ARML CH38

Chi Shuo had been targeted far too miserably. The second game, which was a rare occasion where they played relatively well, was lost due to a crucial team fight. How should they seek a breakthrough?

If the Tianhuan players’ mentality collapsed because of this, leading to a direct 0:3 snowball elimination in the third game, then Ye Shaoyang felt there was no need to join such a team. Assessing a team’s potential doesn’t just mean looking at how they win advantageous games, but also observing their pressure resistance in disadvantageous games—this is the easiest way to see a team’s condition.

The playoffs feature a best-of-5 format, with a longer break after the first two games.

All five members of the Tianhuan team stood up and gathered with the coach, seemingly discussing strategy. Beimu wasn’t idle either; their coach leaned in to speak into Captain Zhao Xinping’s ear, though it was unclear what composition they had decided on.

A moment later, the third game began.

Yao Mu smiled and said, “Welcome back! This is the scene of the Gods’ War S9 Playoffs. Currently, the score between Tianhuan and Beimu is 0:2, with Beimu securing match points first!”

Mingyu said, “The next game is a life-and-death battle for Tianhuan. If they win, they still have a sliver of hope; if they lose, they’ll be eliminated and go home. Let’s all look forward to the BP phase of the third game!”

The third game was similar to the previous two. Beimu continued to ban Chi Shuo’s Jungler. Tianhuan banned a Marksman, and also banned the Top Laner [Vampire Duke], which Zhao Xin’an had been playing exceptionally well.

Both sides began selecting players.

To Ye Shaoyang’s surprise, Tianhuan picked their Mid-laner, Top Laner, and Marksman, but actually didn’t pick a Jungler? This meant that during the second BP phase, the opposing coach could continue to ban their Jungler!

The BP format in the professional league is different from online games; it’s divided into two phases. In the first phase, both sides ban 2 heroes and sequentially pick 3 heroes. In the second phase, they ban 2 more heroes and then select the remaining 2 roles based on the counter-strategies. This BP mind game is much more complex.

Beimu had banned 2 Junglers in the first phase, and Tianhuan surprisingly didn’t prioritize picking a Jungler. This meant Beimu could continue banning Junglers in the second phase, potentially banning 4 Junglers throughout the entire match!

What would Chi Shuo do? What was Tianhuan’s coach thinking?

Ye Shaoyang frowned as he looked towards the soundproof booth on the stage. Coach Lin’s expression was relatively calm, and Chi Shuo also looked composed. This was clearly something they had discussed beforehand.

Both sides rapidly selected their compositions.

It wasn’t until the final moment, when the compositions were locked in, that a wave of boos suddenly erupted from the audience.

The heroes Tianhuan selected were: [Paladin] Top Laner, [World-Ending Mage] Mid-laner, [Sharpshooter] Marksman, [Radiant Shield] Support, and [Black Dragon Knight]… Top Laner?

What was going on? Why were there two Top Laners? Of course, [Paladin] could also be played as a Support, but [Radiant Shield] is a pure tank Support. Two Supports? Where is your Jungler?

The two casters were also a bit confused. After exchanging a glance, Yao Mu asked doubtfully, “This composition is very tanky. Paladin, Black Dragon Knight, Radiant Shield—all three are exceptionally sturdy front-liners. But with this setup, who will play Jungler?”

Mingyu said, “[Black Dragon Knight] is a fixed Top Laner, very suited for resisting pressure and team fighting. [Radiant Shield] is a fixed Support with no damage output capability. [Paladin] can play Top Laner or Support, but he surely wouldn’t play Jungler, right?”

Then, the 5 Tianhuan players began swapping heroes.

[Paladin] was surprisingly swapped to the 2nd slot for Chi Shuo to use. Chi Shuo changed his summoner spell to Smite, which is commonly used by jungle heroes. Another wave of boos erupted from the audience.

Yao Mu was stunned for a moment: “It really is [Paladin] playing Jungler!”

Mingyu: “Oh my god! What is Captain Chi thinking, using a meat shield to play Jungler?”

Yao Mu said, “Paladin has almost no damage output capability. Even if he builds items in the late game, he’s only suited for absorbing pressure, so he usually plays the Top Laner or Support role. Paladin Jungler is something we’re seeing for the first time in the league.”

