League: I really didn't tank!

Chapter 461 Two Consecutive Tower Dives!

"Alright, welcome to the Asian Games stage!" From the commentary booth, Guan Daxiao shouted loudly, "What we're seeing now is the opening match between LCK and LPL's number one seed, KZ, and our own QG!"

"This match can be seen as a rematch of the MSI semifinals. Will QG prevail and remain undefeated, or will KZ exact revenge? Let's wait and see!"

As soon as Guan Zeyuan finished speaking, the BP panel switched to the screen!

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Wang Duoduo immediately chimed in, "We can see that QG had the right to choose sides in this match, and they chose the red side!"

"I remember that during the Summer Split regular season, QG usually preferred to choose the blue side, but now they've switched back to the red side. This is clearly a change brought about by Tree's return!"

In the video, both sides have already completed their first three bans in a very fast fashion.

"KZ on the blue side are sticking to their strategy, banning Ezreal, Fiora, and Irelia. On the other side, QG is banning Poppy, Taliyah, and Kai'Sa. Now it's time to pick!"

"The bans for both sides are not much different compared to MSI!" Guan Daxiao said with a smile.

Wang Duoduo nodded and explained, "Actually, this is quite normal, because there aren't many noteworthy points in the current version. Both sides are mainly targeting the heroes the opponent plays well!"

As they were talking, both sides immediately selected their first heroes.

Now that Kai'Sa and Ezreal are gone, Xayah, Rakan, and Lucian are the highest priority champions in the current meta.

Xayah and Rakan need no introduction; they've always been quite strong. Their powerful self-preservation in the late game, combined with the new Infinity Edge's tank-killing speed, creates a near-perfect output environment.

Lucian, on the other hand, became popular again as a critical strike-based AD carry was nerfed in the early game, thanks to the Blade of the Ruined King and Black Cleaver effect build.

There's not much to say; of course, each side will have one on each side.

KZ secured Rakan, thus finalizing the Xayah-Rakan combination.

Uzi didn't have much to say and immediately decided on Lucian, but they weren't in a hurry to pick a support, so they asked Xiaohu for his opinion first.

"So, Li Yuanhao?" Banbazi asked, "Do you dare pick Yasuo?"

Xiao Hu couldn't help but tighten his grip.

After being tortured all night, if I don't get it today, wouldn't all that torture have been for nothing?

"select!"

QG second floor, Swift Sword Master, locked on!

Seeing this hero appear on QG's second floor, a cheer erupted from the audience.

When talking about QG's Yasuo, the first thing that comes to mind is Chen Dongqing's Yasuo game where he got a pentakill right from his debut.

But isn't Tree's Yasuo usually used to counter Gnar? Why would he pick it first?

Could it be that Xiaohu played this?

feel

On the other hand, the people from KZ were also somewhat confused.

What does this mean? Xiaohu can play Yasuo now? They've never seen him play before!

But they still have a solution.

They picked Xayah first, then added Galio, who is good at countering Yasuo.

On the other hand, QG didn't have much to say after that. They added a jungler, Gragas, to help Yasuo get a knock-up and some AP stats.

In the second round of bans and picks, neither side made any fancy moves; they focused on limiting the opponent's bans first.

KZ chose to ban Braum, Lucian's golden partner, and then gave the remaining ban slot to QG's Big Daddy, who banned Jayce.

On the other side, QG acted swiftly, banning Galio's two best buddies – Jarvan IV and Camille.

In the second round of selection, QG didn't think much before locking in a Minotaur as their fourth pick, continuing to add a first-strike knock-up.

On the other side, it was KZ's turn to lock in their lineup.

KZ didn't really have many options. Khan would go top lane first, so he would definitely have to withstand the pressure. As for the jungler, they would definitely have to choose a jungler who could synergize with Galio.

Ultimately, they chose Sion and Lee Sin, and the lineup was finalized.

Upon seeing Sion, the three commentators immediately began to speculate.

Suddenly, Colonel Guan asked with a smile, "What do you think Brother Shu will use to beat Sion this game?"

