CH 70

The Elemental Spirit, a hero who has been absent from the competitive scene for a long time, still hasn’t had the chance to play even after its skill cooldowns were reduced.

The last time it appeared on the battlefield was in a quirky strategy from the European region. And since then, it’s been over half a year.

Following the sequence, the last hero to be locked in was the support player Wei Yafeng in the 5th position.

After all heroes were chosen, the players would swap heroes according to their roles.

Wei Yafeng listened to Yu Hao’s suggestion and hovered his mouse over the glowing hero icon.

Jiang Min, looking at the screen where the Elemental Spirit, which hadn’t been locked in yet but was already shining, felt as if it was calling out to him.

This was his signature hero, one that had accompanied him since his youth and had wreaked havoc on the battlefield under his command.

However, due to patches, Jiang Min hadn’t used this “old friend” on the battlefield for almost a year and a half.

The Elemental Spirit is a hero known for its impressive gameplay but is also quite challenging to master.

Many skilled players still use it in casual matches, and professional players occasionally show off their skills with it.

However, no matter how many skilled players there are using the Elemental Spirit, when people talk about it, the first person the audience of WPL thinks of is Jiang Min.

When the broadcast showed JW’s final hero pick, the Elemental Spirit, the entire arena erupted.

With the other four positions already locked in, only the mid-laner’s 2nd position was left.

So the audience understood that this was Sugar God’s signature move, a hero with exceptional gameplay that hadn’t been seen in a long time.

Before the start of the second game, the atmosphere in the venue had already reached its peak.

“JW picked the Elemental Spirit! We all know that the pick rate of the Elemental Spirit has been very low since it was nerfed, and it’s hardly been seen. But it’s also Sugar God’s signature hero in the mid-lane for JW. Will JW lock it in?” Ruby couldn’t contain her excitement.

Although, as a commentator, she wouldn’t show bias towards any team during work.

But she herself was a typical “Sugar supporter.” Broadcasting on the JJ livestreaming platform, she often praised Jiang Min to the heavens during her broadcasts.

As a veteran fan, Ruby naturally understood how important the Elemental Spirit was to Jiang Min.

On one hand, she looked forward to seeing Sugar God’s signature hero back on the battlefield, but on the other hand, she worried that the current version of the Elemental Spirit, which wasn’t strong, might get crushed.

After all, Flow, whom Jiang Min was laning against, was no ordinary player. “JW’s lineup is quite solid. The Centaur Warrunner in the 3rd position, the Star Swordsmaster in the 1st position isn’t weak in the laning phase, the Enchantress in the 4th position has great control and variability. It depends on how Yu’s team operates,” Uncle Yuan analyzed the lineup from a rational perspective. “With this lineup, picking the Elemental Spirit in the mid-lane to face the Shadow Dancer shouldn’t result in too much pressure.”

The Shadow Dancer is a strong mid-lane hero in the current patch, not on the same level as the weakened Elemental Spirit.

Therefore, Uncle Yuan also predicted that the Elemental Spirit might be pressured in the lane.

“It’s locked! The Elemental Spirit is locked!” Ruby and the audience watched as JW locked in the final hero.

The players began to exchange heroes, and after nearly two years, the Elemental Spirit once again found its way into the hands of Jiang Min on the battlefield.

“Sugar, this game is all about your show,” Yu Hao said.

Jiang Min sat up straight. “Yeah.”

The barrage in the official broadcast room was also flooded with excitement.

【What’s JW doing? What kind of weird lineup is this? Picking Elemental Spirit in this patch, do they not want to win?】

【Doesn’t matter, they’re guaranteed for playoffs anyway, it’s just a matter of first or second】

【Getting first is definitely the best, avoids playing one extra BO5】

【Don’t worry about the barrage, which pro player doesn’t want to win? Maybe JW has some new strategy】

【Don’t forget, there are two types of Elemental Spirits, others’ and Sugar God’s】

【Even if Sugar God is strong, with this version’s Elemental Spirit being nerfed so much, picking a fight with Shadow Dancer?】

The barrage was fervently discussing.

For others, using Elemental Spirit against Shadow Dancer might seem weak.

But for Jiang Min, his understanding of this hero was different.

Previously in CC, he didn’t gain enough trust from his teammates, hence Elemental Spirit stayed away from the battlefield for so long.

This hero was his ultimate trump card, even with version changes, against even the strongest laning heroes, he was confident of not being suppressed, and even counter-attacking.

Moreover, although Shadow Dancer is a strong hero, Flow isn’t proficient with it.

It was only for tactical reasons that Flow picked this hero.

This gave Jiang Min more confidence.

Sure enough, in less than 5 minutes, Shadow Dancer, who originally wanted to harass Elemental Spirit, ended up being killed by Elemental Spirit in a single wave of counterattack.

At low levels, before all skills were fully upgraded, Elemental Spirit executed a gorgeous combo.

Ice Wall to block the path, Electric Shock to disarm, Flame Impact, basic attacks, Ice Spikes to lift, Thunder’s Fury, and finally, another basic attack, swiftly taking down Shadow Dancer.

So many form changes and skills, in Jiang Min’s hands, it was almost a series of events that happened in just a few seconds, his speed and reaction were enough to astonish people.

Flow looked puzzled.

The early-game dominant Shadow Dancer was not only suppressed in lane but also gave up first blood to Elemental Spirit.

