Chapter 236. Challenging Game (3)

"Almond! Another shot?"

No one knew how Almond did it, but the caster continued because Almond had indeed shot again.

"Did it hit!?"

The shot went straight for ForeverAlone as if to answer the question.

Bang!

The Crystal of Purity resembled a stream of water and struck ForeverAlone. ForeverAlone easily collapsed even though Almond hadn’t fully charged the skill because it was enough to kill him.

[Enemy Eliminated!]

[LazySoldier → ForeverAlone]

"Wow! ForeverAlone just died! Almond did it! ForeverAlone came to gank him, but Almond killed him instead!"

"Solo Is Back! The game seemed to flow well for them initially, but they just suffered a loss! Pollock has to catch Almond somehow to have a chance at winning now..."

"That's right! They can still turn the game around if they just kill Almond. Solo Is Back has that much of an advantage!"

At that moment, the suppression duration of Pollock’s Charge skill ran out.

[Released from suppression.]

Thump!

Almond immediately escaped from Pollock's grasp.

"Eh!? He's escaping!"

"Can Pollock catch him!? At least hit him once! Just once......!"

Pollock tried to kill the low-HP Almond, but suddenly—

Bang!

An impact from the side pushed him away.

"Ah! Tako pushed Pollock out of the way to cover Almond?!"

"The Hammer Warrior is coming!?"

Takoyaki had finally joined in as Balloon Stars' jungler.

"Ah……!"

"What……?!"

Startled, Pollock tried to understand what was going on around him.

[Takoyaki]

[HP: 100%]

[Pollock]

[HP: 90%]

Takoyaki had full health, while Pollock's HP fell to 90%. Then what about Almond?

[LazySoldier]

[HP: 4%]

With just 4% of his HP left, Almond was still alive and running away. Even a single hit would kill him, but Almond already almost reached the turret.

"…I don't think it's going to work."

"Almond survives!"

— He really survived??

— Ah, this is Pollock's mistake, lol.

— Wow.. lol.

— Phew. At least the game isn't over. If Almond dies, then everything is over.

In the end, Pollock shook his head and returned to his turret.

"Almond! In a 2 vs. 1 situation, he killed ForeverAlone and survived! This is a super play, isn't it?!"

"Exactly! He accomplished a big feat while their team was losing!"

A super play referred to a play that turned the game around. It didn't simply mean that a player killed multiple enemies or escaped from them. Sometimes, a super play also occurred when a player achieved a kill in a 1 vs. 1 situation.

Almond’s team was losing, but he successfully fought off the enemy jungler who came to gank. The super play was when Almond managed to kill ForeverAlone and survived the ordeal.

He wasted the opponents’ time and gained an advantage for his team by surviving.

"However, we should watch the replay. A strange scene occurred. Did you see?" OrangeKing expressed some uncertainty.

"Indeed. The Beast clearly suppressed Almond at the time, but Almond could still shoot. That's not impossible, but there could be a technical issue. The Beast is quite known for creating bugs..."

— It can be because of the bugs.

— Lol, he's known for creating bugs.

— LIL should get rid of the Beast, LOL.

The casters watched the replay while Almond briefly returned to the base. The scene showed when Almond aimed at ForeverAlone after the Beast pounced on him.

“Chikicha.”

Almond said that last line to ForeverAlone.

— LOL, he said chikicha?

— Hahahahaha. Chikicha.

— Almond's God-kicha

— That nut shake definitely has an aftertaste.

— ForeverAlone must have been really annoying, lol.

Almond’s last words captivated most viewers, so they hadn't seen how Almond shot.

OrangeKing noticed it, "Ah. Almond really did escape, didn't he?"

The other two casters didn’t notice at first and sighed after watching the replay that was slowed.

— Wow, only his arms moved.

— He did all that while rolling down, lol."

— You can think of all that during such a crazy moment?!

— That nut player is so toxic.

"Ah, is this really possible? Honestly, I don't know what just happened even after watching it again," the caster expressed his shock to OrangeKing.

"Only one hand slipped out. It can sometimes happen while being suppressed. You'd need a lot of practice to do this intentionally."

