Classmancers - A MOBA Esport Story 36 Strong, But Familiar

"Don't worry," Howard rea.s.sured. "We'll turn things around next game. You guys focus on your matches and make sure you don't blow them."

Despite his words, there was a reason for concern. If somebody of ComboBreaker's caliber only made it to second string in the Leopards, there's no telling what monsters inhibited the first string. Even if Howard's team pick themselves up and do better in the upcoming matches, it's hard to imagine anything better than a 3-2 or a 2-3 score. And, if things were to come down to the wire like this, the performance of the second string just might decide the overall winner of the scrimmage.

For starters, the second string had to win at least one more match. That'll ensure they won't become a burden for the first string, but that's just the bare minimum. Yuel wanted to go at least 4-1 to support the first string. A 4-1 in the second string would grant StormBlitz victory even if the first string were to go 2-3.

Was a 4-1 possible against such a strong team? They had to make it happen somehow. With Yuel now promoted to being the team's shot-caller, the responsibility for making that possible laid with him.

After a 10 minutes break, the scrimmage resumed for the second round. First, there's the drafting phase to deal with. Along with inheriting the shot-caller role, Yuel also was put in charge of the drafting. He already strategized a lot with Gilbert during the previous drafting, but this time he had the final say. That is, provided the whole team wasn't against his decisions...

"We really need to get that Pyromancer out of the picture." Gilbert said.

"Yeah," Trever nodded. "Her combos are such a pain in the a.s.s."

"Agreed," Dan said. "It's bad news when the only way we can beat a player is by sacrificing one of ours."

"Lol." Roi chuckled. "If we take her out, how you gonna use your secret kamikaze technique?"

It was just the beginning of the drafting phase, but the whole team already agreed on the idea of banning Pyromancer. Yes, the whole team wanted that... expect for Yuel.

There's no denying Breaker piloted her Combo Pyromancer exceptionally well, she was the playmaker for the Leopards. Much of the Leopards' momentum was gained thanks to Breaker's kills, so she was the biggest threat. Nonetheless, Yuel was against banning the Pyromancer.

"I... I think we should leave the Pyromancer be." Yuel gulped. His body shook and he felt sweat forming on his forehead, but he refused to stay quiet. He was entrusted with the shot-caller and drafter roles, so he had to make his stance clear. E-Even if it meant objecting against a whole team of uppercla.s.smen.. Gulp.

"You serious?" Trever c.o.c.ked his head. "You wanna let her get away with her combo shenanigans like that?"

"Yeah, I also don't see the point." Gilbert joined in. "Banning exists precisely for this sort of situations. Judging by how well she played, there's no way Pyro isn't her best cla.s.s."

"It may be her best cla.s.s, but it's a cla.s.s we're already saw her play." Yuel argued. "If we ban Pyro, we'll force her to play something new and we'll have to study her from scratch again. Combo or not, I'm sure there are other cla.s.ses she can play just as well. So, banning Pyro won't necessarily change much for her. It'll only put us in the dark about what she'll be playing this time around."

"Hmm." Gilbert pondered. "So, you rather face something familiar even if it's strong? An interesting approach. You sound confident, I a.s.sume you know how to counter her?"

"Yes, of course." Yuel nodded. "Now that I learned how she plays Pyro, there are many ways to counter her. Last time, she caught us off guard by cloaking Spellbook of Doom and that generated huge momentum for her team,. But, now that we know what to expect, it won't happen again."

"Heh, that's some b.a.l.l.s, kid!" Trever laughed and smacked Yuel on the back. "What a man! I like it!"

"Ugh, thanks..." Yuel ma.s.saged his broken back.

"Fine, let's try it." Gilbert nodded. "You managed to get us a win last time, so it's clear you figured them out pretty well. Worst case, we'll learn we can't handle her Pyro and adapt accordingly next time."

"Challenging her head on? Lol, that's great!" Roi grinned. "I still gotta pay her back for that nasty breaking ball she threw at the end there. This time I'mma hit all her pitches!"

"I can't believe we're really doing this." Dan sighed. "Well, if you ever need help dealing with her, just call Dan Kamikaze Co.."

Thanks to Trever and Gilbert's approval, the rest of the team went along with Yuel's decision. Phew. He felt stiff like a statue the whole time he fought for it, but now he could finally breathe in relief.

Though, new pressure dropped on his shoulders instead: after saying so much, he had to prove he could really counter the Combo Pyromancer. But, it should be fine. It had to be. Now, that they were aware of the Combo Pyromancer ahead of time, there were countless ways to prepare. Everything was going to be fine, he was going to lead this team to yet another victory with his shot calls.

