Rise (Web Novel CN)

“Awww, looks like they’re coming back to base already,” Lin Feng complained as the Thresh appeared on his screen. The other players from the Red team had disappeared from his minimap. They were probably all successfully recalling or already arriving back in the fountain. “Ah, too bad. And I almost had it too… Such a waste.” He then pressed on his Q key–Siphoning Strike. His Nasus whacked the tower into disrepair. The stone structure collapsed and the energy kept within dissipated in the air.

“Almost had what? Didn’t you destroy the tower anyway?” Su Xue blurted out, sitting next to Lin Feng, incredulous. What is wrong with him…

“Oh! I was referring to the Jarvan. The tower was already down anyway. But, oh well, looks like I can’t kill him now,” Lin Feng explained, complained.

Su Xue rolled her eyes. She was speechless. Two towers, an inhibitor tower included, wasn’t enough. Apparently. Not for Lin Feng, anyways. He wanted more. He wasn’t satisfied until he had everything. She shook her head and said, “Hey… Aren’t you being a little greedy here?”

Lin Feng wasn’t being greedy. Not even a little. Nasus was the raid boss. He had both health and damage. Taking on a tower and a Champion or two was fine, especially after getting fed. But even a fed Nasus had its limits. That limit was Vayne in combination with Jarvan IV and Thresh. The true damage from Vayne’s silver bolts could deal serious damage to him, while the crowd control from Jarvan IV and Thresh could make sure that he’d never get anywhere near the Vayne. If he ended up giving away a kill to the Vayne, his massive bounty would go to the Vayne too. That was unacceptable. But being mindful of the situation didn’t equate to panicking. Lin Feng played to the full potential of his Champion and not a step beyond that. So he backed away from the Red inhibitor and declared, “I’ll be back!”

✹

Cup Noodles and Old Huang were truly enjoying this game. After Nasus had destroyed the tower defending Red team’s top inhibitor, the Red team had to play a lot more defensively. They couldn’t let the Nasus just push into their base. That would be game. Even the Vayne, who’d welcomed everyone into the game with his big mouth, was forced into submission. He couldn’t make any more aggressive plays. All he could do was defend. He had to try and help his team get to a point where they could challenge the Nasus again. And then, hopefully, if everything worked out just right, they could fight for a win again.

Old Huang didn’t see this happen in a million years. He puffed out some smoke and laughed, “Haha! Raid boss Nasus! He’s my hero! Nobody can beat him! Haha!” He looked at the game and how multiple players from the Red team were forced to continue dealing with the Nasus. “There is no winning for them. They either stop the Nasus and let you guys take the rest of their towers, or they stop you guys and let the Nasus destroy their nexus. They basically have to give up everything to defend their base.”

Cup Noodles chuckled and said, “Yep! Let’s see that Vayne try to talk more smack. Haha! It doesn’t matter how much she scales, it’s hopeless. The Nasus is too strong already. She can’t stop him.”

This was something Zeal also knew. He sat behind his computer, in Hydralisk’s training room in Seoul, South Korea. He had to do something. He was a professional player. So too was Ron, his Support. There was no way the two of them could lose a simple game in Platinum. I refuse to believe… He wanted to think of something, a brilliant plan to turn this situation around. Something. Anything to deal with this Nasus. But he was coming up with a blank. He couldn’t think of anything that could help his team get back into the game. Maybe if we turtle… Can we get back enough? Maybe in the late, late game? Hope the Nasus—

《An ally has been slain!》

Zeal felt his heart drop. He’d been farming minions in mid lane, trying to come up with a plan. A brief moment where he’d forgotten to keep an eye on the rest of his team. On the Riven. The Riven who’d decided to split from the rest of the team and go top to stop the Nasus. This useless piece of. Please. Uninstall. You’d do all of us a favour. He panned his camera to the top lane. There, the Riven’s body lay on the ground, far away from any tower. She’d gotten it into her thick skull that that was a good idea. SOMEHOW! Wait… The Teleport animation lit up around the Nasus.

Zeal felt a shiver run up his body, and then back down. The Nasus could only be teleporting for a singular reason. Danger. Danger. His hands started shaking as he had his Vayne retreat. Then he started spamming the yellow retreat ping.

However, just like a few minutes earlier, the Blue team wasn’t going to let the Red team back. Even more, Nasus’ teleport was their cue to initiate a teamfight. The Nami did this with her ultimate skill. She summoned a Tidal Wave that crashed through mid lane, straight into the players from the Red team who were trying to retreat. The water slammed into them, knocking them up and leaving them powerless. Then, coming from the other side, came Nasus running. A Nasus sped up by Ghost and empowered by his own ultimatell–Fury of the Sands!

“W-what? He still has his ult?” Zeal blurted out. He stared at his screen for a moment, stunned. Then he erupted, again. “THIS F.U.C.K.I.N.G RIVEN! HOW F.U.C.K.I.N.G BAD IS SHE! HOLY SHIT!” He took a breath, just so he could continue his shouting contest. “MY F.U.C.K.I.N.G GOD! DID SHE BUY AN ELO BOOST? F.U.C.K!”

