TCWSITD – Chapter 44.1

Chapter 44 has 2 parts; 44.2 will be uploaded tonight at 20:00 EST.

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Chapter 44.1 – Odd-Defying Damage Output

The team fight erupted instantly.

Old Mao screamed in his stream: “Song Zhixu’s flank is flawless! TG is doomed this time!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Song Zhixu was interrupted by a Renekton that Flashed into the bushes one second before he was teleported down!

This interruption!

Came from almost complete blind sight!

Renekton’s career-defining gamble had severed OT’s perfect flank!

The situation instantly shifted to TG’s favor.

Old Mao wailed, “It’s over, it’s over! K’Sante can’t reach the frontline! OT is in trouble!”

Song Zhixu paled, urgently warning teammates, “I can’t get down!”

But the team fight had already started!

The fans’ hearts clenched in an instant.

Lissandra initiated the fight by instantly killing Zhou Wen. Amidst the chaos, Lin Jiang precisely stole Lissandra’s ultimate.

The commentators on stage were speaking at breakneck speed: “What’s happening in the front? OT’s support died first, and river stole Lissandra’s ultimate from a distance. How is he going to use it?”

How Lin Jiang would use his ultimate became the question on everyone’s mind!

Freed from crowd control, A’Deng immediately Flashed to escape, activating his own ultimate.

The battlefield was suddenly engulfed in a thick fog, leaving all TG players unable to see beyond the area around their feet.

But for Juzi, that was more than enough.

He clearly knew A’Deng’s escape direction, using Glacial Path to pass through walls and closely follow behind.

With A’Deng’s health so low, even the slightest hit would be fatal.

With only two players left, how could OT possibly win this team fight?

Even casual viewers could see that OT had already lost this team fight…

But the next second, Lin Jiang threw Lissandra’s ultimate across the battlefield, freezing the enemy Xayah who was outputting damage from behind the wall!

TG’s vision was completely blacked out, leaving them panicked and disoriented.

Suddenly, the chilling sound of frost and death rang out, turning the tide of battle.

“river froze the enemy’s Xayah from afar!”

Xayah had her ultimate active, furiously attacking from across the dragon pit, never imagining that Lin Jiang would use Nocturne’s ultimate to block vision and freeze her through the wall!

Layers of ice and snow blossomed—the 1.5-second stun duration was practically a death sentence.

For the first time, TG painfully understood the meaning of “shooting oneself in the foot”!

“AD, AD! The AD can’t die!”

“Protect the AD, protect the AD!”

Xayah’s fingers frantically hammered on her ultimate, but her hand speed was far slower than the combined output of Lin Jiang and Shen Ju.

In less than a second, she was instantly killed!

Sylas’s damage was absolutely terrifying!

Lin Jiang used E to go down to the dragon pit and continued to contest it. Shen Ju also went down to the dragon pit and followed Lin Jiang’s steps to output crazily.

This scene instantly transported the audience back to the regular-season match against ZOG, where they executed the most extreme kiting!

Both champions were just too flawless—mobility, shields, damage, and plenty of room for skillful plays!

The two carries moved side by side, dazzling the crowd with their plays, leaving the enemy unsure of whom to target!

Nilah wasn’t a traditional AD—her tankiness in team fights was absurd. Meanwhile, Lin Jiang brought massive healing and crowd control. Basically, no one can withstand the damage from these two when he controls them!

As TG crumbled in defeat, the commentators lost their minds. “How can there be such high damage! These two dealt tons of output!”

When the game started, Lin Jiang already told Shen Ju, “Our two champions are both average when separated, but if we can both reach our peak development simultaneously in the mid-game, TG won’t be able to withstand it.”

So Shen Ju defied all expectations, powering up ahead of schedule—just for this moment, right here, right now—to fight side by side with Lin Jiang.

When blood ran wild and the scent of freedom filled the air…

He finally understood the source of Lin Jiang’s magnetic pull.

It came from determination that Lin Jiang brought to every game—that until the very last second, no one could say who would emerge as the true champion.

A’Deng, entangled by Lissandra, also fought valiantly. He blocked the vision, turned back suddenly to fear the enemy, and traded his life for Lissandra’s in a breathtaking one-for-one!

TG was nearly wiped out!

The roar of the crowd was almost audible in their ears. Their hands moved at an inhuman speed as the duo pushed onto the high ground, targeting the inhibitor turrets!

The Renekton who interrupted Song Zhixu’s teleport was low on health. He wanted to recall, but Song Zhixu wouldn’t let him—he chased after him, hammering wildly.

Each strike came with a silent curse: You dare interrupt my teleport?

“Captain, don’t worry! I absolutely won’t let him recall!”

Lin Jiang and Shen Ju’s focus was entirely on the turrets. As long as their hands clicked fast enough, they could take the game!

300 APM, 400 APM, 500 APM…

At this time, the game has only been going on for 25 minutes, and the respawn time is only 50 seconds!

They weren’t pushing fast enough!

As Xayah respawned, the situation became unpredictable again.

