61. Fatal Blow
HIT had no idea what a terrifying opponent he was facing.
All their movements, whereabouts, and strategies were under Lin Jiang's watchful eye; whether they advanced or retreated was crystal clear.
He played Jayce in this game, and he was very dominant in lane. He could switch between cannon form and hammer form with his ultimate, which meant he had six completely different skills at the same time.
Coupled with Lin Jiang's hand speed, no one can rival him.
HIT's mid laner didn't initially intend to go head-to-head with him. Before the match started, he thoroughly studied his opponent and came to a very surprising conclusion.
Lin Jiang is a player with almost no weaknesses. Whether it's offense or defense, or development and tempo control, he always does his best.
There's only one way to win against someone like that: don't make any mistakes and wait for Lin Jiang's teammates to make them.
HIT's mid-laner is not much weaker than Lin Jiang. As long as he doesn't want to die, Lin Jiang has no way to deal with him.
After a set of skills, both of them were almost at full health, and neither of them touched the other.
The buyer was very satisfied with the result.
Now their target is Lin Jiang's teammates.
In the top lane matchup against Song Ji-seo, HIT's initial goal was to secure top lane priority, attack the Rift Herald, and destroy Lin Jiang's mid-lane tower first.
To everyone's surprise, Song Zhixu was incredibly resilient. He managed to stay alive with half health even during such a fierce battle, making it difficult for the enemy to kite and buy tank items.
The jungler had to go help the top lane. As soon as he set off, Zhang Mingying noticed and said, "Top laner, be careful of flanking from behind."
Song Zhixu's greatest strength is that he listens to advice. When he heard the jungler say that, he knew that the enemy was coming. Without thinking, he retreated back to the tower and abandoned half a wave of minions.
This retreat caught the opponent off guard.
The domestic commentators exclaimed in surprise, "Are they just going to give up this minion wave like that? The enemy jungler hasn't even gotten into position yet, and Metoo is already retreating! He's not going to give the enemy any chance at all!"
Before the jungler even arrived, Song Zhixu abandoned half a wave of minions, which felt similar to "using Flash but not getting a kill".
HIT's jungler saw this and wondered how they could gank. So he turned around and left.
However, he did not actually leave. He pretended to retreat and then took a detour to prepare to leap over the tower and kill Song Zhixu.
This time, Song Zhixu was even more decisive. He flashed into the second tower, giving them no chance to make a move.
The top laner, who had been tormented by Song Zhixu for ten minutes, couldn't take it anymore and couldn't help but roar in his heart: Look at this, is this how you play?
It must be said that Song Zhixu never admitted defeat on the road to survival.
Lin Jiang couldn't help but praise him: "Well done!"
After being praised, Song Zhixu was full of energy. Before the match started, he promised Lin Jiang that he would not die once in the early stages and become the strongest guardian of OT.
HIT couldn't force Song Zhixu back to base, so they couldn't gain lane control in the top lane or attack the Rift Herald. Song Zhixu sacrificed half a wave of minions to preserve OT's early game rhythm.
Even Lao Mao in the live stream couldn't help but praise him: "Song Zhixu is very talented. You didn't see how he was before, he just hadn't figured it out yet. Look how fast he's improved after he figured it out, I'm even a little envious."
From initially looking down on him, Lao Mao now has a look of satisfaction in his eyes. "I still remember when he first faced me in lane, I picked Renekton and tower-dived to kill him twice. I even told Lin Jiang to quickly replace this top laner, but Lin Jiang insisted on keeping him. He said he saw something in Song Zhixu that was superior to other players, and that was endurance."
Song Zhixu's resilience and endurance were something Lin Jiang had never seen before.
Perhaps it was because he was born into poverty and experienced hardships that are hard for ordinary people to imagine, or perhaps it was because he was broad-minded and could always be as tolerant as a mountain no matter what kind of people or things he encountered.
Even when he gets a disadvantageous hero, he will desperately support the team. Even if he dies in all sorts of strange ways, as long as the team needs him, he will stand up again and again and sacrifice himself for the team.