✹

Lin Feng could’ve taken the inhibitor after killing the Riven. That was the easy path to victory. But Lin Feng wasn’t playing this game to win it. He was playing it to get content for Su Xue’s videos. To that end, split-pushing alone wasn’t going to cut it. He needed to make the plays. He had to do something truly spectacular. An opportunity for that presented itself. Lin Feng grinned. He could already see it play out in his mind. He looked at Su Xue sitting next to him and said, “It’s time to… get a pentakill! Hahaha! Let’s go!”

Lin Feng had his Nasus barrel straight for the players from the Red team. They were running straight at him. And behind them, there was a massive tidal wave chasing them down, knocking them up. He pressed the F key, and then the R. Ghost activated, granting his Nasus increased movement speed. Then a sandstorm started raging around him as his Nasus doubled in size.

The Vayne ran straight into the Nasus. Lin Feng pressed on the Q key–Siphoning Strike! His Nasus’ staff lit up with purple fire. He raised it up above his head and then slammed down on the Vayne. One hit. More than half the Vayne’s health. That was the new power of his Siphoning Strike. It was absolutely terrifying. The damage was beyond ridiculous.

Zeal reacted in an instant. He was still a professional player at the end of the day. He pressed the R key, and then the Q. Darkness shrouded his Vayne as she Tumbled into stealth. Tumbled away from the Nasus. And then she was revealed. A pink ward was placed on the ground, revealing everything and everyone hidden away in stealth. A withering aura wrapped around her, pulling at her skin and her body, sapping out the life. She withered, aging half a century in a mere second. Her movement speed fell, as did her attack speed.

F.U.C.K! F.U.C.K! F.U.C.K! NO! Zeal refused to believe it. He tried to find an angle, for a wall to Condemn the Nasus into. Only a stun could save him now. But the Nasus never let his back face a wall. So Zeal pressed the E key anyway. His Vayne pulled the large crossbow from her back and squeezed the trigger. Condemn! A large, silver bolt flew out and pierced the Nasus, knocking him back. But not stunning him. And the Vayne was still slowed. He was back on her almost instantaneously.

Lin Feng ignored the Condemn. He ignored the other players from the Red team trying to stop him. His only target was the Vayne. The girl with the big mouth. Ghost was still giving him increased movement speed. He charged after her and exclaimed, “Haha! Keep talking smack! More smack please! I want to hear more smacktalk!” Then he pressed on the Q key again.

The Vayne had used Heal. It gave her just enough health to survive this second Siphoning Strike. Another few seconds to try and get away. She Tumbled again, its cooldown almost as short as Siphoning Strike. Two short cooldowns. One was barely able to open up a distance, while the other could whack the Vayne right back to the fountain. And whacking her it did. The Vayne ran for a few more seconds before the staff came down on her and knocked her out.

《Double kill!》

“Nice! Haha! It counts as a killstreak! That’s perfect!” Lin Feng exclaimed, smiling. The time between killing the Riven and the Vayne was short enough that the game considered it a spree! This meant that Lin Feng’s goal was still possible. “The pentakill is still on! Haha!”

Lin Feng turned to the Yasuo. He was Red team’s Midlaner. The Tristana had already done some work on him, making him use his skills and bringing him down to below half health. There really was no challenge to it. Nothing special. The Xerath, Blue team’s Midlaner, landed a stun on the Yasuo. It meant the Yasuo couldn’t jump between minions anymore. He couldn’t run away as the Nasus came at him. He could do nothing but watch as the Nasus raised his staff and then smashed it down, whacking him back to the fountain.

《Triple kill!》

Three down, two to go. Lin Feng looked at the last two standing members from the Red team. Thresh and Jarvan IV. Two defensive Champions. However, right now, even if they could combine their defensive stats, they still wouldn’t be as tanky as the Nasus. And they definitely lacked the damage of the Nasus. Lin Feng smiled, wickedly so, and clicked on the Thresh. His lips moved, as if on their own, and he spoke the same sentence Nasus did, “The cycle of life and death continues. We will live, they will die.”

Lin Feng pressed on the Q key–Siphoning Strike! His Nasus’ staff lit up with a purple light. Lin Feng clicked on the Thresh. Not with his right mouse button, but the left. His Nasus walked forward until he was standing right on top of the Thresh. He wasn’t going to let this pentakill slip from his fingers. He looked at the Thresh’s health, then at the precise damage his Siphoning Strike would deal. He waited as the Tristana and Xerath attacked the Thresh, draining his health bar. Now! He clicked his right mouse button. His Nasus’ staff came down on the Thresh and whacked him back to the fountain.

《Quadra kill!》

The announcer’s voice rang out, climbing in excitement with each successive kill. It was almost as if she could feel what was happening. Was anticipating what was to come. Only the Jarvan IV was still alive. He was running. Or trying to, anyways. The Nami had her Aqua Prison. Xerath had a slow and a stun. And Elise had a cocoon she could lock him up in. They used these skills and not their damage abilities. This was Nasus’ moment. This was all him! He came at the Jarvan IV, who was already at low health. His staff lit up with a purple fire. He raised it up high above his head and slammed it back down. Down on the Jarvan IV.

《Pentakill!》