Strangling Stratus

The game between Stratus and the Leopards continued, but things weren't looking good for Stratus.

Following Vincent's death and the collapse of the Turret in Top, the Leopards started grouping up together for pushes. This was their way of enforcing an early mid-game. They wanted to capitalize on the momentum while they had the advantage of numbers.

[But, they're not rushing it.] Yuel frowned. [They're pushing but just enough to force us to defend.]

The Leopards were feeling themselves with that advantage. Their actions conveyed a clear message: "We have already won, so we can take our time wrapping this up."

[This is also meant to frustrate us, isn't it?] Yuel grimaced. [I swear this is such an annoying playstyle. I can't believe I found a team more annoying than Howard's.]

And, he wasn't alone who felt that way.

"Damn, finally!" Kai exclaimed. "Alright, we made them retreat. Now, let's attack!"

"Wait," Yuel said. "They're luring you in. It's definitely bait."

"C'mon, dude!" Lars interjected. "Are ya getting cold feet again? I thought we solved that problem in the previous scrim."

"This is different. Against Taurus, I really played too safe and avoided risks," Yuel admitted. "But here, we're fighting against opponents who are actively trying to frustrate us and make us launch a careless attack."

"Yeah, dudes are sure a pain in the ass. They just keep hitting and running."

"Yeah, it reminds me of guerrilla warfare."

"Gorilla warfare? Yeah, them hit-and-run shenanigans sure feel unga bunga to me, haha!"

"Anyway," Kai interjected. "Yes, these guys are baiting us, we get that. But, so what? They're baiting us now, and they'll keep baiting us until the end of this damn game. So, does that mean we should never ever attack them? That sounds dumb as hell."

"We just need to create a good opportunity," Yuel said.

"And, when's that gonna happen?"

"Yeah, dude. When? It better not be Soon™, yo."

The two of them were breathing down Yuel's neck. They were raring to go on the offensive no matter the circumstances, which was exactly what Cato banked on.

The only other voice of reason in the team was Vincent, but he wasn't immune to frustration either.

"Let us not rush, my comrades," Vincent said. "Our time will come eventually. And, once it does, we shall make the enemy guerrilla squad experience true hell!"

He was spouting the same bombastic nonsense as usual, but there was a noticeable hint of spite in his actions. This was no longer just about beating the enemy. Nay! He, like everybody else, wished for the Leopards to suffer a fate worse than just a simple defeat. These turtles shall all be punished for all the frustration they've been spreading around like poison!

[I have a feeling it won't be long before Vincent snaps too.] Yuel frowned. [And, I'm not sure about myself, either. It's hard to stay impartial against opponents like this.]

Hit-and-run.

Hit-and-run.

Every.

Single.

Time.

The Leopards always pushed just hard enough to force Stratus to run around and defend. Nonetheless, these guys never overextended enough to leave an opening for a proper counterattack. At least, that's how the majority of the Leopards played.

The only exceptions to that rule were AbsoluteWinner and AbsoluteChallenger. These two launched far more forceful and dynamic attacks than the others.

"The Absolute Duo is coming to Bot!" Vincent informed.

While the rest of the team was busy defending Top, Vincent alone was tasked with clearing the invading minions in Bot. And, that's when the Absolute Duo launched their unexpected attack!

As always, the fearsome duo picked the worst time to strike. They used their own teammates as a diversion as they launched this unstoppable two-man assault!

With perfect teamwork, the one duo of Winner and Challenger was equal to an army of hundreds! None could stop them! And, especially not Vincent by himself.

"Retreat," Yuel ordered. "Nia, can you lend him a hand?"

"Ok..."

"Just make sure to stay in the back as you attack. The most important part is showing them that you're there to help Vincent. There's no need to actually aggress on them."

"Ok..." Nia repeated the same weak reply. Her voice was always rather stoic, but right now, it sounded outright indifferent.

