You ain't gonna fight me? Lars wondered. Even though he no longer had the advantage of Elven Sight, Trever didn’t dare to fight back and continued running away like a scaredy-cat. Heh, seems like ya know you got no chance against me! This gonna be a wrap! Oh, wait a sec here...

Lars realized something. When the heck did he get all the way over here? The entire time, he was trying to stay away from the jungle to discourage ganks on him. Yet, for some reason, he found himself all the way over here, a short distance away from the jungle entrance. He gonna end up in the jungle if he keeps chasing!

No, no, no! Bad news! Lars hit the brakes. Suddenly, all the shenanigans Trever has been pulling on him made perfect sense.

Trever didn’t just mess around with Lars with all that peek-a-boo nonsense. Everything was a part of this bait master plan! Slowly, but surely, Trever drew Lars toward the jungle.

"Yo, my dude! Aron might gank yo lane!" Yuel said something like that, didn't he? Most likely, Aron was lying in wait nearby. The lion was waiting for an opportunity to leap on Lars and tear him apart.

Yeah, that ain't gonna happen. Lars turned around and ran back to his side of the lane. He won't be baited by this nonsense ever again! Ellen has burned him enough times during the selection match. It was unfortunate, but he gotta give up on the chase and retreat.

"Okay," Trever turned around to confirm the situation. "Let's see how close the kid got... Oh. Umm, wut?"

Lars was no longer heading toward the jungle. Instead, he turned his back to Trever and casually headed toward his tower. The heck was going on here?

Who is this kid and what did he do to Lars? This was unfathomable. Lars? Giving up on a juicy chase like that? What the actual freak...?

"Seems like he isn’t going to bite..." Trever found it hard to breathe life into these words. That’s how alien, absurd, and uncanny this situation was. Lars? Not jumping on such a delicious bait? Impossible.

"Yuel probably told him to retreat," Aron said.

"Oh, yeah, that'd explain it," Trever nodded. That'd make much more sense than Lars choosing to retreat on his own volition. Phew, okay. He’s still the same ol' brat. It gotta be the smarty-pants kid who is ruining my ingenious bait plan.

With that said, Lars has been definitely playing like a turtle this match. Did Yuel order that too? Well, probably to some degree. But, in the end, it was Lars who agreed to play this way. And, he was the one who agreed to retreat in this situation instead of chasing a juicy target.

Worst of all, Lars turned his back to Trever while retreating. It’s as if the kid had lost all interest in Trever as an opponent.

You mocking me!? Trever clenched his controller. You better watch your back, kid!

Trever ain't gonna let this shit slide. He turned his back in Lars's direction and fired Backfire Canon!

"I'm going in!" Trever announced while flying like a bullet across the lane.

"Excuse me?" Aron frowned.

"I'm going iiiiiin, bro!" Trever shouted. "I'll show him what players like him deserve! I'll rip that damn turtle apart, piece by piece!"

"Have you lost it? Look at your HP."

"Heh, one point of HP is all I need. This turtle ain't gonna lay a single finger on me!"

Trever switched from gun to cutlass during the flight and slashed Lars with the momentum!

"Wha-!?" Lars jumped. He heard the cannon and turn around to see what's up, but the next moment - Trever already slashed him across the chest! Wait, wasn't Trever only trying to lure Lars toward the jungle? Where did this attack come from!?

"This ain't good, dude!" Lars reported while rolling away by instinct and dodging the next slash. "Trever is going super hard on me!"

"Yeah, I see that," Yuel knotted his brows. This was an unexpected development. Until now, Trever has been channeling his inner Ellen by adopting her “poke-and-bait” playstyle. However, once Lars showed clearly that he wasn't going to bite, Trever did a 180 and switched to full-blown aggro mode.

"Do you think you can get away alive?" Yuel asked.

"Well, I definitely gonna try as hard as possible!"! Lars recovered from the roll and broke into a sprint. As frustrating as it was to admit, he couldn't take on Trever head-on from this range. He had to reach a safe spot first and create some distance- BAM! A shot from behind! Trever has already switched back to his pistol and fired!

Dang it! Lars couldn't see the shot coming from behind, so he had no idea in which direction dodge. Nevertheless, he gonna juke it! Somehow! If Trever can dodge stuff without looking, I can too! ... ouch. Damn.

Lars made a sudden break to the left, but it was too late. The bullet drilled into his back and took a nice 15% of his HP. Combined with the damage from the surprise attack from earlier and the previous damage minions dealt him, Lars was already down to 60% HP. Meanwhile, Trever was still hanging at around 70%.

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Just like that, in a matter of three seconds, Trever flipped this entire situation on its head. From being at HP disadvantage, he became the one in the lead. Also, from being the prey, he became a predator! What an insane beast!

To get this dangerous pursuer off his back, Lars had to resort to extremes. He'll have to root Trever down with his ult and make a run for it.

"Don't use your ult yet if possible," Yuel requested.

"Whoa! Stop reading my mind, dude!"

"It's a panic button that's great for situations like this, so of course you'd think of using it. But, unless you really have to, don’t spend it. I'm rotating to gank, so it'll come in handy."

"Oh, you’re coming over here? What about Top?"

"It's practically lost regardless of what I do," Yuel explained. "I might just barely stop Freezer from taking the tower, but it'll be left with next-to-no HP anyway. On the other hand, here we got an opportunity to get a kill."

"Oooooh!" Lars shivered in excitement. Things were about to get interesting!

Lars was at a disadvantageous position right now, he practically became the prey. But, once Yuel arrives, they gonna flip the table all over Trever's ass! It gonna be a counter to Trever's counter! Hell yeah, they got this!

