Trust and Kill

As requested by Kai, Vincent dialed up his aggression on the lane. Being on the offensive wasn't exactly his forte, but he could do so when required.

Instead of staying in the back all the time, he advanced to the frontline every now and then. Being a Cryomancer, that was enough to threaten the enemy. They wanted nothing to do with his Ice Coffin.

This basic intimidation tactic worked surprisingly well. The enemy respected his Ice Coffin and backed away, making it harder for themselves to farm efficiently. It allowed Kai to easily outclear the Pirate and start an aggressive push. The enemy had no choice but to retreat to their Turret and clear the wave from there.

After going through this routine three times in a row, enough was enough. The enemy decided to make their move.

"Hey, fucker," Bruce approached the intruder. "Ya think you can just come here and invade our turf like that? I'mma kick yo- Gah! Shit!" Ice Coffin hit him right away and locked him in place! "You piece of shit! You think you can just do that to me!? Who do you think you are!?"

Next, a giant spear came flying straight at Bruce! He couldn't even budge. Fuuuuuu!

"Ugh, this sure hurts," Bryan grimaced. He stepped in and body-blocked the spear. Even though Impale passed through minions, it couldn't penetrate through players. Therefore, this little gig saved Bruce from the damage.

"Nice one, fam," Bruce patted Bryan on the back. "Just keep me alive and I'mma make these shitheads regret they were even born!"

"No problem, man," Bryan smiled weakly. [To be honest, I only did it because I knew he'd blame me otherwise. It's his damn fault for getting this close to Cryo, but of course, it'll be my responsible if something happens. Welcome to the life of a Support player. We got unfair bullshit in spades over here.]

"Good one," Kai nodded. "Keep harassing them like that."

"Roger," Vincent continued acting as if he owned the lane. Time and again, the TheLegend tried to confront Vincent, but it ended in a tragedy for him.

"Damn, he's here again!" Bruce roared. "I'll end him!" This time, he rolled in! No way this Cryomancer scrub could hit him- FREEZE.

"Wha-!? You gotta be shitting me! How!?" Bruce roared at his stupid ass Pirate. This useless piece of shit froze solid in the middle of the roll. "This damn Cryo is the luckiest bastard on earth!"

[Or, maybe you're the dumbest. Just some food for thought.] Bryan rolled his eyes. Though, he had to admit, this Cryomancer's harassment was getting on his nerves too.

That Cryo dude was sure something. He invaded left and right as if he owned the damn place, yet he always maintaining enough distance to get away from any punishing counters. Bryan has been carefully searching for a good opportunity to blink in and blind that fucker, but he couldn't find any.

"Watcha doing just standing there watching?" Bruce ranted. "Doncha see what this mofo is doing? You do that too. Go out there and mess with them fuckers."

"You want me to put myself at risk?"

"Pft, risk. Talking like a real pussy. Grow a pair, man."

"Okay, fine," Bryan didn't exactly appreciate that remark. So, no choice but to do it, right? Otherwise, he ain't a man. Very well. He wasn't scared of some chick or a cocky Cryomancer. He gonna burn both these scrubs!

During the next minion wave, Bryan took the initiative and advanced to the frontline.

"I'm going in with guns blazing," Bryan informed. "Requesting artillery support."

"We got ya covered, soldier. Haha," Bruce followed after Bryan. This time, they gonna take that cocky Cryomancer down!

"Boss, the fish took the bait," Vincent informed. "What's the plan?"

"Separate them and freeze the Lumi," Kai said.

"Divide and conquer? Brilliant planning, commander!"

"Let's aim for a kill here."

"Indeed, let them taste the sweet embrace of death!" Vincent darted toward the frontline, just as he has done during the previous few waves. However, this time, he had a different goal in mind. It wasn't just another ploy to trigger his opponents. This time, he and Beat were going for the kill! [Let's give them the Blackhole & Beat special! I dub it the Black Beat!]

[First, o great Ice Wall, divide the enemy forces!] Vincent summoned the ice wall of doom behind the Lumimancer.