It's as if the girl wasn't really paying any attention to what Yuel was saying, or that she COULDN'T pay attention to it because her brain refused to register the details. The yawning didn't help her case either.

Nonetheless, Nia faithfully followed the instructions and rotated to help Vincent. And, as ordered, neither of them directly engaged with the enemy duo. Their top priority was to defend the lane and intimidate the enemy to make them retreat. If it was only that much, then Nia could handle that fine even in her current sleepy state.

[Unfortunately, it seems this is the most I can ask of her in this game.] Yuel frowned.

Even after 20 minutes of gameplay, Nia showed no signs of waking up. She was just alert enough to avoid terrible mislays, and she did manage to follow simple orders. But, that's all she was capable of.

[This is almost like a 4v5.] Yuel frowned. [I really shouldn't have forced Nia to play this game. If I had let her rest during the first game, then she probably would've been ready to play in game 2. What a blunder.]

Yuel tried too hard to start this scrimmage on the right foot and it backfired terribly. Instead of opening the match in the best shape, Stratus ended up using the worst lineup possible.

[I can't believe I'm thinking this, but I actually wish Luke played this game instead. Sigh.]

When having a memer on the team sounded like an appealing proposal, it was an obvious sign that the game was doomed.

With that said, Stratus couldn't simply give up here. Even as the enemy was slowly strangling them to death, Stratus had to keep fighting.

"Fuck!" Kai cursed. "Alright, I'm done with this defense shit! We're getting nowhere like this. Let's attack already!"

"Yeah! Right behind ya!" Lars followed up.

"Wait-" Yuel tried to stop the reckless duo but it was too late. Lars and Kai were already charging up ahead, walking straight into a deadly trap.

At first glance, this attack didn't seem that bad. The two enemy pushers, Rook and Merlin, lost all their minions and had no choice but to retreat. It seemed like a very straightforward situation in which Stratus had the obvious upper hand.

On top of that, considering how deep the enemy duo extended into Stratus' territory, it was easy to believe that Lars and Kai will dominate this situation with a counterattack. However, that's exactly the impression the enemy was trying to create.

Lars and Kai's counterattack led to… a counter-counterattack! Winner and Challenger emerged from the jungle and tackled the reckless duo!

And naturally, Rook and Merlin did a 180 at the same time in order to join the attack. And so, Lars and Kai found themselves in a deadly pincer!

"Crap!" Lars exclaimed. "I think we screwed up, haha…"

『An ally has been killed!』

Lars failed to escape. He already spent his Backfire Cannon on clearing minions, so he had no escape tools left.

To make things harder, the enemy focused all their firepower on him. They clearly treated him as the top priority threat, as they should.

"Phew! That was close." Kai sighed in relief after retreating to safety.

She launched herself backward with Satchel Charge as soon as the enemy duo showed up from the jungle, so she escaped the scene with just a couple of bruises. Not much HP was lost, but her pride took a hard hit for sure.

[This entire attack was one huge misplay.] Yuel sighed deeply. [But, I don't even have it in me to blame them. After all, this was all part of the enemy's plan. Or, more specifically, Cato's plan.]

"What, you not gonna lecture me?" Lars asked.

"Since you're asking about it yourself, I assume you understand just how badly you messed up."

"Yep, I totally blew it, haha…"

"How you have the strength to laugh in this kind of situation is beyond me."

The entire team was drowning in despair. The enemy was slowly, VERY slowly, dragging Stratus toward their demise.

And yet, the Leopards still refused to deliver the finishing blow. They hadn't made the game-deciding move. It's like they wanted Stratus to experience a slow and painful death.

Therefore, Stratus couldn't throw the towel, not yet. Despite how disadvantageous their position was, there was still a faint glimmer of hope that the enemy hadn't extinguished yet.

Normally, that would have been a good thing. It meant Stratus still had a chance, small as it was. But, in reality, it was more like a curse.

Just because this tiny little chance existed, it compelled everybody to keep fighting their best. Everybody continued struggling against the impossible odds, believing there was still a "chance" to turn things around.