Mingyu said somewhat sympathetically, “Captain Chi was probably targeted so much he had no other choice, forced to use a meat shield to play Jungler—Don’t you guys like counter-jungling? Come on, I’ll pick someone with thick skin. If you can beat me to death, I’ll consider it my loss?”

Yao Mu said helplessly, “But doing this means the entire team’s damage output isn’t enough. Unless…” She glanced at the composition, “Is the Mid-laner going to be the main Carry this game?”

Following Yao Mu’s casting, everyone focused their attention on the Mid-laner hero.

Qu Jiang selected [World-Ending Mage] · Lord, the hero with the strongest innate critical damage among all mages. A classic “artillery mage,” casting skills while remaining stationary.

However, the skills this hero unleashed were 6 clusters of black mist that would curve. If the black mist instantly shot out and all hit the opponent, it could directly one-shot someone; the damage was terrifying. But if they missed, it would be an awkward dark magic performance, with the 6 clusters of black mist circling in the air, achieving absolutely nothing.

Could Qu Jiang bear such a heavy responsibility?

The match began.

Seeing Chi Shuo pick Paladin, the opponents had absolutely no desire to counter-jungle. Paladin had innately high defense; even if all 4 of them grouped up to fight him, they might not necessarily kill him. Anyway, everyone could tell that the core damage dealers this game were the Mid-laner and Marksman. Targeting these two positions would be enough.

Chi Shuo rapidly started attacking the blue buff. The Paladin was far too clunky, and his jungling efficiency was very low. He hit the blue buff for a long time without killing it. When the blue buff still had 1200 health left, Chi Shuo suddenly used Smite. After using Smite, the blue buff was left with 200 health…

Chi Shuo had been a Jungler for so many years, there’s no way he miscalculated the health, right?

Right at this moment, Qu Jiang in the mid-lane stepped forward from under his tower and used a Q skill to finish off the blue buff.

The entire audience: “…………”

The bullet screen in the stream exploded directly— [Captain Chi intentionally yielded the blue buff to Qu Jiang?!]

[Yielding the very first blue buff, has he fucking become a utility jungler?]

[Captain Chi is truly pitiful. Unable to play the jungle carry, picking a utility hero to work for his teammates. As a 4-year veteran fan, this really hurts to watch.]

[My Captain Chi’s jungle carry T_T]

Sitting in the audience, Ye Shaoyang looked at Chi Shuo in some surprise. He yielded the blue buff to the mid-lane, then went to the bottom lane to fight the red buff. After taking it down to its last drop of health, he yielded the red buff to Old Nie in the bottom lane.

The Jungler yielding both buffs at the start of the game? That was equivalent to completely sacrificing his own economy to protect his teammates and let them farm up as quickly as possible.

Even though Qin Rui was a newbie, seeing this made his nose sting, “Was Captain Chi targeted so miserably that he simply gave up taking the buffs? Giving the blue buff to the Mid-laner and the red buff to the Marksman?”

Ye Shaoyang remained silent for a moment before saying with complex emotions, “As the captain, he made a concession for the team. This is also Tianhuan’s lifeline; they absolutely cannot lose the third game.”

Tianhuan’s strategy this game was a “Utility Jungler” supporting two main Carries, with the breakthrough point in the mid-lane.

Chi Shuo brought out the unprecedented [Paladin] Jungler, yielding the entire jungle economy to his teammates. As a result, when both Qu Jiang and Old Nie reached level 6, Chi Shuo was only level 4.

Then, everyone witnessed a shocking scene— First Blood!

Qu Jiang’s [World-Ending Mage] directly activated his ultimate and solo-killed the enemy Mid-laner!

Chi Shuo yielded the blue buff to Qu Jiang, and Qu Jiang did not betray the captain’s trust. Reaching level 6 before the enemy Mid-laner, he used Flash directly. The World-Ending Mage’s 6 clusters of black mist shot out instantly like pythons, striking the opponent’s chest!

After one-shotting the mid-lane, Qu Jiang rapidly pushed the minion wave forward, then went to the top lane to help suppress Zhao Xin’an. The top laner Old Qin, Tianhuan’s Qin Yizhu—although his style wasn’t as prominent as Zhao Xin’an’s, his pressure resistance was very strong, and his performance was relatively stable. After the Mid-laner came to help, the two of them teamed up to suppress Zhao Xin’an back under his tower.

