"Xi ba…" Rich stared at his gray screen, the corner of his mouth twitching.
This had been the perfect opportunity. With Ghost activated and sticking to the fight, he could've chased and definitely solo killed the opponent. Especially since his teammates had confirmed TES's jungler was mid.
With the window opening up, killing intent rose.
But the moment he went in, Lee Sin appeared from behind and completely cut off his retreat.
Painful. Extremely painful.
"Holy shit, is this guy really that cocky? The jungler's top, and mid is playing this aggressively?" Karsa was stunned.
He'd been on many teams. Most mid laners he worked with played cautiously—if the jungler wasn't nearby, they'd never dare play that aggressively.
That was how mid laners were supposed to think.
But this guy didn't follow the script at all.
The jungler was all the way top, yet mid lane was shoved to tower, even hitting the turret—without placing any vision.
How confident did you have to be?
"We underestimated Infinite Borders Bro. He's probably got our psychology completely figured out." Rookie shook his head.
Their earlier evaluation was already high—yet the opponent turned out even more terrifying.
Today's match was clearly going to be a hard one. To win, they'd have to stay fully focused.
No more mistakes.
"Rich, your lane deficit isn't that big. You can still play it out. Just stabilize."
"…Yeah."
He answered, but Rich couldn't calm down.
After playing so many games in the LPL, things had always gone smoothly. Even if he didn't hard win lane, he'd never given up first blood like this.
These guys were dirty—intentionally showing openings to bait him in.
Black-hearted tactics.
…
"Nice, great gank." Zoom shouted.
Gwen had been killed once top. Without Ghost, she definitely couldn't play aggressively anymore. As levels went up and Gnar's range increased, things became much safer.
He could farm calmly for a while and later look for opportunities with the jungler.
"Hahaha, Brother Fan called it perfectly. I was planning to counter-gank mid at first."
"No joke—when has Brother Fan's calls ever gone wrong? Tian just follows orders now. Wherever Brother Fan says to gank, it's guaranteed slaughter."
Bot lane wasn't under much pressure. They shoved Lucian–Nami under tower, and JackeyLove joined in the banter.
Mark chimed in with the rhythm.
"Don't mess around. Tian should come counter-gank mid. V5's mid-jungle might try something."
After the top lane play and how aggressively mid was playing, the opponents definitely wouldn't sit still. If Karsa turned back, it'd be dangerous.
"Coming, coming."
Even though Tian was the S9 MVP, his form had dropped badly in later years. Once something went wrong, his confidence shattered easily.
…
Things only got worse later. Lin Fan understood this clearly.
As long as Tian knew what to do next and had a clear direction, he wouldn't wander around like a headless chicken.
"That guy is still so arrogant—he's even taking turret plates. Should we do something?" Karsa grew angrier the more he looked at mid lane Syndra.
Wave after wave like this—it was obvious he wasn't taking them seriously.
Karsa rolled up his sleeves, ready to make a move.
"Could Lee Sin be waiting behind?" Rookie asked.
"He wasn't before, so he shouldn't be now. He's just bluffing."
"Hard to say…" Rookie hesitated.
"It's fine. Let's try. If Lee Sin shows, we immediately back. I have Flash. I'll go in first—you follow."
"Alright, let's try."
Letting Syndra keep pushing like this wasn't an option.
Even forcing a Flash would help. Syndra wouldn't dare play so recklessly afterward.
If they didn't try, they'd just be led by the nose.
Once Rookie agreed, Karsa moved Jarvan in.
Syndra took the first turret plate.
"Go, go!"
Karsa flanked from the side. Rookie walked LeBlanc forward, not rushing to use W—using it here could easily get interrupted.
They'd already pincered him.
"Brother Fan, they're really coming!"
"Don't rush. Wait for Jarvan to use skills. If he doesn't, it's hard to engage."
"Got it."
Lin Fan and Tian communicated rapidly.
"Lee Sin isn't mid!" Karsa grew excited as Syndra kept retreating. Playing this cocky on stage had consequences.
But from the god's-eye view, Lee Sin was clearly waiting in the mid brush.
V5 fans clenched their fists.
"What are you doing? First time Lee Sin isn't mid, you don't go. Second time he's counter-ganking, you go?"
"This decision-making is terrible."
"Feels like V5's mid-jungle is completely read."
"Why keep going now?"
But the soundproof booths blocked everything.
Karsa EQ'd in.
Jarvan charged straight at Syndra.
Lin Fan sidestepped, dodging Dragon Strike.
Rookie seized the moment—W forward, E fired, landing cleanly.
There was no way to dodge both sides. Eating LeBlanc's chain was the lesser evil.
