Chapter 117: Go! Go!

Putting aside everything else, the recall animation of the Wusheng skin is truly top-tier. When in a continuous tapping state, the bamboo forest flickers incessantly, making it extremely eye-catching. The character’s posture during the recall is sufficiently leisurely—you could say the taunt level is maxed out.

Of course, that is not the point. The point is that among all heroes, Guan Yu is the least likely to recall in front of enemies to taunt them. This is because playing Guan Yu requires constant movement of the joystick to maintain the charge state. This is Guan Yu’s core mechanic; only in the charge state can he unleash his charging skills and possess the strength expected of this hero. Therefore, no matter the situation, Guan Yu must always maintain his charge state.

Yet, Lin Hao was just sauntering along, recalling right at the entrance of the Red Buff zone in front of the Tiger.

"Damn it! This Guan Yu is truly arrogant!" Han Han gritted his teeth as he witnessed this. He waited one more second for his cooldown to finish, intending to shift into human form and blast him with a Qigong wave.

Han Han was well aware that with Guan Yu acting this way, Mai Shiranui must be waiting behind him. If he rashly used his Tiger form to engage in close-quarters combat with Guan Yu, he would likely be caught in a combo by Mai Shiranui in that position.

Lin Hao, however, had calculated everything precisely. He taunted just enough before pulling back and re-entering his charging state. Just as Han Han’s ultimate came off cooldown and he transformed into his human form, he saw only the back of the retreating Guan Yu, feeling as though he had thrown a punch into a pile of cotton.

The big picture comes first. This encounter with Guan Yu was just a minor interlude, but it did illuminate the area where Han Han was positioned. In the mid-lane, due to the presence of Pei Qinhu, even a strong early-game hero like Su Lie dared not rush in to challenge the opposing mid-laner and support. He simply stood further back, covering Mai Shiranui as she cleared the minion wave.

Han Han waited, and around the 32-second mark, he moved from the mid-lane river directly into the jungle. This was essentially an open provocation, but Mai Shiranui and Su Lie had no choice. They were being harassed by Mozi; having taken a shot while clearing the wave, their health bars were not in the best condition.

Meanwhile, Lin Hao’s jungler, Nakoruru, simply abandoned the Red zone and chose to start at the Blue Buff. Starting with one buff was fine, but losing both the buff and the life while trying to defend the Red zone would be a true loss.

As Pei Qinhu invaded the Red Buff, the mid-lane Mozi and Niu Mo prioritized clearing their wave, ready to follow Pei Qinhu into the Red zone. Mai Shiranui and Su Lie were a step behind, but they only went to see if they could harass or get lucky with a fan to steal the buff, as their own jungler had already spiritlessly abandoned it.

Lin Hao was naturally watching all of this, but he did not reveal his position. At this moment, only the viewers on the stream knew where he was.

He was hiding in the brush between his own first and second mid-lane turrets, the one leading to the Red zone!

After taunting Pei Qinhu in the mid-lane earlier, Lin Hao acutely realized that Pei Qinhu would go for the Red Buff. So, while retreating, he didn't head back to his lane but instead positioned himself here. Watching the Red Buff’s health steadily decrease, Lin Hao made a quick estimate and then activated his Sprint!

Guan Yu charged out from the brush with unstoppable momentum!

On Han Han’s side, at the 30-second mark, the Yuan Ge in the lane had already issued a warning: Guan Yu was missing. Han Han sensed that Guan Yu might attempt to stop his jungle invasion, but since Mozi and Niu Mo were nearby—and they had some crowd control for the early game—he wasn't too worried.

He was currently attacking the buff. Seeing Guan Yu charging in—presumably to enter the Red Buff area—he backhanded the buff to knock it out of position.

"Control him! Control him!" Han Han shouted.

Han Han’s command was on point. Knowing it was Liu Wei, his teammates followed his rhythm without hesitation. Mozi, who was fighting Mai Shiranui above the Red zone, aimed remotely at Guan Yu’s position and fired a cannon shot!

The shot was aimed at Guan Yu’s only path forward!

This was where Lin Hao’s god-tier footwork came into play. With a slight sway, he twisted the horse's head and dodged the crowd control of Mozi’s blast. He didn't lose his charge! However, Lin Hao’s momentum was slightly hindered. Even though the shot didn't land, it effectively blocked his direct path.

As Lin Hao continued his charge, he saw Niu Mo leaning forward, charging up at the edge of his vision! This was the wind-up for Niu Mo’s second skill! But looking at the direction of his charge, it wasn't toward Mai Shiranui, but toward the Red Buff!

Why would he do that? An average person might not process this quickly, but Lin Hao, with his maxed-out awareness and movement, realized it instantly. Niu Mo was likely going for a Flash-knockup!

Lin Hao twisted his joystick again, turning Guan Yu away. A moment later, Niu Mo appeared in Guan Yu’s path, but his knockup missed entirely!

"Anger points from Mozi +300."
"Anger points from Niu Mo +500."

Lin Hao couldn't help but click his tongue. Good grief, this Niu Mo was truly decisive.

He charged toward the Red Buff where Pei Qinhu was, but it seemed a bit too late; Pei Qinhu was about to finish it off! Lin Hao reached the buff, glanced at its health, and chose to press the basic attack button!

After knocking the buff away, Lin Hao didn't follow up with a slash; instead, he chose to pull back. Here, Lin Hao’s control of his health bar was pushed to the extreme. Had he chosen to use his slash, while it would have dealt more damage to Pei Qinhu, the buff likely would have been claimed by Pei Qinhu’s Retribution.

Lin Hao retreated straight to his second turret, ignoring the basic attacks from Mozi and Niu Mo, and as usual, he recalled to taunt them twice. Since he had dodged the key crowd control from the enemy mid-laner and support, he let them deal their trivial damage; taunting was more important.

On the other side, seeing the buff’s health was low, Han Han hurriedly pressed Retribution! It was still a sliver off! But he had no skills left! After a basic attack, it was still missing a tiny bit of health!

"Anger points from Han Han +1000!"

When he first dove into the buff pit, Han Han had used his burst and all his human-form skills to secure the buff quickly. He didn't expect it to be just a sliver short! After the stun from Retribution, the Red Buff immediately began to return to its pit and recover health. It walked back slowly, recovering large chunks of health with every step, while despair began to spread for Han Han.

It was just a tiny bit short, and he had failed to steal it. Meanwhile, his two teammates were busy chasing Guan Yu. If only they had helped attack the buff once. Thinking of this, Han Han’s anger rose again.

"Anger points from Han Han +700!"

I have to say, Liu Wei is truly a man of temperament. Han Han gritted his teeth. Seeing that Mai Shiranui and Su Lie were also coming to pin them down, he quickly shouted, "Go! Go!"

They couldn't stay any longer. If the enemy had a different mid-laner, they might have been able to restart the buff, as the opposing jungler was not in the jungle; they wouldn't have been afraid of a three-on-three. But the opponent was Mai Shiranui, and she had a Su Lie with her—both had reached level two. If they kept invading, they would likely be trapped and killed.