“Dang, it’s so hard to see anything!” Lars craned his neck in Kai’s direction, trying to see the scene from her POV. But, the distance and the angle made it very difficult to make things out.
To make things worse, Kai was stationed very far from everybody, all the way back in the base. So, no matter how mechanically skilled Lars was, it was impossible for him to properly control his character while watching himself from that unnatural faraway camera.
Nonetheless, there was one thing he saw very clearly: the enemy dudes were running straight at him, yooooooo!
They’re both blinded! Cato confirmed that thanks to the white sparkle around Gunz and Chessmaster, which indicated that Ronald’s Blinding Light successfully hit that dangerous duo.
No matter how much Yuel read ahead, he surely didn’t expect anybody to charge in like that into the danger zone. At that one moment, the reckless mad lad must’ve completely transcended all of Yuel’s predictions.
It was truly quite impressive. While Cato was frozen in place, afraid to step forward, Ronald charged in to protect his brother without a second thought. And, he even used that opportunity to hit the enemy with Blinding Light. What a daredevil.
I’ll give credit where credit is due. Cato thought. You might be an idiot most of the time, but every now and then you pull some nice moves. Well played.
Right after the enemy’s bomb exploded, it was Cato’s cue to step in! He advanced on Gunz, planning to strike down the blind opponent while the opportunity was there.
So, let us begin! Cato jumped forth with Majestic Leap right after the big bomb exploded. Good, my body finally feels light and responsive again.
The tension he felt earlier vanished without a trace. Cato was no longer stuck in analysis paralysis, so his actions flowed naturally now.
Of course, it was unfortunate that he ultimately had no agency over this decision whatsoever. In the end, the enemy decided everything for him.
But, that was fine. During the time he was stuck in analysis paralysis, Cato already analyzed both lines of plays quite extensively. Therefore, he knew exactly what to do from here on out.
“We take out Gunz first,” Cato instructed.
“Totally, man!” Ronald exclaimed. “I gonna avenge my bro!!!”
“I’m not dead yet...” William commented.
And so, the Leopards’ second round of offense began! Ronald cast Ray of Light around Gunz, whereas Cato was already on his way to crash on the helpless foe from the air.
Together, this unlikely duo was about to tear Gunz apart while the guy was blind! At least, that was the plan.
A cannon appeared out of thin air right in front of Gunz. Then, BAM! The loud shot pushed Gunz backward, right as Cato was about to land on the guy.
“Wha-!?” Cato crashed on an empty area, missing his target by a hair’s breadth. Such a fast reaction speed...! My, how I hate difficult pieces like this.
However, that wasn’t enough to stop this offense. Far from it!
“You ain’t getting away, man!” Ronald charged in.
“Wait!” Cato called out. “Don’t overextend on your own. Our top priority is to defend our Carry.”
“I’mma defend bro by taking out this guy first!” Ronald launched a basic attack at Gunz.
The small ball of light successfully hit home. Unfortunately, the damage was quite pitiful, as expected from a Support.
“C’mon!” Ronald urged. “Let’s clap this guy!”
“Hmm.” Cato took a moment to analyze their surroundings.
William was still stuck under the Kraken, but he’ll be released shortly. So, he should be able to join the offense soon enough.
Meanwhile, Matthew was staying far in the back and attacking the Colossus from as far as humanly possible. He was taking a very passive approach during this tense situation, but that was probably for the best. His damage was almost as crucial as William’s when it came to pushing the Colossus, so securing a safe position was key, even if it meant he couldn’t cooperate with the others that well.
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On the other end, there was Sonya whose main role here was to tank the Colossus. She also had her Asura Strike to unload on the big guy, but she has been saving it to the very end, just to be on the safe side.
That kind of caution sounded good on paper, but it was rather problematic in practice. Now, thanks to the recent chaotic developments, Sonya found herself far from the Colossus, with InformationBlackhole standing in her way.
The enemy pushed Sonya away with his Aero Barrage, placing her in an awkward position. And, he threatened to assault her further with his other skills, which forced Sonya to maintain distance.
Considering her low HP, she has no choice but to stay away. Cato reasoned. Now, if she tries to get any closer to deliver that Asura Strike, the enemy will probably gang on her first and remove her from the board. Then, the Colossus’s aggro will shift toward one of us.
