Vi followed the orders he received and built up Rage while clearing the minions. The objective was to go berserk in the wave, so that’s exactly what he po aplish. Good soldiers followed orders.

  However, to not arise any suspi, Vi made sure to charge up his Barbarian Sm to the max this time as well.

  BAM! He unleashed yet another meteor-level sm otlefield! The attack ravaged both the swordsmen and the minions at once!

  But, with great power came great responsibility. Unleashing a fully charged-up Barbarian Sm cost Vi 3e, which reduced his Rage meter to 0%.

  In order to enter Berserk mode, Vi had to climb all the to 80%. It sounded like a lot, but it was a no-brainer sidering how quick his basic attacks were.

  HACK. HACKHACK. HACKHACKHACK! He sliced and diced the minions with his dual axes!

  Every strike increased his rage by almost 4%, so he recovered 77% Rage by the time he was doh the minion wave. He was now oack away from entering Berserk mode. Mission aplished.

  No, not quite yet. Vi reminded himself. As much as I’d like to keep all this Rage intact, I must fool my oppo into thinking I’m a very calm individual who yearns for pea the ne.

  Judging by the kind of pyer Theorist was, she surely has been monit Vi’s movements and keeping track of his Rage in her head. Therefore, she was most certainly aware that Vi has accumuted plenty e after clearing the ret wave.

  Most likely, she couldn’t tell that Vi’s Rage was as high as 77%. heless, Theorist will certainly be o if Vi doesn’t show any signs of relieving any of his Rage at all.

  Thus, Vi activated Rexing Exhale. His Berserker took a deep breath and then exhaled rather loudly, as if trying to prove to everybody around that he did not have any anger issues in the slightest.

  Normally, it was disadvantageous for a skill to have su obvious sound cue. Giving the enemy free information on a silver ptter was a surefire way to lose the cold war.

  However, in this particur case, the theatrics of Rexing Exhale came in handy. Vi very much wao make a show of the fact he took such a deep breath and exhaled “plenty e”.

  Surely, after seeing this dramatic dispy, Theorist was vihat Vi had no pns of assaulting her anytime soon. However, there was a catch hidden in the depths of this simple py!

  Though you saw me exhale, you ot tell for sure how much Rage I lost, you? Vi smiled meaningfully. It could be 50% or it could be as little as 10%. Your only indication is my health bar, which was already full to the brim in the first pce.

  Rexing Exhale made the Berserker recover HP in proportion to the ed Rage. This was about the only visual indicator for telling how much Rage was actually ed, as otherwise, the animation of the skill looked practically identio matter what.

  As, Vi was already in full health, therefore the recovery did nothing to him. This robbed Theorist of crucial evidence, which meant Vi was a step ahead of his foe in this intellectual battle of information!

  So, how much Rage did Vi actually exhale? Quite the mystery it was, but ohat basic math could easily solve.

  He was at 77% Rage before exhaling and he had to reach 80% to go berserk, which he would have to do immediately upon Luke’s arrival. Since a single basic attack earned him close to 4% Rage, it meant he had to remain above 76% in order to enter Bersker at the first opportunity that presents itself.

  Thus, Vi did exactly that. Yes, despite how loud his exhaling was, he did, in fact, only drop from 77% Rage to a little over 76%. Rexing Exhale gave the pyer that much freedom to decide how much Rage should be relieved.

  With this ingenious py, Vi fooled his foe without failing the mission given to him by Chessmaster. With this, the preparations were done.

  Now, I simply must wait for the arrival of the Chosen One. Vi nodded. Will he be the oo restore order to the gaxy? Or, shall he cast everything into chaos!? I dare say, it will most certainly be the tter.

  For now, Vi retreated without pushing any further despite the great ne advantage he had. This was just the calm before the storm. This reparation for the round, where things will go down for real!

  On his end, Vi made sure to not leak aails of his future pns. However, their oppos today were her than the Leopards, the ed regional champions! Furthermore, their strategist was Rook, a former chess rival of Chessmaster!

