"You're dead, fam!" Nash blitzed straight at Gunz to deny any escape. Once he got close enough, he booted Unstoppable Raid. Six savage warriors appeared around him. The monster multiplied! Nash and his brethren were going to tear this dude apart!

  "Welp, looks like I gotta fight after all," Lars activated Thuorm, summoning dark clouds above him. The entire area transformed into a high voltage danger zone.

  KABOOM! Lightning struck all the enemies in range! Not only the Viking, but his pals too. The strike was strong enough to reduce them dudes to 60% HP i.

  But, it didn't bother any of them in the slightest. They tinued closing in on Lars because they couldn't feel any pain. And, the Viking himself didn't back away either, even though he was inside a deadly thuorm. Dude was a legit mad d, no question about it.

  The pack of hungry wolves ered Lars. There was o retreat anymore. His back ressed again the wall. The enemies were about to strike...!

  BAAAAM! Another round of electrical discharge! Heavy lightning struck all his e once! But, they were still alive, just barely hanging onto their lives. These dudes had no iion of stopping any time soon!

  The savage warriors encircled Lars around the wall and raised their ons. He had to dodge them! Or, at least some of them!

  Roll to the left? Or, to the right? Lars’s eyes shifted from side to side. No matter which dire he was going to pick, something will definitely hit him.

  But, there was one more option: roll straight ahead! That's right, he could roll toward his foes and pass by them! They won’t see it ing!

  WHISH. The warriors brought down their bdes and axes, but they sliced through empty air. Their target slipped right uheir noses by rolling past them!

  "Whoa! This guy...!" Nash excimed. A dangerous grin surfaced on his face. "Haha, what the heck? Who'd casually do that kinda shit? This is rich! But, I ain't falling for it!"

  Nash was the only one who hadn’t started swingiherefore, he had the time to react to this bizarre development.

  Nash turned around and unleashed his axe at the rolling oppo. "Alright! Let's go, let's go, let's goooo!"

  "Damn, seriously!?" Lars grimaced. His frontal roll should’ve caught the enemy off guard, but this dude was qui the uptake. What a wild dude! StormMonster was a worthy oppo.

  Lars was almost happy that things turned out this way. This StormMonster dude wasn't messing around, he was strong. It gonna be fun taking him down!

  BAM! Lightning struck again. It wiped out the viking warriors and also smacked hard the main Viking dude. The repeated lightning strikes have already reduced the guy to 65% HP, but he didn't even bat an eye. He was fully i on tinuing this offehere was no stopping him!

  "Crap!" Lars failed to create enough distaween them in time. As a result, he had to eat ao the face. An k of his HP vanished without a trace.

  Lars was already down to 50% HP. All the injuries he sustained against Nirvana in ne weren't helping him right now. This was gonna be a rough fight.

  KABOOM! The fourth bolt of lightning boomed, but the Viking took it like a champ. He pretty much ig, as if it were a mere mosquito bite. All his attention was on Lars. The mad d tinued chasing without break.

  Why is this dude so fast!? What’s with this movement speed!? This is too sick, yo! Lars couldn’t tell whether he was gritting his teeth in frustration, or just grinning too hard from the fun. The Viking was stig to him like glue. It was impossible to create any distaween them.

  Lars even tried backpedaling without shooting in order to maximize his movement speed, but it was futile. This Viking as fast as heck. Dude just tinued getting in Lars’s fad swinging. How could this dude be so fast!?

  Of course, part of it was thanks to all the Movement Speed that StromMonster built. But, there was more to it. There was something wrong with this Viking’s movements. He always caught up in a blink of an eye, as if he already knew where Lars will move .

  All of Lars’s juke attempts ended in failure. Such was the strength of the monster in front of him.

  “Whew, Nash is killing it,” Jaiden whistled. When my guy gets like this, nobody beat him. It’s over.

  “Rio, don’t mind Nash’s safety,” Jaiden said. “Focus on stopping Gunz from esg.”

  “Got it,” Rio nodded. He almost caught up with them.

  Meanwhile, the duel raged on.

  “D-Dang it!” Lars was overwhelmed. He made that Viki so many lightning strikes, he reduced the guy down to 45% HP. A, Lars found himself overwhelmed. This Viking dude was all over him!

  “Then, how about this, yo!!!” Lars unleashed Electrical Explosion. Each lightning strike that hit StormMonster applied aric Charge, so it was time to detohese bad boys!

  BAAAM! The Viking’s body exploded in a fsh of whiteness. It wiped out another 20% HP.

  But, the Viking didn’t stop charging forward, not even for a moment. The huge explosion didn’t faze the guy. He ressing onward with just 25% HP, ag so boldly you’d think he was at full health. Dude was legit crazy!

  Lars even had the HP lead now, holding up with 40%. By all means, the Viking should’ve sidered retreating by now. At the very least, there should’ve been a hint of hesitation in his moves. Anybody would worry about dying oheir HP dropped that low. But, StormMonster didn’t care, not in the slightest.

