The Princess’s Next Target: Top Lane

Rosemary must have started recalling as soon as she cleared the Ogre Camp. Her HP fell substantially over the course of the last few plays, so even she deemed it too risky to linger around. Not to mention, she was around Lv. 6 by now, so it was a good time to upgrade her gear.

She got a lot of gold for scoring all these kills. Howard thought. When she returns, she'll be ahead of everybody in far more than just her level.

This was an early sign of snowballing if Howard ever saw one. Step by step, Rosemary was establishing herself as the strongest player on the battlefield. Her powers grew higher and higher, bending the rules of the game in her favor.

To avoid any further mess-ups that could lead to more snowballing, Howard made sure to bring up the topic with the team. "At this point, I'd even be wary of fighting her even in a 2v1 situation."

"C'mon, man," Roi objected. "Me and Dan can kick her ass no problem, right, amigo?"

"Yeah, pretty sure we can," Dan agreed. "She's totally within snowballing territory, but for now, she's manageable. Or, at least, she WILL become manageable once I get a few more levels, haha..."

"Yeah, man," Roi commented. What's up your level, lol. You're not eating enough!"

"I'm working on it."

Even now, Dan was still severely lagging behind. Everybody had already hit Lv. 5 while he was still at Lv. 3. It was embarrassing.

Fortunately, the exp granted by creeps scaled up based on their level. So, as the game proceeded, the creeps naturally granted a bit more exp than they did before. This will help Dan to catch up to the others. And once he does, he'll be able to give Rosemary a real fight!

"I agree that you two specifically should be able to handle Rosemary together because of your teamwork," Howard said. "But, only after Dan hits Lv. 5. After that, you're free to 2v1 her if a good opportunity presents itself, but don't go assuming it'll be easy"

"Hell yeah, let's go!" Roi grinned. "We gonna mop that snowballing chick!"

"Word!" Dan nodded.

"I'm sure Ellen and I can also handle with her," Howard added.

"Aww, Wardy~" Ellen smiled. "Are you saying that we're, like, the best couple around~?" 

"... yeah, sure. Anyway," Howard continued. "These are the only pairs whose teamwork I trust enough for this. So, if you run into Rosemary in any other combination, avoid fighting unless the odds are greatly in your favor." 

"Got it," Julia responded the same way everybody else did, but deep down she was unsatisfied. So basically, no matter the situation, I'm not allowed to fight her at all. It's like he intentionally made up that rule to annoy me.

Sure, Julia already died once at the hands of that Werewolf, but was that reason enough to forbid her any further interaction with that beast

I'll totally win the next fight! Julia asserted. I'll MURDER that cocky girl!

Unfortunately, all these extreme thoughts were written on her face. That earned her a glare from Howard.

... whatever. I'll just stick to defense for now. This was an important game for her, she was supposed to prove her worth as a member of the first-string. And, getting killed by the enemy Jungler definitely wasn't helping to leave a good impression.

I know I'll score a lot of points if I can kill that stupid wolf. Julia thought. But, that's hella risky. Howard will tear me apart if I go against his orders and fail.

With these considerations in mind, all of Julia's engines cooled down. Now, her head was filled to the brim with defense. She resigned herself to slowly and steadily racking up points for a positive impression.

In the meantime, Rosemary took the exact opposite approach. The girl was feeling herself and assaulted StormBlitz nonstop after returning from the base.

"Cornelia, please do not use your slam skill on this wave," Fiona requested. "I plan to rotate over there for a flank attack, so I would like you to lure your opponent deeper into your territory."

"Hmph. Very well." Cornelia nodded. "Though it is unbecoming of a noble like myself to surrender lane control in such a manner, I shall oblige for the greater good."

"Thank you kindly." 

And so, Cornelia did as instructed and refrained from using her "Noble Slam" on the enemy. This was as good as letting that plebian take full control over the lane. Disgusting.

But, since the request came from a fellow noble, Cornelia played along this time. Knowing Fiona, this investment will pay off in the long run.

