Chapter 183: Cornered Rats; Fight or Flight
It was Lin Feng on Annie versus Yan Liang on Twisted Fate in the mid lane! Both Midlaners bought their starting items from the fountain shop and then started making their way into lane. Twisted Fate was on the Red Team. He was a Champion that wasn’t very strong in lane, especially not in the early game. His main objective was to farm and reach Level 6 as quickly as possible. Then his Twisted Fate’s ultimate skill would unlock—Destiny! A unique ultimate that blew the fog of war away and gave him complete vision on the map, while also allowing him to teleport instantly to any point within a large radius. He was essentially a card-flipping ninja assassin who exerted constant pressure on every lane and every enemy Champion. Because when Twisted Fate had a winning hand, he’d come in out of nowhere to throw it out for the kill. This sleight-of-hand made him the ace in his team’s sleeve. Annie, on the other hand, was a blunt hammer compared to Twisted Fate’s finesse. She had some of the highest burst damage in the game, which made her very strong in the early laning phase. “Push. Pressure. Kill.” That was her mantra.
Yan Liang knew this. He was aware of how screwed he was if this Annie was any good. But, he was a Master on the Ionia server. He was one of the best solo queue Midlaners in all of China. And Twisted Fate was one of his favourite Champions. So he didn’t see a need to worry. He figured that with his skill, holding lane and not giving too much away would be easy. He’d do this until he hit Level 6. That’s when playtime would end. Or start. Depending on how you looked at it. I’ll show you… the power of a true Super Saiyajin!
Unfortunately for poor Yan Liang, this game was going in a way that made him Hercule instead of the Prince of All Saiyajins. What the hell… His opponent knew how to play Annie. Fuck! The Annie skipped right over the pushing part and started straight pressuring his Twisted Fate. Fuck! She abused her long range to alternate between last hitting every Red minion and getting in some damage on him. Fuck! Then, whenever Disintegrate came off cooldown, she hurled a mana infused fireball at him. Dammit! He bit down hard on his lips, trying to get some last hits of his own. But she kept attacking him. Nearly half of his health was gone already. Shit! She’s so damn aggro!
Lin Feng was playing very aggressively. That was how he would win this lane. He would never let Yan Liang find any room to maneuver around, or give him any opportunity to just farm minions for a couple of minutes. This was because the further behind Twisted Fate fell before he reached Level 6, the lower his impact would be when he could use his ultimate skill. So Lin Feng clicked on the Twisted Fate, having his Annie fire off an auto attack. Then he pressed on his Q key–Disintegrate! His Annie fired off another mana infused fireball, while the minions were slowly pushing towards Red Team’s outer tower. He was only last hitting the minions, but that was enough to build up a bigger wave that started pushing.
Yan Liang used a health potion, but it only kept his Twisted Fate at around half health. He could see the minion wave. There was so much gold and experience in it… Dammit! I can’t lose this wave to the tower! Should I just recall now? Or stay… He wasn’t sure. The first option forced him to use his Teleport, while the second could see him killed. He inched forward, indecisive, and last hit a minion. That was definitely the wrong choice. The Jarvan IV from High School 13 came running out of the brush above mid lane and dashed towards him with a flag-toss combo.
FUCK! Yan Liang cursed as he slammed down on his F key–Flash! His Twisted Fate disappeared with a mottled flash of light, dodging the knock up from Jarvan IV and escaping certain death. The minions were marching towards his tower. The Annie was with them. She hurled another mana infused fireball at him–Disintegrate! His health was sliding down to critical levels. He had no more health potions. There was a massive wave of minions on his doorsteps. Yan Liang gritted his teeth. He knew what he had to do. And he hated it. He hated what it represented. The Midlaner from High School 13 had forced him, a Master on the Ionia server, out of lane. He walked behind his outer tower, out of range from the Annie, and recalled back to base.
Yan Liang looked up from his screen and across the stage at the players from High School 13. There, right in the middle, sat Lin Feng. “You son of a bitch,” Yan Liang cursed. That stupid idiot with that stupid grin on his face and that stupid, stupid stupid… I’m a Master! He pressed down on the D key–Teleport! A radiance lit up around the outer tower in mid lane and his Twisted Fate arrived back in lane a moment later. The minion wave was still there. Only a couple had died to his outer tower so far. But this early in the game, a couple of minions was worth a lot. And being forced to blow both Summoner Spells and recall back to base were basically adding insult to injury.
Mid lane was lost. Yan Liang knew it, though admitting it was still difficult. But his Flash was on cooldown. He had to play carefully, or he’d be giving away kills. And that was never good. Whatever. We still got Liu Zhengjie. He glanced over at his ad-carry. Liu Zhengjie was the best player on their team. He was the real carry. He can do it. I’ll just focus on keeping this Annie in lane. His plan had changed. There was no longer the goal of roaming around the map, picking up kills and pushing for a quick win. His Twisted Fate had fallen behind. The Annie wouldn’t let him roam around the map. But what he could do was keep the Annie occupied. Like this, Liu Zhengjie would have the time he needed to get strong enough to slaughter this Annie! He’s just playing against a girl anyway. Girls are terrible players. And Draven? Hah. Who does she think she is? This’ll be easy.
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