Chapter 659
Sang-hyeok, We Await Your Challenge
"We have the big dragon."
Looking at the three Gen.G members on the gray screen, Su Mo's tone remained as calm as if he were discussing what to eat for dinner. He controlled Quesanti and didn't linger for even a second longer, turning directly towards Baron Nashor's dragon pit.
At 24 minutes, EDG, with the Baron buff, launched a classic 4-1 split push that was breathtaking.
Facing a Quesant built with Iceborn Gauntlet, Thousand Shapeshifter Jax, and Thornmail, Doran's Ornn didn't even have the right to glance at the minion wave on the sideline. Su Mo didn't tower dive for a solo kill; instead, he acted like a heartless steamroller, crushing Gen.G's vision and survival space bit by bit.
At 28 minutes and 15 seconds, with the bottom lane high ground destroyed, EDG swiftly pushed down the red base crystal.
"Congratulations to EDG! In the opening match of the Swiss round, they effortlessly defeated LCK's number one seed, Gen.G!" On the commentary desk, Guan Zeyuan, though heartbroken, could only sincerely praise, "Mozi's Quesant is an insurmountable wall of sighs when defending, but more deadly than an assassin when attacking!"
At the gaming table, Su Mo calmly took off his headphones and carefully wound up the mouse cable.
Ah Chen and Xiao Yue were so excited that their faces turned red. This was the first time they had defeated an LCK champion team in the main event of the World Championship.
"Let's go shake hands," Su Mo said casually, putting his hands in his pockets and walking at the front of the group.
As they approached Gen.G's booth, Chovy and Peanut both looked dejected. When Su Mo walked past, they bowed slightly, their eyes revealing a deep sense of powerlessness.
That was the instinctive awe one felt when facing a mountain that rose from the ground in Season 7 and has now dominated the entire League of Legends professional scene for seven years.
From the Ardent Censer meta of Season 7, to the Fighting Vision meta of Season 8, and then to the arrival of jungle carries and Mythic items, and even through countless hero reworks and attribute changes, Su Mo remains a constant through ever-changing metas.
As long as he sits there, the championship trophy seems to have his name engraved on it.
……
It was already 11 p.m. Seoul time when we got back to the hotel.
Other teams might relax with fried chicken and beer after a victory, but EDG's suite was so quiet that only the sound of mouse clicks could be heard.
Su Mo changed into a comfortable gray cotton pajama set, wore blue light blocking glasses on her nose, and held a thermos with a "veteran cadre" design in her hand. The thermos contained goji berries and cassia seeds, from which wisps of steam rose.
He was sitting at the table, intently watching the replay of the match he had just watched.
"Brother Mo, everyone online is raving about your 'ultimate move that kidnapped the AD carry over the wall,' Twitter and Reddit are exploding." Ah Chen leaned over with his phone, his face full of excitement. "They've given you a new nickname on the international internet, 'The Final Boss.'"
"Don't look at those." Su Mo didn't even turn his head, and circled the 15-minute and 20-second mark of the replay with his mouse. "Chen, look here. I was pushing the lane top, and Peanut's Maokai was moving towards the bottom half of the jungle. You could have easily gone into his top jungle and taken that Gromp. But you hesitated for three seconds. You don't notice those three seconds when playing against weak teams, but if the opponent is Kanavi from JDG or Oner from T1, your vision in the top half of the jungle will be completely lost."
Ah Chen froze for a moment, cold sweat pouring down his back. The joy of winning against Gen.G was instantly extinguished by Su Mo's precise analysis. He quickly took out his notebook and wrote it down: "I understand, Brother Mo."
Mingkai walked over from the next room, holding a stack of match schedules. Looking at this scene, he smiled with a mix of helplessness and relief.
"Su Mo, can't you give these two rookies a break?" Ming Kai laughed as he tossed the schedule onto the table. "The first round of the Swiss system is over today, and the situation is basically clear."
Su Mo picked up his thermos and took a sip of hot water, finally looking up from the screen: "Tell me about it."
“Our LPL is really strong this year.” Mingkai pulled up a chair and sat down, pointing to the table. “Besides our victory over Gen.G, JDG also easily crushed G2 from Europe, currently 1-0. LNG steadily defeated the North American team. WBG had a bit of a struggle, but still won.”
"What about LCK?" Su Mo asked.
“T1 beat the European and American teams, and DK suffered a shock defeat to KT, resulting in an all-Chinese affair. So now in Group 1-0, there are four LPL teams from our league, plus T1, KT, and two European and American teams.” Mingkai paused, his eyes becoming serious. “The draw results for tomorrow are out. Our opponent in Group 1-0 is DK.”
