The ning phase began. Yuel and Lars fired at the minions from afar with their led csses. Yuel positioned himself a bit ahead of Lars to intercept any attempts at aggression, but overall they both maintained a safe distance from the minions.

  Oher hand, the enemy duo didn't have the same luxury. Kai's Pyromancer had to advaoward the frontline from time to time to unleash Fme Wave. And, Vi's Viking was airely melee css save for his Throw Axe, so he had to be on the frontline if he wao deal any damage. Naturally, Yuel took full advantage of these facts.

  Every time Vi advao help with the farming effort, Yuel and Lars advao get Vi within their firing rahey poked Vi until he had no choice but retreat to the rear.

  Figured. They won't let me py. Vi smiled wryly. In a 2v2 situation where one of the enemies was melee, zoning him out was a basic tactic. So, Vi couldn’t get to the frontlio help with the farming. not unless he wao it suicide.

  On a while, Viossed his axe at minions from afar to get some damage in. But, overall, his tribution to the farming efforts was negligible.

  “Sorry,” Vi apologized. “Seems like the farming is up to you.”

  “I noticed,” Kai shrugged.

  Not fazed at all, huh. Vi was impressed by the girl's fidence. Or rather, her overfidence. She robably still uhe impression she could seriously take on the Golden Duo.

  Still, even though their farming was effectively 1v2, Kai held her ground. The strong AoE burst of Fme Wave was effective at clearing minions and pensated for the fact she was farming alone. her anunslinger had any particurly impressive ne clearing tools, so a Pyromancer alone could roughly rival them as long as the Gunslinger wasn’t nding quick headshots on minions all the time.

  However, the bad news was that Kai had to get close to the minions to unleash Fme Wave effectively. This medium reach was one of the greatest weaknesses of Pyromahe burst of Fme Wave owerful, but it forced Kai to put herself in danger every time.

  “Just a friendly advice,” Vi said. “Don't try too hard to match their clearing speed.”

  “You’re askio surrender ne trol?”

  “You put yourself in danger every time you advao the frontline. If you keep this up, the Golden Duo shall smite you down.”

  “Aren’t you here to prevent things like that?” Kai asked. “If they get close, just boot your ult.”

  “So, you’re using me like a scarecrow here?” Vi chuckled.

  Kai had the right idea here. Viking was scary at cle due to his ult, so even the Golden Duo will think twice before approag him. So, even though Vi couldn't help much with the farming, his mere presen the Kai safe.

  “Yo,” Lars excimed. “When we gonna go all out?”

  “Not any time soon,” Yuel answered. “We 't go in while the Viking is here.”

  “Why not? Let's do it!”

  “You want to fa army of pirates? Yeah, didn't think so. Just wait until we wear out the Viking with pokes. He doesn't have any regen, so he'll have to retreat once he runs out of potions.”

  “Geh, s,” Lars twisted his lips but kept following the game payed far in the bad only advao pressure the enemy at Yuel's and. There was still a feeling of unruliness ing from him but, for now, he was cooperating with Yuel’s tactics.

  I have to admit, Vi is putting on a solid performance. Yuel o himself. As far as defense was ed, Vi didn't e across as a yer at all. He pyed patiently from afar and uood the threat he osing with his presence as a Viking. It was a small thing, but Yuel saw tless melee Supports who impatiently advao the frontlio make their presenore relevant.

  A ck of greed was a virtue for a Support. While a Carry sometimes had to be greedy to score kills or secure objectives, a Support was almost always better off taking a slower and more methodical approag. After all, the Support’s priority was to support the Carry during the ning phase, not to achieve anything amazing. Apparently, Vi uood this profound cept.

  Yuel picked a ranged Support in part because he hoped Vi would fall for the mistake of being an impatient melee Support. However, so far, Vi hasn’t shown any obvious weaknesses Yuel could exploit.

  In fact, both oppos were putting on a strong shoicked all the right moments to unleash Fme Wave on the minion wave while maintaining as much distance as possible from her foes. As a result, it was difficult to punish her advances. She wasn't a Diamond pyer for nothing, that's for sure.

  Due to the enemy’s solid performahe ning phase remained in a status quo even during the third minion wave. Yuel and Lars cleared the wave a little faster, but Kai immediately caught up with a powerful Fme Wave. Her Heat Gauge must have been staying ax at all times.

  “Meh, nothing is happening,” Lars pouted. “Welp, at least I work on my headshots.”

  Lars apparently used this “peaceful” ning phase to practice his head shooting skills. He fired slower than usual but about half his shots nded on the minions’ heads. However, the other half either ht missed or just barely hit the body.

  Even though Yuel asked to not be greedy with headshots, he didn't say anything about Lars’s practice. Since Gunslinger’s headshots were critical hits, firing a little slower to secure headshots was actually better DPS. It was hard to calcute the exact damage on the spot but Yuel estimated that, in the worst-case sario, they weren't losing mu this exge.

