After the failed attempt at Gunz’s life, Jaiden and Rio found themselves in a tight spot. They both lost over half their HP, whidicated they should recall to base to heal up.

  However, they couldn’t leave the ne unattended. Somebody had to stay behind.

  “I’ll heal you until the minions arrive,” Rio said. “Then, I’ll recall.”

  “Sounds good.” Jaiden nodded.

  “Only thing is,” Rio added. “I’m a little worried about leaving you here alone.”

  “Heh, are you my mom?” Jaiden ughed.

  “You saw how dangerous those two are.”

  “Yeah, they’re definitely not messing around this game.”

  The one exge Jaiden had with Gunz was more than enough to teach him a lesson. He had to be extremely careful around the ex-StormBlitz duo. A simple misstep could easily result in his death.

  But, it was alright. Jaiden wasn’t pying alone here. Even if Rio leaves the ne for a while, there was still one more pal who could help out.

  “Hey Nash,” Jaiden called out. “Mind ing over here to farm with me?”

  “Meh, do I have to?” Nash wasn’t fond of babysitting ners. He liked rotating to get juicy kills, not some b minion exp.

  “No, you don’t have to help if you don’t want to,” Rio said. “But, if Jaidehe blood will be on your hands.”

  “Heh, dramatic much?” Nash smiled. “Alright, alright. I’mma head over there.”

  “Thanks, man,” Jaiden said.

  “Anything for ya, bro.”

  And so, their defense pn has been decided.

  There was no telling how Gunz and Chessmaster will utilize their ne advantage, so Jaiden and Co. will have to hahis one carefully. They couldn’t allow the eo run rampant on the ne, but her was it safe for them to front the enemy head-on. So, for now, they’ll fortify their defenses and brapact.

  As such, before anything else, it was important to pull Jaiden out of the critical HP rahat was Rio’s st job before recalling.

  Rio remaiationary for a while, which triggered Prayer, Cleric’s passive. The Cleric joined hands and prayed, slowly rest HP to nearby allies.

  In this case, it restored only Jaiden’s HP, as the effect of Prayer didend to the Cleric himself. Rio was stuck with low HP and will have to recall after he fihis mass.

  This healing didn’t cost any MP and didn’t have a cooldown, so it was a very veool. However, to keep it fair, the HP recovery rate wasn’t great. Jaiden only healed up to 50% HP by the time the minion wave arrived.

  Rio further brought it up to 60% by casting God’s Blessing, then he recalled to base. As they agreed, soon after Nash rotated to Bot to help with the defense efforts.

  “Hey, I got a brilliant idea.” Nash grinned. “How about we pretend we’re defending, then we jump these guys!? They won’t see it ing!”

  “Let’s not,” Jaiden dismissed the idea. “They’re not enemies we beat in a 2v2 without some advantage.”

  “Oh, . Why are ya scared? These guys are nothing.”

  “I agree with Jaiden,” Rio said. “We shouldn’t challehem carelessly.”

  “Tch, fine.” Nash pouted.

  To be ho, deep down, Nash khese guys were the shit. Especially, Gunz was a beast. Nash still had a score to settle with that dude.

  Out of all the enemies Nash has preyed on today, Gunz was the only one who almost slipped through Nash’s fingers. That was a disgrace for StormMohe ultimate horror who never permitted any escape for his victims.

  And so, all this time, Nash has been waiting for a ce to settle things with Gunz. The ime he chases that beast, Nash will seal the deal on his own, without any help from Rio. He’ll live up to his name as a horror monster and will brutally murder Gunz!

  But, now wasn’t his time yet. Nash had to y low and wait for his golden opportunity. But, it’s a promise. Before this game ends, I’mma get at least one kill on Gunz. Just wait for it.

  Meanwhile, the enemy was holding their own strategy meeting regarding the situation at hand.

  “Are we gonna go all out on these dudes!?” Lars readied his revolver.

  “No, it’s too risky,” Yuel said. “Let’s just farm, safe and steady.”

  “Geh, really? And after we went through all the trouble to win the ne...” Lars made a face.

  “It’s unfortu better safe than sorry,” Yuel said. I also had high hopes for what’s to e, but these guys know how to set up an effit defense.

  He was sure they’ll get to push hard after the Cleric retreats, but the Lancer’s defeation was a brilliant ter move. It tied Yuel and Lars’s hands. They couldn’t press their ne advantage as aggressively as they would’ve liked.