Even the commentators were unsure: “Oh my! Will OT destroy the Nexus first, or will TG respawn in time to defend?”

The moment Xayah revived, both inhibitor turrets collapsed simultaneously, leaving only the vulnerable Nexus!

At this point, both sides were gambling on whose hands were faster.

The audience: !!!

Could this get any more intense?!

Xayah Flashed in, unleashing a barrage of attacks on Lin Jiang. He dodged the crucial crowd control with his ultimate, then landed a lethal Bladecaller[mfn]Bladecaller (E) – an ability that recalls all planted Feathers back to Xayah, dealing physical damage to enemies they strike on the way. Hitting an enemy with three or more returning feathers roots them, providing crowd control and a crucial opportunity for Xayah to deal more damage.[/mfn] to finish Lin Jiang off.

Lin Jiang had given his all—even as he fell, he didn’t forget to create distance, buying Shen Ju an extra 0.5 seconds to deal damage.

The voice comms was filled with teammates shouting: “Push! Push! Hit the turret, hit the turret!”

Shen Ju relentlessly attacked the Nexus, its HP plummeting, about to fall below the critical threshold—until Xayah turned her focus onto him!

Doke’s hand speed was terrifying—every feather sliced through the air like a blade, and Shen Ju felt as if Doke had surpassed the 500 APM limit.

Suddenly, Lin Jiang’s words flashed through his mind: “Doke is really strong. I heard his peak team fight APM hit 500…”

Is that so?

Shen Ju’s eyes turned cold.

His fingers struck the keyboard with lethal precision, striking with such ferocity that it pushed the game’s mechanics to the limit, his whip-like attacks lashed out wildly.

Just as Xayah raised her hand to cast her Q[mfn]Double Daggers (Q) – this ability throws two feather-blades in a line, which are crucial for her poke and can be used to set up her other abilities.[/mfn], Shen Ju landed the final blow, dashing to the other side of the Nexus. His last strike shattered it!

Audience: !!!

The screen froze on the image of the feathers Xayah had just thrown with all her might—just a tiny bit more, just 0.05 seconds more and she would’ve hit Shen Ju. But in the end, Shen Ju prevailed!

In front of the screen, Doke’s expression instantly turned to shock.

He couldn’t believe he had actually lost to Shen Ju in hand speed…

Many viewers at home couldn’t keep up with the action, unable to tell who had won until the final result appeared. But everyone was shouting, “OT is insane!”

But those in the arena, watching on the ultra-high resolution projection screen, saw it all—every twitch, every pixel, every keystroke.

Shen Ju’s hand speed in that final moment—?

At this point, it felt like only the game engine could keep up.

[Isn’t Doke supposed to be the hand-speed monster? He actually got outplayed by Shen Ju?]

[I remember Doke’s APM is about 500?]

[Damn, this is the first time I’ve realized how insane Shen Ju’s hand speed is…]

What does it feel like to have a hand speed so fast that only the game itself can measure it?

Before Shen Ju even realized he had won, the enemy Nexus exploded before his eyes, freezing all the stats in that instant.

Deafening cheers erupted through his headphones—

“Nice! We won!”

“Shen Ju, you outplayed him!”

“Holy shit, I almost had a heart attack.”

So… we really won?

Shen Ju pulled off his headset, and his first instinct was to look toward Lin Jiang.

Lin Jiang was already looking at him—with a smile that lit up his whole face, eyes shining under the spotlight like they could speak all on their own.

His heart pounded wildly. Shen Ju suddenly wanted to say something to Lin Jiang. Summoning his courage, he walked over.

But before he could speak—

A sudden gust of wind slammed into him?

Song Zhixu rushed over and wrapped him in a bear hug, pounding his back twice. “Shen Ju, what the hell—your Nilah is this awesome?”

Shen Ju: “…”

The commentator laughed. “OT seems a little emotional, but honestly, this victory was hard-earned. The score is now tied. Let’s wait and see how the next game unfolds!”

Tying the score gave OT some breathing room, but it wasn’t enough. Figuring out how to counter TG’s alternate lineup remained the biggest challenge.

Lin Jiang quickly returned to the lounge, eyes full of anticipation as he looked at Li Qian. “Have you found a solution?”

Li Qian shook his head firmly. “Some things are inevitable. TG has studied your strengths and weaknesses too well. Unless you can come up with a completely different playstyle, it’s nearly impossible to beat them. But you know as well as I do—that’s not realistic. A solid strategy is already set in stone. Trying something new comes with a high cost for trial-and-error, and unfortunately, you don’t have that kind of time.”

No room for trial and error?

Suddenly, Lin Jiang realized—no, that’s not right. They did still have one game left to take that risk.

The third game began swiftly, with neither team getting much extra prep time.

TG had the side selection again and employed the same strategy as the first game.

Lin Jiang shifted his pick priorities, but it wasn’t enough to turn the tide. In the end, he swapped LeBlanc for Twisted Fate, hoping to dictate the tempo.

