『An ally has been killed!』
"Wha..." Julia's lips trembled. How could this happen? Roi has just died in Top Lane. But, he didn't just die; he got ganked. And, the ganker was Gilbert, of all people. It's all because Julia allowed Gilbert to do as he pleased that this happened. [Oh god, this is so my fault...]
"Hey July," Roi called out.
"Y-Yes?"
"Did you even call missing on Gil? Don't remember hearing it."
"I... um..." Julia gulped. No, she didn't call it. She didn't call anything. Julia allowed Gilbert to rotate out of lane and gank a teammate and she didn't even notify anybody about it. Goddammit, how bad could she be!?
"I thought Gilbert was just going for the Griffin..." Julia made a weak excuse.
"Man, you should still call missing when that happens," Roi said. "The guy totally screwed me over here."
"Yeah, I..."
"Roi," Yuel joined the conversation. "One of Julia's wards showed that Gilbert was heading towards Top Jungle. Nobody could tell for sure where he was going, but you could see he was going in Top's direction. That should've been enough of a warning."
"R-Right!" Julia followed up. "I put a bunch of wards around, so you should've seen the rotation. Hmph."
"Huh," Roi paused for a moment. Wait, did any of the wards really expose Gilbert as he was making his way to Top? Um... maybe? To be honest, Roi didn't recall seeing anything of the sort, but if Yuel said so then it had to be true.
So, just how distracted was Roi this whole time? Damn, this was hella embarrassing.
"Well," Roi started. "I still think she should've called missing just in case."
"I agree," Yuel nodded. "But, that doesn't change the fact you weren't cautious enough. You should've waited until we clarify Gilbert's intentions before charging at Gregory."
"Yeah, I guess." Roi sighed in resignation.
[Phew, looks like I'm in the clear.] Julia sighed in relief. After clearing Julia of the guilt, Yuel went on to criticize Roi's recent plays some more but who cared about that anyway. As long as it wasn't Julia's fault, it didn't matter, right?
[Except, it IS my fault.] Julia clenched her mouse. All of this was happening because she allowed Gilbert to do whatever he wanted. Instead of pressuring the Pyromancer as she should, she let that dumbass strut around as if he owned the entire place. Goddammit!
This was not good. Julia's misplays began spreading beyond her own lane. This was no longer just a question of whether she could defend Mid. Her poor performance was dragging down the entire team.
Things couldn't continue like this. At this rate, she'll drag the entire team down to oblivion. They'll lose the entire match and everything will be on Julia's hands. [God, just end me.]
Losing this game meant losing the entire selection match. That'll crush Lars's dream of playing in tournaments next year. Yuel will also be screwed by this, but who cared about that idiot. Hmph.
On top of that, Julia's poor performance guaranteed she won't get into the first-string either. In short, everybody gonna got screwed due to her weak performance.
This couldn't go on. It was no longer just about Julia, it was also about Lars and even Yuel. This match will decide whether they spend the next year as competitive players or as mere benchwarmers. For the two game addicts, this was a matter of life and death. As for Julia...
[Well, it's probably too late for me anyways.] Julia hung her head. Considering her awful performance up to this point, nobody would ever pick her for the first string. And, honestly? She didn't think she deserved it either.
But, Lars deserved to be on the first string. Heck, even Yuel deserved it. Well, probably. Kinda.
Unlike Julia, these two were brilliant players. She knew first-hand how amazing they were because she spent every day playing with them. Thanks to them, Julia improved tremendously and even ranked all the way to Diamond I. So, the least she could do for the boys was to not drag them down.
[Lars will hate me for sure if he sees how I play aggressively,] Julia smiled wryly. [But, if playing aggressively will help Lars get into the first string, then I'll freaking do it!]
Julia put her mic on mute and exhaled deeply. It was now or never. She'll go on the offensive and wreck all these idiots!
"Where are you going?" Yuel asked.
"Top Lane," Julia answered matter-of-factly as if it was the most natural thing to do right now.