  And, if this little practice helps Lars to learn how to score headshots with a troller, all the more power to him. This iment might pay off ier stages of the match.

  “Okay!” Lars excimed. “Check this out!” He activated Fan the Hammer and barraged the minion wave.

  The first shot hit a minion straight in the forehead. The sed shot was also a headshot! And then, the third shot! ... missed pletely.

  “Dang it!” Lars ranted as he adjusted his aim for the fourth shot. Knowing that goof, he was definitely going for another headshot to prove that the ratio of his headshots improved.

  It sounded like the wrong thing to do because Lars has already lost the rhythm of the shots for Fan the Hammer. Unfortunately, Yuel wasn't fast enough to advise against this idea. Gunslinger’s revolver was like a maegun during Fan the Hammer. Therefore, while Yuel was still f his analysis of the situation, the Gunslinger already fired the bullet!

  As expected, it wasn't a headshot. Yuel was no expert oopic, but he watched some Gunslinger guides before and heard about it many times from Lars. Ohe shooter's timing was thrown off with a miss, it was “super duper hard” to adjust again in the middle of Fan the Hammer.

  So, it came as no surprise the bullet failed to hit the minion’s head. However, what did surprise, was that the bullet nded on the minion at all. Instead of hitting the head, the shot pierced through the minion's chest. The following shots were all the same.

  “Meh, better than nothing,” Lars said.

  “Did you aim for the head?”

  “Nope,” Lars answered. “I messed up the third shot, so I figured I won't be making the oher. So, I just went for the body.”

  “Really?” Yuel blinked. Did Lars really give up o few headshot opportuhis was unheard of. “What's wrong? I thought you'll keep going for headshots until I lecture you like twenty times.”

  “Hey, I’m learning from my mistakes, okay?” Lars chuckled. “Just figured it ain't good to go for headshots all the time before I practice them enough. I don't wanna lose the game just because I whiff headshots.”

  “That's surprisingly smart ing from you.”

  “Rude, haha,” Lars smiled wryly. “It's just that, sometimes, being greedy kinda costs you games.”

  Wele to MOBAs. Yuel retorted mentally but didn't say anything.

  There was a hint of frustration in Lars's tone and it wasn't hard to guess where it was ing from: their defeat during the seleatch. Lars died time and again by greedily chasing Ellen and by recklessly challenging Taison to 1v1s. These mispys were a big factor ieam’s defeat and the harsh experiences seemed to teach the goof a lesson or two.

  Lars’s headshot ratio increased with every subsequent wave aopped going for impossible headshots he knew he’ll miss. As a result, his ne clearing speed increased every time through sheer skill. It was amazing how quickly this goof was leveling up his execution on a tablet.

  Thanks to that, they have been progressively gaining the upper hand on the ne. Lars cleared the wave faster and faster with each iteration, which made it that much harder for Kai to test. Eventually, they mao clear the wave fast enough to give themselves some time to aggress on their oppos.

  They prioritized attag Kai because she was the squishy DPS, but Vi didn't let that pass. He stood in their way and blocked with his body.

  “That's how we'll wear him out,” Yuel expined. “We'll go after the Pyro and that’ll force the Viking to bodyblock. He'll run out of gas eventually.”

  “Oh, smart!” Lars nodded. “We gotta go all out on that dude the's go!”

  “No, we don't,” Yuel shot down the idea. “Let’s force them to act. Right now, we got the ne advantage. So, they only got two optioher submit against our advantage or try mounting a terattack. In other words, either they e to us or we'll slowly grind them to dust”

  “Not sure I get all the details but sounds cool! So, when do I go all in and kill somebody?”

  “When the Viking es at us, if he ever does.”

  “So, we wait?”

  “Yeah, we wait.”

  “Boo, but okay.” Lars went along with the defensive pn with surprisingly little obje. He was still the usual hungry beast who sought a and kills, but he was more accepting of a defensive pn than ever. Perhaps, this was the first step toward that goof’s growth!?

  “So, I go all out on these dudes already?”

  “... no, I said we wait.”

  “I waited for like five seds yo. That gotta be enough, right? Haha.”

  “Yeah, right,” Yuel sighed with a smile. Well, at least Lars was showing signs of developing patience. So, iy years or so, he’ll finally figure out what it means to py defense. Hopefully.

  Following Yuel's game pn, they waited for the eo take a. They have already gaihe upper hand during css sele and that allowed them to gain an early game advantage, so Yuel was going to abuse that fact to the max. There was o take risks by going on the offensive, especially not with Lars's half-cooked Gunslinger skills on tablet. Let the enemy e to them and it mistakes.

  The oppos were no amateurs, they uood the situation well.

  “You not gonna initiate?” Kai asks. “In case you didn't notice, we're kinda in a rough spot.”

  “You don't say,” Vi smiled wryly. Yeah, this situation is rough. We attack, we're screwed. If we don't attack, we're also screwed.