In the bottom lane, because Old Nie secured the first red buff, even if Zhao Xinping played very aggressively, Old Nie could hold his ground.

Tianhuan’s kill score was 1:0, holding a slight advantage. But whether they could maintain stability was the question. The opponent realized that Qu Jiang was the main Carry this game and started ganking the mid-lane.

The enemy Jungler and Mid-laner grouped up to tower-dive and force a kill on Qu Jiang. But at the critical moment, the tall and sturdy Paladin suddenly leaped out from the side, using a taunt skill to control both enemies, allowing Qu Jiang to escape safely.

Tianhuan began to play minion wave macro, using the mid-lane as the breakthrough point. Aren’t Beimu’s top and bottom lanes very strong? We’ll just stabilize the side lanes and stab straight through your mid-lane!

Qu Jiang activated his ultimate again, the 6 clusters of black mist precisely smashing into the enemy Mid-laner’s chest, instantly one-shotting them. A second solo kill!

This is the terrifying aspect of an artillery mage. As long as he gets enough economy and builds magical critical hit items, he can utilize his “long-range” advantage. Often, you won’t even see where he is before getting one-shot!

Beimu’s Mid-laner collapsed, and the outer mid-lane tower quickly fell.

Chi Shuo immediately led Qu Jiang on counter-invasions. He would reduce all jungle monsters to one drop of health, then let Qu Jiang last-hit for the economy. Their own blue buff was yielded to Qu Jiang throughout the game. This playstyle quickly made Qu Jiang the highest earner in the entire match.

How terrifying is a [World-Ending Mage] with the most luxurious equipment in the game? One-shotting a squishy with a single skill, and with teammates protecting him, you couldn’t even dive him!

The audience who had booed at the beginning were completely dumbfounded, and a hint of appreciation appeared in Ye Shaoyang’s eyes as well— Qu Jiang’s greatest advantage was his stability. Letting him play his proficient artillery mage and deal damage from a distance, as long as he wasn’t dived and killed, he could one-shot the opponent.

In this game, Tianhuan was gambling on Qu Jiang’s stability. At 0:2, they couldn’t afford even the slightest mistake. Therefore, they went all out, with Qu Jiang serving as the core damage dealer and Chi Shuo acting as a Utility Jungler, yielding the jungle economy.

This way, the opponent couldn’t target the jungle. If they tried to target the Mid-laner, the Mid-laner had Paladin protecting him as a bodyguard.

That’s right, Chi Shuo was no longer the Jungle Carry in this game—he was the entire team’s most reliable bodyguard! He protected his teammates so they could farm rapidly. He yielded all his economy, to the point where even at the end of the match, his equipment… was inferior to their own Support’s.

Yet, Tianhuan won.

Relying on Qu Jiang’s precise skill shots, and relying on the veteran Old Nie’s rich tournament experience and meticulous minion wave macro. Pushing down the mid tower, pushing down the outer bottom tower, taking the dragon, contesting the Baron… Paladin, Black Dragon Knight, Radiant Shield—with these three meat shields standing there like three massive mountains, even if Zhao Xin’an wanted to dive the backline, he couldn’t find a single opportunity.

The score was 1:2.

At the caster desk, Yao Mu said with complex emotions, “Tianhuan took the third game! This game was truly played unexpectedly. It’s the first time seeing Captain Chi pick a meat shield to play Jungler, acting as a bodyguard for his teammates. He proactively made a sacrifice for the team, and fortunately, his teammates didn’t betray his trust.”

Mingyu said, “The MVP for this game goes to Qu Jiang. Qu Jiang truly had zero mistakes throughout the entire game; his skill hit rate was terrifyingly high. If Beimu doesn’t adjust quickly and Tianhuan continues to use this kind of composition, it will be very difficult to counter.”

The fourth game quickly began.

Ye Shaoyang sat up straight in anticipation, staring fixedly at the big screen.

In the fourth game, Beimu directly banned Qu Jiang’s [World-Ending Mage], effectively breaking Tianhuan’s system of a utility jungler plus a burst mid-laner. The second ban spot was still reserved for Chi Shuo’s [Stealth Rogue].