"Let's ban their Warlock then." Trever suggested. "The guy is annoying as h.e.l.l with that hybrid build of his."

"Yeah, I'd rather not deal with him if possible." Dan nodded. "He always messes up our formation during team fights."

"Oh, definitely!" Roi added. "Get dat boi outta the picture pls."

"Actually, I disagree on that one." This time, it was Gilbert's turn to object. "He gave us some trouble in team fights, but he didn't strike me as a particularly component Warlock. He made some good decisions, but he didn't pilot his Warlock very skillfully."

"I agree with Gilbert." Yuel nodded. "Freezer plays his Warlock very defensively, even too defensively. There are countless ways we can exploit that. Not to mention, if he builds Hybrid Warlock again, their Pyromancer will have no choice but to play aggressively, to compensate for the lack of damage coming from MId. So, we'll have even more ways to punish her."

"I didn't even think that far." Gilbert admitted. "You really like getting deep into your enemy's head, huh. Anyway, I second everything he said. That Warlock plays too defensively, even during laning phase. I took advantage of that a lot last game, so I'll gladly do that again."

"Well," Trever shrugged "If the two smart guys agree, I got nothing to say."

The rest nodded in agreement. As long Trever and Gilbert approved of something, the rest approved as well. That was the power of the captain and vice-captain. Yuel was also technically a.s.signed as a vice-captain, but as a freshman he was clearly below Gilbert in everybody's minds. He hadn't earned their full trust, not yet anyway. He was definitely going to change their perception by the end of this scrimmage by proving himself via his shot-calling.

The whole discussion about Breaker and Freezer being counterable seeded the feeling the Leopards weren't that scary. Yes, they dominated throughout most of the previous game, but most of the credit went to Breaker and her unexpected combo playstyle. As long as they kept the threat of her comob in mind, they had a decent chance of winning. The moral was at an all time high.

Apparently, the sentiment on the other team was the same. Even though the Leopards lost, they didn't feel inferior to StormBliz. They proved that by not banning any cla.s.ses StormBlitz used last match, except for Druid. Between setting up an easy kill on Freezer and stealing victory right out of Breaker's hands, it seemed the enemy didn't appreciate the way Yuel played Druid. Or, maybe it was just out of spite, who knew.

Either way, it didn't matter to him. Thanks to the enemy wasting a ban on Druid, Yuel was allowed to pick Paladin, the secret tech he had his eyes on. With the silence effect of Justice Strike, he was going to shut down the Combo Pyromancer.

Once drafting ended, the match began.

The early game started about the same as last time. Without Spellbook of Doom, Breaker didn't have access to her combo yet, so she played defensively. She went head-to-head with Trever a couple of times, but she never overextended enough to be punished. It didn't help she was Trever's match in term of mechanical skill, which allowed to her to stand her ground even when he aggressed on her first.

This was the second time Yuel played the early game against her, yet he couldn't find an opportunity to break through her defense. He tried some ideas, like using a low HP Trever as bait, but she refused to bite. Same as with her polished combo plays, her early game defense was airtight, no doubt the fruit of much practice.

As a combo player, Breaker clearly understood the importance of the early game for her. It was alright for a combo played to not achieve much during the early game, so long as she didn't fall behind. For a combo player, falling behind was the worst nightmare. It meant they might not be able to burst down enemies fast enough, which was the whole point of playing combo in the first place.

Therefore, her top priority during the early game was to stall until mid game. Once she gets her hands on Spellbook of Doom, the party will begin for real. Scoring a couple of kills would quickly make up for a mediocre early game.

Yuel understood all of that, yet he failed to interfere with Breaker's game plan. It was regrettable, but there's no choice but to wait until the mid game. Once she turns more aggressive, she'd undoubtedly show some weakness.

The teams were mostly matched during the early game, just like last game. Roi fought the enemy Top Laner on equal footing, both trying to aggressively knock the other out without much success. Dan and the enemy Jungler delivered about the same quality of ganks and support, so neither side gained the upper hand from that.

Just like last game, the only one who gained substantial lane advantage was Gilbert. His lane opponent, Freezer, went for a Hybrid Warlock build again and played too pa.s.sively for a Mid Laner, trying his best to bait Gilbert into overextending. However, Gilbert was too rational of a player to fall for that. Instead of pus.h.i.+ng harder, he capitalized on the enemy's pa.s.siveness and relied on his lane advantage to safely leave the lane.

