Chapter 31.2 – The Godmaker Has Awakened
With the playoffs looming, the whole team threw themselves into training. The air in the practice room was constantly shaken by Song Zhixu’s thunderous voice: “Nice! Let’s go, let’s go! Captain, did you see that? I was insane just now!”
Followed immediately by Shen Ju’s sharp retort: “Song Zhixu, are you out of your f*cking mind?! Yell one more time and I’m snapping your mic in half.”
Zhou Wen was nearly deafened. “Captain, I think my ears are going deaf…”
Lin Jiang took his mouse and helped him muted Song Zhixu and Shen Ju’s voices.
Zhou Wen hesitated. “Isn’t that a bit too much?”
“They didn’t care about being ‘too much’ when they were yelling at you.”
Shen Ju and Song Zhixu: “……”
A-Deng couldn’t help but snort with laughter, then quickly stifled it—he figured it was probably not respectful to laugh at a senior like that.
Well, today was yet another day of unity and harmony.
The match came rolling in under this light-hearted atmosphere.
Their opponent today was WS, the team currently sitting at ninth in the rankings. They were the perennial ninth-place team, every year just barely missing the playoffs.
If they could win this match against OT, they would make it into the playoffs. Otherwise, their chances were basically gone.
Lin Jiang had a very good relationship with their support player, Brother Yu, and had already exchanged greetings before the match even started.
Brother Yu still liked to joke with him, “Hey, when are you coming to my team?”
Lin Jiang gave a light chuckle. “Depends on how sincere your offer is.”
Then Brother Yu suddenly received four sharp gazes from different directions—Shen Ju, Song Zhixu, Zhou Wen, and A’Deng all looked at him with unfriendly expressions.
Understanding the situation, he patted Lin Jiang’s shoulder. “Alright, alright—you’re OT’s backbone now. I wouldn’t dare try to steal you away. Best of luck for the match—though don’t expect me to hold back.”
Lin Jiang didn’t linger to catch up with him, just nodded and they went their separate ways.
That’s how it was in this industry—no matter how close you were in private, once you stepped onto the battlefield, there was only one thought in mind—
And that is to defeat the opponent.
Lin Jiang returned to the break room and quietly slung an arm around Zhou Wen’s shoulders, giving him a heads-up, “I just remembered something. Do you recall the Rell that Brother Yu pulled out in their last match?”
Zhou Wen nodded. “He didn’t play it very well. I think I can handle it.”
“Exactly,” Lin Jiang affirmed. “Let him pick it. He’ll feed.”
Zhou Wen’s eyes widened, unable to believe that the usually gentle Lin Jiang could be so devious. Weren’t they good friends?
The first game began, and OT left Rell open for the enemy team.
Everyone knew that Brother Yu was an avid Rell player who often ended up feeding. The moment this champion was left open, the atmosphere in the venue turned lively.
The commentators joked, “I think WS is really conflicted right now. Should Rain pick Rell or not?”
If he picks it, he might not achieve much.
If he doesn’t, Zhou Wen will probably take it, and the combo of an engage-heavy Rell with Shen Ju’s firepower would be absolutely devastating.
In the end, WS had no choice but to lock in Rell.
Brother Yu had already cursed Lin Jiang a thousand times in his heart.
That sly, conniving fox.
If only he’d pulled Lin Jiang into WS when he had the chance—maybe, just maybe, the entire team would’ve risen with him.
The game started, and Lin Jiang was playing Ahri this round.
The opposing team’s comp was stacked with hard-engage, and his usual champion pool was squeezed thin. So, he locked in Ahri—partly a gamble, partly a test.
Ahri had received buffs in the recent patch. Although her damage was still lackluster, the changes to her ultimate significantly improved her mobility, allowing her to make impactful plays in team fights.
Lin Jiang paused in the mid lane, swaying back and forth a few times.
He was using the KDA skin widely regarded as Ahri’s most beautiful skin.
Her nine dazzling tails shimmered like transparent diamonds—a sight pleasing to the eyes.
But the more beautiful something is, the more dangerous it tends to be.
