NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 437
Viego’s level 2 gank is a tactic so extreme that it rarely sees the light of day.
Champions like Jarvan III, who embody the essence of a level 2 gank, are typically seen sweating bullets in the current meta, but if you can smell their intentions from a mile away, then things change.
Under normal circumstances, just taking down a spell or even one opponent would be enough to reap benefits in such situations.
However, seeing the bottom lane’s response, the opponent must have been convinced there was no gank coming, as they pushed in way deeper than they should have.
They truly fell for the bait.
And it’s highly likely that Kim Jae-min’s lack of smart movements contributed significantly to this blunder.
“Utilize the blunders of our allies as well.”
That’s how OLZ has been toying with their opponents up until now.
[⨷]
[OLZ Protein (Ruler) has targeted MAX Lineover (Rakan)]
Kim Jae-min’s voice was bursting with excitement.
[“Rakan Rakan Rakan Rakan!”]
[“Slowly now, calmly. We can catch them all.”]
Kim Ji-hoon controlled Kim Jae-min while striking the calmly awaiting Rakan.
Rakan scrambled back with a hasty flash, but with Zeri and Ruler both having their flashes ready, it was more or less a meaningless spell trade.
Zeri and Ruler jumped in to deliver damage, while Viego was on the prowl for Kai’Sa.
Although Kai’Sa still had about 50% health left, the pivotal moment arrived when Rakan was taken down.
-First blood!
-Enemy has been slain!
I quickly snatched Rakan’s corpse and landed my W on the now flash-less Kai’Sa.
And that was the predetermined conclusion.
Zeri and Ruler unleashed relentless damage onto Kai’Sa, who was helplessly suspended in the air.
-Enemy has been slain!
[“Nice!”]
[“Oh, nice bottom!”]
[“That was good.”]
[“Bottom good.”]
“Well done, everyone.”
Zeri and Viego happily split the kill.
In essence, the two most critical champions in this game received the kills.
‘Alright.’
The first button for victory has been fastened.
‘Then…’
Instead of heading home, I opted to circle my jungle towards the golems.
Under normal conditions, the typical move after a successful level 2 gank would be to return home to regroup, but I chose not to.
The reason was simple.
Even if I went straight home and into the upper jungle, given the current top lane control situation, the upper jungle was practically the enemy’s territory.
Thus, even if it meant delaying my home timing, I wanted to take one more gamble.
“Don’t go home, bottom lane.”
[“Huh?”]
Even Kim Ji-hoon seemed a bit surprised by that remark, but he didn’t raise any objections.
[“Understood.”]
What mattered was to provoke the opponent.
As soon as I finished the golems, the enemy bottom lane reappeared on the line.
The enemy bottom lane hesitated.
Perhaps because our bottom lane was in poor health and continued trading without reprieve, they sensed something was off.
But that was only for a moment.
When our bottom lane looked to retreat, the enemy bottom shifted to a position that applied pressure naturally.
And the first action for a pressuring laner is to secure vision.
Just like right now.
[⨷]
[OLZ Outlaw (Viego) has targeted MAX Lineover (Rakan)]
The enemy Rakan emerges to secure vision.
A completely natural and rational play to prepare against a potential gank.
Which also made that very moment a weakness.
“Rakan.”
With barely a word, Zeri swiftly jumped over the wall to catch Rakan from behind.
Kai’Sa and Ruler hurriedly joined, while I emerged right in front of Rakan.
Instantly focusing Rakan.
[Rakan – Level 2]
If Rakan had leveled his E skill at level 2, the circumstances might have shifted a bit, but regrettably, he had chosen his Q skill instead.
Thus, the gank opportunity presented itself, and although Rakan desperately used his W to escape, he had already sunk in way too deep.
Here, Kai’Sa had two choices.
Should she stick with Rakan and fight to the end, or bail on Rakan and flee solo?
To be honest, the decision Kai’Sa would make was nearly predetermined.
Abandoning Rakan at this point would likely lead to a dive or the complete loss of the wave.
