The ning phase tinued.

  Following Yuel's pn, Kai first had to drive the Cleric out of the herefore, she used her wolf to quickly clear minions, then she shot the Cleric together with Vi.

  As the Support, Viook the frontline during these assaults. He soaked up all the damage frade and Lapce’s retaliations. His top priority was to keep Kai as safe as possible and deliver her in a healthy state for her eventual duel against Renegade.

  The risky aggression forced Vio sacrifice much of his HP, dropping him to a mere 40%. But, in exge, he and Kai nded many shots on the Cleric.

  Unfortunately, they didn't get any opportuo ht kill the guy. Lapce ying it safe, and he became even more cautious after notig the obvious aggression toward him. As a result, it was impossible to score any kills on him and he stantly patched himself up with heals.

  "Damn, his HP just refuses to go away," Kai ranted about the Cleric’s 70% HP. The numbers just refused to go down.

  "As I foretold," Vi nodded like a know-it-all. "We're uo exhaust his HP. MP is the Cleric’s real lifeline."

  "Yeah, I know, but still." Kai clicked her tongue. She wao thhly wreck that Cleric, to the point nothing would be able to patch him up, not even healing magic.

  Unfortunately, Ranger didn't have any anti-healing options. Kai will definitely have to build some anti-healing ter, but that’ll be more relevant around mid-game. For the early game, she prioritized power above everything. So, at the moment, she had no choice but to keep pushing through brute strength.

  "Do you guys need a hand?" Luke asked out of the blue. He has just finished farming the wolves near Bot, so he was nearby. It was no problem for him to lend a hand in Bot.

  "That'd help a lot, actually," Kai said. "e here and give them some heat. But, make sure you focus the Cleriot the Slinger. I he Slinger alive and well, so I beat the living shit outta him myself."

  "Aye aye, cap." Luke saluted and headed toward the ne.

  "Just make sure you do a safe gank," Yuel warned. "I suspect their Jungler is on the lookout, so you might get ter-ganked. If you extend too much, you'll have a hard time esg."

  "Indeed.” Vi nodded and spoke dramatically. “Once he sets his eyes on you, the Storm Chaser will chase you to the ends of the earth! He shall catch his prey without failure, no matter how fast they are. Even if the prey runs away at the speed of light, then Storm Chaser shall exceed the speed of light!"

  I bet Einstein is turning in his grave right now. Yuel made a face, but he knew Vi had a point. It was best to be cautious around StormMohe guy even caught up with Lars st game and won their duel, so he lenty dangerous.

  "Alright, alright," Luke said. "I hear ya. I'll just go in, shoot a little, and the out."

  "Actually,” Kai said. “I was hoping for a little more than that. But, it works. Just make sure you focus the Cleric. That’s the guy we o take out.”

  “Yep, yep, I heard you the first time.” Luke nodded. “Alrighty, I’m on my way. ing soon to the theater near you.”

  Meanwhile, the enemy was about to make a move as well.

  “I think we should retreat,” Rio suggested.

  “You think so too?” Jaiden asked.

  “They’ll probably gank soon.”

  “Yeah, let’s back off a little.” Jaiden backpedaled from the ter of the ne.

  He had a feeling the enemy might e at them with a gank sometime soon, and the fact Rio agreed practically tur into a fact. Rio had an acute sense of these things, so he was rarely wrong.

  “They’ll probably go after me,” Rio said matter-of-factly before they even firmed that a gank was really ing. heless, Rio was vinced enough. There was a small ge in the enemy’s attitude just now, whidicated they formed some sort of pn. That was all the evidence Rio needed.

  Until now, the Pyromancer and Lumimancer were fog hard on Rio. They were undoubtedly trying to drive Rio out of the ne, probably to get rid of his heals and revive. After that, they’d probably proceed to attack Jaiden.

  The enemies were very upfront with their calcuted aggression, almost to a fault. However, all of a sudden, their pressure lost its edge. They still fired at Rio whehey got the ce, but they didn’t press as hard as before. It was as if they suddenly decided to go easier on him, to make sure he won’t run too far away.

  There was one on sario in which a sudden ge like that occurred in the aggressor’s behavior. It often happened when a gank was on the way.

  To make a gank go smoother, it was better to not push the target too far away. On the trary, it was best to lure them to the ter of the o make escape difficult.

  That foreshadowing prompted Jaiden and Rio to retreat. At the moment, there was nothing of great value to be gained on the frontline anyway, so they didn’t lose much from retreating early.

  Even if it turns out they were just paranoid about the whole thing, they won’t pay too dearly for it. They ceded a little bit of farm and gave the enemy an opportunity to push forward, but that’s all. Better safe than sorry.

  "Nash, be on standby," Jaiden requested. "If they try to force their gank to happen, you jump them."

  "Ya got it!" Nash licked his lips. He hasn't done much this game so far, so he was hungry for some a. I hope these scrubs overextend real hard. Lemme feed on y’all!

  "If possible, try not attag their Raoo much," Jaiden requested.

  "Huh? What gives?” Nash cocked his head. “The Carry is supposed to be top priority, isn’t it?"

