Striking the Weakest Link!

"Hey Rio, my guy. I just had a stroke of genius," Jaiden started. "What would you say if I rotated to Mid?"

"That sure came out of nowhere."

"I know, right? But, stick with me here for a second. We're not gonna fight Gunz, right? So, there's no point for both of us to sit in lane. Instead, I can use this time to gank Mid and maybe take down the Mid tower."

"Sounds good." Rio nodded. Unlike Jaiden's earlier suggestions, this was a level-headed idea that prioritized the team's victory. [This is the Jaiden I know.]

"So, what do you say, Ray?" Jaiden asked. "Want me to rotate over there?"

"That'll be a great help," Raymond said. "I've been pressuring Beat for a while now, but she's still holding up with some help from their Jungler. If you join in, I believe we can bust through that defense."

"Okay, then let's do it!" Jaiden grinned. "Rio, can you distract Gunz for me? I wanna sneak out unnoticed."

"I'll give it a shot," Rio said.

"Just don't get killed. If things get out of hand, make a break for it."

"Of course." Rio nodded.

Frankly, Rio had little faith in his ability to do anything about Gunz. That guy was a beast wearing human flesh. Merely standing in front of Gunz was equivalent to attempted suicide. But, if it's just about causing a diversion, even Rio should be able to do [something.]

[Okay, let's do it.] Rio took a deep breath. There was at least a 30% chance Gunz will somehow kill him, no matter how careful he plays. [Nothing ventured, nothing gain.]

Rio braced himself for the worst and mixed in with the incoming minion wave. Though, among the short soldiers, he stuck out like a sore thumb.

[What's is this dude doing?] Lars cocked his head. This was such an odd sight. The Cleric was traveling in the middle of the enemy formation, for some reason. The heck was that dude doing in there?

[Are they trying to start something?] Lars glanced at the Pirate, but the dude was far away from the wave. In fact, he was [too] far away, much closer to the jungle entrance. It didn't feel like they were coordinating any sort of offense.

[Are they trying to intimidate me or something?] Lars wondered. [Because I'm not scared, that for sure.]

Cleric didn't have any CC, so there was no danger in letting him get close. On top of that, DragonMaster was dead, Nirvana was in Mid. and StormMonster was in Top. So, nobody could gank the lane anytime soon.

[Weird. Maybe they're trying to bait me?] That Cleric was setting himself up as a juicy target, but Lars won't fall into such an obvious trap. The moment he hits the Cleric, the entire enemy gang will be on his business. [I ain't having that. I might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I'm not that dumb.]

But, not everything was up to Lars. The Cleric went a step further with his baiting. Once Lars started shooting the minions, the Cleric moved all over the place, trying to increase his chances of getting hit. An absolute mad lad, no other way to describe it.

[But, this is a legit thing.] This was a niche tactic that looked bizarre at first glance, but it wasn't the first time Lars came across it. Some smartass players pulled that stuff from time to time, such as Ellen. Oh yes, she pulled that crap on Lars more than enough times. He learned a bunch of important lessons from it.

[Too bad for ya.] Lars smiled confidently as he pointed his gun.[ If ya expecting me to misfire, then that ain't happening!]

BAM. HEADSHOT. BAM. HEADSHOT. Lars fired fearlessly. He hit every single minion in the head, maximizing damage.

At all times, he kept the Cleric in his field of vision, to make sure that crafty dude won't pull any sudden moves. So far, no problem. Ezpz.

[Such accuracy.] Rio felt sweat forming on his forehead. He felt like a practice dummy with an apple on his head, while Gunz was throwing knives in his direction. But, no matter how scary the knives were, each and every one of them hit the apple on Rio's head, not Rio himself.

Rio even moved around to make things harder for Gunz, but not a single bullet grazed him. Gunz's accuracy was impeccable. Even if Rio were to start breakdancing and jumping all over the place, Gunz would still only hit the minions. His shooting skills put even aimbots to shame.

But still, Gunz was only human. Rio's presence must've put at least a little bit of pressure on the guy. At the very least, Gunz shouldn't have the luxury to look around while he was busy keeping tabs on Rio. If so, the diversion has achieved its goal.

It took Gunz a while to notice that something was amiss.

[Thinking of it, I don't see the Pirate do anything.] Lars realized. [What's that dude up to? Last time I checked, dude was standing hella far away. Like, suspiciously far, as if he had no plans to participate in the farming.]

That was definitely suspect. Pirate was one of the classes that valued farming the most, yet Renegade wasn't lifting a finger to help with the farming. How come?

[Wait, where is that dude at?] Lars looked left, right, then left again. Gone. The Pirate was nowhere in sight. Renegade vanished into thin air!

"What the...?" Lars blinked multiple times, half-expecting Renegade to suddenly appear on the screen. But no, Renegade was gone for good. "Dude just vanished, yo."

"Vanished?" Yuel was on his way to Top, in the middle of a rescue operation, so he wasn't following the events in Bot to the finest details. The problems in Top and Mid were enough to occupy his mind.

