Chapter 25: A Disastrous Bottom Lane

Heimerdinger, the Revered Inventor, is a champion rarely seen on the professional stage. When Meiko selected the champion and locked it in without a moment’s hesitation, the cheers from the arena reached a new crescendo. The roar was deafening, and the atmosphere descended into an unprecedented frenzy. The fans were truly passionate. It was fortunate that Lin Ruo was wearing his headset; otherwise, he might have been tempted to ask why everyone was squealing like pigs.

Wawa, the commentator, was stunned for a moment. Only then did he realize what had happened, and he shook his head in disbelief: "You have to admit, the Revered Inventor is actually a pretty solid choice."

Miller crossed his arms over his waist. "As expected of the former ROX coach who invented the Miss Fortune support. He knows what it means to find life in the face of death. The ones who should be worried now are surely VG."

The draft phase concluded, and the lineups for both sides were finalized.

EDG: Top - Maokai, Jungle - Lee Sin, Mid - Ryze, ADC - Caitlyn, Support - Heimerdinger.

VG: Top - Poppy, Jungle - Kha’Zix, Mid - Orianna, ADC - Varus, Support - Zyra.

The two coaches walked to the center of the stage to shake hands. The VG coach wore a gloomy expression and said nothing, while the refined and gentle Nofe was beaming with a bright, spring-like smile. With the Revered Inventor successfully deployed, the VG bottom lane was in for a rough time.

As the game entered the loading screen, the broadcast camera focused on the EDG side. Everyone looked serious and quiet, except for their ADC, Lin Ruo, who was waving his hands around, swatting at the air. A ripple of laughter broke out among the audience.

Wawa, at the commentary desk, couldn't help but chuckle. "EDG's ADC seems to be having some trouble. It looks like there are mosquitoes on stage, though it is winter, after all."

Rows of question marks flooded the official stream chats.

"Are you telling me this is a pro player? This is way too abstract."
"Where is the referee? Get some mosquito coils!"
"Are there bees in there?"
"He’s playing Overwatch; maybe he’s just practicing his aim."

As the screen shifted, both teams officially entered the Rift. Less than thirty seconds after the start, a gasp of surprise echoed through the spectator stands.

Meiko, who had gone to the bottom lane brush to place his turrets, was caught by the three members of VG and heavily traded against, forcing him to retreat in disarray to the safety of his tower.

Wawa’s mouth hung open. "VG knows their stuff. They are determined to target the bottom lane. Kha’Zix followed the bottom duo straight into the brush to pull off a surprise attack."

Miller stroked his chin, pondering. "However, Meiko held onto his abilities very tightly. Even though he was nearly brought down to critical health, he didn't burn his Flash. Just forcing him to recall is a small gain, but nothing significant. The VG duo occupied the brush early; perhaps they can restrict the Revered Inventor during the level-one minion wave contest."

"Hey, what are you doing? Don't mess around, Tianye," Lin Ruo grumbled over the voice comms. Aiming to pile on some pressure, he added quite seriously, "They’re camping the brush; getting level two might be a bit of a hassle."

"I’m not trying to mess around; the opponents are just too sneaky," Tianye replied helplessly, though he remained confident. "It’s fine. We can still win the trades later. Zyra can’t possibly outplay this Heimerdinger."

"Why wait for 'later'? Let's just fight them now."

As he spoke, Lin Ruo, accompanied by Scout and Ailoli, surged up from the river. There was no way they were giving up the brush, especially not at level one. If the VG duo thought they could get away with not retreating, then they had only themselves to blame.

Lin Ruo had timed it perfectly. Fifty seconds into the game, Kha’Zix had already recalled, leaving the VG duo alone in the brush. Meiko had also just returned, so he couldn't assist, but three against two was more than enough.

The VG duo noticed the situation and scrambled to retreat. They hadn't expected the enemy to rotate so quickly. They moved from the brush closer to EDG back toward their own side, but they inevitably collided with the three EDG players. Since Meiko had already warded the second brush, the vision was crystal clear.

Ailoli locked onto his target, landing a Sonic Wave that successfully baited out Varus’s Flash. To cover their retreat, Zyra was also forced to use Exhaust. Satisfied with the outcome, EDG chose not to overextend. Scout hurried back to his lane, while Ailoli had no choice but to start his Blue Buff solo.

He had undoubtedly made a significant sacrifice, but there was no sign of gloom on Ailoli’s face; in fact, he was beaming. Forcing out two summoner spells was definitely a winning trade. More importantly, their bottom lane duo’s laning ability was terrifyingly strong—the last half-month of scrims was the best proof of that. If the bottom lane established an advantage, the opponents were the ones who would suffer.

"EDG is really showing some temperament; three of them came down to the bottom lane just to start a brawl," Miller remarked. He had never seen such a scene before, joking, "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. It seems VG is the one who lost out the most. Zyra lost half her health and was forced to recall, falling completely behind the tempo of the first wave."

Wawa added, "However, the EDG jungler had to start his buff alone, which also has an impact, though certainly not as severe as the one on the bottom lane."

"Kha’Zix started Blue," Aogu reminded them over the voice comms. Having seen the ambush, he had invaded the enemy jungle early to place a ward and had already spotted the enemy's pathing.

Lin Ruo immediately commanded, "Invade his jungle as soon as you finish your blue. Swapping the jungle pressure to focus on the bottom lane is a win for us."

With both the mid and bottom lanes pushing, the invasion was a breeze. Ailoli, currently taking his Blue Buff, nodded, his restless excitement barely contained.

As the minion wave arrived, the EDG duo positioned themselves with methodical precision. Meiko, back in lane, blocked off the second brush and set up a series of small turrets, keeping the thinly-defended Varus from even daring to approach the minions. Lin Ruo pushed the wave rapidly; what should have been an intense level-one contest had completely devolved into a one-sided crushing.

By the time Zyra returned to the lane, the minions were already at the tower. At the same time, Ailoli invaded the jungle, took the Red Buff, and began clearing the Krugs. Bengi, forced to rotate, would undoubtedly spend too much time in the top half of the map, leaving the bottom lane in a precarious position.

When the third wave arrived, with Lee Sin lurking in the rear, Caitlyn began poking the tower as if it were nothing. The VG duo didn't dare to step up to trade, because if their health dropped too low, they would likely be dived by the three of them.

But just because they weren't engaging didn't mean the opponents wouldn't strike. Meiko, having just wandered through the tri-brush, cunningly fired a Storm Grenade over the wall, stunning Zyra, and immediately followed up with his W, Hextech Micro-Rockets. Nearby, Lin Ruo placed a trap, landed a Q for follow-up damage, and then fired a critical shot at the trapped target.

Zyra’s health plummeted rapidly, dropping below half.

At the commentary desk, Miller scratched his head and grinned. "Wow, the early-game damage of Caitlyn combined with Heimerdinger is truly exaggerated."

"The VG support also made a mistake there; he was too eager to ward over the wall."

As Wawa spoke, his gaze shifted to the mid-lane river, where Ryze had moved behind the Red Buff area and was pushing hard toward the bottom.

"The level four Ryze is here. Is EDG already planning a tower dive?"