Winner's Trap

SLASH! Once again, the Dark Knight's black blade cut through William. However, despite the grave damage from the hit, he wasn't fazed by this development.

[Alright, we're getting there.] William threw a glance at his surroundings while counter-attacking the Dark Knight. As before, some of his damage got reflected back at him, but it was just a fraction, nothing to worry about.

[Compared to the damage from his attacks, the reflected damage doesn't matter much.] William reasoned. [Five reflected hits deal about as much damage as a single basic attack, so this won't matter much for such a short fight.]

As such, it was more optimal for him to counterattack at every opportunity. The damage William received from Nightmare was a nonfactor, but the damage he dealt to Memer added up. This accumulated damage was going to play a key part in defusing the DK.

[We're almost there. Just one more round.] William's plan was finally about to pay off. But for now, he had to continue dancing with his opponent, leading his dance partner by the nose. Unbeknown to Memer, this whole stretched-out tango wasn't just about wasting the DK's precious time.

[That'd be a viable tactic in its own right, but it'd also waste my time. It's not worth it.]

William didn't come here to waste his time. The goal here was to either make Memer flee with his tail between his legs or to slay that cocky DK if he stays. And, since Memer chose to stay and fight, it meant the guy chose death.

[It's time.] The enemy was right where William wanted him to be. [I knew you'll try to rush things at some point, and doing that blinded your surroundings. But, I don't blame you. This has happened to many, many of my opponents. It's not just you.]

Perhaps, under other circumstances, Memer would have noticed what was going on. The guy had adequate decision-making, so he should've been able to see through William's ploy.

Alas, in this critical situation, Memer didn't have the luxury to slow down and analyze things properly. He must've felt like he "didn't have time" to do so.

[That's exactly what I was hoping for.] William nodded in satisfaction. [My read was on point.]

At first glance, this entire play might have seemed ludicrous. William had so many disadvantages in this fight, so it was only logical to avoid it.

[But, we have to make sure we crush them properly this time.] William asserted. [I won't let anybody think that we're afraid of some DK memer.]

The previous game was an embarrassment for the Leopards. They were done in by meme and hyper-aggressive comp, both of which should have been easy enough to counter. It was shameful, really.

[So, this time, we'll be the ones to destroy them thoroughly.] William declared. [As always, Cato is being Cato, so he's probably satisfied with just winning this round, even if we do it slowly as he likes it. But, I say we have to CRUSH them to send a message.]

And, in this position, it was very possible to do. Without realizing it, Memer stepped in so deep into the jungle that his back was now facing a wall. This was exactly where William wanted his prey.

[Now, it's my turn.] William activated Unstoppable Raid, summoning a brigade of savage warriors.

The vicious pack of pirates surrounded the Dark Knight from all sides, except for his rear. So, the most logical course of action was to retreat backward. But...

"Crap!" Luke exclaimed. "I'm stuck!"

He only realized the fact when he turned around. There was a huge ass wall towering over him! There was nowhere for him to go!

[W-When did I even end up here!?] Luke gritted his teeth. [I've been duped! ]

The whole time, Luke was sure he had the advantage here, but it turned out that Winner played him like a fiddle! The dude was slowly cooking up some nasty plan all along!

[B-But, no biggie.] Luke smiled nervously. [First, let's roll outta here real quick.]

It was impossible to properly unleash Dark Blast from this position, not with all these pirates ganging up on him from all sides.

[I can't hit all of them at once from here. Besides, ideally, I want the blast to hit that scumbag, too.]

With all these considerations in mind, Luke went for a Dodge Roll. And, to be on the safe side, he rolled toward the allied side of the jungle, right past the vikings blocking his left flank. This made him an easy target for these scoundrels' attacks, but he had to eat that damage in exchange for getting a chance to slip away.

At this point, it was getting kinda unclear who was gonna win the whole thing. So, Luke made sure to roll as deep as possible into the allied side of the jungle, to secure the safest position possible.

But, in retrospect, that might have been a mistake. It was the most predictable move in this situation, and Winner read right through it!

While Luke was rolling, Winner already waited for him at the destination. And, what was this bastard going to do next? It's elementary, Watson.

"Craaaap!" Luke found himself flying backward, right to where he came from. That wrestler-wannabe tackled his ass and flung him at the wall!

Once again, Luke found himself surrounded by a mob of vikings. And, these dudes were sure happy to see him back. They gave him a warm welcome, one that involved lots of clobbering!

[This ain't good! My HP!] It fell down to 40% after all the recent exchanges, and also because of Nightmare. [Oh, right! I better turn off that thing!]

The damage reflection and the extra bit of powerup weren't gonna help much against this angry mob. So, it was best to minimize losses by turning off that HP-draining feature.

[Dang, just a moment ago I was winning this shit!] Luke ranted internally. [But now, I'm only thinking about how to not get any more screwed than I already am! Maybe I should have listened to Yuel, after all…]

It turned out that Winner was really a savage duel monster, just not in the traditional sense. Dude didn't have any insane mechanical skills that could terrify opponents, he wasn't like Lars.

Instead, Winner had top-notch decision-making that complemented his solid execution. This dude had 200 IQ schemes and the necessary skill to pull them off, even right under the opponent's nose!

Unlike Lars's raw overwhelming mechanical skill, it was much harder to appreciate the full extent of Winner's skill just by watching a video. That's why Luke failed to register Winner as a real top-tier threat until now.

[I mean, even if I watched the current situation from the side, I'd probably not think much of it. At best, I'd be like "Man, that DK is sure a dumbo. How did he fall for that obvious shit?"]

Luke had to experience the situation in the flesh in order to realize just how absurdly talented Winner was. Like, the guy probably had everything planned out even before he showed up here, that's how flawless his execution seemed.

[So, what the heck do I even do in this situation!?] Luke gritted his teeth. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Or, more specifically, between a wall and a bloodthirsty mob of vikings. And, he didn't even have access to his Dodge Roll anymore, so escaping was straight-up impossible!

So, was that the end? Was the DK's entire career about to end here? It sure seemed that way. He had no chance of winning this fight by himself, and there wasn't anybody who could possibly rescue him here… or was there!?