Two 1v1s Instead of 2v2

『An enemy Golem has been destroyed!』

"We're doing it, my dudes!" Lars exclaimed. "One more Golem to go! Or, we can even push all the way right here and now!"

"No, let's retreat for now," Yuel said. His balanced tactic of offense and defense has been working so far, so there was no need to rush.

The tactic was simple: Lars followed Yuel's orders and rotated from lane to lane to push in the area where enemy defenses were the thinnest. At the same time, Yuel made sure there was always somebody there to back Lars up. It was an idea Yuel stole from Howard's defensive team play.

Yuel split the babysitting job between himself and Julia. Considering Roi and Dan's recent slip-ups, Yuel couldn't bring himself to entrust such an important task to these two. So, Dan and Roi's primary task was to serve as a diversion and lure out enemy defenders.

At this point, Yuel was convinced: Howard's defense has been slipping. The impenetrable Aegis was cracking down. Even straightforward attacks passed through Howard's defense right now. Yuel could aim at any weak spot without fearing a counter.

However, even without Howard's bulletproof guidance, the enemy team was still putting on a solid defense. They couldn't prevent Yuel's attacks ahead of time, but they deflected the attacks with minimal loses. Nobody on the enemy team made any punishable mistakes while defending, not even Gregory and Taison.

As a result, it was difficult to score any kills on the defenders. Howard must have coached his team when it came to playing airtight defense. Thus, the game dragged on.

Fortunately, if things keep going like this, the game will be over soon. Two Golems were already down, so only one left. If all three Golems are down at the same time, all three lanes will be swarmed with super minions; the enemy won't be able to defend from all three directions at once. It would be a complete checkmate.

Yuel entertained some alternative game plans, like busting through one of the lanes before taking the last Golem or trying to steal the Overlord Buff while the enemy was busy. However, both approaches invited unnecessary risk. This time, he preferred to slowly and steadily pressure the opposition into submission.

"Let's get Bot next," Yuel dashed toward Bot Lane.

"Coming!" Lars approved. "Time to take down that last Golem Dude!"

Yuel and Lars cut through Bot Jungle and arrived- ah! Taison and Gregory stood in their way!

[Was this attack too predictable?] Yuel bit his lip. Even though Howard wasn't as sharp as usual, it seemed he could still defend against overly obvious attacks.

"Alright, there you go," Howard exhaled. Somehow, he managed to squeeze just enough brain juice to foresee Yuel's next move. It was largely thanks to Yuel's attacks becoming more straightforward recently. The guy was feeling himself and striking at any opportunity that presented itself without respecting Howard at all.

Knowing that chesskid, Yuel must have figured that Howard wasn't in the best shape right now. That's why that brat fearlessly seized every opportunity he found. Unfortautnely for him, it helped Howard predict this overly obvious rotation toward Bot Lane.

"Alrighty," Ellen nodded. "Taitai, GG, don't forget what I told you. You absolutely have to score at least one kill here no matter what. We'll keep the rest of their team busy, so I can trust you to do your part, right?"

"No problem!" Taison nodded. "We gonna wreck these scrubs!"

"This gonna be good." Gregory much appreciated this opportunity. This was a fateful 2v2! Everything started back when Gregory and Taison played 2v2 against Yuel and Lars. They lost horribly back then and everything went downhill from there.

So, it was payback time! They gonna kick these losers off the high horse and drag them down to oblivion! This selection match was the perfect opportunity to end Yuel and Lars's whole careers.

"Hey, they're coming at us!" Lars's tone made it clear he wanted to duke this out with Taison and Gregory. It wasn't surprising, consider how much the enemies have been turtling until now. The last time Lars scored a kill was ages ago.

[Looks like it was supposed to be a trap of some sort,] Yuel pondered. [But, it's actually convenient for us. It's a rare chance to score some kills and weaken the enemy's defense.]

"Okay," Yuel said. "Let's take them on."

"That's what I like to hear! Let's go, yo!"

[Honestly, I'm not sure what Howard is thinking.] Yuel knotted his brows. Did Howard believe Taison and Gregory could defeat Yuel and Lars in a 2v2? Past experiences should have pointed to the opposite. Whenever they faced each other in Bot Lane at the club, Yuel and Lars always came on top.

Was this even Howard's idea in the first place? Howard rarely ever went for such plays. Maybe Ellen? Or, maybe these two were running amok? It was really hard to tell the goal behind this 2v2.

[But, they clearly want this 2v2 to go through.] Yuel glanced at the rest of the map. Ellen was occupying Julia in Top, while Howard and Gilbert were clashing with Roi and Dan in Mid. All supply lines were cut, so this was going to be a 2v2 fight without any backup for either side.