Chi Shuo’s signature hero, [Bloodstained Assassin], was let through.

Yao Mu’s voice was slightly excited: “Will Captain Chi pick Bloodstained Assassin?”

Ye Shaoyang believed he wouldn’t. Chi Shuo was not a “hero-complex individualist”; he wouldn’t disregard his teammates just to show off his mechanics. [Bloodstained Assassin] was very strong at jungling but easily targeted. As long as the opponent picked heroes with AoE damage and crowd control, the invisible assassin could easily be revealed, unable to find an opportunity to dive.

Facts proved that Ye Shaoyang guessed right. Chi Shuo didn’t pick [Bloodstained Assassin]. He picked [Fighter], a hero with multiple mobility skills who was relatively tanky. The Top Laner was [Berserker], Mid-laner [Ocean Goddess], Marksman [Holy Spirit Archer], and Support [Blessed Priest].

Ye Shaoyang looked at this system in some surprise. Wasn’t this somewhat similar to the composition from his Kings tier promotion match? The [Blessed Priest] support could accelerate teammates, while the mid-lane [Ocean Goddess] decelerated the opponents!

—Speed difference. This was a true speed difference composition.

Chi Shuo’s role in this game was to rely on his rapid mobility advantage to help his teammates push minion waves and attempt to steal dragons. In the bottom lane, under the protection of the Support [Blessed Priest], Old Nie might not be able to beat Zhao Xinping, but he could escape!

In the mid-lane, all of [Ocean Goddess]’s water domain skills included a slow. Once a team fight started, Qu Jiang’s [Ocean Goddess] would cast a slow, and their Support would activate a team-wide acceleration. The opponents would face the awkward situation of “not being able to catch up.”

This match was exceptionally deadlocked.

Zhao Xinping and Zhao Xin’an’s individual skills were indeed very strong, especially Zhao Xin’an. Once he dived into Tianhuan’s backline, he could chop them up like melons and vegetables, directly wiping out Tianhuan in team fights.

However…

He couldn’t reach them.

Qu Jiang’s slow down effects were incredibly annoying. With the Support providing acceleration, everyone ran faster than rabbits. Guerrilla warfare, the ultimate macro play.

This familiar style of shotcalling made Ye Shaoyang inadvertently recall his own past comeback victories reliant on macro play during disadvantageous games.

Yes, Chi Shuo was not only a sharp Jungler but also a very patient shotcaller. He could hide his sharp edge and patiently play minion wave macro, relying on details to establish an advantage bit by bit. His shotcalling was even calmer than Ye Shaoyang’s!

In this match, by the 20-minute mark, the kill score was incredibly 0:0. It showed just how terrifying Tianhuan’s avoidance of team fights was; they completely refused to let the opponent touch even a corner of their clothes.

Grouping up to clear waves, rapid macro rotations. Can’t beat you in a fight? I just won’t team fight you, we’ll just focus on pushing towers.

In the late game, Beimu had no choice but to start Baron to force a team fight, and then a dramatic scene unfolded— Qu Jiang suddenly Flashed in and activated his ultimate. The [Ocean Goddess]’s massive water domain rooted all the Beimu players fighting the Baron in the water. Chi Shuo took the opportunity to flank around and stole the Baron with a single Smite.

The Beimu players: “…………”

Zhao Xin’an really wanted to curse! This annoying macro playstyle reminded him of a streamer named Xiao Bai. Fucking hell, only when experiencing it personally did he realize how agonizing this feeling of “having strength but nowhere to use it” was!

The fourth game dragged all the way to 45 minutes. Tianhuan secured a difficult victory through meticulous macro play.

Throughout the entire game, Chi Shuo didn’t take a single kill, but he dragged Beimu to death with patient and calm minion wave macro.

The score was 2:2. The Tianhuan fans who were crying just a moment ago stared wide-eyed in shock, forgetting to hold back their tears, and sat up straight to watch the big screen. A smile also gradually curled at the corners of Ye Shaoyang’s mouth.

Well played. Under a massive disadvantage, they had stabilized. One game with a utility jungler letting Qu Jiang step up and crush the enemy mid-lane; another game of minion wave macro demonstrating Chi Shuo’s exceptional game sense and shotcalling ability.