While Freezer was busy clearing the remaining minions, Gilbert farmed jungle camps or ganked other lanes. He was even bolder than last game with these actions, since now he knew how pa.s.sive of a player Freezer was. To better prepare for mid game, where the game will start for real, he had to gain as much advantage as possible from exploiting Freezer's weaknesses.

At some point, Freezer realized his fault and tried playing more aggressively, to pressure Gilbert into staying in lane. However, that clearly wasn't his forte. Most such attempts ended with Gilbert turning the tables on Freezer and chasing him out of the lane.

All in all, the favors were in StormBlitz's favor so far. But, that's also how things went in the first game, until Breaker single-handedly swung the momentum in her team's favor. The fast-approaching mid game will be the decisive point, which will prove whether allowing Breaker play Pyromancer was the right call. Yuel's skill will be tested there.

"Their Pyro most likely got Spellbook, so be careful." Yuel warned after calculating the enemy's gold in his head. Spellbook of Doom didn't show up in Breaker's inventory yet, but it was most likely cloaked for the right moment, just like last game.

"Whoa, she's totally going for me!" Trever exclaimed amidst a heated duel with Breaker. It's the first time Breaker went all out in a fight, disregarding her retreat options. It was a sign Spellbook of Doom was about to come into action.

Trever and Breaker were normally evenly matched in combat, but with her combo added to the mix - she was going to destroy him! Yuel was out of the lane, so it's the perfect opportunity for Breaker to finish Trever off... or so she probably thought.

In truth, Yuel was right there, waiting behind a jungle wall for this very moment. He knew Breaker wouldn't miss such a golden opportunity, she always seized an opportunity when she saw one. Therefore, he created one such fake opportunity for her, baiting her into offense. A slight shudder ran through him as he realized this tactic was probably something he adopted from Ellen. Ugh.

After Breaker cast Pillar of Fire, Spellbook of Doom finally showed up in her inventory. It was confirmed: she was going to finish Trever with her combo, right here and now. Everything was going to be settled in a second, that's how fast combo plays were.

Just as Breaker was about to follow up with Flame Wave, Yuel blinked through the wall and used Justice Strike. A white blade formed above Breaker's head, ready to come down cras.h.i.+ng.

"Wha!?" Jennifer exclaimed. Where did that Paladin come from!? Didn't he rotate to Mid!? c.r.a.p! Craaaap! There's no time to think! She had to dodge! Being silenced by Justice Strike right now would be the end of her!

She rolled the h.e.l.l outta there, as far away as possible from the Paladin. But, she still kept the enemy Ranger within range. Huh! They thought this much would scare her away? No freaking chance! She was gonna finish-

"Agh! s.h.i.+t!" She cursed. Didn't she just dodge Justice Strike? The white blade was right above her head a moment ago and she rolled away. But, it hit her anyway! Did that Paladin cancel and retarget it? That d.a.m.n scrub! What's with this reaction speed!?

[Phew, this was rough.] Yuel sighd in relief when his Justice Strike connected. In truth, he didn't have full confidence in this move, considering he didn't have the necessary reaction speed for these situations. The only reason it succeeded was because he predicted where Breaker was going to roll, before even he started this gank.

There weren't that many good dodge roll options for Breaker if she wanted to continue her a.s.sault on Trever. She had to roll away from Yuel, while keeping Trever within her range. There weren't many spots that granted both these benefits, so it wasn't hard to narrow down Breaker's position post the dodge roll.

After spooking Breaker by forming a white blade above her head, Yuel immediately canceled Justice Strike. Then, he cast it anew, targeting the spot where he predicted Breaker would be after the roll. The blade crashed right on her head.

Too bad for her. If she gave up on killing Trever and retreated, she would had thwarted Yuel's plan and would had safely gotten away. But, Yuel knew she was a confident, perhaps overconfident, senior. There's no way she'd run in this situation, not after starting her combo and getting one move away from scoring a kill. Because of that - she lost.

"Finish her off." Yuel said.

"No need to tell me twice!" Trever didn't waste any time charging at the silenced Pyromancer. He pinned her to the ground with his wolf, then barraged her to death.

『An enemy has been killed!』

"h.e.l.l yeah! We did it!" Trever smacked Yuel on the back. "Good play, kid!"

