Shot-Caller's Fatigue

The decisive final match was transitioning into the late-game. At this point, Seraph's full potential was already unlocked. Six Wings of Holiness finally allowed Lars to fire all six shots in a row and his finished build provided much-needed power to each of his shots. As a result, he demolished objectives in an instant.

『An enemy Turret has been destroyed!』

"Woohoo!" Lars exclaimed. "Let's go, my dudes!"

"Good job," Yuel nodded in approval. That's the second turret down, so the enemy only had Top Turret left. But, that's not for long. No objective lasted in front of Seraph's overwhelming push potential.

『An enemy Turret has been destroyed!』

"Triple Turret Kill, yo!" Lars pumped a fist. He destroyed the Top Turret shortly after destroying the Bot Turret even though the two turrets were a whole map apart from each other. By using his ult, Divine Messenger, he quickly flew from one side of the map to another and split-pushed.

"Okay, we got this, my dudes!"

"Don't let your guard down," Yuel said that, but he couldn't deny he was also getting excited. This was the late-game, a phase that was supposed to be Howard's dominion. And yet, Yuel's team was winning! They were beating Howard in his own playground!

Howard perfectly predicted Lars's rotation toward Top Lane and even got there in time to defend, but he was powerless against Seraph's onslaught. With Lars's skill and Seraph's high DPS, the team destroyed Howard's tight defense through sheer strength!

However, Lars wasn't the only one putting on a strong show.

『An enemy has been killed!』

"Haha! Die, dumbass!" Julia caught Gregory off-guard in the middle of his rotation and wiped him out. Her plays were rough and reckless, but also strong and overwhelming. Since Roi and Dan have been slipping up this match, Julia became one of the top-performing players on the team, second only to the great goof himself.

Yuel considered having a talk with Roi and Dan, but he ultimately decided against it. The team had momentum right now, so he didn't want to ruin it by creating discord in the team.

It didn't seem like Roi and Dan were doing any of that on purpose because they overall performed fine. They only goofed during critical moments, so maybe the pressure was getting to them. Yuel had no idea what he could possibly do to alleviate their stress, but criticizing them definitely didn't sound like the solution.

It was unclear why experienced players like them would crack under pressure during a match in which they didn't have personal stakes, but Yuel didn't have the luxury to investigate. He just had to accept the fact he couldn't 100% rely on these two to do their job every time, so Lars and Julia had to lead the team. Two aggressive beasts were more than enough at the moment.

But, things were only getting harder. The deeper Yuel's team pushed the enemy, the easier it was for the enemy to defend their objectives. The lanes curved inwards toward the enemy base, so the enemy Golems were positioned much closer to each other than the Turrets. Therefore, it took less time for the defenders to rotate between the Golems.

"Lars," Yuel called. "Switch to Bot."

"Got it, dude!" Lars stopped pushing Top Golem against and rotated all the way to Bot Lane through the jungle. The same way the defenders had an easier time traveling from one Golem to another, the same applied to the attackers.

One moment, Lars was pushing Top Golem. The next moment, he was already all the way down in Bot-

"Oh, snap!" Lars exclaimed. "There's an ice wall!" Just as he was about to enter Bot through the jungle, an ice wall formed in front of him and covered the entire passage.

[Howard anticipated it.] Yuel bit his lip.

Howard should have gone back to the base to recover but, instead, he rotated to defend Bot ahead of time. With Yuel, Julia and Dan pushing Mid Golem, any normal opponent would expect Lars to rotate from Top to Mid and help them to break through. Therefore, Yuel expected the enemy to fortify their defenses in Mid and that's why he sent Lars all the way from Top to Bot. It was supposed to be a smart outplay, but it didn't work against Aegis.

Howard noticed the opening in Bot Lane and hurried to cover it. As a result, the Bot Lane push fell through.

[Kudos, that was a good play.] Yuel shook his head. With the ice wall stalling Lars, the enemy gained enough time to recognize their forces and send people to defend Bot.