Tianhuan, despite having two players with declining conditions who were about to retire… Tianhuan had never been a weak team.

Just moments ago at 0:2, no one had anticipated this result. Tianhuan actually managed to push it to a deciding game!

Mingyu said excitedly, “According to the playoffs rules, the fifth game will be Blind Pick. Both sides will blindly select their heroes simultaneously. This way, everyone can get the heroes they excel at!”

Yao Mu added, “Today’s matches have been a back-and-forth, truly an exciting display! Let’s look forward to what kind of compositions both sides will bring out in the deciding game!”

Before the deciding game, there was a 15-minute break. Both teams gathered with their coaches to discuss strategy. The fans at the venue were anxious, the online stream was flooded with cheering bullet screens, and the support rate on the prediction channel had shifted from the initial 45:55 to 50:50, perfectly even.

Ye Shaoyang focused his attention on the big screen.

15 minutes later, the deciding game finally began. The time was already 10:30 PM. Both sides played Blind Pick, directly selecting their compositions blindly.

Beimu’s composition shocked the audience—they brought out a double side lane fighter system this game! Both the top and bottom lanes were fighters with mobility skills, the mid-lane was Poison Warlock, and both the Jungler and Support brought crowd control.

Zhao Xin’an selected [Vampire Duke]. Zhao Xinping surprisingly didn’t pick a Marksman, instead choosing a melee fighter, [Blade Will]!

Yao Mu quickly read into this composition: “Both Da Zhao and Xiao Zhao took side lane fighters with mobility. This means the Jungler fundamentally cannot gank their top and bottom lanes to death. Once the two fighters farm up, they will be extremely terrifying in the late game, posing a massive threat to Tianhuan’s Mage, Mid-laner, and even Jungler!”

Mingyu said, “Exactly! This is a true double side lane system. Beimu is going all out this game! We all know that Poison Warlock is the core of the Poison Comp, but he can also be picked independently to build attack speed and be used as a Marksman. This way, Beimu’s mid-lane is a Marksman disguised as a Mage, while the top and bottom lanes are fighters with extremely strong diving capabilities. In team fights, if the two fighters dive the backline together, Tianhuan’s backline will likely not be able to hold…”

And what composition did Tianhuan pick? They picked the combat-avoidant macro system from the fourth game. Relatively speaking, this was the safest option. If they couldn’t fight head-on, they could control and avoid combat. Then rely on details to secure a win.

Chi Shuo still didn’t pick [Bloodstained Assassin]. It wasn’t that he lacked confidence in his signature hero, but rather that [Bloodstained Assassin] required teammates to chunk the enemy’s health to create conditions for him to enter the fight. If his teammates couldn’t chunk the enemies, an assassin like him would be useless. Why was his [Bloodstained Assassin] so overpowered in the S6 season?

It wasn’t that he alone was overpowered, but that all the players on Tianhuan during the S6 season were overpowered. At that time, Old Nie was at his peak condition, and the Mid-laner was Chi Shuo’s master, Captain Ming. They could rapidly chunk the opponents, allowing Chi Shuo to enter and harvest.

The netizens only saw the young Chi Shuo’s Pentakill slaughters, his unparalleled sharpness. But to recreate past glories, the current Tianhuan couldn’t manage to protect Chi Shuo’s squishy Jungle Carry. This kind of assassin was easily targeted in the early game and prone to collapsing.

Seeing this, Ye Shaoyang also breathed a sigh of relief—fortunately, Chi Shuo didn’t get hot-headed. If he had brought out [Bloodstained Assassin], he would have been crushed by the opposing double fighters. The enemy coach might have guessed he would pick his signature hero and put up the double fighter composition to counter it, because assassins are also very afraid of fighters; a single horizontal slash from a fighter could take away half their health.

Tianhuan chose a highly mobile, relatively flexible macro composition. Chi Shuo wouldn’t be targeted too miserably and could at least put up a fight against the opponent.

Both sides traded blows, once again dragging the game into the deep late game. At 40 minutes, both sides entered an arduous “prison match.”

The outer and inner turrets were all destroyed, leaving only the solitary high ground towers.

Chi Shuo led his teammates to push under Beimu’s high ground tower. However, Beimu’s double side lane fighters were too terrifying. The two dived the backline simultaneously, directly deleting all of Tianhuan’s Mid-laners and Marksmen. Tianhuan was forced to retreat.