Wang Duoduo had done his homework and immediately replied, "I think we can consider picking a top laner like Vladimir or Viktor who can steal gold, since Xiaohu picked Yasuo in the mid lane this game, so it wouldn't be a problem to pick an AP top laner."

"That's a good idea," Colonel Guan said with a smile. "Actually, that's what I was thinking too. If we can pick Viktor this game, the lineup will be perfect."

"But there are still problems," Wang Duoduo said. "If they pick Viktor or Vladimir, they are likely to be pushed back by Sion in the early game, which will make the team lack initiative in the top half of the map. I don't think that's what QG wants to see."

Sion's wave clear ability is unparalleled in the entire league. Kleptomancy Viktor has no chance of pushing past Sion in the early game, not even Maokai.

"What do you think of Aatrox?" Wang Duoduo suddenly asked. "Whether it's the new version or the old version, Aatrox seems to have a pretty good chance against Sion."

Heavy armored soldiers are always a sure thing when taking down clumsy tanks.

This applies to Darius, Garen, and especially Aatrox.

But Colonel Guan frowned upon hearing this choice: "That's...unlikely, isn't it? The reworked Aatrox doesn't seem that strong, and I don't think this type of hero is well-suited for competitive play. I don't think QG would choose it."

The next second, QG's fifth floor player immediately activated Aatrox and locked onto him at lightning speed.

Colonel Guan's voice abruptly stopped.

The audience below the stage erupted in gasps of surprise!

After Yasuo, it's Aatrox again? What is QG doing this game?

"He just pulled out the Sword Demon!" Wang Duoduo felt a bit uneasy when he saw it. "Brother Shu isn't giving you any face, Brother Guan!"

"How would I know?" Colonel Guan was dumbfounded. "The win rate for Aatrox is really just so-so right now. I don't know why Brother Shu would pick it. And to be honest, Brother Shu has been playing for so long, and he hasn't played Aatrox even once, has he?"

This problem is also troubling the people on KZ's side.

The LCK region has always been fond of research, and they have certainly studied this version of Aatrox as well.

Their research concluded that there was absolutely no need to practice this new version of Aatrox before the buff.

But Ilex instantly picked the first match?

Does this mean our research results are wrong?

At this moment, countless viewers in the live stream were also amused.

[Fine, fine, you're going to take this new version of Aatrox, which you've never even played before and has a negative win rate, to the Intercontinental Cup?]

[Train Heroes on Classic Matches]

[That's how it is with Brother Tree. I remember one time he was even watching the skill descriptions while playing.]

[I remember it was Camille in the All-Star game. Camille hadn't been released on the live server yet, and nobody in the world had played her. It was her first appearance in the All-Star game, and Maokai was watching the skills while kicking the enemy AD carry to death.]

Yes, yes, it's for real.

To be fair, while Brother Tree's hero picks are sometimes unusual, they're not random. There must be a reason he chose Aatrox. Just trust Brother Tree and you're good to go.

Indeed, first believe.

On the QG player bench, Chen Dongqing flexed his fingers, making thorough preparations for this long-awaited LOL match.

Should I pick a pure meat-type character first?

Isn't this just setting up a stage for me to showcase my sword demon skills?

Now we have no choice but to start cutting.

"This game is all up to you, it's Aatrox's debut in a competition!" Banbazi said with a smile before leaving. "Show off your skills to our teammates in the same region, let them see how Aatrox is played in a competition."

Chen Dongqing knew the people behind him could hear their conversation, so he laughed and said, "Brothers in the back, get ready! Watch me do it!"

Upon hearing this, the mid-to-high-level players in the rest room rolled their eyes.

Who needs your instruction? What other tricks can you pull off with this heavy-armored hero?

Only TheShy perked up immediately upon hearing this, his eyes glued to the screen.

At this point, the lineups for both sides had been completely finalized.

Blue side KZ: Top lane Sion, Jungle Lee Sin, Mid lane Galio, Bot lane Xayah and Rakan.

Red team QG: Top lane Aatrox, Jungle Gragas, Mid lane Yasuo, Bot lane Lucian and Alistar.

"QG's lineup actually offers a lot of tactical options," said Guan Daxiao. "If nothing unexpected happens, they should be able to secure lane priority in both the top and bottom lanes. Although Yasuo in the mid lane has many limitations against Galio, as long as Xiangguo helps him out well, it's not really a problem."

