Baited Pull

Rook, AbsoluteChallenger, and Merlin opened a joint attack in Mid. It was an unusually early attack for Cato.

[It looks like he's more than just a "defense maniac" nowadays.] Yuel thought. [Is he doing this because the Lumimancer is here and he doesn't want to put the guy's power build to waste? Honestly, I'm not sure how Cato even allows this inefficient build in his team, but I assume he has his reasons. Either that, or he has no control over it, just like me and Luke's memes.]

AbsoluteChallenger and AbsoluteWinner came across as two "rogues" within the Leopards' ranks. While everybody else on the team strongly preferred defense, these two promoted offense at every opportunity.

Therefore, considering Challenger was involved, it was safe to assume this push wasn't just for show. These guys had every intention to see it through.

As such, Yuel and Kai had no choice but to backpedal.

"Damn, where did their Jungler even come from?" Kai cursed. "I thought my wards were enough to catch him."

"If I had to guess, he probably studied the positions of your wards every time he approached the lane. So, he probably mapped out most of them by now."

"You serious? That sounds like cheating. Can Jungler players really figure out ward positions that easily?"

"Anybody can do it if they're methodical enough," Yuel explained. "I also snoop around for wards when I play Jungler, and I base many of my rotations around what I find."

"And, you actually manage to memorize all these locations and stuff?"

"Using the mini-map helps a lot with that."

"Oh, right. You always fill those out, don't you?"

Even in this very game, there were already multiple ward icons on Kai's mini-map, but they weren't placed there by her. It was Yuel who decorated his mini-map with these symbols and then shared them with the entire team.

But, since Yuel wasn't the Jungler this game, he couldn't possibly discover wards across the entire map. So, as expected, most of the icons he added were near Bot Lane. And, there were barely any other icons placed anywhere else on the mini-map.

"I've actually spent the past few weeks teaching the importance of this to Nia," Yuel said. "But, it looks like she hasn't been placing too many ward icons this game. Either that, or she's forgetting to share them. Sigh."

"Well, not everybody is a chess nerd like you and Rook, you know?"

"I agree that having good memory helps a lot with this, but it's not everything. With enough practice, anybody can get used to this detective work. And, Nia actually showed a lot of promise in that regard."

Nia had this oddly sharp game sense when it came to jungling. She had a very good intuition for when the enemies were aware of her position, which helped her greatly in deducing when was the exact moment she was spotted by an enemy ward.

But, she didn't put this skill to much use in this game. Yuel nudged the girl about this a few times throughout the game, but the sleepyhead only shared a handful of ward locations thus far. It was really unfortunate.

[On the other hand, Cato seems to be doing his detective work just fine.] Yuel thought. [And, he got many strong theory players on the team, so I'm sure they're helping him with that as much as they can.]

Thanks to that, Cato managed to sneak into Mid undetected. And now, together with Challenger and Merlin, they formed a dangerous trio.

Admittedly, they only had three injured bowmen in their army, so their push won't hold for too long once it enters the tower area. Nonetheless, it seemed they were determined to make the most of it.

[Are they planning to clear our the next wave as well with this manpower?] Yuel frowned.

On its own, the current push wasn't too lethal. Even if Yuel and Kai retreat and do nothing, the Mid Turret won't lose more than 20% HP. Sure, that'd be an unfortunate loss, but it wasn't worth dying to prevent this from happening.

The real problem was the momentum such a push could generate. If this trio doesn't run into any walls, they might take it as a sign that they can keep pushing nonstop. That was the worst-case scenario that Yuel had to prevent at any cost.

The pushers already invaded deep into Kai's territory, so they were in a position to clear the next minion wave swiftly, without the minions even reaching the center of the lane. If that happens, the enemy's next push will be accompanied by a full healthy squadron. That'll be no joke. If not stopped in time, that kind of push will allow the enemy to take down the entire Mid Turret in one fell swoop.

[But, will Cato really go for such an aggressive play?] That didn't sit right with the image Yuel had of Cato's playstyle, but neither did the current push that was undeniably happening in front of Yuel's very eyes. Ultimately, there was no telling for sure what Cato was really thinking here.

