“Whoa!” Nash jumped. A shield rammed right into him! “Oh, you approaching me?”

The Knight guy has been running away until now, but he suddenly changed his mind. Now, he seemed hellbent on fighting.

The guy opened an unexpected attack with Shield Bash, which successfully caught Nash off-guard and stunned him. Then, LegendaryMemer followed up with Blade Swing while Nash was still in stun. Just like that, Nash dropped from 80% HP to 65%.

You really wanna do this? Ya got no idea what you’re getting into, fam! Nash thurst his lance as soon as he recovered from stun. But, it whiffed.

Safe! Luke sidestepped the thurst and countered with a slash. Ez hit! It brought the Lancer down to 58% HP. That was some fine damage!

For an underleveled Knight, such high damage should’ve been impossible against a bruiser. However, landing that Blade Swing temporarily boosted Luke’s Attack Power. Therefore, even underleveled, he could temporarily contest the Lancer in terms of raw damage output.

In fact, if Luke brings the Lancer’s HP low enough, the situation might become even! Luke still had a chance to turn the tables on his opponent!

“Ya little shithead...!” Nash backpedaled away from the enemy and thrust his lance again.

Even after he created more distance between them, his lance still reached the target. This mid-range was Lancer’s domain. So, Nash could move back and forth and still reach his opponent with ease!

However, his thrust whiffed again. Then, the Knight moved in and punished him with a slash. Down to 50% HP.

Why!? How!? Nash ranted internally. It doesn’t make any sense! I was whooping this guy just a moment ago!

While Nash was confused about this unexpected development, his opponent understood exactly what was happening.

“Yo, he’s really no big deal when he’s not chasing,” Luke reported to the team. Finally, he could breathe in relief.

His HP was closer to zero than before, but he no longer sensed death looming over him. All of a sudden, this situation transformed into a level playing ground.

And to think I was scared of ya. Luke snickered. I mean, you’re really scary when you’re chasing, gotta hand that to you. But, when it’s just us fighting like this, you ain’t nothing! I’mma meme yo arse to death!

StormMonster was a vicious wolf before, but now he was looking more like a harmless puppy. Luke had this one in the bag! He might even get a kill here!

Another thrust flew at him. Ez dodge!

From up close, dodging Lancer’s attacks was a no-brainer. The startup animation of the thrust animation was slow enough for Luke to react to it. He simply had to sidestep as soon as he saw the Lancer’s hands move.

“Dang it! Don’t ya underestimate my powers!” Nash canceled the recovery animation of his whiffed attack by using a timely Dodge Roll. He rolled away from the incoming counter-attack, then he recovered and struck back!

“Crap!” Luke couldn’t dodge this one. The thrust flew at him like a bullet.

The thrusts had a slow startup, but the rest of the animation was hella fast. By the time Luke realized he should be sidestepping - it was already too late.

“But, it ain’t over!” Luke charged straight at his foe even as the lance impaled him. It was but a flesh wound! He could still survive about three more hits like this! Let’s goooooo!

This scrub is taking me lightly. Nash grinned dangerously. Ya sure threw me for a loop there with that sudden attack, but I can fight too, ya know! I’m not only about chasing people. Killing them in a fight is also a hobby of mine! I’m Diamond in Duel, just for the record.

I’m not much of a duelist myself. Luke thought. Like, I think I’m still in Gold? But, it’s not because I suck in duels. I just don’t feel like grinding that boring mode. The MOBA mode is where it’s at, so I’mma gladly fight anybody there. So c’mon, let’s see whatcha got, bro! This is an official pro-level duel now! Let’s goooooooo!

Luke closed in.

Against Lancer, the secret tech was to always stay in close quarters. All was good as long as the Lancer couldn’t get into mid-range. Really, this was one heck of a polarized matchup.

If Luke gets in and stays in, it’ll almost certainly be a one-sided massacre. On the other hand, if the Lancer slips away toward mid-range, this fight will become nearly impossible for the Knight. Therefore, Luke had to keep charging at his foe nonstop.