"So, this game mainly depends on which lane Xiangguo wants to go to."

At this moment, the QG players were also discussing the outcome of this match.

"I can help in the top lane," Chen Dongqing said. "I can reliably push the lane in the top lane. Liu Shiyu, you just need to come and control the river crab. The enemy won't come."

Aatrox can definitely push the lane against Sion. In contrast, the Lucian and Alistar combination in the bot lane might not be able to beat Xayah and Rakan in the early levels.

Therefore, brushing the hot pot on top is the most reasonable approach.

The team members didn't have any objections. Xiangguo stood at the blue buff in the bottom half of the map, thinking about what might happen when controlling the river crab, and how to gank the top lane later.

After all, Sion has three AOE skills, his W provides a shield, he pushes lanes incredibly fast, and he's also very tanky and strong under the tower, making him arguably the king of "troll picks" in this version.

If you force your way under Sion's tower and don't have enough burst damage, you might end up getting traded for one of his units.

But as he thought about it, Xiangguo quickly felt relieved.

So what if I get replaced? Why should I be afraid of being replaced? Just do it!

Of course, to prevent losing too much after being swapped out, Xiangguo didn't rush to gank top at level three in this game, but instead focused on ensuring his jungle clearing.

Xiangguo plans to clear the three jungle camps in the bottom half of the map, then go to the top river to control the river crab, and then clear the top half of the map to reach level four first.

Given Gragas' jungle clearing speed, this whole clear would probably take close to four minutes.

During this time, the director switched the camera in a loop between the three streams, watching the laning situation on the three streams.

In the bottom lane, Uzi's laning phase was still better than expected. He first used his Q [Piercing Light] AOE to clear the wave and harass the enemy, and with Xiaoming's help, he successfully reached level two. Then Uzi used his E skill to charge in and fire wildly, first reducing Xayah's health.

On the other side, KZ's Rakan wanted to use W to counterattack, but before he could even raise his W, he was knocked away by Shi Senming's WQ combo!

Uzi had a clear strategy; this wave was meant to whittle down Lo's health, so he calmly retreated two steps, reducing Lo's health by a significant amount as well.

Uzi also lost a lot of health in this wave, but compared to that, the opponent clearly suffered more losses.

QG's bottom lane successfully gained the upper hand.

Of course, this advantage is not enough for Xiangguo to tower dive in the bottom lane; it can only allow Uzi to gain some CS advantage, and we still have to wait for another opportunity.

At this moment, the camera cuts to the top lane.

Compared to the miserable state of the two elders in the bottom lane, Khan in the top lane was obviously having an even harder time in the laning phase.

The game has been going on for over two minutes now, and Khan's CS is still 0.

Both commentators were baffled by the number of last hits.

No, how did you two manage to not last hit a single time in a melee lane?

I don't think you were pushed out of the experience range, so isn't this a normal laning phase?

Did Khan leave all the knives behind?

Clearly, neither of the commentators understood Khan's grievances.

When the minion waves clashed at the start of the game, Chen Dongqing hadn't actually made any moves yet. He was still wandering around, giving each of the enemy melee minions a basic attack to evenly reduce their health.

On the other side, Khan was at a disadvantage in lane, so he definitely couldn't push the lane. Therefore, he also lingered around, planning to wait for the melee minions to be low on health so that he could finish them off with a Q.

But this was of course part of Chen Dongqing's plan. He had never suppressed Khan's position, which was to guide the other party to do so.

Chen Dongqing only revealed his fangs after both sides' melee soldiers had their health reduced.

Because Chen Dongqing had lowered the health of the melee soldiers early on, the enemy melee soldiers were the first to reach low health.

Without saying a word, Chen Dongqing quickly used his Q skill to take down all three minions.

The advantage of this version of Aatrox is that the damage reduction of his Q on minions is very low, making wave clear very fast, so you can use Q to clear minions with confidence.

Meanwhile, Khan also pressed his Q skill, and Sion began to charge up.

But at that moment, Chen Dongqing's Aatrox also simultaneously unleashed a second Q, placing Sion perfectly at the edge of the sword!

