Chapter 41: Soaring Dragon

After taking down the outer tower in the top lane, EDG implemented a counter-swap strategy.

The bot lane duo rotated to the middle lane, while Syndra solo-split in the top lane to restrict Ryze's roaming potential.

WE chose to send Poppy to the top lane in response.

Upon seeing Ryze arrive in the bottom lane, Mouse immediately retreated back in front of the second-tier tower.

However, he still did not expect Ryze to activate his ultimate, teleporting the minion wave directly into the tower's range.

Condi, coming from behind, anticipated the movement with his E once again, flawlessly capturing Jayce's Flash location.

[WE, XIYE killed EDG, Mouse.]

Jayce's KDA dropped to a dismal 0–3.

Startled, Mouse sat in front of his monitor, overcome by a deep sense of powerlessness.

He had been completely outplayed.

"Brilliant, another predicted E," Guan Zeyuan could not help but exclaim. "A chained crowd-control combo straight to the grave; Condi is practically a tapeworm in Mouse's stomach, precisely tracking his every movement."

"However, WE failed to destroy the second-tier tower. Instead, EDG grouped in the mid lane and whittled the enemy's tier-one mid tower down to a sliver of health. I think this trade wasn't too bad for EDG," Hao Kai continued his analysis.

"If EDG can seize the opportunity later to take down that crumbling mid tier-one tower, it will greatly restrict Ryze's roaming."

Guan Zeyuan hummed in agreement and said, "To be honest, it feels like if EDG groups up for one push, the mid tier-one tower is as good as gone. EDG's composition is quite flexible, and Syndra and Zyra have very strong counter-engagement tools. WE might not even be able to successfully initiate a fight."

Things went exactly as Guan Zeyuan predicted. In the seventeenth minute, EDG grouped up and forcefully demolished the mid tier-one tower.

The entire WE roster arrived, desperately wanting to start a team fight, but after some poking and maneuvering, they only managed to force out Syndra's and Zyra's Flashes.

Taking advantage of WE's vulnerable backline, Mouse's split-pushing secured the bottom tier-one tower, significantly boosting his item progression.

At this point, the gold difference between the two teams was practically negligible, and EDG had completely recovered from their early-game deficit.

At the twentieth minute of the match, WE repeated their old trick, sending their top laner, jungler, and support to gank the bottom lane.

Anticipating this, Jayce had retreated far beyond the base wall early on, watching helplessly as WE destroyed the second-tier tower.

Having never experienced such special treatment in his entire life, Mouse let out a string of complaints:

"This is so damn disgusting! These guys just chase me down and bully me nonstop. Am I really that easy a target?"

Well, he was indeed quite an easy target.

Thinking about getting predicted twice on his Flashes, Mouse had nothing to say.

Weren't they supposed to play carry heroes and win with a smile? He didn't know about winning, but right now, he was on the verge of tears.

Why did playing a carry position require acting as a meat shield for the team?

Meanwhile, in the middle lane, Caitlyn was left all alone and exceptionally cautious.

After clearing the wave, Ezreal followed Zyra along the river to establish vision around the Baron pit.

The two of them did not push forward to try and pressure the second-tier tower.

Mystic deduced that EDG must be looking to take the Dragon.

However, upon seeing Kha'Zix appear in the bottom lane to help Jayce clear vision, Mystic stopped overthinking and seized the moment to step up and farm the minion wave.

Before he could even secure a couple of last hits, Ezreal's Trueshot Barrage grazed him from the side.

In less than a fraction of a second, Q and W landed on him sequentially, and Caitlyn's health bar plummeted rapidly.

Just as his spell animation finished, Ezreal's silhouette vaulted out from over the wall near the Raptors camp.

Weren't they clearing vision and taking the Scuttle Crab around the Dragon pit?

Flustered and bewildered, Mystic hurriedly used his E to retreat, trying to utilize the movement speed boost from Heal to kite away from subsequent attacks.

Yet, after side-stepping twice, Ezreal's Mystic Shot still accurately struck him dead center.

"No way, how can he be this accurate?"

With two kills under his belt, Ezreal was far ahead in experience and items. His current two-item core included a Bilgewater Cutlass, giving him an overwhelming amount of damage. Furthermore, Caitlyn was the one who had taken the brunt of the opening burst; her fragile body could not withstand even the slightest bit of punishment.

A chill ran down Mystic's spine, and he was forced to burn his Flash to create distance.

