From 2v2 to 3v2

The enemy Aeromancer cast his Whirlwind on Kai's minions. A Ray of Light was supposed to follow up on it in order to double the damage, but the Lumimancer showed no signs of casting it.

"Huh? They're not going all out?" Kai wondered.

"They're probably saving it," Yuel reasoned. "Considering how chaotic the entire situation can get, it's arguably better to use the second spell later, once they know where the minions are headed."

"Sure. Except, we don't even have to go out of our way to cause any chaos here, do we? If they're going to use only one spell, then I can just out-clear it myself."

"Thats' true," Yuel agreed. "If anything, that probably works better for you, right?"

"Yeah, it sure does." Kai didn't outright admit it, but she actually wished for this exchange to be more peaceful than last time. That chaotic situation was too much for a Bomber to handle. [I'm sure I can learn to deal with anything if I practice hard enough, but I gotta admit I'm not up to the challenge yet.]

That was her honest analysis of her own skill. She was a solid Bomber player, but not an expert, not yet. As such, she had no choice but to play this game with tame expectations for her performance. So, the simpler the laning was, the better she'll perform.

[I'm normally not the type to choose "easy mode", but I got no choice here.] She proceeded to decorate the enemy minions with Sticky Bombs. It was that much easier to do when these pesky little bastards weren't running all over the place like headless chickens.

Seeing as the two of them weren't pulling anything chaotic this round, the enemy responded accordingly.

"These guys aren't doing anything shady this time," Ronald said. "So, I'mma just go for it, right?"

"Yeah, I think that's fine." Matthew nodded.

"Alright, here we go!" Ronald cast his Ray of Light on the enemy wave, covering both the swordsmen and the bowmen with dazzling light.

Normally, there was huge value in casting the spell's healing capabilities on the allied swordsmen, but it was too late to do that now. Bomber's explosive wave-clearing was about to hit hard.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Here they came, the three infamous explosions of Bomber's Bouncy Bomb.

As usual, that bomb packed a punch thanks to the careful setup. It wiped out the entire frontline and even managed to injure the bowmen.

Nonetheless, the backline survived and was eager to continue fighting. And, in the meantime, Matthew's Whirlwind and Ronald's Ray of Light continued ravaging the enemy troops.

This lane contest would have been already over if Ronald cast his Ray of Light a little earlier, but now they had to wait a couple more seconds to claim victory. Nonetheless, in the end, the combined forces of wind and sunlight allowed Ronald and Matthew to win the race.

"Alright, let's push!" Ronald advanced along with the remaining forces.

"Wait, where are you going?" Matthew didn't budge.

"What do you mean 'where'? Let's push, man! We got all these bowmen left. It'd be a waste to not use them."

"I rather end this fight here."

"Say WHAT?" Ronald's jaw dropped. "Why the heck would you pass on an opportunity like this?"

"It's dangerous to push against their classes."

"C'mon, don't be a wuss. We're plenty scary too, ya know? Look, even Cato is here to help us push."

"Actually, I'm here just in case something goes wrong," Cato pointed out. "I had a feeling you might win this exchange, so I'm here to make sure things don't get out of hand if a certain somebody decides to push irresponsibly."

"Yeah, being responsible is important." Ronald nodded. "You heard that, Matt? No pushing irresponsibly."

"Pretty sure that was directed at you..."

"Oh, was it? Haha." Ronald laughed it off. "Nothing to worry about, man. I know how to push. Super responsibly."

"Yes, you do," Cato agreed. "You know how to do a lot of things, but unfortunately, half the time you get carried away. You need to learn how to hold back sometimes.."

"C'mon, what's there to hold back in this situation? It's a free push!" Ronald was already on the frontline, intimidating the enemy into retreating. "We got three bowmen here, so we can push this real hard, especially if you join in. I mean, c'mon, it'd be a waste to not use my special power build when there's such a great opportunity right in front of me!"

"Unfortunately, that's true." Cato sighed. [I feel like I'm slowly getting dragged into a play that I have no business approving of. I hate this guy.]

Ronald's power build was quite the eyesore. Instead of steadily building up his supporting capabilities over time, this brat rushed the power curve just so he could compete with mages and marksmen. This kind of build was only effective during the early-game, so it was attractive to take advantage of it now while there was an opportunity.

[I don't like how this works.] Cato pouted. [It's like we have a bishop piece that'll turn into a pawn at the late-game. As much as I like using pawns, there's no arguing that a bishop is better. Sigh. I really wish Coach didn't let this brat get away with nonsense like this…]

"Fine, I'll join in." Cato entered the lane from the Top Jungle.

"Now you're talking, man!"

"But, let's just be careful, okay?" Cato warned. "Those two are packing some dangerous tools, and there's also their Jungler to consider."

"Oh, right. They do have a Jungler, don't they."

"What kind of team does NOT have a Jungler?"

"Haha, true that." Ronald laughed it off. "It's just that I haven't seen their Jungler do shit this game. Is she AFK or something?"

"She's usually passive during the early-game, we covered that during the meetings. Though, she does seem to be more tame than usual this game."

"Heh, maybe she's scared of chads like us." Ronald grinned. "I bet she knows we gonna make quick work of her if she tries anything funny."

"Hmm. Maybe." Cato didn't have a good answer to this one. [Having the Jungler lie low during the early-game doesn't sound like a Yuel-like idea. So, I bet he's constantly looking for an opportunity to bring Vanishing to the stage. Heck, maybe he's only postponing any of this to make us lower our guard. This could easily be one big trap.]

"Meh, their Jungler is never going to be an issue this game," Ronald reassured. "I can just pop my ult and reveal her right away. Want me to do it now, just for fun?"

"No, there's no need," Cato said. "I've been warding the jungle hard, so that should suffice. I can't imagine missing any of her rotations with this amount of warding."

"Yeah, you sure went ham on the warding."

"It's a necessary countermeasure. Anyway, if we see her coming while we push, then let's turn the tables on her."

"Oh, we gonna pull a good ol' switcheroo on her? Alright, I'm in!"

"But, what if she slips past the wards, after all?" Matthew asked. "She's supposed to be pretty good at that, right?"

"Hmm. True, that's her thing," Cato agreed. "Well, if I don't see her anywhere on the map for too long, then I'll tell Ronald to boot his ult."

"Okay." Matthew reluctantly followed the two pushers. To be on the safe side, he stayed at a distance from them, to make sure he wasn't an appealing target for anybody to attack.

And so, the trio opened a joint attack. Cato led the way, with Ronald and the bowmen right behind him, and Ronald following from further in the back.

[Well then, your turn, Yuel.] Cato smiled impishly. [You excel at offense, but let's see how good your defense is.]

This small but important push had a chance of setting a precedent for how the mid-game will go. If the Leopards establish lane control in Mid with this push, they'll start the mid-game from a great position that'll be hard for Stratus to overcome.

So, how was Yuel planning to prevent something like that from happening? It was going to be fun to watch~