This move was Chen Dongqing's prediction, because he calculated that the enemy Sion would definitely use Q, so he made the move in advance!

Sion's Q was interrupted after only 0.1 seconds of charging. His three low-health minions survived by sheer luck, but their health dropped further, and they were about to die.

Khan immediately panicked and quickly took a step forward, still wanting to use a basic attack to finish off the remaining enemy.

Clearly, this was also within Chen Dongqing's calculations. He, wielding the Sword Demon, also moved forward, blocking Sion's path when he was last-hitting minions, and unleashed a three-stage Q ahead of time.

Khan couldn't help but frown.

If he moves forward to last-hit, he will inevitably get hit by Aatrox's Blade Q. Once knocked up by Blade, he will be unable to use his basic attacks, and he will definitely lose those three low-health last hits.

However, if he tries to dodge the Q, he will obviously miss out on those three minions.

These three soldiers are going to be lost anyway; the only difference is whether they lose health.

How disgusting!

Khan had no choice but to turn around and give up the economy of those three soldiers.

It wasn't until this point that Chen Dongqing finally started to show his true colors.

Taking advantage of the refresh of his passive [Death-Giving Sword Aura] and Q skill, he decisively used Aatrox to charge in and chase Sion away from the minion wave location.

If Sion dares to last-hit minions, he will inevitably be hit by Sion's passive, triggering Conqueror, and then Sion will unleash a full combo with his Q skill.

Khan was being chased so hard that he could only grit his teeth and squat in the distance to gain experience points.

It wasn't until this point that Chen Dongqing finally drove Khan away, then slowly finished off the ranged minions with his sword energy.

Chen Dongqing's top-notch skills continued to be demonstrated at every turn.

He would deliberately let Khan come over to last-hit minions when his Q skill was ready, but as soon as Khan raised his basic attack, he would definitely use Q to interrupt Sion's basic attack, making Sion watch the minions die in front of him without getting anything.

Yes, that's how perverted it is.

Khan was on the verge of a breakdown when his second basic attack was interrupted by Aatrox's Q.

This is a love story between gods and demons!

Interrupting a basic attack with Aatrox's Q? Twice in a row? Are you even human?

Actually, this operation was not easy for Chen Dongqing either.

Chen Dongqing's near-terrifying reaction and operational attributes, combined with Sion's slow attack animation and a tiny bit of anticipation, were what allowed Chen Dongqing to complete this maneuver!

This is the embodiment of ultimate skill.

These days, Chen Dongqing is playing a completely different game from the other contestants.

Of course, Aatrox's Q skill has a cooldown, and Chen Dongqing can't interrupt Sion's basic attacks all the time.

So when the camera switched to the top lane, Khan finally managed to increase his CS to 2 under everyone's watchful eyes.

However, at the cost, Chen Dongqing, who was standing nearby, leveled up to level three and immediately pushed forward. Once his Q skill was ready, he immediately used Q+W [Chain of Inferno] to bind Sion, followed by a second QE to keep Sion in place, a second W to pull him back, an auto-attack, a third Q, and finally the final Death Slash, bringing Sion down to below half health in one combo.

This scene left countless viewers gasping in shock.

This combo, although it's a standard combo for the Sword Demon, is something that someone who hasn't played the game before couldn't pull off, right?

How come it's so smooth?

Chen Dongqing looked at Sion's health bar and sneered, "Come on, Liu Shiyu, the minion wave is about to push into the tower."

The minion wave slowly advanced towards KZ's tower, but at that moment a wave of minions emerged from under KZ's tower, pushing the minion wave outside the tower.

This wasn't because Chen Dongqing pushed the lane too slowly; on the contrary, it was the result of his deliberate control.

If the minions are pushed into the tower now, Xiangguo won't be able to get there in time. He has to wait for another wave, so he deliberately pushed slowly.

Once he clears out this newly launched short wave, his own minion wave will accumulate into an incredibly thick one.

At this point, if you coordinate with Xiangguo to dive the tower, you can pull off a perfect tower dive!

Chen Dongqing has a top-notch understanding of minion waves. He can control the rhythm of the minion waves and let them enter the tower at any time the jungler needs.

