TPT were the ones who really felt like they were dreaming. They hadn’t yet come back to their senses even after the game ended.
Fu Li’s face was as somber as still water. After taking off his headset, he headed straight for the backstage lounge.
The commentators were analyzing the match just now and praising Ning Zhehan, saying that this newcomer king deserved his title, and that his overall ability was very high. It was outstanding for him to be able to play so brilliantly when competing on the stage of the finals for the first time.
The audience were also misled by this analysis and believed that it was Ning Zhehan who’d carried the game, suddenly ‘figuring things out’ and beating up the godly calculator.
However, Fu Li knew exactly who he’d lost to.
It wasn’t Ning Zhehan, it was Wei Xiao.
Ning Zhehan hadn’t changed anything. What had changed was the person who had cooperated with him.
In the first half of the match, Ning Zhehan and Bai Cai had been oppressed by Fu Li and Du Yi in the middle lane. Wei Xiao had come to provide support many times, but they’d failed to get any results. The main reason for this was that Fu Li had chosen to avoid fighting when faced with a 3v2 situation, and FTW also had no way to force him to fight.
Wei Xiao couldn’t remain in the middle lane the whole time. As long as he left, Fu Li and Du Yi would begin to mess with Ning Zhehan and Bai Cai again.
This routine worked well in the first half of the game, until Bai Cai went to the bottom lane.
3v2 became 2v2. There was no need for Fu Li and Du Yi to hide, and if they could suppress Wei Xiao and Ning Zhehan together, then TPT’s win would become much easier to obtain.
Unfortunately, Wei Xiao hadn’t been playing cards based on common sense right from the start.
He gave Ning Zhehan a blue buff, then used the berserker thief like a power thief when fighting, controlling Du Yi and giving Ning Zhehan and Fu Li a chance to solo.
Reasonably speaking, Fu Li wouldn’t lose to Ning Zhehan on his own. What’s more, he had the dominant position in farm, and the immortal warlock could easily kill the spirit mage.
But everything had happened too suddenly. What Fu Li was most worried about was Wei Xiao, and in order to avoid the berserker thief’s scythe, he’d sent himself right into Ning Zhehan’s control.
The spirit mage had four skills and five strong controls (its passive ability meant that its general attacks could send its opponent flying). Once he was given the chance to attack first, then his squishy talent who had no purification could only wait for his death to approach.
Once Fu Li died, Du Yi would have no way to retreat.
Ning Zhehan, who’d gotten a double kill, instantly caught up on most of the farm that he’d fallen behind on during the early stage. At the same time, he started finding a feel for the game again.
After that, FTW’s mid-jungler linkage seemed to have been tailored against TPT.
The inseparable spirit mage and berserker thief locked in on the immortal warlock and would show up wherever he was.
If Fu Li ignored Wei Xiao and only attacked Ning Zhehan, then Wei Xiao would instantly let him know what a daddy berserker thief was; if Fu Li paid attention to Wei Xiao and avoided his attacks, then Wei Xiao would turn his attention to Du Yi and give Ning Zhehan the opportunity to fight.
Any judgements he made were useless for Wei Xiao because he had no rules.
What was more ridiculous was Ning Zhehan. He acted like he’d been injected with chicken blood, and was filled with excited energy once he’d gotten the double kill. He was completely different from the little newbie who’d been timid and cowering at the start of the game, and his fierceness was like his body had been taken over by Xie He.
Fu Li knew exactly where he failed, but the more clear it was, the more difficult it was for him to calm down.
He’d never underestimated FTW and had never underestimated Wei Xiao.
But obviously, he’d still underestimated them.
He’d underestimated Wei Xiao’s great influence over the whole team and his teammates.
What was even more terrible was that this influence took effect immediately and could be achieved easily, without any preparation.
Beneath the stage, Yuan Ze tsked and tilted his head to say to Kim Sung-hyun, “Little Lunatic Wei is really a treasure.”
Kim Sung-hyun glanced at him. “That’s got nothing to do with you.”
Yuan Ze lowered his voice, “I think that I could bend for him.”
Kim Sung-hyun sneered. “It would be useless even if you bent yourself into a mosquito coil.” That guy already had a sweetheart, and they were super sticky together.
Yuan Ze sighed. “Forget it, as a big brother, I won’t snatch people away from my little brother.”
Kim Sung-hyun disdained him: Can you even snatch him away? You damned straight man who only knows how to run your mouth!
They were naturally able to understand that the key to winning this game was Wei Xiao, and they could see even more from this game than Fu Li, who’d been involved in the game.
This determination, this execution, and this amazing compatibility.
Those were all talents. They were a kind of talent that was quite different from micro-operations, game awareness, strength, and so on.
This kind of ability could only be described as something that could only be encountered by luck but couldn’t be sought.
Even the few who’d reached the peak of Glory had only ever seen this kind of unreasonable compatibility in Yan Jiang.
And Wei Xiao was different from Yan Jiang.
He was filled with energy and brilliance.
If what Yan Jiang gave to his team was indispensable air, then what Wei Xiao gave them was dazzling light.
They were equally untouchable, equally silent, and equally important, but the feeling was quite different.
One was invisible, while the other was eye-catching and warmed the heart.