  Viking's melee attack range was a huge issue right now. He could throw his axe at enemies, but that was both his escape tool and initiation tool. The enemy will probably aggress on him right away if Throw Axe goes on cooldown, so he avoided using it too much. He also had the option of using Takedown to grab a minion and toss it at another, but that required advang too far into the frontline and putting himself at immense danger.

  Vi hoped the enemy will be the first to attad overextend, but so far Chessmaster and Gunz have been uedly passive. They didn't radiant the same terrorizing aura they had during the scrimmage with the Leopards.

  Then again, in this situation, Chessmaster and Gunz didn't o lift a fio win. They held the upper hand in this position, so it was a valid tactic to wait for Vi and Kai to make the fire move. It robably the smarter and more level-headed decision, but also the more b one. Vi wao see some thrill! He wao experiehe unstoppable destructive force of the Golden Duo!

  Welp, maybe that won't happen until Vi and Kai prove they were worthy oppos. But, were they, though? It was hard to say, but at least they won’t go down easily in a fight.

  “So, you want to attack?” Vi asked.

  “Well, duh,” Kai said. “Or what, you want to wait till they push us back to tower? Then what?”

  “Yeah, you're right,” Vi nodded. If he were pying a proper Support, perhaps he could've pyed the waiting game for a bit longer. But, with Viking, his stroools were on the offensive side. He had to start something, or else he'll be nothing more than dead weight.

  Yep, I totally went for the best pick with Viking. 200 IQ py. Vi shook his head.

  The entire idea behind pig Viking was to secure himself a solid escape option with Throw Axe. However, he failed to sider the possibility that he'll have to be the aggressor to win ne advantage. Now, he had to go hard on the offeh the very css he picked for defe was le derp of the year.

  But, it wasn’t all bad news. Based on his observations during the Leopards scrimmage, the Golden Duodlike on the offe their defense didn't leave much of an impression. So, if Vi and Kai take the initiative and go hard, they might be able to pull something off.

  “Alrighty,” Vi started. “After they clear our minions, I'll try bumping into these guys with my ult.”

  “Sounds good,” Kai nodded. “I'll follow up.”

  “Just make sure you stay behio not give them a ce tet you.”

  “Duh. o remind me every time, you know. Carry is one of my main roles, in case you fot.”

  “Yep, your sed best role.”

  “That's right.”

  She didn't get the hint, did she. Vi smiled wryly. Both he and Kai were pying their sedary roles right now. So, what ce they stood against the Golden Duo who mained Carry and Support iruest sense?

  Either way, Vi had no choice but to aggress against these clearly superior foes. Here goes nothing!

  The enemy cleared the minion wave first, per usual. They still had two bowmen alive and used this advao push along the ne. Little did they know it was all a bait! Vi and Kai were about to pull a fast one on the Golden Duo and crush these godlike attackers! Muhahahaha! We're so dead...

  Vi activated Throw Axe and, you won't believe it, he threw ahe inality of this skill name always killed him. It's like the pany held a petition for ing up with the most generiame ever and whoever his skill was the winner.

  Either way, he threw the axe but it wasn't aimed at the enemy. Instead, he aimed it at the wall far behind him. The axe dug into the wall and got stu it.

  This was Vi's lifeline and the reason he picked Viking in the first pce. The axe will remain stu that wall for a while and during that time his Throw Axe skill was repced with Axe Blitz. It allowed him to instantly blink to the axe's location. So, if anything goes wrong, this was his trusty panic button!

  “Alrighty,” Vi gulped. “I'm going i us veo the abyss!”

  “Got it.”

  Vi and Kai charged forth at the ining enemies. It was showtime!

  “They're ing,” Yuel warned as soon as the Viking tossed his axe at the wall. It was the cssic Viking opening. It was a bit too obvious to Yuel's taste, but it usually did the job. Too bad the enemy were fag somebody who has already analyzed this move all the way back during the drafting phase.

  First, Yuel erected an ice wall behind Vi. That kept Kai away and divided the enemy forces.

  However, even alone, Viking was still a threat in this situation. His ult will summon a gang of savage vikings who were tough to deal with. Yuel had to prevent that py at any cost.

  Fortunately, Yuel’s Blink was out of cooldown by now. So, he blinked forward and caught Vi off-guard. It eat of how the game began: the cssic Blink + Ice Coffin! Yuel froze Vi in pce before the guy could eve.

  “Ah,” Vi excimed. “That perfect timing! Could it be!? Does he also possess Mystic Eyes of Timing Perception!?”

  This was marvelous! Vi khe Golden Duo’s offense was their stro suit, so he believed he got a shot against their defense. However, Chessmaster uood that too! Therefore, instead of defending, Chessmaster tered Vi’s offeh an offense of his own! Offense was the best defense for these guys!

  The hunter became the prey! This inch for Information Bckhole! Will he find a way to crawl out of his predit!?

  I’m so dead, haha...