As such, Sonya also had no choice but to play it safe and defensive here, even though the team as a whole was interested in continuing the push. Or rather, they had no say on the matter. Yuel forced them into a position from which pushing was the only viable option.
Alrighty, I have a good idea of our own positions now. Cato nodded to himself. Next, let’s check what the enemy is planning.
Beat has just finished bombarding them, so she was now on her way to provide backup. But, since she was so far in the back this entire time, it’ll take her a couple of seconds to get to the scene. For now, she wasn’t a big concern.
As for Blackhole, he had his hands full dealing with Sonya. He was like a watchdog tasked with guarding one specific target.
So, that left Gunz and Chessmaster isolated in this war. And, the two of them were blind, to boot. They couldn’t even use each other’s monitors to make sense of the situation around them. Therefore, this was a great opportunity to destroy them!
It took Cato a few moments to process all this data and reach this conclusion, but Ronald was already charging forward in the meantime. Could it be that this brainless oaf reached the same conclusion as Cato? This quickly?
No, I bet just he isn’t thinking at all. Cato smiled wryly. But I’ll admit, every now and then it can be useful to have teammates who can shut off their brains and recklessly charge forward without wasting any time. Every once in a while, I wish I had this kind of ability myself.
But, Cato couldn’t bring himself to play like that. He had to analyze every situation from head to bottom and consider multiple lines of play before acting on any of them. This frequently slowed him down, but it also helped him to see things that others would have easily missed.
For example, while Ronald was thoughtlessly charging head-first at Gunz, Cato noticed something curious from the back.
Contrary to Gunz, who was busy retreating while blinded, Yuel was actually approaching the scene instead. He probably relied on the vision of some other monitor in order to find his steps.
He’s advancing even though he’s blinded? Cato looked behind him. Oh, I see what you’re planning.
Even amidst this clearly unexpected development, Yuel had no intention of backing off. He was fully committed to killing William, no matter the risk. As such, getting blinded was just a minor setback for him.
My, he’s an offense freak through and through. Cato smiled wryly. Well then, this calls for a slight change of plans.
Instead of following in Ronald’s footsteps to chase Gunz, Cato moved in to block Yuel’s path. I’m stopping you right there, good sir.
It was such an excellent counterplay. Thanks to taking a few moments longer to analyze the entire board, Cato managed to read Yuel’s intentions and apprehend the criminal before the crime was conducted~!
Ugh, seriously? Yuel frowned.
The Lionfolk moved in to block his path all of a sudden, that’s what he saw through Kai’s monitor. What an unpleasant development.
I was sure they’ll both focus on Lars and I’ll be able to slip by... But no, Cato didn’t miss this line of play. Unlike his rush partner, Cato read the situation properly and made the correct counterplay.
Despite how hectic and fast-developing the situation was, this was nonetheless a chessboard for the two of them. As such, even amidst this chaos, there was only a limited number of strong plays that each side could go for.
Thus, even as all hell was breaking loose around them, Yuel and Cato still carefully read the situation in front of them and made smart decisions. This was still a battle of tactics and wits, as fast and wild as it was.
And, Cato has just blocked my check. Yuel frowned.
The plan was to pull Winner with Nature’s Grasp right before the Kraken sets him free. If Yuel could pull that off, then the team would’ve ganged on Winner and removed him from the board immediately.
That would’ve likely stopped the enemy’s entire push right there and then. What’s more, it might have given Stratus the necessary momentum to mount a counter-attack. Truly, it was a game-deciding move.
But, Cato didn’t let it happen. So, what’s next?
I see they formed a wall around their Carry. Yuel frowned at the enemy’s well-organized formation. As usual, these guys were at the top of their game when it came to playing safe.
Challenger was aggressing on Lars, forcing the goof to retreat. And, Cato was confronting Yuel, stopping him in his tracks.
Then, on the other side of the area, Vincent was confronting Theorist. However, at the same time, Theorist was also confronting Vincent as well, keeping him away from Winner.
Before they realized it, Stratus found themselves locked out. From this position, nobody could reach the enemy’s two strikers, Winner and Merlin. The enemy team was defending their strongest pieces quite well.
So, was this the end of Yuel’s operation? Did Startus’ bold counterattack fold to the enemy’s unbreakable defense...?