"I'mma go help ya dudes in Mid!" Lars declared.

"Wait, that's unnecessa-"

"Here I come!" Lars booted Divine Messenger and flew across the sky toward Mid. It was an unnecessary stunt, considering the short distance between Bot Golem and Mid Golem.

[He's getting carried away.] Yuel knotted his brows. Well, that wasn't a bad play per se. Flying to Mid saved Lars some time, so Howard and anybody who went to defend Bot won't be able to rotate back to Mid in time. It may very well create an opportunity to break through this barricade.

[We gonna rek them by force!] Lars grinned. Before these dudes even figure what's going on, Lars will drop from the sky and destroy the Golem Dude! By the time Big Shield Dude gets back to Mid, it'll be too late- gah!? What!? How did Howard get there so fast!?

Right after Lars landed in Mid Lane, Howard appeared there too and joined the defense effort. That was nuts, yo! What that guy a wizard!?

[Again.] Yuel frowned. It's like Howard had a GPS which told him Lars's position at every given time. Even worse, said GPS somehow predicted where Lars will be going seconds in advance. That's the only way to explain how Howard always quickly got in position to intercept Lars.

"Let's just push through!" Lars insisted. "We can take down that Golem Dude!"

"You're right," Yuel nodded. Thanks to previous efforts, the Mid Golem was down to 20% HP. With one more hyper-aggressive push, they should be able to take it down no matter how well the enemy defends. Therefore, they'll push through regardless! If it was impossible to pass through Howard's defense via tactics, they'll just break through by force!

"I'm opening with Tsunami," Yuel announced. "After it scatters the enemy, charge in and attack the Golem as much as possible before the enemy reposition."

"Okay."

"Gotcha."

"Let's goooo!"

Yuel hid behind his teammates to not make his motions too obvious and began casting Tsunami, the Overflow version of Splash. By unleashing a huge wave on the entire Golem area, he'll hit the entire enemy team.

[They're going to push.] Howard instinctively understood. His eyes naturally fell on Yuel, the Support. If something big was about to go down, Yuel will be the one to conduct it.

Yuel moved a little to the back and hid behind Dan and Julia. Something was definitely afoot. What would an Aquamancer try to pull from this distance? It'll surely be something with Overflow, so there were three options: Rainstorm, Hot Spring Eruption, and Tsunami.

Rainstorm would immediately cover the entire area with heavy rain. Howard's team didn't have a way to interrupt that play, so there was no need for Yuel retreat to the backline. On the other hand, Hot String Eruption had limited range, so going backward only made it harder for Yuel to reach Howard's team. Thus, there was only one option left...

[It gonna be Tsunami!] Howard darted away from the Golem area. Yue was going to knock back the entire team and invade the Golem! If Howard's team loses its ground here, the Mid Golem will fall for sure!

[Alright, I should be good.] Howard reached the edge of the Golem's area right as Yuel unleashed the huge wave.

[Oh, wait. What about the rest!?] Howard forgot to warn them! "A tsunami is coming! Get out of the Golem's area!"

Unfortunately, the warning came too late. The tsunami was already here! The huge wave blew Gilbert and Ellen out of Golem's area and all the way into the base. Only Howard dodged the disaster and was still within range to defend the Golem.

"Get back to defend!" Howard ordered as he ran into the Golem's area. He immediately returned to defend, but he couldn't hold the fort his own.

"Let's go go gooooo!" Lars invaded the Golem's area along with Yuel, Julia and Dan. It was a 4v1! Howard had no chance to stop them.

[I'm dead if I face them head-on.] Howard had no choice but to wait for backup. If he tries to block this gang on his own, they'll run over him in an instant. He needed Ellen and Gilbert to fight back together with him... wait, where was Taison at?

"Tai!" Howard called. "Why are you in Bot!?"

"Huh?" Taison cocked his head. "Ya told me to go here, bro."

"Yeah, but... ah." Howard paused. Back when Howard intercepted Lars in Bot, he ordered Taison to follow up and rotate to Bot as well. It was a preventive measure in case Lars was to gun for Bot even after being stalled.