People only see his achievements and his embarrassing moments, but they don't see his role in the team. He has always been like a glue, able to stick things together wherever needed.
Lin Jiang discovered long ago that Song Zhixu possessed a talent for the top lane that was difficult for ordinary people to perceive.
So he patiently stayed with him, nurtured him, and witnessed the birth of a miracle, just like waiting for a flower to bloom.
After Mao finished his remarks, the comments section quickly erupted with discussion.
They never imagined that the word "endurance" would be used to describe Song Zhixu, but after using it, they felt it was very suitable for this contestant.
The top lane position inherently requires a certain level of resilience. It requires sacrificing lane advantages for the team while still maintaining laning ability, making it a very demanding role.
Song Zhixu took this aspect to the extreme by utilizing his resilience.
[Just wanted to clarify, I previously criticized Song Zhixu for being incompetent, but I'm apologizing now.]
[Actually, there's no need to apologize. He was indeed very bad before, and he only started to improve slowly after Lin Jiang went to OT.]
[I've always wanted to know, who exactly is the mastermind behind Song Zhixu?]
[Someone must have been giving you pointers, right? This progress is frighteningly rapid.]
[Lane-laning skills aren't developed overnight; he must have had practice partners.]
Seeing their heated discussion, Lao Mao finally revealed the truth: "Stop guessing. I said before that Song Zhixu's sparring partner is Lin Jiang. Who else could improve in such a short time? Lin Jiang, who has experienced major international competitions, is the best sparring partner. Others would beg for him. Song Zhixu is lucky to have Lin Jiang sparring with him every day. Even a dead fish can still thrash around on the field."
Some fans know, some fans don't.
The comments section was filled with all sorts of opinions. Some people were praising Lin Jiang to the skies, while others questioned whether Lao Mao was a die-hard fan of Lin Jiang, always trying to glorify him and saying that what he said was completely unbelievable.
Old Mao got angry and fought with the haters for dozens of rounds. In a fit of rage, he revealed another truth: "If you don't believe me, go look at Song Zhixu's Weibo. Do you really think he just goes crazy online every day? Look at the data he updates. It's the number of times Lin Jiang coached him in the live stream. This kid has been recording his growth with numbers. He's not as useless as you think..."
The chat exploded, with countless netizens flooding Song Zhixu's personal account. Song Zhixu's last VB update was the day before the World Championship started: 1716.
1716! Is that the number of matches he played against Lin Jiang?
From the moment Lin Jiang stepped into OT, not counting holidays, Song Zhixu plays at least ten games a day!
Playing ten games against a world champion every day has an unimaginable mental impact! And Song Zhixu endured this kind of impact for nearly half a year!
Although Lin Jiang is very strong, isn't Song Zhixu's resilience a bit too much?
Damn, if he's not strong, who is?!
[Holy crap, the black text is getting redder the more I look at it!]
[Oh my god, this number is so bloody!]
[Nearly two thousand matches against Lin Jiang? Is that something a normal person could handle?]
[If this were any other contestant, they'd go crazy...]
[Now I finally understand why he was so fearless at the World Championship. If I played against Lin Jiang for six months, I wouldn't be afraid of anyone either.]
[OMG, Lin Jiang is such a good trainer! He's created an ultimate stress-resistant king!]
[I'm currently quite worried about HIT's top laner.]
On the field, Song Zhixu was as if he had been made invincible, fearless, and no matter what weapons he was facing, they could not hurt him in the slightest.
HIT's top laner became increasingly aggressive, inadvertently revealing a tiny opening.
Having fought Lin Jiang for a long time, Song Zhixu instantly caught the signal. His hand reacted before his brain could process it, and with a furious shout, "It's your turn!" the sound echoed throughout the canyon.
Quesang raised his double axes, leaped up and smashed the person into the air, then flashed to change the direction of his ultimate, bringing the person directly back to his own tower!
Netizens who watched Song Ji-seo withstand the pressure throughout the entire World Championship were stunned!
