The Sacrifice's True Meaning

『An enemy has been killed!』

『SHUTDOWN』

"Hell yeah, that went smooth!" Trever pumped a fist after killing ComboBreaker. "Okay, since I'm already here, I'mma go defend Top."

"No, push Mid." Yuel said.

"Huh? Why? They gonna to push Top next, we gotta defend."

"I know, but you better push Mid." Yuel insisted. "I suggested trading a Jungler for a Carry to give us the push advantage. The only way I see us winning right now is by taking Mid, even at the expense giving up Top and Bot."

"Heh," Roi chuckled. "First you sacrificed poor lil' Dan, now you sacrifice lanes. You're a Chessmaster alright, lol."

"I'm not sure I like this." Trever objected. "They gonna bring a mage, bruiser and assassin to push Top. I'm sure we gonna lose the Golem if I don't help right now."

"Don't get me wrong," Yuel was quick to defend his tactic. "Even though I said 'give up' the lanes, I didn't mean we're going to just sit and watch them take Top. Me and Gilbert will keep them at bay."

"2v3 sounds like a disaster. They gonna take the Golem."

"Yes, most likely." Yuel nodded. "But, it'll take them some time. Meanwhile, you can push Mid. You killed their Carry, so we can push faster than them for a while. The only way I see us winning this game is by pushing all the way through Mid. So, everything is riding on you, Carry."

"Riding on me..." Trever blinked and scanned his teammates. Everybody's eyes were on him. He was the captain and the Carry, and now the responsibility for securing victory was also dropped on his shoulders.. "Heh, ain't that cool!? I got it! I'll carry us to victory, guys!" He dashed to Mid right away!

"Heh, what simpleton." Gilbert whispered to Yuel. "Good job roping him into that one."

"Hm? I just said the truth." Yuel rolled his eyes. "A lot is riding on how far he can push Mid."

"Heh, I see. Well, now that you finished tricking him into doing your bidding, I hope you got an actual plan for defending Top."

"Not really." Yuel admitted. "We just defend, that's all."

"You serious? We can't hold them long just the two of us. Our minions will be pretty useless too, since the pushers are coming at us with a mage."

"A hybrid mage." Yuel corrected. "His push potential is nowhere near what you expect from a proper mage, especially now in late game."

"We're finally going to punish that? Great." Gilbert nodded in approval. "It's rather irritating how he's been getting away with a hybrid build for so long. He somehow manages to both be a huge pain in team fights and still clear waves fast enough."

"Yeah, he sure knows how to play that off-meta build." Yuel agreed. "But, he can't fool the math."

Warlock was a mage primarily played as Mid, but he had enough utility to be a viable Support too. Same as with any other flexible mage, the build for a Mid Warlock greatly differed from a Support Warlock build. While Mid Warlock focused primarily on building power and penetration, Support Warlock prioritized defense and utility

However, Freezer's Warlock didn't fall under either of these categories. He built a Hybrid Warlock, combining items from both Mid Warlock and Support Warlock. Thus, he had just enough power to push lanes and also greatly impact team fights with his utility. Truly, he had the best of both worlds.

However, no matter how great the hybrid build sounded, there's a reason why only the specialized builds were considered meta. Players could only build 5 items throughout a match, so a hybrid build had to split said 5 slots between offense and utility. As a result, Hybrid Warlock couldn't reach the same damage output as a pure Mid Warlock, no matter how well he played. That's just simple math, there's no beating math.

So, even though the Mid Laner was usually only second to the Carry in term of push potential, Freezer's clear speed didn't live up to that expectation. It was difficult to punish this build during the mid game, but the late game is where the difference was going to be critical.

[Combo Pyromancer and Hybrid Warlock, huh. ]Yuel smiled. Breaker and Freezer played off-meta builds, yet they were the most impactful enemies this match. He didn't approve of these builds by any means. Yet, he couldn't help but respect the players for mastering the builds enough to make them competitively viable.

With that being said, he was going to exploit the weaknesses of these off-meta builds as much as possible. There's no place for sentiments in a competitive match. There's only one goal: to win at any cost.

