222 Stealth Pincer

BAM. A bullet flew at her. She could've tried to sidestep it, but she didn't bother. Her current Movement Speed couldn't keep up with her intentions. Instead, she counter-attacked on the spot!

[Even if my shots are slow, you can't dodge them while you're recovering!] Kai hurled a spear through the rain. It impaled the recovering opponent through the chest.

"Wha-!?" Bruce groaned. He didn't even get a chance to react. "Damn, bitch! You wanna go!? Let's go!" He fired again.

[Damn, this is rough.] Kai still hasn't left the rainy area. Her Impaler was running as fast as a snail in a wheelchair. She had no choice but to eat another shot. At the very least, she'll deliver a timely counterattack!

It took time, but her hearing learned to filter the monotone sound of the rain. It was one of those cool things about hearing. Apparently, the brain knew how to filter background noise or something like that.

Thanks to that handy feature, Kai's senses returned to being sharp again. By reading the rhythm of the enemy's attacks and listening to the sound of his gunshots, Kai knew exactly when the next shot was coming.

Normally, she relied on this timing to execute a last-moment sidestep. However, that trick was useless for a slowed-down turtle who could barely move, so she used this timing for something else. Namely, to fire a counter-attack!

Actually, it was debatable whether it even counted as a "counter". Kai threw her spear at the same time as her opponent fired, maybe even a little earlier. In that sense, she wasn't countering an attack that has already happened. Instead, she was "countering" an attack that [will] happen. She was outplaying the future!

"Again!?" Bruce ranted. "Fuck! You're SO dead! DEAD, I'm tellin' ya!" BAM. He fired again.

Kai the snail still hasn't made it out of the rainy area, so she had to fire her future-countering spear again. It hit home without a problem.

If they had this back-and-forth going from the start, Kai could've out-damaged TheLegend. Impaler's basics were stronger than Pirate's and they reduced the defense. Therefore, Kai would've won if they kept trading hit-for-hit.

Alas, Kai messed up earlier. She didn't establish this easy routine right away and allowed the enemy to deliver the first strike. It gave the Pirate just enough early life lead to maintain the high ground. With the rain slowing down Kai's attacks, she probably won't kill the Pirate first if they keep going blow-for-blow.

The enemy landed five shots on her, leaving her at 50% HP. Meanwhile, she only landed three, bringing the Pirate down to 65% HP. With each counterattack, Kai closed the HP gap a little bit, but it probably won't be enough.

"You'll die first," Yuel answered matter-of-factly. "He needs five hits at most, but you need at least six."

[One hit short, huh.] Kai clicked her tongue. If she didn't let the Pirate hit her twice earlier, she could've won this fight via counters. But, no point crying over spilled milk. Once she gets out of the rain, everything will be fine-

WAAASH. Water erupted from the ground and knocked Kai high into the air! It was the second time already! It was that damn Overflow version of Aquamncer's Geyser Eruption, which allowed him to summon three geysers in a row.

The geyser not only knocked her upwards but also a little backward. She was back in the rain again.

[You piece of shit...!] Kai wanted to hurl something at that Aquamncer. She finally made it out, but that bastard had to drag her back in. Goddammit!

To make things worse, as she was about to land, another bullet flew at her! Normally, she'd Dodge Roll that, but she couldn't spend her Dodge Roll before the enemy played his Kraken. Therefore, she had to eat this damage.

Even worse, she couldn't properly counterattack from this awkward landing position. The battle was already cutting it dangerously close, but the enemy has just gained a further advantage. Fuuuuuuuu!

Yuel said the enemy needed at most five hits to kill, so that number has just gone down. Four more hits. Only four more and Kai will fold to that Pirate scum. No way. Absolutely no way. She couldn't fall here..!

"This is beyond terrible. It's a disaster!" Vincent cried. "I shall summon the mighty Ents!"

"You might as well," Kai nodded. "They forced me into a tight spot. Honestly, I... don't see myself winning this one." She forced these difficult words through her throat. "I mean, it's not a fair fight in the first place. It's not like I'd lose otherwise."

"But of course," Vincent nodded with understanding. "Alright, I'll just get a little closer and-"

"Wait," Yuel intervened. "No need to waste the Ents on this. Kai, keep countering like you've been doing. Help is going to sneak into your lane any moment now."

Yuel pinged the mini-map to make sure they understood. The player heading their way was so elusive, that even her own allies failed to notice her at times.

"Got it," Kai gulped. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't nervous about entrusting her life to a freshman. But, it was better to take this risk than to waste Vincent's Ents on this fight. There was no guarantee the Ents will even be enough to make the enemy retreat, so either solution harbored risk.

Yuel's judgment was reliable, Kai learned that over the past few months. So, if Yuel believed Nia could pull it off without a hitch, then Kai will believe that too.

