187 Rescue Gank!

[I'm probably done for.] Kai turned around and began fleeing, but she didn't hold much hope. She has spent her entire kit on the Sorcerer, so she didn't have any tools to combat the incoming Lionfolk. That lion was going to rend her asunder.

But, that didn't mean she'll go down without a fight. She'll fight for her survival until the very last moment! She thwarted this Lionfolk's gank once before, so she'll do it again.

[Alright, so I got her within leap range.] Aron gauged that he could reach his prey with a Majestic Leap from this distance. However, he didn't hurry to take the leap.

The last time he tried to gank this Lumimancer, things didn't quite go as planned. This girl was quick-witted enough to dodge Majestic Leap on reaction. So, if Aron leaps on her now, she might dodge it.

"Her blink is down, yes?" Aron asked.

"Yeah, but her Dodge Roll is still intact," Alex said.

"Got it," Aron frowned. In other words, the Lumimancer still had a way to quickly dodge Aron's leap. She'll definitely roll away as soon as Aron jumps.

[Hmm, Alex suggested she might be reacting to sound cues. If so, she doesn't actually wait to confirm where I'm jumping.] That just might be the Achilles heel of that girl's quick reaction time. [It's worth a shot.]

"Rawwwrr!" A lion roar thundered from the jungle.

[Alright, he's jumping!] Kai rolled forward as soon as she heard the cue. [He won't catch me alive- wha!?]

WHAM! The lion-man crashed right on top of her! How!? She was sure she rolled away on time. And yet, the guy landed exactly at the spot where she finished her roll. Impossible!

[Did he predict where I'm going to end up after rolling? Nah, no way. That'd be...] Kai gulped. That'd be too much, even for a competitive player. This must have been just a stroke of bad luck. Yeah, that's all it was.

[I-It's just a flesh wound. I can still get away!] Kai continued running toward her Turret as if nothing happened. [Screw that Lion. I'm not dying here!]

[Unfazed, huh. I see.] Aron nodded. The Lumimancer didn't slow down in the slightest even after he hit her with his calculated leap. She should've been surprised by the way Aron nailed her positioning, but she didn't let it get to her.

[Not bad. You're actually forcing me to work for the kill.] Aron nodded in approval. However, despite the girl's solid performance, she won't get out of here alive. She overextended and she was going to pay for it with her life.

Aron clawed her back, reducing her below 80% HP. Then, he rolled after her.

"Wha!?" Kai paused for a moment as a big hairball rolled ahead of her. At that moment, she understood - there was no escape. This predator won't let her get away. This lion was a trained killing machine.

[If that's how it gonna end, might as well stand and fight.] Kai stopped to glance behind her. [Good, the Sorcerer didn't chase. This is a 1v1. I can still make something happen...!]

[She stopped?] Aron blinked. He recovered from the roll but found himself too far away from the target. His Mighty Roar won't reach her from this distance.

The next moment, a ball of light struck his chest. The Lumimancer chose to stand her ground and fight him head-on!

[Is she planning to duel? Interesting.] Aron thought. Given the situation, trying to fight back was indeed her best bet. It had a tiny chance of success, which was more than could be said about her chances of simply escaping.

"I'm on my way," Yuel announced. "Try to hold him down."

"Easier said than done," Kai fired another ball of light while backpedaling away from the Lionfolk. Her weak attacks barely did any damage, so there was little hope of beating this guy in a 1v1. [Yuel better actually gets here on time.]

[Nice spacing.] Aron got close enough to deliver an attack, but the Lumimancer backstepped at the right time to just barely dodge it. [I can see why Yuel thinks highly of her. Putting aside her silly overextension, her technical skill is on point.]

On top of that, the way this girl was moving was rather smart. She has been slowly but surely drawing Aron toward the jungle without making it too obvious.

[So, there's going to be a gank.] Aron concluded. This was shaping to be much harder than he expected. Dealing with a Viking gank wasn't in his plans.

[It appears I have to use my ult. What a shame. I wanted to save it for Lars.] Aron activated The King's Dominion. A blockade of lions formed around the area. It denied all entry and escape. This was over.

[Darn, just a second too late.] Yuel bit his lip. He got Top Lane within the range of his axe throw, but Aron summoned the lion blockade just then. This was over. Given Aron's skill, he'll confirm the kill from that position for sure. There was nothing Yuel could do about it.

Sure, he could jump into the lion's den and try to make a change there. But, it was pointless. He'll save nobody and will put himself at unnecessary risk. The enemy's gank was successful.

"Are you here yet?" Kai asked as she kept spacing out the lion man. "What's taking so long?"