As expected, he and Gilbert managed to keep the three pushers at bay. Gilbert's Electromancer was built like a textbook Mid, so his ability to outclear Freezer played a huge role. Thanks to Gilbert wiping out enemy waves faster than Freezer cleared allied waves, the enemy couldn't get any minions into the Golem's range.

Compared to that, Yuel barely affected the progress of minions on lane due to his low damage output. Instead, his job was to shield Gilbert with Gaia's Protection, denying any opportunities to burst Gilbert down. He also occasionally pulled an enemy into the Golem's range with Nature's Grasp, making them receive sizable damage from the Golem.

Unable to make any progress, the enemy team must had gotten agitated. The Viking rushed into the Golem's range without any minions accompanying him, he planned to tank the Golem all by himself. A bold move, considering they had no Carry.

With no enemy minions in the Golem's range, the Golem's attack and defense were at their highest. The Viking was tanky enough to tank the Golem for a while despite this handicap, but his efforts were overshadowed by the enemy's lack of Carry. The Warlock's basics lacked a punch and the Vampire only dished out high damage against players, not structures. It came across as a desperate push, they probably thought it'd pass because they had been dominating the game so far.

"Let's focus the Vampire first." Yuel said.

"Prioritizing kills over defense, huh." Gilbert smiled meaningfully. "Got it. Let's see where this goes."

If they wanted to put on the optimal defense, they'd need to go after the Viking tanking the Golem. Once the Viking was out of the picture, the Golem would shift its attention to one of the squishier enemies. The enemy would be forced to retreat right away.

But, instead, Yuel wanted to use this opportunity to score as many kills as possible, even at the expense of losing the Golem. Saving a tower was usually considered more valuable than scoring a kill, but in the late game it wasn't as clear cut due to long respawn times. Also, StormBlitz were playing from behind, so every kill they scored was a huge deal.

[Alright, here goes. ]Yuel exhaled and concentrated straight ahead. [Blink and pull him. Blink and pull. Just along this line, no need to aim.]

He repeated the scenario multiple times in his head to build confidence. The play he was about to perform was mechanically demanding, not something an all-thumbs player like him could pull on a whim. To make make things easier for himself, he aligned the enemy Vampire in a straight line ahead. This way, he'd just have to move in a straight line and wouldn't need to especially aim at the Vampire.

"I'll blink and pull the Vampire." Yuel announced and activated Blink, teleporting a short distance ahead. He immediately followed up with Nature's Grasp, hitting the Vampire with the stretched tree branches. The Vampire didn't even get a chance to react to this assault. It was a quick and slick play, which Yuel could only execute by preparing ahead of time and making the conditions easier for himself.

As soon as the Vampire was pulled closer, Gilbert fired a basic attack to apply one Electric Charge on the Vampire and followed up with Chain Lightning. The lightning struck the Vampire for high damage, made even higher by the Electric Charge on the Vampire. On top of that, it applied yet another Electric Charge on the Vampire.

But, it wasn't done yet. The lightning bounced toward the nearest enemy with Electric Charge: the Viking. It dealt lower damage, but it applied another Electric Charge and bounced yet again!

Viking and Vampire were the only enemies around with Electric Charge and they were close enough to each other. Thus, Lightning Chain ping-ponged between them for a total of 6 times. The Vampire almost escaped the Golem's area in the meantime, but it was futile.

『An enemy has been killed!』

The Vampire blew up. Regardless of distance, Gilbert's Electrical Explosion set off the 4 Electric Charges inflicted on the Vampire. There was no chance of escaping in the first place.

Good, that's one important kill. Optimally, the next target would be Freezer. Unfortunately, he positioned himself too well. Yuel had no idea how to pick Freezer off without putting Gilbert at risk. Therefore, they had no choice but to focus the Viking next.

『An enemy has been killed!』

『An allied Golem has been destroyed!』

In the end, the enemy took down the Golem. However, they had to pay for it with the deaths of their Vampire and Viking. Only Freezer got away, despite Yuel and Gilbert's attempt to chase.

One Golem for two deaths. Was it worth it for the enemy team? In the long run, it would certainly pay off. However, Yuel had no intention dragging this match to that point.