"Whoa!" Bruce exclaimed. "They walled you off!"

"Huh!?" Bryan glanced behind him. A wall stood tall between him and Bruce. "Damn, what the- Shit!" A huge spear rammed into him and shoved him into the wall. There wasn't enough time to process the situation, let alone dodge that shit.

"Great, I'm stunned," Bryan muttered.

"C'mon, bro. You're better than that. Gotta dodge that shit."

"Easy for you to say." [I don't remember you dodging her spear either.] "Anyway, this ain't good. They're ganging on my ass here! Come help me out!"

"I ain't walking into that 1v2," Bruce said. "But, don't worry. I'mma spook these scrubs with a Kraken! Ez save!"

"RELEASE THE-" the Pirate yelled. Even though Kai and Vincent were on the other side of the ice wall, they could clearly hear the alarm. The Kraken was coming!

"Stick to the wall!" Kai rolled forward.

"Right behind you, cap!" Vincent rolled forward too. They were doing the exact opposite of running away.

It was hard to guess whether this Kraken was real or just a feint. However, by sticking to the ice wall, they covered both options.

"Khaha! Idiots!" Bruce laughed his ass off. "You're really going in?! I gonna hit ya for real now, suckers!" He canceled the Kraken at the last moment and targeted it anew at the two foes.

The ice wall stood in his way, so he couldn't see his opponents directly. However, Bryan was on the other side of the wall, so he provided vision like a ward would. That's right, Bryan was acting as Bruce's eyes right now! That's why they were the Ultimate BB Team!

"Here it comes!" Bruce unleashed the Kraken at the new location! At least, that was the plan.

BEEP. An annoying error sound. For some reason, this stupid game didn't let him release the Kraken over there. What? Why!? He got both enemies right within range, it was the perfect setup! Yet, the game system was siding with the enemy for some reason. "What's this bullshit!?"

[Oh, shit. That stupid wall is in the way!] Bruce realized that the edge of the Kraken's target location was touching the ice wall. "C'mon, are you for real!? This stupid wall...!"

He tried to place the Kraken on both enemies without touching the wall, but it proved to be a challenge. And, while he was busy aiming, the enemies went separate ways near the wall, creating even more distance between each other. They were walking in opposite directions while barraging Bryan. Dammit!

At this point, it became impossible to fit them both in the Kraken's range. So, Bruce had to make a choice. Naturally, he gonna wreck that Impaler chick. That bitch deserved to die a hundred times over!

"RELEASE THE-" the Pirate roared again.

"It's coming," Kai smiled nervously. "Go freeze the Lumi!"

"On it!" Vincent used this opportunity to get closer to the stunned Lumimancer. The stun from Impale was about to run out, but Vincent had every intention to prolong it. [Now, divine winter, freeze the unclean!]

He unleashed Ice Coffin on the immobile Lumimancer. It froze the poor sob in place. Playing the game? No such luxury was allowed around here. The guy had to remain immobile.

"Fuck! Now they froze me too!" Bryan barked. "They ain't letting me outta here, I'm telling ya." He was already at 20% HP, practically dead meat. If the Impaler gets two more shots on him, he's a goner.

Fortunately, not all hope was lost. The giant squid monster emerged from the ground and slammed that bitch into the ground. [Ha! That's what you deserve! You gonna let me walk outta here alive- Ah, wait! No! NO!]

[And now, the third and final spell of Armageddon!] Vincent made dramatic hand gestures, but only in his head. To the audience, it almost looked as if he was having a spasm. [I unleash upon thee the Icicles of Niflheim! They shall drive their cold claws into your skin and rend your soul asunder!]

In practice, all Vincent did was activate Icicle Rain. It rained icicles in a straight line, some of which hit the Lumimancer. The damage wasn't high, but still much better than Vincent's weak basic attacks.

The icicles deleted 15% of the Lumimancer's HP, leaving him with just 5%. When it came down to that much, even Vincent could erase it with a single basic!

[Beware of basics!] Vincent shot an icicle.