However, while that situation was unfolding, Howard realized Lars might aim for Mid instead, so he rotated back to Mid. He rotated alone, without telling Taison to follow. Howard completely forgot about Taison at the time and concentrated only on what he had to do next.

[I'm slipping.] Howard gritted his teeth. He was too late to warn the rest about Yuel's tsunami and he failed to update Taison's orders in time. Howard's concentration was slipping.

He could still figure things quickly and provide optimal defense, but he failed to provide timely shot-calls. It was like he forgot the others existed and focused on blocking all incoming blows on his own. He was messing up big time...

『An allied Golem has been destroyed!』

"Damn," Howard muttered. If he just warned everybody earlier, they would have dodged the tsunami and could help to hold down the fort. On top of that, if he told Taison to rotate to Mid earlier, they would have formed an impenetrable barricade around their Golem. This Golem could've been saved! Damn! Damn it all!

"My, you're running out of gas?" Ellen asked.

"Nah, I'm alright."

"Su~re," Ellen rolled her eyes. "I know what it means when you're being slow on the orders and focus only on your own plays."

"Heh," Howard smiled wryly. There was no chance of hiding this from Elly, was there? He switched over to private communication and spoke quietly. "Yeah, I'm starting to lose focus. This match is rough."

"My, and it's only the third game. How would you last in a best of five at the regionals?"

"I'm not used to defending 24/7, alright?" Howard grumped. Against normal enemies, it was enough to only cover up some of the holes in the team's defense. There was no need to be cautious about every little weakness because there was no way the enemy would find all of them.

But, Yuel was a different story. That chessboy could make a weakness out of literally anything. If you just sneeze during a match, that guy would somehow sense it and he'll strike you down instantly. It was some superhuman bullshit.

Therefore, Howard had to make sure the team's defense had absolutely zero holes. He evaluated and reevaluated everybody's positions, playstyle and quirks. He had to make sure nobody left any opportunities for Yuel to strike. Even the smallest of openings could turn into fatal game-changing plays when Yuel was involved, so Howard had to cover them all.

Unfortunately, maintaining this concentrated routine came at a terrible price: Howard's mental juice. He wasn't used to maintaining that level of intense concentration for three games in a row, so mental fatigue kicked in.

"It's all because you don't do exercise and eat junk all day," Ellen jabbed.

"That got nothing to do with it," Howard rolled his eyes. "It's just that I never practiced such an intense shot-calling routine. I like taking longer breaks after intense games, okay? Kill me."

"But," Ellen tapped on her cheek. "I have to say, Yuel is hanging just fine under this 'intense routine', isn't he?"

"Yeah, he seems to be doing alright, as annoying as that is."

"Because, unlike you, he exercises."

"Nah, I bet it's because he's a chessboy. You know what people do in chess, right? They just sit there in front of the board and fry their brains for hours. No wonder Yuel is used to this kind of stuff."

"All I'm hearing is excuses," Ellen said. "Exercising makes your brain work better. I read some articles and stuff."

"Yeah, I know, I know. I'll think about it after the match. Maybe I'll start doing it. Maybe."

"What a lazy bum you are, Wardy," Ellen pouted. It was always the same story with Howard. He was a skilled and experienced player, but he never worked hard enough.

During this year's entrance exam, Howard's match against Yuel served as a wake-up call of sorts. It showed Howard there were other skilled players out there and they might overtake him despite being younger. It was a heavy but much-needed blow for this lazy bum.

Thanks to that, Howard started taking his training and his duties in the club more seriously. In fact, that's probably what pushed Howard to arrange practice matches against Ignis's team. He wanted to get stronger and wanted to grow an overwhelming first-string at any cost.

But, no matter what, Howard just refused to work out. Even back when he was undertaking StormBlitz's entrance exam, he faked sickness to get a note from the doctor. Thanks to that, he got exempt from the racing test and passed it without even stepping on the track.

