ARML CH70

After the first game ended, a bizarre silence descended upon the FNO training room.

A few seconds later, Coach Tom was the first to recover. He typed in the room to consult with Coach Lin: “I’m going to grab a cup of coffee. Can we pause for a few minutes?” Coach Lin replied, “Sure, sure. I’m going to get a cup of tea as well.”

The two coaches paused with a tacit understanding.

Tom turned around and asked, “What happened? Mitchell, how did you get solo-killed?”

Mitchell’s head was full of question marks: “I’d like to know why too.” He looked up at the coach, “Coach, didn’t you say Qu Jiang only plays control mages and not mage assassins, and that Tianhuan is a jungle-core team?”

Tom lowered his head and took a sip of water to hide his awkwardness: “That was the information I received.”

The top laner, Clemmons, asked seriously, “Could the information from the China region be wrong?”

Mitchell scratched his hair and quickly reviewed the replay of the moment he was solo-killed.

To a certain extent, [Sun Wheel Mage] is countered by [Abyssal Lord] because [Sun Wheel Mage] is a melee hero with a very short attack range, while [Abyssal Lord] is not only a ranged mage but also uses shadows to attack. When the two heroes lane against each other, the former can’t hit the latter, but the latter can hit him.

But even if countered, Mitchell was still a world-class mid-laner who had been playing professionally for two seasons! How could it be that easy to solo-kill him?

In that wave just now, Mitchell had just finished casting a skill, leaving his body stiff for 0.1 seconds, and his shield happened to be broken. That was how the opponent seized the opportunity to take him out in one go.

This wasn’t a coincidence.

It meant the opponent had calculated everything long in advance.

That mid-laner who looked cautious and cowardly hiding under the tower had not only calculated his skill cooldowns and post-cast delay, but even his defense and health—the 80% health threshold, right when his shield was down, so that unleashing all of [Abyssal Lord]’s skills would perfectly one-shot him!

A chill ran down Mitchell’s spine. Terrifying calmness, precise calculation, and a sharp grasp of timing…

The opposing mid-laner was not simple!

Mitchell quickly sat up straight, staring at the computer screen, and said, “Coach, your information is absolutely wrong. Tianhuan’s mid-laner is world-class. Laning against him doesn’t feel as oppressive as facing Fang Zhengqing, but if I make even a tiny mistake, he can seize the opportunity to instantly burst me down. His ability to read the situation is incredibly strong!”

Coach Tom fell deep in thought.

World-class mid-laner? Did Tianhuan spend a high price to buy a top-tier mid-laner?

He had also been quite surprised when Coach Lin suddenly approached him for a scrimmage, considering the two teams hadn’t played against each other in 3 years. He had heard that Tianhuan’s marksman and support retired, and coincidentally, FNO’s bottom lane duo had also retired. He thought Tianhuan was primarily using this scrimmage to practice their bottom lane.

He didn’t expect the change in Tianhuan’s mid-lane to be so drastic. An [Abyssal Lord] mid-core composition had directly stunned FNO.

Mitchell ending up with a 0-3-3 KDA was simply unbelievable!

Tom immediately roused himself and said, “Next game, Mitchell, don’t be stubborn. Put away your short-ranged [Sun Wheel Mage] and obediently pick a long-ranged artillery mage for me!”

Mitchell originally wanted to continue using [Sun Wheel Mage] against [Abyssal Lord] to reclaim his lost face. But seeing the coach’s serious expression, he silently swallowed the thought and said, “Then I’ll pick [World-Ending Mage].”

Tom had pretended to pour coffee to have an emergency strategy discussion.

Coach Lin had also pretended to drink water to review the previous game. He looked at Ye Shaoyang in disbelief, “Shaoyang, you were actually able to crush Mitchell?”

Ye Shaoyang smiled and said, “In the last game, it was probably just good luck, right? Mitchell made a positioning mistake, and I caught him. He underestimated the enemy and was careless, not taking me seriously.”

Coach Lin: “…”

Underestimating the enemy is indeed a major taboo in matches. Shaoyang’s explanation made sense. From a spectator’s perspective, it was indeed Mitchell underestimating the enemy and making a positioning mistake, while Shaoyang looked cowardly but played very calmly.

Coach Lin temporarily suppressed his inner confusion and said, “In the second game, they probably won’t underestimate us again. What composition are we picking?”