The result was obvious—the cost of trial and error was huge. They lost even faster than in the first game.

At this moment, the audience watching the screen finally realized what kind of predicament OT was trapped in.

TG had prepared two sets of lineups for both the red and blue sides. OT had only cracked the blue-side lineup and hadn’t yet deciphered the red-side one. Meanwhile, TG held limited side selection rights, meaning the choice of sides for games 1, 3, and 5 was in TG’s hands.

And this match was a BO5.

OT was at a natural disadvantage.

For Lin Jiang to win, he had to crack the opponent’s alternate strategy.

On the big screen, the fourth game was underway, following a trajectory similar to the second. Doke was indeed an excellent AD, but even he couldn’t fully withstand Shen Ju’s explosive plays.

In the end, it was Lin Jiang’s dominant early-to-mid game control paired with Shen Ju’s ahead-of-schedule farming that sealed the win.

Two wins with Nilah boosted their morale greatly.

Now, the stage was set for the final, winner-takes-all match. The tension in the arena was palpable.

[Ahhh! Both carries are absolutely on fire today!]

[Keep picking Nilah! I think OT can win!]

[This is so strange. I used to think TG was way stronger and OT stood no chance, but now it suddenly feels like OT has a real shot at victory?]

[Wuwuwu, our OT is improving too…]

[Just a little more effort from OT, and they really can win.]

[Come on, everyone, cheer them on!]

But OT’s dilemma remained unresolved. According to the tournament rules, TG had priority side selection for the fifth game.

They still hadn’t found a way to break TG’s red-side strategy.

In the break room, the entire team was gripped by anxiety. Lin Jiang kept reviewing those two games, running thousands of simulations in his mind.

In the end, they realized—

This lineup was just impossible to counter.

OT’s weaknesses were too glaring, and their strengths were also too obvious. It wasn’t something that could be changed overnight.

As Li Qian had said, unless they could find a brand new playstyle, they had no chance of victory. But did OT even have the luxury to experiment?

Lin Jiang felt himself being pulled into a strange vortex. Victory seemed so close, yet no matter how flawlessly OT performed, it would still be a desperate struggle.

Was this where OT’s journey ended?

Lin Jiang flipped through his notes, a thick stack of data he’d compiled while staying up countless nights.

In the ever-changing meta, many classic strategies had gradually been left behind by time. All players had slowly become slaves to team fighting.

But classic strategies existed for a reason.

Among thousands of possibilities, Lin Jiang’s movements paused, his gaze settling on the “1-3-1 split push” written on his notebook.

The 1-3-1 split push was a classic tactical system—five players divided into three lanes, with solo pressure applied top and bot while the mid lane grouped for farm, effectively avoiding team fights.

It seemed he had truly found a possibility within the impossible.

Amid the staff’s urging, Lin Jiang abruptly closed his notebook.

“I’ve figured it out.”

The five-game series stretched on, time gradually reaching 8 PM.

Viewership exploded in the livestream, the whole scene buzzing with anticipation for the final outcome.

With the commentator’s voice, the fifth game officially began.

Both sides stuck to their first-game styles. OT gave up Kai’Sa and first-picked Nilah.

Shen Ju had played two games with her, delivering strong performances both times. The commentators approved of the choice, “Grabbing Nilah? No doubt about it.”

So, was TG going to fight for Taric? If not, OT will get the Nilah-Taric combo again.

Doke furrowed his brow. After those two losses, he had to admit—Shen Ju’s talent surpassed his own. But he never expected someone as steady as Lin Jiang would also place his bets on someone else.

“Let them have it. We’ll stick to our first game’s strategy.”

OT smoothly secured Taric and K’Sante, making subtle changes from their first-game picks.

The fans regained hope——

[OT’s bringing out something new!]

[Lin Jiang definitely thought of a counter!]

[Thank goodness, thank goodness!]

[Ahhh, I’m so excited, we absolutely must win, absolutely must win!]

[If you win, you’re the champions!]

But as the game unfolded, much to everyone’s surprise, Lin Jiang locked in LeBlanc once more.

The audience was stunned.

W-wasn’t this exactly the same as the first game?

Public opinion instantly exploded—

[What’s going on? No new strategies?]

[So we’re relying on Shen Ju again??]

[How is this any different from the first game!]

[No way, does Lin Jiang really have nothing new for this crucial moment?]

[At this rate, they don’t stand a chance against TG!]

Countless viewers and fans felt disappointed, unable to understand why they’d still insist on picking LeBlanc when the opponent had Lissandra available!

Some even angrily lashed out in the live chat.

[Still clinging to your glory days?]

[When will Lin Jiang move on? Every time he’s unsure, he just grabs LeBlanc?]

[river, this is as far as you’ll ever go!]

Old Mao also felt helpless. “He really has no other champions to pick. What do you want him to play? Picking Ahri to play safe is worse than LeBlanc’s aggressiveness. This game… I can only say it’s up to Shen Ju now.”

But Shen Ju needed time to scale. Could Lin Jiang buy him that time?

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