While still imprisoned inside the heavy rain, Kai continued struggling. BULLET. SPEAR. BULLET. SPEAR. The attacks flew at each other at the same. They repeatedly punched each other in the face without any regard for their injuries.

Like before, Kai tried to get out of the rain in the middle of the fighting. However, this time, her main goal wasn't actually to get out. She was retreating in order to lure the enemy into allied territory. The deeper this Pirate ventures, the easier it should be for Nia to kill him.

Only 20% HP. That's all Kai had left. Two more shots and she'll perish. Meanwhile, the enemy was sitting at 50%. The gap grew too much. It was impossible to salvage this fight any longer.

If they exchange two more punches, Kai will be the one to fall. Where was Nia at!?

The next moment, It happened. WHISH. The sound of a dagger slicing through something. Out of the shadows, from an angle nobody was looking at, Nia popped into existence!

"Wha-!?" Bruce jumped with a startle. Where? Who!? Damage flashed on his screen outta nowhere! "Fuck! Where did- Gah!"

Next, a spear plunged into his chest. It was a pincer! He was surrounded!

"Yo, B!" Bruce shouted. "The hell are ya doing all the way over there!? Help me- FUUUUUUUU!"

Another slash from behind. Before he could even figure WTF was attacking him, it was already over. The Pirate collapsed on his knees and kissed the ground.

『You have been killed!』

"Fuck! Shit! Damn it!" Bruce slammed on the table over and over. Why!? He was so close to killing that bitch! "GAAAAAAAAH! Damn you, B! Why didn't you help me out!? You should've kept me safe!"

"I..." Bryan was at a loss for words. He didn't see any of this coming either. One moment, they were dominating the situation. Then, out of the blue, everything came down crashing.

What led to this? A mere gank, nothing more. Something simple that Bryan should've been able to prepare himself for. And yet, Bryan failed to consider it for some reason.

[It's like some bad joke.] Bryan cracked a hollow laugh. He racked his brain so hard when coming up with this attack plan. He made sure they took everything into consideration. There weren't supposed to be any loopholes. And yet, Bryan failed to account for the Ninja's existence. Such a basic, amateuristic mistake.

[No, wait.] Bryan suddenly remembered. [I DID factor her in, initially. I didn't miss anything during my planning.]

He thoroughly warded the jungle against incoming ganks. No gank should've slipped past his security cameras. He was so convinced of that, that he decided to not worry about ganks. In case a gank was coming, the wards will alert him ahead of time. Such was his absolute belief. Therefore, Bryan took a load off his mind by not thinking too hard about the possibility of a gank.

And yet, a gank occurred. None of Bryan's wards warned him about it.

[Seriously, where did this Ninja come from?] Bryan shuddered. It's like the girl popped into existence out of thin air. What path could she have possibly taken to arrive here undetected...?

"Yo. Bryan!" Bruce barked. "The fuck are you standing there daydreaming!?"

"Ah, shit!" Bryan snapped out of it. He remained alone in Bot and he was dangerously close to the center of the lane. The enemies shifted their focus on him, like a pack of wolves eying a helpless rabbit. [Shoot! Gotta get the hell outta here!]

"Wait, why are you running!?" Bruce demanded. "Kill that Impaler bitch! I already did all the work. You just gotta shoot her a few more times!"

[Are you asking me to die!?] Bryan ranted internally. [What kind of damage are you expecting from a freakin' Support!? I got none. NONE, I'm telling you. I'm outta here.]

Bryan ignored Bruce's nonsense and continued toward Bot Turret. The Impaler and Druid were hot on his trail.

Bryan didn't have any escape tools, or any tools at all at the moment, so his only option was to keep running forward. Fortunately, his pursuers shouldn't be able to catch up with him. Neither of them had any movement speed buffs. The Impaler's ult could've meant trouble, but she had to spend it earlier against Dylan's gank, so it should still be on cooldown.

The main problem was the Ninja. She was fast on her feet, so she'll catch up to him in no time. There was no escaping from her unscratched. If her Izuna Drop was out of cooldown, then Bryan was a goner.

[She used Izuna in Top a short time ago, right?] Bryan tried to recall.[ It should be still down. It better be.]

Bryan had no choice but to keep running. Ninja didn't have any CC besides Izuna Drop. So, long as Izuna Drop was out of the picture, the Ninja shouldn't be able to outright stop Bryan.

But, she could strike him. A lot of strikes. The Ninja caught up to him from behind and delivered relentless slashes. This was a great time to roll forward!

However, instead of propelling himself far ahead, Bryan only rolled a tiny distance forward. He smashed into a wall. The roll ended right there.

[Iron Maiden!? With this timing!?] Bryan groaned.

