IRAJAS Chapter 138

DT’s lineup is very solid. But for some reason, fans have a feeling that something is not quite right.

Looking back at all the games DT has won, their lineups have always been very daring. They always manage to break through in desperate situations, and stable lineups seem to be a constraint for them.

A commentator once analyzed the reason, stating that DT players are too young and lack the seasoned experience, leading to various operational flaws, especially in the case of Xu Shengwei. However, DT’s advantages are also very obvious. These five players are all very young, with skill, speed, and courage. Once they get a breakthrough lineup, they will play exceptionally well.

So, deep down, fans aren’t very optimistic about this lineup. But since it’s been chosen, all they can do is wait nervously for the outcome.

Before the game started, there was a small incident. Jiang Jin accidentally knocked over his cup while getting water, which happened to wet the mascot on the table. Under the referee’s request, the mascot had to be removed.

Old fans familiar with Jiang Jin know that this mascot holds great significance for him. He almost always brings it with him during major competitions.

He once shyly mentioned in an interview, “It brings me some good luck. If allowed, I’d like to bring it with me for every game.”

Thinking about this, many fans couldn’t help but feel uneasy, believing it to be an ominous sign.

The game started off smoothly. All five players from DT were performing well, almost everything they needed to do was executed flawlessly. However, as the game progressed into the mid-game, things began to take a turn for the worse.

First, when Xiao Shengjing went to the top lane to gank, his mouse suddenly malfunctioned, causing the gank to fail.

Shortly after changing his mouse, he tried to take down the Rift Herald sneakily. The enemy top laner was about to recall, but a minion stubbornly interrupted his recall, forcing him to finish clearing the wave before leaving. Coincidentally, he spotted Xiao Shengjing stealing the Rift Herald in the dragon pit. Without hesitation, he jumped in, stunned Xiao Shengjing, and their jungler arrived just in time to secure the Rift Herald.

In the mid-game, Lin Lan managed to get a 1v2 kill, barely pulling back some advantage. However, he was low on health and had to recall. Unfortunately, the dragon had just respawned. After DT gave up the dragon, their advantage was once again diminished.

The most frustrating moment came later when Lin Lan, with a 35% critical chance, failed to land a critical hit despite attacking the enemy five times in a row during an attempted pickoff. This allowed the enemy to escape successfully.

Then, during a face-to-face fight initiated by the enemy AD carry, Jiang Jin was taken down in a single critical hit.

At this point, everyone sensed that something was wrong. Jiang Xu was the first to voice his concern: “Is our luck turning against us?”

There was silence in the voice chat as everyone struggled to understand where this sense of unease was coming from. Lin Lan hit the nail on the head: “When the lineup is too perfect, it loses its edge, so nothing feels right no matter how we play.”

Seemingly comprehensive, but actually lacking in all aspects. Just like when Qi Mo lost to DT in that game, losing inexplicably.

Of course, luck was indeed a bit lacking in this game.

Lin Lan understood very well that to break through the encirclement, there must be a sharp edge. So he made a bold decision: “Captain, let’s steal Baron.”

Stealing Baron at this point in time would be relatively quick. If luck was on their side, they could give it a try.

So he immediately organized his teammates to implement the plan. Some confused the opponents, some distracted them, and the remaining teammates followed him to attack Baron together. The speed seemed quite good.

This move made the audience exclaim in surprise. Was DT really that audacious? As they watched Baron about to be stolen, everyone was thinking that DT was indeed more suited to this kind of sharp playstyle.

But then, another unexpected event occurred.

Their support accidentally clicked on a control ward, coincidentally revealing their Baron steal. At this point, DT had no choice but to continue with the steal, as there was no turning back. They had to press on regardless of the risks.

Jiang Xu teleported over immediately.

A great battle was about to erupt. This Baron was the crucial resource they were fighting for!