Beimu counter-attacked, pushing the minion wave to the high ground tower. Chi Shuo and Old Qin sacrificed their lives to clear the wave. All 5 Tianhuan players died, but all of Beimu’s minions were cleared, leaving them with no choice but to retreat as well.

The two sides engaged in this back-and-forth tug-of-war, dragging the match into a terrifying 50-minute bladder match.

Another Baron team fight. They had to contest this Baron because after killing it, the minion wave would turn into extremely hard-to-kill Vanguard captains with incredibly fast tower-pushing speed. And the team that secured the Baron would all receive damage and defense buffs.

The two sides stalemated near the dragon pit for a moment. Suddenly, as if sharing a telepathic connection, Zhao Xin’an and Zhao Xinping simultaneously used Flash— One flanked from above, the other from below.

The ferocious side lanes instantly dived Tianhuan’s backline. Old Nie and A’Ning had absolutely no time to react and were instantly one-shot!

The synergy between Da Zhao and Xiao Zhao was terrifyingly seamless; they didn’t even stack overlapping skills on the same person. Zhao Xinping’s [Blade Will] specifically targeted Old Nie, while Zhao Xin’an’s [Vampire Duke] instantly deleted the Support [Blessed Priest] with a single combo.

Without the acceleration from the Support, it was very difficult for Tianhuan to continue kiting.

Chi Shuo immediately pinged retreat. Although the remaining three rapidly withdrew under their tower, they lost the Baron.

Carrying the Baron buff, Beimu forcefully pushed down the high ground. Chi Shuo and the other two used their lives to clear waves at the crystal. They fell one after another, stood back up with Guardian Angels, and continued to clear waves.

However, with Vanguard captains pushing all three lanes simultaneously, they couldn’t clear them all. The crystal shattered right before their eyes.

The 60-minute-long match finally drew to a close.

After a moment of silence, deafening applause erupted throughout the venue. Beimu’s fans were clearly thrilled, while the sound of Tianhuan’s fans crying mixed in with the applause, sounding heartbreaking.

Yet, Ye Shaoyang was applauding—he was applauding for Tianhuan. His applause was for Tianhuan’s brilliantly shotcalling captain Chi Shuo, for Tianhuan’s highly imaginative coach Lin Feng, and for the four players who stabilized their mindset and gave it their all during a disadvantageous game.

Tianhuan lost, but they didn’t lose disgracefully. They even pulled off some brilliant coordination in the last two games.

In the fifth game, after forcing Beimu to pick strong side lanes, they even dragged the battle to the 60-minute mark. In the final team fight, the Beimu siblings used Flash simultaneously to forcefully dive the backline, instantly deleting the Marksman and Support. Old Nie used Cleanse in time, but he couldn’t escape; he had done his best.

What more could you ask of a veteran player who had been playing professionally for five years?

In this match, Ye Shaoyang saw the tenacity of the Tianhuan team. Perhaps, this was the true spirit of Tianhuan.

Generation after generation of captains, persisting for decades as if it were a single day.

When facing a massive disadvantageous situation, they still wouldn’t give up or compromise, fighting until the very last moment.

In the predicament of 0:2, they also strove to seek a breakthrough, bringing out a never-before-used composition to fight to the death. Chi Shuo even abandoned the Jungle Carry role, becoming his teammates’ most trusted bodyguard.

He remembered what Chi Shuo had told him: Tianhuan must change. Tianhuan truly did change in this match. Relying on a utility jungler and meticulous macro play, they took 2 minor points, and in the final game, they held on for 60 minutes, losing regrettably.

In the end, Chi Shuo used his life to clear waves, falling in front of their own crystal.

This was what he wanted to tell Ye Shaoyang— Tianhuan is never afraid of losing. In adversity, they will also hold their ground until the very last moment, until the crystal shatters.

Ye Shaoyang took out his phone and typed a long message: “Today’s match was wonderfully played. You’ve worked hard; every one of you is outstanding. At least Old Nie didn’t leave too many regrets in his final match before retirement.”

“You are the best captain I have ever seen.”

“If I have the honor next season, I am willing to stand by your side and fight alongside you.”