[It feels like a psychological trap.] Yuel grimaced. [The harder we struggle, the more we tire ourselves out. No matter how much effort we put in, it doesn't feel like we're actually making any progress.]

It was beyond obvious that the Leopards were toying with their food at this point. They didn't go for the killing blow, but neither did they show any openings.

[This must be Cato's doing.] Yuel frowned. [Back when I played him, he pulled the exact same thing on me. Even after he got into a winning position, he didn't hurry to finish me off. That compelled me to keep fighting even though I knew I lost. It was so draining.]

And now, the entire team was subject to similar mental exhaust. This wasn't good

In a five-game scrimmage, conserving energy was very important. Overexerting on the very first game was deadly.

[And yet, this is exactly what we're doing right now...] Yuel grimaced as he checked the status of his teammates.

"Damn, come here and fight!" Kai ranted as Theorist disengaged from battle.

"Annoying..." Nia complained when Rook targeted her with hit-and-run tactics.

"This has turned into a battle of endurance!" Vincent tried to convince everybody, including himself. "Shall we survive through the enemy's siege, we might emerge victorious still! Yes, we might emerge victorious... indeed... surely...!"

"Yo, these dudes be dragging out this game like crazy." Lars tried to smile but there was a hint of irritation in his voice. "I'm tellin' ya, it's like we're playing against a team full of Ellens, haha! Haha..."

He was laughing, but it was a hollow laugh. Despite his seemingly positive attitude, it was obvious Lars wasn't enjoying the situation in the slightest either. At this rate, even the ever-positive goof might crack.

[Should we just call it quits and surrender?] Yuel couldn't believe he was seriously entertaining the thought, but that's how far Cato's tactics pushed him.

Compared to suffering through this fake stalemate and holding onto shaky hope, it was that much easier to just end it here and now. They still had 4 more games to work with today, so not all will be lost.

[With that said, there's still a small chance the Leopards are actually terrible at wrapping up games in which they don't have an overwhelming advantage. A slim chance, but a chance nonetheless.]

In the last two scrimmages, the majority of the Leopards also played rather defensively, but they also developed an overwhelming momentum thanks to killing sprees of Winner and Challenger. With that much advantage, it was easy enough for them to wrap up the games despite their turtle tendencies.

But, the same didn't apply to the current game. Even though the Leopards had some momentum on their side, it was far from overwhelming. After all, Stratus wasn't some weak team that'd easily fold to opponents from the region.

[So, maybe they're just dragging things out to minimize risks, but I really doubt it. If a defensive team doesn't know how to wrap up the endgame, how does it even plan to win?]

For defensive teams, the late-game was supposed to be their forte. Their entire game plan was supposed to revolve around dragging the game out until the late-game, at which stage they'd finally launch their counterattack and wrap things up.

Therefore, it was unthinkable for the Leopards to be bad at wrapping up the late-game. If anything, that was supposed to be one of their strongest points.

So, this was definitely all Cato's doing. It was borderline sadism.

[And, it feels like they're keeping up the gig even longer than in previous scrims. Or, maybe it only feels longer because I'm on the receiving end of this time?]

Either way, little by little, Cato was wrapping a rope around Yuel's neck and tightening the knot.

However, that sadist didn't go straight for the strangle. No, he just tightened the rope a little at a time, making it harder and harder to breathe.

Slow and gradual suffocation. Yuel felt like he was submerging to the bottom of a deep ocean, unable to swim his way up.

["Just give in already. You know you want to~"] Yuel could hear Cato's poisonous words directly in his head. There was no doubt the snake was getting a kick out of watching Stratus struggle.

[Our lives would be so much easier if we just gave up.] Yuel thought. [But, we can't throw any games today. We have to keep fighting! Yes, we have to...]

With his spirit in shambles, Yuel continued racking his brain to find a solution to this unpleasant predicament...