Worst of all, Howard knew about this test ahead of time and didn't even tell Ellen. He only told her to practice one-kilometer jogs and that it was important. He totally just wanted to see her sweat hard during that exam. What a bully.

Well, at least Ellen passed the race with flying colors thanks to jogging all summer. In addition, she shaved off some excess fat and learned to appreciate this healthy routine. She felt more focused during games and could play longer without getting tired.

But, unlike her, Howard remained a lazy bum and now he was paying the price for it. Ellen almost wanted to see that bum getting beaten this game to teach him a lesson.

But, of course, they weren't allowed to lose. That silly bet Howard made with Yuel was still in effect. Howard's pride won't allow him to turn back on it, so losing this match meant saying bye-bye to this year's tournament. That was a big no-no.

[If Wardy is out of gas,] Ellen smiled meaningfully. [I'll have to pick up the slack by becoming an angel of death for him.]

Now, that it was late-game, Seraph became an unstoppable force, especially in the hands of a beastie like Lars. Therefore, the outcome of this match will boil down to how efficiently they can shut Lars down. And, who was better for the job than Ellen?

"I'll kill Lars for you," Ellen declared. "I promise."

"That's reassuring," Howard smiled weakly. Hopefully, this won't end up as another instance of Ellen giving herself too much credit while role-playing some evil witch.

"Okay!" Lars exclaimed. "One Golem down! Let's go let's go let's goooo!"

[I think we got this.] Yuel nodded to himself.

Taking down the Mid Golem was huge. It gave Yuel's team a big advantage in the most important lane and paved a path toward the enemy Colossus. With Seraph's late-game strength, it was possible to take down the Colossus in a 1v1 with enough preparations. However, it was a lengthy and dangerous line of play, so it wasn't realistic to pull off against Howard.

Therefore, the team first had to weaken the enemy's defenses further by destroying additional Golems. They already took one down, so they'll eventually destroy the others too. Even though the enemy's defense was tight, it wasn't flawless. Yuel smashed through it quite easily with his recent tsunami play.

In fact, that one felt a little TOO easy. Howard was quick to react to the tsunami, but the rest of the enemy team froze in place and got washed away. As a result, all the defenders were scattered and only Howard was in a position to defend. Yuel expected his Tsunami play to cause the enemy some trouble, but it turned out way too effective.

Normally, Howard would have evacuated his entire team in a timely fashion. That's why he was Aegis, the impenetrable shield. Yet, for some reason, in that particular situation, he didn't extend his amazing defense to the rest of the team. Or, maybe he [couldn't]?

[Is he losing focus?] Yuel wondered.

As a fellow shot-caller, Yuel knew all too well how mentally exhausting it was to command a team during a difficult match. Yuel should've been used to long sessions of mental activity as a chess player. Even so, he found himself completely exhausted during the Leopards scrimmage

It certainly didn't help that he had to deal with difficult topics like the team's atmosphere in that scrimmage, but that wasn't an excuse. Yuel shouldn't have run out of gas like that. If he wanted to pull through long matches in the competitive scene, he had to prepare his brain for long sessions.

Therefore, to make sure he won't run out of gas again, Yuel took his jogging routine more seriously. He has been exercising less and less throughout the year, but after the Leopards scrimmage - he made sure to jog at least once every two days. It was hard to tell how much working out really helped him play better, but there was one thing he knew for sure: this was the third game of the day and he was fully concentrated. Meanwhile, the enemy shot-caller seemed to be falling apart.

[We need to use this opportunity to push hard, but we can't be careless.] It was tempting to go all in and blast through the enemy's weakened defenses, but a single mistake could cost the entire match during late-game.

Therefore, Yuel had to arrange an offensive strategy that had solid backup plans in things go wrong. They were so close to grasping victory, they couldn't mess up here!

"Lars, go push Top."

"Okey-dokey!"

"Julia, follow Lars. Your priority is to keep him alive."

"Alright."

Lars was like the Queen piece of this match, a unit with enough strength to single-handedly pressure the opposition into submission. As long as Lars was alive and targeted objectives - they'll win this game!

