All-Round Mid Laner

As usual, the final deciding game skipped the bans stage. Neither team would ban any heroes, and they would make their picks at the same time. However, due to the 'cumulative picks and bans' rule of the finals, heroes that were used in the previous four rounds couldn't appear again.

Jingzhe hadn't used the poison comp in any of the previous four games. Would they take out this lineup in the final round? The poison comp had been invented by Jingzhe, after all. They were very strong with that comp.

Many people guessed that Fang Zhengqing would come out with his signature hero, the Cobra King.

But in the end, when the team lineups were finalized, the audience was shocked enough to gasp. Not only that, the two commentators were stunned as well.

Jingzhe had chosen a team comp that could protect two carries while they developed. The top laner, the Holy Knight, could step aside and leave resources for other heroes. The jungler, the Brawler, could be played as a support jungler. The support, the Blessed Light, had shielding and control skills.

Fang Zhengqing had taken the Great Witch of the North Sea as his mid lane hero. This was a boss among the Witch-line heroes in the game. Her ultimate move, the Seawitch's Engulfing Waves, could instantly kill off a glass cannon, and her magic damage output in late-game was extremely high.

The marksman, Xie Yuan, had taken his own favored hero, the Divine Archer. This hero had a high damage output, high attack speed, and a long attack range. Once he got his optimal gear in late-game, he could take down a glass cannon in two hits, and he could take down a tank in five.

Team Binghun had brought out a very interesting lineup as well.

Chen Qianhua was best at playing heroes that were good at initiating team fights, but he didn't choose one such hero this time. Instead, he chose the Spirit Rabbit.

This support was extremely fragile, and was considered a 'soft support'. The Spirit Rabbit was extremely cute, though, with a short and childish charm, and a big pair of rabbit ears. Everyone liked the sight of this hero, and the game had released several gorgeous skins for the rabbit.

But when the Spirit Rabbit came out in lower-ranked games… the rest of the team was sure to suffer.

This hero was also rarely seen in higher-ranked games, because team comps involving the Spirit Rabbit were very difficult to play.

The Spirit Rabbit's ult, called Tri-Burrow Deception, allowed this hero to set up three invisible 'burrows' on the map. These burrows could be used as teleportation points. At any time, the Spirit Rabbit could choose to pull a teammate into one of those burrows. Enemies wouldn't be able to see where the burrows were located.

The two teams finished choosing their heroes.

Ye Shaoyang joked, "Jingzhe really didn't run the poison comp after all. In the future, when we face Jingzhe, Captain Chi should guess at their lineup again. Then we'll know to expect the opposite."

Lin Feng was sitting next to Chi Shuo. When he heard that, he couldn't help but praise, "Good idea! In the picks and bans phase, Chi Shuo can take a guess at what Fang Zhengqing will choose. Then Captain Fang definitely won't choose that hero, and we won't need to waste a ban spot."

Chi Shuo was silent for a moment. He avoided the subject and instead seriously said, "Binghun's team comp is pretty interesting."

"They'll focus on teleportation and guerrilla warfare?" Ye Shaoyang guessed.

Lin Feng said, "This support, the Spirit Rabbit, is the most demanding support to play, and the hardest to work with. You can move those three burrows in a short span of time. If you don't pick good spots for them, it's easy for you to get wiped out by your enemies."

Ye Shaoyang seemed to understand as he turned to look at the big screen again. "Then, if you choose good spots…?"

Chi Shuo said, "Jingzhe will be annoyed to death by their enemies who pop out of nowhere like ghosts."

Three burrows, set by a clever rabbit… just where would those burrows end up? It seemed this game would be a big headache for Jingzhe.

Jingzhe hadn't taken their poison comp, and Binghun wasn't running their typical comp which focused on initiating team fights either. Their reasons were very simple—

Jingzhe had already been using their poison comp for several years. If other teams weren't complete idiots, they would definitely have figured out a way to counter that comp already.

Similarly, everyone knew Binghun was strong in team fights. That meant their enemies would definitely devise some tactics to counter their strength in team fights.

In this final game, which would decide the winning team of the S9 domestic championships, both teams' coaches had naturally prepared themselves. They'd selected team comps that would make people's eyes flash with light, ones which their enemies wouldn't be able to predict.

The game began.

Fang Zhengqing seemed to realize that Binghun planned on employing guerrilla warfare tactics. He relied on his own ability to farm minions in the middle lane to establish an advantage, then aggressively assisted his teammates in the bottom lane. The intent was very obvious—he wanted to disrupt the rhythm of the support, Chen Qianhua.

Fang Zhengqing and Xie Yuan were very much in sync. The mid laner, marksman, and support teamed up and pressured Binghun's marksman and support back to Binghun's defensive tower. Fang Zhengqing even stormed into the range of Binghun's tower to get a hit on Chen Qianhua; he played very fiercely.

