Securing the Emperor’s Dominance

[It's not worth it.] Jin stopped his chase before stepping into the enemy's tower area. [I can get this kill, but I'll be too injured to stay in the lane. Hmm. Well, I'm sure I'll be able to get away with it against opponents of this level, but it's a bit too risky for my taste.]

No matter how low-level the enemy players were, they still gave the Leopards a run for their money. Therefore, it won't do good to entirely disregard their ability. They might be able to punish Jin if he overextends too much.

[Whatever. I'll let him go this time.] Jin decided. [Rather than taking this risk, it's more efficient to keep my HP intact and push hard in the next wave.]

With the Druid on his deathbed, the guy was assuredly going to recall to base soon enough. In addition, Jin heavily injured the enemy Jungler as well, so Vanishing will have to recall, too.

[In the next wave, all the possible obstacles will be gone.] Jin thought. [I can destroy the tower right there.]

Allowing Phoenix to get away was like an investment. Jin gave up the kill in order to have a solid chance at destroying the tower, which was worth that much more.

[Considering the pros and cons, taking out the tower is the optimal play.] And so, Jin ignored the dying Druid and focused on the giant Ents in front of him.

WHISH! WHISH! WHISH! His scourge danced nonstop, whipping the giant trees without rest!

Once all the Ents crumbled, Jin pushed onward with his minion army. As expected, the enemy Druid had recalled by now, so there was nobody to defend the Turret right now.

[Hmm. I could use my ult here to prolong the push.] Jin pondered. [No, it's not worth it. I'll do it in the next push.]

A few of his minions had already died, so he won't be able to push the tower in full throttle even if he used his ult. As such, it was best to save it for the next wave.

And so, this push only brought the enemy Turret down to 40% HP. This was a great achievement for such an early stage of the game, but 40% was still a considerably high amount of remaining HP. Most classes wouldn't be able to delete that much in one push, especially not this early into the game.

[But, Orc can do it.] Jin asserted. [The tower is going down in the next wave.]

"My, such an early advantage," Cato commented on the lane situation. "Good job driving out all the threats. I assume the plan is to push hard in the next wave?" 

"Yes." 

"It's going to be a very strong push, for sure." [But, also a very predictable one.]

At first glance, pushing in the next wave seemed like a safe play. Phoenix recalled to base to heal up and Vanishing likely did the same. As such, there were no threats around Top to interfere with Jin's push... or, were there?

[Will Yuel really take this one lying down? I doubt it.] Cato reasoned. [He should be aware that this push is almost a game-winning play for us. So, he has to do something. Something that neither I nor anybody will expect. That's just the kind of unpredictable tactician he is.]

Perhaps some would brand Cato paranoid for overthinking this much, but he didn't care. His opponent was formidable, therefore it was necessary to exercise caution at every step of the way, even when it felt excessive.

"I suggest letting Will join you during that next push, to make sure you properly take down the tower."

"No need." 

"A flat-out rejection as usual, huh..." Cato smiled wryly. "But, I insist this time. That push is going to be a dangerous play." 

"How so? It very simple push." 

"True, that's how it initially appears. But, you can never know what the enemy might be planning." 

"They can't plan anything," Jin argued. "Top and Jungler both at base."

"You don't know that for sure about their Jungler," Cato corrected.

"She must recall. No point staying around with that HP." 

"Yes, I suppose that makes sense," Cato conceded. "But, if not that, then they might rotate their Mid to your lane."

Jin scoffed. "If that happens, I should know in advance as long as our Mid not sleeping."

"True, but they might pull off that play in an unexpected way. For example, with a Checkpoint Ward."

"It's very unlikely," Jin said. "I already considered Teleport, but if no ward was placed here already, then they can't do that play."

Cato blinked with a dumb face. "My, you even accounted for something like this?" 

"Of course. Teleport is rare but strong when used correctly. It has to be considered."

"True, true..." Cato smiled wryly. [It sounds like he thought of everything. Maybe I'm really slipping into paranoia territory here? I mean, Yuel can't pull a miracle out of thin air... or, can he?]

Three years ago, in chess, nobody imagined that some no-name kid would pose a challenge to the Landberht Princess, let alone defeat her. And yet, Yuel achieved that against all odds. He used some asinine tactics that made no sense at first glance, yet they somehow dragged the game into a favorable territory for him.

[I mean, overall, the Emperor is right.] Cato thought. [On the surface, it doesn't look like there's any reasonable counter the enemy can pull here. But, falling into this kind of relaxed mindset is often exactly what Yuel wants. That's exactly how he caught Fiona off guard.]

The next push was going to be detrimental to the enemy team. If Jin takes down the tower, that'll effectively win the game for the Leopards. Therefore, Yuel had to act and he knew it.

[For such a critical play, I rather not leave any openings, no matter how small. But our Emperor is sure stubborn. Sigh.]

"Alrighty, then let's do it like this," Cato suggested. "Will, can you please rotate early to Top? I want you to be in the area when Jin pushes the tower."

