Rise (Web Novel CN)

Zeng Rui saw Team Guangzhou’s Leona stop attacking An Xin’s Sejuani and start running towards Riven. He glanced at Tang Bingyao’s health bar. It was dropping fast and would soon run empty. BunBun is right. I can’t save Tang Tang. Too late to do anything for her. But Lin Feng… The thundering… He said over the team’s voice chat, “Tang Tang! Ult me!”

Tang Bingyao’s Kalista had linked her fate with Zeng Rui’s Morgana at the start of the game. She now used that link to pull Morgana’s soul into her body with Fate’s Call! This was the first part of Kalista’s ultimate skill. The second part allowed Morgana—Zeng Rui—to hurl herself in any direction!

Team Guangzhou’s Leona and Vayne were stacked on top of each other for a brief moment as Leona passed by on her way to intercept Lin Feng’s Riven. Zeng Rui narrowed his eyes and clicked on his mouse. Morgana’s soul shot from Kalista’s body! Bone, muscle and flesh grew around her soul, reforming her body midflight! She then barreled into Leona and Vayne and knocked them both up into the air! She followed up with Chains of Agony. Her wings unfurled and she hovered above the ground as she released the full force of her Celestial power! Chains forged from darkness and pain shimmered into existence around her and latched onto Vayne and Leona!

“Nice going!” Lin Feng exclaimed over the team’s voice chat, grinning. His Riven was on the water’s edge, while Vayne and Leona were in the middle of the river. The chains wrapped around them slowed them, and would stun them shortly. Lin Feng cast Valor and followed up with Broken Wings! His Riven dashed into the river and swept out with her blade, cleaving both Vayne and Leona!

Seo felt his stomach clench, physically hurting him. He wanted to scream and yell, but he gritted his teeth. He bit his tongue. Morgana’s Chains of Agony would stun him soon. He could cleanse that with his Quicksilver Sash, but then there was Riven who could stun him with a Ki Burst. I just have to outplay him! Outplay him very hard! Show him how much better I am than him! That’ll show him and everyone else! He smiled just a bit and activated the Quicksilver Sash. A cleansing light broke the dark chains as a dark shadow fell over Vayne. Final Hour! Vayne gained attack speed and, more importantly, gained an invisibility aspect to Tumble. She used that to disappear into the shadows before Riven could stun her.

“Wanna run? Lol,” Lin Feng mumbled, grinning. He dropped down a vision ward to reveal the invisible. “Gotcha!” He said with a smirk as he locked onto Vayne. He had his Riven move towards her with the second cast from Broken Wings. It was another sweep of the blade combined with a short dash, similar to the first cast. He followed up with the third cast from Broken Wings. Riven grabbed the hilt of her blade with both hands and leaped forward! She raised her reforged blade above her head and hacked down on Vayne, knocking her up into the air! And finally, while Vayne was in midair, Riven gathered the excess runic energy on her blade and swept out! Wind Slash!

《You have slain an enemy!》

《An ally has been slain.》

“Two amazing kills by the Midlaners!” Zephyr exclaimed into his microphone. He chuckled in disbelief and added, “They both took out the ad-carry on the opposing team! I can’t believe this!”

Su Xue nodded and said, “Yeah, yeah, look. Look!” She pointed at the screen. An Xin’s Sejuani had lost quite a bit of health to Seo’s Vayne. The others from Team Shanghai now all turned to her. Fiora Lunged past Zhang Hao’s Dr. Mundo to get to her, Goalie’s Fizz ran back up the river towards her and Lee Sin was already on top of her! “BunBun’s in trouble! She’s gonna get focused down! They’re gonna kill her!”

An Xin grimaced. In her attempt to help Tang Bingyao’s Kalista earlier, she got caught by Seo’s Vayne and Condemned against the river wall. It was basically a large boulder that ran from the edge of the mid lane to a fair bit into the river. She was at the far edge and dashed into Blue team’s Jungle, trying to draw Team Guangzhou’s Champions away from Lin Feng’s Riven. He had to survive. Fizz, Lee Sin and Fiora chased after her, round the boulder and onto the jungle pathway that led to the mid lane. “Ready?” she asked over the team’s voice chat.

Lin Feng glanced at his skill bar. There were still a few more seconds until he could use Broken Wings again. He replied over the team’s voice chat, “Almost! … Almost! … GO!”