Chi Shuo and Ye Shaoyang exchanged a glance. They didn’t plan on bringing out their signature Flying Duo or Dual Wolves compositions just yet; doing so would definitely blow their cover.

Having just used an [Abyssal Lord] mid-core system, using it again would be boring. Ye Shaoyang thought for a moment and asked Chi Shuo, “Captain Chi, want to play jungle-core? I’ll pick a utility mid-laner next game and roam with you.”

Chi Shuo considered it and said, “Alright, I’ll pick [King of Fighters]. We’ll play around the bottom lane this game.”

Hearing this, Cheng Xing immediately sat up straight in nervous anticipation. Playing around the bottom lane meant the bottom lane would likely be a battle of gods this game!

The second game began.

Both sides rapidly selected their heroes. FNO’s composition was: [Vampire Duke] top laner, [Succubus] jungler, [Vampire Prince] and [Vampire Bride] bottom lane duo, and [World-Ending Mage] in the mid-lane.

On Tianhuan’s side: [Black Dragon Knight] top laner, [King of Fighters] jungler, [Radiant Shield] and [Gunner] bottom lane duo. The mid-lane pick was actually [Holy Spirit Mage].

After finalizing their compositions, both sides fell silent for a few seconds.

Chi Shuo analyzed in the command channel, “FNO is running a classic ‘lifesteal’ setup. The three vampire heroes in the top and bottom lanes provide lifesteal sustain, the mid-lane ultimate bursts people down, and the jungler offers flexible crowd control. This composition is very strong in team fights.”

At the same time, Mitchell was also analyzing in their command channel, “Tianhuan is really running a jungle-core composition this time! The mid-lane [Holy Spirit Mage] is a utility tool. Doesn’t he play mage assassins very well? Why pick a utility tool?”

The top laner Clemmons said, “With him picking [Holy Spirit Mage], it will be very hard for you to burst him down, Captain.”

In the magical lore of Gods’ War, [World-Ending Mage] belongs to the dark forces of the demon race, while [Holy Spirit Mage] belongs to the light forces of the divine realm. The two were classmates who later took different paths, turning from friends into mortal enemies.

The 6 clusters of black mist released by [World-Ending Mage] are dark magic; placed well, they can instantly burst down a squishy. Whereas [Holy Spirit Mage]’s purifying light shield is white magic, capable of resisting all magical attacks.

Therefore, when these two heroes lane against each other, it essentially becomes…

You can’t kill me, and I can’t kill you.

Mitchell originally intended to pick an artillery mage specializing in burst kills to teach the opponent a lesson and show them his strength! But the opponent picked a magic tank?

Mitchell: “…” Can I crawl through the internet cable to China and beat someone up?

The match began.

FNO grouped up to invade again, intending to steal Chi Shuo’s blue. Having his jungle invaded constantly, Chi Shuo had learned to be smart. He took Ye Shaoyang and Qu Jiang with him to steal the opponent’s blue. Both junglers started with double buffs and farmed peacefully.

In the mid-lane, Mitchell was much more cautious this game, paying careful attention to his positioning. Ye Shaoyang continued to implement his “I try not to step out from under the tower” strategy, slowly using the [Holy Spirit Mage]’s light orbs to clear minion waves.

[Holy Spirit Mage] is a magic tank, the hero with the lowest attack but highest defense among all mages. His key functions are: first, the E skill [Holy Spirit Shield], which can place a thick shield on a designated teammate and increase their magical defense, equivalent to giving the teammate an extra 2000-gold defense item.

Second is his ultimate [Holy Spirit Seal], which seals a designated enemy in a transparent orb, preventing them from taking any actions for 2.5 seconds.

The Holy Spirit Seal is a “Domination” control effect and cannot be cleansed, making it one of the strongest crowd control skills. But this skill also has a flaw: while the [Holy Spirit Mage] is controlling someone, he also cannot move, effectively becoming a sitting duck.

Therefore, this hero is more suited for a “utility” playstyle.

During a team fight, stepping up to control the enemy core and securing the kill makes dying worthwhile.

During the early laning phase, the [Holy Spirit Mage] kept the shield on himself. The glowing golden shield was very pretty, providing both defense and health. Mitchell was completely out of options and didn’t even want to waste skills attacking this magic tank.

