"We're not getting any openings. We can't just do nothing forever, right? FoFo, since you've got lane priority this wave, let's just go top and gank. Three-man dive one—there's no way they react in time." Weiwei pinged on the minimap.
If they kept playing like this, the pressure on bot lane was just too big.
And top lane was the place they could open the game. They should be making a play top, not just peacefully scaling.
FoFo agreed. Farming evenly against Vladimir with Viktor wasn't the end of the world, but in teamfights, Vladimir would have far more impact than Viktor.
Bot lane was already behind. If things continued like this, the game would only get harder.
Since the opportunity was there, they had to try.
So FoFo piloted Viktor up toward top lane.
The moment he moved, Tian's ward in river saw him clearly.
Lin Fan immediately pinged Duke up top.
Looks like the earlier attempt to squat failed, and now BLG was pissed—ready to tear off the mask and three-man dive.
Lin Fan used Q to drain the cannon minion, then charged E and detonated it, quickly clearing the entire wave. He then steered Vladimir toward top.
Time was tight, so he even popped Ghost immediately.
Tian's vision did major work—otherwise Lin Fan wouldn't have been so decisive about using Ghost just to get there.
As Vladimir disappeared from mid, BLG's top-mid-jungle trio prepared to pull the trigger.
Breath didn't even bother to pretend anymore—he forcibly shoved the wave in.
Viktor and Trundle also moved into the brush under blue side's tier-one, looping behind to cut off the escape route.
Afraid that delay would cause something to change, they planned to dump damage immediately and burst Jayce down.
Zoom had Lin Fan's warning plus Tian's vision, so he was mentally prepared.
Even though he was only at half HP, he wasn't too nervous.
Because on the minimap, he could see Vladimir trudging over mountains and rivers—finally arriving top right now.
That was the power of Ghost!
He ran the moment mid lane disappeared, and arrived just in time as the enemy dove.
For real—actually there.
Not the kind of teammate who says "I'm coming" while still ten thousand miles away from top lane.
This kind of security from a teammate was ten thousand times better than any trash talk.
BLG wanted to end it fast.
Weiwei used E to try to slow.
FoFo also dropped W right under Jayce's feet.
Under that double pressure, Zoom instantly swapped to melee form and slammed onto a side minion.
Not only did he dodge both soft controls, he also repositioned to a safer spot.
But Graves' damage followed right after.
Zoom could only use E again to knock Graves back.
Yet under pressure from three people, even with perfect mechanics, his health still dropped frighteningly fast.
Weiwei was just as decisive. He flashed in on Trundle and took a bite, reducing Jayce's attack damage, then followed with more output.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry—I can't tank the turret much longer. You two finish off his remaining HP!" Weiwei called, while controlling Trundle to step outside the turret's range.
The others didn't dare to drag it out. FoFo swept a laser through and activated his ultimate.
Zoom had endured this whole time for exactly this moment—he flashed, dodging Viktor's ultimate and E damage.
But you can dodge the first, not the fifteenth.
Graves' ultimate then roared in.
A heavy shell blasted straight into Jayce!
His HP plunged. Already at half and eating three people's spells—Jayce couldn't hold.
But Duke dragged it out for so long to buy Lin Fan time!
With Ghost active, Vladimir finally arrived top lane!
Before BLG's top-mid-jungle trio could even celebrate, they suddenly felt their scalps go cold.
"Let the blood flow!"
The Vampire Count let out a seductive, wicked voice as crimson light flooded the area.
One raised hand, one sip—and the Trundle tanking turret was drained into a dried husk!
Duke had already fallen and gave up first blood. Only getting Trundle's head back obviously wasn't worth it.
Lin Fan immediately shifted his sights to Viktor and Graves.
Without any hesitation—Flash into ultimate, then instantly recharged E to apply the slow.
Both Viktor and Graves were slowed.
They had already spent most of their cooldowns. In that situation, Lin Fan felt zero pressure.
The kill order was obvious: Graves first, then Viktor if there was a chance.
Viktor's health bar was still healthy. Dumping everything into him might not even kill.
But Graves was already not in great shape. As long as Lin Fan could stick, his damage was enough.
Phase Rush procced as well—movement speed shot up, and Lin Fan glued himself on effortlessly.