Frustratingly, Hitter enjoyed this turn of events a little too much. Unlike Cornelia, he had no intentions of holding anything back during this wave, so he unleashed Takedown on one of the swordsmen and flung the helpless soldier into the pack of bowmen. BAM! There was collateral damage.

From there, the cocky Viking moved on to directly attack the bowmen with his axe. The man had no qualms about invading Cornelia's territory uninvited. What's more, he had no intention of paying her any taxes, either.

Hmph, very well! Cornelia puffed her chest. Then, I shall respond in kind!

And so, she moved toward the enemy backline too. She will not fall behind some plebian!

"Cornelia, please retreat." Fiona phrased it as a request but her sharp tone meant it was an order. "There is no need to contest him this much in this wave. Remember, your goal is to lure him in so I can gank."

"Oh... yeah, of course. I remember." Admittedly, for a moment there, Cornelia forgot all about that grand plan. She was too concerned about this pesky vermin invading her territory. After all, it was such an unforgivable offense!

Nonetheless, with respect to Fiona's request, Cornelia quietly retreated. And so, quite regrettably, the lane exchange ended in Cornelia's utter defeat. Though she swung her axes nonstop at the enemy swordsmen, she was unable to compete with the Viking's head start.

Of course, you only won this bout because I let you have this short-lived victory. Cornelia explained. I let you win the fight so I can win the war. This is an elegant tactic befitting a noble such as myself, clearly alien to a commoner like you.

This was the first time in this game that Cornelia lost the lane exchange in such an embarrassing manner. Until now, she was holding her ground against Hitter without any trouble. This sacrifice better pays off in the end.

Of course, a simpleton like Hitter couldn't comprehend Cornelia's noble investment. As such, the man foolishly pushed onward after establishing his advantage. He must've been happy to finally get the edge over Cornelia, as fake as it was.

In the meantime, Fiona made her way to Top. She was now in a great spot to gank this overconfident peasant. Surely, she shall unleash noble retribution upon this commoner!

However, as it turned out, Fiona and Cornelia weren't the only ones with a plan here.

"Roi, they're likely luring you into a gank," Howard said.

"Yep, figured as much." Roi nodded. "I mean, this chick has been hella competitive this whole game, so no way she'll suddenly decide not to use her slam and lemme take lane advantage for free."

"And despite knowing that, you're still pushing."

"Hey, lemme have some fun, okay?" Roi chuckled. "I've been holding back this whole game because their dang Jungler is always roaming about. So, now I get this juicy opportunity and there's no way the Wolf is here yet, so I wanna push while I have the chance."

"That's reasonable," Howard conceded on that point. "Alright, you can push a little."

"Heck yeah, let's go! Lol."

"Dan," Howard turned to the Jungler. "After you've done with the wolves, move closer to Top, just in case. We have to make sure there won't be any unfortunate incidents there."

"Got it, cap!"

And so, Howard allowed Roi to extend just a little further into enemy territory. Permitting the players to let loose like this once in a while was good for morale. On top of that, an aggressive play like this will reassure the team that they weren't completely at Rosemary's mercy.

Not to mention, StormBlitz had to start building up some momentum. It was already time for mid-game, yet the Valkyries still held all the advantages, all thanks to Rosemary's dominance.

So, a rare opportunity to push was a godsend. It was clearly intended as bait, but Howard was going to take full advantage of it.

There is a little bit of risk, but this isn't anything Roi and Dan can't handle. Howard thought. It's more important for us to start taking initiative, even if it involves some risk.

It was perhaps a tad uncharacteristic for him to think this way. He almost sounded like Yuel there.

But, there was some merit to taking occasional risks. The scrim against the Leopards proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that sitting on the defense 24/7 wasn't going to cut it at the regionals. Every now and then, StormBlitz had to go out of their way and take a few small risks to seize control over the flow of the game.

With that said, unlike Yuel, Howard was all about minimizing risks. He couldn't stand the sight of a gaping hole in the team's defense. That's why he positioned Dan nearby just in case, even though Roi should be able to get away even from a 2v1 situation all by himself. The less risks, the better.

And so, with Dan ready to be deployed at a moment's notice, there was no catastrophe that could possibly strike Top in this round. Or, so Howard believed...