Both sides ran into each other at the Ogre Camp right at the beginning.

So, they really came to contest it. Yuel didn't think that'll happen. Vincent should have been cautious about Yuel and Lars’s skill, yet he allowed this situation to happen. This only further reinforced the suspicion that Kai and Vincent didn’t see eye to eye this match.

That was useful to keep in mind. It meant the other team wasn't nearly as organized as Yuel and Lars-

“There they are!” Lars pointed at the screen in excitement as if he saw a UFO. “C'mon, let's get them!” He dashed forth without thinking twice.

“Wait,” Yuel said. “We can't just go in there. Viking's ult will run all over us if we don't-”

“No problem! These guys aren't that good, right? Lemme beat them real quick.”

“Wait-”

But, Lars didn't listen. The goof darted forward and opened a primitive attack without any planning.

What's wrong with him!? Yuel roared internally. For a while now, something felt off about Lars. He was always a gung-ho goof, but not like this. This situation was about to get out of hand!

“Stop, we need to play this smart,” Yuel hurried after the goof.

“Nah, it's cool, dude,” Lars insisted with unfounded conviction. “I'mma take them down real quick for ya.”

“First, let's take the red buff,” Yuel changed his argument to make it sound more appealing for the hungry beast. “Once you get more power, it'll be easier to kill them.”

“Sounds good!” Lars dashed into the Ogre Camp without hesitation. For a moment, Yuel was sure that goof will hit the ogres and aggro their attention. Fortunately, the goof didn’t lose all of his common sense yet.

“C'mon” Lars urged. “Aggro these dudes so I can take them down real quick.”

“On it,” Yuel entered the Ogre Camp and fired at the big Orge in the center. This triggered the entire camp and all three Ogres craved Yuel’s blood. As soon as they focused their attention on Yuel, Lars opened fire.

Meanwhile, Kai and Vincent were standing on the other side of the narrow jungle passage. They must have been thinking really hard about what to do in this situation because of how disrespectful this play was.

The entire enemy team was right in their faces, yet Yuel and Lars were farming Ogres like they didn't care in the slightest. Any opponent would be taken aback by such a bold display of overconfidence. That was all part of the plan.

“Huh, they're seriously doing it,” Kai raised an eyebrow. “They think we just gonna let them take red buff? They gotta be really looking down on us because we're not Challenger, huh.”

“I wonder,” Vincent cocked his head. On the surface, the enemy’s play looked like a huge disrespect. It was as if Yuel and Lars completely ignored Vincent and Kai's presence. They were like air.

Was it sheer confidence? Or, was that some sort of 200 IQ ploy? Nobody should underestimate Chessmaster because the Mystic Eyes of Weakness Perception were high-level sorcery. They didn't just spot weaknesses that already existed. These magical eyes also saw lines of play which could artificially create weaknesses in the enemy's formation.

But, was there really anything devastating a Cryomancer and a Gunslinger could do from this position? Chessmaster was tanking the Ogres while Gunz was shooting from the backline. So, there wasn’t any reason why Vincent and Kai shouldn’t assault their opponents right now. In fact, this was a great opportunity to strike!

On top of that, this situation was very exploitable. Whichever team gets the last hit on the Ogre Leader will win the right to collect the power buff. So, even if Chessmaster and Gunz take down most of the ogre's HP, Kai only needed one quick shot to steal the buff from them. Heck, even Vincent could steal the last-hit by throwing an axe.

So, no matter how Vincent looked at it, the enemy put themselves in a terrible position. This was a great chance to strike and win an early game advantage.

“I'm going in,” Kai announced as soon as the HP of the Ogre Leader dropped to 20%.

“Okay,” Vincent nodded. “But, let me be on the front,”

“Then hurry up.”

“On it,” Vincent ran ahead of Kai. He had to make sure they minimized risks, so it was better for Kai to stick behind him. Despite how inviting this situation looked, there was still a good chance this was some advanced tactic by Chessmaster.

Therefore, it’ll be much better if Vincent is the one who gets caught in the trap. Not only he was tankier than Kai but he also had his axe blinking technique. So, he should be able to get out of every sticky situation no matter how cunning the villains were. In fact, if Viking-man were a superhero a kids show, it'll be a story about a hero who always gets out of trouble in a timely fashion with his axe. That’s how reliable the class was for escaping.

“They took the bait,” Yuel said. “Be ready to switch targets once I blink.”

“Gotcha, dude.”

“Okay...... now!” Yuel turned toward Vincent and closed the distance between them in a split second with his concealed Blink.