"So, do we wait this one out?" Kai asked once they retreated to the back of the tower area.

"Well, we can't attack them, that's for sure. For now, we just have to minimize the damage on the tower and see what they do next."

"I have a feeling these bastards gonna keep pushing like this into the next wave."

"You think so, too?" Yuel frowned. [If I put aside the fact I'm dealing with Cato's team here, then continuing this push into the next wave sounds incredibly reasonable, so much that even Kai thinks so. After all, it'd be a waste for them to push like this with three people if they weren't planning to reap some big rewards.]

At the very least, Yuel and Kai needed a counter plan in case the push does indeed continue into the next wave. However, there wasn't much they could do here by themselves. In other words, they needed a third a player to help them out here.

[Question is, who?] Yuel glanced at the mini-map. [Vincent and Lars are both be busy in their respective lanes. So, that only leaves Nia.]

In a way, it was only fitting. The enemy Mid Laner was borrowing the help of the Support and the Jungler, so Kai could counterplay by doing the exact same thing.

[But, is this really a good idea?] Yuel frowned. [This is an important play, but Nia hasn't been doing so hot this game.]

Even now, that sleepyhead was playing like a drunk. Her rotations were unstable and she sometimes found herself in the middle of nowhere, blankly staring at her surroundings in confusion.

The gank attempts on Top were supposed to help wake her up, but Cato cut them off before they even had the chance to start. In the end, these disappointing attempts seemed to have the opposite effect of further increasing Nia's sleepiness.

All in all, Nia was a very unreliable Jungler at the moment. Entrusting her with about anything would be a gamble.

[Do I take this risk? In this kind of situation?] Yuel clenched his mouse. It felt like he was holding the fate of the entire match in his hand right now.

[We're almost in the mid-game and that girl is still half asleep. At this rate, the mid-game will practically be like a 4v5 at all times. So, we really need the girl to wake up already, or else we don't stand a chance.]

The current dangerous situation might as well be the last chance to wake up Nia before the mid-game. Integrating her into this delicate situation harbored many risks, but the payoff will be huge if everything goes well.

"Nia, please rotate to Mid," Yuel requested. "The enemies here are probably planning to keep pushing into the next wave as well, so use this opportunity to sneak up to them and get a kill, preferably on the Aeromancer."

"... hm? Ok." Nia responded in a sleepy voice that didn't inspire much confidence. Was she really going to be okay...?

"Damn, she sounds like a zombie," Kai said. "Am I the only one cornered about this idea?"

"No, that makes two of us." Yuel smiled wryly. "But, we don't have much choice, do we? She's the only one who can help us out."

"We can always help ourselves. I mean, you weren't planning to stand here like a scarecrow while these guys are pushing, right?"

"Of course not," Yuel said. "I just wanted to be ready in case we fail to chase them away by ourselves."

"Then, let's make sure we don't fail. Easy, right?"

"Yeah sure, very easy." Yuel rolled his eyes.

While they were discussing the details, the enemy forces arrived. Three enemy bowmen invaded the tower area, followed by three pushers.

The confident invaders completely ignored the dangers of the situation. They were determined to knock down the tower at any cost.

But, Yuel and Kai had no intention of letting this bull rush slide. The enemies were taking a huge risk and they had to pay for it accordingly.

[Hmm. In theory, Merlin is the best target to pull.] Yuel reasoned as he directed the aim of his Nature's Grasp at the Aeromancer. [He's the only one here without any escape tools whatsoever, so he's dead for sure if I can just pull him in.]

A Lionfolk had the option of leaping out of the area with Majestic Leap, whereas a Lumimancer could blink away with Flash. Only the Aeromancer had no access to any such escape tools.

[It's odd, though. I would've expected him to be a little more cautious than this.]

Merlin positioned himself in the back, as he should, but he was still just barely within the range of Nature's Grasp. Yuel could easily reach the guy with the skillshot by moving just a little forward.

To his credit, Merlin moved from side to side as he was shooting. This implied he was aware of his status as an inviting target for Nature's Grasp. And yet, he didn't go the extra mile of completely stepping out of its range. Why?