  You’re awesome, dude! But, I gonna kill ya! Lars fired a basic attack at the fearless monster in front of him. The shot ected no problem. There’s no way the 200% accuraiper would miss from point-bnk.

  Yeah, the shot definitely ected. But, it hurt as much as poking somebody with a pinky. It barely erased 2% HP.

  In respohe Viking brought down his axe once more. WHAM! 10% HP gone, just like that.

  “Haha...” Lars ughed dryly. “I’m not winning this one, am I?”

  “Of course not,” Yuel stated matter-of-factly. “Were you seriously thinking about staying to fight?”

  “N-No, of course not! Haha...” Lars sighed i and turned his ba the juicy kill opportunity. Even though he unpacked tons of damage on the Viking with his spells, it wasn’t enough to kill the dude. Lars had to rely on his basics to finish the rest of the job.

  But, Eleancer was a mage. Dude’s basic attacks were me as heck. With his e on cooldown, Lars couldn’t fight bay further.

  Dang it, if only I ying a marksman...! Lars ched his mouse. If he were a marksman, his basic attacks would’ve dealt deal heavy damage. He could’ve easily turhis situation around and scored a kill here.

  After that, maybe he could even mount a ter-atta the enemy fleet in Mid. A 1v4 situation? Ezpz for his Trickshooter and Gunslinger!

  But, as a mage, he owerless without his spells. His basic attacks were slow and weak. Despite his life lead, he couldn't fight back. He’d have to nd like a million hits on his oppoo actually deal any damage. There was no way it gonna happen, especially not with the Viking already this close to him.

  Dang it! Lars ranted internally. Our whole team is dead. I 't die too...!

  And so, Lars turned his ba his oppo and rolled away. He had to give up on the fight. Survival took priority.

  "Hey, e back here!" Nash rolled after his target. "Ya ain't getting away, dawg!"

  Just a little more! Lars was already in front of the jungle exit. Once he passes through this gap, the tower area will be right around the er!

  The hallway leading to his survival was right in front of him. But, the moment, it disappeared from sight. A tall wall erupted from the ground and blocked the entra was an ice wall.

  "Wha!? Ya gotta be shittin' me!" Lars crashed into the wall. There was no way to pass through. And, there was o ruher. His pursuer was already breathing down on his neck. It was over.

  You have killed an enemy!

  "Aww, yeah! Another one for me!" Nash pumped a fist. "That makes it three kills to one!" He lifted his as he threw a g Jaiden.

  "I didn't knoere holding a petition," Jaiden smiled. "Anyway, great job."

  "Hehe, thanks," Nash grihinking ba it, he decimated over half the eeam with his own two hands. He was the MVP of this game! The audience must’ve been at awe from his stunning performance!

  But, of course, none of that was achieved with his power alo was all thanks to his pals.

  "Thanks for the wall there, Rio." Nash gave a thumbs up.

  "You're wele," Rio nodded.

  Aurret has beeroyed!

  "Whew, these guys are fast!" Nash whistled. Shortly after he scored the kill, Jaiden and the rest have already taken down the Mid Turret. This game gonna be smooth sailing from here.

  At the same time, the eeam was feeling the approag dread.

  "Damn!" Lars smacked his face with both hands. "Sorry, my dudes. I failed ya."

  "It's not your fault," Yuel said. "Our oppos pyed better this time. Plus, they caught us off guard."

  "Indeed, indeed," Vi nodded repeatedly. "We've been caught in the Bermuda Triangle of Certain Doom! Escape was impossible from the start!"

  "Would you ever shut up about that Bermuda nonsense?" Kai shed out. "It's giving me a headache."

  "My sincere apologies," Vi piped down.

  "Damn,” Lars muttered to himself. “If only I ying a marksman..."

  A marksman. Yuel caught that pat. Yeah, Lars probably wouldn’t have lost that fight with a marksman.

  In that fight, StormMonster unleashed uing aggression with an apparent fixation on sg the kill. His pystyle was very simir to Julia when she went berserk. Aggressors like that didn't feel any pain. They won't stop at anything and will never question themselves. So, they were the worst types of oppos to fight as a mage.

  Not to mention, Lars's bat skill with mages was nowhere near his skill with marksmen. If he were using a marksman, Lars would have turhe tables on his pursuer. He probably would’ve scored a kill there.

  Even if the enemy ancer joihe fray and supported the Viking, there was still a good ce Lars would prevail. That's the kind of unstoppable force he was.

  Unfortunately, Kai's unreasonable persisteo keep pying Carry denied Lars the option to pick a marksman. That's why Lars, and the team at rge, ended up suffering an undeserved terrible defeat. Things shouldn’t have ehat way.

  In the first pce, the enemy started their tremendous momentum when they killed Kai and Vi in Bot. Judging by Vi's untrolble hype about the so-called “Bermuda Triangle”, it was safe to assume their new oppos were that good.