"Damn, this dude...!" Nash backpedaled as hard as humanly possible, but the Knight kept sticking to him like glue. "Damn, eat this!"

"Too slow!" Luke sidestepped and punished with a slash.

This bruh knows the matchup! Nash found himself grinning. That’s some awesome fighting right there!

It was getting a little boring recently, what with all his prey falling down so easily. But, LegendaryMemer and Gunz were decent fighters who made Nash sweat a little. That’s how a competitive match gotta be!

Gotta say, tho. What's with this guy's picks? Nash wondered. First Pyro, now Knight. Who the heck plays those in the jungle? Is this guy legit a memer? I feel like he's making fun of us. Can’t say I care for that attitude.

Sure, it was cool to pick an unconventional class every now and then. Nash liked his fair share of memeing too, especially in Casual mode.

But, this was the competitive stage. It was neither the time nor the place for such shenanigans. Did that bruh really think he could get away these trashy picks?

I ain't losing to some dang memer! Nash thrust his lance once more. From this range, it should be hard enough for Memer to react! Or, so Nash thought.

Heh, ez! Luke saw it coming from a mile away. It was too easy! He sidestepped to the side, then slashed his opponent. WHISH! Down to 35% HP!

It was an impressive performance. From the moment Luke started retaliating, it felt as if the momentum shifted in his favor.

I didn’t expect that. Yuel was impressed. He's almost winning.

If Yuel asked for Vincent’s opinion on this development, the clown would surely claim this was the result of Luke tapping into his “Meme Force” or whatever. It might even be true, except not in the way Vincent claimed it worked. The meme pick was probably just clouding the enemy’s judgment.

The bizarre Knight pick threw the enemy off. And, on top of that, this pick came right after a Pyromancer Jungler pick. Both picks were unconventional and puzzling, probably creating the impression that Luke was looking down on Taurus.

As a fellow Jungler, that probably triggered StormMonster. That's why the guy was rushing the fight and blindly throwing out attacks.

Perhaps that was the true nature of the "Meme Force", or at least its most widespread application. It wasn't just about Luke’s morale being higher while memeing. His meme picks also made his opponents underperform, either due to matchup unfamiliarity or due to pushing their buttons. It was an unconventional tactic, but a strangely effective one.

If things continue like this, Luke might actually win this fight on his own. Yuel thought. But, I should still hurry over there, just in case.

There was no telling how this fight will pan out. Both players approached critical health, so it was anybody's game. If StormMonster just calms down and takes a few seconds to reconsider his approach, he might still win this.

"Hey, Nash!" Jaiden called out. "Calm down, man. You're whiffing left and right."

"Well yeah, because this damn memer won't stop sidestepping my shit!" Nash ranted and fired his Lance again. But, no dice. It was missed the mark like before.

"I can sidestep too, dang it!" Nash dodged the enemy’s punish by a hair's breadth. “Ha, how you like that, huh!?” I ain’t gonna let some memer walk over me like that! I’mma end your whole career!

"You need to take it slow, man," Jaiden advised. "No need to rush it. Just focus on your spacing first."

"Oh yeah, spacing. I'd totally space this dude out," Nash complained. "If only he didn’t stick to me like super glue!"

"He's only counterattacking," Rio pointed out. "If you don't attack, you can't get countered. Basic stuff."

"Eh? Wait a minute..." Nash hit the brakes and took a moment to think back on the fight thus far.

Rio was right. This entire fight was essentially Nash throwing out attacks, whiffing, and getting clapped. Why was he repeating that same routine this entire time? It clearly didn’t work.

Dang, looks like I was stuck thinking I’m still chasing this guy. Nash shook his head.

This entire fight started off in the middle of a chase against an injured prey, so Nash felt like he had the initiative all along. But, he was wrong. The moment Memer turned around and started fighting, Nash has lost his advantage. It turned into a fair fight at that point. The only thing Nash had going for him was his HP advantage, nothing else.

