Chapter 11: Torn to Shreds

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Bottom lane was basically in the bag. Graves and Garen no longer dared to come out into the open, and so continued to lose out on Experience until they had fallen a whole three levels behind . ¹

This was the meaning of abject despair!

Judging it to be a lost cause, Lin Xu made the canny decision to abandon the Bottom lane entirely, and instead made regular trips to the Top lane to get kills.

Honestly, he was not without skill: With the help of his two Top-lane teammates, he managed to score a Triple Kill—the two enemy Top-laners, as well as Wang Qin’s Annie—and all of a sudden had fattened up once more . ²

With great effort, Yu Luocheng and Zhong Xiaoyun had managed to secure a decisive advantage down in their Bottom lane, but the situation in the Top and Bottom lanes meanwhile was a catastrophe.

Having gotten a Triple Kill, Kha’Zix could now insta-kill anyone with a single skill combo!

Yu Luocheng held down the ‘Tab’ key to inspect the state of the game.

Kha’Zix had picked up five kills in total, the same as Miss Fortune, but its Creep Score was thirty higher . ³

On the subject of equipment, Kha’Zix definitely had the upper hand over Miss Fortune.

“Double Kill!” The announcement rang out across the battlefield. Now Kha’Zix was on seven kills!

These two latest kills were thanks to the two up in Top lane. However, there was some consolation in that Zhao Kesong and Cao Sheng (playing Garen and Master Yi, respectively) had somehow managed to team up and take down Kha’Zix, even at the cost of their own lives. One was awarded five hundred gold, while the other got two hundred and fifty.

This exchange actually worked in their favor: The reward for killing both Garen and Master Yi didn’t even total up to five hundred gold, whereas Kha’Zix had been worth a bounty of seven hundred and fifty . ⁴

Not long afterward, another grim development occurred: Kha’Zix achieved Level 11.

Those of you who are familiar with Kha’Zix should understand that Level 11 is when this champion truly earns the name ‘Voidreaver’. Compared to what it became at this point, the whole time before that it had been nothing but a flighty little grasshopper!

Lin Xu’s Kha’Zix was tripping with kills now, and could instantly delete any enemy champion besides Blitzcrank and Garen. If they just kept farming in their own little lanes, this game would be as good as lost!

With his essential items in hand, an 11th-level Kha’Zix was an unholy terror in any duel!

***

They still had two of their first-tier Towers, and their total kills were ten against the enemy’s twelve. They should still be able to take back control of this game.

Wang Qin’s Annie was shaping up nicely. While Kha’Zix was doing his thing, Annie had likewise picked up a number of kills from the enemy Top-laners, and she now had three kills, three deaths, and four assists, and was even in Creep Score with Lin Xu. With the equipment she’d collected so far, she could easily get a kill whenever the opportunity presented itself.

“Let’s group up.”

His Blitzcrank working together with Miss Fortune, they’d knocked down the enemy Tower in the Bottom lane, and were now assaulting the one in Mid.

Kha’Zix regularly left his Mid Tower unguarded, what with his frequent jaunts to the Top lane, and Annie had managed to whittle it down quite a bit. When Blitzcrank and Miss Fortune came up from Bottom to join her, they easily brought the whole thing down.

In response to that, everyone in the game began gravitating towards the Middle lane, and things were getting crowded there.

“Eh? This fool still dares to swagger before me?”

It was none other than Graves, the Monkey’s Uncle!

This was a fatal error of positioning.

However, after much deliberation, Yu Luocheng reluctantly allowed him to live.

This was not out of worry over that whole gang of scoundrels lying in wait behind him, but because Graves simply wasn’t worth much gold anymore, and attacking him would only serve to betray his own position.

Cast the hook, he wanted to catch a big fish!

Sure enough, the deep purple shell of Kha’Zix soon came into view!

It was heading towards the Raptors, intent on picking up a batch of jungle creeps.

To his misfortune, Yu Luocheng’s Blitzcrank was lying in wait for him, in the brush near the Lizard Elder which granted the ‘Red Buff’ . ⁵

Yu Luocheng glanced at Miss Fortune and Garen, who were waiting with him.

Yes, with these two, it should be enough to kill that mantis!

Speeding up with ‘Overdrive’, Blitzcrank burst from the brush!

Like a bolt from the blue, a Rocket Claw came hurtling towards Kha’Zix!