  So, will this grand scheme truly be able to remain undercover? As expected, the enemy has been carefully analyzing the unfolding situation 24/7.

  So, they aren’t ready to atta this round. Cato cluded.

  There haven’t been any suspiovements from the enemy side on any of the nes so far. Everything pyed out exactly as before in Top, so there was no reason for quite yet.

  In general, not much had ged about the map state betweewo minion waves. The enemy had ne advantage in Top and Mid, but in Bot, William and Ronald did a fine job matg the enemy’s clearing speed.

  For once, Ronald’s early power build didn’t feel so terrible to have around. Cato wished to criticize it to no end but it was somewhat of a plus for the team, at least for now.

  So, I only have to keep helping out in Top and Mid. Cato cluded.

  Like in the previous wave, Cato joined Sonya in Top once again to help with clearing out the invading minions.

  It would have been much better if Cato could split into two and cover both Top and Mid at the same time. As, the world only had enough space for one overlord.

  As such, Cato had to prioritize Top over Mid for now, given that Sorcerer had a much better clearing speed than Dragonborn.

  “Sorry, Matt,” Cato apologized. “You’ll have to deal with that uation on your own for a while.”

  “Okay.” Matthew merely shrugged in respo was going to be a drag but he’ll ma was uandable why Cato had to prioritize Top given the circumstances, so Matthew had no valid arguments.

  And so, Cato joihe clearing efforts in Top. The minions there almost made their way into the Turret’s area but Cato got their attention just before it happened.

  This meant all the minions were now going to focus their fire on Cato, but this was still better than losing precious gold and exp from farming uhe tower.

  I’ll gdly sacrifice a little bit of HP to ensure we get all the farm. Cato accepted the hits as they came.

  Pying the role of a punchbag wasn’t fun in the slightest, but Vampire wasn’t afraid of a little damage. The lifesteal built into his passive ehat he’ll be able to recover from these injuries in no time.

  Essentially, his HP lenishable resource, whereas the gold and exp gained from minions were limited in supply. As such, trading HP fold and exp was often a good deal.

  Naturally, the minions had every iion of g their share of this trade. Thus, they started firing at him without further ado.

  Ohe minions’ attention was fully trated on Cato, Sonya came out of the tower area to help with the up effort. She was taking full advantage of the “punchbag” service that Cato was .

  My, this woman has no feelings. Cato shook his head. Here I am, going out of my way to help her clear the minions, but she feels absolutely nothing from seeiting trashed by them! So cold. Sob sob.

  “Thanks,” Sonya offered minimal gratitude ohe entire endeavor was doh. As far as she was ed, this was just a dry busiransa between her and Cato. They were diplomatic allies and this py served both of their is.

  “I’m ting on you for the wave too,” Sonya said matter-of-factly.

  “Yes, yes, of course.” iled impishly. “After all, a good boss takes care of his workers~”

  “Who is your ‘worker’, exactly?” Sonya made a face.

  “My No. 1 most trusted secretary, of course~”

  “Hah.” Sonya spat a sigh. “Anyway, I haven’t gathered any new data in this round. I assume you were about to ask about that.”

  “My, such perception. Yes, I was about to ask whether you saw any hints about an ining gank.”

  “The Berserker used his Exhale, so I assume it means he’s not pnning to go hard in the wave either. Though, I ot say how much Rage he actually exhaled, seeing as he’s at full health.”

  “So, in theory, he could’ve lost as little as 1%,” Cato said. “The guy might be sitting on the edge of going berserk as we speak.”

  “Yes, that’s indeed possible.” Sonya nodded. “But overall, if they’re pnning something for Top anytime soon, then they’ve been doing a good job keeping it under ers so far. I haven’t seen their DK in Top Jungle for a while now.”

  “He has probably recalled by now,” Cato said. “It’s more on for Juo recall around the third wave, but DK loses HP every time he bsts. So, I bet he has to take an early leave unless he wants to be ballsy and recover his HP with a kill.”