As such, there was no need to rush. The two were fighting on equal ground here. Memer was no longer some prey to hunt, but a fair Duel opponent. Therefore, Nash had to switch his fighting style accordingly. It was no longer a chase, but a duel.

Okay, okay. Calm down. Nash took a deep breath.

It was a Lancer vs. Knight duel, nothing more and nothing else. Forget that this whole thing started from a gank. Forget that the opponent always picked silly Jungler classes. None of that mattered. This was just a regular, run-of-the-mill, Lancer vs. Knight duel.

First, I need distance. Contrary to his words, Nash dashed forward.

Heh, this dude never learns! Luke reacted to the movement and sidestepped the incoming thrust. He has already buffered his next basic attack, for he had to be that quick if he wanted to properly punish Lancer’s whiffs. Here comes another ez hit!

However, the expected enemy thrust never came. Instead, the Lancer stepped backward and made Luke whiff his “counterattack” slash. "What the...?"

"Ha! Get dunked, scrub!" Nash faked out that flowchart Knight!

Even though Lancer's attacks were kind of "retractable" from close range, it was still a guess by the end of the day. The enemy had to specifically wait for the attack to come in order to properly dodge and punish it. So, Memer was waiting for some movement, any movement, that seemed hostile. That's why a simple dash forward baited that robot into attacking.

While the fool was whiffing his fake "counterattack", Nash backed away and created some space between them. Then, he thrust his spear!

"Crap!" Luke couldn't properly react to this one. The Lance flew at him like a bullet!

STAB. He was down to 10% HP. He’ll survive only two more hits, maybe less if a critical happens. That's how thin was the ice Luke was walking on.

It's over, fam! Nash grinned. I got the high ground!

You underestimate my powers! Luke argued back. At least, that's what I wanna say, but dude clearly got the high ground here. I done goofed with that whiff. So, now what?

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How would a dying Knight win against a Lancer who has reclaimed the mid-range? This was going to be a super uphill fight. Luke now had to put in tremendous effort in order to get in against that Lancer gain. To make things worse, this opponent has learned from past mistakes, so things won't be so easy this time.

"Just retreat," Yuel advised. "Winning the fight was never the plan in the first place."

"Oh, shoot!" Luke laughed. "Yeah, ya right. I was only supposed to keep the guy busy so I don't die. Whoopsie."

The entire situation was so hectic that both sides mixed up their priorities. Luke wasn't fighting here to get any kills, he was fighting for his life. If the enemy isn’t going to actively aggress on him, then he had no reason to push the fight.

"So long, sucker!" Luke turned his back to the enemy and darted away.

"What the-!? REEEEEEEEEE!" Nash gave chase. "Come back here, you little...!"

The situation flipped on its head again, with Nash becoming the chaser once more. This was his favorite scenario. He transformed into a monster again, while his opponent became a helpless victim. Now, I’mma get this kill real ez!

"Take that!" Nash thrust his lance.

"What the-!?" Luke jumped. A spear went right through his shoulder. "He's already here!? How much speed does this guy pack!? Jesus almighty."

Death. Cold, unescapable, and absolute death. It was looming over Luke yet again. He sensed cold hands reaching toward him, ready to drag him straight into the afterlife. No way I'm going down there without a fight!

Luke turned around before the next attack arrived. There was no escaping alive from StormMonster alive while on the run. Therefore, Luke had to turn this into a duel once more!

"You're toast!" Nash fired the decisive attack. With that, the grand chase was complete... or wast it!?

Not so fast! Luke sidestepped the attack.

"Again!?" Nash gasped. "Yo, this freakin’ guy...!"

You have no power here! Luke dashed in and delivered a counterattack. He wasn't out of the game yet! Even against these impossible odds, he'll struggle to the very end!

Just get dead already! Nash did a sudden dash forward.

Whoa! Luke sidestepped the incoming attack... that never came!