The analyst nodded in agreement.

"Yes. Pro teams used to practice how to escape like this when the Beast was a popular champion, right?"

"Exactly. That was during Tako’s professional days as well. I guess Tako taught Almond?"

"Well… anyway, it's clear that Almond practiced a lot recently. His reaction speed and this kind of minor skill helped against the ganking.

In truth, their analysis was only half right. Although Almond practiced a lot and anticipated the ganking, pulling out one hand from the Beast's attack was purely his instinct and senses. He hadn't practiced it specifically. Almond simply used his gifted and blessed reaction speed in the virtual world.

***

Approximately ten minutes passed.

Song Ha-Na was wearing an almond hat and passionately cheering, but suddenly became sullen. She expected something more when Almond killed ForeverAlone, but the game continued to flow frustratingly as before.

"Sa-Rang, what's going on? Why is it so frustrating?"

She expected an answer from the lady sitting next to her as if she had all the answers to this game.

Choi Sa-Rang exhaled the smoke she was holding in and replied, "We're losing. We're supporting a losing team, so it feels frustrating."

It sounded indifferent, but no other answer could be more accurate.

"We're losing? But Almond got a kill and made a super play."

"That's why the game has extended longer than we expected."

"Balloon Stars hasn't lost anyone since then, but we aren’t at an advantage?"

"The LIL siege battle is…"

Choi Sa-Rang decided to explain in detail, so she snuffed out her cigarette in the air and threw it away. Virtual cigarettes weren't good at all.

"The objective of LIL siege mode is to siege. LIL escort mode is to escort and LIL survival mode is to survive. Despite the intuitive names, people mostly think it's a killing game."

"Ah, so it's not a killing game today, but a building and destroying game instead?"

"Yes."

"But the difference in buildings isn't much though. Balloon Stars is just one tower behind. Only in the top lane."

"It all starts from there. Look at the control situation of the entire map."

The map was filled with blue, which currently represented Solo Is Back. Their set-up surveillance totems shone in blue.

"The color blue was all lit up based on the collapsed tower turret, right?"

"Yes."

"That's not Balloon Stars' territory anymore. It's Solo Is Back's now. Bubblegum in the top lane can't even go halfway across the map. Then, that territory will be taken away... It's a vicious cycle."

"Ah... Is not being able to see that important?"

"Yes. It's dangerous if you can't see, so you won’t be able to go. That means Balloon Stars has to take a long detour while Solo Is Back keeps taking shortcuts... They’re not being efficient, which will cause Balloon Stars to lose."

"Wow... this game is deeper than I thought."

Choi Sa-Rang said all that needed to be said and slightly nodded.

"It isn't that hard. Everything will become apparent as you keep watching."

Sa-Rang seemed irritated. Could it be because Balloon Stars was losing? One could only guess because it was hard to read her expression. As always, her mood was inscrutable, and her expression made the person next to her tense. It felt like she always had a wall up.

Song Ha-Na knocked on that wall again by bursting into laughter.

"Hahaha! Isn't that too pessimistic? I've been a dedicated fan of LilChamps (pro games) for four years! This is what I get from watching for four years!"

A small smile finally appeared on Sa-Rang’s face, and the doctor felt relieved.

"They can still win, right?"

Sa-Rang answered without hesitation, "We can always win."

She often said this sentence out loud.

'We can always win...'

The doctor didn't see Sa-Rang briefly glance at her own two legs. Or rather, Ha-Na chose not to see it.

***

Indeed, Sa-Rang's judgment wasn’t wrong.

The game was very difficult for Balloon Stars.

"Ah. Balloon Stars! Their first turret has been completely overwhelmed!"

"There's nothing Ran can do at this point even if he’s leveled up this much!"

"The pressure is too strong! Solo Is Back's teamwork is too good, isn't it?!"

"Maybe forcing the ban-pick is now causing a problem here!?"

[Your turret has been destroyed!]

This sentence rang out for the third time.

Starting from the top, the turrets in every lane had collapsed.

“Ah, even the mid-lane…”

“Uh, what do we do now?”