"Ugh, thanks." Yuel put on a pained smile while ma.s.saging his back. This was a good start, it was the exact opposite of how things went last game. Last time, Trever was instantly eliminated by Breaker's combo, but this time they defeated her out instead. StormBlitz gained momentum first!

Continuing from this successful play, Yuel and Trever rotated to Mid to gank Freezer. That's exactly how Breaker played last time after killing Trever, so they aimed to generate the same amount of momentum with a double kill.

Alas, Freezer was a tough nut to crack. He was a defensive player through and through, so they failed to take him by surprise. After stalling them for a while, Freezer judged he had no chance of holding the lane much longer without sacrificing his life, so he retreated to base. His retreat left the lane undefended, but at least it prevented StormBlitz from gaining even more momentum with a second kill.

Making the most out of the situation, Trever and Gilbert aggressively attacked the unprotected Mid Turret. It went all the way down to 20% before the enemy Jungler appeared to defend the lane. One kill + 80% damage on Mid Turret, not shabby. Not as impressive as Breaker's momentum from last game, but they definitely gained the upper hand here.

The match continued in a similar fas.h.i.+on, with Yuel exploiting the weaknesses and patterns he disocvered last match. In particular, he focused on shutting down Breaker at every opportunity he had, preventing her from s...o...b..lling. The silence from Justice Strike was deadly against a combo player who had to rely on perfect timing, positioning and execution.

Despite all that, the match wasn't exactly what one would call "easy". StormBlitz gained advantage all across the board, but every play they made was stressful. Just one mistake and the tides would turn around, that's how everybody felt.

"We got them this time, guys!"

"Easiest game of my life, lol."

Trever and Roi were loud, probably trying to rea.s.sure the team and perhaps rea.s.sure themselves as well. Some rea.s.surance didn't hurt, considering how the game progressed. No matter how well Yuel countered Breaker, she found ways score kills. No matter how much Gilbert exploited Freezer's pa.s.siveness during the laning phase, Freezer's hybrid build swung team fights hard during mid game.

Yes, StormBlitz were winning, but it wasn't a walk in the park. As much as a single misplay could lead to devastating results against enemies like the Leopards, especially since most of them were most likely playing their strongest cla.s.ses. Yuel allowed Breaker and Freezer to pick their Combo Pyromancer and Hybrid Warlock, knowing all too well what they were capable of. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but be amazed by the enemy's fort.i.tude. Even though he figured most of their playstyles, patterns and team strategies - he couldn't shut them down. They persisted, fighting hard till the bitter end.

Both teams refused to yield, this was the tenacity expected of the compet.i.tive scene. This wasn't just another Ranked match where losing merely cost the players some points. This game was a simulation of a real tournament match, where a single defeat could mean immediate elimination.

Even though both teams were second strings - this match was great! Yuel wanted to deconstruct them more! To corner them more! Playing full force against such high caliber opponents was something he couldn't get anywhere else! He could only imagine how amazing the Leopards' first string was and he so wanted to play them right now!

[Stop, focus. ]Yuel pinched his cheek. StormBlitz's current advantage made him lax, too lax. This match wasn't over yet. Nothing was decided until the very end, so he couldn't let his guard down for even a moment.

21 minutes into the match, StormBlitz managed to kill four out of five enemies. Before the enemy team resp.a.w.ned, StormBlitz stormed the Overlord and got his buff. From this position, they threatened checkmate in a couple of moves. They had super minions sp.a.w.ning in both Mid and Top, so the game was as good as settled.

Yet, even in this obvious losing position, the Leopards didn't show any signs of giving up. Well, maybe except for Freezer, who was easily picked off right as the decisive team fight broke out, Thanks to that, the enemy lost their most valuable team-fighting a.s.set right before the game's most critical moment.

"Would you mind not standing there like a tree!?" Jennifer roared.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Alex shrugged. "We lost this anyway. We should just surrender." He pressed F6.

『A surrender vote has started for your team.』

『YES: 1 NO: 0』

"Wha the-!? Are you for real!?" Jennifer really ached to leap on that idiot and beat him to a pulp, until his stupid quitter mentality is fixed.

"Just admit it: we lost. Let's get this over with and try next time."

"You b.a.s.t.a.r.d...!" Jennifer gritted her teeth and shook like an atom bomb about to go off. "We never surrender! Always F7, just F7!" She followed her own advice and pressed F7, voting against the surrender. The rest of the team soon followed.

『The team refused to surrender.』

『YES: 1 NO: 4』

"Whatever. Have fun wasting your time." Alex shrugged and laid back on his chair.