While the enemies were busy pushing Top, Trever took down Mid Turret and kept pushing all the way to Mid Golem. There was nobody around to halt his progress, so he blitzed through the lane with ease. In the time it took three enemies to finish off the Top Golem, Trever destroyed Mid Turret from 70% HP and brought Mid Golem down to 40% HP. That's how good a Carry was at pushing during late game.

Only now, that the Cryomancer respawned and the Freezer returned to base, Trever was forced to retreat. He couldn't destroy the Golem in time, but this push turned the tides in Mid.

"Phew, can't believe this really worked." Trever exhaled once he retreated to safety. "Can't believe they let me get away with this. Their defense was so tight until now, the heck happened?"

"It was tight thanks to the Warlock and Cryomancer." Yuel explained. While ComboBreaker was the core of the enemy's offense, Freezer was the team's shield. And, both of them were often supported by the Cryomancer, who knew both how to enhance Breaker's aggression and to solidify Freezer's defense.

StormBlitz tackled Freezer's defense multiple times so far, to no avail. He always knew the right place and time to be at. So, instead of breaking through his defense, it was smarter to dodge it altogether. Based on how passively he played during the laning phase and that he went for a hybrid build instead of full damage, it's clear he was more comfortable defending than attacking. Therefore, as long as StormBlitz could sidestep his defenses, they didn't have worry about his offensive potential.

Back when Trever pushed Mid, the Cryomancer was dead and Freezer was stuck in Top. In other words, the key defender and his backup were both missing, That's why Yuel ordered to push Mid with that timing.

"Wow, that's some deep thoughts right there, bro!" Trever laughed and smacked Yuel on the back. Ugh, it hurt.

"It isn't over yet." Gilbert pointed out. "Our Top Golem is out and the other two aren't exactly healthy either. It was an interesting plan, but I don't quite see what we gained from it."

"Pushing all the way through Mid is the only way I see us winning this." Yuel explained. "I know it doesn't look like we gained much from this, but that's the only path I saw to victory."

"Hmm, alright then. What's next on the menu?"

"There are multiple options, but... Yeah, I think this one is the best." Yuel nodded to himself. "Dan is about to respawn, so he, Gilbert and Trever should go kill the Overlord together."

"Wow, wow!" Trever exclaimed. "Ain't that dangerous as heck? They still got two players alive, soon three."

"I know there's a huge risk, I believe I said my plan was risky from the beginning." Yuel sighed. Honestly, justifying every little play he suggested was getting tedious. Gilbert's shot-calls weren't questioned much, so why only Yuel?

Sigh, whatever. He had to keep the plan rolling if he wanted the team to grasp victory. To make the discussion short and simple, he brought up his usual argument. "I don't see us making a comeback if we can't take the Overlord here."

"Okay, gotcha." Trever nodded, satisfied with this overly simple explanation. Well, he was a simpleton, after all.

"You sure like busing the 'this is the only option' argument." Gilbert pointed.

"Ugh, well...." Yuel had nothing to say back. Thankfully, Gilbert kept his voice low, so only Yuel could hear that remark. There's no telling how the rest would react upon hearing that, so he was thankful Gilbert didn't call him out on this. It's clear Gilbert harbored some doubts regarding Yuel's game plan, yet he kept giving Yuel chances to prove it was going to lead to victory. Yuel couldn't tarnish this trust, he had to make his plan work no matter what.

"Anyway, you three do the Overlord while I occupy the enemy team." Yuel explained. "Dan, buy Teleport so you can get to the Overlord faster."

"Wait a minute," Dan made a face. "You want me to spend gold on a utility skill? Even though I lost my full build for Deus Shield?"

"Yes. Getting to the Overlord as fast as possible is top priority."

"Is that so." Dan rolled his eyes. "But, if it's just me, Trever and Gil, who gonna tank the Overlord? I don't think Trever's lifesteal gonna cut it."

"You will."

"Eh?"

"You have Deus Shield and you can buy a Lv.1 Mistmail after buying Sprint, thanks to the gold we got when Trever destroyed the Mid Turret."

"Heh, so your plan all along was to turn me into a bruiser."

"Yes, that's the idea." Yuel nodded. That's a decision he made after evaluating Dan's worth as an assassin this match.