[Maybe I'm digging too much into it.] Yuel thought. [No matter what Howard had in mind, we'll be fine as long as we win the fight-]

"Dude, watch out!"

"Wha-!?" Yuel noticed too late: Gregory was right in front of him! And, already with his big foot raised into the air! Damn, Yuel won't be able to- BAM! A heavy stomp! The impulse blasted Yuel away.

[Not good...!] Yuel grimaced. He didn't expect Gregory to blink forward and initiate such an aggressive attack. The enemy team has been in full defense mode until now, but Taison and Gregory were clearly out for blood out here.

Lars dodged the stomp in time with Angelic Grace but ended up on the other side of the area. Yuel and Lars have been separated.

"We have to regroup- ah!?" Yuel paused. Gregory stood between him and Lars like a gatekeeper.

[You ain't getting through, cuckhead.] Gregory swung his blade and cut through Yuel.

[He's going to block me?] Yuel hit back with a water ball and ran to the side. He had to maneuver around Gregory to regroup with-

[I won't let ya!] Gregory activated Provoke and dragged Yuel farther away from Lars. [You ain't passing, not under my watch.]

[Ugh, this is a problem.] Yuel recovered from the taunt and tried breaking through again, but the giant Vanguard blocked the narrow jungle passage.

What was going on here? What sort of 2v2 battle was this? The frontliner was supposed to be on the frontline and protect his DPS, not to stall the enemy frontliner. Instead, this battle tactic was as if...

[It's ain't a 2v2, sucker!] Gregory smirked. [It's two 1v1s!]

That's the idea Ellen came up with. In a straightforward 2v2, everybody knew Yuel and Lars were better than Gregory and Taison. However, in a 1v1, Taison proved he was stronger than Lars. So, instead of cooperating as a duo, it was best for Taison and Gregory to fight separately across two 1v1s.

[Though, I'm just the diversion here.] Gregory smiled wryly. The only reason this double 1v1 arrangement was superior to a 2v2 was because of Taison's amazing skill in 1v1. Everything was riding on Taison's ability to beat Lars.

In other words, Gregory's only job here was to keep Yuel at bay while Taison was doing his thing. Despite playing Solo this game, Gregory yet again ended up as being nothing more than Taison's Support. Yet again, Taison was overshadowing Gregory.

[It sucks, but I'll take it.] Gregory unleashed his frustration by slashing Yuel. Even though he was just a diversion, even though he was just the backup - he wanted to win this damn fight! This was the best opportunity he'll ever get to kick down these two losers from their high horses! Yuel and Lars won't be getting into the first string this year!

[Go, Tai!] Gregory cheered silently. [Wreck Lars while I jail Yuel for the rest of the day. You gotta do it!]

[Ugh, I can't pass through!] Yuel maneuvered left and right to no avail.

Gregory's blocking was surprisingly tight. Every time Yuel moved in one direction, Gregory covered the area right away with his big body. This particular passage was so narrow that Vanguard's big armor almost covered half of it. So, Yuel had to find a way to squeeze through a tiny opening and Gregory wasn't making this easy.

What's worse, Gregory delivered one blow after another while blocking the passage. Each individual attack didn't deal that damage because Gregory and Yuel both had tanky builds, but the damage accumulated over time. If this goes on, Yuel will eventually be forced into a dangerous situation.

[He's really good at this,] Yuel frowned. [It's like he practiced this specific type of marking.]

If Gregory had been playing any other class, then passing through would have been a simple matter of using Geyser Eruption to knock him up and dash through underneath him. However, Vanguard's Immovable Object made him immune to such displacement CC. Gregory was literally immovable right now.

Yuel could retreat and reach Lars through an alternative route, but that'd take too long. Not to mention, it'd mean abandoning Lars in a 1v2 situation. That was a surefire way to lose this fight.

So, neither approach was viable. Passing through Gregory seemed hopeless and going around was too risky. It was impossible to reach Lars like that!

[Kek, you mad?] Gregory snickered as he moved from side to side to block Yuel.

This job was a piece of cake with how much of a fatty Vanguard was. Gregory just had to keep his eyes on Yuel's movements and match his own movements. He was doing no more than stalling, but it actually felt great. Just imagining Yuel's angry expression was hella satisfying.

[Kek, guess it wasn't such a bad idea to practice all this shit after all.] Gregory thought back on how much he ranted during training. Howard came up with this silly training routine about "marking" enemy players and put Gregory through that shit.

