CH 2

The relegation match was scheduled for Saturday at 3 pm, JK vs PS.

There was a sea of people on the scene. This was especially so when one stood on the stage and look out into the audience.

“Nervous?” Lu Qi suddenly asked.

Yu Yue answered him honestly, “A little.”

She had not been in JK for long and was always kept on the bench. This was her first time playing on stage. It was also the first time she saw so many spectators. So, it was a lie to say that she wasn’t nervous.

After all the devilish special training in the past two days, how could she forget that she had to play in front of so many people?

JK’s top laner, Da Qing, who had the appearance of a cute little angel, was brothers with the bot lanner, Da Ming. The two often had arms around each other’s shoulders and spoke in unison, “It’s okay, you won’t be nervous when you start playing.”

“There’s no need to worry too much,” Lu Qi said indifferently. “Those are all PS’s fans.”

“All team members please head towards your designated locations and sit in the order of top-jungle-mid-bottom-support,” a staff member urged.

The map, King’s Gorge1, was shaped like an ‘E’, with three lanes: top, middle (mid), and bottom (bot); the area in the middle between the three lanes was the jungle area controlled by the team’s jungler. Lastly, the support was a very flexible role that serviced the whole team.

The match soon began, with the coaches of both teams going on stage to assist the players in the BP phase.

The teams were divided into either the blue or red factions. Each team can ban four heroes and pick five heroes. This segment was called the ban and pick phase, otherwise known as the BP phase. The first team to ban was determined by tossing a coin. Fortunately, JK seemed to have washed their face before leaving today and their luck was good.

Da Qing commented, “PS is just a bunch of good-looking players. Their skills ain’t that good, you can ban any hero you want.”

“Ban Pan Gu,” Lu Qi’s cold voice entered their ears through the earphones. “PS’s top laner Shepherd’s Pan Gu has performed well this season. Ban him for peace of mind.”

Da Qing, the first to ban, did not say a single word and did as he was told.

Next, Lu Qi banned Dun Shan, a support hero.

Bot laner Da Ming was puzzled, not understanding the reason for giving the second ban to a support hero. But after thinking about Lu Qi’s signature hero, he understood his choice. Dun Shan could counter that hero.

“Let Da Qing help you snatch Shangguan Wan’er later?” Da Ming asked Lu Qi who nodded his head.

The opposing team, PS, banned Diao Chan and Jiang Ziya

It was time for the first round of picking. Scared of the opposing team catching onto their intentions, Da Ming, who was the first to pick, instantly locked onto Shangguan Wan’er. The second to pick was the team’s jungler, Ling Chen, who unhurriedly locked onto Ukyo Tachibana.

Commentator A: “First pick by JK was Shangguan Wan’er. It’s definitely Qi Ge’s decision. After all, his Wan’er is really strong.”

Commentator B: “Hahaha, that’s right. By the way, Ukyo should be the jungler, right?”

Commentator C: “On PS’s side…… They picked Gongsun Li and Kai! They banned Chang’e. Understandable. The hero has been overpowered recently. PS also banned JK’s Qing’s Zhu Bajie. Is this a retaliation for banning Pan Gu? You ban the hero my top laner is good at, and I also ban the hero your top laner is good at?”

On JK’s side, under Lu Qi’s instructions, Zhang Liang and Zhuang Zhou were banned. Lu Qi pondered for a moment before asking Yu Yue, “Can you play Zhang Fei?”

“Yes! You can pick him for me,” hearing Lu Qi’s question, Yu Yue gulped down her water to answer him.

Now that she was sitting on the stage, she felt calm and did not feel nervous at all.

Lu Qi helped picked Marco Polo for the jungler while Da Ming helped pick Zhang Fei for Yu Yue, commenting, “It’s great to have a support that can play any hero on the team.”

PS picked Shen Mengxi and Taiyi Zhenren. 

For the last round of picking, JK chose Su Lie, and PS locked onto Miyamoto Musashi.

Both teams swapped and adjusted their heroes accordingly.

The BP phase had ended.