  “That whole thing is ery at its fi.”

  “It sure is, isn’t it?”

  “So, assuming he recalled, do you think he pns to make a move during the wave?”

  “Most definitely,” Cato asserted. “He hasn’t pulled anything big ever sihe game opening, so he must have been waiting to recover his HP first. Which means the wave is where things will go down for real.”

  “And since we don’t know where he’ll strike, everybody has to be on high alert.”

  “Yes, that’s true. Did you hear that, everybody? Be vigint on the wave. A DK might be ing after you~”

  “Got it.” “No problem!” “Sure.” Everybody firmed that they heard the message loud and clear. Now, if any of them makes a careless mistake as killed, then Cato will have the luxury to rub it into their face. “I told you!”

  As, he was in no position to enjoy such base mischief. As the captain, the shot-caller, and the Jungler, it was his responsibility to e up with a termeasure to the enemy’s ploy.

  When will Yuel choose to strike? Cato examihe situation in every here lenty of information avaible on the board. The ao his question was definitely buried somewhere out there.

  But, Yuel knows that too. iled impishly. So, will he go for the best option I think of? Or, will he settle on the sed-best option in fear of getting read? It’s like the “wine in front of me” dilemma, isn’t it?

  Yuel was like a bartender serving wine. He filled two cups, one for himself and one for Cato. However, one of these cups was secretly filled with poison, and now Cato had to decide whether to drink from his own cup or to take Yuel’s instead.

  Was Yuel the type to fill his own cup with poison? Or, will he py it safe and poison Cato’s cup?

  I’m almost certaihe type to do the former. Cato thought. In this analogy, I’d say poisoning your own cup is simir to going for the optimal py while knowing there’s a risk of it being read and tered.

  Yuel seemed like the type who assumed that most of his oppos wouldn’t bet on him taking the riskier option, which was exactly how he caught many of his oppos off-guard. It ractically his trademark strategy, both in chess and in Cssmancers.

  But, I’m sure he knows that’s my impression of him. Cato thought. Which is why it’d make sense for him to switch things up against me during su important py and go for the sed-best option. BUT, he also knows I might take all of this into sideration, so he may opt for the first option after all.

  Indeed, it was a “wine in front of me” problem, an endless sequence of outguessing. Cato tried to outguess Yuel who will outguess Cato iurn, which forced Cato to try outguessing Yuel’s outguessing and so forth.

  In the end, it’s like a toss. Cato cluded. The best I do here is go for the py that’ll minimize risks and will improve our position as much as possible.

  Currently, Stratus was holding the upper hand in Top and Mid quite vingly. However, in Bot, the situation was rather even. At least, that’s how Cato saw the game state.

  It was very much possible that other people had a different impression of the current board. As such, it was worth asking for more input.

  “Say, Sonya,” Cato started. “Assuming the DK gank is really ing, whie do you suppose he’ll target?”

  “I asked you the same thing a moment ago.”

  “Yes, you did. But, I’d like to hear what yuess is.”

  “I don’t have enough data to ahat,” Sonya replied immediately. She has already analyzed this question thhly as she tried to e up with her own answer.

  Her clusion? There was insuffit data. As such, she didn’t want to take responsibility for making any premature guesses that might influehe other team members.

  “My, you’re dodging responsibility as usual, aren’t you~?”

  “Hmph. I see absolutely no reason why I should take an uninformed guess. It’ll only force me to take responsibility in case somebody decides to act upon it.”

  “True, true. It’s usually my responsibility to do that and take the bme for it, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, exactly. Good luck, captain.”

  “Thank you, haha...” iled wryly. “ we at least pare notes? What’s your view of the current map situation?”

  “The enemy is maintaining the upper hand in Top and Mid,” Sonya answered robotically as if reading notes from a mental notebook. “In Top, they’ll tinue maintaining their advantage for a while due to the matchup advantage. In Mid, things should even out ohe Eleancer’s power buff wears out.”

