Chapter Fifty-Seven: Beyond All Reason

Jing was momentarily stunned, but as soon as she realized what was happening, she hurriedly unleashed her first ability, unleashing a burst combo onto the Elder Master. There was no time to wait for Yuan Ge now—even Xi Shi had been caught—so he could only step forward and supplement the damage himself.

Lin Hao’s reactions were sharp as ever. While auto-attacking, he activated his second ability and Skyshatter! There’s a crucial detail with the Elder Master: the timing for his second ability and Skyshatter must be perfect. After all, the Elder Master is a hero who relies on relentless auto-attacks for his main output, never pausing for a moment. Yet, both the second ability and Skyshatter require a press, forcing the player to weave them seamlessly between attacks. It’s all about rhythm and flawless chaining.

Then there’s the matter of left-hand movement with the joystick. Given the Elder Master’s short attack range, poor positioning can easily lead to missed hits and lost damage. Thus, he’s a hero who appears straightforward but is, in fact, full of subtle intricacies.

This time, Lin Hao’s timing on Skyshatter and his second ability was impeccable, mitigating the core of Jing’s burst damage. Joy flickered in Lin Hao’s heart; at this point, he’d effectively achieved a two-versus-one victory.

He was well aware that Xi Shi’s first ability had just been nerfed by a two-second cooldown reduction. She’d never have time to use it again before dying. With Jing’s assault ongoing, Lin Hao began to show off—slipping in his signature auto-attack while channeling a recall.

Xi Shi’s HP dropped rapidly. Lin Hao had already noted Xin Ran’s item build—after all, she was his main target for farming. She’d started with magic damage emblems and was building for cooldown reduction and ability power, not the annoying, tanky build some Xi Shi players favored.

Timing it precisely, Lin Hao stopped his attacks in the final half-second of his ultimate, sent a “Sorry” emote, and began to recall. Xin Ran was momentarily dumbfounded by Lin Hao’s maneuvers. Still, she sensed that the Elder Master’s ultimate was about to expire and quickly tapped Flash.

But Lin Hao was already ready—he chained his first ability, pulled Xi Shi to him, and instantly followed up with the final auto-attack.

Eliminated!

“He’s taunting me!” Xin Ran failed to get her Flash off in time.

“Damn it!” she fumed, gnashing her teeth, while her livestream viewers burst out laughing. Whether it was for the show or at her expense, Xin Ran’s current expression was just too funny.

“This is blatant teasing!”
“Hahaha, I can’t take it anymore!”
“Who is this guy? He’s insane!”
“He must have map hacks, how did he Flash-Ult straight into the bush?”
“No way, that’s Lin Hao from Shark Live! Go check out his stream!”

Xin Ran knew her opponent was a streamer too—broadcasting live the entire time, so there was no way he was using map hacks. The streamed display was her actual game screen; unless he covered up the minimap, which would be a dead giveaway, there was no way to cheat without the audience noticing. The only alternative would be having a second device with a top-down view tracking the game in real time—a method unheard of in the world of Honor of Kings.

So, Lin Hao’s Flash-Ult could only be attributed to near-prescient game sense and unshakable confidence. Her initial annoyance at being hit by the Flash-Ult faded as she cooled down and thought it over. She couldn’t figure out why Lin Hao dared to make such a bold play into the bush. At first, she thought maybe she’d slipped out of vision, but after reconsidering, that couldn’t be it. In hundreds of games, her Xi Shi had circled and pulled from the edge without ever slipping vision. This time should have been no exception.

“????”
“What the hell was that Flash-Ult?”
“Damn, so confident?”
“And he actually landed it! Incredible!”
“I don’t even understand these plays anymore.”
“I’m going to Xin Ran’s stream to see Xi Shi’s reaction, haha!”

Meanwhile, Lin Hao continued his assault—catching Xi Shi was only the beginning; the real fight was just ahead. Because Jing’s burst had come so quickly, her mirror field was placed awkwardly—most of it embedded in the wall, extending outside the canyon. Since Jing couldn’t leave the battlefield, her “Flying Thunder God” maneuver was severely limited. She could only slug it out with the Elder Master.

But Yuan Ge was now closing in, so it wasn’t unwinnable. Xiao Nan, piloting Yuan Ge, saw the battle deteriorate rapidly and hurried over with his team by casting his fourth ability.

On the front lines, Lin Hao chased after Jing, pounding her while his second ability was active. Seeing Yuan Ge approach, Lin Hao retreated slightly. Yuan Ge had arrived a bit quicker than expected. His rage state was about to expire, which meant he couldn’t spam his second ability anymore—Elder Master’s durability would plummet.

But Yuan Ge’s puppet had already dashed in, slowing him with the third ability! Lin Hao flicked the joystick sharply, sidestepping, all while continuing to auto-attack Jing. The next moment, Yuan Ge swapped places, but the swap failed to knock up the Elder Master. Still, the slow effect landed.

Out of rage state, he might not survive the incoming damage. Lin Hao sighed—maybe he’d used Skyshatter a bit too early, but it was hard to say; without it, Jing’s burst would have been fatal.

Meanwhile, his teammates were gathering bottom to push, since Lin Hao had already drawn out three enemy heroes and was locked in a tough fight.

But as Yuan Ge swapped in, he hesitated for a moment before hurling four shurikens. Lin Hao was taken aback—he wasn’t swapping to melee, but instead trying to maximize his second ability’s damage from close range. Clearly, he had confidence in his upcoming Cross Slash.

Here was his chance!

Lin Hao kept trading blows with Jing, shifting slightly downward. Yuan Ge’s second ability landed in full, and the Elder Master’s health plummeted—a massive chunk vanishing, leaving him with barely a bar left, even lower than Jing!

In the next instant, Yuan Ge’s Cross Slash was about to strike! But Lin Hao spun the joystick again, dodging at just the right angle—then, with his first ability, King’s Pull, he yanked both Yuan Ge and Jing into melee range.

At that moment, two strings blossomed beside Lin Hao, but Yuan Ge’s Cross Slash missed completely—not a single thread of damage touched the Elder Master!