This alone is something that most professional top laners cannot do.

Four minutes have passed.

Chen Dongqing cleared out the ranged minions, and the minion wave pushed into the tower.

At the same time, Xiangguo's wine barrel also appeared behind the tower.

There's not much to say, just skip it.

Xiangguo used W to pour wine, and then used E to knock Sion in the face and stun him. Chen Dongqing followed up with a WQ combo, and the two controlled and attacked at the same time, giving Sion no chance to charge up his Q.

This was a foregone conclusion. Chen Dongqing didn't even need the three-stage Q; he simply used a sword aura to easily take down Sion!

"First blood!"

A sudden burst of cheers erupted from the audience, echoing throughout the entire stadium! The first blood was so easily won that even the audience was somewhat surprised!

This is Sion, how could he be outmaneuvered so easily?

In the LPL backstage lounge, everyone watched as QG's top laner reliably secured first blood under the tower, and their faces lit up with joy.

At this moment, Xiaohu's voice kept coming through the voice channel: "Good kill! So awesome, my Tree Bro!"

"Great job!" Lin Weixiang said with a grin, "Tree Bro and Xiangguo's Ueno is still fierce!"

Ning, Karsa, and other junglers couldn't help but sigh at the sight before them.

"To be fair, this was mainly due to Tree's excellent top lane play," Ning said. "He did everything perfectly."

Chen Dongqing was in charge of making this decision to push the top lane, and the minion wave was controlled perfectly, resulting in a significant reduction in the enemy's health.

Putting Xiangguo in his shoes, he didn't actually need to do anything or use his brain. He just needed to control the five jungle camps and the river crab, level up to level four, go straight to the top lane, and then dive without waiting for a second.

With a top laner like this leading the way, the jungler must have it so easy!

At the same time, in the LCK backstage lounge.

In contrast to the lively LPL crowd, the LCK viewing group was speechless, or even completely silent.

KZ's head coach, looking at the current situation, shouted in frustration, "Donghe! How are you playing the top lane matchup? Why are you at such a disadvantage right from the start?"

Peanut, standing nearby, asked, "mlxg didn't actually do anything this time, so is it the Sword Demon's fault?"

"Actually, it's not that." Smeb shook his head. "This wave has nothing to do with the Aatrox champion. It's mainly because Ilex played well. He pressured Donghe too much in the laning phase. Even if it were another champion, it would be the same. This wave wouldn't have changed at all."

Faker, standing nearby, couldn't help but nod in agreement upon hearing this.

Over the years, the biggest obstacle to LCK winning the championship has never been a particular version or champion, but always the player Ilex.

Inside the lounge, the sounds of KZ players exchanging ideas could still be heard.

"My bad, my bad," Khan said. "I shouldn't have lost health because of greed for soldiers."

For Khan, his experience at Worlds and his experience in the regional competition were completely opposite.

Within the region, he could lord it over everyone with his skill; Cuvee and Smeb, the runner-up top laners of the previous two years, were all his defeated opponents.

He is the top top laner in the LCK region.

But every time he faces Ilex at the World Championship, his title of "LCK's best top laner" becomes utterly ridiculous.

In this game, he was even pressured to the point where he couldn't even get a last hit, which Khan found hard to accept.

After being teased for a few rounds, Khan got a little impatient, which is why he lost half his health to the Sword Demon after finishing off two enemies.

Well, because of this wave of damage, he paid the price of first blood.

Khan was overwhelmed with shame, feeling that he had let the team down.

But the team didn't have time to pay attention to Khan's low spirits, because he was busy too.

"Are you coming to gank mid? I can use W-Flash to catch him."

"They're here!"

With Galio, a melee killer, catching Yasuo is incredibly easy, so Xiaohu's Yasuo was KZ's primary target from the very beginning of this game.

Galio's fully charged W flash + E, combined with Lee Sin's damage, brought Xiaohu to low health in one go!

Xiaohu could have used Flash to escape at this point, but using Flash might have resulted in his death, so he simply chose to wait for his demise.

A groan erupted from the audience.

Is this Xiaohu's Yasuo?

Isn't this a bit too frivolous?