JK banned: Pan Gu, Dun Shan, Zhang Liang, and Zhuang Zhou.

Picked: Su Lie, Marco Polo, Shangguan Wan’er, Ukyo Tachibana, and Zhang Fei.

PS banned: Diao Chan, Jiang Ziya, Chang’e and Zhu Bajie.

Picked: Miyamoto Musashi, Gongsun Li, Shen Mengxi, Kai, and Taiyi Zhenren.

As the game loaded, the commentators got excited.

Commentator B: “Did you see that? A classic KPL repertoire, Marco Polo versus Gongsun Li! As far as I know, this is JK’s Cheng’s Marco Polo making his first appearance in a KPL match, which is quite surprising.”

Commentator A: “What is more surprising is JK’s Eden, alright? Today is Miss Eden’s debut, I didn’t expect her to play Zhang Fei. One would know that this hero is that good-looking.”

Commentator C: “Haha, Miss Eden expresses that she only wants to win. So long as she can win, she doesn’t care about the looks of the hero.”

Commentator A: “Then let us look forward to Miss Eden’s performance in this match.”

As they spoke, the ten players had spawned in their respective bases. JK’s top laner, Da Qing, did not immediately head toward the top lane but waited near the blue buff as if waiting for something.

As the support, Eden chose to help Lu Qi clear the mid lane minions.

At the same time, bot laner Da Ming and jungler Ling Chen headed straight toward PS blue buff. When PS realized their plan and came to surround them with their mid laner, jungler, and support, JK had already successfully stolen their blue buff. Lu Qi quickly reached level two with the help of Yu Yue and assisted Ling Cheng in guarding the jungle area.

Facing the covetous stare of JK’s mid laner, jungler, support, and bot laner, PS did not have the courage to invade JK’s jungle for resources. They could only grit their teeth and swallow their anger.

Since JK took half of PS’s jungle in the early game, the scales of victory started to tilt towards JK.

At one minute and thirty seconds, JK-Eden brought her mid laner went to stir up trouble in the bot lane.

When PS’s bot laner and support realized something was amiss, it was already too late to retreat.

With a jump, Yu Yue managed to stun the two of them, and Lu Qi’s Shangguan Wan’er came flying in with her ultimate. Miyamoto Musashi was killed on the spot with ‘Cursive Poem, Golden Order.’ Taiyi Zhenren was also taken out by Lu Qi who turret-dived.

First blood!

Double kill!

The eruption of the first blood was too sudden, with Lu Qi’s Shangguan Wan’er getting a double kill at the start of the game, the Tieba forum exploded:

[Qi Ge is awesome!]

[This young sister’s support has got something.]

[Go JK!]

……

At minute two, as if possessed, Yu Yue’s Zhang Fei changed direction and headed towards the tyrant’s pit although she had just checked that the area was empty ten seconds ago.

“I think that they’re fighting the tyrant.”

Jungler Chen Ling who was also there, controlled his Marco Polo and approached the pit, “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure now!” Yu Yue had enough energy stored up and used Zhang Fei’s ult (ultimate), trapping the three PS members who were fighting the tyrant in the pit. Cheng Ling’s Marco Polo entered using his ult, taking the tyrant down while also killing PS’s mid laner.

The surviving junger and top laner were killed by Shangguan Wan’er who rushed over.

“What’s the use of writing without the strength and intent2?” Shangguan Wan’er, who had just gotten two kills, left with a taunt.

“Naisu3! Captain’s taking off, “ Da Ming exclaimed.

Commentator A: “That was a beautiful team fight! How did Eden know that PS was fighting the tyrant?

Commentator C: “I feel that her vision is better than Lian’s. Did you notice that when Lian was playing, JK often needed the help of their bot laner Ming to check the vision, but Eden doesn’t need him to. She had already checked on those that needed to be checked on and even knew about those that she didn’t check on. She’s too strong!”

Commentator B: “Aside from that, I really have to commend Zhang Fei on trapping the enemies using the ult. Snatching the tyrant easily, JK now has the upper hand in this match. Qi Ge, who has four kills now, is getting fed5.”

