Chapter 15 — Middle Road Rules

"You're crazy! Your arm is hurting!" Bảo Châu exclaimed, clutching Đăng's arm tightly.

She felt the heat from his wrists transmitted through the hoodie. She knew how serious Đăng's injury was. Competing at high intensity in such a tense quarterfinal match was like committing suicide for his career as a gamer.

"Châu, look at me," Đăng turned around, grabbed Châu's shoulders, his eyes steadfast and fiery. "Up until now, you have always been the one to protect the team with the care and heart of a manager. Now it's time for the Captain to do his job. In this match, I'm not only fighting for Hoàng Diệu's victory, but I'm fighting to regain my own honor."

He looked towards the Alpha team's command bench. Lê Hoàng was standing there with his arms crossed, the corner of his lips curled up in a contemptuous smile. He didn't believe that a traumatized and psychologically broken kid like Đăng could accomplish anything. Furthermore, this was an amateur tournament, and Lê Hoàng knew that even if Đăng won, he would gain nothing back from the professional world.

But Đăng did not need the professional world. He only needed to prove that Shadow had never been defeated by skill, but only by filth.

Châu bit her lip and slowly let go. She gave up her seat to Đăng and stood back as a replacement coach. Even though she didn't understand much about picks and bans, she absolutely believed in the guy sitting in front of her.

"Tuấn, Hùng, Kiên, Nam," Đăng gently rubbed his right wrist and placed his hand on the mouse. "Last game, you guys played very well. They only won because our Mid was hit too hard. In this game, I'll take it all back."

"Big brother takes action, we are willing to be the background!" Hùng 'Gaur' patted his chest, his enthusiasm returned.

The second game began.

Lê Hoàng ordered the team to ban all of Shadow's familiar assassin champions. He wanted to eliminate Đăng's ability to deal burst damage.

When it came to the final selection of HD E-sports, Đăng smiled coldly. He did not pick an assassin. He locked in "Orion" - a classic Mage champion capable of controlling magical spheres. Orion was not mobile and could not deal immediate damage, but his damage over time and late-game area control were formidable. In return, he required patience and near-perfect positioning.

"A clumsy mage? This kid was out of ideas," Lê Hoàng smiled faintly.

But just three minutes into the match, Alpha's mid laner was already under tremendous pressure.

Hải Đăng did not play aggressively. He controlled Orion, moving as smoothly as a ghost. Every time the enemy Mid Laner tried to step up to take a wave, a sphere of Orion's magic would fly in, chipping off a small amount of health with terrifying precision.

Đăng maintained perfect spacing. He stood right at the edge of the enemy's skill range, causing the opponent to continuously miss his attacks, while Đăng easily returned the damage. Đăng's APM (actions per minute) did not spike dramatically; it was as delicate and precise as a surgeon wielding a scalpel.

At the six-minute mark, the opposing mid laner had been poked down to critical health, forcing them to retreat to the tower to recall.

"Tuấn! The mid laner has lost Flash. Come here!" Đăng made a brief team call.

Tuấn 'Compass' was immediately present in the grass on the riverbank. Đăng controlled Orion to step up and throw a magic sphere to slow down the opponent, creating the perfect foundation for Tuấn to rush out and unleash his control skills.

*FIRST BLOOD!*

First Blood went to Hải Đăng's Orion. The gymnasium erupted in surprise. The captain of the defending city champion was easily defeated in the sixth minute.

"Calm down! It's just luck. Jungle guy go gank it for me!" Lê Hoàng shouted through the radio.

But Đăng seemed to know his opponent's every move. He knew for sure that the enemy Forest would target him.

Three minutes later, Alpha's jungler, Lê Hoàng's nephew, came around behind Đăng. The opposing mid laner also rushed forward to pinch him between them. A two-on-one situation was extremely dangerous for a Mage without escape skills like Orion.

The audience held their breath. Bảo Châu clasped her hands together and silently prayed.