This alpha was usually so relaxed and lazy, always spending each day with his eyes barely open, like he was preparing to hibernate for the winter. But one couldn't judge him by that. As soon as he started to play in a game, Fang Zhenqing's sharp edges weren't even a tiny bit duller than Chi Shuo's. This bespectacled alpha eyed his opponents with the cold gaze of a poisonous snake. As soon as he found a suitable opportunity, he swiftly lashed out and attacked—striking with killing intent!

By charging into the range of Binghun's tower, he really did manage to disrupt Binghun's rhythm.

However. Chen Qianhua had the resolve to come back from a disadvantageous situation. He was like a cockroach that could never be squashed.

Once he reached Level 6 and learned the Tri-Burrow Deception skill, he could start setting the rhythm of the whole game.

Jingzhe suddenly realized that Binghun's players were able to come to each other's aid at the speed of light! Originally, the next fight was supposed to break out over the minor dragon. It would have been very logical for Chen Qianhua to place a rabbit burrow near the minor dragon pit, in order to gather his teammates there. Right?

But in the end, Chen Qianhua simply let Jingzhe have the minor dragon. He placed his rabbit burrow on the top lane. While Fang Zhengqing and the others were fighting the minor dragon, he took the chance to kill the top laner and swiftly bring down Jingzhe's top lane outer tower!

A few more minutes passed. Team Binghun's players all disappeared from the map.

Fang Zhengqing got a bad feeling about this. He was just about to retreat when the enemy top laner popped out from god only knows where. With a sudden ult, he stunned Fang Zhengqing. Binghun's marksman swiftly followed up and killed Fang Zhengqing, after which the five members of Binghun went on to destroy the mid lane tower.

Fang Zhengqing was speechless.

This kind of nimble, agile guerrilla warfare, where enemy heroes popped up out of the blue all over the map… it had already been perfected by Chen Qianhua.

Jingzhe's double carry comp was very stable. Fang Zhengqing and Xie Yuan had once used it to take the doubles world championship title. Whether it was their attack power or defensive abilities, the two of them were among the best in the world.

But no matter how strong they were, could they win a 1v5 fight?

Chen Qianhua's Spirit Rabbit comp was centered around the strategy of swiftly teleporting his teammates around the map. They created an advantage in numbers for themselves, always catching their enemy off guard.

By the time the game reached the fifteen-minute mark, Jingzhe's three outer towers had already been destroyed.

Jingzhe couldn't protect the blue buff in their jungle, either. Chen Qianhua had placed a burrow by the blue buff. He perfectly calculated the time a new buff would spawn, then summoned all of his teammates at the right moment to steal the buff. Jingzhe's jungler had no choice but to retreat.

Binghun quickly snowballed their advantage.

Fang Zhengqing had no choice but to force a fight for the grand dragon, but Binghun's next move shocked everyone—

Chen Qianhua had actually placed a burrow by Jingzhe's base tower on the bottom lane. He sent his top laner, jungler, and mid laner to try to steal the grand dragon, but he summoned his marksman to himself. The two of them led their minions forward and destroyed Jingzhe's bottom lane base tower in one charge.

Fang Zhengqing was silent.

Could he climb through the computer and beat this rabbit to death?

Although Team Jingzhe got the grand dragon and killed two of the enemy heroes, they lost one of their base towers. They came out at a loss in this fight.

At this point, Ye Shaoyang couldn't help but say, "This kind of fast-paced gameplay which involves the whole map puts a huge demand on the support's game awareness. If Chen Qianhua makes one mistake, if he lets the other side turn things around once, it'll be all over for them."

Chi Shuo agreed, "Mm. Not only does he have to keep an eye on the whole map and always make the most accurate decisions, summoning his teammates to the most optimal positions, he also has to hide his own burrows very well."

Ye Shaoyang smiled and said, "With the support setting the pace, this round truly is very interesting."

Chen Qianhua was a captain with outstanding big-picture thinking skills. When faced with his swiftly changing positions, Team Jingzhe had a very hard time directly facing off against Binghun.

So your Fang Zhengqing's operations were awesome? So your Xie Yuan's equipment was perfect? So what?

Jingzhe couldn't catch Binghun! They couldn't strike back!

In this round, Binghun used their guerrilla warfare tactics to target Jingzhe's towers. They used the Tri-Burrow Deception skill to swiftly teleport around the map. Many times, they managed to create a situation where they had an advantage in numbers. By the twenty-five-minute mark of the game, Jingzhe's outer towers and inner towers had all been flattened.

Finally, Jingzhe had to fight to defend their base. Fang Zhengqing wasn't a defenseless prey animal. He used his Great Witch's ult to instantly kill off the enemy marksman. Xie Yuan swiftly attacked while weaving around, quickly sniping Chen Qianhua to death.

Jingzhe successfully fended off three waves of Binghun's assault.

They lasted until the thirty-five-minute mark.

This sort of standoff was an extremely arduous test of each side's mental fortitude. Jingzhe was 'imprisoned'; they couldn't leave their base. Binghun spent ten minutes trying to push their way to Jingzhe's base, without success; that was a huge blow to their team's morale.