“ShowMaker and Canyon,” Su Mo said calmly, turning the lid of the cup in his hand. “Old rivals.”
In the noisy e-sports circle, Su Mo is frighteningly low-key. He never posts Weibo posts that stir up trouble, never makes trash talk in interviews, and even turns down commercial endorsements.
But when the coaching staff of all the teams reviewed the games late at night and looked at that ID, they all felt a deep sense of despair.
“DK’s performance has been a bit inconsistent lately, but their mid-jungle synergy is still there.” Su Mo closed his notebook, stood up and stretched. “Yue will be under a lot of pressure tomorrow. ShowMaker isn’t Chovy; he’ll roam and gank even if he doesn’t need to farm.”
Xiao Yue listened attentively, nodding repeatedly like a well-behaved elementary school student.
"Alright, everyone go to sleep early. The game is at 2 PM tomorrow, so keep your form." Su Mo waved his hand and turned to walk back to his bedroom.
Watching Su Mo close the door, Ming Kai sighed and said to the two newcomers, "See? This is a true god. He's won every championship, yet he still reviews his games until midnight like a rookie trainee. With him around, you should be secretly thrilled."
……
The following afternoon, the second round of the Swiss train took place.
EDG vs. DK.
During the draft phase, DK's head coach Acorn practically shaved his head off.
The top three bans are: Aatrox, Fiora, and Quesant.
Second round bans: Ornn, Jax.
Ban five top laners!
The entire Korean audience erupted in uproar, and even DK fans felt somewhat embarrassed. Banning five top laners wasn't just an extreme display of fear towards a player; it was more like a public surrender.
"Brother Mo, it seems the other side isn't planning to let you play the game anymore," Meiko exclaimed in the voice chat.
Su Mo looked at the extremely flexible kiting lineup locked down by the opposing team—Kennian in the top lane, Lee Sin in the jungle, and Syndra in the mid lane.
"Trying to pull things out?" A barely perceptible smile appeared on Su Mo's lips. "Since they're so eager for a free-for-all, let's give them a little push."
"Give it to me, Hand of Noxus."
Darius!
The moment the Bloodrage General wielding the giant axe was locked down, the Seoul arena erupted in jubilation. This was an extremely unpopular hero on the world stage, easily kited. But the fact that Su Mo had picked him meant that the top lane was destined to be a bloodbath.
The game lasts 14 minutes.
DK's top laner, Canna, looked at his 0-3 score and his hands were trembling slightly.
He was playing Kennen, a champion with long range against short range. But he was devastated to discover that Su Mo's Darius had an almost scripted control over distance. Every time he tried to engage with a basic attack to harass, Darius's E, Relentless Hand, would pull him back at the very last second.
The scariest thing was that 1v2 situation.
Canyon's Lee Sin came to gank top lane.
Su Mo didn't retreat; the fully healed Darius charged straight at the two opponents. He used his outer ring attack to heal, followed by a basic attack and then his W to slow them down, kiting and maneuvering. Just as he was kicked into the air by Lee Sin's ultimate, he used his Q skill, landing perfectly to deal outer ring damage and inflict five stacks of Bloodrage. Then, his ultimate, [Noxian Guillotine], crashed down!
Lee Sin was cleaved in two, and his ultimate ability was refreshed. He flashed over the wall and cleaved Kennen, who was trying to escape, in two with an axe.
"This isn't Darius, this is a true god of war!" The English commentators on the foreign website were so excited they were almost incoherent. "Su Mo has shown us that there are no useless heroes, only invincible players!"
23 minutes.
With a huge advantage, EDG, relying on Darius's unstoppable pressure in team fights, swiftly destroyed DK's base.
2-0!
EDG proudly advanced to the Swiss round of the qualifying tournament.
In the post-match interview, when asked by the Korean host, "Su Mo, even with five bans on top laners, we still couldn't stop you. Where do you see yourself at right now?"
Su Mo, dressed in a neat team uniform, spoke with a gentle and humble expression: "Actually, it's not that exaggerated. When the opponent bans my champions, it means my teammates get a more comfortable lineup. League of Legends is a five-player game. I was able to gain an advantage because my jungler and mid laner gave me enough information and protection. This is only part of the team's victory."
Impeccable and extremely humble.
But the coaches of the various teams watching this interview backstage could only manage a wry smile.
You call that a team victory? You out-farmed the enemy Kennen by 60 CS in 14 minutes and got three solo kills, and you call that a team victory?
But that's just Su Mo. He never uses his brilliance as a source of pride; he's as low-key as a deep pool, but if you try to test his limits, you'll be drowned instantly.
