The Esports Little Demon King Is a Sweet and Fierce Omega - Chapter 27.2

[Welcome to the Fengshen League. All troops deployed!]

The league match officially began. The group cast aside their joking moods and immediately headed toward their respective lanes.

Tian Jiu, as usual, followed the minions to the mid-lane. His opponent was the Mage, Chiyan. Both initially stood under their towers, out of sight of each other.

Once the minions met in the center of the river, Tian Jiu stepped out to probe, and Chiyan did the same.

Initially, they were peacefully farming. Theoretically, a Jungler wouldn’t gank during the first wave of minions, but Fire was surprisingly aggressive.

As Tian Jiu was stutter-stepping and farming, the enemy Assassin, Maia, suddenly leaped out from the brush and hit Tian Jiu with a skill.

Tian Jiu reacted quickly, taking a step back, but he was still clipped by the edge of the skill. His movement speed dropped significantly. Chiyan and Maia seized the chance to rush forward, unleashing a flurry of damage.

At close range, Tian Jiu blasted Maia with a cannon shell, chunking a third of the Assassin’s health and successfully forcing him back several steps, but Tian Jiu himself was left with only a sliver of health from Chiyan’s fireballs.

Fortunately, levels were still low. Thanks to Tian Jiu’s successful dodging, he managed to limp back under his tower with a tiny bit of health left.

However, Maia seemed determined to secure the kill. He dived the tower, risking his life to take Tian Jiu down.

Tian Jiu didn’t give him the chance. He didn’t dodge or retreat; instead, he met the charge, using his heavy cannon to parry Maia’s strike. Simultaneously, he swung the massive weapon, physically slamming Maia to the ground.

Combined with the tower’s damage, Maia failed to get the kill and instead gave up First Blood. However, the moment Maia returned to the respawn point, Chiyan finished off Tian Jiu’s remaining health.

“What an extreme one-for-one! Tian Jiu’s execution was flawless. If he had retreated during that last strike, he wouldn’t have been able to counter-kill Maia. This level of calm judgment and high awareness is truly shocking.”

“But it looks like Fire is determined to target Tian Jiu first,” Fei Erfeng commentated. “FOX’s ‘Jungle Rogue’ duo is undoubtedly the core. Although Fire came out slightly behind in this trade, Chiyan’s gold has increased.”

“Feeding the ‘Magic-Cannon’ duo is Fire’s standard tactic. Though Tian Jiu died once and missed two minions, the First Blood gold kept his economy even. This round can’t be called a loss or a gain for either side.”

Tian Jiu sighed and navigated the Squirrel Mall, purchasing a new offensive item. He realized he had been a bit too bold; if he had stood just a little further back, he could have avoided Maia’s initial skill and wouldn’t have been so passive.

“Wait for me,” Feng Wu suddenly said in the team voice chat.

Tian Jiu understood instantly. After respawning, he hopped back to the tower. The teammates all realized Feng Wu was about to start dictating the rhythm and prepared themselves.

During this time, the top and bottom lanes remained very peaceful, with no fights breaking out.

Another wave of minions arrived. Feng Wu had cleared his first jungle rotation. While Maia was farming in his own jungle, Chiyan was alone in the mid-lane. Chiyan knew Feng Wu had likely finished his rotation and would be looking to gank him, so he hid cautiously under his tower, willing to miss a minion rather than step out.

But suddenly, their top-lane Defender was taken down. Only then did Chiyan realize Feng Wu hadn’t come to camp mid, but had gone top instead.

They had studied Feng Wu’s match history and knew his habit was to gank mid after the first jungle clear to help his teammates secure the rhythm. What they didn’t know was that Feng Wu only did that because his previous teammates couldn’t keep up with a faster pace.

The current FOX, however, gave him much more room to breathe, so his rhythm had naturally changed.

“It seems our FOX is truly a brand-new team. They’ve started using entirely new tactics, which has clearly caught Fire off guard!”

Fire was indeed shocked, but they quickly stabilized. The Defender wasn’t their core; as long as they ensured their two main carries farmed, they would be fine in the late game. The key now was to stall.

They did exactly that. For the first forty minutes, the players from the top and bottom lanes would rush to mid to harass Tian Jiu whenever they had a free moment, making it impossible for him to move. They even invaded Feng Wu’s jungle two or three times, disrupting his farm.

“Fire has successfully suppressed the development of Feng Wu and Tian Jiu! They can no longer be the ‘Jungle Rogues’ that once struck fear into everyone’s hearts!”

FOX fans grew nervous. The enemy’s two cores had reached max level, while Tian Jiu and Feng Wu were still a level behind with incomplete gear. Normally, one needs an early lead against Fire, but now the game had dragged into the late stage; a phase where even Middle-tier teams struggled against Fire.

“How did this happen? I thought with Tian Jiu and Mo Li, things would be different.”

“I can’t watch anymore, it’s too painful. I can see FOX is trying their best, but they’ve only been together for twenty days. They’re still a step behind Fire.”

As fans grew pessimistic and Fire’s supporters cheered loud enough to shake the stadium, FOX suddenly did something unexpected: the entire team returned to the Temple and swapped their equipment.

“What? What does this mean?”

As the crowd wondered, Fei Erfeng immediately spotted the anomaly: “My god! We were wrong! The core of FOX this time isn’t the ‘Jungle Rogues,’ it’s—The Wind Mage, Lin Luohai!“

The crowd was stunned to realize that, at some point, Lin Luohai’s economy had become the highest in the match, and his gear was ridiculously over-leveled. He had equipped a full offensive set. Meanwhile, Tian Jiu, who usually built full damage, had swapped to a “bruiser” build (half-tank, half-attack), and Feng Wu had gone full glass-cannon. Even Shi Xincheng, the Defender, had equipped offensive items.