The players on both teams kept their composure. Chen Qianhua respawned, then immediately set a teleportation spot outside the grand dragon pit. He gathered his teammates and swiftly took down the grand dragon.

In late-game, the grand dragon granted a significant buff to both attack and defense to the team that took it down. Plus, that team's minions on all three lanes would evolve into mini tyrannosaur captains.

Chen Qianhua calmly took command of their minions, sending them down the three lanes in unison.

When those evolved minions pushed their way to Jingzhe's base, Jingzhe's players could only fight back with a finite number of skills. They had no way of completely clearing away all the minions. Ultimately, after they managed to hold down their base for ten minutes, they were fiercely torn apart!

VICTORY!

Golden letters flashed across the screen.

The Season 9 domestic champions… were Team Binghun!

Binghun's players leapt up excitedly. Four players surrounded Chen Qianhua, and everyone came together in a big group hug. On the big screens, Chen Qianhua's smiling eyes almost seemed to be filled up with the sheen of tears.

Ye Shaoyang lifted his head to look towards the big screen before him, with all sorts of complex feelings roiling around in his heart.

He admired this captain very much. Chen Qianhua had taken a team that was on the verge of being eliminated from the major leagues all the way back to the finals stage of the domestic championships. Then he had used an extremely nimble teleportation-focused comp to seize victory in the deciding game.

Chen Qianhua was undoubtedly an extremely outstanding professional esports player.

In this game, a frail and tender rabbit had faced off against a coldblooded snake. The snake was both ferocious and poisonous; it could have taken the rabbit's life with one bite. However, the rabbit was smart and nimble. By racing around the whole map, it had rendered the snake utterly powerless.

Fang Zhengqing smiled and pushed up his glasses. He typed into the global chat: [GG.]

Good game.

This was the politest praise he could have offered Chen Qianhua.

After hugging his teammates, Chen Qianhua led them all to the other soundproofed room to shake hands with their opponents.

Fang Zhengqing was a professional player who had weathered all sorts of great storms. Even after losing in the finals, he maintained a carefree expression. He stood up and patted his teammates' shoulders, then lifted his head to meet Chen Qianhua's gaze.

Chen Qianhua smiled slightly as he extended a hand, intending to offer Fang Zhengqing a handshake. But Fang Zhengqing simply lifted both arms and pulled Chen Qianhua into a light hug.

"Congratulations," he said. "You deserve the win."

Chen Qianhua smiled bashfully. "Thank you."

After the players of the two teams politely shook hands, Jingzhe left the stage first. The winners of the championship title, Team Binghun, made their way to the center of the grand stage. The chairman of the Gods War professional league personally awarded them the championship cup.

Binghun's coach excitedly raced up to the stage as well, lifting the cup high up with the team's players.

Thunderous, earsplitting cheers rang out through the whole stadium.

Ye Shaoyang also smiled and joined in on the applause.

Team Binghun had undergone two years of hardships. They crawled from the brink of elimination to the championship throne. This team had already been reborn under Chen Qianhua's leadership.

So what about Tianhuan?

They had also fallen to new lows from S7 to S9.

In S10, a brand new season, they would appear with a new face. They would welcome the fiercest foes the professional league had to offer.

Ye Shaoyang's gaze swiftly scanned the area all around him.

Beimu, Yueying, Huowen, Jingzhe, Binghun…

Season 10 would really be overflowing with powerful teams!

But Tianhuan had a card up their sleeve. It was an omega, a mid laner, named Ye Shaoyang.

Ye Shaoyang looked towards Chi Shuo and whispered in his ear, "My hands can't help but itch when I see other people hoisting a trophy. I want to steal it away."

Their surroundings were very noisy, but Ye Shaoyang's voice still fell very clearly upon Chi Shuo's ears.

Chi Shuo turned and met Ye Shaoyang's bright, shining eyes.

Those eyes were full of self-confidence, and they were full of a thirst for the championship cup.

Chi Shuo looked at the teammate who sat before him. In a low, warm voice, he said, "That trophy is pretty heavy. If you want to steal it away, you'll have to be strong enough."

Ye Shaoyang smiled and looked towards the awards podium. "I also want to go check things out at the world championships. What about you, Captain Chi?"

"I want that too," Chi Shuo answered quietly.

Ye Shaoyang said, "Then shall we go together?"

The corners of Chi Shuo's lips curved up slightly.

"Okay."

No matter what, in next year's S10, they would definitely do everything in their power to reach the world stage.

Wasn't this the shared goal lodged deep in their hearts?

Author's Notes:

S9's domestic championships are over, and I won't be writing S9's world championships. The focus will continue to stay on Tianhuan.

Translator's Notes:

狡兔三窟 (jiǎotùsānkū): The original name of the Spirit Rabbit's ult is a saying which, translated literally, means something like 'a clever rabbit has three burrows'. It's a saying which means crafty people always have backup plans.