The Chinese commentators exclaimed, "Quisanti used Flash and his ultimate to pull the opponent into the tower. Can he kill him? The opponent used Flash! Quisanti then used a predicted Q skill to knock the opponent up again!"
With such a meticulous combo, even if the opponent is Lin Jiang, he should be dead!
Song Zhixu finally revealed a smug smile. He had endured until now, all for the sake of delivering a fatal blow at the crucial moment.
First Blood!
As the system voice broadcast began, the first game officially reached its climax. HIT, who wanted to open up the game from the top lane, suffered a crushing defeat, and Song Zhixu used his method to defend OT's early game.
The OT lineup can only be described as ferocious beasts, with each skill more ferocious than the last. When they get an opportunity to attack, they will pounce on their opponent and bite down hard on their throat until the opponent dies.
If they can't beat the mid laner and the top laner is the one who can withstand pressure, HIT can only place all their hopes on the bottom lane. They heard that Shenju's hand injury is serious, so they'll use him as a guinea pig.
The lower path uses itself as bait, constantly luring the sinking horse forward.
Before the match started, Lin Jiang gave Shen Ju his instructions: "You don't need to exert yourself in this round. Your goal is to conserve your energy and wait for the second and third rounds to make your move."
Shen Ju kept Lin Jiang's words in mind and never crossed the line. He also retreated immediately if he sensed danger.
But unexpectedly, HIT acted so ruthlessly, immediately using double TP to cut off their retreat, determined to kill them under the tower.
Zhou Wen, who had been silent all along, suddenly stepped forward. He was playing Luo in this game. When Shen Ju used his ultimate and Flash to escape towards the second tower, he accurately lifted up and knocked the two opponents who had landed with Teleport into the air. Then he activated his ultimate to taunt the opponents, giving Shen Ju precious time to escape.
The commentator couldn't help but exclaim, "That W! It was a crucial lift! Even 0.1 seconds later wouldn't have been enough!"
HIT can only kill the support to vent their anger, whether they attack the enemy's main turret or not. But that's a huge loss. With their double TP, they've given away both the mid and top outer turrets to the enemy!
The situation has progressed to a point where it is already very unfavorable for HIT. If this disadvantage continues, even if the game drags on to the later stages, it will be of no use.
HIT, still not giving up, launched a counterattack on the mid lane.
Lin Jiang was like an immortal war god, his skill combos were incredibly fast. Whether there were two or three of them, he could break through their encirclement with his combos.
He is not the prey; he is the smartest hunter on the field.
He was the tallest person standing in this competition.
Seeing Lin Jiang still maintaining his highest level of performance, countless longtime fans were moved to tears. Behind everyone's praise for OT, Shen Ju, and Song Zhixu, the person they should really praise the most is Lin Jiang.
He was the only one who could subdue Shen Ju and get Zhou Wen and Shen Ju to cooperate.
It was he who discovered Zhang Mingying, and despite everyone's incomprehension, he insisted on letting him perform, giving the audience a miracle.
It was also because he accompanied Song Zhixu in nearly two thousand battles that Song Zhixu was able to make a name for himself in the finals and become the undisputed king of pressure resistance.
He was so low-key that everyone forgot that he was the one who quietly supported the entire OT behind the scenes!
Looking at the awakened players on the field, it was as if he saw a group of young beasts being unleashed. Li Qian, in the rest room, finally showed a satisfied smile.
Lin Jiang did not train his teammates to be obedient puppets, but instead taught them the instinct to hunt. Perhaps none of them were perfect individually, but together they would definitely be the most perfect team.
Li leaned back and said, "That's amazing! Lin Jiang really did it."
With the crystal shattered, OT secured the victory in the first game, and the entire HIT team looked grim.
They clearly hadn't expected OT to grow so formidable in just five days. As soon as the competition ended, they started whispering among themselves, seemingly having come up with a new plan.
Lin Jiang took off his headphones and swept his gaze over them without any fear.
Come on, show us what you've got!
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