  “Yes, I cur so far. What about Bot?”

  “Both sides are about even right now, but the Elf will soon lose his power buff. Ohat happens, their side will likely start gging behind.”

  “Mhm, that’s the gist of my take ouation as well.” Cato nodded. “There’s also the fact Elf is a te-game css, trary to the rest of their aggressive early-game p. So, they’re probably going to feed the Elf a lot and accelerate his build as much as possible.”

  “Yes, that makes sense. I ’t imagine any ame pn for Elf in this kind of team p. There’s no way they’re pnning to take this into te-game.”

  “Right. Maybe they picked it as a safety in case their early-game aggression falls through.”

  “That doesn’t sound like a very bright idea,” Sonya judged.

  “True, it seems suboptimal. But then again, is pig DK for Jungler a bright idea?”

  “Absolutely not. If I had to rate it on a scale of 1/10 to 10/10, I’d rate it as -100/10.”

  “Haha, harsh. But yes, it’s really as quirky as it gets.”

  “Anyway,” Sonya summarized. “That’s my analysis of the current game stat. But, don’t expect me to try outguessing the enemy’s move. As I said, there isn’t enough data to predict where they’ll ga.”

  “A, I have no choice but to make some sort of predi.” iled wryly. He had already dohe most important part of warning the team, but that wasn’t enough.

  As the Jungler, Cato had to carefully choose his positioning for this critical py. And as the shot-caller, he was responsible for foiling Yuel’s pns.

  Thus, he had to reach a decision of some sort despite the ck of crete evide least now, that he firmed his uanding of the board state matched Sonya’s, Cato felt a little more fortable with trying to outguess Yuel.

  After all, if Cato and Sonya both reached the same clusiarding the game state, then surely Yuel was reasoning along the same lines as well. As such, it should be possible to figure him out.

  Ganking Top should be out of the question. Cato thought. Berserker is already a soft ter, and ganking a Dragonborn, in general, is a pain. So, this is between Mid and Bot.

  Mid was the more important ne, but the uation there was rather ral at the moment. Beat was holding the upper hand for now thanks to the power buff, but it’ll expire soon and then Matthew will be able to match her in strength.

  With that said, it was unlikely for Matthew to establish any ne domihere by himself given his pystyle. As such, Yuel probably didn’t feel too pressured to gank the ne anytime soon.

  Oher hand, in Bot, the situation clearly favored the Leopards in the long run. Even though Elf and Seraph were both te-game csses, Ronald’s aggressive build will tilt the odds in the Leopards’ favor soon enough.

  Gunz has only been holding his ground for now thanks to the power buff, but it’ll expire soon. Ohat happens, Bot will likely be uhe Leopards’ trol until the mid-game.

  For Stratus, this was equivalent to losing their early momentum. It was something that an aggressive oppo definitely didn’t like seeing.

  Will Yuel allow that to pass? Hmm. Cato couldn’t tell. Figuring out the chaotic mess that was Yuel’s brain was beyond Cato’s capabilities.

  On one hand, it seemed sensible to assume that Yuel would do anything in his power to secure the early-game advantage across the entire map, which meant he’d want to hit Bot with a gank. Oher hand, it was also possible for Yuel to prioritize Mid in order to rush to victory as quickly as humanly possible.

  Either way, it’s clear that I should be hanging out around Bot Jungle. Cato cluded. From there, it remains to be seeher they target Mid or Bot. I just stick close to the ter of the jungle in order to be able to rotate to either ne on demand.

  It was far from ideal but at least it should allow Cato to respond in a timely fashion to a gank oher ne. Besides, the enemy might be disced from going through with the gank if they see Cato hanging around Bot Jungle like that. Though, that robably nothing more than hopium.

  With this arra, I have a 66.7% ce of being right, so the odds are on my side. Cato reassured himself. Now, it’s your turn, Yuel. Let’s see what you cooked up for us this time.

  Little did he know that what Yuel “cooked up” was exactly the remaining 33.3%...

  DarkestCymore