Chapter Seventeen: Reverse Flash?
"Yifan, your Charlotte gameplay is really lacking!"
"How did you even miss that? One word—noob!"
"All those white comments calling him noob, how many peak points do you have?"
"Exactly, bet some of you haven't even unlocked the peak matches yet."
In Yifan's livestream, he was bombarded with ridicule from viewers for that blunder.
After all, Yifan was known as a technical streamer, especially skilled with heroes like the Elder Master. His finesse in micro-movements and positioning should have given him the upper hand—so why was he getting outplayed by the enemy’s Elder Master?
"Don’t panic, just a minor mistake. Besides, that Elder Master’s movements were on point," Yifan said, curling his lip. "Relax, Charlotte counters Elder Master. Just wait until I hit level four and watch me dominate him."
After that, Yifan focused on clearing minion waves and farming, patiently waiting for level four.
At last, the crucial fourth wave arrived.
On the enemy side, the jungler Jing—none other than the renowned jungle king Li Zhien—had already cleared her camps and was now lying in wait in the top lane brush, just before the fourth wave met.
That stealthy positioning alone spoke volumes about Li Zhien's caliber. Average junglers, unaware of such nuances, would only finish clearing their jungle after the minion waves met, and then gank by walking through the river.
That’s the difference attention to detail makes.
On Lin Hao’s side, his mid-lane teammate, Yixing, and his own support, Zhang Fei, had quietly come top to help ambush.
They’d already scouted earlier; Jing had started blue, so by now she should’ve just finished the red side and would be looking to gank.
But although they were waiting in ambush by the river, Jing still hadn’t appeared. Was she rotating mid for tempo instead? Hiding in the central brush, waiting to catch them off guard?
Just as Yixing had this thought, their teammate Elder Master, who was clearing Charlotte’s backline minions, suddenly saw his health plummet!
Jing burst out from the brush, unleashing a high-burst combo point-blank straight onto Lin Hao’s Elder Master!
Damn!
Lin Hao had been calmly wave-clearing and about to recall, but he reacted instantly, planning to use his second skill for damage reduction.
But Jing’s combo was too fast—after her two-phase first skill, she immediately ulted, locking Lin Hao down again!
By now, Lin Hao’s health was less than half!
Jing’s third skill landed, and Charlotte, who had quietly stacked her passive, unleashed a Seven-Star Radiant Slash!
Elder Master’s HP instantly dropped to just one-fifth!
Just then, Lin Hao managed to activate his second skill, speeding out of Jing’s burst.
His teammates in the brush reacted quickly too—Zhang Fei rushed out, shielding Lin Hao’s Elder Master, and Yixing, even more decisive, flashed out of the bush, knocked both Jing and Charlotte airborne with his second skill!
Seizing the moment, Lin Hao’s Elder Master fled toward Yixing and Zhang Fei—toward the river.
Charlotte threw her first skill, hitting Lin Hao, then immediately followed up with her second. Jing hurriedly swapped twice, using minions to reset her skills, and charged at Lin Hao’s position.
Elder Master was just a sliver away from death!
"Come on, try dodging me this time!"
Yifan and Li Zhien were both deadly calm in that moment.
They were sure Elder Master still had a flash, but that was all he had left. He’d just used his second skill! Of all people, Yifan knew this hero best—if Elder Master whiffed his second skill without weaving in an auto-attack to reduce cooldown, it would still be a long wait before it came back up.
All these calculations flashed through Yifan and Li Zhien’s minds in an instant.
They made the same decision—go all in!
No matter if Elder Master tried to save his flash or used it to dodge their gap-closers, they weren’t worried. Even if he dodged their skills, Yixing and Zhang Fei were right beside him—someone would get hit.
For Charlotte, landing the second skill’s follow-up meant a cooldown just over a second; for Jing, it was a direct reset.
When the gap in state is this wide, no amount of technique can make up the difference!
Lin Hao narrowed his eyes.
It looked like a certain death, and in reality…
…it was indeed a death sentence.
Even if he used flash to dodge both of their gap-closers, they’d catch up in no time.
But, I have a bold idea!
They were closing in!
Lin Hao’s movement was as precise as a script, reading the situation with crystal clarity.
To dodge, you have to know the exact range and timing of enemy skills—when they start, when they end—all down to a science.
In certain PC MOBAs, there are players so quick that the moment an enemy raises a hand, they already know what skill is coming and where it will land, dodging with pure instinct.
Honor of Kings might not be that detailed, but Lin Hao could still grasp that fatal distance!
Whoosh!
Clang!
Jing’s first skill and Charlotte’s second skill fired almost simultaneously!
Both targeted Lin Hao, who had just entered casting range!
At that split second, Lin Hao flashed!
Holy—!
He actually dodged that?
In front of their screens, whether in Lin Hao’s first-person stream or in Li Zhien and Yifan’s from the rival perspective, all viewers cried out in surprise!
But then…
Why did Elder Master flash the opposite way?
Yes, Lin Hao had used a reverse flash, his figure passing right by Jing and Charlotte!
Of course, flash didn’t grant invulnerability—his reverse flash still left him eating the full brunt of their dashing skills!
But Elder Master wasn’t dead yet!
He had a sliver of health left—maybe two or three hundred!
If Jing managed to land a first skill plus auto-attack, or Charlotte hit her second skill plus Seven-Star Radiant Slash, he’d be instantly finished.
In the next second, Charlotte’s Seven-Star Radiant Slash and Jing’s auto both landed—on Yixing and Zhang Fei!
Yifan and Li Zhien were both stunned.
He really reverse-flashed?
What was he thinking?
Normally, flashing toward the river might just save you.
But flashing back up the lane? That's practically a death wish.
And that position was right where their backline minions were…
Then, they saw Elder Master raise his discipline ruler and start pounding away at the backline minions.
He just wanted to snag the minion experience before dying!
Damn it!
Yifan’s fury +700!
Li Zhien’s fury +500!
Immediately, Li Zhien and Yifan abandoned Yixing and Zhang Fei, desperate to stop him from clearing the wave!
But it was already too late—Charlotte’s Seven-Star Radiant Slash had a lingering animation, and Jing had overshot her dash.
All they could do was watch as Elder Master finished off the two nearly-dead backline minions, a flash of light signifying he’d hit level four.
And it wasn’t over yet. Freshly leveled, Elder Master charged straight toward the enemy’s solo lane outer turret.