[Is he just overextending by mistake? That's a common mistake during quick pushes like this, but somehow I don't see Merlin committing such a basic mistake.]

Alas, Yuel didn't have the time to solve mysteries like that. He had to act. Now. The situation was only growing grimmer by the moment.

The enemy bowmen barraged the tower hard despite Kai shooting them down one by one. Without Bouncy Bomb, she had no access to any burst damage other than her ult, so she had to take the minions down with her subpar basic attacks.

Meanwhile, the enemy trio assaulted the Mid Turret without mercy. The HP bar of the tower plummeted at lightning speed, and it couldn't even retaliate against the main offenders because it had to clear out the minions first.

There was only one efficient way to flip this situation on its head in an instant, and it was to pull Merlin in. From point-blank, Yuel and Kai will make quick work of the guy, they even already discussed the details ahead of time.

In conclusion, that was unquestionably the winning move for them in this situation. So, even if it was some sort of trap, there was pretty much no other choice.

[Here goes!] Yuel waited for the right moment and shot long extending branches toward Merlin!

It was a quick shot, but it also had to travel quite the distance. Not to mention, the enemy found it extremely predictable.

[So, you fell for it.] Matthew had been waiting for this.

He set himself up as an inviting target on purpose, knowing all too well that he was the only one in the group without a convenient escape tool. So, if Chessmaster was going to pull anybody, the guy would surely be tempted to go after Matthew.

Knowing all that, why give the enemy what they wanted? It was to make them more predictable.

Rather than worrying about "when" and "how" Chessmaster will unleash his deadly skillshot, it was easier to just become the "best target" and make Chessmaster come after him right away.

[It's a lot easier to dodge stuff when you know they're coming. At least, that's how it should be...]

Matthew used Dodge Roll in response to the incoming wood branches, yet they grabbed him nonetheless. His response was just a heartbeat too late.

"Oh, I messed up," Matthew reported as the branches dragged him deep into enemy territory. Despite the critical situation, his calm tone made it sound like this was somebody's else problem.

"Damn, my guy!" Ronald was the first to panic. "This is some serious shit! We gotta save him!"

"I had the feeling this bait won't work out well for you." Cato sighed. "Seriously, you're not a mechanical beast, how many times do you need to be reminded of that?"

"Tch, I almost had it." Matthew pouted. "He just caught me at a bad time, right when I was shooting the tower. He must've aimed for that."

"I won't be surprised if he did," Cato agreed. "High-level Druid players always wait for that brief moment of vulnerability."

"Wait, why are you both so chill about this!?" Ronald was having a stroke. "Dude is getting pulled to his death! We gotta save him!"

"Nah. It'll be fine, right?"

"Yeah, no problem," Matthew said. [For the better or the worse, I was prepared for this possibility.]

Despite how much he would have liked to be a mechanical god who could pull off split-second baits like this on the fly, unfortunately, his reaction speed wasn't up to par. As such, he had to compensate for his lack of skill with cunning. That's how Esmeralda's teachings went on the topic:

["If you can't overpower your opponent, then be smarter, craftier than them. Make them think they control the fight, then pull the rug from under them! And, make sure they hit their pretty little heads as hard as possible on their way down~"]

Unfortunately, this wasn't the kind of situation in which Matthew could actually make his enemies "hit their heads", so to speak. He couldn't think of a way to turn this pull into something that'll screw over his opponents.

Nonetheless, the rest of Esmeralda's creed applied to this situation. Matthew was going to pull a fast one on that duo, right as they became convinced that they won the fight.

"Okay!" Kai threw a bomb at the big fish Yuel reeled in. His job was to deliver the raw fish, whereas Kai's role was to cut the fish into sashimi!

The Aeromancer was the most convenient target of the bunch because he had no escape tools. It meant Kai could take her sweet time decorating the guy with Sticky Bombs before blowing him up. This was going to be a kill for sure!

And so, Kai attached one Sticky Bomb to the target, and then another, and then- WHISH! Her next bomb flew through empty air, without hitting anything.

Her target vanished into thin air...