Meanwhile, Hao Qianyi, while in his lane, took a moment to observe the situation in the mid lane.

He couldn’t help but recall the Elemental Spirit he encountered in a ranked game last year after losing in the group stage of the World Championship.

Back then, he was using a similar assassin hero like Shadow Dancer, the Dark Assassin, with full confidence to crush his opponent, only to be beaten instead.

It wasn’t until later that he found out it was Sugar God’s smurf.

So he could really empathize with Flow’s feelings now.

With the advantage established by Elemental Spirit, the mid lane became much easier to handle.

Big brother lane, because Wei Yabo chose the strong early-to-mid lane hero Starry Swordsman, even if his laning ability was slightly weaker, it was still much better than the previous game.

Hao Qianyi’s Centaur Warrunner was both tanky and fast, allowing him to farm safely for now.

Therefore, Yu Hao decided to roam mid.

Unexpectedly, this was also what AFK had in mind.

As Jiang Min’s former teammate, Shu Lou naturally knew how terrifying Jiang Min’s Elemental Spirit was.

They couldn’t afford to let him snowball uncontrollably.

So, Shu Lou instructed the 1st and 3rd positions to hold their lanes while calling the 4th position to gather in the mid lane for a potential gank.

A skirmish in the mid lane was imminent.

“Missing! Their 4th might be heading mid!” Wei Yafeng timely reported.

As the 5th position, tasked with guarding the big brother lane, his duty was to provide vision and observe the map to give signals while ensuring the big brother’s development.

Jiang Min’s Elemental Spirit had just finished buying items and was about to retreat when he glanced sideways and quickly reacted.

It just happened to brush past a hook.

The hook was from AFK’s 5th position captain Shu Lou’s Winter’s Punishment skill, throwing out a hook that could pull back an enemy or allied hero.

Wei Yafeng had previously placed a ward in the nearby forest while roaming.

This ward spotted the three AFK players attempting to gank Jiang Min, allowing him to react in time.

Otherwise, the fragile Elemental Spirit would have been doomed if caught by the hook.

This highlighted the importance of vision in MOBA games.

Without that ward, Elemental Spirit would have been dead for sure.

Seeing the failed ambush, AFK’s team decided to directly charge out and attempt to kill Elemental Spirit.

The 4th position of AFK gathered and used a crowd control ultimate to try and lock down Elemental Spirit.

But Jiang Min’s Elemental Spirit immediately transformed into Thunder form, Thunder Flight, turning into an uncontrollable lightning bolt and quickly escaping the crowd control range, retreating under their own tower.

AFK’s trio still wanted to dive under the tower for the kill.

“Sugar, I’m here! We can fight! I can replicate!” Yu Hao said over the mic.

The replication of the Wizard was based on a time window and could only replicate heroes that had used skills in the past ten seconds.

And AFK’s 4th position had just cast the ultimate Crowd Aggregation a while ago.

Yu Hao hid in the forest and perfectly replicated it.

“Good!” Without saying much, Jiang Min trusted Yu Hao’s judgment.

AFK’s three didn’t realize that the Wizard had already approached.

Just as they chased into the tower range, the Wizard suddenly jumped out of the forest, activated the replication skill, turning into an exact copy of the original hero, except the original hero was red, and the Wizard’s replication was blue.

The replicated Wizard used the ultimate Crowd Aggregation.

AFK’s trio couldn’t evade in time and lacked escape skills, so they were caught under the tower by Crowd Aggregation.

Jiang Min immediately followed up with his damage.

With the tower’s formidable mid-game attack power, coupled with Elemental Spirit’s powerful AOE skills, they instantly took down the three.

Triple Kill!

Elemental Spirit really took off this time.

After the mid lane dominance, JW learned from the previous game’s experience, didn’t give the opponent any chances, and aggressively pushed forward under Elemental Spirit’s lead.

In the end, near the Abyss, they wiped out the opponent’s team.

Yu Hao decisively commanded, and all five of them pushed high, successfully taking down AFK’s high ground.

In the second game, JW won cleanly.

In this highly anticipated final game of the Spring Split regular season, the score came to 1:1.

【Sugar God is awesome!】

【Who said Elemental Spirit was weak?】

【We’ve said it, others’ Elemental Spirit and Sugar God’s Elemental Spirit are not on the same level】

【The performance of Yu’s team in this game is also impressive. Without the Wizard’s timely arrival and replication, Elemental Spirit would have been dead or close to it】

【Enough said, go JW! I believe in you guys!】

【Sob sob sob, Mom, in your lifetime, you’ve seen Sugar God’s Elemental Spirit on the battlefield again, and won this game, I’m crying!】

【Sob sob sob】

【Sob sob sob】

The barrage was filled with sobs.

Now, only the deciding game remained.

Who could secure a spot in the playoffs as the first place in the regular season depended on who would win the next game.

Both JW and AFK wanted to maintain their undefeated records in the Spring Split.

In the deciding game, it was not only a test of skills but also of mentality.

—

The author has something to say: Something happened recently, and it’s made me a little upset.

I won’t be checking the comments for now, hope you all understand~

I have an exam tomorrow, so I need to give it my all

Thanks to all the little angels who voted for me or watered me with nutrients from June 21, 2020, to June 22, 2020.

Thank you to the little angels who watered me with nutrients: Yu Yang, 1 bottle.

Thank you very much for everyone’s support, I will continue to work hard!

1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading ️”