“Let’s see what FOX is planning! I have a feeling the next battle will be spectacular!” Fei Erfeng shouted.

After the gear swap, FOX didn’t make a massive move immediately but returned to their respective lanes, leaving the audience in suspense. The mid-lane’s first tower had been destroyed. Tian Jiu was crouching in the brush near the second tower, with Feng Wu farming nearby.

“They’re coming,” Feng Wu said.

The two cores of Fire were fully geared and began an aggressive push. Four members of Fire gathered to invade Feng Wu’s jungle to shut him down for good. However, Tian Jiu and Feng Wu had “lantern” wards placed all over the jungle. The moment Fire entered, they were spotted.

Feng Wu finished the Red Buff and retreated toward Tian Jiu, while Tian Jiu moved toward Feng Wu, the two swapping positions. Simultaneously, Lin Luohai and Mo Li circled around from the side. From the spectator’s “God View,” it was clear: FOX had counter-surrounded Fire.

Tian Jiu crouched in the brush. The moment they entered range, he fired three consecutive cannon shells. After firing, he dashed toward Lin Luohai’s direction.

All four members of Fire were hit. Chiyan and Zhongcheng, having built full offense, lost half their health instantly. Maia, the Assassin who had built tank items, took less damage. Their Elf teammate immediately began healing them, while Chiyan and Zhongcheng fired skills toward Tian Jiu.

But Tian Jiu had already met up with Lin Luohai. Mo Li immediately healed Tian Jiu to full. As Chiyan’s fire dragon roared toward them, Lin Luohai didn’t dodge; he fired a wind skill directly against the dragon. Tian Jiu also fired to intercept Zhongcheng’s shells.

The shells collided and exploded mid-air, the shockwave pushing both sides back. However, Lin Luohai’s skill, carrying an all-consuming momentum, blew the fire dragon back toward its masters.

The raging fire turned on its owners. Chiyan and the others were terrified and retreated, but the back-burn still scorched them, shaving off a bit of health. In Fengshen, being hit by a reflected skill still deals damage, even if reduced.

While the fire did minor damage, the “wind blades” Lin Luohai controlled with his pheromones within the tornado were lethal. Those blades shredded Fire’s health bars. As they retreated, Feng Wu leaped out from behind them. With a flash of his sword, the enemy Elf was sent back to the respawn point.

Maia quickly entered stealth, trying to escape the battlefield or snag a kill on his way out. But Tian Jiu had watched him vanish and wouldn’t let him go.

Tian Jiu counted two seconds, predicted the path, and fired a shell into seemingly empty space.

“He hit!” Fei Erfeng’s voice cracked. “He predicted Maia’s movement! That precise hit sent Maia back to the respawn point! Meanwhile, Feng Wu used his high-damage blades to take down Chiyan and Zhongcheng, completing a Triple Kill!“

“At the same time, Shi Xincheng used his fists to solo-kill Fire’s Zhao Zhouxing in the top lane!”

“This team fight and 1v1 coordination was perfect! FOX has wiped out Fire! And the minions are at Fire’s base—can they end it? Can they end it?!”

The four members of FOX rushed top. Mo Li kept everyone topped off. By the time they reached the base, they were nearly full health, and Fire still had ten seconds on their death timers. They combined their strength to take down the base tower and shattered the Heart of the Temple.

[VICTORY]

“Congratulations to FOX for winning their first match of the Fengshen League! This is their first league victory in four years! Let’s give them our loudest applause!”

Almost every spectator stood up to cheer, even the Fire fans. It was a spectacular match, and FOX’s victory was truly inspiring.

Lin Luohai spun his staff and happily went around to hug his teammates. He was shoved away by Feng Wu and Shi Xincheng. When he tried to hug Tian Jiu, Feng Wu kicked him away. He could only settle for hugging the only one who didn’t resist, Mo Li.

Mo Li fled in terror but was caught and spun around in a circle. “Are you crazy?!” Mo Li’s face was pale, and his hands were trembling abnormally, but Lin Luohai was too excited to notice, happily moving on to shake hands with the members of Fire—a total social butterfly.

“We won!” Tian Jiu hopped with excitement. He had wanted to hug Lin Luohai, but Feng Wu had blocked him. So, Tian Jiu opened his arms toward Feng Wu. “Captain, hug!”

Feng Wu’s pupils trembled. Then, he felt a soft weight as the little teammate pressed against his chest. Strands of hair brushed against his chin, feeling itchy. He felt his heartbeat turn chaotic and heavy. His arms rose involuntarily, pulling Tian Jiu into a return hug.

The feeling of satisfaction in that moment was as if a long-vacant spot in his heart had suddenly been filled. Even though it was a virtual world, Feng Wu wanted to hold him like this and never let go.

But Tian Jiu only hugged him for a moment before turning to hug Mo Li. Mo Li’s coldness was suddenly thawed by the warmth. He stared with wide eyes, the Omega’s embrace making him feel safe and comfortable again, smoothing over his anxiety. This was FOX; no one harbored ill will toward him. He didn’t need to be afraid. Mo Li gradually calmed down.

Tian Jiu let go after a moment and high-fived Shi Xincheng, making sure to include every teammate. Then he skipped back to Feng Wu’s side, looking up with his tiger teeth showing. “Captain, we really won! I’m so happy. I want to eat a small cake today to celebrate!”

Feng Wu looked down at him, his heart still racing. The doubt that had been lingering in his mind lately seemed to have found its answer.

He looked into the little teammate’s light-colored eyes and said softly, “Tian Jiu.”

“Mhm?”

“Let me hug you one more time.”

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