Nia escaped alive out of Apprentece's clutches, but it wasn’t over yet. WHISH! The metal whip lashed once again! But, this time, it was aimed at somebody else: Ben.
"Eh!?" Ben froze in place. His mind short-circuited in front of the enemy’s smooth shift of focus.
Just a moment ago, that predator was wholly invested in chasing Nia. And yet, in the middle of the pursuit, Apprentece discarded everything in an instant in order to lash out at Ben. The lightning-fast transition made Ben’s jaw drop in awe.
"Ben, you have to retreat!" Yuel implored, to the point of raising his voice.
Thinking of it, there had been some noise in the background throughout the entire play. Ben failed to register it before, but now, he finally realized what it was.
Wait, was Yuel telling me to retreat this entire time!? Ben gasped. He was absolutely right! I should’ve listened! But, instead, I got myself into this sticky situation….
Ultimately, Ben didn't achieve much by rushing to confront Apprentece. He couldn’t make a single dent in that predator’s confident plays.
But, at least he was drawing Apprentece's attention away right now. So, if Ben's presence here made the Orc give up on chasing Nia even a millisecond earlier, then maybe it was worth it.
At least, that's what Ben thought until he turned around to retreat. That's when he finally realized his grave mistake.
"Ah! Oh no. Please no..." There was no way back. Ahead of him was a pack of minions, ready to rend him asunder.
D-Did I aggro them? Ben gulped. Oh, of course, I did. I ran past them before they entered the tower area. Ugh, I'm so stupid!
While Ben's head was filled with nothing but saving Nia, he carelessly drew the aggro of the entire enemy wave! Now, he found himself in a pincer between the minions and the Orc!
To make things worse, he had already used Gaia’s Protection earlier, so the minions were going to hit him straight in the face. On top of that, his Dodge Roll was on cooldown as well, so he effectively found himself in the worst situation possible! The enemy was going to execute him right here!
But, that wasn’t even the worst part. He’s going to do an insane push with all these minions! Ben gulped. Is there really nothing I can do? Nothing at all!?
Ben ran, ran, and ran! Retreating to the tower was the only thing he could do in this hopeless situation, but he wouldn't reach it.
WHISH! The metal whip struck again. WHISH! The arrows impaled his back. Ben's HP fell below 20% in the blink of an eye. And if all that wasn't enough, the enemy swordsmen were closing on him too, to kill him harder as if that was even necessary.
That's it, I'm dead. I'm sorry, everybody... Ben couldn't apologize enough for his terrible display here. Even though Yuel warned him time and again, Ben continued acting like a stupid clown throughout the entire play. And now, he was going to pay for it…
The least I can do is to keep running until the very end…! Ben lost all hope about surviving, but he nonetheless continued running toward the tower. He had committed so many embarrassing mistakes here, so the least he could do was struggle until the bitter end.
With his fighting spirit in shambles and his mind in a total mess, Ben pressed onward while expecting death to claim him at any moment. Then, something odd happened. As if to reward his efforts, the enemies stopped attacking him all of a sudden. The Orc didn’t lash at him again and the bowmen halted their barrage.
Hm? They’re not finishing me off? Ben blinked in confusion. Did I get out of their range somehow? But, I’m not particularly fast, so how could I… OH!
It finally hit him. Maybe there was a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel, after all.
For dire circumstances like these, Druid had a very handy passive: Terra’s Wrath. It didn’t come into play too often, but it was incredibly useful in one-sided battles like this.
After the Druid was hit three times in a row by basic attacks by the same opponent, Mother Nature came forth to punish the offender. Branches appeared from the ground and rooted the attacker for a while. That’s what put a stop to the bowmen’s barrage.
Ben didn’t have the luxury to turn around and verify the situation, but he was certain that all the bowmen were currently rooted in place, unable to chase him. Thanks to that, Ben eventually got out of their range, and that’s why the arrow shower stopped.
Likewise, Apprentece was in a similar position. He had lashed at Ben twice thus far, so if he were to attack again, then Terra’s Wrath would punish him too.
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So, he stopped attacking to wait for the cooldown. Ben deduced. That gives me a little breather, but I’m sure he’ll resume shortly.
Terra’s Wrath seemed like an exceptional passive at first glance, but there were ways to play around it. After delivering the first two hits, the attacker could simply pause the offense for 2.5 seconds. In that brief period of time, Mother Nature would forget the offender’s sins, so the criminal be free to attack in full throttle once again.
And, that’s exactly what Apprentece was doing right now. He surely could’ve hit Ben again with the scourge, but instead, he decided to wait.
