Chapter 118: A Blow Followed by a Sweet Reward

Lin Hao decisively headed straight home. He had actually lost a considerable amount of health earlier and wasn’t in the best shape now.

"Fall back from the lane!"

"Abandon the minion wave?"

As Lin Hao returned to base, he glanced at the chat and chuckled, "You’ve watched my stream for so long and still haven’t grasped the essence of my Guan Yu play. Compared to the jungle, the minion wave has to rely on the backline. This round, the tiger is invading the jungle, so I definitely need to support. If I stayed in lane, with my skills, I could hold a ten-to-ten fight against Yuange, but Nakoruru would fall apart."

Some viewers were still curious. Yuange was only level two at this point and couldn’t kill a half-health Guan Yu by diving the tower. Why not just defend the lane?

"I definitely have no sustain left. The consequence of going half-health back to lane means I can’t trade with Yuange before the health pack spawns in a minute. If I try to poke, I’ll just end up awkwardly hiding under the tower until Yuange hits level three at full strength, and then I’m doomed."

Back in lane, Lin Hao saw Yuange still clearing minions. Without hesitation, he swung his blade.

He timed his distance perfectly. Even if Yuange’s puppet used its skill after-animation to grab him, it wouldn’t reach.

Yuange wasn’t trying to trade either; he just cleared minions and leveled up to three.

Lin Hao was still at level two.

"This round, he’s probably going to tower dive me," Lin Hao observed Yuange’s positioning. The puppet was already ready. "It looks like it’s just the two of us in the bottom lane. Let’s see if I can outplay him."

A level-two Guan Yu trying to outplay a level-three Yuange was difficult. Without teammates to help, Yuange could easily pressure Guan Yu under the tower by diving.

The minion wave pushed into the tower, and Yuange advanced with his puppet.

He was likely planning to use his third skill to slow first.

Lin Hao didn’t wait for the puppet to get close; he immediately pressed the basic attack key and pushed the puppet away from the tower.

Yuange’s puppet was knocked out of the tower range, but this brought Guan Yu close to both Yuange and his puppet.

Yuange’s puppet kept basic attacking Guan Yu but didn’t use the slow from the third skill.

Lin Hao frowned.

The puppet’s base movement speed was fast, and Yuange was clearly skilled—he was saving the first slow of his third skill, waiting for Guan Yu to start running before using it.

Realizing this, Lin Hao quickly activated Sprint and used his second skill.

But he ran in the opposite direction, away from the tower.

Seeing Guan Yu suddenly transform into a runaway wild horse, Yuange hurriedly activated the first segment of his third skill. However, with Guan Yu’s second skill to break control and Sprint, he was already moving fast, and Yuange’s slow had no effect.

Because Guan Yu was running outward, Yuange continued to chase without swapping positions hastily.

Lin Hao quietly maneuvered until Guan Yu, Yuange, and the puppet aligned in a straight line.

He turned around and unleashed his first skill!

Single-blade Roar!

Guan Yu surged with momentum, swinging his blade and striking both Yuange’s body and the puppet.

Yuange’s puppet shattered instantly, and Yuange’s body took damage from the attack, losing significant health.

More importantly, because the puppet was destroyed, Yuange was stunned for two seconds.

Lin Hao boldly circled in front of Yuange’s stunned body.

With Sprint still active and before the stun ended, Guan Yu charged forward, pushing Yuange under the tower!

Yuange’s health was now down to one-third.

After two seconds, the stunned Yuange hastily flashed away, narrowly avoiding the tower’s next attack.

But Guan Yu kept closing in.

Anticipating Yuange’s move, Lin Hao quickly dodged the cross slash by turning to the side, then chased him for a few seconds. Once Sprint was active again, he killed Yuange before he could reach his own tower.

"Solo kill!"

"No way! A level-two Guan Yu solo killed a level-three Yuange?"

"The Yuange on the enemy team must be terrible, confirmed."

"The streamer’s Guan Yu is too strong."

Lin Hao chuckled, "Everyone calm down; that was basic play."

"When Guan Yu fights Yuange early on, never stand between Yuange and his puppet in a straight line. It’s too easy to be manipulated that way. Instead, like I did, prioritize positioning yourself outside the line connecting Yuange and his puppet. From there, you can try to hit both with one strike—definitely a big gain."

"Normally, in a match, it’s best to use skills to poke Yuange at levels one and two. Use your speed advantage early to rush into the inner brush near the enemy tower and surprise him. If you get invaded early in your jungle like I did, there’s not much you can do."

Lin Hao’s Guan Yu had less than one-third health left. Much of the damage had come from Yuange’s last-minute counterattack with his second skill’s throwing darts.

Actually, without the quick dodge to avoid the cross slash, Lin Hao might have been outplayed.

But in the end, his skill won out, and he didn’t hesitate to click Recall.

Guan Er leisurely sat in the bamboo forest, looking extremely relaxed—no, rather, extremely carefree.

"Yuange’s rage +500."

While Lin Hao was casually teaching his viewers, on the other side, Han Han had opened his mic and started lecturing the whole team.

"What’s going on in the top lane? How did a level-three Yuange get solo killed by a level-two Guan Yu?"

Han Han hadn’t watched the entire skirmish. He was farming buffs in his own jungle until he heard the first blood news from the top lane, then zoomed the camera there.

Good grief—Yuange was lying dead, Guan Yu was recalling.

Yuange was level three, Guan Yu level two.

Usually, a level-three Yuange is invincible in lane, especially since his Smite no longer instantly kills the puppet. Diving a level-two Guan Yu at level three is practically a joke.

Yet he still got killed.

How was that acceptable?

The peak-ranked bully Liu Wei was about to school his teammates.

Faced with Liu Wei’s criticism, the Yuange player, just a random, could only silently accept it.

It was indeed a technical mistake.

No argument there.

"Don’t die anymore. When I finish my red buff, I’ll help you dive that Guan Yu," Han Han said sternly before softening, "We’re going to start the pace from the top lane this game."

Han Han naturally knew Nakoruru would start blue buff.

She hadn’t arrived when he took the red buff.

Since the red buff wasn’t contested, Nakoruru would farm faster.

Normally, Nakoruru would hit level four and move to the offlane, either to farm a wave openly or lie in wait.

Han Han planned that when they ganked Guan Yu, they’d also kill Nakoruru to seize the momentum.