"What for?" Yuel asked. "By the time you get there, they'll start retreating. You won't be able to defend Top much."
"Defend? Who said anything about defending?" Julia cracked her neck. "I'm done with defending. I'm going to murder these bastards!" A grin curved on her lips. Her eyes glinted like a polished blade.
[I know this look.] Yuel couldn't believe it but, apparently, it was happening for real. [If she's serious about this, she may actually pull it off.]
"Dan," Yuel said. "Rotate toward Top. Check for opportunities to pick somebody off."
"Roger."
Was it really going to happen? Will Julia go for her alternative playstyle even though Lars was here? It was hard to tell with this moody girl. But, if she really pulls through and activates her aggressive style, this match will take a huge unexpected turn...
[Okay, here we are.] Julia took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She got to Top Lane pretty fast after buffing her movement with Jet Stream. These bastards won't see this one coming! She gonna kill them so hard they'll feel the pain in real life! She gonna destroy them!
[Okay, first this dumbass over here.] Julia noticed that Gregory retreated a little and began recalling. "Running away to your mama? Not under my watch! Die, dumbass!"
Julia activated Squall, which fired a gust of wind. The hit damaged Gregory, interrupted his recall and slowed him down.
"You're soooooo dead!" Julia grinned as she darted to finish off her weak prey.
"Wha!?" Gregory exclaimed. "Shit! Where did that bitch come from!? Hey Gil! Help me out here-"
『You have been killed!』
"Fuck!" Gregory smacked the table. "Thanks for the help, man."
[Why is Julia here?] Gilbert was too confused by this development to even come up with counter-play.
Julia was supposed to be defending Mid Lane, that's how she was playing the entire day. How in the world was she in Top Lane right now? Not to mention, she apparently snuck up to them on her own and put herself in a dangerous 1v2 situation that could've easily gone wrong. That was an absurdly offensive play.
[I don't even...] Gilbert blinked repeatedly in hope his eyes were playing tricks on him. But no, Julia was definitely here. And, she just scored a swift kill on Gregory.
"Haha! Yes! Die!" Julia cackled. She made sure to mute herself before her mouth started running off on its own, but that didn't change the fact her teammates were sitting right beside her. So, they could probably hear some of it. Especially, Lars could probably hear her too. He was most likely giving her funny looks right about now.
But, Julia didn't send as much as a single glance in Lars's direction. If she sees Lars's reaction, her fighting spirit will die out on the spot. So, she couldn't possibly check her teammates' reactions right now. She had to step on the gas and wreck Gilbert before she starts feeling awkward about all of this.
Out of everybody on the enemy team, Gilbert deserved the most painful death possible. That pompous bastard has been feeling himself too much this game. It was time to show him that Julia wasn't some weak player he could mess around with!
"C'mon!" Julia roared. "I'mma kick your ass to another plane of existence! You're sooooo dead!"
[She's going for it?] Gilbert frowned. A 1v1 against an aggressive opponent wasn't exactly something he wanted right now with his 20% HP. [But alright, he was game.]
This was a great opportunity to decide once and for all which of them was the superior Mid Laner. Gilbert was in a bad shape, but so was Julia. She was down to 30% HP and she has already spent Squall on Gregory, so her options were limited.
Julia still had her ult, but it was practically impossible for her to land it on Gilbert during a 1v1. He'd burst her down if she dares to go ahead and channel it. Therefore, Julia will have to resort to basic attacks while Gilbert had some options.
Unfortunately, his Flame Wave was currently on cooldown for a few seconds, so he'll also have to rely on basics attacks at first. However, he also had Blaze of Inferno which Roi interrupted last time. The casting of the ult didn't go through because of Roi's taunt, so Blaze of Inferno wasn't on cooldown.
So, if Julia gets close, all Gilbert had to do was bombard her with Blaze of Inferno. Thus, despite the slightly lower HP, Gilbert actually held the advantages here. Julia couldn't do anything of note in this 1v1. Gilbert had this one in the bag.
