Chapter 34: Stay Away From Me

"Damn it, my red buff got counter-jungled by that Jayce prick again."

Sitting in front of his screen, Fireloli felt a surge of frustration, his confusion reaching its peak. It was only ten minutes in, and he was already being denied the sweet, sweet experience of the red buff. The loss of the tier-one mid tower meant the surrounding vision was now completely under the control of KT's rhythm. With Syndra liberated, the coordination between the blue side's jungle and support reached a fever pitch. The top-side jungle had become Jayce’s backyard, and the bottom lane was pitch black, with little difference between the two.

Every step from here on out had to be taken with extreme caution; there was no telling when Elise’s Cocoon or Syndra’s Scatter the Weak might emerge from the brush to lock someone down until they perished. Fortunately, the bottom tier-one tower was still standing, and once the jungle and support grouped up to light up the jungle, there was finally a sense of safety.

"Stop hanging out under your tower in the top lane. Jayce loves to roam between top and mid after clearing waves. A-Guang, you need to be bolder and use the gaps to get some vision out. You’re a tank, for crying out loud—don't tell me you're afraid of being one-shot by Jayce."

Lin Ruo glanced at Shen's items: a Bami's Cinder and Plated Steelcaps. While a Jayce with just a Youmuu's Ghostblade dealt high damage, one-shotting him was clearly impossible. This was Shen, after all; a Shen with his W Spirit's Refuge was incredibly tanky. His E ability could also be used to dash through walls, offering great mobility. Currently, Elise and Syndra were mostly active in the bottom half of the map and rarely bothered with the top lane. Lin Ruo couldn't understand what the hesitation was about. Being intimidated by a simple LCK Jayce ten minutes into the laning phase had made him timid and skittish. He was sent there to absorb pressure, not to pass that pressure onto his teammates by hiding.

"Alright, I'll try to push out," A-Guang replied. Under Lin Ruo’s urging, the timid A-Guang finally began attempting to push the wave, doing his best to pressure the roaming Jayce.

Smeb, realizing this, began to focus on his lane. He couldn't allow the red side's minions to cross the river midline under any circumstances. Compared to his teammates, who tended to lose their bearings the moment they fell behind, Lin Ruo was most comforted by the fact that Scout in the mid lane was the only one who truly knew what his next move should be. He had been roaming toward the bottom lane during this time, using his presence to illuminate the dim vision and actively searching for opportunities.

At the eleven-minute mark, Scout, returning from a roam in the bottom lane, teamed up with Fireloli to catch Syndra warding over a wall. Shen followed up with an ultimate teleport, turning it into a three-on-one and helping the mid-laner secure the kill. The situation finally eased slightly.

"Take it slow, no need to rush. Try to exploit the numbers advantage when Shen helps. Don't look to initiate large-scale teamfights; our team composition relies on waiting for them to initiate so we can counter. We’ll only win if they get impatient and make mistakes."

Lin Ruo had barely finished his long explanation when, just as they hit fifteen minutes, the main force of KT gathered in the bottom lane, looking to take the tier-one tower and accelerate the pace.

The bottom tier-one tower could not be conceded; if it fell, they would have to retreat across all lanes. The steady Lin Ruo retreated early to the tower to wait for the minion wave. He couldn't lose the tower, and he certainly couldn't afford to die. If his own growth stagnated, the tight tension holding the team together would snap completely.

Tian Ye and Fireloli were doing their usual vision work at the river entrance. The mid-lane wave had been pushed in by Syndra again, forcing the roaming Scout to return to clear it. The sharp-eyed Score had been lurking in the small brush by the river near the mid lane; spotting someone passing by, he seized the moment to throw out a spider web. Unexpectedly, Scout pulled off a bizarre turn-around, narrowly dodging the binding.

