Chapter Seven: I Have Already Defeated Him Too Many Times!

Lin Hao had already pushed his Peak Match points up to 2100 yesterday. Although that score put him among the top ten thousand, he could still end up matched against players in the top hundred, acting as cannon fodder. Yesterday, he’d been matched with Xinran, who, despite being a high-point player, had chosen Guan Yu, making the match unusually easy. So, at this rank, even the top player on a smurf would have to go all out!

Yet, under these circumstances, Lin Hao confidently picked the default costume for Yuange.

“If you’re going to disrespect the enemy so much, streamer, just wait to get stomped!”

“You’ll regret losing those ten points of attack power!”

In King of Glory, the default skin and other skins not only feel different, but also have stat differences. Wearing a different skin grants minor attribute bonuses. Often, even such a tiny gap can decide whether you secure a kill!

One could imagine, if Lin Hao failed to finish off a low-health enemy and let them escape, the chat would be flooded with “Serves you right for using the default skin!”

But Lin Hao didn’t care. To outsiders, using the default skin might seem like putting on a show, but Lin Hao was thinking… If I dominate with the default skin, won’t that enrage my opponents even more?

Both sides quickly locked in their heroes. The audience kept spamming the chat, urging Lin Hao to pick a different skin, but seeing his mind was set, they had no choice but to give up.

The game loading screen appeared.

“Attention, Host: The opposing Ma Chao is played by Yifan, a streamer on Tiger Fang Live. Based on his popularity weight, collecting rage from Yifan’s Ma Chao will yield triple rewards!”

Yifan?

Lin Hao raised an eyebrow. He’d heard of Yifan—master of Elder Master, brand ambassador, also known as the Bane of Towers in the Canyon. His popularity was certainly higher than Xinran’s.

Now, all eyes were on the loading screen, where ten peak-ranked summoners were showcased.

The other nine were dazzling—whether their skins, their ranked borders, or the massive national or provincial badges in the corners, all sparkled with prestige.

Only Lin Hao lacked even the top-ten-thousand border. Default Yuange, with only the green gem in the corner of the King border shining like a lonely star.

It wasn’t that the green gem was so bright—it was just that, amidst a group of extravagantly dressed players, the default skin with a green bean badge was so glaringly obvious.

It was as if a ragged beggar had slipped in among a group of sharp-suited elites.

As soon as the game started, his teammates immediately pinged Lin Hao.

Their Jin Chan suddenly typed, “Green Bean Hero.”

These were all battle-hardened peak players; they knew full well what default skin plus green bean meant.

It was either trolling or throwing!

Meanwhile, the chat exploded.

“Damn, we matched into Yifan!”

“Ma Chao is Yifan? Doesn’t he main Elder Master?”

“Yifan’s already at 114 segments for solo lane, with multiple national ranks. Elder Master is definitely his number one, but his Ma Chao, king of the leaderboard, is nothing to scoff at!”

“Just watch as Green Bean Yuange gets skewered by the national Ma Chao!”

On Tiger Fang Live, in Yifan’s stream, Yifan saw the enemy Yuange’s default skin during the loading screen. He didn’t know how skilled the player was, but he couldn’t help but laugh, “Hahaha, this Yuange is just here to throw!”

“I picked Ma Chao because Elder Master struggles against Yuange. Guess I overthought it—if I knew their Yuange was using default, I’d have just picked Elder Master anyway!”

Yuange is a hero with many skills and complex mechanics, giving him a high skill ceiling. One misstep, and even someone like Yifan, the top Ma Chao in the nation, could get outplayed.

But facing a default Yuange? There was little to worry about.

“That Yuange is Haoran!”

“Fan, Haoran says he can stomp you even with the default skin!”

“Who’s Haoran? Never heard of him!”

Haoran?

Yifan glanced at the chat. Xinran had just mentioned him yesterday. Supposedly great on Elder Master, but unfortunately, he wasn’t playing that this time. Otherwise, with his understanding of Elder Master, even facing Ma Chao, he could outplay him completely!

“Start by contesting the wave—Ma Chao can’t be timid against Yuange. Hit level two first and dive immediately. If I let Yuange scale to three in peace, I might be the one getting dived!”

Yifan laid out his strategy. He charged up a spear in the bush and, upon reaching lane, saw Yuange boldly walk into the minion wave, auto-attacking his own creeps.

Perfect! If I toss my second skill and dash, I can hit both the wave and Yuange—sweet!

Yifan immediately controlled Ma Chao to dash at Yuange’s position.

But just then, Yuange suddenly fired his third skill, two lines crossing right in Ma Chao’s path, predicting the dash perfectly and ensnaring Ma Chao!

“Damn!”

This was a huge blunder!

Both threads of Yuange’s third skill hit Ma Chao, dealing hefty damage and slowing him.

At the same time, after casting his third skill, Yuange blinked backward, causing Ma Chao’s planned two-hit burst to completely whiff!

What precision!

Yuange leveled his third skill first—a move Yifan hadn’t anticipated.

Yifan could only retreat.

Now, after slowing Ma Chao, Lin Hao chased him down with auto-attacks, taking advantage of the greater attack range.

Meanwhile, Lin Hao received a system message.

“Rage from Yifan: +200!”

This was a technical outplay!

If you’re confident, it’s possible for Yuange to start with his third skill against Ma Chao. But without the puppet’s crowd control, landing a perfect cross-slash on such a slippery hero is quite difficult.

If you miss, you could lose wave control—and with only your third skill, you’re at risk of a level-two Ma Chao diving and killing you under tower.

Even national Yuange players rarely dare to start with the third skill against Ma Chao. Usually, they pick the second skill, waiting for Ma Chao to dash to the backline minions, then poke out from the bush—much safer.

But Lin Hao was different; he possessed movement skills at a script-like level!

This ability not only vastly improved his own dodging, but also made his opponent’s movements painfully predictable.

“I’ve beaten him too many times already!” Lin Hao laughed as he watched Ma Chao retreat, battered.

Now, Ma Chao didn’t dare contest the wave again. Missing the first spear, if he tried to force it, Yuange could simply chase him down for the kill!

After seeing Lin Hao’s play, the mocking comments in the chat faded away.

“That cross-slash was insane!”

“Damn, dodged Ma Chao’s burst and landed full damage! Hao’s Yuange is definitely not just a green badge!”

“I bet Hao spent time in a pro training camp!”