[Take this! And that! Die!] Julia barraged Gilbert with wind blasts. That bastard was soooo dead! [Ha! You think you gonna hit me with that shit? That's cute!]
"Wha?!" Gilbert fired back at Julia, but his fireballs missed. On the other hand, all of Julia's wind blasts perfectly landed. What kind of wizardry was this?
[She's good. Unexpectedly good.] Gilbert gulped. He didn't expect things to go this way. Julia should've been a defensive player who hated putting herself in battle, yet she packed quite the punch in an actual fight. Was she hiding this skill all this time? Was it for the surprise element or something?
Either way, Gilbert won't lose here. This was his opportunity to kill Julia and prove he was the only Mid Laner the first-string needed. No matter how good Julia was at dodging shots, she was still a greenhorn with fewer years of experience. Gilbert has been playing Classmancers for over four years now, so there was no way he'll be beaten by this rookie!
"Die!" Julia fired another wind blast as she advanced toward her foe. She had this! Gilbert was already down to 10%. [Goddamit, the damage of my basics sucks when I build a defensive build. I hit him so many times but he's stick kicking. Die already!]
[You've made a grave mistake.] Gilbert drew a path of flames on the ground. Julia foolishly stepped within the range of his Blaze of Inferno. He marked the entire area around her with red lines, so she had no way to escape the blaze. This fight was over.
"Ha! You think that's enough!?" Julia blinked forward. She escaped the danger zone in an instant!
[A cloaked Blink!?] Gilbert flinched as Julia teleported behind him. His Blaze of Inferno went down the toilet!
[But, now you're even closer!] Gilbert turned around. His Flame Wave came out of cooldown with perfect timing, so this was the perfect opportunity to unleash it! It'll erase most of Julia's- huh!? She was gone! Where did she go after blinking!?
"Hahaha! How about this, sucker!" Julia rolled underneath the Flame Wave just as Gilbert unleashed it! [This is so cool! I've always wanted to do it ever since Lars pulled it off in the scrimmage! It feels SO good!]
[T-This is…] A shiver ran through Gilbert's arms. For a moment, an unsettling image crossed his mind. It was a mixture of mechanical skill which rivaled Lars's and sharp decision-making which resembled Yuel's. Both skills were right here, packed into one!
[I've underestimated her.] Gilbert gulped. It was unclear why Julia didn't play like this from the beginning, but right now she was DANGEROUS. Alarms rang in Gilbert's head: RETREAT. RETREAT. RETREAT.
[No idea who I'm fighting right now, but this "Julia" right here is a beast.] Gilbert concluded that he was going to die at this rate. RETREAT. RETREAT. RETREAT. He booted Burning Spirit and dashed out of there as quickly as his legs could carry him.
"Heh! Coward!" Julia could already feel it with every cell in her body. This rush! This tension! This was gonna be a beautiful kill! "Goodnight, dumbass!"
Julia charged her ult, Hurricane, and sent it flying in Gilbert's direction. It took the hurricane some time to pick up the pace, but once it got going - it was hella fast! It chased Gilbert and sucked him in.
[Drat, I can't get out!] The hurricane dragged Gilbert back toward Julia!
"Die, sucker!" Julia finished the job with a couple more basic attacks.
『You have killed an enemy!』
『DOUBLE KILL』
"Yes! Get fucked!" Julia pumped a fist. She did it! She freaking did it! Two kills! These idiots will think twice next time before messing with her! She… Oh, shit.
".....…." Lars was staring right at her. His eyes were wide-open. He was shocked as hell.
[Oh god, I knew this was a bad idea…] Julia gulped. She has just exposed her ugly side in front of the boy she loved. That's it, her life was over.
"Duuuude," Lars finally spoke. "That was sick!"
"Eh…?"
"You totally rekt these guys! I never knew you can play like this! You wrecked them HARD!"
"I-I, um, yes, I…" Julia trembled. W-W-What was happening? Lars didn't seem shocked or disgusted at all. In fact, he was [complimenting] her. How in the world was this even…
"It's not over yet," Yuel warned. "Get out of there as soon as you-"
"Here coooooomes Taison!"