Kim Sung-hyun looked at Yan Jiang out of the corner of his eye. Under the bright lights, his black eyes were calm, but those who were familiar with him knew that cold flames were burning within.
It was battle intent.
It was the desire to fight against someone of equal strength.
Who wouldn’t want to?
Kim Sung-hyun shifted his gaze away and stared at the empty seats on the screen.
Who wouldn’t want to defeat such a genius? Who wouldn’t want to win the crown after fighting a good game?
In the backstage lounge, FTW’s four little one’s egos gradually puffed up.
Little Ning: “It’s 2:0!”
Brother Cai: “Hold steady, hold steady, next up is the match point.”
Yue Wenle was the most straightforward. “I want to do 3:0.”
Brother Cai was shocked. “You…”
He hadn’t yet finished his words when Wei Xiao interjected, “What are you thinking…”
When Bai Cai first heard these four words, he wondered what was going on with Little Lunatic Wei. Had his personality changed? Had he become a person and learned to be cautious and low-key?
Then, he heard Wei Xiao finish, “Be a bit more confident, get rid of the ‘want’. We’ll definitely win the championship with a 3:0!”
Bai Cai: “……”
Like hell he’d changed his personality. Like hell he was becoming a person. Being cautious and low-key wasn’t even in Wei Xiao’s dictionary!
Chen Feng attacked them. “TPT’s sure to go all out in the next match. Calm down a bit.”
Everyone sat down and made use of this time to talk about countermeasures.
It was quieter on the TPT side.
Zhuang Ruishi wanted to speak, but he swallowed his words back down again after looking at the silent Fu Li and Eurostar.
TPT had never experienced a downturn in the past two seasons. In fact, their path had been very difficult: from being looked down on by everyone, to gradually making achievements; from a chaotic team, to gradually becoming organized; from having no tactics, to their present routine kaleidoscope…
There was no glory without hardships.
Downturns, confusion, hesitation…
They’d all gone through it, but it hadn’t been like this time…
In the first match, their four protecting one system had lost.
In the second match, Fu Li had lost.
The frustration they felt was exacerbated by the fact that it was the national finals.
The championship was within reach, the future was right in front of their eyes, but they were going to miss it by just a narrow margin.
How could they be willing!
They didn’t want to lose, and they couldn’t lose. They didn’t want to give up this opportunity that was hovering by so close.
Effort, hard work, and countless sweat and tears had sent them to this stage. How could they be willing to lose!
TPT’s lounge was filled with a heavy atmosphere that also affected everyone’s hearts.
Eurostar pressed his lips together. “Captain…”
Fu Li: “Yes.”
Eurostar: “I want to use the gold hunter in the next game.”
This implied that he wanted to try the four protecting one system again and get even for that first game he’d lost, making up for his mistakes and obtaining a point for the team.
Fu Li didn’t say yes.
Eurostar’s heart sank. “I…”
Fu Li shook his head and said, “I’ll take the zither warlock.”
Eurostar sucked in a short breath.
Zhuang Ruishi, Du Yi, and Wei Ji all looked at Fu Li.
Fu Li lifted his head and looked at them. “Hand it to me.”
He had a low voice that held miraculous soothing power.
A sense of enthusiasm filled the whole TPT lounge.
From the coach to the players, from the starters to the substitute, they all trusted Fu Li.
There would be no TPT without him.
Without him, they wouldn’t be at the stage for the finals now.
Trust, dependence.
Fu Li was able to twist TPT into a rope, cast it into an invincible steel blade!
Everyone in TPT was now fully revved up.
The bell signaling the end of their break rang. Fu Li stood up, “In this match, everyone do what you do best.”
Eurostar followed behind him. When he was about to step out of the darkness onto the dazzling stage, he called out to Fu Li in a low voice.
Fu Li’s steps paused slightly. He turned back to him and spoke through the passionate, heated music, “It’s okay. I’m here.”
The light hit him, extending his shadow until he looked like a giant.
A giant who had lifted up TPT, led TPT forward, and guarded TPT.
Let loose and fight.
Even if this was their last game, they had to fight to the end!
Match point. Both sides’ momentum soared like the rainbow.
FTW was obviously in excellent form and couldn’t wait to win the competition with a bang.
TPT had lost two games in a row and were now at the thrilling match point, but they’d adjusted their state and looked like they had the confidence to win.
BP ended. Everyone was in a daze when they saw TPT’s line-up.
Fu Li took the zither warlock. TPT was really letting loose and going for it this time.
The zither warlock was a mid-laner hero who had support tendencies, and some people might even use her to play support directly.
Fu Li had taken the zither warlock for one sole purpose––to coordinate the overall situation.
This wasn’t a four protecting one routine, and they weren’t betting on Eurostar. Instead, they were going to bloom everywhere.
The berserker warrior in the top-lane, the berserker thief in the jungle, the magic launcher marksman.
Three positions, and they were all carry talents.
They could fight, resist and control, and could also burst out in the opponent’s face. The three of them were all cores!
They took the giant shaman as support. After adding Fu Li’s zither warlock into the picture, TPT’s intentions were clear even before the competition began.
They would fight hard to the end.
They wanted all three lanes!