"Aww, yeah! 2-0, yo!" Lars pumped a fist. Everybody in StormBlitz was celebrating their second victory of the day.

"Good work, everybody," Kai delivered a cliche line that sounded like something a captain would say.

"Haha, you sound like a company boss," Luke laughed. "But yeah, that was a sick game! I was laughing my ass off at them scrubs."

"That's not a nice thing to say," Kai said that, but she secretly smiled. So, that's how our game looked like? Good, good.

The team has been doing surprisingly well today. It almost felt surreal. Everything was going too smoothly.

"Indeed, it was a battle worthy of Valhalla!" Vincent made noise. "Our unstoppable offense crushed the opposition without mercy!"

"I agree," Yuel said. “Everybody did great.”

Of course, he had a few nitpicks here and there, but he didn't feel like voicing them right now. Overall, the team performed well, that’s all that mattered for now. Therefore, instead of bashing the few mistakes the team made, Yuel spent the break reviewing the enemy’s plays and decisions with the rest of the team.

As it stood, Taurus wasn’t a threat to Stratus. These guys felt a warm-up for the much stronger teams awaiting ahead. Yuel watched enough competitive middle-school matches to know that today’s Taurus didn’t represent the level of the regionals. There were far stronger opponents awaiting Stratus there.

In a way, this was a good place to start. Everybody in Stratus was a greenhorn when it came to playing in official matches, so this low difficulty setting was a great opportunity to gain experience.

Though, five games of this caliber might get a little boring. Yuel smiled wryly. It was great that they were winning, but easy victories often felt pointless. There wasn't much to learn from them. Winning twice, maybe thrice, in a row could still be considered fun even against a weak team, but it’ll definitely become dull by the fourth time.

"Hey, my dudes, I was thinking," Lars wore a grin as he grabbed everybody's attention.

"You? Thinking?" Yuel asked. "Don’t lie to us."

"Haha, harsh!" Lars laughed. "Anyway, catch this. I got this genius idea. What if we.... go even harder on the aggression next game!? All in! We go hard or we go home, yooooo!”

“Aww yeah! This dude knows what’s up!” Luke gave a thumbs up. “You guys should treat this like a speedrun. Go for a faster win next game!”

Speedrun? That’s disrespectful for the other team. Yuel thought.

Truth be told, he didn’t have much sympathy for Taurus. These guys picked a fight on stage by insulting Kai, so it was only fitting to give them a taste of their own medicine. But, still...

“Let’s not get carried away,” Yuel warned. “They might’ve learned from their mistakes. If they prepare a strong lineup that counters early-game aggression, we might dig our own graves.”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine!” Lars started a fire with his words.

“Yeah, just go out there and crush them!” Luke added oil.

“Indeed, we shall reap apart their very souls!” Vincent threw in an inflammable object. “They must suffer retribution for insulting our Valkyrian leader.”

“Sure, let’s do it,” Kai kept the flame going. She was supposed to be the most reasonable player on the team after Yuel, but even she supported this dangerous idea.

“Ok,” Nia nodded too. She had no reason to refuse. Sneaking around and killing enemies quickly was always fun.

So, everybody wants to continue the aggression. Yuel frowned. It was worrisome. He had a bad feeling about this. his kind of reckless attitude could easily lead to disaster.

At the same time, the team’s morale was exceedingly high and they had the momentum on their side. If they keep going with this flow, the next game will be a breeze as well. Everybody will be performing their best and that'll make it even easier to overpower the enemy.

Maybe it's better to play along. Yuel thought. Instead of being the usual “voice of reason” who put a damper on every euphoric situation, he'll try to go along with his teammates for once. Keeping the team motivated and united was crucial for victory. It might be better to head into the next game with everybody still feeling confident.

Some of us might be getting a little overconfident, but we’re in the lead anyway. Even if we lose one game, we’ll still remain in the lead. We got some leeway. Yuel nodded to himself. Frankly, he didn't see them losing to Taurus today. Even if they somehow end up losing the next game due to recklessness, they should be able to adapt and win the remaining games. There was nothing to worry about.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"Okay, let's do it," Yuel played along. "Let's use the same lineup as last game. At least, as much as the enemy will allow us with their bans."

"Okay, let’s go!" Lars pumped a fist. "We gonna kick some serious butt!"

With that overflowing motivation, the team entered the stage for the third game. However, before they reached their tables, the referee came up to them.

"Your opponent made three subs," the referee informed.

"Three? In one game?" Yuel blinked.

"Yes, three," the referee confirmed.

It was both sudden and extreme. Taurus replaced over half their team.