"Ah! Crap!" Julia jumped. Her engines totally cooled down after scoring these kills, so she wasn't ready for extra action right now! This was bad. She had to get away! After scoring two kills and being praised by Lars, dying right away will be the most embarrassing thing ever!
"Coming through!" Dan leaped into the action from the jungle and summoned a pack of lions around himself and Taison.
"Yo," Taison exclaimed. "You wanna die instead, bro? I'mma take ya on!"
"No," Howard retorted. "Use your ult and retreat."
"But I-"
"No buts. This is a 1v2 and you're Inside Lion's the ult. You can't win here."
"But July is so low on HP, she doesn't even count-"
"No, she counts a lot. Didn't you hear she just got a double kill? If you stay, she'll fight you together with Dan."
"I'mma just kill her before she-"
"Retreat. Now." Howard shot a sharp glare.
"O-Okay, okay, I'm getting out. To the Vampmobile!" Taison transformed into a bat and flew over the lions. [I'mma get you scrubs next time, word.]
"PHEEEEEW!" Julia literally exhaled all the air from her lungs. "Thanks, you totally saved my ass- Ahem. I mean, you totally rescued me."
"Sure thing," Dan gave a thumbs up. [Man, I barely got here in time. Yuel must've read this situation from a mile away when he told me to rotate here.]
"Good job on that double kill," Yuel could finally say it once the situation calmed down.
"Suuuure," Julia rolled her eyes. "Next time, congratulate me five years after I make the play," She had a sassy tone, but her expression soon turned into a beaming smile. "But, thanks for that rescue. It was your doing, right?"
"Hmph, who knows." Yuel shrugged and returned the game.
[Heh, bastard.] Julia chuckled. [But, thanks. Really.] That last-moment rescue made Julia's entire play turn out perfect. She scored a double kill and got away scot-free. It was awesome!
[T-This is really happening, isn't it?] Julia rubbed her sweaty palms against her jeans and put a hand on her chest. Bam. Babam. Her heart was still racing. This situation was unbelievable. She felt like she wandered into Wonderland.
Not only did she finally bring out her aggressive side during a real match, but it was also surprisingly well-received too! Lars didn't seem disgusted with her at all. In fact, he even liked it? Maybe he actually liked girls who acted like this!?
No, no, no. It was way too early to assume anything wild like that. For now, she was content with just not entering Lars's blacklist for her running her mouth like that.
"So," Yuel said. "I take it you have no problem playing aggressively for the rest of the game?"
"Heh! Haha! I'll murder them all!"
"Good," Yuel nodded. [No idea what happened to her, but she finally brought out her other half. This is a huge game-changer.]
With this lineup, their chances were better than ever. As the match was heading into the mid-game, the team gained huge momentum thanks to Julia's double kill.
If they can push all the way with this momentum, they might very well win the entire match during the mid-game. Alternatively, if they fail to wrap it up by then, the game will be dragged into the late-game. That's where Lars will dominate with his Seraph.
Either way, Yuel's team had the upper hand. They were about to settle this!
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Thanks to Julia's double kill, the score was evened to 2-2. Although Classmancers wasn't a ball game and the kill count never told the entire story, in this case, the score was a fairly accurate representation of the game's state. Each side scored two kills and their positions were even. Neither side held a notable advantage as they were approaching the mid-game.
[That's why I don't like the early game.] Howard sighed. The team gained an early game advantage by scoring kills on Yuel and Roi, but that achievement was quickly overwritten by Julia's double kill. All that effort was essentially wasted. In fact, killing Roi only led to losing two team members in exchange. The payoff was terrible.
"I gotta admit, Julia was pretty impressive," Howard turned to Ellen. "So, that's the 'full strength' you've been talking about?"
"Y-Yeah," Ellen shifted her eyes away with a dumb smile. Her expression was something between happiness and awkwardness. On one hand, Ellen was happy that Julia finally came out of her shell and displayed her full strength in a real game. But, on the other hand...