  "I know, but not this time," Jaiden said. "I want to defeat her myself."

  "Oh, I getcha." Nash smiled wryly. "Okay, I'll do what I . But, if I see a ce, I'm ganking dat ass."

  "Sure. If there's a good opportunity, you better grab it." Jaiden nodded, albeit relutly. His hatred toward Beat didn’t blind him to the point he’d deny Nash an inviting kill, but he really didn’t want to see that happen. If that girl is really standing in Gunz and Chessmaster's way, I gotta beat her myself.

  "........" Rio had a lot to say about this, but he swallowed his words. Not prioritizing the Carry during a gank? That was wrong on so many levels.

  The trio’s stro lines of attacks came to life ohe enemy Carry was dead. It was like a signal for them to charge ahead. Therefore, the enemy Carry was always their top priority during the early-game.

  Yet, Jaiden dismissed that without a sed thought. And, for what? Just to deliver some petty revenge on one girl.

  Jaiden was all fused. Beat had nothing to do with the girl who took his spot on StormBlitz. It was misdirected hatred. It wasn't right.

  But, Rio kept quiet. He couldn't find it in himself to openly criticize Jaiden, especially sino disaster has happened so far. They might pull just fihrough this situation, even without fog on the Carry like they usually did.

  And so, Jaiden's group fis preparations. Jaiden and Rio began their retreat, while Nash positioned himself nearby in the jungle, ready to jump at any overextending prey.

  This defeahrew a wren the enemy’s pns.

  "Crap," Luke cursed. “These guys already made it all the way over there? Damn, these bois are fast as heck.”

  Luke finally arrived at the jurance, but the enemy retreated too far away. It was impossible to luny practical gank from this position.

  "It appears they saw it ing," Vi deduced. "As expected from petitive pyers. They will not allow themselves to be caught off guard!"

  "Tch, what a pain." Kai clicked her tongue. All she wanted was th up the Cleritil he retreats from the ne. Was that asking for too much? Damn it. This is taking forever.

  "Welp, I'll just help ya farm a little," Luke unleashed Fme Wave on the remaining enemy minions. The fmes devoured the minions alive, leaving only ashes behind.

  "Let's push," Kai suggested. "We got plenty of minions alive. We make things happen."

  "Wait," Luke objected. "Didn't our strategist bro just warn us against pushing too far?"

  "Yes, I did." Yuel joiheir very iing versation. He had to be a part of it, or else somebody might it a terrible mistake. "Don't push. I’m sure their Lancer is lying in wait somewhere nearby"

  "Yeah, I rather not risk it," Luke agreed. "Pyro kinda sucks at esg, ya know. I mean, I bought Blink and all, but still."

  "Then, what do you suggest we do!?" Kai rahis shit was so frustrating. How hard could it be to beat up one Cleric to a pulp!?

  "Hmm." Yuel knotted his brows as he examihe area around Bot on the mini-map. He blocked out the noise his teammates were making and imagined a board in front of him.

  Were there any strong lines of py avaible from this position? At the moment, the team had a Ranger, a Lumimancer, and a Pyromancer, all in one pce. It'd be a waste to not put this group to use.

  However, pushing ahead was out of the question. The Lancer will pihem and will most likely kill at least one of them. If his Gae Bolg nds oher Kai or Luke, it'll lead to certaih. From there, the deadly trio will gain tremendous momentum in Bot, just like st game. Yuel couldn’t allow that to happen, no matter what.

  Therefore, pushing the ne was not an option. Then, was there anything else this group could do in this position? Actually, there was one important fact to sider here. It was easy to overlook, but it could be used to great effect.

  At the core of Yuel’s dedu, there was the assumption that the Lancer was lurking nearby. Nobody has spotted the guy yet, but he was obviously alone in the ju the moment. On top of that, his two aplices were far away from any jurance, for they were busy hugging their tower. This ening.

  If he's somewhere around here, it might work. Yuel examihe unwarded areas on the enemy side of Bot Juhe Lancer was lying in wait, outside the reach of the wards Yuel prepared. heless, the guy had to be close enough to the o be able to dash to the se at a moment’s notice. By putting these two facts together, it ossible to estimate where the Lancer ositioned.

  If he’s over there, then their “triangle formation” is far from tight. Yuel sidered the distaween the Lancer’s position and the enemy Bot duo, who were hugging Bot Turret. Right now, they were far apart. The triangle’s forces were split into two.

  This work. Yuel o himself. At the moment, Kai and the rest were closer to the Lancer’s position than they were to the eower. There portunity to mount a surprise attack.

  "I have a pn for you," Yuel id out the details. It was a gamble, but a retively safe one. If it works, the payoff be huge. If it fails, they'll just have to retreat from the area as if nothing happened.

  "Sounds like fun." Luke grinned.

  "As expected from Chessmaster!" Vi nodded repeatedly.

  "Let's do it," Kai agreed right away. She was like a starved hound who’d jump on any bohrown her way.

  Following the pn, the three of them ran into the juhey pletely ighe inviting opportunity to push and abahe ne. Needless to say, their oppos found that rather puzzling.