At the time, it was nothing than a giant pain in the ass. It was legit the most boring training ever. Gregory had to spend an hour, sometimes more, on just moving back and forth to block the enemy's route and to bodyblock attacks. It was like training to become a professional punching bag; the lamest shit ever.

Nevertheless, Howard insisted this was an area Gregory severely lacked in, so Gregory had to polish it for the upcoming match. So, already back then, Howard must have foreseen that Gregory will be playing defense like this. Dude was legit an ESPer, no doubts about it.

That training was a huge pain back then, but right now Gregory was glad. Messing around with Yuel like this was topkek shenanigans. Not to mention, on top of blocking the path, Gregory has been landing hits, so Yuel has been gradually losing HP. It'd take like twenty years to actually drop Yuel to low HP, but just being able to repeatedly cut that mofo was all Gregory needed. Right now, Gregory had the upper hand! He was the stronger player!

"Lars!" Yuel called out. "Can you get any closer to me? We have to regroup!"

"Sorry, no dice," Lars answered. "Taison is totally locking me down."

"What about leaping over here?"

"Can't do, dude. I leaped away to dodge GG's stomp."

"Damn..." Yuel clicked his tongue. Indeed, Lars's Angelic Grace was on cooldown right now. The situation was rough.

While Yuel was struggling to break through Gregory, Lars was locked in an intense fight with Taison. They dashed all over the area while firing at each other.

[Yo, dude is strong as ever!] Lars dodged one bat with a roll, but another bat crashed into him during the recovery. This stuff was savage! Taison was on point right now. This gonna be a good fight!

That hit during the roll recovery was cool stuff, but Lars was no pushover himself. The next time Taison dodged with a roll, Lars fired a follow-up shot while Taison was recovering. Payback, yo!

Once any marksman class hit the late-game, their attack speed became so sick that dodge-rolls almost became pointless. Like, it wasn't easy to predict the entire roll's route and fire ahead of time at the right spot, but Lars and Taison were above such limitations. They were real duelists!

[Khaha, you piece of shit!] Taison laughed. [Think you're some hot shit, eh?] Taison received a laser beam in the face right as he recovered from his roll but he didn't waste any time and fired right back! [Counter hit, bitch! Ain't nobody hitting The Great Taison without getting burned in return!]

The counter shot landed perfectly. This fight was tight!

[I can do this shit!] Taison grinned. Even though there was some distracting shit going on nearby between Gregory and Yuel, Taison managed to concentrate on his 1v1 with Lars and his performance was hella smooth. All that boring "mental training" nonsense was actually paying off!

Throughout the past week, Howard has been making Taison go through some shit he called "mental training". Basically, Taison just had to stand there and imagine stuff. In order words, most boring shit ever.

Apparently, the idea was to help Taison filter out the noise around him. Basically, Taison had to imagine that none of the shit around actually mattered. Only Taison and his opponent existed in the entire universe. The rest of the world was pure blackness and totally silent.

Yeah, like hell that was possible to do. Every time Taison started concentrating on Howard as the opponent during training, somebody just had to go ahead pop a loud skill nearby. That shit was distracting as hell and Taison always had to check what the actual heck just happened.

In the brief moment Taison took his eyes off his opponent, Howard landed an easy shot on him. Taison didn't even notice that thing coming.

[Well damn, maybe this training is kinda important after all.] That's what Taison realized after getting hit time and again by lame shots like that. There was no reason that kind of stuff should work on him.

When it was a 1v1, it was a 1v1. Nothing more and nothing less. Most of the time, Taison had no reason to take his eyes off his opponent during a fight. So what if somebody cast a loud spell nearby? It probably had nothing to do with Taison at the moment. His job was to wreck the opponent in front of him.

So, Taison took the "mental training" seriously. Well, kinda. He almost fell asleep every now and then because half the training was about blocking out everything around him. And, what was the easiest way to filter out his surroundings? Just gotta close his eyes and take a good long nap, khaha.

A single week wasn't enough to master this mental filter thing, but Taison got a little better at it. When he concentrated hard enough, he could kinda ignore the irrelevant stuff around him. The game also had an option to lower the audio sensitivity to pick up less noise from afar, so Taison dialed up that shit up to eleven.

Thanks to all that, Taison could now fight Lars in a pure 1v1! Whatever shit was going down between Gregory and Yuel nearby didn't matter in the slightest. Taison maintained 100% focus on the opponent in front of him. So, this was just a normal 1v1 and Taison gonna win this shit!