"My, how annoying," Ellen pouted. "I can't find a good chance to take on him. They're always teaming somebody up with Larsy."

"So it seems," Howard agreed. Instead of going full offense, Yuel picked a more balanced approach. Lars pushed at full throttle, but his teammates never left him alone. Either Yuel or Julia was always there to be back Lars up, so it was impossible to score an easy kill on Lars like that.

"I say," Ellen started. "First, we get rid of one the guardians. I'd like to get rid of Yuyu personally because Aquamancer is such a pain in late-game."

"I agree," Howard nodded. "But, how do you suggest we do that? It's not like we can just forget about defense and hunt Yuel down."

"It's simple, darling. We just bait them into a bad position and get rid of them~"

"Alright, sounds good. Now, tell me something that sounds like an actual plan with details and everything"

"I got just the thing~" Ellen's lips curved into a smirk. "Hey, Taitai and GG, do you feel like giving Lars and Yuel some pain?"

"You even need to ask?" Taison chuckled. "Of course we wanna wreck these guys!"

"Yeah, what that idiot said," Gregory nodded.

"My, how passionate. There we go, we got two volunteers for the suicide squad~"

"Huh?" Taison raised an eyebrow. "Did ya just assume these shitheads gonna own us?"

"Oopsie, a slip of tongue. Teehee~" Ellen stuck out her tongue. "Anyway, here you go," she switched her mic to a private channel with Howard. "We got two faithful beasties who'll do everything in their power to kill Lars and Yuel. We just gotta unleash them on Lars and Yuel at the right time and pray for the best."

"You're really suggesting this 2v2?" Howard asked. "You know just as well as me who'll win there."

"Sure, if we were talking about the standard Bot Lane 2v2, we know which pair is better. But, this game, the brats on our team are playing Jungler and Top, so they don't have to cooperate like a duo. They can split this fight into two 1v1s."

"That still sounds like a recipe for disaster."

"Then, what you suggest? We gonna keep defending like this until we're squashed?"

"No, but..." Howard sighed. His thoughts refused to come together. All he could think about was "which area to cover next" and "how to deflect the next attack". There was no spare brainpower to consider sophisticated plays. Besides, such players weren't Howard's forte in the first place. His game plan was the same as usual: maintain solid defense until the enemy commits a fatal mistake.

Unfortunately, Yuel hasn't been taking any risky bets recently. If things keep going at this rate, no amount of defending will save the team from inevitable defeat. They'll lose this game, this match, and the entire next year.

"Alright," Howard said. "If you think Taison and Gregory can pull it off, then let's give it a shot. I trust your trolling skills."

"My, you make me blush~" Ellen giggled. "Alrighty, but I need your help with this. To catch them off-guard, I need to know where they'll be attacking next. Can you do that for me?"

"I'm not a damn oracle," Howard chuckled.

"Sorry, I'm just not good at that kinda stuff," Ellen said. She was good at messing around with Yuel, but she wasn't nearly as good at predicting Yuel's moves. Only Howard had the natural affinity for doing that because he was good at spotting holes in their defense, which were exactly the spots Yuel tended to target.

"Alright," Howard said. "I'll try to figure where they're likely to strike next, but no guarantees."

"I know, I know. But c'mon, you need to sound more confident. What do you mean you'll 'try'? You gotta DO it. You're the captain, you can't sound like a wuss."

"Heh, can't even say anything back to that." Howard smiled wryly. That's right, he was the captain and he was the one who arranged this entire match. Therefore, he had to stay strong and believe in the team's victory.

"Alrighty then," Ellen concluded. "I'll give our brats a few tips, while you focus on reading Yuel's plans."

"Alright." Howard nodded. He had to reverse-engineer Yuel's next attack plan from the current state of the team's defense. It wasn't exactly the most reliable way to predict things and it was ten times harder than usual with his fried brain. Nevertheless, for the sake of mounting a comeback in this situation, he had to predict correctly one more time...!