“Oh, shit!” Vincent exclaimed. No way! That mad lad just jumped into the fray like it was nothing! Chessmaster just put himself in a sticky 1v2 situation of his own accord. Was it a misclick on his part? Because, who in their right mind would approach a Viking like that? It was suicide!

And here, we gonna see the classic Viking punish from Blackhole - the ultimate wrestling throw! Vincent hyped up the situation in his head as he activated Takedown, a close-range CC grappling move. It’ll pin the Chessmaster down and make him a sitting duck for Kai.

Everybody knew that getting in a Viking's face was like asking for trouble and Chessmaster was no exception to the rule. There was no telling why Chessmaster went for such a suicidal move, but Vincent was definitely going to take full advantage of it!

The Viking put his sword away and thrust his arms toward the Cryomancer's waist. This big muscular guy was going to crush the slim mage- but wait! The Viking's arms froze in the middle of the motion!

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Like, they literally froze. His whole skin turned blue. It was a timely Ice Coffin from Chessmaster!

“No way! What a turnabout!” Vincent practically shouted. So, this was the enemy’s plan! Chessmaster went for the Blink + Ice Coffin combo! Damn, it was a classic Cryomancer play but Vincent completely failed to take it into account.

Chessmaster made the situation look so inviting that his enemies forgot how to think! Vincent grinned madly. It was amazing! Chessmaster even strategically cloaked his blink to lower the chances that Vincent would think about it. It was so simple but so brilliant.

Vincent was so busy thinking about how favorable this situation was that he failed to consider this predictable Cryomancer play. It was a weakness on his part! The Mystic Eyes of Weakness Perception struck again! Blackhole completely fell for Chessmaster's trap!

“It's the real deal,” Vincent grinned as the hype commentary exploded in his head. This play was exactly like the type of craftiness he saw during the StormBlitz vs. Leopard scrimmage. It was this tactic of instilling the enemy with a fake sense of comfort, only to pull the rug from under them! Beautiful.

While this exchange between Blackhole and Chessmaster was taking place, Gunz used Combat Roll to also get closer. So, it was a double play! Both enemies moved in at the same time as if they were synchronized!

Gunz activated Fan the Hammer right as he recovered from the roll. Next, he was assuredly going to drill each and every bullet into Blackhole’s frozen head! It probably won't be enough to kill, but it'll be close and it'll cripple. These were terrible news for Blackhole!

But, will Gunz be able to land three shots in a row from Fan the Hammer? Why, of course he will! He was Gunz, the master of the Gungnir Sniper! The 200% Accuracy wonderboy!

“Got him!” Lars took aim while spinning the hammer of his revolver. He only had five bullets available so he had to land a headshot with each and every one of them to get a kill. Okay, let's rock n’ roll!

He gonna land all these shots for sure. Ez. After all, he practiced these headshots so much. He just had to adjust his aim a little to the left and- bam! The first shot fired!

“Ah, wai...” Lars had a really bad feeling about that one. Didn’t he rotate a bit too much to the left? It was hard to tell without a mouse in hand.

Anyway! He had no time to mull over this. The next bullet was gonna burst outta his revolver and he had to make it count!

This time, I'mma make sure I'm not pulling it too much- crap! The bullet blasted off before Lars finished adjusting the aim after the recoil. This ain't good! It gonna miss! Dang it, I'm supposed to be pro-level at landing headshots, yo!

Alas, the two shots indeed missed their idle target. Gah! A new year just began but Lars has already made the most embarrassing mistake of the year!

But, there was still the third shot- bam! It flew far off toward the sky. Lars missed the timing for adjusting the aim. He missed three shots in a row already! Gaaaaaah! That's why he hated playing with a controller! Master race mouse for the win! What he gonna do now!?

There were two more shots in the revolver. But, the freeze from Ice Coffin wore off, so the target was going to start moving now.

Do I keep going for headshots? But, I can’t get a cripple anymore and if I miss everything... Lars gritted his teeth. Just before the bullet came out, he made the call.

Bam! The bullet hit Vincent’s torso. Lars lowered his gun to aim for the body instead of the head. Going for headshots was pointless right now. He was just going to miss everything.

For the next shot, Lars aimed for the body again and landed a shot on Vincent’s shoulder. Good, at least he got some shots in. This way, he didn’t entirely waste the opportunity Yuel created for him.

Not a single headshot? Yuel was stunned. This was the complete opposite of Lars's so-called “200% accuracy”.

Yuel suspected there will be a disparity between Lars's PC performance and tablet performance, but this much? “Nailing every headshot” vs. “not landing a single headshot” were a world apart...

Yuel specifically came with this play because he believed Lars would be able to confirm headshots against an immobile opponent. Alas, turned out he underestimated the difference between aiming with a mouse and aiming with a controller. It was terrible news!