In the split second of life and death, Đăng's fingers flew across the keyboard. He did not retreat to the tower. He flashed forward, quickly dodging the enemy jungler's knock-up, placing a sphere right at the opponent's Mid Lane's feet.

*BOOM!*

The sphere exploded, stunning both enemies standing close together. Đăng immediately unleashed his ultimate move - a wide-area magic storm, tearing apart the health bars of those who dared to challenge him.

*DOUBLE KILL!*

A classic outplay. The whole arena exploded in applause. The commentator screamed hoarsely on the mic: *"That was unbelievable! His evasion skills were like those of a pre-programmed machine! Hoàng Diệu's new Mid Laner is a monster!"*

Đăng let out a breath, sweat began to drip on his forehead. His right wrist throbbed. The strain of high-speed mechanical movement was beginning to take its toll. He gritted his teeth, ignored the pain, and continued pushing the tower.

From that moment on, the match completely slipped out of Alpha team's hands. With a huge advantage in the Mid lane, Đăng started moving around the map. Wherever he appeared, someone died. Hùng 'Gaur', Kiên '3G' and Nam 'Coward' simply followed Orion's shadow, cleaning up the rest of the battlefield.

Hoàng Diệu's scrappy squad had now transformed into a disciplined army under the leadership of an undefeated general.

In the 20th minute, HD E-sports wiped out Alpha at the dragon pit and pushed straight through to destroy the opposing base, leaving Lê Hoàng utterly helpless.

The score was 1–1. The quarterfinal was forced into a deciding third game.

Đăng loosened his grip on the mouse and gently twisted his aching wrist. He turned around and looked up at Lê Hoàng. Even though his face was obscured by a hoodie, through those sharp eyes, the message was transmitted very clearly:

*I'm back. And this time, no one can secretly stab me.*

The third game, the Deciding Game (Blind Pick) began in the utmost excitement of the whole Gymnasium. The ghost "Shadow" had truly come back to life, ready to inflict the final punishment on the arrogant.

Before entering the cabin, Lê Hoàng deliberately passed by Đăng, leaned close to his ear and whispered loud enough for only him to hear. "Do you think winning game two is enough? Game three, I will let your whole team experience the same feeling you experienced at VG. The feeling of being abandoned by your own teammates in the middle of the match."

Đăng paused for half a second, his fists clenched. But instead of responding, he just turned his head and looked straight into the eyes of the man who had destroyed his career.

“My teammates are not like your teammates, Lê Hoàng,” Đăng said, his voice surprisingly calm. "You can bribe one person. But you cannot bribe an entire group that has learned to trust each other."

Lê Hoàng frowned, a bit surprised by the calmness of the student who once trembled under his power. But he quickly regained his familiar contemptuous expression, waved his hand and left without saying another word.

Đăng stood alone in the hallway, taking a deep breath to calm himself. He looked back towards the cabin, where his four teammates were waiting, and Bảo Châu was standing at the door, waving her hand to signal that time was running out. He stepped forward, leaving behind all the old threats of someone who no longer had any power over his life.

Entering the cabin, Châu immediately recognized Đăng's strange expression. "What's wrong? You're clenching your fists."

"Nothing," Đăng replied, trying to relax his hand. "Just seeing some old ghosts in the hallway."

Châu looked at him for a moment, didn't ask for more details, just gave him a bottle of water. "Leave the ghosts out there. In here, there were only the third game and the five of us waiting for you to lead."

Đăng took the bottle of water, took a sip, and felt calm gradually return. He sat down at his seat, put on his headphones, and in that moment, all thoughts about Lê Hoàng, about old threats, disappeared, giving way to an absolute concentration that only top players could achieve.

"Are you ready, everyone?" Đăng asked through the internal microphone.

"Ready!" Four voices rang out in unison, determined and without any hesitation.

The countdown screen started running. Game three, the game that decided the fate of the entire journey, officially kicked off, bringing with it the hope of the entire team that had gone through so many ups and downs together to reach that moment.