“Don't panic! Slowly secure the jungle again while sticking to our plan!”

The team members couldn't regain their spirits with the atmosphere of defeat looming.

Bubblegum felt especially dispirited by this game.

“No... no! I made another mistake. Sorry.”

“Ah... what I do here? Shit... Sorry.”

“Sorry. Sorry.”

His frequency of apologies increased.

A long silence fell during what should have been a noisy voice chat.

"Ah... Balloon Stars doesn't look good."

"Yes. Almond seems like the calmest one, but he usually doesn't talk much during games anyway."

"Exactly. He doesn't pay attention to other people, right?

"Yes. As a mid-laner, this is a bit of a disadvantage for him. If he was ADC, it might be a different story."

"That's right. Mid is the lane that takes care of and leads the entire team, along with the jungle!"

"That's true!"

They were right. Almond didn't know how to lead the team members and cheer them up in such a situation. He had never been in such a position. He was always at the bottom of the food chain at the company. During his archery days, he was a lone leader only in name.

Originally, archery didn’t require a leader. It was always a lonely fight against yourself.

'The atmosphere… isn’t good.'

Due to years of social experience, Almond noticed that the team's mood wasn't good. He also knew it would only become worse if he tried to cheer them up. There was usually someone else for that role.

Almond understood that silence was also a virtue and waited until they stepped up.

That person was Ju-Hyeok during his company years, and now…

“Okay, no more sighing. No more apologizing.”

It was Tako.

“Gather in mid-lane right now and be ready for the final battle. Fight like the 300 Spartans.”

Tako deliberately spoke with a light tone and lifted the atmosphere.

“You all got it?! My soldiers!”

“Puhaha,” Miho burst into laughter first.

“Yup!”

“Okay!”

“Let's go die!”

Responses came one after the other. Now, it was Almond's turn to respond.

“We can win this,” he said with as much confidence as he could muster. “Definitely.”

That was the most Almond could comfort the team. His sincerity would get through to them.

The voice channel became silent again.

“Let's go. Let's go!”

Bubblegum broke the silence first and turned into a giant beach volleyball (originally an iron ball) and quickly took his position. He went to where he could potentially ambush the approaching enemies and even remembered to observe and get rid of the blue vision totems.

"Balloon Stars! They’re giving up everything and going into total defense!"

"Ah! If they can't stop the enemy here, it's all over! There's no coming back!"

"Will Solo Is Back secure the game right here!? They're all approaching from the front now, all five of them!"

Solo Is Back slowly advanced with RiceWine's Time Machine from the top lane leading a typical siege lineup.

Minions spread out in the back, making it hard to see beyond.

Thump!

The earth shook as the enemies gradually approached.

Hammer Warrior Takoyaki, Miho, and StrawberryShooter blocked the front.

Almond hid like Bubblegum and aimed at the enemies.

"Balloon Stars' current position doesn’t look too bad."

"But their position can be easily breached! If the five opponents suddenly force their way in, everything could collapse...!"

Solo Is Back's ADC and their supporter, the Soju-Maekju duo, approached from the front.

Boom!

Solo Is Back's ADC, the Terrorist, fired a rocket.

Bo-boom!

It squarely struck Takoyaki.

That was the signal.

“Rolling in!” Bubblegum let out a scream-like cheer and started to rapidly roll back.

"Bubblegum is coming! Rolling in!"

— Roll!

— Roll! What a double chorus, lol.

— TMI: Actually, Ironball doesn’t shout, “Rolling in!”

A giant beach volleyball came rushing in from the back. Solo Is Back's lineup instantly dispersed.

From a positive perspective, it looked like they dispersed. From a more negative one, Bubblegum had split their group in two.

Now was Balloon Stars’ chance.

“Chaaaarrrrge!”

“Let's go!”

Every team member activated their ultimate skills, and crimson mana spewed out.

Almond also drew his bleeding hand back.

[The contract bound by blood... Let's fulfill it now.]

Ran's voice echoed as bloody mana formed.

[Enemies to be eliminated.]

His voice sounded different from usual.