William's Risky Independent Action

Contrary to everybody's expectations, William chose to approach Top from the enemy's side of the jungle. Even his allies didn't see it coming.

"My, are you really doing this?" Cato asked. "You're quite the daredevil, you know that?"

"This is a calculated risk," William said. "If things get rough, I can always retreat. That's what I have my axe blink for."

"True, true." Cato nodded. "But, isn't it rather bold to assume that you'll be able to get away alive from a Dark Knight, of all classes?"

"Hmph. As long as he can't kill me in one hit, then there's no difference between fighting a DK and any other class. And, I assure you that he [can't] kill me in one hit."

"Yes, of course he can't. If he could strike down a bruiser in one hit while being this starved, then DK would be pretty broken."

"Right. So, if you have nothing else to say, then let me concentrate on this situation."

"Of course, of course."

With that, Cato quieted down. In truth, he had a lot more he wanted to say about this risky move but none of it was going to be relevant right now. What's done was done. William was already there, boldly facing the Dark Knight head-on.

[I cannot say I'm a fan of this idea.] Cato frowned. [I guess that's what I get for leaving Will to his own devices.]

Most of the time, letting William do as he pleased was the right move. However, every once in a while, it led to an awkward situation like this.

[It's not a "bad" play per se.] Cato thought. [If he stops the DK from getting any kills in this play, it'll throw a giant wrench in Stratus' game plan. The DK will be rendered utterly useless for the rest of the game. But...]

There were a lot of risks involved. As much as this play had the potential to starve the Dark Knight to death, it also had the potential to revitalize the guy with a tasty meal.

[I doubt Will will die here, but the risk is there.]

This dangerous play had the potential to decide the entire outcome of the game. So distasteful.

[Going all-in like this isn't how pros should play.] Cato shook his head. [We're supposed to build our advantage slowly and surely, to establish a position that's unwinnable for the enemy. After that, we can also drag out the game a little to bully them~ And after all that, we wrap things up. That's how professionals do things.]

That was the standard game plan Cato believed in. It was an efficient method of driving any game to victory... well, maybe except for the part about dragging the game out. That was completely optional and served mainly as a psychological attack. Not everybody was fond of it but Cato sure derived a lot of pleasure from applying this tactic~

But, other than that sketchy part, the rest of the formula was airtight. And yet, there were also the non-believers who refused to follow this religion. They were heretics like Yuel, who tried to brute force their way to victory via a couple of brutal plays. Absolutely disgusting.

[Thankfully, Will isn't as bad as that. He's not a follower of Yuel's religion, that's for sure. But, it's like he visits that church every now and then. I don't like it.]

If it were up to Cato, then he would have opted to maintain the current status quo of the map. After all, the Leopards had been holding the upper hand this entire game, so why change anything? If it's not broken, don't fix it.

Perhaps their map advantage wasn't anything phenomenal. However, the fact they were in the lead against an aggressive early-game team was a huge deal by itself. At this point, the game was practically as good as won.

So, there was definitely no need to rush things in Top. The DK was already starving so there was not much point in beating him down any further.

[Besides, I know Ronald isn't the most reliable player out there, but I'm sure even he would've slipped away alive from the DK's gank all by himself.] Cato thought. [Well, maybe "sure" is a little too strong of a word here. Rather, I want to BELIEVE he can handle this much without any trouble. If not, I would have kicked his arse out of the team a long time ago.]

In short, William's play felt like an unnecessary risk. The team would've gradually starved the Dark Knight to death either way, but William decided to speed up the process for some reason.

[Oh well, so be it.] Cato shrugged. [If he messes up, I'll use that against him for the rest of the day and make sure to order him around like a dog. I'm sure that'll be pretty fun in its own right~ But, I prefer to win this round without any hiccups. The previous game was already embarrassing enough.]

And so, Cato convinced himself (sort of) that he was fine with this development. From here on out, everything was in William's hands. Will he be able to shut down the Dark Knight for the rest of the game? Or, was he committing a fatal mistake that'll cost him?