Glory [e-sports]
Chapter 75.1: It was hard. It was really too hard.

Pro soon found out that FTW was switching lanes.

Reasonably speaking, Pro’s devil warrior should follow Close to the bottom lane so that the two of them could continue their Imperial City PK.

Pro’s team chat––

Kim Sung-hyun: “There’s no need to switch.”

Pro’s top-laner UU said, “I can hold down Close.”

As a devil warrior, he’d been killed by Lu Feng’s divine warrior. He was actually very upset by this.

Kim Sung-hyun: “Let me deal with Close. You kill FTW’s storm hunter until he collapses.”

It was just a points competition. Considering the fact that Li Heran wasn’t playing and Kim Sung-hyun’s mood wasn’t good, plus the fact that Close had a special identity, UU didn’t insist again, “Okay.”

So, Kim Sung-hyun went to the bottom lane as usual and met with Close’s divine warrior head on.

A divine warrior and a ghost hunter formed a great contrast after they gathered in the same place.

The divine warrior lived up to its name, its entire body covered with holy light. It had six white wings on its back and held a huge sword, standing in a heroic pose that made it appear like the patron saint of the team.

The ghost hunter’s ghost form was a flickering black shadow with evil spirits floating wantonly around it while baring scarlet claws. It looked like a soul-sucking ghost that had climbed out of hell.

This pinnacle duel between two members of the former Team of Gods was one of the favorite programs for the audience to watch.

In particular, the contrast between the two talents was so great that the human brain could make up tens of thousands of scenarios.

“Reasonably speaking, the divine warrior might not necessarily be able to beat the ghost hunter.”

“The ghost hunter is too agile, the divine warrior can’t catch up with him.”

“C fans, it’s time to wake up, okay? This is a 5v5 game. Can you not be so focused on solo?”

Indeed, this was a team game. Why would they 1v1 if they could 2v1?

Close arrived at the bottom lane. After the time it took to take a doubles selfie with Kim Sung-hyun, Wei Xiao had already hidden himself in the bushes.

Kim Sung-hyun always kept an eye on the minimap and listened as his own support gave status reports, “There’s nobody in the jungle zone. Quiet is most likely in the bottom lane.”

Needless to say, Kim Sung-hyun had sensed it too. The stretch of grass to his left was quiet and peaceful, but he could guess that a thief was crouching there even with his eyes closed.

Should he use his skills to trick the hidden thief to come out?

Kim Sung-hyun didn’t really dare to. Close was keeping a tight eye on him, and he had no doubt that the divine warrior’s sword would split him in two as soon as he raised his hand.

Hide under the tower?

He’d end up missing soldiers.

––I don’t need you to kill soldiers, I won’t miss a single one.

Kim Sung-hyun thought of his commitment to Li Heran and was torn for a moment.

Damn it!

Pro’s jungler Park Guizhi exclaimed, “Don’t go out!”

But the ghost hunter had already used its ghost shadow, ignoring the hidden thief in the grass as it tossed its control skills at the divine warrior. He switched to human form to kill the soldiers then, when his skills were in cooldown, he instantly switched to ghost form and planned to return to the tower…

The divine warrior moved faster than he’d thought. He’d clearly been controlled by him, but relying on the control resistance stats of his equipment, the divine warrior was able to break out of his control a little earlier than expected. Six wings exploded outwards, and the holy sword that was wrapped in white feathers stabbed into Kim Sung-hyun.

Kim Sung-hyun’s heart cracked a little. It really was typical of Little Close, his reaction time was really overboard!

However…

Kim Sung-hyun managed to resist the blade, and the skills of his ghost state smashed onto the hidden thief hiding in the grass.

Wei Xiao was startled, “F*ck!”

Kim Sung-hyun had sensed his presence a long time ago. He’d still dared to come out to kill his soldiers despite being attacked from the front and back. Was he looking down on him!

In fact, Kim Sung-hyun did have reason to look down on him.

He accurately controlled the hidden thief so that Wei Xiao couldn’t move, then quickly returned to the tower using the ghost state’s movement ability.

There was a small medicine bag beneath the tower. Kim Sung-hyun switched back to human state and used the medicine to replenish his health. The health bar that had been half empty was now two thirds full.

The commentator praised, “Really worthy of being Glory’s number one shooter. Nobody can be as persistent in clearing soldiers as he is.”

“As the main core position, he must be meticulous in everything. Losing a single soldier or having one less gold may affect the battle situation.”

“Not missing a single soldier is the unremitting pursuit of many players!”

The commentators were praising Kim Sung-hyun when they suddenly got stuck, “Close…”

The battle situation changed too fast, and it didn’t give them time to talk nonsense.