In that position, it had nowhere to run!

Once again, the metal claw dragged Kha’Zix into the arms of the Great Steam Golem!

He unleashed his skills, finishing with his Ultimate, which silenced his prey for 1.5 seconds—enough time to put an end to Kha’Zix!

Eh? Where’s the damage? How come Kha’Zix had only lost that little health?

‘Pooh-pooh…’ The 1.5 seconds elapsed, and Kha’Zix fluttered its wings, buzzing like a fly. With one great leap, it bounded over the wall into the Red Buff pit, and was lost to their sight in the Fog of War.

Yu Luocheng was stunned. That kill should have been in the bag, but it had somehow managed to get away.

Checking behind himself, he realized that his own Garen and Miss Fortune had at some point slunk away to go farming in the Bottom lane.

“Hey, why did you two run off? Didn’t you see Yu Luocheng pulling Kha’Zix over?” As luck would have it, Wang Qin had seen it all, and immediately began scolding those two.

“Did he?” Surprised, Zhao Kesong panned his view around for a look. Finding no evidence of Kha’Zix, he shot back, “No he didn’t!”

Zhong Xiaoyun was also wondering aloud, “Was there a fight just now?”

Yu Luocheng realized that despite his best efforts, the two imbeciles hadn’t even noticed him capturing Kha’Zix!

What kind of team was this?

Alright, he’d known what he was getting into right from the start. He should already have prepared himself to go 1 vs. 9.

Just stay cool. Stay cool…

***

Lin Xu was drenched in a cold sweat!

That Blitzcrank was a bit too sly, hiding in a place like that. Thank goodness his Garen and Miss Fortune had been too dumb to follow up on that, or else his goose would have been cooked!

“Everyone on me, stick together!” Lin Xu commanded his four teammates.

“Boss, I’m just gonna farm a bit more, and then I’ll be right over,” declared Xin Zhao, Seneschal of Demacia, from the Top lane.

Xin Zhao was being played by Li Zan, of Class 3. Having been slain by Wang Qin’s Annie several times, he was doing very poorly.

“Forget your damned gold, everyone get over here now!” Lin Xu roared.

Lin Xu’s master was a regular Ranked player, and often told him that when it was time for team-fighting, the whole team had to be able to gather together quickly. They couldn’t afford to have anyone missing.

Lin Xu had taken this lesson to heart. He’d decided to get everyone together and go do something about Garen and Miss Fortune, who were pushing through Bottom lane.

Against all five of them, neither one would stand a chance!

***

Quietly, the five of them snuck past the Raptors, following that corridor which ran between the Dragon and the Red Buff.

Moving along the top of the cliff overlooking the Dragon’s pit, they drew ever nearer towards Miss Fortune and Garen.

“Eh, why are we one person short? Who the hell isn’t here with us?” Checking their formation, Lin Xu suddenly noticed the absence.

It seemed that Xin Zhao was missing—the one who’d said that he wanted to farm some more.

Just as Lin Xu was about to chew Li Zan’s ear off, there was a click of whirring machinery.

It came from the Dragon’s pit!

“Lin Xu!” Xin Zhao’s player, Li Zan, called out in panic.

That was when everyone realized that, at some point, Xin Zhao had been hooked into the Dragon’s pit!

The Dragon was no longer there. Through their shared vision with Xin Zhao, they could see him being ganged up on by Blitzcrank, Annie, and Master Yi!

“Argh!” came the cry of horror. In moments, Xin Zhao, laden with high-damage equipment, lay in pieces upon the ground!

His teammates, gathered upon the cliff above, could only watch helplessly as he was dragged away and beaten into a bloody pulp!

A single wall was all that separated life from death!

Cold sweat trickled down their backs.

There was no way they could have anticipated that Blitzcrank would be waiting for them in the Dragon’s pit!

***

In truth, Yu Luocheng had brought Annie and Master Yi with him to steal the Dragon.

No sooner had they slain the Dragon when who should wander past his Ward but all five of the enemy team? What a to-do that had been!

Imagine five fair, nubile young maidens drifting past before you. It was a desire beyond words to describe.

He’d decided to close his eyes, reach out, and see what he caught hold of.

Ah, Xin Zhao.

Instead of improving his Health, this Xin Zhao had opted for damage-boosting items. What else could he do besides perish?

Annie, Yi, attack! Tear him to shreds!