As an assassin, Dan's job was to pick off key targets, namely the Carry and Mid. However, said key targets, Breaker and Freezer, were irregularities this match. Hybrid Warlock built more defensive items than the typical Mid Laner, so it was harder to burst him down. On the other hand, Combo Pyromancer had such an absurdly high burst that getting close to her spelt immediate doom.

With all of that considered, it wasn't worth keeping Dan as an assassin. Even though he had to sacrifice his finished build to make the switch from assassin to bruiser, a half-baked bruiser was going to be more impactful than full-fledged assassin right now. Especially, since the bruiser build allowed him to tank the Overlord's destructive attacks.

"Hmm, so the Deus Shield idea wasn't just to stall their Pyro." Gilbert nodded to himself after hearing the gist of Yuel's reasoning.

"Aha! I knew it!" Dan exclaimed. "That kamikaze was just the prologue. I knew I was meant for greater things!" He happily followed Yuel's instructions now, without raising further objections.

[Phew, it went through.] Yuel sighed in relief. Dan wasn't a simpleton like Trever, so it was harder to convince him play along with tactics he found questionable. Fortunately, Yuel managed to eloquently present his reasoning in a way that resonated with Dan. He should really practice this skill some more.

"He bought it, huh." Gilbert smirked. "You sure know how to excite them about your unconventional plays."

"It may have become a habit." Yuel shrugged. "I spend too much time with a goof who has to be excited about doing things he doesn't fully agree with, otherwise he'll throw a tantrum."

"I see." Gilbert chucked. "So, destroying the Mid Turret gave Dan just enough gold to buy both Teleport and Mistmail. And, we got a convenient Checkpoint Ward not too far from the Overlord. Then, there's also me and Trever being close to the Overlord, so we can start right away. Was that all part of the plan?"

"Yes, I considered your future positions and gold after the 'kamikaze' play." Yuel nodded. "Are you saying I missed something?"

"No, not at all. On the contrary, you thought everything so thoroughly I can't find anything to nitpick. Your plan started off on the wrong foot with me, but it's coming together now.."

"Oh, thank you." Yuel smiled. He felt awkward for taking away the shot-caller role from Gilbert and suggesting plays which GIlbert couldn't agree with. But, it seemed they were finally on the same page.

"So, we're seriously going for the Overlord? In this situation?" Trever asked. "This is risky as hell, guys."

"But hey, it's 'our only way to win'." Gilbert parroted Yuel's cheap excuse. "I agree, it IS one hell of a risky play. But, let's give it a chance anyway. If we take the Overlord here, I can see us actually winning. That's already way better than anything we had before."

"Heh, so we're going all in because we got nothing else? That's ballsy. I like it!" Trever grinned and dashed toward the Overlord. The strike team consisting of Trever, Gilbert and Dan was finally in agreement. The next and most critical step in Yuel's plan was about to begin.

"Roi, join me in Mid when you respawn." Yuel requested. "With just their Warlock and Cryo, they don't have enough offense. I want to lock them in their base."

"Roger. Let's imprison these scrubs, lol." Roi grinned. "Though, their Pyro is coming back soon."

"No problem, there's still twenty seconds." Yuel said after examining ComboBreaker's respawn timer. Twenty seconds was a good number. There was much they could achieve in that time, such as taking out the Overlord. That's exactly how Yuel envisioned this situation, all the way back when he ordered Dan to commit "kamikaze".

Dan's suicide attack on ComboBreaker looked like simple a 1-for-1 on surface, but it was more than that. Dan died some time before Breaker, so he respawned before her as well. In addition, Breaker was on a killing spree at the time, so her respawn time was extended upon being shut down. It's a comeback mechanic in game, which Yuel abused to the fullest here.

Thanks to that, Yuel and Roi had plenty of time to push Mid and force the enemy to react. While the enemies were busy defending Mid, Trever, Gilbert and Dan met up near the Overlord's camp and started their raid. Everything proceeded smoothly, just as Yuel envisioned it. The remaining question was how well his diversion, that of him and Roi being in Mid, would work on the enemy,

"Okay, I'm back, boys!" Jennifer announced as her Pyromancer FINALLY respawned. Jeez, that only took forever. "Let's get these guys dead and push Mid all the way!"

"Something is wrong here..." Alex mumbled.

"Heh, conspiracy theories again?" Jennifer chuckled.

