Exploiting the Enemy’s Respect

Dark Knight vs. Viking. The two bruisers stared each other down. Neither of them was willing to make the first move.

[He seems fazed.] William analyzed. [If he wasn't, he would've continued toward the lane without stopping. After all, by all accounts, his class is still stronger at this point in the game.]

The fact Memer halted at the mere sight of William meant a couple of things. First of all, the guy definitely didn't see this coming. After all, if he could predict this scenario, then he would have come up with a solution ahead of time and executed it right away.

[Also, this implies I even caught their shot-caller off-guard. What an honor.]

Chessmaster's ploys had been messing a lot with the Leopards today, so it felt good to finally take a direct jab at that schemer. William pulled the rug right under the tactician's legs! Delicious.

But, there was still more that could be concluded from Memer's reaction. The fact the guy stopped in place implied he was instinctively wary of having this fight.

As a Dark Knight in the early-game, Memer should've been fearless against any opponent who crossed his path. Even while starving, a DK was still very much a force to be reckoned with.

Yet, Memer was definitely on guard against William. There was a smell of fear in the air.

[I've actually seen a lot of evidence pointing toward that conclusion.] William thought back on all the exchanges he had with Memer during this game. Even though they met a handful of times, they had never crossed blades directly. Their meetings always ended with Memer giving up on the fight and retreating.

It was in stark contrast compared to how ballsy Memer had been acting otherwise. The guy realized that he couldn't score any easy kills, so he opted for the next best thing: stealing jungle farm. And, with his powerful Dark Blast that could one-shot the smaller camps, it was only natural to pursue that path.

In fact, the guy managed to steal a handful of camps even under William's tight supervision. By the end of the day, William was just one player, so he couldn't be everywhere at once.

Besides, there were also scenarios where William was on the scene and still had no choice but to give up. For example, when Memer and Beat teamed up at the Griffin Camp, there was precious little William could do to stop them.

[I could've teamed up with Sonya, but a 2v2 is infinitely more complex than a 1v1. They probably would have targeted Sonya first, so anything could've happened there.] William thought. [I'm confident in keeping myself alive in a 1v1, but I'm not confident enough that I can also protect a teammate in a situation like this.]

Thus, William had no choice but to give up on some of his farm on rare occasions like this. But, other than these specific scenarios, every other time he was on the scene he properly defended his camps. And, he didn't even exert much energy to do so.

[All I did was get to get there. That alone immediately discouraged Memer from trying anything funny.]

Memer didn't even try to lift a finger at William during these exchanges. Despite being a cocky DK memer, the guy politely turned around and retreated every time.

Honestly, it seemed a little odd the first few times. However, once it turned into a pattern, it became obvious what was going on.

[He's afraid of me.] William concluded. [Or, to be exact, he's afraid of the risk that comes with fighting me. Hmph. I'm glad a left such a strong impression despite how the last two games went down.]

Admittedly, William hadn't had that many opportunities to show his mettle in the last two games. As the Carry, he was locked away in Bot, where he consistently had to combat the powerhouse that was Gunz.

Perhaps those who appreciated Gunz's skills realized just how amazing William was for going toe-to-toe with that beast. But, to those who only analyzed the game at a surface level, William's plays probably didn't leave much of an impression.

[I'm glad that even a memer is smarter than that.] William nodded in satisfaction. [So far, Stratus as a whole is living up to my expectations. In fact, I'll even say they've surpassed them.]

The two previous scrimmages the Leopards played were a total joke, but at least Stratus was posing some challenges today. This reassured William a little about the skill level of the region.

[Now I'm curious to see how strong StormBlitz is.] William thought. [But, that's a topic for later. Right now, I need to defuse this DK.]

William moved from side to side to match the Dark Knight's movements. It seemed the guy thought he'll be able to sneak past William unscratched, but there was no getting through William's calculated zoning.

William was far enough from the enemy to be able to react in time to an incoming Dark Blast, but he also positioned himself in front of a narrow passage to make sure it was impossible to slip past him. This passage was the shortest way to reach Top, so naturally, Memer wanted to walk right through it. But, he couldn't.

[You can't get to Top without eating some damage or making a detour.] William declared. [So, what are you going to do?]

The shortest path was blocked. Realistically, Memer's only two options were to bust through by force or retreat. Using a different route would take way too much time to be relevant.

No matter which play Memer picks, it'll lead to his downfall all the same. The guy merely had the option to decide which poison he preferred more, that's all.