Chapter 127: A Silky and Flawless Execution

However, the rhythm of the bottom lane had unknowingly already begun.

Although Wei Liang was the top-ranked Marco Polo in the national server, this couldn’t change his predicament of being trapped in the early game.

Marco Polo was good in many ways, but his early game was simply too weak—at least before the apocalypse patch.

This wave, he was constantly harassed by Sun Shangxiang and could only turtle under the tower.

At this moment, Sun Shangxiang was the only one pushing the tower.

In Lin Hao’s vision, Li Bai suddenly appeared from the side, from the blue buff area, sneaking into the fog of war. With two skill hits, he struck Sun Shangxiang, followed immediately by his ultimate!

Sun Shangxiang hurriedly tried to dodge, but was still slain!

Here, the difference came down to health pools.

Sun Shangxiang on Lin Hao’s side was far too aggressive in the early game, relentlessly trading blows whenever he caught Marco Polo.

Due to the nature of the heroes, when Sun Shangxiang was pushing the tower, she still had just over half her health left, while Marco Polo was in an even worse state, with only two small bars of health remaining.

At this health level, Sun Shangxiang continuing to push was understandable—he wanted to deny Marco Polo any gold and pressure him while his health was low. But he didn’t expect Xiao Jin to arrive so quickly.

Lin Hao understood the situation perfectly. Xiao Jin’s timing was impeccable. Although he had just taken the river crab and would theoretically arrive a bit slower than Lin Hao’s support, before level four, Luna’s jungle clearing speed was even slower than Li Bai’s. Since Xiao Jin started on the red buff, the buff’s bonus made his jungle clear faster.

Lin Hao guessed that Xiao Jin had just finished killing the two lizards near the blue buff, and seeing Sun Shangxiang pushing the tower, Xiao Jin naturally took the opportunity to stack four passive hits, then cut through the blue buff area with a blind vision sneak, coordinating with Marco Polo’s first skill to secure the kill on Sun Shangxiang.

“Xiao Jin is really something,” someone commented.

“For a hero like Li Bai, who’s so weak nowadays, Xiao Jin’s ability to reach number one in the nation is well deserved.”

“Xiao Jin is strong, but our Haozi is invincible. Just wait and see how Haozi crushes Xiao Jin!”

“Don’t get carried away. Let’s be objective. Hao Ran’s side lane is strong, but his jungle mechanics still need work.”

Lin Hao saw the chat’s flow and decided to clarify while subtly shifting the topic.

“Sun Shangxiang pushed too deep this wave. I know he wanted to deny Marco Polo’s gold and apply pressure while his health was low, but it was too risky. When the enemy Li Bai sneaked in with that low health, it was game over,” Lin Hao explained. “If he had waited for the next wave and for me to arrive, Marco Polo wouldn’t just have secured a kill, but at least disrupted his early development.”

Lin Hao didn’t outright say it, but the difference this caused was significant.

The enemy jungler was fed, setting the pace, while Lin Hao got nothing.

Xiao Jin even took a wave on the bottom lane afterward.

Lin Hao’s choice was to circle around the red buff area and position himself in the small bush next to the mid lane, near the dragon pit.

The bottom lane minions were being pushed past by Xiao Jin and Marco Polo.

“Don’t bother contesting Sun Shangxiang’s minions this wave. He’ll respawn soon, so at worst we lose one frontline minion. Let’s camp here and wait for the enemy jungler’s path. Ninety-nine percent certain Li Bai will come this way,” Lin Hao declared confidently.

As expected, a few seconds later, Xiao Jin’s Li Bai casually strolled in.

This was top-tier awareness. Whether Xiao Jin was clearing mid lane minions, waiting for the two-minute dragon spawn, or rotating to top lane, he would have to cross the river path.

The moment Lin Hao saw Xiao Jin approach, he readied two auto-attacks in the bush.

As Xiao Jin’s face peeked into the bush, Lin Hao’s third auto-attack struck!

The instant Li Bai was marked, Lin Hao immediately unleashed his ultimate!

Xiao Jin had already lost roughly a quarter of his health from Sun Shangxiang’s death retaliation, and Lin Hao’s small harassment left his health bar just half full.

Lin Hao then paused briefly without using a skill, opting for a clean auto-attack.

Xiao Jin’s Li Bai responded with his signature circle maneuver.

This was the classic escape combo Li Bai used when caught face-to-face and unable to win—a skillful use of his second skill to dodge damage, immediately followed by two quick first skills to flee.

Lin Hao was waiting for this second skill. The moment it was cast, Lin Hao canceled the recovery animation of his previous move and unleashed his own second skill!

Luna’s second skill pulled Li Bai in. Lin Hao immediately followed with his third skill, pressing it instantly, flying close to deal damage.

He then landed another empty auto-attack!

As the second skill’s control ended, Xiao Jin reacted swiftly, releasing two consecutive first skill slashes toward his mid lane tower.

Lin Hao countered by launching his first skill Crescent Slash, immediately chaining into the third skill New Moon Assault, continuing to chase Li Bai!

But it wasn’t over. Lin Hao’s third auto-attack was a strengthened attack, built up from the two consecutive empty auto-attacks earlier. This hit Li Bai again, dealing damage and applying a mark!

Xiao Jin reacted quickly, seeing Luna swoop in again, and pressed his first skill to return to his original position.

This was a forced move—Luna had applied the mark, and Li Bai’s health was critically low.

Lin Hao flicked the joystick, and Luna flew in like a shadow, consuming the mark on Li Bai and instantly refreshing the ultimate!

Finally, Lin Hao activated his ultimate again, leaving no room for Xiao Jin to respond, and secured Li Bai’s kill!

The entire sequence flowed like water, without a single clumsy move.

It was a flawless execution, completely controlling Xiao Jin.

With this solo kill, the stream chat erupted once more.

“Wow, that was so smooth!”

“Dove, pay for the ad!”

“I swear, Haozi’s Luna really has national server level! The attention to detail is maxed out!”

“The biggest fear playing Luna against Li Bai is missing the ultimate because he dodges it, but Haozi’s execution this time hit every skill!”

“Total domination, absolutely domination!”

The praise came not only from Lin Hao’s loyal fans but also from casual viewers who couldn’t help but shower compliments.

“Sit down, sit down, just basic mechanics.”

Lin Hao playfully waved his hand, pretending to downplay it.

On the surface, the play looked flashy.

But the truth was, the skill ceiling for national server Lunas was still within human limits. Facing a national server Li Bai, killing him before level four was possible, but not with such smoothness and pressure.

The real reason was that while camping, Lin Hao had seen Li Bai’s slow approach and, relying on his top-tier awareness, positioning, and prediction, had mentally rehearsed Li Bai’s escape path and his own kill method.

After this operation, Lin Hao gained a surge of anger points from Xiao Jin.

“Anger points from Xiao Jin: +300.”