Chapter Twenty-One: Who Wants to Fight You to the Death?

The instant-flash move performed by the Elder Master is just as flashy as the hook-flash combo from Zhong Kui. The difference is, unlike Zhong Kui’s hook, which has a noticeable delay after casting, allowing you to see if the skill connects before deciding whether to follow up with a flash, the Elder Master’s flash must be executed the moment you use your first skill. That’s because the path along which the enemy is pulled back is very short; if you wait to see if you’ve hooked your target before flashing, there’s a high chance your opponent will remain in place while the Elder Master flashes backward instead!

Therefore, even the Elder Master’s top player, Yi Fan, rarely uses this technique. The first skill isn’t guaranteed to hit, especially when the distance between the Elder Master and his target is close—most enemies will keep just out of reach. But for Lin Hao, as long as he attempts this move, it’s a guaranteed hit! Such is the confidence he has in his own positioning and micro-control.

“In the past, this kind of operation only existed in theory. Who would have thought one day I’d actually pull it off?” Lin Hao mused inwardly, but outwardly he boasted, “Marco Popo, still trying to outmaneuver me?”

The viewers in the livestream chat were stunned, jaws dropping in disbelief. What a show of skill!

“Even Yi Fan would struggle to pull this off, right?”

“Hao flashed the moment he cast his first skill, without even considering the possibility of missing. I have to say, in terms of micro-positioning, Hao’s already far ahead of his opponent.”

“That’s insanely confident!”

“Marco must be fuming.”

Marco Polo glanced at the radius of the binding circle the Elder Master had trapped him in, feeling a chill run through his heart. Had the Elder Master not flashed, even if Marco was caught and bound, part of the ultimate’s circle would have been outside the tower’s range. But now, it was completely within the tower’s attack range, and Yao had no interference available…

Damn it, time to risk it all!

Marco Polo began spinning, activating his ultimate. Blue light shone from him—the glow of Purification—as his twin pistols unleashed a hail of bullets. The Elder Master had already lost quite a bit of health to Marco’s shots, and more importantly, Marco had stacked seven or eight layers of his passive. If he used Purification and ulted here, maybe, just maybe, he could outlast the Elder Master and kill him under the tower’s assault!

But Lin Hao had no intention of fighting head-to-head. After binding Marco Polo, he didn’t give him a second glance. Instead, he used his second skill to speed out of Marco Polo’s ultimate range, then began recalling right there, taunting his opponent.

Why risk dueling in the middle of Marco Polo’s ultimate, under the tower, for five full seconds, when there was every chance of being killed in return?

Marco Polo had steeled himself for a do-or-die fight, only to see the Elder Master walk calmly out of tower range, blocking his escape, recalling step by step and apologizing with every move. Marco Polo suddenly felt like a clown…

Yao was forced off Marco Polo’s head, but she was powerless to help. In fact, if Yao had entered the tower before the Elder Master’s flash and tanked the shots for Marco while he ulted, at worst it would have been a one-for-one trade between Yao and the Elder Master, with Marco escaping. Maybe, if Yao had taken the Elder Master’s first skill, transformed into a fawn to refresh her shield, she might not have died at all.

But unfortunately, Yao was only a substitute player and didn’t have the mechanical awareness to pull off such a maneuver.

The tower’s attacks grew more painful. Marco Polo quickly canceled his ultimate and tried to sweep the Elder Master with his first skill.

If all those shots landed, maybe—just maybe—he could trade kills?

But against a master of positioning like Lin Hao, Marco Polo’s first skill barely hit two or three times. Lin Hao reacted instantly, dodging with a quick sidestep, then circled around to approach Marco Polo from the side.

With Marco’s area-of-effect ultimate canceled, Lin Hao had nothing to fear. Marco was stuck in the after-cast delay of his first skill, firing bullets into thin air. Lin Hao walked up and finished him off with a couple of auto-attacks.

With that kill, the momentum of the match shifted instantly! Because Marco was carrying the red buff!

Lin Hao’s gaze locked onto Yao, who hadn’t managed to escape. “You can go join Marco in the fountain.”

Lin Hao wasn’t sure if Yao’s passive was available, so he didn’t bother with his first skill—he simply chased her down with basic attacks. Yao was helpless; the enemy tower was still a long way off, and there were no allies nearby to save her.

In the end, the Elder Master took her down with auto-attacks alone.

“Double kill!”

Marco Polo’s rage meter: +500!

Yao’s rage meter: +300!

“Damn, the streamer’s all about the details!”

“Hao is even more meticulous than an embroiderer’s needle!”

“Good thing he didn’t try to fight Marco during his ultimate, or he really might have been killed in return.”

That recall taunt was the finishing touch!

Lin Hao glanced at the mid lane; the enemy team was all but invisible on the map, and it was clear Marco Polo and Yao were the only ones up top. Since his health was low, Lin Hao didn’t go to the mid lane for a team fight. The second wave of minions was almost at the tier-two tower, so Lin Hao headed straight to the enemy’s top outer tower, intercepted their minion wave, and started taking down the turret once his own minions arrived.

Meanwhile, Marco Polo’s teammates were starting to complain.

Li Zhien questioned Marco Polo over voice chat in disbelief, “Seriously, Marco? You had Yao with you and still got solo-killed by an Elder Master?”

“He pulled off a flash combo on me, what was I supposed to do?” Marco Polo snapped back, still fuming.

“Keep your distance! Marco Polo versus Elder Master is supposed to be easy! If you got chained and bound under tower, you’re just bad!” Li Zhien berated him angrily.

“The Elder Master’s positioning was flawless, and his flash was so confident. If I’d played Elder Master, I would’ve done worse,” Yi Fan, who was also highly skilled at positioning, had watched the top lane fight unfold in observer mode.

To be fair, this time Marco Polo couldn’t be blamed. He had been careful with his spacing, but the Elder Master’s positioning was simply superior.

Yi Fan, having faced Lin Hao twice and lost both times, knew this all too well.

In Yi Fan’s stream, viewers watched Lin Hao’s meticulous play from his perspective. Only one word could describe it: breathtaking.

As far as the hero Elder Master was concerned, many viewers believed only Yi Fan could pull off such display of skill. But now, Shark’s Haoran had joined those ranks! In this sequence, from positioning, micro-movement, spacing, mechanics, and confidence, he even surpassed Yi Fan!

Positioning is an elusive skill; it may not be as visually impactful as flashy combos, but when you actually face an opponent with superior movement, only then do you realize just how strong positioning can be.

Fortunately, Li Zhien and Yi Fan’s team won the mid lane team fight. Yi Fan rotated down from the red side, leading his teammates to victory under the mid lane tower. Had Marco and Yao not given up a double kill top, Yi Fan’s team could have secured a decisive advantage.