"Shibal, what kind of reaction is that?" Score scoffed in front of his screen. Seeing his prey about to escape, Score hurriedly gave chase. As a Crystal Arrow unexpectedly struck Lulu, who was poking her head out into the red side's river, a teamfight broke out instantly. Mata, having arrived early, flashed in to activate his ultimate. A teleport from Jayce lit up behind Tian Ye—evidently, they hadn't cleared the surrounding vision well enough, providing Deft the space to land the ultimate.

Sensing the situation turning sour, Fireloli used his ward-jump to dash over a wall and scurried away, abandoning his teammates without a second thought. It was clear he had truly learned the ropes. Scout, being chased back toward the river by Elise and Syndra, didn't dare linger either, burning his own flash to jump over a wall toward the tri-brush in front of their home tower. Only the loyal A-Guang activated his ultimate to attach to Lulu, but he clearly underestimated the enemy's damage. Score’s Elise unleashed a full combo, controlling and killing Tian Ye in a few swift strikes, sending him back to the fountain.

"Damn it, I don't have teleport; I can't get down there!" A-Guang panicked, his ultimate interrupted. He had already used his teleport to defend the top tier-two tower earlier.

Tian Ye sighed in frustration, "Run! We can't take this fight."

"Retreat, retreat, retreat! Don't stay under the tower!" Lin Ruo suddenly roared. He urged the flustered Scout and Fireloli to retreat toward the tier-two tower. Deft was constantly pushing the wave from the outside; staying under the tier-one tower was a guaranteed recipe for being surrounded and wiped out.

But before they had taken more than a few steps, Jayce’s Shock Blast fired at maximum range from the tri-brush, landing squarely in their midst. None of the three escaped unscathed, their health bars dropping significantly. Lin Ruo was forced to use Heal to gain movement speed—the teamfight was now completely unsalvageable. Syndra’s QE combo, Scatter the Weak, followed immediately, targeting the AD carry.

Lin Ruo dodged to the right at the last second, narrowly avoiding being stunned in place to wait for death. He had originally intended to retreat and burn his flash to save his life, but in the next second, Lin Ruo, who had been constantly monitoring the situation, saw a flicker of light. He realized, unexpectedly, that he saw a glimmer of hope for the teamfight.

Who could have guessed that the KT members were even more impatient than them? They didn't want to let this easy prey slip away. Pawn, having missed his initial skill, actually chose to flash in and forcefully dump his ultimate. Lin Ruo’s finger, poised over the D key for Flash, relaxed slightly. Syndra’s single ultimate damage wasn't particularly impressive, especially since she had died twice early on and was clearly under-leveled. Even with the full ultimate, it only brought his health down to just below fifty percent.

Scout provided cover, releasing his Petrifying Gaze to force a retreat. As the minion wave crashed into the tower, Deft, who had been pushing, moved in from outside the tower.

"We can fight this, don't run."

Lin Ruo landed an auto-attack on Syndra, triggering the movement speed bonus from his Warlord’s Bloodlust keystone. Calmly, he kited while retreating, still not intending to use his Flash. He was waiting to see if anyone else was even more impatient.

Sure enough, Jayce, bringing up the rear, couldn't hold back his temper; he switched forms and flashed in, delusional in his attempt to hammer him to death. Lin Ruo’s gaze sharpened. Only then did he flash backward to create distance, throwing out his ultimate, Chain of Corruption, to bind Jayce in mid-air.

Smeb, having missed his mark and now rooted in place, realized something was terribly wrong. He belatedly realized that both he and Syndra had been far too impatient with their engagement, burning their flashes in a split second without considering whether their jungle and support could follow up. The five-on-three situation had suddenly become disjointed, turning into a three-on-two. They were the ones now at a disadvantage.

The quick-witted Scout turned back, spraying his poisonous mist to deal damage to the area. Fireloli closed in with a W, following up with an RQ and kicking Jayce away. With a skillful AA-EA-Q combo executed in the fleeting moment, Jayce was struck down and perished.

[EDG, Ling has slain KT, Semb.]