"Ha! Fell for it again, idiot!" Nash faked out that scrub once again However, this time, he didn't use the opportunity to back away. Instead, he went all-in for the kill! This drone will attack right after sidestepping. That’s where I finish him off!

Heh, knew it! Luke rolled away in the nick of time.

"Wha-!?" Nash whiffed the decisive blow. How!? His entire flowchart is about sidestepping and counterattacking! He’s not supposed to roll here...!

Adaptation, ahoy! Luke grinned. What, ya think only you can put one and one together here? I also got some tricks for ya!

Even though Luke sidestepped ahead of time in fear of the fatal blow, he didn't rush to counterattack this time. After all, there was no point in taking that risk. As Yuel said, Luke's job here wasn't to kill but to survive.

Besides, this Lancer has already proved he knew how to use his movement to bait out a reaction from Luke. It’d be dumb to not take that into consideration.

Had a feeling you'll try that shit again. Luke grinned. Read ya like a book, bro!

That's how he successfully reacted to the Lancer’s delayed attack. Though, Luke’s response was far from perfect. He panicked a little at the last moment and rolled away, which was totally unnecessary. But, he was still alive, so nobody would complain.

What's next, though? I'm basically a walking dead. Luke gulped.

He had 2% HP left. Yeah, just 2%. He could barely make out the pixels on his life bar. If not for the percentage showing his remaining health, he'd think he was already dead.

If I start running now, he'll catch up again and it’ll be GG. But, I can't keep fighting him either. Luke moved back and forth to buy time. Okay, I’m running away. No, on second thought, I’m staying to fight! Haha, just kidding, I’m actually running away... or am I!?

The vague back-and-forth made the enemy hesitate. StormMonster didn't want to carelessly rush in, to not lose his hard-earned mid-range spacing.

The battle turned into a standoff between two gunmen. Except, one of the gunmen had an empty barrel and was essentially bluffing his way through.

Luke didn't really have anything going for him. The boldness he was showing was just a cover-up for his helpless circumstances. He didn't want to be part of this shootout anymore. If only somebody came and saved him...

"C'mon already!" Nash was losing his patience. Are ya gonna fight or what? If not, start running already. Do something, dammit!

What an annoying limbo. Nash couldn't “chase” an opponent who wasn't running away, but he also couldn't take advantage of his mid-range spacing against an opponent who wasn't attacking. What the heck was this situation even?

"Maybe he's buying time?" Rio suggested. "Their Aqua is still missing, so..."

"What the-!?" Nash finally connected the dots. Suddenly, it all made sense! Everything Memer did, he did to buy himself some time! The Aquamancer, and maybe others, were probably on their way to help this poor lad!

So, even though he pretended to fight, he was running away all along! Nash ignited his dormant monster engines. He refused to recognize LegendaryMemer as a dueling opponent any longer. This dude is running away, no two ways about it. Our entire fight was just a sham!

"Looks like I hafta come at ya myself then!" Nash charged forth. He didn’t care about his mid-range advantage anymore. All that mattered was landing the final decisive hit. Enough is enough. I’mma kill yo ass!

“Oh snap, I think he’s going all in.” Luke backpedaled as fast as humanly possible. No matter what, he didn’t want to show his back to this vicious predator.

But, backpedaling like this wasn’t good either. It was slower than running forward, so Luke had no chance of getting away like this.

Heh, looks like I gotta stand and fight. Luke’s grin twitched nervously.

In order to survive, he had to put himself in danger and fight back. Wasn’t it just hilarious? That’s how terrible his options were. The enemy was pressing him between a rock and a hard place.

WHISH! A lance darted at him like a bullet, but he sidestepped it! This was a great opportunity to counterattack, but Luke decided to skip it.

StormMonster was still at 35% HP, so it’d take too many hits to kill the guy. There's no way Luke would be able to land that many hits before dying, so there was no point putting himself at unnecessary risk. This entire situation was already risky enough as it stood.

"Yeah, keep running around like a cockroach!" Nash thrust his spear again. This time, the spear didn't even reach the target.