"I just don't get it." Alex tilted his head. "They pushed Mid all the way to the Golem and had a 5v2 situation. Why switch back to defense so soon? I don't see what the Druid and Knight are trying to achieve in Mid alone. It's like they're buying time..."

"Meh, no point overthinking how potatos play." Jennifer shrugged. "I also think they should've went all out in Mid while they had the chance, maybe then they'd actually get somewhere. Though, I'm sure we would've crushed them anyway."

"I haven't seen the rest of their team for a while now. Maybe they're doing Overlord?"

"No way." Jennifer shook her head. "Both their tanks are here. Their Ranger didn't build enough lifesteal to tank stuff, so they don't have anybody else to soak damage."

"Yeah, you're right..." Alex answered reluctantly.

"C'mon, enough with the conspiracy theories already. Just focus on what's in front of you."

"I wonder, how do you explain their recent absence?"

"Easy. Their Electro and Ranger were injured, right? So, they retreated to base. And, the Lancer respawned just a little before me, so he didn't get anywhere yet. Relax, nobody is doing Overlord-"

『An enemy defeated the Overlord!』

"SAY WHAT!?" Jennifer jumped.

"Told you so." Alex sighed.

"But how!? Who tanked it!?"

"Hmm. Their Lancer, probably?"

"How does that even work? He has an assassin build, he can't- Oh. OOOH!" Everything clicked in Jennifer's head! Last time she faced the Lancer, he had a Lv.3 Deus Shield and an empty item slot. Right! He must had discarded his assassin build and went for a bruiser build! If he bought at least one more defensive items, tanking the Overlord was possible. Rough, but possible..[ Shit, that's how they did it! Dang it!]

"They totally had us there. Grrrr" Jennifer hissed. "I bet they're planning to go full gas in Mid."

"Most likely." Alex nodded. "With the Overlord buff, they actually got a chance to break through."

"Nah, not happening! Not under my watch!" Jennifer proclaimed. "The 3v5 at the beginning gonna be rough, but once we stop them - the game is ours! Let's do this, boys!"

"Yeah!"

"Go go go!"

Everybody roared along with Jennifer, except for the lazy bum. "Yeah, let's go and all that..."

Losing the Overlord was a nasty blow, but so what? They were still a hundred thousand percent gonna win this thing! No question about it! Without losing any spirit, the Leopards prepared to hold their ground in the game's most critical moment yet.

"We'llt push Mid once everybody gets here." Yuel explained.

"No shit, Sherlock." Roi chuckled.

"Let's go, boys!" Trever howled.

"This is probably our first and last chance to win this," Gilbert said. "Don't mess up."

"Huh, turns out my kamikaze may win us the whole game." Dan smiled wryly. "What can I say? Awesome."

They had a real chance at winning now, everybody felt it. Through a sequence of unconventional plays, Yuel turned this hopeless match around. The whole time, he doubted whether such high-risk high-reward tactics would work in a competitive match. Fortunately, they were were plenty effective. Now that he came this far, he was going to trust his tactics until the very end!

"First, we should take out their Warlock." Yuel said. "Trever, can you set a trap? I'll pull him into it."

"No problem."

The most dangerous player on the enemy team was ComboBreaker, with her scary burst potential. However, the one who influenced team fights the most and made life difficult for everybody - was Freezer. His hybrid build allowed him control team fights via enhanced CC effects, while still dishing out decent damage. Each time StormBlitz faced Freezer directly: they either lost the team fight, or were stalled for so long that they had no choice but give up on.

Therefore, Freezer was the first objective. Until they eliminate the enemy's defensive key player, there's no chance of moving forward.

"Let's pretend we're going all in right off the bat." Yuel said. "Move forward aggressively, but don't spend any of your important skills yet."

"Roger." Trever saluted.

"Sounds good." Gilbert nodded.

"Lol, let's do this, bois!" Roi shouted.

"So, we're baiting, huh. Sounds like fun." Dan smiled mischievously.

This was it, the decisive fight. They were either going to push through or fal. Either way, the game would be decided by the outcome of this final assault.

"Here they come!" Jennifer announced. "They're going full force, don't hold anything back! We've beaten the crap outta them like twenty times already, so let's do that again!"