  "Wut? Where are they going?" Nash asked. He was watg the enemies via the X-ray vision, but their movements didn't make any sense. “Am I missing something? What are they up to?”

  "Going fon, maybe?" Jaiden guessed. Holy, he couldn't tell what the enemy was thinkiher. Maybe they thought they could steal the Dragon easily because they were grouped up? If so, they were in for a big surprise.

  "Hmm." Rio had a bad feeling about this o felt like the erio was aiming for something more decisive than trying to take Dragon. They moved into the jungle like a group of manhunters. Maybe they’re pnning to... But, who would normally do that? There’s no way. I don't think that's the case. But still...

  In the end, Rio kept quiet. He felt like the mere act of suggesting the idea might cause paranoia.

  As, the enemy proved his hypothesis correct, as unlikely as it sounded.

  "I shall illumihis world and reveal all that is hidden! 《Sor Wrath》" Vi cast his ult dramatically.

  It -wide spell attack that hit every oppo, regardless of their distance from Vi. Sor rays pierced through the sky, creating five pilrs of light across the map. Each of them torched one enemy without failure.

  Since Vi's build was that of a Support, he didn't pack much magic power. As a result, Sor Wrath didn't deal much damage. But, thankfully, dealing damage wasn't the main goal behind firing the ult. What really mattered, was the fact Vi hit every single oppo with a spell.

  Upon hitting an enemy with a spell, Lumimancer's passive, Illumination, kicked in. It revealed the position of the hit target for a brief time, almost as if a ward nted on their back.

  Since Sor Wrath hit every single enemy, Illumination’s effect exteo all of these hits. In other words, Sor Wrath was like a map-wide ward. It exposed the entire eeam!

  Among the exposed enemies was the Lancer, whose position Yuel could only roughly estimate until now. Now, thanks to Sor Wrath, everybody oeam kormMonster's exact position. The hunt was on!

  The only dowo using Sor Wrath faining this knowledge was the risk of telegraphing the team’s iions. That’s why Kai, Vi, and Luke had to get closer to the target before booting Sor Wrath.

  With this, the enemy surely uood that the trio nning to mount an attack. But, will they be able to respond in time?

  "Ah!" Rio jumped. T-That ult! Then, it gotta be...! There was no other expnation. There was little to no point in wasting Sor Wrath if that group was headed to the Dragon. No, their real goal was...!

  "Nash, I think they're ing after you!" Rio warned and broke into a dash toward the jungle. If worst es to worst, he'll have to revive Nash.

  "Oh shit, seriously?" Nash grinned, but his grin twitched a little. He was hoo bee su important target. It was like in those video games, where the pyer was an outw and could get an army of poli chasing him all across the city. Nash had aire department ing after his ass!

  And, unlike in the games, these poli were actually kinda smart. They only made it clear they were ing after him after they have already gotten close enough.

  "Why hello there." Luke appeared before his target. He blihrough the wall to get to the Lancer first. It was a bit risky, but he knew what he was doing. His pals were right behind him, so there was o worry about the Lancer retaliating.

  "Wha-!? Ya gotta be shitting me!" Nash booted Lunge in a panid jumped the hell outta there. He was fident he reacted pretty fast, but the Pyromancer's Fme Wave still grazed Nash and shaved off a nice 20% from his HP.

  Shit! Nash cursed entirely. This damn Pyro must’ve stacked heat like crazy to get this much damage off a single spell!

  “Suys!” Nash nded far away from his pursuers and broke into a dash. “I’m outta here!” There was no way he could take on three enemies all by himself.

  “Yeah, good call.” Jaiden followed in Rio’s footsteps in case Nash needed help, but that proved to be unnecessary. “Rio, let’s head back as well-”

  “Ah!” Rio jumped. Before he registered what happened, his Cleric was already on the ground, pinned down by a savage wolf. “They got me.”

  “Where did they even-!?” Jaiden couldn’t believe his eyes. Instead of chasing Nash like everybody expected, the Ranger and Lumimancer set their sights on Rio.

  You fell for it, huh. Kai opened relentless fire at her defenseless prey. The Cleric couldn’t retreat or use his heals. This was great! Kai could now tear this guy to shreds and remove him from the ne!

  That was the goal of this pn all along. It was a multi-yered tactic that involved a diversion, and it successfully caught the enemy off guard.

  So, they lured us in by pretending tet Nash!? Jaiden’s jaw dropped. Was that for real? Who could possibly e up with a tactic so bizarre!?

  Actually, there was one person. Chessmaster, the strategist with unusual tactics. He had exhibited his unventional thinking many times against the Leopards st year, and here it was again! It was awesome!

  Finally, it felt like Jaiden got to csh with the ex-StormBlitz duo for real. This game won’t be a breeze like st time. These guys meant business now!

  The situation was dire, but Jaiden was secretly brimming with joy. He’ll gdly take on the challenge Chessmaster prepared for him. He’ll find a way to save Rio and shatter this crafty tactic to pieces!

  DarkestCymore