Chapter Sixty-Six: Relieve Zhao by Besieging Wei

Moreover, Xinran’s initial plan was to build only one Frostheart.

Admittedly, the opposing team had a mage, Fire Dance, whose burst was high and difficult to counter. But Xinran planned to stay closely bound to the marksman at all times. When it came to a large-scale team fight, Fire Dance’s skills could only be used on the core carry. If she targeted Xishi, who was just a utility hero, then Meng Ya, their marksman king, would have free rein to sweep the battlefield.

This Frostheart was mainly to guard against a full combo burst from Yuange. If, in the late game, Yuange managed to take her out instantly, the entire rhythm could collapse.

Both sides clashed in several small-scale skirmishes. Lin Hao’s team barely lost anyone, and their advantage steadily grew.

At fifteen minutes, all of the enemy’s outer turrets had fallen.

“We’ve entered garbage time now,” Lin Hao said, tossing a few shots to wear down the enemy while glancing at their cautious positioning. He shook his head. “I didn’t invent that term, by the way. All the professional coaches say it. This draft is a bit unusual. Normally, with our lineup, we could pick up the tempo with Liu Chan and Xishi, but their Yuh counters us. Meng Ya’s turret damage is slow, so if they turtle up, there’s no way we’re breaking high ground anytime soon.”

Indeed, Xinran’s Xishi was already landing precise pulls outside the high ground, but the enemy would always seize the chance to chip away at her health. Every time she caught someone, Yuh would ult to cleanse it, and both Yuange and Fire Dance would throw their skills to pressure Xishi’s HP.

Because of this, Xinran didn’t dare to maintain an aggressive position or keep using her first skill.

“Let’s double lane it. Send mid first, then we’ll push top and bottom,” said Liu Chan, his deep voice coming through the mic.

In any high-ranked peak match, once the game reached the mid-to-late stage and the team had an advantage, someone would step up to direct traffic—usually when sieging high ground or fighting for the dragon.

A single botched team fight late game could easily hand the momentum to the enemy.

But things looked good for Lin Hao’s team: unlike their opponents, they were in a commanding lead. All three outer turrets were still standing, and they held an economic advantage.

Even if they lost a team fight, the other side would need to win another one or two to make a full comeback.

Liu Chan’s suggestion made sense, and no one objected. Lin Hao cleared top, Nakoruru cleared bottom, and both side lanes marched steadily toward the enemy’s high ground turrets.

The map was symmetrical, so without enemy minions to interfere, both side lanes advanced at the same pace.

This time, Lin Hao’s team opted for a dual-side push.

Unlike the usual method of controlling the mid wave to pressure high ground, this strategy pushed both side lanes simultaneously, aiming to create a numbers advantage at one point for a decisive breakthrough.

There was a significant distance between the top and bottom high ground turrets, so defenders couldn’t support both sides instantly.

The mid lane reached the turret first. Lin Hao’s team simply used skills to poke.

The enemy’s initial defense was quite conservative—Yuange didn’t use his puppet, and Fire Dance held back on her other abilities, relying on poke skills to clear the wave.

They weren’t amateurs; from the way Lin Hao’s team handled the waves, they quickly deduced the plan.

Both side lanes appeared in Shang Jie’s vision at almost the same moment. He focused intently, but could glean little from the limited vision outside the base—he didn’t know which turret the enemy would truly target.

Usually, a double-side push was a strategy akin to “Tian Ji’s horse racing”: if more defenders gathered on one side, the main force would shift to assault the other high ground turret.

“Marco Polo, you and the support handle top. The rest of us stay bot,” Shang Jie said after some thought, his voice coming through the mic.

It was good to have someone guiding the team at this point, and his teammates quickly followed his arrangement.

As the waves crashed at the base, Liu Chan’s position was finally revealed in vision. Wherever this frontliner and turret destroyer showed up, that was likely the main point of assault.

Liu Chan was at the bottom lane!

That meant the bottom turret was where Shang Jie, Fire Dance, Kyoshiro, and Yuange were stationed.

The top wave arrived almost simultaneously, but only Nakoruru revealed herself up there.

It was time.

The moment Xinran appeared in enemy vision, she acted decisively—flashing in and pulling!

Xishi’s flash-pull had to catch people off guard. If she telegraphed her intentions by edging forward, the enemy would be ready, dodging with a skill or their own flash.

Success depended on prediction—and the enemy’s reaction speed.

The Mark of Silken Binding descended from above, striking Fire Dance before she could dodge!

A hit!

Joy flickered in Xinran’s eyes. She swiftly threw her second skill, activated her ultimate, and began the second pull.

Meanwhile, Shang Jie’s heart sank as he saw Fire Dance caught.

He’d just wanted to clear the wave and play it safe for now.

Unlike Yuange’s aggressive style, Shang Jie preferred a more cautious, steady approach. With the economic gap still present, he planned to turtle until his team caught up, or wait for the Storm Dragon King to force a decisive fight.

But now, he had no choice but to act.

When decisiveness was needed, there was no room for hesitation.

Shang Jie instantly activated his ultimate, Yuange vanishing into the air and reappearing before Xishi, puppet flying forward!

His first skill launched the puppet, knocking Xinran’s Xishi airborne!

Shang Jie instantly pressed his third skill to lock her down.

This, in military terms, was a classic “rescue Wei by besieging Zhao.”

Fire Dance being pulled was a fact. If they let her die, Xishi would chain her crowd control perfectly, and it would be a slow death for the team.

Only by locking down Xishi first could Fire Dance break free from the second part of the control, giving her a window to deal damage in the team fight.

The puppet’s rapid follow-up did pin Xishi in place.

But Lin Hao was already charging in.

Seeing Xishi land the pull, Lin Hao had activated sprint, aiming to flank and deal damage. He saw Yuange’s puppet immobilize Xishi in an instant.

How could he tolerate that?

Lin Hao was equipped with Frostbound Phantom, his attack speed blazing. Ma Chao slashed and hurled his spear in a three-hit burst against the immobilized puppet.

The puppet’s health plummeted. Shang Jie was already casting his second skill, but Yuange’s post-cast delay was significant. He saw Ma Chao’s burst coming, but all he could do was wait.

As soon as the delay ended, Shang Jie snatched back the puppet with his first skill, then tapped Cross Slash.

He wanted to change his combo—knock up, then slash!

But Lin Hao was even faster. As soon as his spear returned to his hand, he lunged forward again without hesitation, not caring at all about having no spear left for the next move.