Yo, this guy is tripping. Luke smirked. Another ez dodge. He barely even had to move against that one.

Even though the attacks were coming from mid-range, Luke dodged them with unexpected ease. It's all because StormMonster was rushing things. Dude was way too aggressive, so his attacks were super telegraphed.

Thrust. Another dodge. Thrust. Dodge.

Man, if I counterattacked after each of these attacks, I would've killed the guy by now. Luke smiled wryly.

For some reason, StormMonster’s attacks became sloppy as heck. His offense was all over the place. His thrusts always strayed too far to one side or the other. It was too easy to dodge them.

Yeah, it’s all a cakewalk. So, why do I feel so pressured? For some reason, Luke couldn't relax, not even for a moment. It felt like inevitable doom was creeping onto him. Why? He couldn't even begin to tell. It was just gut feeling, nothing more. But, it was one of these very convincing gut feelings.

So, you ain't taking any baits. Nash nodded with respect for his foe’s caution. His rushed attacks were meant to bait the Knight into attacking, to get that dying bruh closer, and then strike the guy down.

But, Memer was obnoxiously cautious. He didn’t fall for any of that shit.

I guess low HP makes everybody more careful, huh. Nash grinned. Not bad. I respect that.

This much was within Nash’s expectations. Therefore, his haphazard thrusts had another purpose. Slowly, but surely, they were driving his prey into a corner. Nash was like a classic horror movie monster, playing with his food until the very last moment.

Little did the victim know it was played with.

Heh, I can keep this up all day. Luke smirked. If this gonna be the extent of the enemy's attacks, it'll be no problem to juke all that stuff for days. Luke simply had to maintain this safe distance and back away, one step at a time- Bump. His back hit against something.

"Eh? What?" Luke checked behind him. There was a jungle wall. Oh-uh.

"Yo, when did I get all the way over here!?" Luke was pressed against a wall. He couldn't create any more distance from his pursuer. Did this guy just lead me all the way over here with his “random” attacks!? Bruuuuuh.

"It was fun while it lasted." Nash grinned. "Now git dead, scrub!"

"Nuuuuuuuuu!" Luke couldn't dodge this one. The attack was gonna come from the ideal range, not close enough to juke and not far enough to out-space. It was over...

SPLASH! Water erupted from the ground! It kicked the Lancer high in the air. Yuel has finally arrived!

"Gah! Shit!" Nash found himself in the air. He was just about to deliver the finishing blow, but then this shit had to happen. Damn! I almost had it! No, it’s too early to give up. I can still make it!

Even as the situation turned into a 1v2, Nash had no intention of forfeiting his offense. That kill belonged to him...!

"You're a lifesaver, dude!" Luke celebrated.

"It's not over yet," Yuel said. "You have to escape. He'll chase you for sure."

"Yeah, no doubt about that." Luke hurried into the jungle, the closest safe territory.

Even though the situation became a 2v1, Luke was too injured to actually participate in the fight any further. One more hit and it’ll GG for him, and then Yuel would have to take on StormMonster all by himself. It was hardly a task fitting for a Support.

As expected, StormMonster won’t take this lying down.

"Come back here, dang it!" Nash gave chase as soon as he landed. He completely disregarded the Aquamancer, that dude didn't matter. It was far more important to secure the kill on LegendaryMemer. I ain’t gonna let you slip away!

It's not a good idea to ignore me. Yuel threw a water ball at the incoming Lancer, but the guy didn't even flinch. For StormMonster, Yuel was like air.

It made sense to ignore Yuel's damage because his basics barely dealt any damage. However, ignoring the potency of his spells was a grave mistake. Didn’t the enemy recognize that fact...?

"Nash, where are you going?" Jaiden asked. "You gotta get outta there."

"Nah, no problem!" Nash insisted. "I almost got that guy! I'mma catch up to him real quick. This Aquaman over here ain't gonna kill me anyway."

“I counted his spells back when he was in lane,” Rio shared. "He most likely has Overflow."