[I knew you'd roll with this timing.] Kai smirked. In these sort of situations, the fleeing prey almost always went for Dodge Roll as soon as the pursuer caught up. It made sense since it was a good way to evade an invisible attack. However, it was also predictable. Too predictable.

Therefore, Kai rolled forward and activated Iron Maiden right as Nia was approaching TheMyth. She placed the torture machine ahead of the Aquamancer and interrupted his roll.

If Kai also had Impale available right now, she could've followed up for some big damage. Alas, it was on cooldown. Still, they had something else they could follow up with on a dazed opponent.

"Vince, pull him!" Kai called out.

"Yes, sir!" Vincent aimed his Nature's Grasp at the enemy. Once the tree branches pull in their foe, the trio will proceed to rip the guy asunder! It will bring them one step closed to victory!

Vincent fired the branches. His aim was perfect if he could say so himself. The branches were heading right where the enemy stood, itching to grab the Aqumancer. The branches drew closer and closer and... missed!?

"... eh?" Vincent blinked.

"Huh..." Kai narrowed her eyes. "Did you really just miss?"

"N-No, no way!" Vincent protested. "O-Oh, I see how it is! Our world must have merged with an alternate timeline, one in which I miss the shot. That's why, even though I aimed right at the enemy, my shot missed!"

"You aimed [right at him]?" Kai sigh in disappointment. "No wonder you missed. You gotta predict his movements at least a little and shoot to where you think he'll move. This skillshot is too thin to hit otherwise."

"O-Of course, that's exactly what I did!"

"Uh-huh," Kai rolled her eyes.

In the end, the Aquamancer got away. Nia pursued the guy all the way to the Turret and delivered many slashes, but she only brought the guy down to 60% HP. They failed to score a second kill here. But, it was quite alright.

"Good job, Nia," Kai said. "Thanks for the rescue."

"No problem," Nia nodded with a small embarrassed smile. Failing to kill that Aquamancer was a sad story, but saving a friend felt nice too.

"You're not done there yet," Yuel said. "There's still time until the next wave, so take the Dragon together. Then, push together on the next wave and take the Turret."

"Wait, I need to recall," Kai argued. "I'm almost dead."

"It's okay, just push," Yuel insisted. "They can't do anything to you while you got two bodyguards by your side."

"I'm not so sure about that," Kai said.

"Think about it. The Aquamncer doesn't have the damage to kill you. Their Mid is stuck fighting Lars, so he can't leave the lane. At best, the Vampire can gank you, he might even kill you. But, he doesn't have his ult, so Nia and Vincent will easily kill him."

"And, I doubt they want to feed Nia any more kills," Kai reasoned.

"Exactly," Yuel nodded. "So, even though it might look like you absolutely have to recall, that'd actually be a misplay. There's nothing to worry about right now, even at that HP."

"I see your point," Kai nodded. "Alright, let's do it!"

"Indeed, we shall slay the dragon!" Vincent made noise.

"Ok." Nia nodded.

Everybody was in high spirits. They generated impeccable momentum for the team. On the other hand, in Taurus...

[Phew, I made it.] Bryan sighed in relief upon reaching Bot Turret. That was a close one. It almost turned into a Double Kill.

"Dumbass, why did you run!?" Bruce was complaining the entire time. "I had that Impaler literally dead. Why didn't ya finish her off!? Now we look like a joke!"

"If I stayed to fight, I would've died," Bryan explained.

"What? Are ya saying you're that much of a scrub?"

"It got nothing to do with being a scrub. It was a bad situation..." Bryan was getting a headache. All the joy he felt from surviving the ordeal went down the drain. Only irritation remained.

"In the first place, why ya didn't cover me!?" Bruce demanded. "How did ya let that chick sneak up on me like that?"

[Aaaaaaaaand here we go. Rants.exe started running.] Bryan sighed deeply. [Why do I even bother playing Support for this guy, again?]

Bryan did everything in his power to secure Bruce's victory in that fight. He heavily warded the area against ganks, he slowed down the Impaler to turn her into a sitting duck, and he spaced out the Druid. He did everything and beyond to serve that fight to Bruce on a silver platter. If anything, Bryan deserved praises of the highest degree.

And yet, one small gank slipped by him and suddenly everything became Bryan's fault. All the hard work he put into securing the fight vanished without a trace. All Bruce could see was the one mistake Bryan committed. Life was so unfair sometimes.

[I'm fed up with this shit. I just hope they end us soon.] Bryan sighed. This game was already lost, anybody could tell. They started just a few minutes ago, but they were already 0-2 in terms of kills. To make things worse, the enemy's team was heavily geared toward early-game, so this early advantage will only escalate from here.

This game was hopeless...