Both inside and outside the arena, the audience focused intently on the Baron’s health bar, hardly daring to breathe. They watched as the Baron’s health plummeted rapidly: two thousand, one thousand five hundred, one thousand, eight hundred…

With a “boom,” Xiao Shengjing used Smite, and everyone thought the Baron was secure. But miraculously, the Baron was left with just fifty health points, and the opponent’s delayed Smite ended up securing the Baron!

What happened?

DT was shocked to the core.

Their captain had never made a mistake in securing the Baron, and just now, the Baron’s health had clearly dropped to a critical point!

Xiao Shengjing’s voice turned cold: “The Baron leveled up.”

The Baron levels up every minute, increasing its health by 125 points. There have been instances before where the Baron unexpectedly leveled up, leading to a turnaround without Smite. DT wasn’t the first to experience this. But when it happened to them, it was particularly hard to accept…

The frequency of the Baron’s refresh every minute made it impossible for everyone to focus on the timing, and the 125 health points regeneration had already surpassed the effective range of Smite.

It was frustrating, but there was nothing they could do.

Just like the critical hit mechanism in the game, this was also a part of the game mechanics.

Lin Lan didn’t have time to think and was forced into a team fight because taking the Baron reduced their entire team’s resistance, making them particularly vulnerable to the enemy’s damage.

Jiang Jin died. Xiao Shengjing didn’t escape either, and Jiang Xu was still struggling.

Lin Lan left with Xu Shengwei without looking back, sinking deeper and deeper in thought, thinking that this game was just too unlucky.

But there was even more bad luck to come. Right after DT’s deaths, the Dragon respawned. TO secured their third Dragon of the game, one more and they would gain the Dragon Soul buff.

And this Dragon Soul was the Earth Dragon Soul!

The domestic commentators were still doing their best to support DT: “There’s still a chance. DT’s lineup can play for the late game. I think DT has a better chance of winning if they can drag it out to the late game.”

Everyone knows that typically, domestic broadcast commentators tend to be biased towards local players. There have been instances where commentators praised a team from start to finish only to see them lose in the end. So, the more the commentators supported DT on stage, the more it gave people a sense that DT wouldn’t last long, and the fans’ anxiety grew stronger.

[I’ve noticed, whenever DT picks this kind of lineup, they hesitate to initiate team fights.]

[How should they initiate? Only the jungler and top laner can do it, and they have to wait for the right moment. The opponents aren’t fools either.]

[I’m really crying. Do we have to drag it into a life-and-death situation?]

[I thought DT was going to win.]

[Their luck is really bad…]

In the voice chat, Jiang Xu took the initiative to shoulder the responsibility: “It’s my fault, I came down a bit late.”

But everyone knew that Jiang Xu’s timing wasn’t slow, and he had accumulated his rage well. It was just that DT’s luck was too bad…

Lin Lan had never played such an unlucky game before; critical hits weren’t landing, they couldn’t secure objectives, they gave away all their advantages, and their defensive towers were almost all taken down.

DT had no ability to confront TO head-on; they could only defend constantly and wait for opportunities. However, TO’s players were all cunning and experienced, never giving DT a chance.

When they secured the fourth dragon, the Earth Dragon Soul, TO surged forward with the Dragon Soul, pushing down towers at an increasing speed, quickly breaking through DT’s two high-ground defenses.

Super minions flooded into the base from both lanes, impossible to clear completely. Meanwhile, the Baron was about to respawn.

No matter how biased the domestic commentators were towards DT, they couldn’t deny it: “Once TO secures this Baron, it should be a guaranteed win.”

With the Baron buff and the super minions from both lanes, DT’s lineup simply couldn’t clear them…

[I’m going to cry. We’ve held on for 35 minutes and still can’t hold out.]

[Are we really going to be pushed into a 2-3 situation?]

[This is so painful to watch.]

[If DT loses, I don’t even want to play this game anymore…]

[If DT loses, I’ll uninstall the game!]

[Is this really the strongest year for LPL? Can’t even make it to the finals…]

Amidst a chorus of criticism, not a single member of DT chose to give up. They put forth their utmost effort to defend their base, wait for the hero to respawn, and clear the minion waves.

