“Oh my god, what was that thing Xie He did at the end? Is that how you’re supposed to play the Void Mage’s other form?!”

@babyybluebear: TMI, but, Gary’s short and hilarious 1 minute presence is making me feel very called out. 🙁

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