"Yeah, Renegade disappeared, just like that. No idea where he went."

"You weren't paying attention to one of your lane opponents?" Yuel made a face.

"Well, ya see, this Cleric dude over here was making my life hard," Lars explained the situation. "I had to keep my eyes on him so I don't hit him."

"Where did you last see Renegade?"

"Hmm. He was kinda standing far away, somewhere around the jungle entrance."

"The jungle!?" Yuel jumped. He connected the dots immediately. "The Cleric was a diversion. Renegade slipped away into the jungle."

"Wha-!? Seriously!?" Lars couldn't believe he didn't notice that. "They planned that stuff!? Yo, these dudes are something else!"

"Kai, a gank might be coming your way," Yuel warned.

"Sure," Kai answered indifferently. It didn't sound like she understood the gravity of the situation.

[Should she retreat? Or, maybe even recall?] Yuel couldn't tell for sure where the attack will come from, or how soon it'll come.

Lars didn't call missing on Renegade in time, so it was difficult to estimate Renegade's current distance from Mid. As a result, Yuel had to make a call with multiple unknowns in the equation.

[No, recalling isn't an option. Mid has to be protected.] Shivers ran across his skin as the gravity of the situation sunk in.

If this gank goes through, the enemy will take Mid Turret right here. In other words, this game will become a repeat of the last two games.

In those games, the strong offense always started from Bot. But, every time, it converted into a devastating push on Mid that sealed the fate of the game.

Until now, Yuel and Lars have been keeping the enemy at bay in Bot. That should've been enough to prevent another disaster, but that mindset was too naive.

Yuel failed to consider that the enemy could forgo Bot and strike Mid directly like this. With how much lane advantage Nirvana has established in Mid against Kai, the enemy had all the right conditions for striking the lane hard.

This was a potential turning point for this game. Mid needed every help it could get. And, Yuel was still in the middle of rotating to rescue Luke in Top. He still in the jungle, relatively close to Mid.

[Do I turn around and go to Mid instead?] Yuel weighted the value of his rescue operation against the safety of Mid Lane.

Compared to the tremendous importance of Mid Turret, Luke's life was plenty expendable. If Yuel had to choose between saving one or the other, he'd pick Mid Turret any day. In terms of game impact, a Turret was worth at least four kills, and a Mid Tower was worth even more. As such, defending the Mid Turret should always be a higher priority.

[But, that only applies when there's a similar chance of success.] Yuel frowned. [I'm a lot closer to Top at this point, and it looks like Luke will be able to keep himself alive long enough for me to get there. So, there's a very high chance of success for this rescue operation. On the other hand, the chances my rotation will help saving Mid are...]

Even if Yuel makes it to Mid on time, he was just an Aquamcner, just a Support. His Overflow was in effect, but that'll only stall the enemy for so long. Alone, his presence will pose little threat. The enemy will most certainly choose to aggress on him under tower, a move he won't be able to counter well.

To make things worse, StormMonster will probably kill Luke in the meantime. Then, he'll be free to join the offense in Mid, turning the situation from bad to worse.

[We need somebody strong to defend Mid.] Yuel thought. At present, there was only one option available. "Lars, rotate to Mid! Stop them from taking the Turret!"

"You sure?" Lars double-checked. "Dunno if I can get there in time. Maybe I should just push here?"

"No, get to Mid. You have to stop them from taking the Turret, even if it's the last thing you do. If they take Mid this early, it'll be a repeat of the last games."

"Well, if you're sure." Lars wasn't convinced, but there was bo time to argue. Yuel was the shot-caller, so it was best to trust his judgment on stuff like that.

[I dunno, tho.] Lars thought. [I feel like this is a great chance to push Bot. That Cleric can't do shit against me. So, while everybody is busy elsewhere, I could take Bot tower ez. That sounds more like a Yuel plan than what he's asking me to do right now. Oh well.]

Lars rolled forward with Dodge Roll, then immediately rolled again with Combat Roll. Gunslinger didn't have any speed buff abilities, so this was the best he could do to give himself a little head start. Hopefully, he won't get there too late...

"Gunz is leaving the lane," Rio reported. "Looks like they realized."

"Well, too late!" Jaiden popped out of the jungle, right behind the enemy's Mid Turret. "I'm already here!"

"I'll go there too, just in case." Rio ventured into the jungle as well. Even though the enemy left Bot completely defenseless for him, there wasn't much point in pushing alone as a Support. Rio's DPS wasn't nearly high enough to quickly clear minions and deal substantial damage to the tower.

As such, it was better to rotate to the scene of the action and provide support as needed. Thanks to the speed buff from Godspeed, he should be able to outrun Gunz and reach Mid first.

An all-out attack was about to commence in Mid! The only one missing on the action was Nash.

『An ally has been killed!』

"Gaaaaah!" Nash held his head. "I was so close! Almost got that sweet double kill!"