"G.o.ddammit, why did Coach put this loser on our team!? He doesn't even want to be here!" Jennifer tried s.h.i.+fting her focus back to the game, but she simply couldn't quit ranting.

"Relax, Jenny." Albert said. "Alex, could you please not provoke her? Keep your pessimistic opinions to yourself, please. We're still trying to win here. You know she can't play her best when she's distracted."

"Fine, I'll just take a nap." Alex closed his eyes and crossed his arms. "Don't worry, I'll wake up by the time I resp.a.w.n... if I resp.a.w.n."

"Geh, f.u.c.k this guy." Jennifer cursed.

"I know he can be hard deal with, but please don't lose it." Albert said. "You're the captain, so you have to act like one. If you lose it, everybody will lose it."

"Yeah, you're right." Jennifer inhaled deeply, as if trying to absorb the whole room. Then, she exhaled with all her strength, as if blowing away every trace of Alex's existence. "Okay, let's do this, guys! 4v5 sounds like s.h.i.+t, but at their Electro and Knight are low! We can still do this!"

Energy returned to the team. For a moment, they were about to be devoured by the enemy. But now, they stood their ground and fought until the bitter end. A 4v5 was rough to come back from, especially considering the enemy had the Overlord's buff. But, imagining their own defeat wasn't an option.

"Remember what Coach always says! Imagine yourself winning and you gonna win! It's all about the mental image! We gonna beat these trash kids and push all the way to their base in one go!"

Even those on the brink of losing hope had no option but to fight their best. Their coach always lectured them about the importance of a maintaining a positive mental image and there's n.o.body on the team better than Jennifer at that. Maybe it's because she was kind of an idiot, but she simply could never the team lose, no matter the circ.u.mstances.

In fact, her mental image was so strong, she could imagine everybody's victory for them. Even when somebody knew the team was doomed, hearing Jennifer's unwavering voice made them regain hope. They were going to win! They could still pull this off! That's the mental image painted in their minds by Jennifer.

With this unyielding determination, they achieved the impossible and reduced the enemy team to just two. They fought with every last ounce of their strength, refusing to believe defeat was possible.

In the end, it was just Jennifer against the enemy Ranger and Paladin. Everything came down to Jennifer's ability to eliminate the Ranger, as the Paladin had no way to push on his own. It was the decisive showdown.

[This is bad. ]Yuel bit his lip. They had such a great advantage at the beginning of this push, but it was reduced to a 2v1 against the enemy's Queen. Things could go either way.

"Lol, sorry." Roi scratched his head. "Totally blew that one." He rushed this push too much, eager to grab victory as soon as possibly. That cost him dearly. The enemy Lumimancer blinded and slowed him on the spot, turning him into a sitting duck for Breaker's combo.

But, the blame didn't lay only with Roi. The others misplayed here and there as well. For example, Gilbert's Chain Lightning didn't land on the optimal targets and Dan's Lunge was telegraphed too much. Everybody felt victory was right around the corner, but they couldn't quite grasp it yet. Not only that, but it felt like a single misplay could lead to disaster, the pressure was unbearable. So, they wanted to seal the deal and get out of this pressure as fast as possible. Ironically, rus.h.i.+ng the push was exactly the misplay that opened the door for a turnaround.

"Man, these guys don't know when to quit." Trever shook his head. "They should just give up already. For a moment there, I thought they decided to quit. But then, they came at us full power outta nowhere! Crazy shenanigans, I'm tellin' ya."

"Yeah..." Yuel had a stiff expression. There was indeed a brief moment in which the Leopards stumbled, making one mistake after another. Yuel thought the pressure of the situation finally got to them and suggested going all in. Perhaps he, too, felt pressured by the enemy's resilience and wanted this stressful situation over with.

Unfortunately, the momentarily vulnerability of the Leopards was either a brief hiccup or a calculated bait. The enemy soon snapped out of that state and played strong again, more tenaciously than ever. This sharp s.h.i.+ft was mind-boggling.

Since everybody's minds were preoccupied with the idea of rus.h.i.+ng to victory, StormBlitz had trouble adapting to this sudden s.h.i.+ft. One thing led to another and many inefficient plays were made. The enemies didn't miss their opportunity to punish the poor plays, leading to the current situation. What started off as a beautiful and advantageous push got reduced to a fragile 2v1 against Breaker, of all people.