"You said you were worried about Julia because you told her something over the break?"
"Haha..."
"I have a distinct impression there's nothing worry about," Howard frowned. "Rather, it's WE who should start worrying."
"N-Nah, we're fine," Ellen forced a smile.
They both knew that Julia's sudden change of gears couldn't have happened haphazardly. The girl has been struggling to draw out her aggressive side throughout the entire year, so something must have triggered this change. And, that "something" was...
"I really wonder what it was," Ellen smiled like a dummy. "Maybe Yuel actually had a pep talk with her?"
"Yeah, and next you'll suggest the zombie apocalypse is tomorrow. A very believable theory."
"W-Well, it's not my fault," Ellen pouted. "I didn't mean to trigger her like that."
"Yeah, I'm sure you didn't mean to. You're just a natural-born terrible person, so you did it subconsciously."
"Rude," Ellen twisted her lips. "So, what we gonna do?"
"This sure complicates things," Howard frowned. Lars's aggressive strength was already causing more than enough trouble to Howard, to the point Howard had come up with the whole "Lars Killer" tactic as a counter. If Julia also starts playing like a berserker with high-level aggressiveness, things will get rough.
According to Ellen, Julia had "two forms". The first form was the one everybody was familiar with: the overly defensive Julia. The other form was the exact opposite: an overly aggressive playstyle. The sudden switch between them was like ice transforming into magma; it was mind-boggling.
The "defensive Julia" was cautious and had great map awareness, so it was nigh impossible to gank her. However, she was [too] cautious, to the point she missed many great opportunities to kill her opponents.
The "aggressive Julia" was the exact opposite. She struck at every opportunity she got while throwing caution out of the window. As a result, her defense suffered and it was easy to trap her. At least, it should've been easy...
Back when Julia arrived in Top Lane, Howard has already realized something was amiss. He didn't want to believe it, but there was no other explanation: a wild Aggressive Julia appeared! He had a feeling things will go south from there, so he ordered Taison to gank Top.
Alas, Howard wasn't fast enough. While he was busy analyzing that irregular situation and figuring out what calls to make, Julia destroyed Gilbert in that 1v1. Gilbert must have been as shocked as Howard by this development, probably even more. So, Julia totally ripped him apart in that 1v1.
[I should have ordered a retreat right away.] Howard shook his head. There was no doubt that Gilbert underperformed in that 1v1, but Howard shared some of the responsibility too. Howard knew that Gilbert wasn't strong in 1v1 and he also had intel about Julia.
Ellen often droned to Howard about Julia's "amazing potential", so he was very familiar with the topic. However, Gilbert didn't know the first thing about this and surely didn't anticipate that level of play from Julia. Not informing the team about this was a huge blunder on Howard's end. All this time, he was sure Ellen has been exaggerating just because she was thinking of Julia as her little sister.
[Alright, that's enough. Switch gears.] Howard closed his eyes, too a deep and slow breath, then slowly opened his eyes again. Learning from mistakes was a good practice, but hanging on them was the worst thing a player could do. He had to move on with the program.
What's done was done. Instead of losing his mind over Julia's aggressiveness, he had to figure a way to deal with her. If that double kill wasn't a one-time performance, there was no choice but to classify Julia as a high-level threat on par with Lars.
Fortunately, the "Lars Killer" tactic would probably work against her as well. The idea was simple: Lure Julia somewhere => Make her fight Taison 1v1 => Profit. However, that'd be difficult to pull off consistently. The team only had one expert at luring opponents, so they'll be spreading too thin if they go after both Julia and Lars at once.
[I didn't prepare for this.] Howard sighed. [I should've taken Elly's words more seriously.]
No matter from what angle Howard tackled this problem, he couldn't come up with any quick solutions here. The team hasn't practiced any tactics for dealing with two oppressive threats in one game. Unless some inspiration strikes him, Howard could only keep going with the usual game plan.