An Xin activated Flash. A veil of light fell over Sejuani and carried her back across the boulder into the river, where Lin Feng’s Riven was waiting. Team Guangzhou’s Fiora flashed after Sejuani and Goalie’s Fizz used Playful/Trickster to jump after her. Both of them landed in front of Lin Feng’s Riven, who swept at them with the first cast from Broken Wings. He continued with the second cast.

Team Guangzhou’s Fiora activated Grand Challenge on An Xin’s Sejuani! It revealed the Four Vitals! If she got the kill, that would spawn a healing field which would see her survive the Riven. Which would help Goalie’s Fizz survive. She Lunged to the side, away from Fizz. She then stabbed Sejuani, striking one of the four vitals! She continued running until she was behind Sejuani and stabbed again. Two vitals were down! If I can get the last two, I don’t even need to kill her! I’ll get the healing fiel-- A red, debilitating energy fell over her, hampering all her stats. Shit… SHIT!

Lin Feng ignored Fiora running around An Xin’s Sejuani trying to spawn the healing field. Fizz was an assassin whose skills were on cooldown. He was harmless for another couple of seconds. It was far more important to take him out right now. Lin Feng narrowed his eyes and grinned. You’re already dead! Broken Wings! His Riven grasped her weapon with both hands and raised it above her head as she leaped at Fizz! She then hacked down on him with such force that he was knocked up into the air! She followed up with an auto attack, and another!

《Double Kill!》

Goalie’s pupils constricted. He sat there in Team Guangzhou’s soundproof booth watching his screen turning different shades of dull grey. Over the rim of his monitor, he could see the audience jumping and cheering. He could almost hear their screams. “GG TO TEAM SHANGHAI!” “GOALIE SUCKS!” “GOALIE IS THE WORST MIDLANER EVER!” “KOREANS ARE A JOKE!” “HE IS SUPPOSED TO BE GOOD? HA! WHAT A JOKE!” He started breathing in short, fast bursts. His heart slammed into his ribcage and sweat stood guard on his forehead. How…? How? How!? HOW!

《An enemy has been slain!》

Goalie blinked and forced himself to look at the teamfight. Fiora had killed An Xin’s Sejuani and the healing field spawned. Lee Sin had walked around the boulder and dashed to Fiora’s side with Safeguard. Goalie licked his lips, fighting the swirling sickness in his stomach, and nodded. We’re still in it. Still in it. We can’t give up now. They’ve got the health and her ultimate is down! He said over the team’s voice chat, “Kill Riven! Kill her!”

Coach Yin from Team Guangzhou sat in the player seating area. He saw what Goalie saw. An opportunity. Team Shanghai was really just Team Lin Feng. And Lin Feng’s Riven had most of her skills on cooldown. Coach Yin shot up to his feet and shouted, “KILL RIVEN! KILL HER! WE WIN IF YOU GUYS KILL HER! WE WIN!”

Back up on stage, Lin Feng was grinning brightly. His first kill was Seo and his second Goalie. They were the ones he wanted to kill first. Now he could have fun with the rest from Team Guangzhou. He rolled his shoulder and took a long, deep breath. Lee is going to try and hit me with a Sonic Wave and then there’s Leona’s Zenith Blade that should be off cooldown. He moved his fingers across his keyboard, feeling the pressure of several keys in particular. E left, then hit S. Stop. Move back and dodge it all! He chuckled, waiting for the animation from Lee Sin’s Sonic Wave. There. He had his Riven dash towards the left with Valor. He then stopped and took a step right back. A solar image of Leona’s sword pierced the air where he just stood. Dodged it all!

“Holy fuck! Can you guys please hit a single skillshot!?” Team Guangzhou’s Toplaner exclaimed over the team’s voice chat. He breathed out in frustration. The healing field disappeared. The brief moment in which they held the advantage was quickly closing. They had to get Riven now! “Get him! Fucking get him already! MOVE!”

“I am! I am!” Team Guangzhou’s Jungler replied. But he didn’t have to move. Lin Feng’s Riven was already on top of him, hacking at him with her auto attacks. Each swipe, each stab, each cut took a surprisingly large nick out of his health bar. FuckFuckFuck! Why is she so strong? Why did Goalie have to feed her!? Where is Leona? Why isn’t she here already!? He glanced up the river where Leona was running from. Her Zenith Blade earlier had been from the maximum range. Fuck me!