TO couldn’t push further and had to resort to taking the Baron. They knew that securing this Baron would almost guarantee victory. Smiles of relief appeared on everyone’s faces.

Winning this game and evening the score, returning to the same starting point as DT, was incredibly uplifting!

But just as they were about to secure the Baron, suddenly a beam of light descended from the sky, freezing their jungler in place almost instantly.

Without hesitation, Xiao Shengjing kicked forward, then charged into the fray, heading straight for the low-health Baron.

DT was coming to contest the Baron!

The entire arena erupted into cheers. They couldn’t fathom where Xiao Shengjing found the courage to attempt this after making so many mistakes!

As two smites thundered down, the 1200 HP Baron was stolen by DT on the spot!

Two smites!

TO’s jungler is still controlled! Where did the two smites come from?

As a small figure leaped down, landing with precision like a dragonfly skimming the water’s surface, a thunderous barrage of strikes rained down from above, slamming TO onto the Dragon pit!

It’s the unsealed secret technique! It’s the talent brought by Jiang Xu! Once again, he stole the Dragon!

At that moment, Jiang Xu seemed like a god descending from heaven, fiercely defending his territory. As he landed, the only one from TO who escaped the punishment was the AD carry flashing away.

But don’t forget, Lin Lan has been coordinating from the sidelines.

He unleashed his ultimate, hitting all five enemies, and instantly stacking his passive. With a swift flurry of blows, he sliced through the crowd.

The enemy AD carry unleashed their ultimate, but Lin Lan dodged it effortlessly. Swinging his icy dagger, he decisively landed a fatal blow, cutting them down on the spot.

DT swiftly eliminated TO’s primary damage dealer. At this moment, Xu Shengwei finally arrived!

In the process of defending the Nexus, there were countless moments when Xu Shengwei felt like DT was going to lose, but Lin Lan kept reassuring him, “We haven’t lost yet, and we won’t. Make every last hit count.”

So Xu Shengwei gritted his teeth and persisted, turning each last hit into his obsessive persistence, forcibly ramping up his own development.

When Xu Shengwei entered the fray, he leaped directly into the Dragon pit, unleashing the ultimate given by Jiang Xule, bombarding wildly. Every last hit he’d secured earlier turned into explosive output, bombarding the enemy recklessly.

The Dragon would reduce TO’s resistances, stacking up to 50 layers at most, essentially carrying a 50-layer armor reduction buff, making them unable to withstand the damage!

TO’s entire team was as fragile as paper, collapsing one after another with hardly any resistance. Xu Shengwei kept refreshing his W skill, continuously leaping into the fray, continuously outputting damage, and continuously slaying enemies. In the moment of his final descent, accompanied by the stirring voice of the system: Quadra Kill!

A Quadra Kill! Xu Shengwei secured a Quadra Kill!

Indeed, every last hit he secured had its purpose!

At this point, the game had reached the 40-minute mark, with respawn times lasting up to 60 seconds!

DT, with the Baron buff, aggressively pushed onto the enemy high ground. In the final countdown, they all buried their heads and focused on taking down the towers, finally destroying the enemy’s Nexus in the last second!

The domestic commentators went wild: “Let’s congratulate DT on this incredible comeback! They’ve secured the victory and advanced to the final finals!!!”

Countless cheers erupted instantly. This heartening comeback moved fans to tears, with many expressing how deeply touched they were.

In a situation where everyone else had given up, only they hadn’t. Only the five of them persevered on stage, ultimately achieving this miraculous turnaround!

Truly, believing in DT is always the right choice!

Lin Lan released the mouse and smiled sincerely at the camera.

The perfect lineup may lack sharp edges.

But it also has an advantage—extremely high fault tolerance.

As long as they can drag the game into the late game, this lineup has almost no weaknesses, which is why Lin Lan was determined to carry them through to the end.

“As long as we hold on, we’ll win.”

Moreover, it’s not just his perseverance.

It’s the perseverance of a group of people.

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Translator’s notes:

We’re almost there everyone!~

11 more chapters to go~