"We're entering the mid-game," Howard announced. "This game, our formation will be Type-2. Everybody remembers, right?"
"What was that again?" Taison asked. "Something about going full aggro and kicking everybody's ass?"
"Not quite," Howard retorted. Seriously, that guy had the memory of a flea. In the first place, this team hasn't practiced any aggressive tactics. Taison was drunk.
"Alright, I'll go over it briefly," Howard sighed. "Type-2 is the other defensive formation we practiced. It's the same as a usual defensive formation, except we also try to create situations that'll let us kill a major threat from the enemy team. In this case, I'm talking about Lars's Seraph. We can't allow that thing to reach the late-game."
"So, as I said," Taison grinned. "We gonna go full aggro, yo!"
"Yes, yes," Howard rolled his eyes. "One more thing, be careful about Julia. As you may have already noticed, she's a little different this game. And by 'little', I mean she's like a completely different person. Don't count on her staying on the defensive anymore. She WILL come to attack and she WILL defeat you if you're not careful." He threw a glance at Gilbert as he was saying this.
"Just lemme at her!" Taison made noise. "I'll kick her ass."
"So, we're all clear on that?" Howard continued as if nothing happened. "Don't engage Julia alone unless you have a big advantage over her. And, a general reminder: don't wander around alone. This will only make it easier for Yuel to arrange an ambush on you."
Once everybody confirmed they were on the same page, Howard spoke directly to Gilbert. "I'm sure you already realized, but you were too greedy in that fight."
"I was sure I had her," Gilbert said. "So, it looked like a free kill."
"Did you really have to take on her despite the HP disadvantage? You should've secured an escape route first, then fight. But, instead, you chose to go all in and had no way out once things became hairy."
"I just misgauged her skill," Gilbert said. "I didn't expect her to fight this well because she usually only turtles."
"Yes, that's definitely a part of it. But, don't deny the other part: you took the fight to her, that's not like you. You'd normally be more aware of the situation. Did you really need to unload your entire kit on her right away?"
"I was just trying to finish it quickly..." Gilbert's voice went down. He probably began realizing his mistakes while trying to make excuses.
Gilbert was clearly out of his element this game and it all started from the unusual request to play Pyromancer. It wasn't like Gilbert was a terrible Pyromancer, it was just that Pyromancer didn't play to Gilbert's strengths. He benefitted more from balanced classes which could play both offense and defense; an aggressive burst mage didn't suit him. Maybe Howard should've tried harder to convince Gilbert against that pick.
Anyway, Gilbert must have realized by now that he rushed that fight, so that was good enough for a review right now. There was no need to poke him any further while the game was still in session.
"Just relax and play your usual game," Howard said. "I did say I'll be testing you against Julia this match, but it's not like her chances were ever that high in the first place. I just said it to give you a little spark of motivation, that's all. I see it's doing more harm than good at this point, so I better come clean."
"I see. It was one of your usual mind games, huh," Gilbert smiled wryly. Yeah, he totally fell for that one. As much as Gilbert hated to admit it, he was too hung up on proving himself superior to Julia. It has been throwing him off his game the entire day.
Julia was just some rookie, so there was nothing for Gilbert to fear. As long as he plays his usual game and helps the team win, he'll get his spot on the first string. Therefore, he should only focus on making optimal plays in any given situation. There was no need to chase any secondary goals which had nothing to do with winning the game.
Though, given Julia's recent performance... No, he had to stop with that line of thinking. [C'mon, brain. Stop thinking about useless stuff and focus on the game. We have to win here.]
The game transitioned into mid-game. Players began leaving their lanes and roaming around. Skirmishes broke out here and there, but neither side won any major battles. Both sides always poked each other and then disengaged.
[So, it's this tactic again.] Yuel concluded after observing the enemy's formation for a while. Yet again, everybody on the enemy team traveled in duos and trios. This made them incredibly difficult to isolate and ambush. No matter how hard Yuel searched, he couldn't find any good openings in the enemy's movements.