Zhang Hao’s Dr. Mundo and Zeng Rui’s Morgana were also both still alive. Zeng Rui was blocking Leona from getting to Lin Feng, while Zhang Hao had his Dr. Mundo hurl Infected Cleavers at Team Guangzhou’s Lee Sin. Team Guangzhou’s Toplaner looked at it and gritted his teeth. We can’t get Riven like this. He flicked his mouse over towards Morgana and mumbled, “Screw it! I’ll just get her!”

Lin Feng raised his eyebrows in surprise when he saw Fiora giving up on Lee Sin. “Well, that’s easy then,” he mumbled over the team’s voice chat, barely audible.

“I’ve got your back, bro!” Zhang Hao replied, laughing. He had his Dr. Mundo throw another Infected Cleaver at Team Guangzhou’s Lee Sin, which applied a slow effect. “He can’t run away now! Get the kill!”

Lin Feng grinned and said, “Thanks, HaoBro! Knew I could count on you!” He glanced down at his skill bar. His ultimate had a long cooldown, but his other skills were counting down to the last few seconds or already available. He then looked at Fiora and Leona. I’m getting my penta! My penta! He grinned and clicked on Lee Sin one more time. Riven cut him down with her blade.

《Triple Kill!》

Su Xue had jumped to her feet after the first kill. Right now, she was dancing. Cheerleading for Lin Feng. She chanted into her microphone, “Win Feng! Win Feng! Who’s getting the penta? Win Feng! Win Feng!”

Zephyr laughed and added, “That dodge of the Sonic Wave and Zenith Blade was mad! Yeah, I’ll get on board with you!” He got up to his feet, followed in her rhythm, and shouted, “Win Feng! Win Feng!”

The speakers boomed his name across the venue. He was the hero of this game. The chant spread around the stands and it wasn’t long before everyone was shouting, “Win Feng! Win Feng! Who’s getting the penta? Win Feng! Win Feng!”

Team Guangzhou’s Fiora dodged a Dark Binding with Lunge, which was an impressive feat. But the audience didn’t seem to care. Nor did they change their tune when Team Guangzhou’s Leona slammed her Shield of Daybreak into Zeng Rui’s Morgana to stun her. Even when the voice announcer informed the fans that after killing Sejuani, Fiora picked up a second kill on Zeng Rui’s Morgana, no one cheered for her. They were all cheering for the Riven who was running up on Fiora from behind. The Riven who used the dash from Valor to close the distance, who used a Ki Burst to stun both Fiora and Leona and who stabbed and hacked away with a combination of auto attacks and Broken Wings casts to slay Fiora!

《Quadra Kill!》

“WHO’S GETTING THE PENTA?”“WIN FENG!”“WIN FENG!”“WIN FENG!”“WHEN’S HE GETTING THE PENTA?”“NOW!”“NOW!”“NOW!”

Team Guangzhou’s Leona had a big health bar and all her skills had some form of crowd control. She turned around and started running, hoping that would be enough to save her. And for a brief moment, she believed it would. Riven’s skills were on cooldown, so she didn’t catch up right away. But there was still Dr. Mundo. He threw an Infected Cleaver at her, and slowed her. Before the slow could break, another Infected Cleaver struck her. All the while, Lin Feng’s Riven caught up and started to hack at her armour.

Lin Feng grinned, his eyes shining brightly. His teammates were cheering him on over the voice chat. They all knew what was coming. He glanced down at his skill bar. Broken Wings was almost back off cooldown. Let’s end this in style! He chuckled and said over the team’s voice chat, “Thanks, HaoBro. I’ve got this now!”

“Roger!” Zhang Hao replied, laughing. He then stopped throwing Infected Cleavers at Leona.

Lin Feng pressed down on the Q key--Broken Wings! Riven swept out with her blade, shearing through Leona’s health bar! Before the animation ended, she already followed up with an auto attack. It was the famous animation cancellation! She then swept out with her blade for a second time and combined it again with an auto attack! Leona’s health bar dropped to single digits. “Broken ...” Lin Feng shouted, laughing. Riven gripped her broken sword with both hands and leaped at Leona. “... WIIIIIIIINGS!”

《Penta Kill!》

“HE’S DONE IT! HE’S DONE IT! PENTA PENTA PENTAAAAAAA!” Su Xue squealed. She bounced up and down in excitement. She looked at Zephyr and then at the monitor showing Team Shanghai’s soundproof booth. She quickly wiped a few tears from her eyes and then shouted, “He did it! Lin Feng really did it! He said he would, and he did! He really did!”