The desire to win fast was seeded in everybody's minds throughout the match, but it was Yuel's call that set off the flames. He spotted the brief crack in the enemy's formation and rushed to strike it, without considering the consequences or the team's mindstate. What a blunder. Most of the responsibility for this failure laid with him.

[It's alright. We can still do it. ]Yuel took a deep breath. They came this far, so he had to do his absolute best until the very end. [I have to clean my own mess. There's still a way to deal with her, I prepared it exactly for this sort of pinch.]

Despite being eager to put a swift end to this stressful match, Yuel never failed to consider the worst case scenario. StormBlitz held the upper hand the whole game, but he never got over the fear the enemy may turn things around in the last moment. That's the whole reason this match felt so stressful in the first place, so the worst case scenario stuck to his thought process like gum.

Because of that, he recommended Trever to head into this decisive push with just four public items in the build. A fifth item was also there, but cloaked. Considering the advantage StormBlitz already had, the marginal benefit from Trever finis.h.i.+ng a proper build wasn't that high. StormBlitz were already the stronger ones, so becoming a little bit stronger wasn't going to change much.

Instead, it was better to prepare a hidden item for the worst case scenario. This 2v1 against Breaker? That's a worst case scenario right there. Trever was the King, his death would spell checkmate for StormBlitz. Killing him was all Breaker had to do here.

A tense situation, but one which came with a great bait. Breaker was most certainly going to rush at least a little bit here, so it'll be easier to punish her. Yuel just had to play his cards right and lead her right where he wanted her to be.

The first move was to silence her with Justice Strike.

"No you don't!" Jennifer saw coming from a mile away! She rolled toward the Ranger, creating distance between herself and the Paladin. Ha! She beat that telegraphed Justice Strike! ... or so she thought. [Tch, he didn't bite? What a guy.]

The Paladin canceled his Justice Strike in the middle of casting, now focused on Jennifer's new position. She was still recovering from the roll, so it's impossible to dodge a second Justice Strike right now. Oh s.h.i.+t! It was over! ... or so her enemies should think!

She bought Blink a some time ago, but she kept it cloaked the whole time. She waited and waited, until a super critical situation finally presented itself! Now, when the enemy least expected it, she was gonna use it!

[Ugh, Blink.] Yuel frowned as Breaker teleported out of his Justice Strike, appearing right behind Trever. [A brilliant play, but not outside my calculations.]

Breaker already showcased her ability to combine combos with Blink in the previous match, so there's no reason to not do it again. Her team lagged behind on gold, so she couldn't get Blink as early as last game. But, she was a.s.suredly going to get it again, Yuel was convinced of that all along. So. that's why...

"Ha! How does that feel, eh!?" Jennifer grinned. The Ranger's defenseless back was right in front of her! It was over!

"Now! Use Dark Contract!"

"Gotcha!" Trever uncloaked his fifth item and activated a cloaked utility skill: Dark Contract. By sacrificing half his current HP, he gained a huge boost in all stats. He was already running pretty low at 40% HP, but now he fell all the way to 20%. Breaker didn't even need a combo to finish him off with a single Flame Wave.

But, that's where the second part of this plan came into play. The fifth item Trever uncloaked was none other than Deus s.h.i.+eld. Since Trever's HP dropped below 30% just now, Deus s.h.i.+eld discharged a stunning shockwave around him. And, Breaker was right within range!

"Gah!" Jennifer jumped "No way! Contract into Deus!?". Her Pyromancer was stunned in place, unable to deliver the final blow. Gaaaaah! Where the h.e.l.l this trick play came from!? If only she had Cleanse right now...!

The Ranger followed up with Wolf Companion, pinning her to the ground right before the stun wore off. He didn't have his ult, but the stat boost from Dark Contract was plenty enough to screw her over. It was over.

『An enemy has been killed!』

"Yeah! We did it!" Trever smacked Yuel on the back with literally everything he got. "Great job, bro! That Contract + Deus idea was outta this world!"

"Ugh, thanks." Yuel forced a smile, wondering whether his spine was still intact.

"Phew, we finally got through it." Gilbert sighed in relief.

"Lol, ez clap." Roi chuckled. "We had them the whole game."

"Yeah, until you charged in and got your a.s.s killed." Dan retorted.

"Hey, I was just trying to imitate your kamikaze strategy! Lol."

With this, the second match was over. Yuel chose to face what was most likely the enemy's strongest lineup and that led to a very stressful game, with a pinch right at the end. Nevertheless, StormBlitz prevailed! Against the enemy's strongest composition! From here on out, the rest of the games should be much easier... or so he thought.