“Let’s see here,” the referee checked his tablet. "TheLegend, TheMyth, and Messi subbed out. Instead, you got Renegade, StormMonster, and Laplace. Not sure if it tells you much, but now you know." On that note, the referee left.

That changes things. Yuel thought. If we don't know most of our enemies, then going in with an aggressive lineup becomes ten times riskier.

"Bring it on," Kai spoke with confidence. "No matter who they pull out, we gonna crush them."

"Yeah, let's do it!" Lars pumped a fist.

"Wait," Yuel argued. "They just replaced three players. That changes everything."

"Nah, it changes nothing," Kai crossed her arms. "The new guys are either better or worse than the previous bastards. Doesn't change the fact we gonna mop the floor with them."

"That’s some impressive unfounded confidence,” Yuel made a face. “The problem is, we don't know how good they are. We don’t know anything about them.”

"I'm sure they're no big deal," Kai sneered. "Think of it this way. If they're weaker, we gonna beat them even harder. If they're stronger, it means our opponents haven’t been taking us seriously until now. Don't you think that's hella disrespectful?"

I wouldn't be surprised if they did just that. Yuel thought. After all, Stratus had its reputation as the weakest team in the region. Perhaps, Taurus initially thought they could keep their best players on the bench today and handle this scrimmage using their second-string. That'd explain the low skill level Taurus has been showing thus far.

If that’s the case, it was all the more reason to prioritize caution for the next game. Yuel had to gather intel on the new opponents before he could make any educated shot-calls. Alas, it seemed like he was the only one thinking that way...

"Not bringing their best dudes from the start is nasty," Lars agreed with Kai's assessment. "If they still think we're noobs, we gonna show 'em what we're made of for real!"

"Indeed," Vincent nodded as well. "It’s blasphemy against fair sportsmanship! We shall respond in kind by thoroughly destroying their forces!"

"Exactly," Kai nodded in approval. And so, this became a 1v3 for Yuel. Everybody wanted to go hard on the offense next game.

Looks like I have no say here. Yuel pursed his lips. Well, that’s alright. Even if we lose, at least we’ll learn some things. We’ll know how well the new players deal with hyper aggression. He did his best to look at the positive side of this plan.

I can think of it as gambling away our advantage in exchange for information. It wasn’t the best trade in the world, but it was worth something. If our early aggression works, it'll make things easier from there. With that said, I'm still surprised Kai went along with this. I thought she was more reasonable than that.

Just you wait. Kai glared at one of the boys who subbed in. She only had a brief interaction with him, but it was enough to tell that he was a total piece of shit.

"I'll mop the floor with you in five seconds." That's what that guy proclaimed in Kai's face. Hopefully, he subbed in for the Carry. If so, Kai will be able to tear him apart in the first couple of minutes.

The enemy’s substitution was a godsend. Kai has already wrecked the precious scumbag who insulted her, so now the next one showed up. She couldn't ask for anything better.. With this match, she'll prove to all of Taurus that she was a strong player. It'll make them think twice before making fun of female players ever again.

"Hey, Yuel," Lars pointed toward the enemy camp. "Look at that guy."

"Isn’t he the one who came to talk to us?" Yuel recalled. "Looks like he knew he'll be subbing in."

"Yeah, probably," Lars grinned. "I told ya, I had the feeling this dude got something."

"If you think he's strong, that's all the more reason to play safer."

"Nah, it's the other way around," Lars shook his head. "If he's really that strong, it means we totally gotta ram into these guys. I mean, if he's one of the best players they got but he didn’t wanna play us until now, that's cocky as heck. We gotta show him what's up, yo!"

"I suppose," Yuel didn't have a rebuttal. Frankly, that possibility irked him as well. He knew it was inevitable for other teams to underestimate Stratus, but it was still irritating. Nobody liked being looked down on. Therefore, just like the rest of the team, Yuel wished to rain pure destructions on their opponents this round.

"Besides," Vincent added. "Maybe it’s not even their final form! They might be hiding even better players in store! Their third, final form!"

"Oh snap!" Lars exclaimed. "So, ya say we've been fighting the third-string until now!? No way!"

"You can never know for sure," Vincent said. "After all, their club is four times bigger than ours. They have spare soldiers for days."

"A third form? That's pushing it," Yuel said. Though, it'd be amazing if that was the case. The team has already gotten used to playing on stage, so it’ll be nice to tackle a harder and harder challenge after each victory. It’d be a great learning experience.

In the end, everybody's burning passion convinced Yuel as well. He was on board with the aggression game plan. There was still a tiny hint of reason at the back of his head, whispering against this idea. But, he ignored it for now. They will all-in on this one!

At that time, Yuel couldn't imagine the sharp turn this entire scrimmage will take starting from this third game...