Last game, this tight defensive formation made Yuel panic a little. He did everything in his power to find a weakness to strike because he couldn't allow the game to drag into the late-game.
However, this game was different. His team's composition was geared toward the mid/late game and they had Seraph, a late-game monster. Even though Yuel still preferred to win as quickly as possible, there was no reason to be hasty.
"Dude, this mid-game is stale as heck," Lars pouted. "Can't we just rush them?"
"There's no need," Yuel said. "They'll have to come to us eventually unless they're fine with letting Seraph reach late game. Just keep doing what you're doing and we'll be fine."
"Meh, so lame," Lars complained but he kept playing as ordered. But, seriously though, where was all the action at? [Lemme at somebody, yo!]
[It should be about time.] Ellen smiled meaningfully. [Larsy must be getting bored with this situation right about now so I'll liven things up for him~]
"Oh!" Lars exclaimed. "Athena is alone in Bot! I'mma snipe her!"
"It's bait," Yuel said. The enemy's game plan revolved around traveling in groups, so there was no way Ellen would just happen to be alone all the way out there. This had to be a trap.
"Don't worry," Lars insisted. "I'll just check it out real quick. If things get rough, I'll get outta there."
"Wait, this is-"
"Here I come!" Lars grinned as he dashed toward Bot Lane.
[I have a bad feeling about this, but...] Yuel frowned. It was risky, but it was also a rare opportunity. Bait or not, this was a chance to strike an isolated target, who happened to be the enemy Carry. If they can convert this into a kill, they'll get much-needed freedom to push Bot without being stalled.
[Assuming it's a bait, where will Ellen go? And, where will she try to set up an ambush?] Yuel thought back on all of Ellen's baits today. The baits were always well-crafted and executed to perfection, but they were all orchestrated by the same player. Therefore, there had to be a pattern to them which Yuel could predict.
Ellen's escapes always led into the jungle and this time will no exception. There were multiple reasons to flee through the jungle. First, there were many twists and turns, so it was harder to chase anybody inside the jungle. Second, Ellen had Devourer's Mask, which allowed her to quickly restore herself from killing jungle camp bosses.
With all of that in mind, what would be Ellen's most likely escape route this time? Assuming she wanted to reach a jungle camp to restore her HP after getting away, her escape route will have to lead toward a camp that was currently alive.
Unfortunately, Yuel didn't have such information at hand because nobody warded the enemy's jungle camps. Julia warded the jungle a lot around Mid and Yuel warded around Bot, but they focused on warding passages rather than camps. Therefore, the enemy camps were pitch-black on the map.
[Taison got the red buff, so ogres are probably down.] Then, Ellen will have to either go for the wolves near Bot or for the hyenas near Mid. Either way, she should pass through this intersection. Yuel calculated the various possibilities and arrived at a satisfactory conclusion.
"Julia," Yuel pinged the map. "Get here as soon as you can. I expect them to ambush Lars here."
"Gotcha!" Julia replied with unusual vigor. For a moment, Yuel almost mistook her for Lars. She sounded gung-ho about the game ever since she drew out her aggressive side. Not to mention, she must have been extra motivated about this play because it involved helping Lars.
[Okay,] Yuel nodded to himself. [Julia will intercept the ambush. Then, I'll intercept Ellen. If this works, we can get up to two kills here.]
Yuel was the closest to the jungle area through which he expected Ellen to escape route, so he took it upon himself to intercept her. It wasn't ideal considering his low damage output, but he was the only one for the job. Roi and Dan were stuck fighting in Top, so asking any of them to rotate all the way out here would be pointless; they won't make it.
Once Lars reached Bot, a 1v1 broke out. As expected, it was bait. Once Ellen's HP fell below 20%, she mounted her wolf and darted into the jungle.
"Dang it!" Lars gave chase. "Every single time, yo! Can't she stay and fight for once? Geh!"
[Okay, so far so good.] Yuel nodded. It looked like Ellen was heading toward the intersection he had in mind.