"Chain hit!" Rookie shouted.
Karsa rushed forward.
Then a figure emerged from the brush—right next to Syndra.
"InSec!"
Sonic Wave flew straight toward Jarvan.
Karsa's smile froze.
Lee Sin was here.
Syndra instantly shoved Jarvan away, stunning him, then picked up a sphere and smashed it down.
Electrocute procced. His HP plummeted.
Lee Sin followed up with relentless damage.
Rookie didn't hesitate—Syndra's HP was still healthy. Even dumping all skills wouldn't trade.
And without activating W2 now, he wouldn't get back.
No Flash meant giving up a second kill.
Karsa was left alone, beaten down by Syndra and Lee Sin.
"Lee Sin was really there…" Karsa tugged at his hair.
"Momentum's on TES's side. Let's focus on farming and avoid fights. Their mid-jungle is too strong right now." Rookie said.
"…Then we wait for level six."
"Yeah."
Backstage, Nofe frowned as he watched.
This wasn't how he imagined the game going.
Mid was supposed to be Rookie suppressing Dine.
Instead, it was the opposite—and with heavy jungle involvement.
Syndra now led the game in CS with 43, had a kill and a turret plate—2.2k gold total.
That meant a 1.6k recall.
LeBlanc only had 900.
The damage gap was obvious.
LeBlanc wouldn't dare step forward anymore—getting CC'd meant instant death.
Lin Fan looked at his gold and thought.
Safe build… or ultimate burst build?
Against LeBlanc, not going full damage felt cowardly.
…
He quickly bought Crown of the Shattered Queen.
Stable play. No risks.
If Rookie dared buy Mercury's Treads, even better.
With MR boots, LeBlanc's burst would drop even more.
Under double debuffs, LeBlanc would have no presence this game.
Syndra, on the other hand, only got stronger—six or seven spheres meant instant deletion.
In teamfights, Syndra naturally countered LeBlanc.
With spheres everywhere, LeBlanc wouldn't dare step up.
After buying items, Lin Fan immediately teleported back to lane.
Since the Teleport rework, the first 14 minutes were strictly for returning to lane.
Bot lane pressure eased significantly.
Mid lane, however, fit perfectly.
Syndra had absolute lane control.
After pushing the wave under tower, it bounced back.
LeBlanc's wave clear was weak—W cooldown was long.
Lin Fan landed and froze the wave.
Rookie felt miserable.
Afraid of ganks, afraid of being stunned.
At level six, Electrocute Syndra could one-shot him.
He didn't dare move.
Then Lee Sin appeared from the side, forcing out W.
No mobility left—standing there was disrespectful to Syndra.
He retreated another 500 units.
Now he couldn't even soak experience.
Rookie was disgusted.
What was Lee Sin this game? Security guard? Two mid visits in six minutes?
Karsa cleared camps and went bot, still looking for chances.
Thankfully, JackeyLove reacted decisively—counterattacking instead of running.
With feathers everywhere, they killed Jarvan.
JackeyLove burned both summoners to escape. Mark stayed behind.
One-for-one.
Support for jungler.
With Jarvan dying mid earlier, Karsa's jungle completely collapsed.
Tian showed no mercy, invading top side—blue buff and Gromp gone.
V5 paid a heavy price.
At 8:30, Lin Fan caught LeBlanc stepping up to CS—QE stun, auto, Electrocute.
Rookie saw only one sphere—wasn't too nervous.
If Syndra ulted and didn't kill, pressure would drop.
He could even look for a counter-kill.
Syndra was still a squishy mage.
He drank a potion and fired back a full combo, disengaging before the second Q.
Electrocute procced—damage was solid.
Rookie felt satisfied.
But Syndra showed no mercy—Unleashed Power instantly cast.
Four spheres slammed into LeBlanc.
HP plummeted. Passive triggered.
Then he realized why Syndra ulted.
As W returned him, Lee Sin appeared.
Caught red-handed.
Rookie almost cursed.
Lee Sin just lived mid lane.
He flashed instantly—his only hope.
But Tian was faster.
Ward hop Flash—kick.
LeBlanc was sent flying back.
Sonic Wave, Resonating Strike.
With only 350 HP left, LeBlanc was instantly deleted.
You have been slain.
Unplayable.
Facing the Dark Monk in mid—just hearing the name told you everything.
Which mid laner could handle this?
Mid lane was doomed.
He saw no comeback angle.
His economy was terrible.
In mid-game fights, LeBlanc likely wouldn't even be able to assassinate.
He only had 44 CS.
He had just finished Lost Chapter.
He was a full two and a half minutes slower than Syndra.
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup