Starting with Zaozi Ge, a dream lineup

Chapter 247 I'm not afraid of you being bad, I'm afraid of you being a coward!
From a god's-eye view, Graves' jungle clearing route was a very ordinary and standard start.

Moreover, as a Graves player, Ning's jungle clearing speed is only considered below average among professional players.

Because of the scattered bullets, taking down the crab resulted in two extra basic attacks, extending the time to 3 minutes and 15 seconds.

At 3 minutes and 15 seconds, the solo laner is level 3, the duo laner is level 2, and the jungler is level 3.

It seems like a situation where there's nothing to do, nothing to gain, and nothing to gain, but compared to Xiangguo now, Ning seems far too useless.

After clearing the four jungle camps—red buff, blue buff, wolves, and river crab—from 1 minute and 38 seconds onwards, Ning has cleared all four camps in a full 97 seconds.

However, compared to that, Xiangguo on the other side had already cleared all his jungle monsters by 3 minutes and 03 seconds.

Yes, you heard right. While the bot lane was still at level 2, the jungler had already cleared his own jungle.

This speed is nothing short of terrifying.

If RNG, playing on the blue side, chooses to start with blue buff, their Karthus will actually be slower than if they start with red buff.

Moreover, the top lane champion is Pyke, who can't help Karthus quickly clear the blue buff.

Despite these demanding conditions, Xiangguo still managed to become the first player in the competition to clear the jungle in under three minutes.

The three commentators were dumbfounded when they saw that Karthus, at level four, was already lying in ambush in the bottom lane bush, waiting for Graves, at level three, to finish off the river crab.

For a moment, everyone's question about why Karthus cleared the jungle so quickly even surpassed their question about Xiangguo's perfect ambush.

The seasoned player, Xiangguo, didn't head directly into the bushes ahead. Instead, he positioned himself in the bushes near the blue team's first tower in the bottom lane, waiting for Graves, who was likely to come and gank, to make the first move.

Based on his experience as a professional jungler, he would most likely place wards in the bushes ahead. Although the chances of this are slim, Xiangguo still didn't want to gamble on it.

In fact, that's exactly what happened.

To prevent RNG from counter-ganking this wave, Baolan placed a ward near the red side's bush, which will remain on cooldown for another 20 seconds.

Soon, when the minion wave pushed into the tower again, Sivir looked for an opportunity to trade blows.

Shen Chao, who was staring intently at the screen, suddenly said:
"The minion wave has pushed in! Graves is about to engage!"

The damage of the turrets in Season 8 was not as exaggerated as in Season 9. Although a turret skin version was introduced, they were still not to be underestimated in the early stages of the game.

Sivir and Galio both have excellent counter-attack and survivability abilities. To catch these two heroes in the early game, it requires a high level of skill and coordination from the three members of IG.

"I'll trick them into using their skills first."

As the minion wave pushed into the tower, Xiaoming acted very well, not giving the impression that he had someone behind him and could do whatever he wanted under the tower.

Sway left and right in front of the enemy tower, and catch Ezreal in a moment of weakness while he's last-hitting a minion, use your Q skill to poke him.

Two hurricanes shot out from Galio's palms.

Compared to Galio's damage in the mid lane, Galio as a support is equally annoying in the early game, taking away more than 100 health from Ezreal with a single Q skill.

bite---
The turret's warning light went off, indicating it was targeting Galio.

At the same time, the seemingly harmless Alistar, standing behind, suddenly attacked the moment the turret aimed at the target, flashing and using WQ to pin Galio under the turret.

Galio, who had attracted the turret's aggro, was knocked up by the Minotaur, and the first turret basic attack also landed quickly after being knocked up.

Killing intent!
My second thought was that someone was there!
At the same time, the male gunman in the river finally came up with his shotgun.

A well-placed smoke grenade was thrown in the retreat route of Sivir and Galio. In IG's vision, the kill in the bottom lane was clearly a sure thing.

Sure enough, Galio, who was reduced to half health by the turret, started charging up his W skill the moment he left the turret, seemingly intending to sacrifice himself to allow Sivir to escape.

"Go! Do you think you can get away?!"

Ning, after mentally assessing the situation, decided to use his basic attack, which was originally intended for Galio, instead on Sivir.

But the next moment, Ning's smile froze. Galio, who was supposed to retreat, actually charged up his W and flashed in, taunting Ning.

At the same time, a bluish-gray wall rose up on the male gunner's body.

The Wall of Pain (W)
Creates a wall that lasts for 5 seconds. Enemies who pass through the wall will have their magic resistance reduced by 15%.

A 15% reduction in magic resistance might seem insignificant in the mid-to-late game, but in the early game, this reduction, combined with Graves' already low health (only a few hundred points), can cause him to lose a significant amount of health after taking a hit from a Q skill.

Before Ning could make any further moves, Galio unleashed another E skill, and with bombs raining down at his feet, Graves didn't even have time to use Flash before gloriously falling to the ground.