Zephyr watched the reaction from Su Xue, smiling. Feels good to cast a game like this, huh? He nodded and then placed his microphone against his lips. He shouted, “And that’s an ace for Team Shanghai! What a teamfight! From looking lost to a penta kill! A PENTA KILL! WOOOOOOOOOO, WIN FENG!

✹

Coach Yin from Team Guangzhou fell back into his chair. He stared at the large LCD screen above the stage, at the replay of the teamfight. His team started the fight exactly right. They were getting back into the game and were at a point where they could take a fight on their terms. And that was how this fight had looked. They got the jump on Team Shanghai’s ad-carry and pinned down Team Shanghai’s Jungler. From there it should’ve been an easy fight. They should’ve cleaned up. H-how… How did we lose that? How did it turn out so poorly?

The replay focused on Lin Feng’s Riven as she ran around the Red Buff Camp, past the Wraith Camp and into the river. That. That’s where it went wrong. Coach Yin shook his head in disbelief. How is that Riven this good? It shouldn’t… I scouted across the world for the best players in this age bracket and found Goalie! I personally visited him and convinced him to join our project! He was supposed to be the best! He was the best! How… Where… Where did this Lin Feng come from? Who is he? He turned his head just far enough to look at Team Shanghai’s spot in the player seating area. Chu Fang, Chu Fang… Where did you find him? How did you keep him hidden? Who is he? Who!?

Chu Fang didn’t notice Coach Yin looking at him. His undivided attention was focused on the large LCD screen. More specifically, on Maple. This brings me back all the way to Season 1. The way I always got so nervous watching him play! How he made my heart race and how he made me wish for him to kick ass! And then he does! He always does! This is so amazing to watch! I get to see him rise up the ranks again! I get to see the legend of Maple firsthand! I’m there! And he’s getting there again too! If he plays like this… Screw this tournament, he’s right back up there with Rake! He clenched his fists and mumbled, “I can’t wait to see how far you’ll go this time!”

✹

Lin Feng hit the recall button and then looked around him at his teammates. He grinned brightly, searching for their compliments. He finally exclaimed, “Ha! My Riven is still so good!”

“You got the penta! You got the damn penta!” Zhang Hao replied, laughing in disbelief. “I can’t believe it! You turned that right around and got the penta!”

Tang Bingyao tilted her head to look at Lin Feng and smiled. She said, “Mhm! That was really amazing!”

Zeng Rui mumbled through gritted teeth, “Yeah. Grats.”

“Grats? What are we congratulating him for!?” An Xin asked. She raised her eyebrows and continued, “What did he turn around? If he didn’t go for a stroll through their Jungle, we would’ve won that fight from the start!”

Lin Feng scratched the back of his head and replied, “Well, eh, you see, we won! Right? We won the teamfight and I got the penta! Who cares about the specifics? I got my penta!”

An Xin rolled her eyes and said, “Just don’t do anything stupid for the next few minutes so that we can win the game!” She then turned her head to look at Lin Feng, caught his eye, and smiled. She mouthed, “Good job.”

“BunBun is right,” Zeng Rui said. He looked at his teammates and continued, “We should finish this one. Let’s take Baron and then push.”

Team Shanghai didn’t have to worry about Team Guangzhou stealing Baron Nashor from them. Most players from Team Guangzhou were still dead when Team Shanghai engaged the large, purple wurm. The Baron buff boosted the stats from Team Shanghai’s Champions, widening the gap with Team Guangzhou even further. And on top of that, the Baron Buff also buffed nearby minions.

Zeng Rui took on his role as shotcaller again. He guided Team Shanghai to the bot lane where they took the inner tower. Then he had Zhang Hao’s Dr. Mundo split push in top while the rest stayed in bot to lay siege on the inhibitor tower. Team Guangzhou was powerless to stop them. The inhibitor tower and inhibitor in bot lane were the first to fall, quickly followed by those in the top lane. Super minions spawned from the Blue Nexus and marched to Team Guangzhou’s base.

An army of Blue minions led by Super minions battered Team Guangzhou’s base, while the five Champions from Team Shanghai aced Team Guangzhou one final time. There was no suspense to the fight. It was a stomp in its truest form. The Nexus towers were the next to fall. Everyone then shifted their focus towards the Nexus itself. Its health dropped quickly until the first cracks showed on the large crystal. The energy contained within slammed against it and broke out moments later. It twisted and spun in midair before morphing into the victory emblem.

VICTORY!