"Okay, gotcha!" Lars said. "I'mma stay alive and drag him over to our side. Let's give him a shocker!"

"Yes, that's the plan."

Lars just had to survive until Yuel arrives. But, there was a catch. He couldn't just retreat all the way back to his tower. That’d just make Trever give up on the offense and leave.

So, Lars will have to keep Trever occupied over here for a while. In other words, they gotta fight! Finally, Lars was given a legit reason to bare his fangs without being scolded for it. At long last, Lars and Trever gonna get a real fight going today!

Okay, judging by where the bullet came from, I bet he's somewhere around... Lars turned around and took a quick aim. Here!

"Wow, wow, wow!" Trever just barely hit the brakes in time and changed directions to avoid the incoming shot. Thankfully, the laser beam missed him. "Damn, son! That was close! What the heck?"

That was one heck of a surprise shot. Lars fired that thing as soon as he turned around, without any warning. He probably had a fraction of a nanosecond to aim, but he almost landed a hit anyway. Yes, that's how it gotta be! That’s Lars, alright!

"You’re finally going to fight?" Trever grinned. "Okay then! Let’s do this shit!"

"Wait, don't-"

"LET'S GO! LET'S GO! LET'S GOOOOOO!!!"

"And, he isn't listening..." Aron sighed. Once Trever got hyper like this, there was no talking sense into him. It’s as if the idiot threw away what little intelligence he had and became a beast in mind and body.

"Think you got me? No dice!" After sidestepping the laser beam, Trever fired an immediate counter-attack! He got this one! The easiest fight of his life. Lars ain't gonna lay even a single finger on him!

"Geh, it actually hit!?" Lars was sure he could sidestep in time, but bullet darted at him at lightning speed. It’s almost as if Trever sidestepped Lar’s beam a little before Lars actually fired it, that’s what allowed him to deliver such an immediate counter.

Nah, no way. Lars's smile twitched. I was just a little slow this time. Just hafta warm up. I’ll get the next one!

Lars fired back as soon as he recovered from the attack animation. This time, he gonna hit for sure! Alas, he didn't. Trever sidestepped the laser-like some Olympic pro. Next, a counter was coming!

This time it ain't gonna--Crap! No way! Lars sidestepped that thing as fast as humanly possible, but the bullet still grazed him. What the heck, yo!? These bullets gotta be bending the time-and-space of reality or some supernatural shit like that!

"Haha, what's wrong, kid?" Trever laughed. "That's all ya got!? Weak!"

Even though Trever loses most of his reason in this state, Aron analyzed. This hyper state isn't without merit

Trever was a very emotional player by nature. When he was in a slump, he played like the worst player on earth. However, when he was in the groove, he was unmatched. He even made Lars look weak.

Unfortunately, the more gung-ho Trever became, the worse his map awareness became. He only had his eyes on the enemy in front of him and little else. No matter how many times Aron tried to speak reason to his fool, it all went in one ear and out the other.

No point even trying. Aron sighed in resignation. He’ll just have to cover up for Trever, that’s the most he could do. As long as he keeps Trever alive, Trever will surely get a kill here. Even Lars was no match for that wild barbarian.

The real challenge was for Aron to guarantee Trever's safety. There was no doubt that Yuel has already caught wind of this development. The way Lars suddenly shifted from running away to going on the offense indicated was suspicious. It was probably an order from the infamous tactician.

Most likely, the enemy's plan was similar to what Aron and Trever tried to pull just now. Lars will stall Trever as a decoy while Yuel rotates there to gank.

Viking had it easier than Lionfolk when it came to assassinating an enemy inside enemy territory. Yuel didn't even require that Trever comes close to the jungle. He could simply blink in and throw Trever to his side of the lane. Then, they'll finish Trever off.

So, I have to block Yuel off. Aron concluded. As long as he keeps Yuel away from the lane, the gank won't come to fruition and Trever will be able to continue his 1v1 against Lars. Judging by the flow of the fight so far and based on Trever's excited state, he was going to win this one for sure. That is, as long as it remains a pure 1v1 without any external factors.

Seems like my job here is to ensure there won't be any such “external factors”. Aron nodded to himself and headed toward the enemy side of Bot Jungle. There are only two possible entry points for Yuel: either travel across Bot Lane directly from the base, or cross the jungle and enter the lane through the jungle entrance.

Aron had to account for both scenarios to be on the safe side, but he prioritized the path through Bot Jungle. Yuel will most likely come through this path. There was one very simple reason to believe that.

Upon returning to base, Yuel had a decision to make: where to go next? At the time, the situation was as such: Lars and Trever were peacefully farming in Bot without any notable incidents. At the same time, Top was left undefended after the Lumiancer’s death, with Alex planning to push hard.

Clearly, at the time, the more urgent area of interest was Top. So, that's where Yuel should've headed toward. Even if he decided to gank Bot instead, the decision probably came somewhere along the way to Top.

As such, Yuel was most certainly somewhere in the jungle right now. The fastest route to Bot for him would through Bot Jungle. So, this was the best ambush spot.

With that said, Aron gave himself some leeway by positioning himself rather close to Bot Lane. As slim as it was, there was a chance Yuel would try to invade the lane through the lane itself. Aron had to be prepared to intercept the invader regardless of where he was going to come from. It won't be a true counter-play unless he thoroughly shuts down all of Yuel's approach options.

Once he thwarts Yuel’s gank and Trever kills Lars, the curtain shall fall on Yuel’s team...