"He has WHAT!?" Nash exclaimed.

"We informed everybody a while ago..." Rio narrowed his eyes. He did his part and shared that info with Jaiden, and then Jaiden broadcasted it to the rest of the team. But, apparently, Nash missed the memo. Sigh.

"No way! Then..." Nash glanced sideways at the Aquamancer. The guy didn't even try to stand in Nash's way. Why was that? "Oh no, pls no..."

The Aquamancer stretched both arms into the air. He was channeling one of his mightiest and most devastating spells!

"Fuuuuuuuu!" Nash couldn't dodge that shit! A huge wave appeared outta nowhere and charged straight at him! It was a tsunami!

Damn, he let me pass him on purpose! Nash just now realized his carelessness. From this position, the tsunami gonna push Nash hella deep into enemy territory, almost all the way to the enemy tower! And, there was no dodging that huge ass spell from this close! REEEEEEEEEEEE

WHOOSH! SPLASH! The tsunami crashed into Nash and dragged him to the edge of the enemy's tower area.

Damn, forget chasing that Knight! Nash gulped. I gotta find a way outta here now!

Checkmate. Yuel cast Rainfall, summoning black clouds right above the Lancer. The raindrops didn't deal any damage, but they severely slowed down the Lancer’s Movement Speed. So, even with Yuel's low damage output, it was easy to take care of an opponent who was fleeing at the speed of a turtle.

『You have killed an enemy!』

It was over. The Lancer collapsed and never stood up again.

"Gaaaaah!" Nash held his head. "I was so close! Almost got that sweet double kill!"

"Too greedy, man. Too greedy," Jaiden said.

"Yeah, I fudged up." Nash slumped. "But, next time! Next time I'mma whoop that Knight for good!"

"That's the spirit. And don’t worry, I’m about to make up for that in Mid.”

With that, the fight in Top finally came to an end. It was a long and difficult struggle, far more difficult than what Yuel initially envisioned. His innocent plan for defeating DragonMaster turned out to be risky against opponents of such high caliber.

No, that’s not quite right. Yuel thought. In theory, I knew there was risk involved.

Even though he was confident that a 2v1 situation would be enough for taking down a Berserker, he also knew that Vincent and Luke won't come out of the fight unscratched. So, any gank on them could prove fatal at that point.

And, indeed, StormMonster's gank almost resulted in two deaths. It was a miscalculation that could've cost them the game.

I thought I trained myself to avoid taking such risks. Yuel frowned. These opponents really forced my hand there. There was no way I could let them take control over Top. Our situation in Mid is already bad enough as it is.

If the enemy seized absolute lane control in Top, they'd control 2/3 of the map. That absolutely wasn’t allowed to happen, not against these opponents.

But, did that warrant arranging such a risky setup? Yuel couldn’t tell for sure.

In the end, his plan somehow worked out. But, it almost ended in a disaster. One misfortune like that would spell doom for the entire team. They might lose the entire scrimmage to a small mistake like this.

"Yo, that was tense!" Luke pumped a fist. "We gave that guy the biz, haha!"

"Yeah...” Yuel said. “Except for the part where we almost fed two kills to their Jungler."

"Yeah, that was close as heck." Luke grinned. "But hey, it was fun. Let's do that again sometime!"

"Fun...?" Yuel blinked. Was it fun? Well, if I look back on it now, then yes, it was quite a thrilling experience.

They took a calculated risk and things almost turned for the worse. However, they overturned the situation at the very end and even scored a kill that Yuel wasn't even counting on. Complex scenarios like this were the most fun to untangle and analyze.

Despite the hiccups along the way, the play was a success overall. They got two kills and gained a tremendous advantage in Top. Now, Stratus was the one holding map advantage. Top Lane fell completely under their control, and they were also dominating Bot Lane for the most part.

The team was about to head into the mid-game with a decent advantage. This fifth and final game was already shaping out to be a completely different kind of beast. And, this time, Stratus will win!