While everyone was mesmerized by Ahri’s charm, Lin Jiang dashed forward with a Q[mfn]Orb of Deception (Q) – involves throwing an orb that deals magic damage on its way out and true damage on its return. It’s a key part of her kit for both poking and wave clear.[/mfn] to force the enemy to reposition. He twisted his movement unpredictably, landing the second part of his Q followed by two auto-attacks, instantly triggering Electrocute[mfn]Electrocute (rune) – provides bonus adaptive damage when a champion is hit with three separate attacks or abilities within 3 seconds[/mfn].
A crack of lightning struck down, and the enemy Jayce lost two health bars in an instant.
What the hell was that damage?!
Jayce backed off in a hurry, shifting into cannon form to safely clear minions as both players reached Level 2.
He looked for an opportunity to leap in and hammer Lin Jiang with a combo.
He was watching for his moment—ready to leap in and slam Lin Jiang with a full combo.
Ahri twisted and turned, her beautiful nine tails having a distracting effect.
Every time he thought the distance was just right, she’d twist away to another direction, often sneaking in a basic attack when he wasn’t paying attention.
Lin Jiang didn’t rely on his Q for damage—he used it solely to last-hit minions, forcing Jayce to match his wave clearing.
Both sides hit Level 3 simultaneously.
At the exact moment the minion wave vanished, Lin Jiang suddenly threw out a Charm[mfn]Charm (E) – this ability fires a skillshot that charms an enemy hit, forcing them to walk harmlessly towards Ahri, and also enhances the damage of her other abilities.[/mfn], narrowly grazing Jayce—and hit.
Enemies charmed by Ahri will uncontrollably walk toward her. Lin Jiang stepped forward and activated Fox-Fire[mfn]Fox-Fire (W) – this ability sends out three orbiting flames that seek out nearby enemies, prioritizing those recently hit by her Charm (E) ability or those Ahri has recently attacked. The flames deal magic damage, with subsequent flames against the same target dealing reduced damage.[/mfn]—with no minions around, all the damage landed on Jayce.
Jayce’s health instantly dropped to two-thirds.
Lin Jiang smoothly executed a basic attack followed by a Q skill, then retreated, followed by another basic attack, and retreated again.
Jayce’s health plummeted straight to one-third, and the gap between them was just far enough to keep him out of range of Jayce’s Q[mfn]To The Skies (Q) – in hammer form, it functions as a point-and-click ability that leaps to the target, dealing damage and slowing them.[/mfn].
The moment the charm effect wore off, Jayce immediately tried to leap forward but found the distance insufficient. He swiftly switched to cannon form and fired an empowered Q.
Lin Jiang twisted his body just in time, avoiding most of the damage—only a bit of skin was grazed.
When skills were on cooldown, it was Ahri’s best time to disengage.
Without hesitation, Lin Jiang turned and left.
Would Jayce let him go after taking such a beating?
Unwilling to give up, Jayce activated Acceleration Gate[mfn]Acceleration Gate (E) – key ability that enhances his other abilities, particularly Shock Blast (Q), when used in conjunction with his ranged form. The gate itself provides a speed boost to allies who pass through it.[/mfn], still intent on leaping forward. Just as he jumped into the air, Lin Jiang suddenly turned around and charmed him again.
Ahri’s distinctive voice echoed behind him, “Playtime’s over.”
In the instant they brushed past each other, Jayce realized something was wrong.
Out of nowhere, from the shadows of the jungle, Jarvan IV burst out with a lightning-fast EQ combo[mfn]Demacian Standard (E) – Jarvan throws his flag, granting nearby allies attack speed and creating a zone.; Dragon Strike (Q) – Jarvan dashes to the flag’s location, knocking up any enemies in his path.[/mfn], launching Jayce high into the air.
With his health critically low, Jayce had no chance of escaping. His only hope was to Flash and hammer Lin Jiang to death.
Bang! Bang! Two flashes burst in quick succession.
Both players blinked almost simultaneously—switching places in an instant.
But before Flashing, Lin Jiang had cast a reverse Q. After the position swap, the returning orb scraped the last sliver of Jayce’s health as it returned to Lin Jiang’s hand!
Orb of Deception![mfn]Orb of Deception (Q) – this ability throws an orb that deals damage on its way out and back. The return damage can be true damage if the target was already hit by the initial damage.[/mfn]
So that’s how the deception worked!
When Jayce saw Lin Jiang’s reverse Q, his first thought was: “This fox has no more damage!”