"Don't worry," Jaiden reassured. "I'm about to make up for that in Mid." He fired at his opponent's defenseless back.

"Agh! From behind!?" Kai jumped. She heard a gank was coming, but she didn't expect it to come from behind her! How did her wards fail to catch the enemy's rotation route!?

[Oh, looks like I barely warded.] Kai realized as she glanced at the mini-map. She barely had any vision in Bot Jungle. What the hell was she doing until now? Why didn't she ward more!?

Actually, there was a very good reason for it. Nirvana has been forcing her to farm under tower the entire game, which meant she was lagging behind on gold. That made her face a difficult dilemma: should she exclusively prioritize her item build to catch up with Nirvana? Or, should she spare some cash on wards too?

With her gold disadvantage, she already struggled hard enough to keep up with Nirvana's build. So, spending extra gold on wards was only going to make her build fall behind. That wasn't allowed to happen. Kai [had] to keep up with Nirvana's build.

This formidable opponent has been pushing her back the entire game. Nirvana was stronger than her, there was no point denying it at this point. She was already losing horribly against him in fights, so losing to him in item build on top of that would spell doom.

Thus, Kai prioritized her item build over wards. She still squeezed in as many wards as she could between her purchases, but they weren't nearly enough to cover both sides of the jungle. As a result, there were many blind spots in Bot Jungle. Far too many.

Because of that, even though Renegade wasn't nearly as stealthy as Nia, even he slipped by unnoticed and surprised Kai from behind. In the end, it felt like Kai was doomed no matter whether she prioritized wards or items...

[I'm just that bad, huh.] Kai cracked a weak laugh. This was so lame. She was so bad.

How did she even get herself into such an unwinnable position? She hasn't even done anything this game yet. This entire game, Kai was just playing it safe, making sure the enemy won't get the jump on her like in the last two games. And yet, it was happening all over again...

No matter what she tried, Kai was just bad. A bad, weak, and terrible player. Total trash. Bronze rank would be a compliment for her.

[Looks like Renegade was right after all.] Kai lowered her head. [Maybe I really don't deserve to play on this stage yet. I wasn't prepared for any of this.]

Perhaps, all the cocky bastards from Taurus, who laughed at her earlier, were right as well. Kai did nothing but drag the team down. She couldn't win at anything. So, at the very least, she should try to avoid feeding the enemy.

[Can I get away somehow?] Kai checked her surroundings.

Behind her was Regendae, firing bullets at her back. In front of her was Nirvana, preparing his ultimate.

[Wait, he's casting his ult!?] Kai jumped in her seat. Why didn't she notice sooner!? It was all over...

[No, not yet.] Kai shook her head. [What are my options? There gotta be something.]

At a glance, her best option was to retreat along the lane. Meaning, she'd have to run past Renegade. That'd lead to a world of hurt, but she should be able to survive.

[I don't remember anybody calling Renegade's ult being down, so Kraken might be a thing.] Kai searched her memory. Admittedly, her lane situation was so bad that she didn't have the luxury to pay attention to other lanes.

[But, Kraken is something I can roll, at least. On the other hand, if Tornado catches me, then it's all over.]

The enemy pressed her between a rock and a hard place, and there was no time to mull over it. Kai had no choice but to pick the torture that sounded less brutal.

[I gotta run!] Kai turned around and dashed in the direction of her Golem. [Damn, the fuck is wrong with me? I should've started running way sooner! Run! Run!!!]

But, it was too late. The tornado was already chasing Kai, gradually pulling her in. All the while, Renegade was drilling her with bullets.

"You're not getting away," Jaiden stated confidently as he fired. [Like I thought, this gal is the weakest link.]

Beat's laning has been awful the entire game, and even her response to this gank was terrible. She should've started running right away, but instead she wasted time looking around like a lost child. Raymond even had enough time to unleash his Tornado. The girl was doomed.

[Lame.] Jaiden thought. [Who in their right would follow a weak captain like this? This girl is trash. They should've made Gunz or Chessmaster their captain, not this scrub.]

This girl had no right to claim that important role, and neither did she have the necessary skill to compete on this stage. Jaiden will make sure to drill that truth into her!

With each bullet, Jaiden stripped Beat of her rights. The right to be the captain. The right to play on the first-string. The right to be on this stage today. The right to play Classmancers competitively. He won't be satisfied until he destroys everything about this girl. She was trash and she belonged in the trash can.

[I'll make that crystal clear to everybody who's watching this game.] Jaiden relentlessly fired at the girl, who was struggling to do something as simple as retreating into her own territory.

No matter how hard Beat ran against the flow of wind, she couldn't escape the strong pull of Tornado. She was like a practice dummy for Jaiden. No matter how desperately she tried to get away, she could barely move anywhere. She was a sitting duck.

『You have killed an enemy!』

Jaiden murdered Beat. He severed the enemy's weakest link. Now, it was time to take control over Mid and win the game!