Commentator C: “Following next would be Qi Ge’s solo show.”

Like what the commentators predicted, PS mid laner and jungler died too many times in the early and were forced to rely on Taiyi Zhenren whose health was paper thin due to insufficient gold. Miyamoto Musashi, who was responsible for killing the team’s carry, could not even get close to Lu Qi. The entire King’s Gorge was like Lu Qi’s backyard, he could come and go as he pleased, killing at will with no one to stop him.

At minute six, JK had pushed to PS’s high ground. Miyamoto Musashi finally managed to get close to Shangguan Wan’er amidst the chaos.

Commentator B: “PS-Shepherd’s ult landed on Shangguan Wan’er! If he manages to kill her, PS might turn the tables around!

“Protect me!” As soon as Lu Qi finished speaking, Zhang Fei, who had been following him around, used his ultimate to push back Miyamoto Musashi. At the same time, Shangguan Wan’er ult reached the fifth stage and became unforgettable and Miyamoto Musashi’s ultimate was wasted!

The audience was in an uproar. The coordination between the two of them was truly eye-catching!

[Shangguan Wan’er] killed [Shen Mengxi]

[Shangguan Wan’er] killed [Kai] 

[Shangguan Wan’er] killed [Gongsun Li] 

Triple Kill! 

[Ukyo Tachibana] killed [Miyamoto Musashi] 

[Marco Polo] killed [Taiyi Zhenren] 

Aced! 

Zero deaths and a team wipeout. 

Fans of JK in the audience cheered.

At minute seven, JK destroyed PS’s nexus.

The game had ended in seven minutes, with a difficulty comparable to a match against bots. The fans of JK were in a daze and it took them three seconds to start cheering though their cheers were soft as they had lesser fans on the scene compared to PS.

During break time, Yu Yue was in a state of blankness.

She won. It was her first professional match, though a minor one, but she had won.

“Good job!” Da Ming, who was sitting the closest to her, openly expressed his admiration. “Qi Ge carried the game, but without you, he wouldn’t have been able to farm.”

Da Qing shot her a friendly look. Even Ling Chen, who was bad with words, smiled and said, “Thanks for your help at that tyrant’s pit.”

Since everyone on the team had given their praise, their lovely captain, Lu Qi, turned around and reluctantly said, “You’re okay, I guess. PS has underestimated you, the next match won’t be so easy.” Done speaking, he reached for the mineral water on the table to take a sip, trying to cover up his emotions.

Da Ming let out a cheeky smile and leaned on Yu Yue’s shoulder, “Qi Ge is probably secretly happy. He finally found a support who is willing to die for him.”

“What a load of crap,” Lu Qi stood up from his seat. “Let’s discuss the team composition for the next match during this break. Little support, don’t get too cocky. You still have a long way to go if you want to become part of the main lineup.”

Ling Chen hurriedly followed behind him, “What’s there to discuss? Your Wan’er is definitely getting banned.”

As he passed by Yu Yue, Da Qing hooked onto her shoulders, “Let’s go.”

“En,” Yu Yue followed the rest of the team silently.

She knew that she still had a long way to go, but no matter how long the road was, she would reach the end one day. The most important task in front of her right now was to help JK remain in KPL.

This match was just the start, she had to win one more match.

The break time was short, just enough for a bathroom break. Players were not allowed to being their phones, so Yu Yue could not read the comments on the forums. Losing her only source of entertainment, she could only take a sip of water and returned to the stage.

For the second match’s BP phase, PS went first. As Ling Chen predicted, PS banned Lu Qi’s Shangguan Wan’er. This was expected.

“PS doesn’t want to see this hero again, it’s too scary.”

The second ban was unexpectedly given to Zhang Fei.

Commentator A let out a surprised exclamation, “Looks like PS doesn’t want to see Zhang Fei either!”

On the stage, Lu Qi’s lips twitched upwards as he look towards a bewildered Yu Yue, “Not bad, you’re now worth a ban slot.”

[1] Map of Honour of Kings

[2] The name for Shangguan Wan’er ult.

[3] transliteration of the English word ‘nice’