Chapter 20 — Middle Road Rules

The NHEC regional semifinals officially opened. HD E-sports' opponent was the Nguyễn Trãi High School team - a team famous for its disciplined and extremely pragmatic fighting style.

However, the biggest pressure on Hùng, Tuấn, Kiên and Nam did not come from their opponents, but from the surrounding stood.

After yesterday's exposure, the Gymnasium was packed with spectators today. But instead of cheers and cheers, what Hoàng Diệu's team received were whistles and boos, and banners boycotting "The Betrayer" were spread all over. The enormous psychological pressure made the four male students' hands stiffen on the keyboard.

In the soundproof competition cabin, Hải Đăng wore his Coach badge and stood right behind Hùng 'Gaur'. Bảo Châu, today again played the role of "puppet statue", cowering in the Mid lane position.

"They curse so much, Mr. Đăng," Kiên '3G' cried, sweat pouring out like a shower. "At this rate, I won't be able to farm soldiers."

"Take off your headphones," Đăng coldly ordered.

The whole team was bewildered, but still followed suit. Without headphones, the noise from the stands reverberated through the cabin even more clearly.

"Do you hear anything?" Đăng tapped his fingers on the back of Kiên's chair. "They are screaming. They want us to fall. They want to prove that HD E-sports is just a farce, and I am just scum."

Đăng stopped, put his hands on the table, bent down so his eyes scanned the faces of each member one by one.

"But today, we're not fighting to prove anything to the crowd out there. We're fighting for ourselves. For the sleepless nights practicing Last-Hit. For the defeats but still persevering and not giving up. Just put on your headphones, turn up the In-game volume to the maximum. From now on, in this world there are only the cries of monsters, the sound of releasing moves, and my voice. Is that clear?"

"Understood, Captain!" Hùng screamed, slammed his hands on his cheeks to calm himself, then grabbed the headphones on his head. The remaining three people also immediately followed suit. The fear in their eyes was replaced by a burning fire.

The Pick/Ban phase took place quickly. Team Nguyen Trai, thinking that Đăng could not play, subjectively released the champions of Hùng and Kiên, putting all of Cam's turned into the Mid lane position to suppress Bảo Châu.

"Stupid," Đăng smirked. She told Châu to choose the absolutely safe champion 'Seraph'. In exchange, Hùng locked the 'Ares' champion in his roster, and Kiên got the extremely mobile ADC.

The referee blew the whistle asking the Coach to leave the area. Đăng walked out and calmly sat down in the first row reserved for the team, despite the hundreds of bullet-shaped eyes pointing at his back. He had complete faith in the macro system he had drilled into the boys' heads.

The first match of the Semifinals began.

Without Đăng directly leading the match, the opponent immediately dug into the Mid Lane's weak point. But Châu learned deeply from yesterday's match. She didn't bother to take a step forward, just stood close to the tower, threw a minion clearing move, and ran straight to the altar to restore health. No matter how hard the enemy tried, they could not get First Blood.

The deadlock in the Mid lane made Nguyen Trai decide to shift his attack to the Top lane in an attempt to crush Hùng 'Gaur'.

But Hùng is no longer a "boy 1 champ" who only knows how to rush and kill. "Absorb pressure" - Đăng's first lesson has been thoroughly understood by him. Hùng retreated deeply, weaving through the bushes, luring three enemy members to follow him for two minutes without losing a single life.

Meanwhile, Tuấn 'Compass' - the team's radar - continuously pinged the Dragon cave. Kiên and Nam immediately rushed in and ate the first Dragon smoothly without losing a drop of blood.

"Nice!" Hùng shouted into the microphone even though he had just been defeated in the top lane. One life in exchange for one Dragon, HD E-sports had the advantage.

The progress of the match is exactly like a real combat Macro lesson. Every time the opponent concentrated their manpower to attack a point, the four Hoàng Diệu boys used the strategy of "letting go of shrimp to catch shrimp", abandoning their towers and giving up their lives in exchange for bigger goals on the other side of the field.

The audience in the stands gradually became silent. They are witnessing a team once called a "point warehouse" toying with their opponents with superior tactical thinking.

30th minute of the game. Both teams gather at Baron's cave (the second strongest buff on the map) to decide the winner or loser.

"Listen," Tuấn shouted, playing the role of Caller (tactical caller) instead of Đăng. "They're clustered together in a narrow space. Nam, count 3-2-1 and then use your final move to control a wide area! Hùng follows immediately!"