When the second wave of the ultimate returned, Graves' HP was already emptied.
Then the second Q went onto Viktor—Crimson Rush, one vicious drain, dealing over 170 damage.
FoFo panicked and burned Flash.
Only then did Lin Fan turn back, satisfied, to handle the minion wave.
Force Flash without killing—using it here was still acceptable.
This fight ended as a 1-for-2. TES came out slightly ahead, and Vladimir picked up two kills.
Meanwhile, Tian happily ate two jungle camps on the bottom side.
TES's advantage was slowly growing.
For BLG, this was supposed to be their top-lane opening.
Instead, Vladimir descended like a divine soldier and shattered the entire plan.
If they hadn't at least gotten Jayce's kill, they would've lost everything. Even as it was, it was still hard to accept.
Because now Vladimir had two kills in hand—this kind of growth was hard to suppress.
Back in mid lane, FoFo stared at the two kills floating above Vladimir's head and felt worse and worse.
As a mid laner, you're supposed to have your own ideas.
He'd planned to recall, update items, then return to lane—so why did he get pulled to top by just two waves?
It was because his damage was low, and he hadn't earned the shot-calling authority!
From here on out, he had to crank his damage and make his teammates listen to his calls.
If he hadn't gone top, this Vladimir wouldn't be so arrogant…
Vladimir used E to shove a huge wave into turret.
FoFo hurriedly piloted Viktor to last-hit.
Then he pinged on the minimap.
This was the enemy mid's usual play—push the wave, then apply pressure to top and bot.
But how does Vladimir even gank?
His ultimate was already used. At most, he could bluff.
FoFo only pinged and didn't take it too seriously, focusing on farming.
He was about to level E. Once that happened, one E could clear multiple minions—his waveclear would be faster than Vladimir's. Then roaming pressure would be his instead.
So FoFo kept his attention on the wave.
Lin Fan's initial plan really was to feint.
He had a lot of gold—over 2000. He could recall and buy most of a Hextech Rocketbelt.
But when he moved toward bot side, bot lane didn't react much at all.
So that was an opening.
Tian immediately followed behind Lin Fan.
Mid-jungle synergy—straight to bot for a gank.
Seeing his mid-jungle already collapsing, JackeyLove even deliberately "sold" a little while stepping up to last-hit.
He ate abilities from both Sivir and Karma.
His HP dropped by a huge chunk.
He quickly controlled Jinx to retreat.
BLG's bot duo saw it—after being bullied for so long, a chance finally appeared. They couldn't waste it. At minimum, they had to force a summoner out of JackeyLove.
So they chased out.
Backstage, BLG's entire coaching staff couldn't help but shout.
Get back! Get back right now!
But the backstage yelling couldn't reach the stage.
The coach's face turned iron-blue.
What the hell were these two doing? JackeyLove had been pressing you the whole time—why would he suddenly "give you a flaw" for free?
Wasn't it obviously baiting you two to walk out?
And you two just happily swallowed the hook?
Big Dog's brain short-circuited, and Crisp—why didn't you hold him back?
No matter how BLG's staff complained backstage, it didn't change reality.
Hecarim appeared first, Ghost active, sprinting in like a mad horse.
Vladimir arrived right after.
They'd already chased too far. Even if bot lane tried to run now, it was too late.
JackeyLove's positioning was extremely careful—minimizing the risk of getting traded back.
Once the enemy duo's health was "handled" to a certain point, he walked up and finished them with a basic attack to secure the kill.
After this play, Vladimir and Jinx each took one kill.
Vladimir's gold shot up to 2300…
Seeing the situation, Guan Zeyuan spoke up on the caster desk:
"BLG is already in a very difficult spot this game. Brother Infinite Borders' two roams have tilted the scales toward TES. A Vladimir with three kills… I honestly don't know how BLG deals with it. Their comp simply can't handle Vladimir."
The moment he said that, the livestream chat exploded again.
"Please, Director Guan, don't start your curse!"
"We want to see BLG die—not to see TES die!"
"We already saw you support BLG before the match. Please know your place when you cast."
"Just cast normally. Nothing extra."
"But what Guan Zeyuan said is true. Brother Infinite Borders has three kills. How does BLG's comp restrict Vladimir? In teamfights, pop Ghost and he can just charge in."