"Let's goooo!" Taison fired. His bat missed the target, but no big deal. He just sidestepped Lar's counter-attack and fired again! Bullseye! This one was a hit. Taison was in the zone, yo! Full focus on the 1v1! He got this one in the bag.

[Geh, not bad!] Lars finched as a bat rammed into him like a bullet. Vampire's basic attacks looked so silly once they reached high attack speed. It's like dude was firing bats from a freakin' machine gun.

[But, my attacks are still faster!] Lars fired a laser beam and grazed Taison's shoulder. Taison's sidestep was late by like a nanosecond, but a hit was a hit.

The fight was rough, as expected from a 1v1 against Taison. Nevertheless, with this late-game Seraph, Lars could do it. [You killed me enough times today, dude. This time, I'mma win! And, it gonna be fair and square! Let's goooooooooo!]

After the laser beam hit Taison, six robotic arms stretched from Lars's back. Six Wings was on! When a marksman's late-game attack speed didn't cut it, Seraph got ya covered with even faster attacks! Six shots in a row with zero reload time. Lars gonna bombard the heck outta that dude!

[Ha! You wish!] Taison sidestepped the first shot like a boss. But, against Lars's accuracy, there was no way in hell to dodge the following shot which came out a split millisecond later. That's why: Coffin Slumber!

A coffin popped out of thin air behind Taison and sucked him inside. Lars's laser beam struck home, but it hit the coffin instead of Taison himself. Khaha, ez defense!

[Damn. Every. Single. Time.] Lars grumped as he unleashed his fast shots at the coffin. The attacks didn't do any damage, but after three hits they destroyed the coffin and forced Taison back in the open.

Lars unleashed the two remaining shots and both landed perfectly despite Taison's attempts to dodge. Taison avoided getting utterly wrecked and went on the offensive again! [Yeah baby, let's go!]

[Geh...!] Lars flinched as two bats hit him in a row. Taison attacked like a beast. Dude moved around from side to side while firing nonstop! Lars did the same, but he couldn't keep up. [What gives!? Why he feels faster!?]

While Lars was constantly going back and forth between dodging and attacking, Taison somehow combined both into one. Dude moved and attacked at the same time, so he both dodged shots and landed shots at the same time. It was some crazy shenanigans!

There shouldn't have been much difference between their combat skills, yet Taison was half a step faster. No, not even half a step. It was like half of a quarter of a step or something. Yet, this small difference was enough to gradually overwhelm Lars.

[Damn, I can't win like this!] Lars gritted his teeth. In this 1v1, Taison was stronger. As hard as Lars wanted to deny that - it was a fact.

Lars could have put on an even fight if he was using a Trickshooter or a Gunslinger, but not with Seraph. It was a class he only played from time to time, so it was nowhere near the level of his main classes. Thus, he lacked the necessary mastery to fight Taison on even ground here. Dang it!

"I-I think I'm in a tight spot," Lars gulped.

"You should've regrouped with me while he was in the coffin," Yuel criticized. This was partially his fault because he was too busy with Gregory at the time, so he failed to make the call in time. They missed a great opportunity to turn this situation around.

The situation was turning from bad to worse by the moment. They had to regroup no matter what. But, how!?

Lars's Angelic Grace was still on cooldown, so he couldn't leap over here. His Divine Messenger was on cooldown too, so that's all Lars's mobility options gone right there.

There was the option of making Lars try busting his way through Gregory, but it won't be easy. Taison will surely use that opportunity to assault Lars from behind, so Lars will likely die trying. It was already hard enough for him to stay alive in a straightforward 1v1, so if he turns his back to his opponent... Yeah, not the brightest idea.

Should they just retreat for good? This has become an unfavorable situation, so a tactical retreat wasn't unreasonable. But, at the same time, this was a rare opportunity to score kills and thin out the enemy's defenses. Not to mention, if they retreat now, they'll be giving up on the strong momentum they have been maintaining so far. They were so close to pushing this game all the way to victory, they couldn't stop here!

"Okay, listen," Yuel said. "Next time you get Six Wings, your ult should already be out of cooldown. So, fly out of there and regroup with me. For now, this is the most I can do to help you out."

Yuel cast Rainstorm, the Overflow version of Rainfall. This was almost a waste of an ult, but it was the only support Yuel could provide in this situation.

Rain clouds formed around the entire area and heavy rain poured. The rain reduced the attack speed and movement speed of all the opponents in the area, which should give Lars an edge in the 1v1. On top of that, it may even allow Yuel to finally slip past Gregory.

As the entire area was covered in rain, the unconventional 2v2 was heading toward its climax.