King's Moment

"Welcome to Honor of Kings! The enemy will arrive on the battlefield in 5 seconds. Please prepare!" The powerful game voice chat echoed throughout the massive venue, instantly igniting the excitement of the audience. They cheered wildly for their favorite teams, creating a deafening roar. The commentators, Lu You and Tuanzi, were also caught up in the atmosphere, their voices becoming excited and enthusiastic: "Hello everyone, this is the KPL Autumn Finals, the decisive game between the Zhongnan team and the Tianze team. I'm commentator Lu You." "I'm the commentator, Tuanzi." "This season's KPL has been incredibly exciting, and now it's finally reached the final moment. During the BP phase, I already felt the tension and pressure, like two peerless swordsmen facing off at their peak. I wonder if you felt the same way, Tuanzi?" Lu You continued. (BP: BAN/PI means ban, PICK means pick) "Of course, the back-and-forth banning and drafting by both sides has been quite exciting." "However, there was one move by the Zhongnan team that I think didn't surprise anyone: He Liang's Li Bai was banned again." "Of course, we've always known that the Li Bai used by players and the Li Bai used by professional players seem to be two different heroes. But this season, we've discovered a third Li Bai, which is—He Liang's Li Bai," Tuanzi introduced solemnly. He Liang's Li Bai! He Yu, who was watching the live broadcast of the match on his computer, couldn't help but get excited when he heard such comments, because the person who used Li Bai to surpass everyone else was his own brother. "Yes, I don't even know how to describe He Liang's Li Bai. I can only tell you with one statistic: Tianze team's win rate when He Liang plays Li Bai is 100%. This is enough to prove how terrifying He Liang's Li Bai is." Lu You also spared no effort in praising this rising star player, simply because He Liang's performance was too dazzling. “So in a sense, I think He Liang can give up on Li Bai, because no team will let him have Li Bai,” Tuanzi said with a smile. "Yes, so in today's decisive game, we saw that He Liang ended up with the jungler Darmo." "Hmm... Damo is a versatile hero. He has the ability to initiate team fights and is not very dependent on gold. Choosing Damo as a jungler means giving up some experience to the damage dealers," Tuanzi analyzed. "The match has started now. Both sides have made some initial contact and tested each other without any conflict breaking out. It's been a relatively peaceful start," Lu You began his commentary. "Team Tianze gave the blue buff directly to their mid laner and the red buff to their marksman... Wow, I just said that the jungler Damo would probably give up some experience, but I didn't expect him to give it up so completely!" Zhou Jin, the mid-laner for Tianze, is known as the best mid-laner in the KPL. In his daily games, he often says that if he doesn't deal 50% of the damage, he'll lose. Even in the KPL arena, his damage percentage consistently hovers around 40%, with occasional amazing performances exceeding 50%. Tianze's marksman Zhang Shichi is known for his skillful positioning and precise maneuvers, and his Marco Polo is often banned by opponents. However, in this match, his Marco Polo was released, and Tianze immediately picked it for him as their first pick. With both heroes currently absorbing the blue and red buffs, Tianze's intention to build the game around them is quite clear. Both are top-tier professionals, so this arrangement isn't entirely unexpected. However, in He Yu's eyes, both Zhou Jin and Zhang Shichi, while strong, share a flaw—they can unleash explosive damage, but they consistently fail to decisively finish off opponents. This seems to stem from their excessive concern for safety while dealing damage, resulting in them always finding themselves just a little too far from low health when it's time to secure a kill. The current strategy of Tianze is to ensure the development of these two players, hoping that their economic advantage will solve the problem of their output always being "just one hit short"? But wouldn't it be better to let He Liang play an assassin jungler instead? He Yu was somewhat puzzled, but the competition continued. "Both sides are now making plans around the first Tyrant, but Tianze's jungler, Damo, has given up too much gold and is not even level four yet. Should they give up this Tyrant?" "Seeing that Bodhidharma is below level four, Zhongnan is determined to take action against the tyrant!" "It seems Tianze isn't going to give way! They're coming! Damo jumps over the wall and enters the arena! Is no one going to stop him? Smite! Got it! Both sides probably released Smite at the same time, but in the end, He Liang's Damo got the Tyrant. But it seems he can't leave... Oops, first blood... Damo lost first blood, but he got the Tyrant, so this exchange is still acceptable." "Well, after all, Tianze's jungler in this game is more support-oriented..." He Yu, sitting in front of the computer, looked serious. Because Zhou Jin and Zhang Shichi prioritized safety, they hadn't put enough pressure on each other during the Tyrant fight. Damo's entry was less of a steal and more of a steal. In the end, He Yu secured the Tyrant entirely through precise timing and skill execution, which involved a large element of luck. What if he hadn't done that? Losing the Tyrant and then the first blood would have immediately put Team Tianze at a disadvantage. "Alright, this wave, we can tower dive. Damo has already gone up, one ultimate, great...wait? The marksman and support didn't follow up...Damo tanked two tower shots, this wave...the enemy support has arrived...we're going to get counter-killed...sigh...dead, this Tianze coordination was a bit off!" "Yes, if the team works together well, even if Damo dies, it should be a one-for-two exchange, and taking down the bottom tower would be a complete win." "Hmm... I'm in Dharma 020 now, which is a bit uncomfortable." "Dharma entered the fray and hit three people! Beautiful! Uh... but Tianze's two damage dealers were forced back... They chose to retreat, what a pity..." “Damo 030…” "This time, Zhongnan is going to force a team fight in the mid lane!" "Damo has gone to cut off the minion wave! He Liang's choice is quite clever." "Huh? The