Barrage--
"???"

"Damn, this Karthus is really like a ghost!"

"What's going on? Karthus's damage is outrageous! That Q skill did 150 damage? That's ridiculous!"

Ah Shui, who was still behind, didn't even have time to catch up before he saw his jungler suddenly die in front of him.

Karthus has been absent from everyone's sight for a long time, causing many newcomers to forget the dominance this hero once had in ancient versions.

Barren (Q)
Cast a delayed explosion spell at the pointer's location, dealing magic damage to every enemy within the area.

If there is only one enemy within range, this skill will deal double damage.

With a base damage of 90 points, plus the spell power bonus from talents, it doubles to nearly 200 points. Even after deducting the magic resistance reduction, it still delivers a whopping 150 points of brutal damage.

During the control period, Karthus didn't make many moves, but he still managed to throw out three Qs thanks to the 1-second cooldown.

It was precisely that 450 points of damage, combined with Sivir and Galio, that resulted in a stunning one-shot kill in the early game.

With Graves dead, the two under the tower were also in bad shape, so Karthus simply stayed in lane with Sivir, waiting for the next wave of minions to push into the tower.

When Galio taunted Ezreal with his second W skill, the stubborn JackeyLove also fell to Karthus's cannon.

The timing of his death was extremely bad; a large wave of minions pushed into the tower, and he died before he could even farm a few minions.

Blood explosion.

Ezreal is undoubtedly the core damage dealer in IG's lineup. In a physical damage-heavy team composition, they rely heavily on dual-spec Ezreal to supplement the team's roster depth.

But the deaths of the ADC and jungler were a huge disruption to the game's rhythm. It's no exaggeration to say that it delayed Ezreal's power spike by at least five minutes.

Why does dying once cause such pain?

Because Ezreal and Graves died and had to recall, Graves only had a little over 400 gold, which wasn't enough to buy a complete jungle item, making it impossible for him to invade Karthus' jungle.

As for Ezreal, he's in an even worse situation. With only 500 gold, and starting with a Doran's Blade, he can only afford a Cull to catch up on his farm. In the game, if Ezreal can't buy a Tear of the Goddess on his first back in the early game, you know how devastating that is.

Conversely, Sivir only needs to push a wave of creeps and go back to base, where she will have an 875 gold pickaxe and be one level ahead in level.

With this shift in momentum, the bot lane matchup, which was originally a 50/50 chance, instantly became a 30/70 chance.

At that time, Ezreal will face the pressure of Sivir's wave clear and Galio's chain control.

Is the male gun coming to arrest him?
Although Graves still has his Flash from the previous wave, if he continues to focus on the bottom lane, it's like sticking his neck out to RNG to chop him up.

In addition, Graves' ganking ability is also worrying. Graves should be able to anticipate danger and arrive at the lane first to counter-gank, thanks to his super strong jungle clearing ability. However, because his jungle clearing speed is too slow, he cleared two fewer jungle camps than Karthus and arrived later than Karthus, causing IG's rhythm to collapse.

"Stay calm, let Gnar gain an advantage in the top lane."

The Prince of Ning in the present day has neither received any honors nor possessed the arrogance of later generations. Subconsciously, he has taken the blame for this.

Their lineup was designed to have the bottom lane stabilize and develop, while the mid and jungle would act as the tempo points in the early and mid-game, constantly feeding the top lane and aiming for a mid-game team fight around 20 minutes in.
-
The standard IG lineup, in order to stabilize this system, even had TheShy play a long-range vs. short-range strategy in the top lane.

"Fuck!"

Just then, Ah Shui suddenly exclaimed into the microphone.

After Sivir returned to base to replenish her equipment and leveled up to level four, she caught Ezreal once again and landed a precise Q skill boomerang that hit him.

If you use your E skill and then auto-attack Ezreal, Ezreal will be in an awkward position, unable to use his skills or out-auto-attack.

In an instant, Ezreal's health dropped by two-thirds. If Ezreal hadn't been positioned relatively close to the tower and Alistar hadn't pushed Sivir away in time, he had no doubt that Sivir would have flashed in and continued to attack.

"This hero deals so much damage?"

Sivir, like Karthus, is a champion who has been absent from the bottom lane for a long time.

As an ADC player who only came to the LPL in S8, Ah Shui had almost no experience laning against Sivir in matches, and he suffered a huge loss in this situation.

With his health at this level, even after using a potion, Ah Shui still wanted to stay in lane a bit longer.

But when a green light appeared above their heads, it sent chills down the spines of all five members of IG, including Ah Shui.

"Wow, what is this? This ADC is only level three, while Xiangguo's Karthus is already level six! This is terrifying!"

"How can this person be so terrifying, my God!"

PDD let out a squeal, his expression a mix of discomfort and shock.