"I'm here, but it's..." Yuel opened and closed his mouth. Even though this was clearly the enemy's checkmate, Kai kept fighting hard for her life. It felt wrong to drop the curtain on her and inform her that this was a dead end. Not to mention, Yuel has done nothing but bicker with her ever since the game started.

[If I don't go through with this gank, she's going to be even madder.] Yuel sighed. [Perhaps I should gank anyway.]

It most likely won't help the situation and he'll be wasting resources, but at least he'll show Kai that he was trying to make a difference. Trying and failing will probably be easier for her to digest than telling her she was a walking dead at this point.

[Am I really doing this?] Yuel's brain sounded the alarm. It was futile. It'll be a terrible misplay. He knew all of that. And yet, his body moved.

In the first place, the reason Kai recklessly aggressed on the Sorcerer and found herself in this sticky situation was her dissatisfaction with Yuel's game plan. It reminded him of the selection match. Back then, Yuel forced Roi to play Dark Knight for the sake of his rushdown game plan. But, Roi didn't appreciate the pick, and that ultimately made him perform worse than usual.

Back then, Yuel never went out of his way to patch up the situation. He dismissed Roi's rants and trusted the guy to snap out of it and start performing. But, Roi's performance remained mediocre at best. Maybe if Yuel just talked to Roi a little more back then...

[Let's try it this time.] Yuel steeled himself. He was very much aware he was about to throw himself into unnecessary danger, but it was for the greater good. Hopefully.

"I'm here," Yuel announced and flung his axe. He couldn't pass through the barricade of lions by foot, but his axe had no problem slipping through. The axe stuck into the ground inside the cage of lions and Yuel activated Axe Blitz, blinking right to his axe. One moment he was in the jungle, and in the next, he found himself inside the lion's den.

"About damn time," Kai ranted. "Get this guy off me."

"On it," Yuel positioned himself between Kai and Aron. He would have used Takedown to toss Aron away, but CC didn't work on the Lionfolk inside The King's Dominion. Therefore, Yuel had to shield Kai with his own body.

[You challenge me on my own territory?] Aron frowned. This was peculiar. Yuel should've known better than to jump into this cage in a futile attempt to rescue a teammate who had one foot in the grave. What got into him?

[Is this some sort of 4D chess? Or, is he just underestimating me?] Aron shook his head in disappointment. It was nothing more than another foolish play from the enemy side. First, the Lumimancer recklessly overextended, and now Yuel ganked for no good reason. Was this the level Yuel's shot-calling fell to? Hopefully, he actually had a plan in mind, something beyond Aron's wildest ideas.

[Either way, I'll be taking my kill.] Aron approached the two prisoners of his lion cage. However, he didn't run at them right away and made sure to stick close to the walls of the cage.

"He's going to fight close to the wall," Yuel explained. "Once I send my minions at him, let's attack one of the lions here to break out of here."

"I like the sound of that," Kai nodded.

[Here goes nothing.] Yuel activated Unstoppable Raid and summoned six savage viking warriors. Aron was the closest target available, so they all rushed toward the lion man.

[Surely you're aware I know how to counter a play like that?] Aron retreated further toward the wall of lions. The lions didn't let any enemies through, but they had no intention of stopping Aron. They opened enough space for him to wiggle his way in. The tall lion man was now mixed among his four-legged brethren.

However, that didn't discourage the viking warriors. They kept rushing at Aron, fully intent on striking him down. They didn't have the brains to realize they were heading right into Aron's trap.

The moment the vikings approached the wall of lions - claws assaulted them! The lions retaliated! They weren't there just for decoration. Any foe who dared to approach had to meet their claws.

However, that fact didn't faze the vikings. They kept trying to chase Aron even though it was futile. Aron was buried deep behind his lions, so the vikings couldn't quite reach him. Their target was right in front of them, less than a meter away, yet their weapons couldn't strike him.

The vikings couldn't process this information and kept futilely running against the wall. All the while, Aron's lions cawed away at them. And so, just like that, Aron defused the Viking's dangerous ult without a scratch.

[Now, let's see what they're up to.] Aron shifted his focus to the two prisoners of his cage. [Attempting a breakout. I see.]

Yuel positioned himself in front of one of the lions and slashed the beast. Meanwhile, the Lumimancer was providing support fire from behind. They were trying to take down that lion to rip a hole in the prison���s wall; a solid idea. As far as his limited options were concerned, Yuel probably made the best lines of play available to him during this gank.

Nevertheless, none of this was going to save the Lumimancer, that's why this play was a guaranteed misplay. It might have brought him results against less skilled opponents, but not against Aron. Yuel should have known that, and yet...

[I don't see how the infamous "Chessmaster" is going to twist this one.] Aron stopped second-guessing himself and just went for the kill. [The Lumimancer isn't getting out of this alive.] He declared matter-of-factly.