four Tianze members were caught in the middle and started fighting?" "This... five against four, a one-for-four trade in one go..." "Zhongnan forcibly demolished Crystal, Damo desperately tried to return..." "It's too late...it must be too late..." "Great! Congratulations to the Zhongnan team for winning the KPL Autumn Season Championship this year! Congratulations to them!!" The scene was instantly divided in two: on one side, the jubilation of victory; on the other, the desolation of defeat. He Liang stood in a corner where the lights had been turned off, gazing at the recap of the match on the giant screen, his heart filled with regret. So many moments, if only a tiny bit could have been made, perhaps the outcome would have been different. "Don't be discouraged, you've only just begun. As a newcomer, your performance has been outstanding." The referee, leaving the arena, patted him on the shoulder and said. The other four main players of the Tianze team had already stood outside the arena, watching the referee's praise of He Liang with cold eyes. "Thank you," He Liang quickly expressed his gratitude, his heart already pounding with excitement. Yes, this was just the beginning; this was only his first season in the KPL. There was a long road ahead, and he was certain he would stand at the center of this stage. As he looked longingly towards the center of the stage where the awards ceremony was about to be held, an impatient voice came from behind him. Are you coming or not? "Oh, they're here." Hearing his teammates call him, He Liang hurriedly chased after them. In the post-match interview, he wasn't dejected, but rather full of hope: "I'll work even harder next season." Seeing his brother on the screen, He Yu smiled. He believed that one day his brother would stand in the center of the competition stage and raise the championship trophy high. But next season... The season after next... The season after next... Five whole years, ten seasons. Since that day, Team Tianze has never made it to the finals again. Highly anticipated? A prodigy jungler? The higher they were praised, the harder they fell. "His strength has been overestimated, and his actual level is not enough to serve as the core of a top team." "He became complacent and relaxed after joining a top team. He lacked ambition." "Too selfish, focused on individual performance, and lacking communication and cooperation with teammates." Discussions about He Liang, which began with lavish praise in the first season, gradually turned into a barrage of negative comments. Finally, five years later, the discussion has died down, because few people still hold any expectations for He Liang. The once-promising rookie now appears to be just another ordinary player on the KPL stage. "We'll work even harder next season." He Liang didn't say those words in the fifth year, or even the tenth season. A few days later, He Yu saw news about his brother in the news: the official spokesperson for the Tianze team announced that He Liang was retiring. The comments below the news weren't filled with reluctance, only the resentment of some longtime fans who felt their brother hadn't lived up to expectations. In the past, He Yu would patiently argue with people when he saw criticisms of his brother. This time, however, he couldn't care less. He sent messages to his brother as he rushed out of the house. As soon as he got downstairs, he saw He Liang carrying large bags and small packages. For the past five years, he had devoted himself to competitions and training and had not returned home even once. “Brother…” He Yu felt a lump in his throat. "I'm back," He Liang said with a smile. Five years ago, he smiled after his failure, because everything was just beginning, and he was full of confidence in his future, his smile brimming with anticipation. Now, five years later, he has failed, and he smiles, but his smile cannot hide the helplessness and bitterness. "It's not your fault," He Yu said. This was the comforting message He Liang sent to He Liang when He Liang lost his first finals match. Every season after that, whenever He Liang lost a match and was eliminated, he would think the same thing and send his brother an encouraging message. “I’m not good enough yet, next…” He Liang shook his head, his reply was always the same. But this time, after saying the first half of the sentence, he cut off the second half after only one word. "Next semester you'll be a senior in high school, and you'll be preparing for the college entrance exam, right?" He Liang started a new sentence with that word. "yes." "Keep up the good work!" "And what about you, brother?" "Me?" Hearing this question, He Liang couldn't help but turn around and look behind him. "Back then, I gave up the college entrance examination in order to enter the professional industry, but at least I didn't stop learning and got a correspondence degree. I'll find a job first, and then consider whether to pursue a master's degree." "That's not what I meant. I meant, what about Honor of Kings?" He Yu said. "King of Glory... If you want to rank up, I can carry you!" He Liang said with a smile. "You know that's not what I meant..." “I know what you want to say. Five years of professional career, you want to ask me if I’m satisfied? I’ve worked so hard for so many years, done everything I could, so there’s really nothing to be satisfied or not satisfied with. I’m choosing to retire because I’ve let go, and I don’t have any regrets about it. So, that’s it!” He Liang put down his luggage, raised his hand and patted He Yu on the shoulder. "elder brother……" "I'm going upstairs first. Are Mom and Dad home? Don't come back too late." He Liang said, turning and walking into the stairwell. He Yu watched He Liang's retreating figure, feeling an indescribable sadness in his heart. He knew that although his brother said those words, how could he not feel a little melancholy? But since things had come to this, there was really no need to say anything more. "Brother, let me help you with your luggage," He Yu called out, about to chase after him. But just as he approached the building entrance, he suddenly heard soft sobbing coming from the stairwell. He Yu froze on the spot, not going in, only to hear the sobbing grow louder and louder, finally turning into a cathartic wail.