That gives me a chance. I can still make it out alive! Hopefully! Ben regained some of his confidence. I absolutely can't give him a kill here. An Orc can snowball really hard from early kills, so it’ll be all my fault if we lose because of this!
And so, Ben ran, and ran, and ran. He had been running in a straight line the entire time to maintain maximum distance from his opponents. This resulted in him sticking close to the jungle wall the entire run, which brought upon an inevitable dilemma.
Do I slip into the jungle? Or, back to the tower? This was a redundant question under most circumstances, but not this time. Ben was much closer to the jungle than to his tower right now, therefore it made some sense to slip into the jungle instead.
Naturally, the tower area was much safer. But, will Ben be able to reach it in time? With just 20% HP?
I doubt I can make it. Ben gulped. But, if I go into the jungle, won't he keep chasing me down? I'm probably dead no matter what...
"Ben, go to the tower," Yuel said. "That's your only real option here. I'm sure he'll chase you down all the way in the jungle."
"R-Right! Thanks!" The cloud over Ben's mind dispersed thanks to the clear instructions. The tower it is, then. He made a sharp 45-degree turn and ran toward the tower!
Unfortunately, deciding on a course of action wasn’t enough here. The 2.5-second cooldown of Terra's Wrath was about to expire, and then Appretence would finish him off. The end was nigh!
However, there was still one more hope remaining in the Druid's kit: the ult. With all of Ben’s enemies behind him right now, the Ents could form a wall between him and his pursuers!
But, should I really spend it here? Ben wondered. What if I die afterward anyway? It'll be a huge waste...
It'd be very reassuring if Yuel instructed him to use the Ents now. Then, Ben wouldn’t be wrestling with doubts like this.
Unfortunately, it was impossible for Yuel to lead Ben by hand at every step of the way, especially not in the heat of such a chaotic play. There were things that only Ben, as the one on the scene, was able to decide for himself on the spot.
So, Ben had to make the call himself here. However, there wasn’t much time. With every passing moment, death drew nearer!
WHISH! The scourge rattled once again, slashing Ben from behind! His HP dropped to almost nothing, but he was still alive!
Ben's indecision cost him dearly there. He could’ve summoned the Ents a little earlier and possibly avoided this damage, but he failed to do so.
But, it wasn't too late yet! With a silver of HP remaining, Ben was still desperately running toward the tower area! At this point, the Ents might not even be able to save him anymore, but…!
Dying is the worst-case scenario here. Ben thought. So, I have to try anything I can to survive! Even if it might end up being a waste of an ult, so be it!
Such was his own personal conclusion regarding this deadly situation. He had no time to discuss any of this with Yuel, so he had to make this difficult decision all by himself.
I-I'm the Top player here! Ben reassured himself. I should have enough experience playing this role to make the right call…!
And so, he activated Awaken the Ents. Three giant trees sprouted from the ground and towered over the lane.
WHISH! The scourge rang again! However, this time, instead of hitting Ben directly, the attack went through an Ent first. This made the whip slow down, so it failed to extend all the way to Ben.
What's more, the Ents' large size served as a blockage for Apprentece and the minions. Anybody who wanted to continue chasing Ben will have to go around these giant trees, which will waste a lot of precious time. In that time, Ben should be able to make it to the tower!
I-I can survive this! Ben stepped on the edge of the tower area. Despite his nonexistent HP, he was back to safety!
But, it wasn't necessarily over yet. There was the possibility Apprentece would dive under the tower in order to deliver that killing blow. And, knowing the guy, that was almost guaranteed to be the play he’d go for!
There's nothing I can do to avoid it fully. Ben thought. But, a dive like that will cost him a lot, so I hope that's enough to discourage him...
If Apprentece wanted to score this kill no matter what, then he'll probably be able to do so. He'd just have to get past the Ents, enter the tower area, and deliver the killing blow. It was that simple.
However, a daring play like that came with multiple risks. For starters, the tower will retaliate against this cocky aggressor.
Also, I’ll be able to roll soon. So, maybe I can escape deep enough into the tower area so that Appretence will get hit twice by the tower on the way out. Ben thought. I-I’ll totally do it! So, don't you dare invade, please.
In addition to the tower's retaliation, there were also the Ents to consider. They had the same aggro logic as minions, so they’ll be on Appretence’s business if he harms Ben.
Yes, it’ll be brutal retaliation. Ben tried to telepathically negotiate with his opponent. So really, you should give up if you know what’s best for you.
He channeled such thoughts over and over, hoping the opponent would understand how dangerous it was to keep going. Hopefully, all of that will convince Apprentece to give up….