QG has really lost their mind. Xiaohu and others are playing Yasuo. Can he even beat him? He doesn't have the ability, you know that!

After securing the kill, Cuzz smiled and said, "Is this okay? Donghe, this was a good trade!"

Another advantage of Sion is that his passive ability allows him to turn into a zombie.

Regardless of whether the situation is favorable or unfavorable, the zombie's damage output is still strong.

Zombies will take up respawn time, so in the early levels, Sion can use zombies to last-hit minions after being tower-dived. Once the zombies die, their respawn time will be up, and Sion can immediately teleport back to lane without losing many minions.

In addition, my mid-lane teammate also got a kill in this wave, so overall, this wave is indeed acceptable!

Khan thought the same thing. He first took out all the siege minions and melee minions with a few punches, and then immediately teleported back online, intending to take out the ranged minions as well.

But Khan is still young.

The moment he landed, a beer man returned and reappeared behind him.

In addition, Aatrox also appeared in front, and the two of them blocked Sion once again.

This time, however, the two didn't rush to make a move because they needed to wait a few seconds for the Sword Demon's WCD.

Khan looked at the two burly men around him and couldn't help but feel a tightness in his anus, and cold sweat dripped down his forehead.

No, your Gragas is down to half health, are you really going to dive me, a full-health Sion? You'll get traded, right?

But before he could even form that thought, Xiangguo's Gragas unleashed a QAE combo, showing no fear despite having only half his health left. Instead, he downed some strong liquor and used his W's damage reduction to tank the tower.

Xiangguo, of course, is not opposed to this; he never resists trading one for one with the opponent.

He was already annoyed when he saw Xiaohu get caught and killed in the mid lane, and he was determined to make up for this loss!

The moment Gragas' E skill stuns him, Chen Dongqing's W + first part of Q simultaneously hits Gragas. As soon as Gragas' E control ends, Aatrox's second part of Q lands, creating a chain of control!

At this point, Khan had no chance of escaping, because QG's top and jungle provided ample crowd control, causing the second cast of Aatrox's W [Chain of Inferno] to be nearing its end.

Aatrox's W has a hidden mechanism: even if you flash out of the circle when the second W is about to trigger, you will still be pulled back.

For example, Khan in this wave.

Khan had almost worn out his D key from pressing it, and finally managed to use Flash to escape Aatrox's W range. But just then, a chain, like a leech, forcibly pulled him back!

Damn it!

Khan cursed inwardly, completely bewildered by what had happened!

After being dragged back, what awaited him was a [Death-Giving Sword Qi] from the Sword Demon, followed by a three-stage sword slash!

At this moment, Xiangguo also used his W skill to detonate the Rolling Barrel at his feet. The fully charged barrel exploded with extraordinary damage, bringing Sion to low health!

At the same time, the turret fired a shot, instantly killing the low-health Xiangguo!

Chen Dongqing followed up with an A-short E to reset his auto-attack, then another A, and slashed twice in a row, securing another kill on Sion while tanking the tower.

After killing the enemy, Chen Dongqing glanced at the minimap in 0.1 seconds, knowing that although running behind the tower would be a shorter route, it would make him vulnerable to being caught by the enemy jungler.

So he quickly turned around and used Flash to escape, successfully getting out of the tower with low health!

His escape route proved to be incredibly wise.

He had barely left the tower when a blind monk slowly ran out from behind the enemy tower, only to find a mess of chicken feathers.

Cuzz arrived too late, because he never expected that QG's top and jungle would be so crazy, daring to launch a second tower dive despite not being in good form.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

You killed one of my mid laners, so I'll dive your top laner too!

Want to cut your losses? Forget it!

Although this top lane exchange resulted in a one-for-one trade, QG gained an extra assist and gold, and Khan lost a significant amount of minions again, making it a profitable deal!

The cheers from the audience erupted once again!

The continental competitions won't be long; they're just a transitional phase. The core event is still the Asian Games.

Thank you Ali for the 500 Qidian Coins reward.

Thank you to reader 20210427161956234 for the 264 Qidian Coins reward.

Thank you to ゛三宫六院八千妃？ for the 500 reward!

(End of this chapter)