Thinking this would allow him to escape with his life, the glowing energy missile pursued him relentlessly, striking him once more and inflicting a slow effect.

It was utterly impossible to shake off Ezreal's pursuit. Despair washed over Mystic to the absolute extreme.

From the spectator perspective, Hao Kai continued his rapid-fire commentary without missing a beat:

"Lin Ruo's pre-emptive Flash prediction Q directly caught Caitlyn's landing spot! Another Q skill, and the E cooldown reset for a second jump right into her face—Mystic has been solo-killed!"

Guan Zeyuan chimed in to review the play: "Unbelievable! Lin Ruo didn't miss a single skill in this sequence. First, he hid behind the wall at the Raptors camp to observe, waiting for Caitlyn to approach and commit her abilities. He quickly followed up with Q and W, then vaulted over. Even though Caitlyn used both her E and Heal, she still couldn't escape the refreshed Q. That pinpoint skillshot accuracy, combined with the slow from Bilgewater Cutlass—she simply couldn't get away."

Hao Kai chuckled helplessly: "The main thing was that the stealth ward at the river exit was way too deceptive. After Ezreal cleared it and moved toward the Dragon pit, it led Mystic into a false sense of security to come out and clear waves. Who could have expected Ezreal to turn right back around and set up an ambush inside the Raptors camp?"

Following Caitlyn's demise and Jayce's Teleport arrival, EDG swiftly initiated Baron.

Hearing the commotion, WE rushed over, but were powerless to stop them.

As the match timer ticked to 22 minutes, EDG successfully claimed the Baron buff.

"I feel like WE is getting played to death. If you dare push a tower, I'll surround you; if you dare gank the side lanes, I'll push mid. Every time WE tries to make a move, they end up suffering a net loss. WE should have been grouping around Caitlyn to push waves, but instead, it looks like they completely left her alone in the mid lane to fend for herself, which directly led to her being solo-killed and losing the Baron."

Watching EDG march down all three lanes with Baron-empowered minions, Guan Zeyuan spread his hands and shook his head in incomprehension.

Hao Kai followed up: "Well, it was somewhat out of their hands. Caitlyn's item curve lagged behind Ezreal's, and she hit a mid-game slump, requiring the jungler's help just to push waves. Rather than that, they should have utilized her long range to defend the base. Getting caught out like that... all I can say is that EDG's new AD player has incredible imagination."

At the 24th minute, the mid lane inhibitor fell, and WE sank deeper into a disadvantaged state.

The dual-poke damage from a fully-geared Jayce and Ezreal was incomprehensibly high.

Poppy, acting as the frontline, was poked back to the fountain in two consecutive sieges.

EDG pressed their advantage, breaking both the top and mid inhibitors, and transitioned into a macro-heavy playstyle. By the 27th minute, minion waves converged for a push in the bottom lane.

"If you guys feel like you have no chance to defend, I'm going to step up and look stylish—oh, I mean, initiate a fight."

Having been quiet for the entire game, Zero paced back and forth, spotting an opportunity to hook Zyra over the wall, use Q to pull himself closer, and follow up with a defensive ultimate.

The entire WE roster collapsed on her for an instantaneous burst, turning the situation into a five-versus-four instantly.

A rune magic circle manifested behind EDG's formation.

"Is Xiye going to teleport and flank from behind? He didn't go in; instead, he flashed forward with a surprise crowd-control on Scout! But Scout's reaction is also lightning fast—he still manages to get his ultimate off, and both of them fall in the chaotic melee."

"The team fight is still ongoing, but with Ryze dead, WE is left relying solely on Caitlyn, and her damage output just doesn't seem enough! It's Ezreal again, picking off Thresh with a spaced-out Q! Poppy can't absorb this kind of damage at all. Caitlyn flashes forward, unleashing point-blank critical strikes, but she still fails to take down Ezreal! WE is getting utterly kited to pieces!"

Hao Kai's frantic speech rate left Guan Zeyuan staring in awe, momentarily wondering if he should hand him an oxygen tank.

Finally, as the team fight concluded, Guan Zeyuan seized the chance to jump in and declare loudly: "Three E's in a single team fight, a quadra-kill for Ezreal as he practically claims the game in unstoppable fashion! Congratulations to EDG!"

Right before the Nexus exploded, Mouse swiftly typed a question mark into the all-chat window.

Translation of intent: Was camping your daddy useful?