"Right!"

"No problem!"

"Of course."

"Whatever..."

Despite the recent losses, the Leopards' morale was at an all time high. No matter how bad things got, Jennifer never doubted their victory. Her mental image hadn't changed even once throughout the match. It was the image of her team, trampling over a bunch of inexperienced scrub. Maintaining this positive image was "50% of the victory", according to their coach. Among everybody on the team, and maybe even among everybody in the whole club, Jennifer excelled at crafting an unwavering mental image better than anybody.

"Heh, look at these amateurs." Jennifer shook her head. "They're going all out because they got the Overlord buff, thinking they're all that. We gonna stop them here! Alex, use your ult! Quick!"

"I got it already, no need to yell in my ear..." Alex cracked his neck and sighed. This gung-ho atmosphere was so not him. Couldn't this chick play quietly for once? Well, whatever. "You sure you want me to ult right away? That's usually our trump card for team fights."

"Yeah, let 'em have it! Just look how hard they're pushing, we got this fight in the bag once we hold them down."

"If you say so." Alex wasn't as convinced, especially considering the enemy's recent movements. They played aggressive, but smart. Therefore, risking everything on one reckless push didn't sound like them. Well, either way, this hyper aggressive play put Alex between a rock and a hard place. He didn't want to spend his ult before confirming the enemy's game plan, but he also couldn't possibly allow them push the Golem as they pleased.

There was no choice here, not really. He activated Eldritch Nightmare, wrapping the whole area in darkness. The effectiveness of the CC was greatly mitigated compared to its full potential, because all five enemies were caught in its range. It didn't entirely rob their vision and didn't slow them that much, but it did its job of disorienting them. It should be enough to thwart the enemy's hyper aggressive push... That is, if they really planned to push this aggressively in the first place.

As soon as Alex activated Eldritch Nightmare, the whole enemy team fell back. Their reaction was smooth, as if they planned to retreat like that from the get-go.

"Wha!? How did they get away so fast?" Jennifer exclaimed.

"They baited us. What a pain..." Alex rolled his eyes. He suspected the enemy's hyper push was a trap, but there's no way their idiot captain was going to listen to him anyway. Whatever. The match was probably already decided, it's just a matter of time now...

"Watch out for the pull!"

"Huh? Ah!" Tree branches stretched in Alex's direction. He had to dodge! Roll aside! Quick... Shit.

The Druid's branches pulled the Warlock right into the center of the enemy team. They ripped Alex apart like a pack of hungry wolves. It was over. Oh well.

『You have been killed!』

"How the hell ya didn't dodge that!?" Jennifer ranted.

"Yeah, my bad." Alex averted his eyes and sighed. That pull wasn't hard to dodge, he understood that in his head. But, for some reason his body failed to catch up with his thoughts. How annoying.

"Behold, that's what happens when you slack so much! If you bothered showing your damn face more often in the club, you'd dodge that kind of stuff no problem."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Alex shrugged. Seriously, this chick was such a pain. Well, none of that mattered anyway, they pretty already lost. At least, he left the stage early and could take a break now.

"Okay, this one went smooth!" Trever said. "Good pull on that Warlock, man. You totally caught the guy off guard."

"Thank you." Yuel smirked. He cooked up that calculated pull after observing how Freezer reacted to various combat scenarios.

Freezer was on the top of his game when his opponents played aggressively. However, his movements turned strangely sluggish the moment his enemies made a defensive play. Whether it was due to a lack of experience or a lack of practice, Yuel couldn't tell. Either way, this glaring weakness in Freezer's defense was something Yuel couldn't ignore.

As soon as the team switched from hyper aggression to playing defense, Yuel took advantage of Freezer's momentary confusion. It was risky, since a telegraphed Nature's Grasp was easy enough to dodge from this distance. Luckily, the play paid off big time.

With the Warlock out of the picture, StormBlitz gained extra breathing room. The key enemy defender was out, so nobody was going to punish them too hard for playing greedily.

Nothing was 100% guaranteed yet, but everybody in StormBlitz felt they were about to settle this. They had unstoppable momentum right now and were going to push with it all the way to the enemy Colossus.

Regardless of how the push was going to turn out, this is where the match would be decided!