On top of that, the present condition of OLZ’s champions wasn’t exactly favorable, adding to the rationale behind her choice.
‘Come on, come at me.’
From now on, we were fully in the tactical phase of the battle.
How to utilize skill shots.
And how to land them.
How to dodge the enemy’s skills.
MAX’s bottom lane wasn’t about to shy away from confrontation either.
The current state of their bottom lane and Viego was far from ideal, and they hadn’t bought any items due to not resetting.
Thus, MAX would certainly view this as a massive opportunity.
A chance to stabilize a game that had already gone south.
-Enemy has been slain!
Rakan could not withstand the sustained damage and ultimately fell.
[“Nice.”]
[“Kai’Sa, Kai’Sa!”]
However, Ruler also found herself substantially weakened from the continued assault by Kai’Sa and Rakan, and now Kai’Sa had to make a decision.
Should she risk it all and dive in to finish Ruler, or forgo the kill and hold onto the hope of survival?
Kai’Sa’s decision was naturally the kill, a conclusion most AD carries would arrive at.
-Our ally has been slain!
[“Oh no.”]
Our ally Ruler has been taken down.
But in turn, that shifted Kai’Sa from a relatively safe position into the middle of our formation, and of course, she found herself at the mercy of Viego and Zeri, now eager to claim Rakan’s corpse.
[“Kai’Sa Kai’Sa Kai’Sa Kai’Sa!”]
“Stay calm. We’ve got this already.”
Kai’Sa desperately tried to move and keep alive, but ultimately, Rakan’s ultimate followed up with Viego’s combo, proving too much for her.
-Enemy has been slain!
-Double kill!
-Massacre in progress!
It was the start of a massacre declaration ringing out from the get-go.
Viego had bagged 2 kills.
If you counted the kills from the previous skirmish, that totaled 3 kills acquired in the blink of an eye.
Some casualties were suffered on our side due to pushiness, but that fact didn’t change the reality that the enemy bottom lane was utterly wrecked.
The game had completely erupted.
[“The enemy jungle is our jungle now.”]
“Roger that.”
While the enemy jungle attempted to invade our upper jungle and pressure the top lane, going against Malphite was no easy task.
In the expected turnover fight, the enemy jungle was obliterated.
From this point on, what we needed to do was simple.
“We won. Let’s keep doing what we do.”
*
Ryu Jin-hyuk, watching the match, softly murmured.
“This is it, OLZ has won.”
In truth, anyone watching the game from the waiting room, not just Ryu Jin-hyuk, couldn’t help but think the same.
“Viego with 3 kills. How do you stop that?”
“If it’s Outlaw Viego… that’s just terrifying. And 3 kills? Oh damn.”
SY was one of the teams that understood better than anyone the destructive power of OLZ’s jungle carry.
But to give Viego to OLZ, and for Viego to scoop up 3 kills early?
And not just any kills, but kills picked up after blowing apart the bottom lane?
It would be an exaggeration to say the game was already over.
Indeed, the following match content became nothing short of a massacre by OLZ.
No matter how highly rated the bottom lanes of OLZ and MAX might be, the twisted growth balance meant that logic no longer applies.
As OLZ’s bottom lane applied pressure on MAX, Viego went on a rampage across the lanes and enemy jungle, exploding everything in his path.
-Going wild!
-Absolutely unstoppable!
-Sovereign of the battlefield!
-Manifestation of warfare!
[“Outlaw! Truly the manifestation of warfare! How can such a rookie exist?”]
[“Many insiders said it. This time it’s different. This time he’s really good. But many didn’t believe it. But now! Outlaw is proving all of that right!”]
[“Yes! Truly amazing, Outlaw!”]
SY’s players momentarily swallowed hard at the staggering power.
“…This is truly insane.”
The power of OLZ’s jungle that I had known through head and experience was newly refreshing.
It was all laid bare what happens when you give away jungle value picks against OLZ and what occurs when that pick snowballs from the early game.
That’s why it didn’t take long for the second game to wrap up.
[Victory]
24 minutes and 21 seconds.
Kill score 18:3.
OLZ wins.