  In the end, the only thing they gained from winning the previous exge was log the enemy Lancer into defending Bot. It was far less than what Yuel hoped for, but it had some merit too. Defending Bot meant the Lancer was missing on jungle farm right now, as well as passively stealing some of Carry’s farm by splitting rewards.

  It was a nice, albeit short-lived, ne advahat came to an end after just one wave. Yuel and Lars got to push a little, but that’s all. The Lancer left the ne and the Cleric came in to repce him. The ne was back to square one.

  They’re pying safer now. Yuel noticed.

  Ever sihe i, Renegade and Lapce have been pying cautiously. They didn’t dare to aggress like before. Lars’s powerful ter taught them a harsh lesson.

  And so, the situation in ne became stale once more. her side wao it to any big attacks, in fear of being tered in a big way.

  sidering Lars’s overwhelming strength, the enemy had more reasons to avoid frontation. However, Yuel also gave them the respect they deserved and stantly stopped Lars from aggressing.

  We ’t uimate them just because we won one fight. Yuel reasohose guys run all over Kai and Viwo games in a row.

  With both sides respeg each other’s skill, the situation in Bot remained even. However, the same couldn’t be said for the other nes.

  Mid was in big trouble. Nirvana was showing aggression like never before, pushing Kai to a er.

  She’s not pying like her usual self. Yuel criticized. Her defense is too turtly, she never goes on the offensive. I’m not sure what I should say to her.

  Given Kai’s fragile state of mind at the moment, anything Yuel says might backfire terribly. In the first pce, he was never good with words, and he apparently only had a talent fravating others.

  Still, Yuel tried a few things. For starters, he got Luke involved with the situation in Mid. It became a routine for Luke to drop by in Mid and fend off Nirvana’s aggression. He practically became a babysitter for the ne, but he didn’t pin.

  “No problem, dude.” Luke uood the gravity of the situatioated through Mid whenever he had the ce, either to gank Nirvana or to defend the ne while Kai was away.

  Unfortunately, this routine wasn’t very effit. None of Luke’s gank attempts led to anything worthwhile. Nirvana was always on guard, even while he was deeply ied in his offense. Catg him by surprise ractically impossible.

  On top of that, Luke’s Knight had no hope of peting with Aeromancer’s wave-clearing speed. As a result, Nirvana always got to push hard even while Luke was defending the was an awful arrahrough and through.

  In clusion, Mid was pletely uhe enemy’s thumb for now. Yuel couldn’t e up with a way to recim it.

  Fortunately, things were a little different in Top. DragonMaster has been pushing Vi around, but the situation wasn’t nearly as one-sided as in Mid. On top of that, Yuel has faced DragonMaster enough times today.

  I use some of his tendencies against him. By using all his experience from fag DragonMaster throughout the day, Yuel came up with the pn to strike DragonMaster’s ego.

  Vi executed Yuel’s instrus to a T and successfully triggered DragonMaster. The Berserker succumbed to madness and unleashed his Berserk mode on Vi, just as Yuel pnned. In the meantime, Luke rotated to Top and gahe overextending foe.

  While all that a was going down in Top, Yuel recalled to base in order to gear up. That gave him an opportunity to sit bad watch his scheme unfold in Top.

  Everything was going acc to pn. The only thing he miscalcuted was the amount of damage the Berserker dished out against Vi and Luke even after they baogether. However, that wasn’t a big issue, or so he believed...

  “GAE BOLG!” The enemy Lancer joihe fray out of the blue. It was an ued ter-gank! Yuel was aware of this possible development the eime, but he thought it was unlikely.

  I made a miscalcution. Yuel bit his lip. He was too naive. Even though everything was going acc to pn, this was the petitive stage. The trio that subbed into Taurus were all petent pyers, they stantly get in the way of Yuel’s pns. He couldn’t get away with simple tactiot anymore.

  An ally has been killed!

  Vi perished, and Luke’s fate was looking grim as well.

  Based on the avaible data, and on Vi’s bogus analysis, few could escape from StromMonster. So, it was almost certain Luke will perish as well.

  Fortunately, Yuel found a small hole in that premise. StormMonster’s skill was overwhelming when he was chasing his prey, but he was a manageable foe in a straightforward fight. That much roven by Lars, the only oo ever turables on StormMonster after being chased.

  By following that thread of logic, Yuel came up with the idea to make Luke fight back despite the sharp HP disadvantage. trary to on sense, doing so might actually prolong Luke’s life and give Yuel enough time to rotate to Top. At the very least, it was worth a shot.

  “I’m heading to Top to rescue Luke,” Yuel informed.

  “Go for it.” Lars nodded. “Save our dude, yo!”

  “This means you’ll be alone in ne for a while.”

  “No problem. I ain’t no little kid. I handle myself, ya know.”

  “Yes, I know. Just make sure you don’t get carried away,” Yuel warned. “It’ll be a 1v2 situation.”

  “Yes, mom.” Lars cracked a ugh. “Don’t worry. You focus on saving endary memer dude. I’mma hold the fort.”

  “Deal.” Yuel nodded. He still couldirely erase his worry, but at least it sounded like Lars uood the gravity situation. With how good the goof has gotten at pying defeely, he should be able to keep himself alive even without Yuel’s help.

  Maybe I’m just projeg my owlessness. Yuel frowhe st few games took a heavy toll on him mentally.

  The team suffered one crushi after another, so he felt pressured to turables around. That’s ushed him to e up with a pn that backfired so badly in Top. He was getting reckless in his pursuit of victory. I hope Lars is ued by this pressure...

  Hehe. Now, it’s just you and me. Lars gri his ne oppos, a Pirate and a Cleric. These wild dudes have giveeam a lot of trouble i two games. And, even this game, they just barely escaped early death. Dudes were skilled, no doubt.

  I take on both of them at once? Lars couldn’t help but ask. He itched to wreck these dudes real bad.

  This was the st game of the day, the decisive game. Stratus had to win here, no matter what. And, if Lars kills at least one of these big pyers over there, the game will instantly shift in Stratus’s favor.

  I finally got all my favorite stuff back. His precious Carry role, as well as Gunslinger, one of his top two csses. I should be able to wreck them no problem even in a 1v2. Ez wins!

  “Don’t get carried away.” Yuel left that warning behind. It poured cold water on Lars’s burning passion.

  Yeah, Yuel is right. I shouldn’t force it. Lars took a deep breath. I totally take them out in a 1v2, 200% firmed. But, there’s always a ething will g. I ’t risk it, not in this important game.

  If Lars foolishly charges in and dies, it’ll be a repeat of the st two games. That’s exactly how they got Kai every time. She made one hasty move and the erampled all over here. These dudes were a dangerous pao doubt.

  Okay, I’mma wait. Lars o himself. If a good ce presents itself, I’ll totally strike. If not, I’ll just wait for Yuel to e back so he initiate something.

  Meanwhile, the other side was sidering its own options too.

  “Their Aquamncer is still missing,” Jaiden informed the team after Rio made the observation.

  There was a good ce Chessmaster was heading toward Top or Mid, as both nes were in dire need of assistance. If true, then Chessmaster won’t be in Bot for a while. It’ll be a 2v1 situation over here.

  “Hey, isn’t this ce?” Jaiden grinned. “It’s 2v1. We kill Gunz.”

  “You want to challenge him again?” Rio shuddered. The terror of their previous fight was still fresh on his skin. The beast they were fag was a whole different level. It probably wasn’t a stretch to assume that Gunz’s meical skill was on par with that of pros.

  “Last time, it was a 2v2,” Jaiden argued. “But, this time, we got a ce to 2v1 him. Let’s beat him together!”

  “I don’t have any CC, though,” Rio pointed out.

  Cleric was a weak fighter like most Support csses, so Rio won’t tribute much to the fight in terms of raw damage. While most Supports made up for that with strong crowd trol effects, Cleric didn’t have that be. He ure Support, utilizing heals, se, buffs, and even a revival, but not CC.

  “It’s okay,” Jaiden insisted. “Just support me and I’mma beat Gunz in no time.”

  “Do you really believe that?”

  “Huh? Y-Yeah, I...” Jaiden fell silent there. Did he? Really? Wasn’t it just wishful thinking on his end?

  Jin has already experienced first-hand how powerful Gunz was. He tasted the despair of being uo do anything against that monster. None of his attacks worked. Every move he made was read in advance. And, worst of all, the enemy heavily punished every little mispy he made.

  Even with Chessmaster out of the picture and with Rio’s supp, it was dubious whether Jaiden will be able to take down this monster. It was best to first assemble the Invincible Triahen unch a decisive attack.

  Unfortunately, Nash was still busy in Tht now, so that won’t be happening any time soon.

  Still, I o find a way to beat them soon. Jaiden tinued rag his brain.

  “It’s not like you have to directly beat them prove a point.”

  “Whoa!? Man, did you just read my mind or something!?

  “It’s obvious just by looking at you.” Rio sighed. “Look, you’ve already forced them to py their stro roles after beating their team twiow, you just o win one mame. That’ll be enough to prove you’re a better pyer than them.”

  “Hmm.” Jaiden knotted his brows. Rio got a point, you know?

  Even though this was a team vs. team match, Jaiden was still thinking about surpassing Gunz and Chessmaster. A part of him was still stu the entrance exam from st year.

  As Rio said, killing Gunz and Chessmaster wasn’t the victory dition for the team. The goal was to destroy the enemy Colossus, just like in any other Cssmancers game. There were tless ways to reach that end goal.

  Was killing Gunz and Chessmaster necessary in order to get there? It would certainly help, but it wasn’t mandatory by any means. On the trary, pushing too hard for these kills might backfire and cost them the game.

  I’ve already achieved my first big objective. Jaiden thought. We DESTROYED Stratus in the first two games. We wrecked them so hard, that Gunz and Chessmaster had no choice but t their butts to Bot. It’s exactly what I was asking for.

  With the two legends returning to their rightful positions in Bot, they were now fighting Jaiden and Co. with everything they had. This was their final form.

  Well, Gunz isn’t using Shooter, but his Slinger is just as strong, if not stronger. Jaiden reassured himself. There was no doubt that Gunz and Chessmaster were putting their everything into this fight, into defeating the Invincible Triangle.

  The stage was set. Right now, in this final game, Jaiden and Co. were fag Gunz and Chessmaster in their final forms. This was the fateful battle. The grand finale.

  Now, Jaiden and Co. simply had to win, and it didn’t matter how that victory will be achieved. Even if Jaiden has to avoid fronting Gunz and Chessmaster for the rest of the game, it didn’t matter. Getting the W was the only thing that ted in the end.

  “Yeah, you’re right,” Jaiden cluded. “o push for a risky fight here. Let’s wait until we got an actual advahen we go ham.”

  “Exactly.” Rio nodded. “We should focus on striking the enemy’s ots, not their strong ones..”

  “You mean, striking the weakest link, right? That’s your favorite thing, huh.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Well, it’s a good strat.” Jaiden nodded.

  Despite agreeing with Rio, it still royally sucked that Jaiden couldn’t go ham against Gunz right now. But, it was important to uand that this game wasn’t just about Jaiden. The eeam was fightiogether to get that sweet W Therefore, Jaiden will also focus oing the W here.

  As Rio suggested, one of the best ways to achieve it was by striking the enemy’s weakest link. So, who was the weakest link in Stratus right now?

  The girl. No question about it. Jaiden didn’t eveo think twice.

  Despite being the “captain”, Beat was the weakest pyer in Stratus. She had some minimal petence, but that’s all she had. pared to everybody else here, she was basically trash. Pure garbage.

  Thinking ba it, the st two games were so ez because she was our ne oppo. Turns out we were striking the weakest link without even pnning to. We’re natural at this.

  This game, Beat finally took her business elsewhere. However, she wasn’t faring aer there either. Raymond was running all over her in Mid.

  Beat arently trying to py it safe, but she was still eating damage left and right.

  Gotta say though, Ray is rog it this game.

  Raymond has always been a strong pyer, but now he was looking more unstoppable ever. His pystyle was usually slow and steady, but this game he fidently extended into eerritory at every opportunity he got, while still paying careful attention to his defe was an amazing performance.

  Though, it’s the girl’s own fault for allowing all of this.

  Beat’s performance was so bad, that even a defensive pyer like Raymond had no qualms about going hard on the offensive against her. The girl was pletely ered.

  More and more damage accumuted o’s tower. At this point, it was just a question of time. The tower will surely crumble sometime around mid-game. Raymond just needed a little bit of help for the final push.

  Wait, isn’t this a great ce? Jaiden realized.

  Beat was the enemy’s weakest link, the target they should be fog on. And, with just a little bit of help, the team will bust the girl’s defenses and take Mid Turret.

  It just so happehat Jaiden and Rio had the numbers advantage in ne right now, which meant they had some leeway to work with. It was a 2v1 situation, but they had no iion of exploiting it fhting Gunz. Instead, they could use this advantage for other things, such as rotating to Mid to strike Beat down!

  And so, a sinister pn was about to hatch.

  DarkestCymore