Kim Sung-hyun had only just pulled back into the tower when Wei Xiao’s control effect disappeared. Lu Feng said, “Go.”

Wei Xiao: “Got it!”

The hidden thief, who was at full health, used a jungle creep as a springboard and threw a dart at Kim Sung-hyun’s head.

Kim Sung-hyun sucked in a breath.

Wei Xiao had already rushed into the tower and latched onto him.

Kim Sung-hyun burst out with an unexpected round of cursing.

Park Guizhi: “Wait two seconds for me!”

Two seconds?

The ghost hunter would’ve turned into a dead ghost a long time ago by then!

Sure enough, Wei Xiao rushed in just to take damage from the defense tower, then used the dart on Kim Sung-hyun’s body to quickly dodge away. At the same time, the divine warrior dove beneath the tower with his long sword, and the golden special effects smashed onto the pale and thin ghost hunter.

System Announcement––

FTW.Close killed Pro.Succe.

“This cooperation was perfect!”

“The hidden thief withstood the tower, then withdrew. The divine warrior advanced, then harvested a head. Holy shit, who says that the divine warrior is a support type top-lane hero?!”

“Sure enough, the great demon king is a great demon king no matter what he uses!”

“To tell you the truth, I’ve already thought about the divine warrior’s championship skin. How about a fallen angel? The white wings turning black; it’s a perfect match for our Close!”

When Kim Sung-hyun fell to the ground, Park Guizhi and their support player arrived at the same time.

Unfortunately…

The hidden thief was nowhere to be seen, and the divine warrior had returned back to his own tower. Based on its own passive health recovery, it would be back to full health at any second.

Were they going to forcibly kill a divine warrior who was number one in farming and in excellent condition beneath his own tower?

The sky wasn’t dark yet. Don’t start dreaming.

As Yuan Ze had said, Proud Flower Kim was ravaged.

Pro’s support had already stationed themselves on the bottom lane, protecting Kim Sung-hyun with his life. Unfortunately, Close was too good at grasping opportunities, and his timing was very accurate every time he called Wei Xiao over.

Wei Xiao’s personal strength was really amazing. His knowledge of the talent specs, timing, and even his understanding of Close were all shocking.

It led to extremely tacit cooperation between the two, and they could wipe out Kim Sung-hyun in one or two seconds.

Pro had been playing training matches against L&P for many years, and Yuan Ze was very familiar with him.

If Li Heran wasn’t playing, then Kim Sung-hyun would have to be the pillar of support for the entire team. It was actually somewhat difficult for a marksman to be the backbone of the team.

They did alright for an ordinary team, but once they encountered a team with a particularly strong top-jungler combo, it was easy for him to be targeted.

For example, L&P’s Yuan Ze and Old G had abused this Proud Flower countless times.

Although Close and Quiet’s combo was brand new, it had the potential to be even fiercer than Yuan Ze and Old G. The Proud Flower couldn’t withstand it.

Wasn’t he… just being crushed to death.

Was Pro going to lose?

Was Pro, who was missing their team commander Li Heran, going to lose the game so miserably?

No.

A truly strong team had never been a one-man team.

Although the team’s lethality had dropped sharply its team commander, Pro wasn’t just a team of two people. They had made it into the global semi-finals based on the strength of all five people!

Kim Sung-hyun was the team’s core, but it didn’t mean that the other people were trash.

On the contrary, they were the iron walls that guarded the core!

System Announcement––

Pro.UU killed FTW.White!

Pro.UU killed FTW.Le!

Pro.Cui killed FTW.Silvery!

In the gap left by Wei Xiao’s crazy ganking of the bottom lane, Pro’s top lane cooperated with their jungler Park Guizhi to take down a double kill, while the mid-lane’s Cui killed Ning Zhehan!

Once these three kills were announced, Pro instantly cleared up their declining state and took control of the situation again.

Off-stage.

Chen Feng’s expression remained the same.

Tang Chen scratched his head, “Strong.”

Chen Feng: “Yes.”

They had been watching the game constantly just now. Bai Cai, Yue Wenle, and Ning Zhehan had played very well.

There had been almost no operational mistakes, and their state was also very good. They hadn’t made any big mistakes in the details, but…

They couldn’t beat their opponents.

Pro’s top-laner’s devil warrior and power thief had launched a surprise attack. Bai Cai had taken tons of damage and was the first to die, but he’d still failed to protect Yue Wenle.

This wasn’t a positioning error, nor was it an operational mistake, but rather a hero restraint and operational suppression.

Although Wei Xiao had subdued Kim Sung-hyun, the other side’s jungler wasn’t just for show. They could naturally also hold down Yue Wenle!