Meanwhile, Julia was on her way to back Lars up. If Taison arrives to gank, he'll be forced into a 1v2. That'll stop the gank right in its tracks and- wait, it wasn't Taison!
"Yo!" Lars exclaimed. "They're double-teaming now!"
The enemies who showed up for the gank were Gilbert and Gregory. It was a two-player gank!
[Of course, they'd gank as a group,] Yuel shook his head. He should have taken this possibility into consideration. Everybody on the enemy team was sticking together in duos and trios, so the same rule applied to this gank. Instead of sending Taison alone as an easy target for Yuel, Howard played it safe and sent a tag team.
"Kek, we got him," Gregory smirked.
"Let's finish this quickly," Gilbert said.
"You got it," Gregory blinked forward and activated Provoke.
[Crap!] Lars wasn't quick enough to dodge. That taunt skill was way too fast! It was unreactable, yo!
The taunt forced Lars to advance toward the Vanguard and fire basic attacks at that big dude. This was the complete opposite of what he should be doing right now. Lars should be creating distance from the enemies and firing from afar, not running head-first into this danger!
"Done," Gregory said. "He's all yours."
"On it." Gilbert went in for the kill. While Lars couldn't control his Seraph, Gilbert was going to unload his entire kit to burst the guy down. This time, it was going to be a swift and smooth gank-
"Not so fast, dumbass!" Julia appeared! She unleashed a huge hurricane as soon as she got there.
"Wha!?" Gilbert jumped. That was Aeromancer's ult and it was heading straight toward him! [I'll be sucked in if I go any closer!] Gilbert stopped dead in his tracks and turned around.
"Wait, where are ya going?" Gregory asked. "Come kill this mofo over here."
"I can't," Gilbert said. "Unlike you, I'm not resistant to CC."
"Huh? Oh." It finally hit Gregory. The closer the hurricane got, the stronger its pull power became. However, Gregory's fat Vanguard didn't budge in the slightest thanks to his passive, Immovable Object.
"Okay, so," Gregory started. "I'mma knock Lars up anyway and- huh!? When the fuck did he get away!?"
[Too slow, dude!] Lars rolled away as soon as the taunt wore off.
[Fuuuu! I fudged up.] Gregory cursed. The plan was to follow up with Heavy Stomp while Lars was taunted, but this unexpected hurricane distracted him. "Welp, this gank just went to poop."
"...." Gilbert just knotted his brows in response because he didn't have the luxury to talk while repositioning himself. Indeed, this gank didn't turn out well. More accurately, it was about to become a disaster.
"Thanks, July!" Lars called out. "You really saved my butt there!"
"N-No problem," Julia's cheeks burned. The mixture of ecstasy and embarrassment made her a little dizzy.
"But, we're not done yet," Julia shook her head and concentrated on the enemies in front of her. "We still gotta murder these asshats!" .[.. Oh shit! Did I just say that out loud!? To Lars!? Ahhhhh!]
"I-I mean, let's-"
"Yeah! Let's wreck these dudes!" Lars went on, seemingly unconcerned by Julia's language.
"R-Right! They're dead meat!" Julia smiled from ear to ear. Phew, there was nothing to worry about. She was still alright in Lars's book.
With Julia joining in on the action, the situation turned into a 2v2 now: Lars & Julia vs. Gilbert & Gregory!
"My, my, my," Ellen twisted her lips. Her entire bait plan fell through. Hopefully, it won't lead to any major losses from their side. Oh well, at least Ellen herself got away safely... or not.
[So, you finally came, Yuyu.] Ellen smiled wryly. She knew it was a question of time before Yuel catches up to her baits. And of course, it had to happen with the worst timing possible.
[Got her.] Yuel intercepted successfully. Despite the unexpected factor of the two-man gank on Lars, Yuel's counter-play still turned the tables around on Ellen's play.
Julia backed Lars up to make the situation a 2v2, whereas Yuel cut off Ellen's escape route. From this position, they might get up to three kills! It was time to seize the momentum of the game!
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