『You have killed an enemy!』

"Damn..." Bryan slammed his head on the table. That shit was so lame.

"Yo, my guy!" Bruce called out. "Watcha doing kickin' the bucket over there!?"

"What can I say? They caught me good."

"Damn, now it's a 1v2!" Bruce backpedaled from the scene. The enemy didn't pursue him, so he got away unscratched. "Awesome. Now, I gotta sit under tower like some pussy until you return. Fun."

[I didn't die on purpose, you know.] Bryan made a face but chose to remain silent. It was impossible to reason with Bruce when he got angsty like that. If Bryan says the wrong thing, he might even get smacked for it.

"Hey, Dyl!" Bruce called out to the Jungler. "Come over here and gank or something."

"You want me to gank your 1v2 situation?" Dylan made a face. "I rather not."

"Tch, yeah, guess it won't fly," Bruce agreed. "But hey, at least hang around. If they go all out against me, you gank them."

"You think they will?" Dylan asked.

"Yep, these scrubs are dumb as a brick. They can go full offense outta nowhere for no reason. Can never predict what shit they gonna pull next."

"Gotcha, I'll hang around Bot Jungle until Bryan returns."

"Thanks, fam." With that, a line of defense was built. As annoying as it was, Bruce had no choice but to sit under tower like a good boy and defend the lane. If these bastards decide to invade, Dylan gonna be all over their business with his Lionfolk. Ez kills.

"Good job," Kai said.

"Why thank you," Vincent replied with a smile. "Everything went according to keikaku. Oh, and 'keikaku' means 'plan'."

"Yeah, it worked out," Kai smiled wryly. [Would have been way better if that Kraken hit Vince instead of me. Then, I would've taken the kill myself. Oh well.]

Their teamwork was still far from perfect, but things worked out nicely this time. Just a few months ago, Kai never considered such plays. After all, the success of this play heavily depended on somebody else, and said person was a total idiot to boot.

But, Vincent was a trustworthy idiot. During her training, Kai picked up many duo tactics from watching Yuel and Lars play Bot. Then, she practiced them with Vincent. It didn't go smoothly at first and they were out of sync on literally everything, almost making her give up on the whole idea.

But, Yuel said these things took time and practice, so Kai had to keep trying. Yuel also helped them out by analyzing their mistakes. Of course, alongside a fair dose of criticism, in a classic Yuel fashion.

At some point, it just clicked. Kai and Vincent started pulling off successful duo plays. Their synergy and execution weren't nearly as good as Yuel and Lars's, but Kai and Vincent became good enough to beat most Bot opponents in Ranked. Even the two schmucks from Taurus folded to them.

Kai didn't score this kill, yet this play was only possible thanks to her contribution. And, above everything else, this success was the fruit of her and Vincent's hard work. It gave a different sort of satisfaction compared to scoring kills by herself, she couldn't quite explain it.

But, it felt good. With this kill, on this stage, it truly felt like Kai and Vincent became a genuine Bot duo. Kai originally insisted to play Carry for herself, but over time it became more than just about her. It wasn't just about claiming the most important role on the team. It became about using this position to cooperate with her teammates and win games.

Nia scored the first kill, Vincent scored the second, and next, it was Kai's turn to score a kill. There was even a perfect target for her on lane: the scumbag Pirate, TheLegend. She'll tear that dumbass apart!

But, she didn't have to do it all by herself. She'll borrow Vincent's strength as much as needed for this cause. Even if it's not going to be a pure 1v1 win, it didn't matter. Relying on the Support to gain the upper hand in lane was a part of the Carry's job.

Yuel told her something to that effect the first time he played Support for her. The Support was like an extension of the Carry's body during the early-game, like another limb. By making good use of this extra limb, Kai will prove she was the superior Carry. She'll erase that smug from TheLegend's ugly face!

"Next, let's arrange a kill on that guy," Kai said.

"Sure thing," Vincent nodded. "One more kill, coming right up!"

They were riding a strong momentum. No, not only them. The entire team was riding this wave. They were going to push it all the way through!