"Do I have to?" William asked. "It'll force me to deviate from my planned routine."

"Yes, I know, I know. It's not optimal." Cato nodded. "But hey, you got the Griffins for free this round, so that should be a reasonable compensation, right?"

"Hmph. Using the Griffins as a bargaining chip?" William scoffed. "Well, I guess the fact I got my hands on that extra farm without expending any resources does even things out for the most part."

"Right?" Cato nodded. "So, I take it you'll play along with my little 'beefy security' strat?" 

"To what end?" Ronald asked. "The guy said he doesn't need help."

"Right, I don't," Jin repeated. "This is all unnecessary."

"Oh, don't worry," Cato reassured. "Will he isn't coming over there to steal your farm. He'll just stand guard in the vicinity to make sure everything goes smoothly."

"So, I don't need to actually enter the lane?" William asked.

"Bing bong, correct. Just hang around in the Jungle and intercept any approaching troublemakers."

"Hmph." William shrugged. "It sounds so unnecessary." 

"Pretty please~?" Cato made puppy eyes, a sigh that wasn't cute in the slightest. "We'll pretty much win the entire game if this play goes smoothly, so a little caution can't hurt, can it?" 

"I suppose." William still didn't sound convinced. so further pushing was necessary. But, it didn't help that this was a 1v2 situation for Cato.

"It's a waste of farm," Jin claimed. "He better use this time to continue farming."

"Does that kind of optimization even matter?" Cato posed a smartass question. "I mean, assuming your push goes well, then we've pretty much won the game, right? So, optimizing Will's farm a little bit won't even play a role, will it?" 

"Hrm..." It seemed Jin struggled to come up with a comeback.

[So, how do you like it when I turn your confidence against you?] Cato smiled impishly. [If you can make a bunch of claims based on your confidence, then so can I~]

"Fine. Do whatever you want." Jin conceded. "It won't matter anyway."

"Maybe it will, maybe it won't. But, there's no much harm in it, that's for sure."

"Whatever."

And so, Cato successfully converted one of the rebels. All that was left was to convince the main actor to take the stage.

"I don't like it," William said. "You've only made the entire thing sound even more pointless now."

"True, it might turn out to be 'pointless'," Cato said. "Or, it might turn out to be very important. Who knows."

"Well, if you're trying to convince me, then you're doing a very poor job."

"My, how brutal." Cato smiled wryly. It seemed he had to resort to more advanced swindling, so he switched their communication to a private channel. "It's your chance, you know?"

William raised an eyebrow. "My chance? To do what?"

"To get on the main stage of this game. If something does go wrong with the Emperor's push, then you'll be there to save the day. Isn't that just awesome~?"

"Hmph. That sounds like a script for a cheap popcorn movie."

"My, how harsh." Cato pouted. "I put so much effort into that idea. Sob."

"Yeah, whatever." William shrugged. "You're just trying super hard to reinforce defenses like you always do."

"True, true~" Cato admitted. "Better safe than sorry, right? Frankly, I can't imagine Stratus taking this one lying down, so I want to be extra careful here. And, as I said, it might be a chance for you to do something meaningful this game before the Emperor snowballs to victory."

"Something meaningful, huh." William understood the sentiment all too well. In fact, he was likely the most troubled by this prospect.

Whenever Jin took the main stage, the rest of the team was reduced to a bunch of backup dancers. They only existed in the background for the sake of existing. They barely got to influence anything about the game in a "meaningful" way. Regardless of whether they performed well or not, Jin always pushed the game to victory via his own strength.

Therefore, this play Cato was suggesting, as unnecessary as it sounded, was a rare opportunity for William to become something more than a backup dancer.

[Hmph. I know this is just Cato planting nonsense into my head.] William admitted. [But, if there's really a chance I can get to "play the game" and be more than just a scarecrow, then why not?]

William finally succumbed to the snake's whispers. "Alright, I'll do it." 

"Good, good." Cato smiled impishly. [Now, we're set! There's nothing that can possibly stop us anymore, muhahaha! Try all you want, my dear Yuel! You'll not be able to do anything about this push~]

With this, Cato guaranteed that the next push would be a success. It already had about a 90% success chance, but now Cato pumped the numbers all the way to 100%.

By all means and accounts, this game was a wrap. Not even Yuel will be able to pierce this absolute play.

[But, you're welcome to struggle to your heart's content, by all means.] Cato smirked. [The harder you try, the more delicious your fall will be~]

Crushing what little hope Yuel had left for a comeback was the best~ Though, of course, it might turn out that all this preparation was unnecessary, just as Jin insisted.

[But, I know you better than that.] Cato smiled meaningfully. [You WILL try to pull something, right? And, it'll be something so absurd that none of us will even consider it, right?]

So, what will it be? Will Yuel find some unorthodox solution for the desperate Top situation? And, will Cato get the satisfaction of crushing that sophisticated plan? It'll sure be fun to see~