Soon, both junglers reached level 6. Mitchell immediately pinged a warning: “Enemy jungler hit 6, bot lane be careful!”

Chi Shuo also pinged a warning in the bot lane river.

The bottom lane duos on both sides quickly cleared waves, ready to retreat at any moment.

Right at this moment, FNO’s jungler [Succubus] appeared like a ghost behind Cheng Xing, using her [Charm] skill to stun him in place. Angus’s marksman [Vampire Bride] immediately activated her ultimate. Blood splattered from the arrows she fired, stacking 5 layers of bleed on Cheng Xing in the blink of an eye!

Seeing Cheng Xing about to be shot to death, Chi Shuo’s [King of Fighters] dashed out of the bush with two rapid mobility skills, punching [Vampire Bride] into the wall.

—[[King of Fighters] killed [Vampire Bride]!] —[[Succubus] killed [Gunner]!]

The marksmen on both sides fell simultaneously, with the junglers each taking a kill. Chi Shuo retreated, and Kevin on the other side tactfully retreated as well.

This trade of marksmen resulted in no advantage for either side. Due to the marksmen being dead, neither side rushed to start the first dragon team fight, continuing to clear waves and farm.

The match progressed to 6 minutes.

Mitchell noticed the enemy mid-laner was missing and immediately pinged: “Mid MISS!” He quickly followed.

In the bottom lane, Cheng Xing and Qu Jiang were facing off against Alan and Angus in a 2v2, only to discover their respective junglers and mid-laners flanking from the jungle. A small-scale team fight was imminent!

This time, Tianhuan struck first. Hiding in the side bush, Ye Shaoyang seized the moment Angus poked his head out. He directly used Flash and cast a [Holy Spirit Seal], locking Angus’s marksman in place!

A full 2.5-second seal control. Chi Shuo decisively followed up, deleting the enemy marksman with a combo.

At the same time, Mitchell emerged from the bush—Curse of World’s End!

The 6 clusters of black mist darted like pythons, accurately hitting the distant backline marksman. The [World-Ending Mage]’s ultimate possessed terrifying power, instantly one-shotting Cheng Xing, who was trying to deal damage stealthily under the tower.

Angus: “T_T” Cheng Xing: “T_T”

The marksmen on both sides were sent back to base once again.

This 4v4 team fight was more intense than the previous one. With the marksmen dead, the mid, jungle, and support began a 3v3. Ye Shaoyang dutifully played the utility role, placing his shield on Chi Shuo.

Empowered by the shield and defense boost, Chi Shuo showed them what a jungle carry truly was! He charged in head-on, forcing a kill on the mid-laner Mitchell with a combo.

Of course, with Ye Shaoyang giving the shield to Chi Shuo, it meant he became squishy. With no skills and his Flash already used, the enemy jungler Kevin swiftly took his life.

This 2-for-2 trade seemed even on the surface. But in reality, Tianhuan profited massively!

Chi Shuo’s jungle-core secured a double kill, while FNO’s Mitchell and Kevin each secured one kill. Mitchell killing the marksman was certainly a good harvest. But killing the mid-laner? Tianhuan’s mid-laner this game was a utility tool who yielded all farm to the jungler; killing him was useless.

They had let the jungle-core farm up!

Realizing this was bad, Mitchell immediately changed strategies: “Invade the jungle, don’t let their jungler get too comfortable!”

After FNO respawned, the four of them grouped up to invade the red buff. Ye Shaoyang swiftly moved to support. Mitchell was undeniably smart. The [Holy Spirit Mage]’s ultimate cooldown was quite long. By seizing this window where the enemy’s skills were down to counter-jungle, they could try to force a kill on Chi Shuo.

However, the plan was sound, but the execution was a different story…

Almost as soon as the four of them appeared in the jungle, Ye Shaoyang threw the glowing golden shield onto Chi Shuo. With the shield’s empowerment, Chi Shuo could fight 1v2. Moreover, not only did the [Holy Spirit Mage] have a shield, but his Q skill also slowed.

Ye Shaoyang played the mage like a tank, standing in front and frequently harassing their positioning. He kept moving back and forth before their eyes, constantly using his Q skill to slow them…

Mitchell couldn’t take it anymore: “Kill this mage!”

The four of them focused their attacks on Ye Shaoyang, quickly killing him.