"Not afraid of ten thousand—afraid of the one-in-ten-thousand. If Guan Zeyuan 'blesses' this, even an ampoule might crawl back to life…"
After taking the kill bot lane, Lin Fan recalled to buy items.
This time, he directly purchased Hextech Alternator, a Blasting Wand, and even had enough for Boots and a Control Ward.
Plus seven stacks on Dark Seal—his Ability Power jumped to 121.
Even without a Crimson Rush Q, one bite still hit the artery.
Viktor couldn't pressure Vladimir early anyway. Now seeing this build, he dared even less to step up.
If you want to die, there are ten thousand ways.
But being tortured to death by Vladimir sipping you bit by bit—that was the most painful.
For the sake of his career, FoFo had no intention of doing that.
Weiwei also had no intention of coming mid to "handle" Vladimir.
How do Viktor plus Trundle kill Vladimir?
They'd probably get kited to death and deal zero damage.
Since that was the case, they might as well give up and avoid humiliation.
"Brother Fan, with your gear now, you can solo-clear F6, right?"
"No. But isn't it weird for your Hecarim to not take F6?" Lin Fan found Tian's question a bit surprising.
"I'll farm it. But I'll farm theirs, and you farm mine. That way both of us keep up, and we also suppress Trundle's development."
"…Your brain is sharp enough. Sure."
Mid lane priority was completely in Vladimir's hands right now. If Tian wanted to invade raptors, Lin Fan could rotate.
That way, neither of them lost farm—and they even compressed Trundle's growth.
As time passed, Vladimir's level rose, his CS climbed, and Lin Fan started playing even more aggressively.
FoFo's pressure spiked.
His health trades were completely asymmetric against Vladimir.
Vladimir hit hard—one sip, and the damage he took just came right back.
And as Q was leveled up, the efficiency only increased.
Vladimir finally started to look like a real vampire.
Viktor's HP dropped below half.
Under that pressure, "Ghost Fo" had no choice but to call for jungle help.
Weiwei also knew mid couldn't go wrong. The moment he heard the call, he rushed over.
As long as Viktor ate this wave under turret, he could recall and relieve some pressure.
Seeing Trundle beside him, FoFo finally let out a breath.
With jungle here, Vladimir shouldn't do anything crazy, right?
But Vladimir's next move shattered mid-jungle's assumptions.
After shoving the wave into turret, not only did Vladimir not back off—he stepped forward, pushing into their space.
Then he found the timing and dropped his ultimate.
That puddle of tainted blood landed—hitting both of them.
A tower dive 1v2?
There was no time for Weibo's mid-jungle to even think.
Vladimir's charged E was already ready—detonating instantly.
In that moment, half-HP Viktor's health plunged straight into the danger zone.
FoFo panicked and tried to Q Vladimir.
But Vladimir turned into a puddle of blood—W activated, target lost!
And he kept sliding straight under Viktor's feet.
That pool of corrupted blood was deadly, constantly burning Viktor's HP.
Then movement speed surged—Phase Rush had already triggered.
The second wave of the ultimate popped, and Viktor's remaining HP was instantly wiped out.
They didn't even properly "touch" each other head-on—Viktor got deleted in the blink of an eye!
FoFo was still moving his mouse one second ago.
The next second, he was buying items in fountain.
Weiwei was shocked.
He immediately cast Trundle's ultimate onto Vladimir, then ran backward.
But Vladimir chased relentlessly.
That explosive movement speed made it effortless to leash Trundle.
Another Q drained him. The tiny bit of health Trundle clawed back from his ultimate? Gone again…
"I was only planning to take Viktor's head. Didn't expect a buy-one-get-one-free."
Lin Fan pressed Ghost and stayed on Trundle's back, waiting for the second Crimson Rush Q.
A sizzling gulp of thick blood was sucked into Vladimir's body.
At this moment, Weiwei felt like the second he closed his eyes, he'd see Liu, Guan, and Zhang swearing brotherhood in the Peach Garden right beside him…
Double Kill!
"Brother Infinite Borders gets a double kill!"
"Holy—an eleven-minute Vladimir with five kills. BLG's heads have gotta be buzzing."
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup