“My goodneeeeeeess!” The Impulse Bomb unched Ellen high into the air a her flying to the other side of the ne. She was diving right into eerritory!

  This was the py Yuel has been carefully setting up this eime. With perfect timing, Lars hit Lv.5 while Ellen was still in the air. In other words, Trickshow was a thing now! The Impulse Bomb plucked Ellen out of her safe zone and pced her within reach, so Lars was going to decimate her now!

  “It’s time for a trick show!” The familiar ultimate sound cue. The decisive attack was starting now- DENIED. In a single move, the whole pn was shattered.

  A holy bde crashed down on Lars, it was Howard's Justice Strike. It was so ued even Lars failed to rea time.

  How!? Didn't I just dodge his Justice Strike!? Yuel exploded internally. Whearted this offehe first thing he did was to dodge-roll Justice Strike. He definitely saw the white bde f! And he dodged it! It should have been on cooldown!

  Did he cel it? But, that means... Yuel bit his lip. g Justice Strike required very precise timing because it didn’t have a very long casting duration. For Howard to cel Justice Strike on time, it meant he repared for the possibility Yuel would dodge.

  No, Howard read even further. A mere moment passed between Yuel's Impulse Bomb py and Lars’s Trickshow activation. In that brief window of time, Howard closed in enough on Lars to drop Justice Strike and deny Yuel’s entire pn. As soon as Howard saw the impulse explosion, he ko focus on Lars. There was not a single moment of hesitation.

  How!? Every siime... Yuel bit his lip. He phis py days in adva definitely had some ots, but nobody should have been able to shut it down so perfectly in the heat of the moment.

  Yet, Howard did it. He always somehow did it. No matter what offense Yuel came up with, Howard was always ready to shut it down. Even though Howard failed to save Ellen from the Impulse Bomb, he perfectly shut down any follow-up pys.

  With Lars silerickshow’s zero cooldown be was rendered meaningless. Now, all Lars had were his basic attacks, 35% HP and because of Justice Strike, he was now slowed down and had lowered defense. Great...

  pared to that, Ellen was going to nd with 45% HP and still had Backfire on. Lars and Ellen both he same number of hits to take each other out, but the advantage of having an avaible skill was a huge one. Uhese circumstances, Lars may lose a frontal fight against Ellen, especially with Howard on his tail-

  BANG. A bullet pierced through the air and dug into Ellen's leg while she was still in the air.

  “, dude!” Lars darted toward Ellen's ndiination. “Let's do it!”

  “Wha...” Yuel blinked. Didn't that goof realize what just happerickshow was rendered useless. The whole attaded in failure. “But, your Trickshow...”

  “Yeah, that part sucks,” Lars nodded as he dodged Ellen's attempt to snipe him from the sky. “But, so what of it? I'mma just take her down with basics!”

  “But, that's...” Yuel's words trailed off. No, Lars was right. Even without Trickshow, Lars was a meical beast! He will surely take Ellen down in a fair fight!

  The beautiful shot Lars nded on Ellen in midair brought Yuel to his sehis wasn’t over yet! Howard threw off their pns a little, but it just meant they couldn't guarantee a 100% ce kill on Ellen. Okay, so now it was just 80% ce, still good enough!

  Wait, Howard must have realized that too- ack! Yuel's daze cost him. Howard almost caught up with the slowed Lars. He must have been pnning to pincer Lars!

  In a 1v1, Lars had a good ce. However, against both Ellen and Howard at once - Lars was a goner for sure. Yuel was also here, but his basic attacks were even weaker than Padin's and they were ranged, which meant Ellen will have an easier time dodging them. And, in the first pce, Yuel was too far from Ellen right now, so he couldn't even support Lars right away! Goddammit!

  I have to get Howard out of the picture! That's all Yuel could dht now. He couldn't pete in term of damage output, but he still had tools at his disposal.

  Yuel cut iween Howard and Lars with an Impulse Bomb in hand. By activating the skill “Use Tool” he crushed the bomb fsk in his hand. A booming impulse erupted around him and blew Howard away!

  Yes! It worked! Yuel got Howard out of the picture! Phew, this was a close one.

  “Yo! Dude!” Lars excimed. “I didn't hear this art of the pn!”

  “Ah.” Yuel mentally face-palmed. The impulse exploded all around Yuel, so it hit Lars too ahe goof flying. Oops. The explosion didn’t deal any damage to Lars, but it caused a terrible misposition. “I-I Just thought I'd help you get to Ellen faster. Yeah.”

  “Thanks, dude! VERY nice of ya!” Lars chuckled and his grin didn't vanish for even a moment. He was a total sucker for chaotic developments like these!

  Thankfully, the explosion didn't send Lars that far. Still, it brought him closer to Ellen and that put them at a disadvantage because Ellen will have an easier time slipping by them. With Lars’s reduced movement speed, he won't be able to keep up.

  But, Lars didn't have the time to think about these matters. He just had to settle this fight as quickly as possible without getting killed in the process. Easy, yo!

  “My, what a predit,” Ellen rolled as soon as she nded and dodged Lars's shot by a hair's breadth. She was down to 33% HP, so like three more hits and she’s dead for sure. Scary.

  Ellealiated and fired toward the spot where Lars was expected to nd, but he dodge-rolled as soon as he touched the ground. Tch, unfortunate, but her main goal wasn't to hit him anyway. The time which Lars spent on rolling and rec was extra time for Ellen to scram! DAAAAAAASH~★

  “Should I go into the Jungle?” Ellen asked, seeing as Howard was blown too far away to help her.

  “No,” Howard said. “Just get back as quickly as you .”

  “Gotcha.” Ellen tinued dashing toward her side of the ne while occasionally sneaking a shot on Lars.

  “Geh,” Lars made a face as another shot him, dropping him down to 20% HP. He po side-step that shot, but his reduced movement speed got in the way. It also made it difficult for him to chase Ellen. That fox was totally gonna slip away, yo!

  But, Lars almost got her! Ellen was already below 10% HP, so he needed only one more hit! Just one! Even a normal basic shot would do the job! But, Ellen got out of his range. His bullets won't reach her.

  But, not all was lost. The silence from Justice Strike finally faded and Trickshow’s effect was still on, so Lars could spam his abilities for like two seds! He slid after Ellen right away!

  It's already back!? Ellen excimed as heard the sound of Trickslide behind her. Darn it, what a persisteie! She almost got away, but noooooo. Of course lil’ Larsy had to chase her down like a stalker.

  But well, it's not like she wasn't prepared for this. Ellen was saving her Backfire on for this sort of situation. That was her trusty panic button~

  Ellen turned around to face Lars and aimed Backfire on at him. She wasn't gonna just escape, she'll also smack Larsy on her way out~! That'll teach him to mess with her!

  To be ho, she probably won't be able to nd this shot. But, it'll definitely make Lars either roll aside or slide aside. Either way, it'll slow him down and give Ellen more time to escape. Brilliant pn~★

  Oh boy! Lars grinned when a on dropped in front of Ellen. She was going for her st resort and she was aiming right at him! Things were getting intense!

  I won't die if I'm hit by that stuff, right? Probably not. Probably. Anyway, let's go for it! She ain't getting away, yo! Lars ed arickslide, but he didn't slide to either side. No, he charged straight ahead! Right toward the on poi him! “Dodging”? The heck did that word even mean? He was driving forward full gas ahead, yo!

  A on shell flew straight toward his face... and missed. He slid underh the shell! Matrix shenanigans, yo!

  Excuse me!? Ellen r internally. What the flipping heck was that just now!? Did somebody order a circus? Because there was an acrobatikey right there!

  Uh-oh. Ellen gulped. This was bad. Like, really, really, REALLY bad. One more hit and she's done for. And, because Lars didn’t dodge like he was supposed to, he might actually catch up to her. “Wardy, save me~”

  Woohoo! Lars celebrated after getting past the on shell. He saw Trever pull this stunt before, so he adopted this pro level py. Sickest thing ever, yo!

  After Lars fihe slide, Ellen was finally within reach again. This was it! He took aim. A si will seal the deal. It didn't even have to be a Trickshot, a basic attack will suffice. She was so ded- wha!? A wild Padin appeared! Howard blinked between Ellen and Lars!

  Gah! Then, I'll shoot through ya! Lars switched to Trickshot because it could pass through units. There’s no stopping him now! He was gonna shht through Aegis and strike Athena down!

  Except, there a problem. Howard was in the middle of raising his shield, so Divine Shield was going to be a thing. Trickshot will just get absorbed in Howard's shield at this rate! Nuuuuu!

  Geh! T-Then, I’ll shoot around you! There was only oio: a boung shot from the side! If Lars 't shoot through Howard, he'll just shoot around him! E-Easy!

  In the split sed before clig, Lars rotated to aim at the wall. There was no time to figure the right angle or literally anything. He just had to shoht now! He had to trust his horick-shooting instincts!

  The bullet hit the wall and bounced off it. Okay, this was the easy part. , it had to actually hit Ellen...!

  A Trickshot? Ellen heard the distinctive sound effect. Knowing Lars, he might find a way to make his shot reach her even though Howard. Therefore, Ellen rolled forward without thinking twice. This outta mess up Lars's aim- aya!

  It didn't help. As if anticipating Ellen's roll, the Trickshot caught Ellen during the start of her roll. The bullet pierced right through her shoulder. It was a hit. A fatal hit.

  You have been killed!

  “My, how infuriating,” Ellen dropped ba her chair.

  “I almost got you out,” Howard shook his head. “Lars apparently ged his aim in the very st moment after seeing me.”

  “Yep, Larsy is crazy like that.”

  “I was sure the most he’d be able to do is either shoot into my Divine Shield or miss. I guess I was naive. Heh, to think it was like half a step difference.”

  “Hm? What do you mean?”

  “My timing,” Howard expined. “I'm sure if I deyed my blink just a little, Lars wouldn't have been able to ge his aim so easily. Against most people, it's best to blink as soon as possible in these situations, but apparently, this rule doesn't apply to Lars.”

  “Yeah, Larsy is special. You 't block this brute whe Trickshooter.”

  “But, I have to able to. There will be others at his level at the nationals. You expect me to give this excuse to the scouts from Grandview when they ask me why I blew the nationals?”

  No, of course not. Ellen didn't eveo respond. Howard was aiming to py in Utopia, the stro high school team in the try. If he really wants to get into prestige team, he ’t allow himself to be held back by some acrobatic trick-shooting .

  “Well,” Howard smiled weakly. “I suppose that’s how this match gotta go. That Impulse Bomb py looked like something Yuel pnned way in advance. Had we mao shut it down, maybe today's match would have ended right there.”

  “Really?”

  “You didn't see Yuel’s rea, did you?” Howard smiled meaningfully. “For a moment there, he pletely froze in pce. He was shocked when I silenced Lars because that kinda killed the entire follow-up py he pnned. Maybe he even thinks I'm some chess pro who reads twenty turns ahead, haha.”

  “My, Yuyu is so fun to bully~”

  “I’m sure it would have shattered his fidence as a shot-caller if you mao slip away in that situation. Then, this match would have bee a much easier ride to victory. Oh well, the ‘ued developments’ during that py must’ve shaken him enough.”

  “And that’s great for us~”

  “That's for sure.”

  Iher room, Yuel and Lars celebrated the successful kill.

  “We did it, yo!” Lars pumped a fist. “Easy!”

  “Yeah, right. Easy.” Yuel rolled his eyes but he found himself smiling too. Despite the hiccups along the way, they ultimately secured a kill on Ellen. Yuel's pn was made into a success through Lars's strength. It was great!

  But, another feeling brewed inside Yuel as well. It took him multiple days to pn this and other strong pys against Howard and Elleheless, Howard nearly shut dowire py on the spot. If not for Lars's quick wit, Ellen would have slipped away for sure.

  Even that much preparation isn't enough? Yuel frowned. Aegis, the absolute defense. Every time Yuel tried to pierce through it, he was forced to realize anew how imperable it was.

  Will any of the other pys he prepared wainst Howard? There was no guaraill, Yuel and Lars won this first exge. They now had to push this early advantage all the way to victory!