As the ultimate ability landed, Ezreal instantly died under the tower, creating a terrifying visual effect that was even more shocking.

If it were any other ADC, they would most likely be forced to recall in this situation.

Knowing full well that no one was providing support in the bottom lane, he had room to make a flashy play under the tower. If he succeeded, he would become an overnight sensation.

In this game, the carry role sometimes has to be greedy and show off.

If you're not greedy or pretentious, where will your resources and advantages come from to carry the game?

An ADC who believes "not carrying is equivalent to losing" will always have a more genuine reputation than an ADC who relies on others to win.

If you succeed in your greed, you'll be a hero, the whole audience will cheer for you, and you'll be remembered by everyone.

The most famous saying in the professional circle is—
I'm not afraid of you being incompetent and pretentious, I'm just afraid of you being incompetent and timid.

People who lack a competitive mindset will be disliked slackers wherever they go.

Being pretentious may sometimes lead to your downfall, but it can also sometimes create an opening. The more you pretend, the more even your enemies will be intimidated and unable to figure out your tactics.

If you can't even pretend to be something you're not, and you're just trying to get by in the game and not drag your teammates down, then you're just passively taking hits and will never have a chance to let the enemy's momentum get even more rampant.

Unfortunately, Ah Shui's attempt to show off backfired.

A complete defeat.

When Karthus' ultimate ability landed, Jayce, who was incredibly aggressive in the mid lane, was also struck dumb and almost died on the spot.

In League of Legends, Karthus's ultimate ability is arguably the most overpowered area-of-effect (AOE) skill.

A requiem, heartbreaking.

Karthus's rapid jungle clearing, and his sudden use of his ultimate while still at level three in the bot lane, sparked heated discussions among everyone.

Now, the director couldn't pretend he didn't know anymore, so he started opening a small window in the lower left corner to replay Karthus's jungle clearing at double speed.

Karthus started with the blue buff, and Pyke helped him clear it. To speed up the jungle clear, Pyke tanked the damage from the blue buff and cleared it. After that, Karthus started farming the gromp.

At this point, it was just past 1:50.

After skillfully landing three Qs, Karthus began to tank the Tahm Kench's damage with his own body. Each hit dealt 106 damage to the Tahm Kench, followed by a yellow flash.

Using Smite to kill the Gromp is the fastest way to clear jungle camps. In version 1.58, Karthus finished killing the Gromp and started heading towards the Wolves.

"This Karthus' jungle clearing is so smooth! That perfect E-activation is just amazing!"

"It feels like Xiangguo's Karthus is completely immune to damage while farming jungle camps? When I farm alone, the jungle monsters are practically slamming into my arteries, damn it!"

As the replay unfolded, the comments section erupted with discussion.

Aside from regular players, few people know that Karthus's E skill can be instantly activated and deactivated, dealing damage without consuming mana.

Similarly, Karthus's E skill mana regeneration can only be triggered when the E skill is turned off.

One of the two indicators that distinguishes whether a Karthus jungler is good or not is the details of jungle clearing, which Xiangguo does perfectly.

While walking, he pulled, 2.14, Karthus finished the three wolves and started walking towards the F6 area.

Activating the E skill eliminates the need to kill the birds. By the time the F6 was cleared, the time had just reached 2:28.

The director, with a sharp eye, perfectly timed the simultaneous release of Ning's jungle farming location. At this moment, Ning had just finished killing two small wolves, and the big wolf still had half its health remaining.

At 2:46, Karthus finished off the red buff.

When fighting the Krugs, Karthus, in pursuit of maximum speed, first attacks the smaller Krugs, then uses his E to burn the smaller Krugs that split into smaller ones. At this point, only the large Krug remains, and it takes double damage from the Q skill due to its isolation passive.

At 3 minutes and 03 seconds, the Stone Golem was declared dead, and Karthus began his descent into the bottom lane, hiding in the first bush.

There wasn't a single bug used throughout the entire process; it was this simple and straightforward jungle clearing method that completely outclassed Ning.

The rest of the story is even simpler.

Karthus secured two kills in the bottom lane, also gaining experience from two waves of minions. He then returned to base and headed to the top side of the map to take the upper river crab.

Just like when Clearlove's Lee Sin leeched experience in the mid lane during the Asian Games, Xiangguo used the same trick again, getting free experience from Xiaohu to reach level six.

Coincidentally, Ah Shui's health was reduced to the kill threshold, which led to the scene that followed.

My hair stands on end in anger, as I lean against the railing, the rain has just stopped.

I raise my eyes, look up at the sky and let out a long roar, my heart filled with intense emotions.

Thirty years of fame and glory are but dust and dirt; eight thousand miles of road are but clouds and moon. Do not idly let your youthful head turn white, only to be filled with empty sorrow!

Suning lost, but Abin didn't lose. As long as there is hope for top domestic players, one day, an all-Chinese team will win the championship!

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(End of this chapter)