The mid-lane Cui’s sword mage was an assassin mage type. It was a mage who could kill devastatingly if given the opportunity.

Even if it hadn’t been Ning Zhehan, and EVE’s Xie He had been there instead, it was difficult to say whether he would be able to live on without his teammates’ support.

In the game that was going on now, it wasn’t just about the three cubs, but more about the whole team.

They needed more cooperation, more discipline, more adaptation and understanding of each other.

Chen Feng understood all these things, so he wasn’t in a panic.

It wasn’t something they could rush.

They still had enough time. The earlier they discovered these problems, the earlier they could deal with them.

The domestic competition would be their real start!

The top lane and mid-lane had collapsed, so Wei Xiao could no longer target Kim Sung-hyun. He had to start supporting all three lanes.

As a result, Kim Sung-hyun was liberated.

No matter how strong Close was, it was unrealistic for him to be able to crush Kim Sung-hyun with Pro’s support behind him.

Kim Sung-hyun no longer ran around everywhere. He simply developed quietly, frantically seizing farming opportunities from beneath Close’s hand.

Little by little, bit by bit…

This kind of particular, precise marksman was the most terrifying presence in the canyon.

The game dragged on into the second half.

Wei Xiao’s heart was uneasy, “We won’t be able to fight if we drag the game on.”

The ghost hunter had begun to give up its ghost form and focus only on its human form.

The ghost hunter in human form had no flexible movements or control skills, but it had an amazing ability to deal damage from the back row.

By the time Kim Sung-hyun finished six full sets of gear, he would be able to use a single arrow to string FTW up like a tanghulu.

Lu Feng: “Give up the bottom lane tower.”

Wei Xiao’s heart thumped.

There was no other way; they were at their limit. It was already record breaking for the captain to be able to guard the defense tower to this degree against two people.

When FTW lost their bottom tower, the liberated Kim Sung-hyun really began to crush all lanes.

Pro’s playstyle was very obvious.

Everyone supported Kim Sung-hyun.

They weren’t just foils, nor were they just decoration. They were iron walls that guarded Kim Sung-hyun!

Even if Li Heran wasn’t there, the tacit understanding between the team members still existed.

The game lasted 40 minutes.

FTW was suffering from a one-sided decline.

Kim Sung-hyun gave up the ghost form completely, and his human form with full gear was strong enough to explode.

Yue Wenle’s storm hunter began to expose its shortcomings.

It was hard for the storm hunter that was strong in the early stages to find DPS opportunities in the later stages.

High mobility marksmen were destined to sacrifice high DPS and range. It was basic, fundamental game balance logic.

The ice mage’s damage had increased, but Pro’s support had magic defense gear and blocked in front of the team, forcing Ning Zhehan to retreat.

He couldn’t deal any real damage, and his positioning was forced backwards, unable to affect Pro’s back row.

If he was even a little careless, then Pro’s sword mage could shoot a sword over and kill him instantly with a set of skills.

It was hard. It was really too hard.

There was no way for FTW to fight a team battle at all!

If they weren’t able to cut to the back and kill Kim Sung-hyun. FTW had no hope of winning the game.

Everyone understood this truth, but how could they reach Kim Sung-hyun?

In FTW’s team chat––

Bai Cai said fiercely, “Old Wei, let’s go get Kim Sung-hyun!”

Damn it, he was so angry. He’d been marksmen’s daddy for so many years and had never felt so suffocated.

How was this a marksman? It was clearly a big ancestor!

An ancestor that must be catered to all around the canyon!

Wei Xiao’s voice held a rare seriousness, “You can’t leave Old Yue.”

Pro’s most ball-breaking point lay here. It seemed that everyone was focused on protecting Kim Sung-hyun, but in fact, their sense of smell was more sensitive than a pack of dogs. Once they noticed any meaty bones, they would pounce and chew it into nothing in seconds.

Yue Wenle and Ning Zhehan were the most tasty meat bones.

As soon as Bai Cai left them, they would be attacked and killed immediately.

Once the marksman and mage were dead, how would FTW deal any DPS?

Even if they killed Kim Sung-hyun, so what?

Pro’s four remaining people could easily win the game!

Bai Cai understood this as well. It was just that he was angry, “F*ck, could it be that we’ll have to admit defeat like this?”

Once these words came out, the team chat fell silent.

Wei Xiao, whose trash talk could cover the whole sky, didn’t pick up the thread of the conversation, and everyone else felt a little flustered.

This game was different from yesterday’s game.

They’d been psychologically prepared for how strong the full-strength L&P were.

They could face the results no matter how they won or lost, but Pro was missing their commander. If they lost like this, then…