  Yuel used to question Vi's nonsense in the past, but he came to accept it by now. Whenever Vi was hyped, then no matter what utter nonsense he spouted, there was always some sort of truth hidden inside.

  And truly, Yuel experie first-hand as well. The three pyers who subbed in were extremely coordihey pletely shut down all his options when they surrounded him in Top. Their movements were quid polished. They moved in and encircled Yuel like trained soldiers who have carried out such operations tless times before.

  They probably py a lot together. That'll expin their airtight teamwork. Yuel deduced.

  That line of reasoning would also expin why the eeam suddenly subbed in those three. The enemy must have been banking on this trio's team-py. Perhaps those three weren’t that amazing individually, but together they formed a formidable team.

  It was simir to how things were for Yuel and Lars. Apart, they were strong pyers. Together, they were unstoppable.

  It was difficult to gauge the trio's full potential from this game alohe element of surprise rigged the results of this game too much. But, there was no doubt that Taurus transformed into airely different team with the inclusion of that trio.

  Perhaps that's as far as we go. Yuel thought. With their current formation, they might not be strong enough to topple the aurus. This was bound to happen sooner or ter.

  Lars and I have to take Bot. There was no other way. They couldn't let their oppos get away with another easy wi game.

  Yes, "another" easy win, because this game ractically over. The entire eeam gathered in Mid and pushed the Mid Golem together.

  Kai revived in time to defend, but there was little she could do alone. Vi also revived before the Golem fell to 50% HP, but it was already too te by then.

  An allied Golem has beeroyed!

  This was a devastating blow. Dealing with super minions this early into the game was unreasonable. Even mages struggled to clear them at this stage of the game.

  And so, the eeam was stuck defending Mid from super minions while their oppos were free to do as they pleased. Yuel expected the eo split-push the other nes, but they surpassed his expectatio again.

  The Warlock recalled to base, while the rest tinued pushing Mid. Sometime ter, the Warlock returo Mid while the other four returo base. Finally, Stratus thought they had a ce to catch a breather and start pushing Mid.

  However, just a couple of seds ter, the entire eeam was ba Mid! And, with upgraded items to boot. They definitely returo base to gear up, yet they were already ba ne.

  They took advantage of Telepain. The Warlock pced a Checkpoint Ward upourning to ne and the rest of the team instantly teleported to it after gearing up.

  Such a nasty gimmick. Teleport was undoubtedly an overpowered utility skill, but it was banced out by its high costs. Not only it was the priciest utility skill, but it also required teammates to buy Checkpoint Wards, which were effectively overpriormal Wards for most purposes. In short, it was quite an iment.

  However, it happeo pay off for Taurus this game. Thanks to Teleport, they scored loads of kills and pushed Mid dangerously far. When Teleport ploys worked out, they were often overwhelming like that.

  The entire eeam ba Mid, strohan ever, and way ahead of Stratus in terms of levels and items. There was no hope of defending against this overwhelming assault. Stratus fought to the bitter end, but over time, their formation crumbled.

  First, Kai overextended a little while retaliating. The enemy didn't miss that ce.

  An ally has been killed!

  , Vi, who tried to rescue Kai, found himself in a bad position.

  An ally has been killed!

  Yuel, Lars, and Nia were the only ones left to defend.

  Nia actually joihe defense efforts of her own accord, which made Yuel a little happy despite the grim circumstances. She was a very defensive pyer in Duel, yet she teo pletely ignore defense in the MOBA mode. She always said it “wasn’t her job” here, which was true to some degree. But, more than that, she didn’t o do any defending in MOBA mode in order to create opportunities for sg kills, so that’s probably why she didn’t bother.

  Fortunately, Yuel's coag showed her the light. Nia’s awareness regarding the importance of helping the defense has been increasing i weeks. As a result, for the better or the worse, she was now defending Mid Lane as if it was her full-time job.

  I’m touched. I’m really am. Yuel thought. But, wouldn’t it have beeer to keep looking for opportuo gank? Drow is det at defending, better than all her other csses, but it’s still an assassin. It’s better at killing.

  Drow was a ranged assassin, so it could tribute to the defense efforts from afar without putting itself in dahat alone made it much better suited for defending than all the other assassin csses Nia pyed.

  heless, Drow was still an assassin, so its kit was designed around burst damage. And, said burst damage actually came in the form of a melee dagger strike. So, Nia couldn’t burst oppos down from afar. She tributed to the defense efforts solely with her basic attacks. Those were det, but not nearly as powerful as a marksman’s.

  Still, Nia’s help was much appreciated. It deyed the enemy's victory for quite some time. As, their victory was iable.

  DEFEAT

  The Colossus crumbled apart. It was over.

  After Stratus opehe scrimmage by sg two ving wins in a row, they suffered a devastati ihird game...

  DarkestCymore