If he wanted any chance of survival, he had to flash in and force a trade—it was his only shot.
But what he never saw coming… was that the whole reverse orb was just bait from the start.
With what barely qualified as chip damage, Lin Jiang managed to force a lane-dominant champion into a dead end.
Even the commentators had to admit, “What a fox! She played Jayce like a fiddle!”
Foxes are inherently cunning—never be fooled by their appearance.
Aside from Lin Jiang’s usual stable performance, the audience also noticed how perceptive jungler A’Deng was today.
The enemy jungler kept pinging A’Deng’s path to the bot lane, but no one expected him to position near mid lane F6, ready to counter-gank for Lin Jiang.
“Captain, you think they’ll dive you?”
“There’s not a single person who doesn’t want to solo-kill me,” Lin Jiang said calmly. “If he thinks our jungler’s not around, he’ll definitely blow Flash just to trade lives with me.”
Indeed, Lin Jiang was simply too dazzling this season—so dazzling that everyone’s been eyeing him with envy, eager to take a piece of the spotlight for themselves.
But not everyone was Lin Jiang.
Lin Jiang secured first blood and safely reached Level 6.
A Level 6 Ahri with three dashes from her ultimate was practically un-gankable
WS’s jungler immediately gave up on mid and headed to the bot lane for a gank.
Sensing the shift, Lin Jiang canceled his recall and started moving down as well.
The commentators were passionately narrating the bot lane gank when, just as WS’s jungler forced both bot laners to burn their Flashes, one suddenly exclaimed, “river uses all three ult dashes to reach bot lane instantly!”
The audience gasped. Using all three ult dashes just to traverse the map, Lin Jiang wasn’t leaving himself any room for retreat!
The distance covered by three dashes nearly spanned the entire screen, creating a severe information gap for WS. They planned to burst down Zhou Wen first, then Shen Ju, rendering Lin Jiang’s arrival useless.
But just as Brother Yu, who was controlling Rell, leaped toward Zhou Wen mid-air, a Charm suddenly flew out, instantly locking him in place!
Ahri’s Charm wasn’t just crowd control, it could also interrupt all displacement skills.
Zhou Wen survived!
Without hesitation, he followed up with his own crowd-control, creating an opening for his teammates. Under the combined firepower of Lin Jiang and Shen Ju, Rell was instantly killed.
“Rell engages and gets killed instantly! Rell gets killed again!”
This was already the nth time Brother Yu’s Rell had been instantly killed on stage.
Meanwhile, the low-health Zhou Wen also fell, leaving Lin Jiang and Shen Ju standing tall.
Every kill Ahri’s ultimate participates in grants her an extra dash, and Shen Ju leveled up to 6 after that clutch kill.
The hunt had officially begun!
The commentators went wild: “Ahri’s ult refreshed. She dashed in and killed the enemy AD! Another ult refreshed! sgod is still chasing! Can Sejuani escape? No! She’s doomed!”
Lin Jiang’s relentless pursuit wiped out two more enemies, bringing his score to a terrifying 3/0/1.
Even if Ahri’s damage was lackluster, with such an overwhelming lead, she still sent shivers down WS’s spines…
The commentators raised the concern: “Ahri’s mobility alone is a nightmare. Give him this many kills, and he becomes a ticking time bomb for WS.”
No sooner had they spoken than Lin Jiang unleashed his triple-dash ultimate, slipping behind the four WS players attempting to steal the dragon.
His goal was clear—eliminate the low-health jungler first to refresh his ult, then clean up the remaining three.
WS had already read Lin Jiang’s mind.
Brother Yu quickly maneuvered Rell to block the way.
Just as Lin Jiang’s Charm was about to land, he Flashed forward. The jungler, who should’ve been out of range, inexplicably walked toward him, only to eat a Q-E[mfn]Charm (E) – this ability allows Ahri to charm an enemy, causing them to walk towards her in a predictable path, making them an easy target for her other abilities.; Orb of Deception (Q) – Ahri sends out her orb of deception, dealing damage to enemies it passes through. The orb returns to Ahri, dealing damage again.[/mfn] combo and die.
The crowd went wild: !!!
Was that a trick of the eyes? Did Lin Jiang just hit through terrain?