"Yes!" Nam shouted, his originally timid hand now moved extremely decisively.

3... 2... 1...

Press Flash, rush straight into the heart of the enemy, throwing out a ball of light that stuns a wide area, hitting all four enemy members.

At that instant, Hùng 'Gaur' used his skill to rush forward, knocking the enemy squad into the air. A perfect "Wombo Combo" combo chain (combined skill chain) without a scratch!

"Shoot, Kiên!" Tuấn screamed and rushed in to deal more damage.

Kiên '3G' didn't need to be repeated a second time. With a smooth network connection, he stood in the back line, unleashing wild fire on the enemies who were motionless in the air.

*QUADRA KILL!* (Get 4 kills in a row).

The entire Nguyen Trai squad was wiped out (Wiped out) in the blink of an eye.

Bảo Châu, who had been standing clumsily at the edge of the fighting, did not need to block bullets for anyone, so she waddled after the four boys and pushed straight into the enemy's base.

*VICTORY!*

Overwhelming victory in game 1. And that psychological momentum helped HD E-sports finish game 2 after only 25 minutes. Score 2-0.

They had officially registered their names in the National Finals.

All five members took off their headphones, no one could hold back their tears. Hùng, Tuấn, Kiên and Nam hugged each other and cried like children. Châu also burst into tears, hurriedly ran down to the stands, and rushed to hug Hải Đăng who was waiting with open arms.

The whole Arena seemed to explode, but this time it wasn't booing. The fans of other schools, no matter how prejudiced they were, had to stand up and applaud for the top tactical performance of the most underrated team in the tournament.

Đăng gently patted Châu's back as she sobbed against his chest. He looked up at the electronic board displaying the names of the two teams that had qualified for the Finals.

Hoàng Diệu E-sports confronts VG Alpha Academy - The best young team, led by Lê Hoàng himself.

The final battle had been set. And this time, Shadow would personally go to battle and reclaim what was lost.

The night before the match, Đăng did not open the old video. He turned off the phone early and placed his wristband next to his school uniform. Châu texted a list of things to bring: student card, water, eye drops, certificate and a notebook. Đăng asked why he needed notebooks. She said she might have to write down something important, but otherwise use it to draw while waiting.

The next morning, Đăng's mother took him to the school gate. She used to be afraid of the game because it hurt her son, but this time she only asked for a break between games. Đăng replied, then gave her Châu's plan. She read for a while and told him to stop if he felt pain. Đăng nodded, not promising to win, only promising to report the truth.

At the Gymnasium, the whole team gathered one hour earlier than the official match time, according to the schedule Bảo Châu had set up. She gave each person a bottle of water, checked their student ID card, and then spent a few minutes with each member.

When it was Hùng's turn, Châu looked straight into her eyes. "You are the one under the heaviest pressure today, because the opponent will target you first. Are you okay?"

Hùng tensed his shoulders, trying to appear strong, but then sighed and let go of that cover. "Actually, I'm a bit shaken, Châu. The booing crowd that day still haunts me."

"Then keep shaking," Châu replied, surprising Hùng. "No one forces you not to tremble. Just remember Đăng's lesson plan no matter how much your hands shake."

Hùng laughed lightly, feeling much more relieved. "You speak exactly the same way as Mr. Đăng."

"If you stay close to him for a long time, you should learn a few moves," Châu shrugged and smiled.

Đăng stood not far away, observing the scene without saying anything, but in his heart there was a feeling of gratitude that was hard to name. The "defensive" team that he had once criticized so harshly in their first meeting had now become the only place that made him feel he belonged.

In the row of seats reserved for parents, Đăng's mother sat quietly, clutching her handbag on her lap. She had never watched an E-sports match from start to finish, and the bustling scene of the Arena made her both nervous and unfamiliar. Next to her, another middle-aged woman — Hùng's mother — proactively started a conversation and shared a few words of reassurance.

"You're also worried about your child, aren't you? The first time I came to watch, my heart was pounding the whole match."

Đăng's mother nodded and smiled slightly. "My child rarely tells me what he's thinking. Today was the first time I saw him really try for something."

Two mothers, who did not know each other, sat next to each other watching the big screen displaying the teams of both sides, sharing a common worry and hope — not for a victory, but for the safety and joy of their children who were preparing to enter their most important match ever.