……
A few days later, the third round of the Swiss round (the 2-0 group advancement match).
As the competition progresses, the performance of each team is becoming increasingly clear.
JDG demonstrated terrifying dominance, advancing to the promotion stage with a 2-0 record.
T1 defeated LNG in the second round, securing a hard-fought 2-0 victory.
EDG's opponent this time is none other than the red-hot European dark horse G2.
There is no suspense.
Facing G2, who love to pull off unconventional plays, Su Mo picked an extremely solid Sion.
Despite G2's top laner BrokenBlade's attempt to make flashy plays with Yasuo, SuMo's Sion did only one thing: push the lane, farm tower plates, and then drive to support other lanes.
At 25 minutes, a "Death Stream Warrior" with 6,000 health and 500 armor was at the front. G2 used all their skills but couldn't even break Sion's white shield.
3-0!
With an undefeated record, EDG became the first team to advance to the quarterfinals of the S13 World Championship!
Following that, JDG also defeated LNG 2-1 to advance to the quarterfinals.
T1 won their internal battle against KT, advancing to the quarterfinals with a 3-0 victory.
The night the Swiss rounds ended and the quarterfinals were announced.
In a high-end barbecue restaurant in Seoul, South Korea.
Su Mo, wearing a black baseball cap and a plain hoodie, sat alone at a corner table, quietly grilling pork belly. He didn't like noisy gatherings, and Ming Kai had given him permission to come out and get some fresh air on his own.
"Fuck-"
The aroma of grilled meat filled the air. Su Mo picked up a lettuce leaf, wrapped a piece of meat dipped in sauce, and slowly put it into her mouth.
Just then, the door to the private room was pushed open, and a young man wearing a black jacket and round-framed glasses walked in.
It's Faker.
He seemed to have just finished training and was out for a late-night snack. When he saw Su Mo sitting in the corner, he was slightly taken aback, then politely walked over and greeted him in slightly broken Chinese: "Su Mo, hello."
Su Mo looked up, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. She then stood up and pointed to the empty seat opposite her: "Sang Hyeok, sit down. Want to eat something together?"
Although they are rivals on the field, off the field, as the two holders of the highest honor in this game, they share a tacit understanding of mutual respect.
Faker sat down, looked at Su Mo's unpretentious demeanor, and sighed softly.
"Your performance this year is still terrifyingly hopeless," Faker said in Korean. There was no translator beside him, but he knew that Su Mo could understand some simple esports terms.
Su Mo used tongs to flip the beef on the grill, her movements skillful and elegant.
“You’re not bad either. I heard T1 has a high win rate in scrims lately.” Su Mo’s tone was very calm, as if he were chatting with an old friend. “We’ll be in different halves of the bracket for the quarterfinals. See you in the finals if we have the chance.”
Faker looked at the young man in front of him. Although he was a few years younger than him, Su Mo's composure and restraint even made this veteran who had been playing professionally for more than ten years feel intimidated.
In this fickle world, some people hype themselves up for traffic, while others, after winning a championship, see their value skyrocket and then start to slack off. Only this person in front of me, from the moment he lifted the trophy at the Bird's Nest in S7, has been guarding his throne like an ascetic monk for seven years straight.
No one can take it away.
"See you in the finals." Faker pushed up his glasses, his eyes becoming incredibly determined. "This time, I will overcome this mountain."
Su Mo smiled slightly and placed a piece of top-grade Korean beef that he had just grilled onto Faker's plate.
"Eat more." Su Mo's voice was gentle, yet it carried an absolute confidence that commanded the world. "The mountain is right here. But to climb over it, having the will is not enough."
He picked up the warm water glass beside him and gently touched it to Faker's teacup.
"I look forward to your challenge, Sang-hyeok. But that's all I'm looking forward to."
After the brief barbecue with Faker, Su Mo quietly paid the bill, pulled up his hood, put his hands in his hoodie pockets, and walked alone back to the team's hotel.
There were no throngs of fans or noisy media. In an era where even substitute players practically need two assistants when they go out, this "first in history" with six S-series championship trophies and just won an Asian Games gold medal lives like an ordinary international student.
As soon as I stepped into the hotel lobby, my phone vibrated slightly in my pocket.
Su Mo took out his phone, and a WeChat message popped up on the screen. It was from the girl with the cartoon cat profile picture, Shen Yiyin.
"Su Mo! Congratulations on advancing to the quarterfinals with a 3-0 victory! I secretly watched your match during my break in the recording studio today. Although I don't quite understand what that axe-wielding guy's skill is, watching you keep chasing and hacking at others was so impressive! [Celebration.gif][Celebration.gif]" (End of Chapter)