“Okay, no matter!” Lars advanced. “I'll just kill him with normal shots!”

“No, we retreat,” Yuel erected an ice wall to close the narrow jungle passage. Kai was fast enough to land two basic attacks on him before that but overall he disengaged without any losses. “Finish off the ogre and we return to lane.”

“But-”

“No buts. Do it.”

“Whoa, somebody is angry,” Lars smiled wryly and obediently shifted his focus back to the dying Ogre Leader.

“You take the red buff and we go to lane. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

Lars finished off the Ogre Leader and snatched the red buff, then both of them scrammed from the area. They safely reached the lane and the danger was behind them now.

“My bad,” Lars apologized. “I messed up the shots. Seems like practicing headshots with a mouse doesn't translate that well to a controller.”

“Who would have thought,” Yuel rolled his eyes.

“But, don't worry! I'mma get the headshots next time for sure!”

“No, just shoot at the body. We don't have time for you to adjust to the controller.”

“But, I can wreck them with head-”

“We'll lose if you keep pulling that stuff.”

“... okay, got it. I'mma prioritize body shots and only go for headshots if I'm sure I can get them.”

“Okay, but only when you’re really sure.”

“Yeah, yeah” Lars nodded. “Gotta say, it’s been a while since I saw you this mad.”

“I'm not mad.”

“You are, though.”

“Am not.”

“You totally are, dude.”

“NOW I'm getting angry.”

“Haha, okay, okay.”

“Just focus on laning,” Yuel said. And, for the record, he wasn't mad. But, admittedly, he was a little frustrated with Lars right now. That goof always promised miracles without thinking things through. Sometimes, Lars truly deliverer unexpected results. Other times, he failed miserably. It was so frustratingly unpredictable.

It’s thanks to unpredictable factors like these that they lost the selection match against Howard. Despite playing with Lars for so long, Yuel still hasn't quite grasped how to tell when Lars could really pull something off and when the goof was talking nonsense. It got aggravating at times.

So, if Yuel was mad at anybody, then it was only at himself. He was unable to make the right call and that's why the entire play fell apart.

Yuel knew Lars was a goof. He also knew about the difficulties in handling a controller. And, he definitely knew how difficult it was to land headshots during Fan the Hammer. So, Yuel knew everything. He had all the data in hand, yet he made the wrong judgment. Dammit!

I need to be stricter. Yuel took a deep breath. This time, they miraculously escaped without suffering any grave consequences. However, next time, a huge mistake like that might cost them the entire game. If this were the regionals, the enemy would have eliminated them from the entire tournament for a mistake like this. They couldn’t let themselves slip up like this anymore.

“Stay behind me as you farm,” Yuel instructed. “If the Viking gets into range, prioritize him. We want to condition him into being afraid of the frontline. If he advances anyway, retreat right away and be ready to dodge his axe. It might be a sign he’s going to blink in and ult.”

“Got it, got it,” Lars nodded. “No need to worry so much. I just messed up the headshot. I know what I'm doing.”

How I wish I could believe that. Yuel shook his head. From now on, he should rely as little as possible on blind trust. If something sounded unlikely then it was unlikely, even for Lars. It’s better to be safe than sorry. That's how Yuel will have to reason from now on.

Meanwhile, the other camp also analyzed this outcome.

“Huh,” Kai shrugged. “Didn't you say he's a sniper?”

“Yeah, well...” Vincent couldn't even begin a retort. All the hype he was building up about the enemy's amazing play came down crashing the moment Gunz missed three shots in a row.

Vincent was frozen in place at the time, completely immobile. And yet, Gunz couldn’t land a single shot. And, not just headshots but simple body shots too. Gunz missed everything at first.

What kind of absurdity was that? Did Vincent slip into a different timeline? Was this the Beta timeline? A timeline in which Gunz hasn’t developed the Gungnir Sniper?

The recoil during Fan the Hammer was quite severe, so everybody knew it was difficult to land multiple shots in a row. Even some pros admitted they didn't play Gunslinger because they couldn't land these headshots consistently.

But, not landing headshots was a world apart from not landing any shots at all. It seemed like Gunz insisted to aim for the head and failed miserably every time. Especially, the third shot looked like it was aimed toward outer space. Only after that Gunz started properly landing body shots, probably because he gave up on headshots.

How could the mighty sniper fall so hard? Did Gunz try to style on them with headshots he didn't practice? Or, maybe it's because they were playing with controllers? Either way, the Gungnir Sniper was dormant right now. That’s one thing less to worry about.

Brimming with confidence about their chances, Vincent and Kai reached the lane. The battle for territory began!