The commentators roared: “It’s the E-Flash! Ahri’s signature E-Flash[mfn]this combo used Ahri’s charm (E) followed immediately by Flash to surprise and charm an opponent, often setting up a kill. This technique allows Ahri to cast her charm (E) slightly beyond her normal range, making it harder to dodge.[/mfn]!”
Ahri’s Charm has a very slow casting animation, making it easy to dodge and block.
But with an E-Flash combo, you can cast Charm instantly and use Flash’s spatial warp to bypass any obstacle in your way!
Lin Jiang E-Flashed behind Rell, successfully killing the jungler.
This move demanded insane hand speed—one misstep, and all advantages would be thrown away.
Yet Lin Jiang executed it with absolute confidence.
The cheers from the audience shook the heavens as Lin Jiang’s stats reached a terrifying 5/0/4, making him the highest economy in the game.
The commentator couldn’t help but exclaim, “This Ahri is truly unstoppable now unless WS can drag this into the ultra-late-game, but I don’t think they’ll get that chance!”
WS understood the danger, so while Song Zhixu was still pushing a lane, they boldly went for Baron right after respawning.
Zhou Wen had a sneaky ward placed perfectly, catching their movements without being detected.
Just as WS brought Baron down to half-health, thinking they had a chance to turn the game around, Ahri’s enchanting voice suddenly echoed through the canyon once more: “You’re mine now.”
A Charm, followed by Fox-Fire, then Orb of Deception.
The entire WS team, already weakened by Baron’s debuffs, saw their health bars drop by half!
As the orb was about to return to Lin Jiang, he suddenly dashed sideways with his ultimate, forcing the orb to curve back toward him, just in time to finish off the lowest-health enemy AD.
Normally, Orb of Deception only deals damage twice—once going out and once coming back.
But Lin Jiang used his ultimate to extend the orb’s path, creating an “S” trajectory that struck the enemy AD three times, instantly killing them!
The commentators were stunned: “river just dealt triple damage with the orb!”
This unexpected play left everyone scrambling. With Baron’s debuff lowering resistances, Lin Jiang’s damage output was off the charts—absolutely monstrous!
“Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!”
But it was already too late. Lin Jiang’s teammates had all arrived on the scene, while Brother Yu controlled Rell to buy time for his team.
But he leapt in—and got wiped out instantly.
The commentators screamed, “Rell! Rell, why are you dead again?!”
Brother Yu sacrificed himself to buy his team time to escape, but they forgot—Lin Jiang still had two charges of his ultimate left!
The agile Ahri vaulted over walls to cut them off. Jayce immediately tried to leap in and knock him away.
But before he could land, Lin Jiang’s combo erased their top laner, then he ulted to create distance and closed in on their jungler!
Not good!
Jayce switched to cannon form and fired an empowered Q.
As Lin Jiang poured out damage, he used his ultimate once more to dodge the killing blow, dragging the jungler with him.
Lin Jiang survived with just a sliver of health, using his last ultimate charge to create distance. It looked like he was trapped with no chance left.
At this point, Jayce only needed two auto-attacks to finish him off. As Jayce sped through his Acceleration Gate, about to land the final blow—
Lin Jiang suddenly flashed into the bush, causing the opponent to lose vision!
Ahri’s charm cooldown is seven seconds, and Lin Jiang’s cooldown reduction was already up to 40%.
In other words, his Charm was ready every 4.2 seconds!
The moment Jayce entered the bush, he realized the danger—Charm came straight at him. He barely managed to land one auto-attack before Lin Jiang’s Ahri unleashed her full combo, taking him down once again!
Lin Jiang secured a triple kill, successfully stabilizing his health bar.
Ahri’s damage output might not be high, but with 40% cooldown reduction, it reaches terrifying heights!
No one could keep track of how many skills Lin Jiang had unleashed during that team fight. All they saw was him constantly repositioning, chasing, and executing flawless combos to claim that triple kill.
With an 8/0/9 score, Lin Jiang and his teammates stormed the high ground, demolished the inhibitor turrets, and pushed straight for the Nexus.
The enemy AD respawned and Flashed in, attempting to burst Lin Jiang down.
But this was an Ahri with 40% cooldown reduction!
Her ultimate was now on less than 50-second cooldown!