But Chi Shuo timely used Smite to secure the Red Buff and conveniently went to the mid-lane to farm a minion wave.

Mitchell’s strategy to disrupt the enemy jungler failed completely.

Opening the match scoreboard, he realized that Chi Shuo’s economy had unknowingly pulled ahead of FNO’s jungler Kevin by a full 1500 gold—roughly the equivalent of an entire damage item.

Although Tianhuan’s performance had declined in recent years, as a jungler who had once won the S6 individual championship, this captain’s strength absolutely could not be underestimated!

Mitchell immediately changed strategies: “Force a kill in the bot lane, quickly push the outer tower!”

Taking advantage of Ye Shaoyang being sent back to base, the four of them immediately grouped up and headed to the bottom lane.

Mitchell’s [World-Ending Mage] matched Zhou Jiawen in skill, with an astoundingly high skill hit rate. With an ultra-long-range ultimate, let alone Cheng Xing, even a world-class marksman might not be able to escape.

Cheng Xing was beaten back to base. The four grouped up and forcefully pushed down the outer bottom tower rapidly, then rotated to the mid-lane.

FNO’s group push was executed very well, rapidly reclaiming the tempo. The strongest aspect of FNO’s lifesteal composition actually lay in team fights.

Having fought around the bottom lane the whole time, the marksmen on both sides had been forcefully killed multiple times.

This time pushing mid, the “orphan top laners” on both sides simultaneously joined the team fight.

As the team fight broke out, the supports and top laners on both sides engaged simultaneously! Qu Jiang leaped in with a stun, and Qin Yizhu closely followed with Black Dragon’s Roar. These two players truly deserved to have played together for three years; their synergy was very high, executing almost a seamless chain CC.

However, FNO’s positioning was very cautious this game, and they failed to control the enemy backline.

Mitchell threw an ultimate toward the backline Cheng Xing again. But having been killed by him twice consecutively, Cheng Xing had learned his lesson. The instant the black mist appeared, he directly used Flash over the wall and dodged into the bush, narrowly evading the ultimate!

The enemy marksman Angus was also carefully hiding under the tower, his hand speed flying as he shot out a row of blood arrows.

Suddenly, a golden light descended from the sky— Ye Shaoyang appeared from nowhere, directly casting [Holy Spirit Seal] to lock him under the tower.

Being sealed once again, Angus simply wanted to cry.

Chi Shuo had been hiding nearby all along. The moment Ye Shaoyang acted, he rapidly dashed over. With the most luxurious equipment in the match, his [King of Fighters] beat the squishy to death with two punches.

Angus, beaten to death with two punches: “T_T”

Seeing the enemy marksman killed, Cheng Xing, hiding in the bush, felt a surge of joy. He hurriedly tossed a cannonball into the enemy crowd. With a boom, the explosion reduced the opponents to critical health.

But right after, the [Vampire Duke] found his location, instantly teleporting over and slicing him to death with two consecutive slashes.

Cheng Xing: “…”

Today’s match could be made into a highlight compilation: “100 Ways for a Marksman to Die.”

The match lasted for 35 minutes, with both sides locked in a tug-of-war.

Cheng Xing was forcefully killed 5 times. FNO’s marksman Angus was equally miserable, assassinated 6 times by the mid-jungle duo.

The mental state of the two teenagers was on the verge of collapse, experiencing for the first time the fear of being dominated by world-class players!

After both sides pushed down the outer and inner towers, the high ground defense battle began.

This was when the importance of the supports on both sides became apparent. Having played professionally for three years, Qu Jiang was much more experienced than FNO’s rookie support Alan. He laid out vision alongside Chi Shuo and Ye Shaoyang.

Tianhuan held the vision advantage for the dragon team fight.

Both sides began contesting the dragon, poking and resetting aggro repeatedly. I hit it, you hit it, dragging on for a full minute. If the dragon could speak, it would definitely be very impatient: Are you guys going to fight or not!

On the third attempt to start the dragon, Ye Shaoyang found an opportunity. He suddenly used Flash into the bush above the dragon pit and cast an ultimate, sealing the enemy marksman Angus!

Chi Shuo immediately followed Ye Shaoyang’s tempo, bursting down Angus with a combo.

Frowning, Mitchell activated his ultimate, aiming to kill Chi Shuo to salvage the situation…

But Chi Shuo was personally protected by Ye Shaoyang. A glowing golden shield directly added 3000 health.