Lin Jiang danced around using all three ultimate dashes, effortlessly tearing down the Nexus!
The Nexus exploded.
Victory!
Lin Jiang had elevated Ahri’s gameplay to an unreachable level.
It turns out Ahri was not lacking in damage–it’s just that most players hadn’t mastered her to perfection!
Post-match stats revealed Lin Jiang had dealt the highest damage in the entire game.
It’s worth noting that Ahri’s damage isn’t inherently high—it all depends on stacking it up. Every point of damage was scraped out by Lin Jiang, skill by skill.
Fans were stunned—
[Respect to him.]
[Delivering the deadliest damage with the gentlest demeanor.]
[Honestly, when I saw Lin Jiang pick Ahri, my first thought was that he was going easy on the opponents. Turns out I was wrong. He played so brutally.]
There was no doubt Lin Jiang deserved the MVP for this game, but the barrage argued it should’ve gone to Brother Yu instead—without his Rell, OT wouldn’t have won so effortlessly.
Amid the laughter, Brother Yu could only sigh.
Perhaps he really was getting old, no longer adapting to the meta, unable to reclaim his former dominance.
Sometimes, he envied Lin Jiang deeply—four years into his career, yet still as gifted and passionate as ever.
His teammates noticed his melancholy and comforted him. “It’s fine, losing to OT isn’t embarrassing. KUG lost to them too.”
“Yeah, yeah! Brother Yu, pick Rell again next game and prove them wrong.”
“Pick her again? I’ll get flamed into oblivion…”
In the second game, OT left Rell open again but this time, WS didn’t dare pick her.
Zhou Wen locked her in instead, and dominated lane with nonstop aggressive engages. OT seized the early advantage and swiftly closed out the game.
With this loss, WS’s ranking slipped further, officially knocking them out of playoff contention.
As the match concluded, both teams shook hands in good spirits.
Lin Jiang may have relished the thrill of crushing an old friend in-game, but seeing him miss the playoffs hit a little different. He couldn’t help but pull him into a quiet hug.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. Even if we made it, we’d just get eliminated in the first round.”
After years of friendship and rivalry, Brother Yu felt nothing but admiration and pride for Lin Jiang.
“I hope you’re the one still smiling at the end. Don’t let me down.”
“Yeah. I won’t.”
Some step onto the stage to claim glory, while others pack up their gear and leave in silence.
As the shutter clicked, freezing the victors in time, Lin Jiang instinctively turned to glance behind him.
Two teams. Two destinies.
And Lin Jiang stood at the crossroads—caught between the glory of the present and the weight of what lay behind.
In that fleeting moment—what was he thinking?
Was it the years of camaraderie and rivalry with Brother Yu? Or a glimpse of the road ahead, uncertain yet unwavering?
The chat exploded with sobs—
[Wow, I’m genuinely moved.]
[Just thinking about how one day Lin Jiang will grow old too makes me so sad.]
[Lin Jiang is so warm, he just hugged Brother Yu and comforted him.]
[It’s in tough times you see someone’s true heart. Brother Yu’s getting dragged so hard online, and people who once called him friend are pulling away.]
[I believe Brother Yu will definitely bounce back!]
Old Mao, who was currently livestreaming the match, had tears in his eyes as he reminisced about how tough those years had been. By the end, he couldn’t help but say: “Lin Jiang… he’s the kind of person who’s just too good. So good, you can’t even bring yourself to be jealous of him. You get what I mean? There’s always competition in this scene—between teammates, between rivals—but with Lin Jiang? He’s so kind, so earnest, that all that envy just… disappears.”
Yet such a good person was still heartlessly kicked out by KUG.
Just goes to show—there’s no room for emotion in a world ruled by capital.
But it’s fine—KUG is already reaping what they sowed.
With their win over WS, OT secured their spot in third place. Meanwhile, KUG’s loss to TG dropped them to sixth—dragged down not just by points, but by a storm of public outrage.
Lin Jiang wasn’t the least bit surprised by this outcome.
Without his discipline and guidance, Alike didn’t know the meaning of restraint. All he cared about was showing off, never giving a damn about his teammates’ survival.
From the moment Lin Jiang was reborn—
There was no longer a “God A” in this world.
Because the godmaker had awakened.
Lin Jiang slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked away with effortless cool.
— — — —