Empowered by the shield and luxurious equipment, Chi Shuo could walk sideways in the canyon. He even face-tanked Mitchell’s damage, absorbed Mitchell’s ultimate, and then closed the distance to beat Mitchell to death.

Mitchell: “…” Two against one, you guys are too much!

Chi Shuo smoothly secured the Baron.

FNO defended their high ground firmly for 10 minutes. The match ultimately ended at 40 minutes. They tried their best but couldn’t reverse the situation.

Unlike the first game where they were stunned and couldn’t react, this game saw both sides trading blows. The final kill score was 18:16, not a large gap. But in the crucial team fight, it was the enemy mid-laner who opened up the situation, Flashing into the bush above the dragon pit to seal the marksman. This person’s game sense was terrifying!

Mitchell took his hands off the keyboard and stared seriously at the big screen.

Beside him, the curly-haired Angus had red eyes, brimming with tears.

Coach Tom helplessly rubbed his forehead. —Where did this Great Demon King come from, making our rookie marksman cry!

Alan softly comforted him: “It’s fine, it’s just a scrimmage. Don’t be sad.”

Angus sobbed, “I got killed 7 times…”

His voice sounded extremely aggrieved.

Coach Tom coughed lightly, walked over, and patted his shoulder: “It’s a good thing to let you experience the cruelty of competition in advance, before the next season even starts.”

Angus: “…That’s way too cruel.”

Mitchell took a deep breath and summarized: “Tianhuan isn’t a jungle-core team; they’re a mid-jungle dual-core system. In the first game, the jungler yielded the blue buff to the mid-laner at the start, and the mid-laner drove the tempo. In the second game, the utility mid-laner stuck close to protect the jungler, and the two coordinated to roam and gank, letting the jungler drive the tempo. Their team has two world-class players!”

Tom gasped: “How is that possible? Didn’t Tianhuan get eliminated in the first round of the playoffs?”

Mitchell replied: “That was S9.”

Everyone looked confused: “It’s still S9 now. The World Championship doesn’t start until December.”

Mitchell shrugged and feigned a relaxed tone: “For the teams that made it to the World Championship, this season indeed doesn’t end until December. But for Tianhuan, and for us… S9 is long over.”

Everyone quickly realized what he meant.

Yes, for the teams that didn’t make the World Championship, S9 was already over. It was now the preparation period for S10!

So, the Tianhuan they faced today was no longer the Tianhuan eliminated in the first round of the S9 China region playoffs—but a Tianhuan quietly undergoing transformation.

Coach Tom took a deep breath and stated with certainty, “Tianhuan absolutely replaced their mid-laner! We’re probably the first to know. Today’s scrimmage made me feel like I was dreaming of S6; mid-jungle synergy has reappeared!”

Tianhuan’s jungler was already very strong. If they added a world-class mid-laner, then Tianhuan next season would be unimaginably terrifying.

Tom sighed, “Through this scrimmage, I think everyone has realized that the weakness for both our teams is the bottom lane. So, the next time we face Tianhuan, we can’t play like this.”

Clemmons asked seriously: “Next time we face them? Does the coach want to schedule another scrimmage with them?”

Tom chuckled lightly, wagged his finger, and said, “No, no, not a scrimmage.”

He looked out the window thoughtfully and said, “The next time we meet, it should be at the World Championship.”

It was currently late autumn in North America as well, with yellow leaves covering the ground. At 1 AM, the wind blew the fallen leaves, making a rustling sound.

When the trees sprout new buds next spring, and S10 officially begins… Will the reborn Tianhuan make it to the World Championship? Will these old rivals meet again on the world stage?

When that time comes, they absolutely cannot be 0:2’d again!

Tom exhaled softly, turned to look at the red-eyed teenager, and said, “Angus, put your tears away! Starting tomorrow, you have 2 hours of extra training every day. Mitchell and Kevin will team up to gank you; let’s see how many times you die in a day.”

Angus: “…………”

Now he wanted to cry even more! Can I apply to not play marksman?

Why does a 5v5 game even need a marksman? Ganked by the Jungler daddy, bursted by the Mid-laner daddy, sliced by the Top Laner daddy, controlled by the Support daddy…

Can this game even be played, please?