The second game fired off.

“What do you think are the odds of an early invade?” Sonya asked.

“Pretty high, I’d wager,” Cato said. “They surely didn’t pick all these strong early-game classes to play nice.” Especially, not when they have Yuel as the commander.

“Heh, I say let them come!” Ronald exclaimed. “Bro and I gonna make quick work of them!”

“Yes, an invade shouldn’t be a problem on our side,” William asserted. “Elf, Aqua, and Electro aren’t anything special in the early-game. But, in Top Jungle...”

“Yeah, we’ll have to watch out, that’s for sure,” Cato said. “Let’s keep some distance from the Wraith Camp and see what our wards catch.”

And so, the early-game preparations started off. Everybody purchased wards and carefully traversed around the jungle, placing the wards while being careful to not run into any enemies.

“Keep each other within arm’s reach and don’t go too deep into enemy territory,” Cato instructed. “An early 1v1 is the last thing we want in this game. Especially you, Ronald. No running ahead to place wards. Stick close to Will so he can back you up as needed.”

“No problem, man!” Ronald promised. “I’mma just go in and then out, a two-second trip! Ain’t nobody gonna catch me there, just watch.”

“This guy...” Cato sighed. “Will, can you keep an eye on him?”

“Sure.” William sighed and made sure to follow Ronald from a distance.

Venturing into enemy territory this early in the game was the last thing he wanted as a Seraph, but there was no choice. His younger brother was a total brat, and it’d reflect poorly on William if he fails to keep his sibling in check. What a pain...

It’s a pain in the ass, but I understand where Ron is coming from. William admitted. It’s important to place these early-game wards, especially against an early-game comp. If we don’t do this just because we’re “scared”, then we’ll be shooting ourselves in the foot in the end. So yeah, I get that much, but I still rather play this safe. Sigh.

On the other hand, Ronald was 100% convinced of his agenda.

Cato is just wussing out, man. Ronald shook his head. What do you mean “don’t go into enemy territory”? That’s some weak sauce talk. Just because they got a couple of strong-ass classes doesn’t mean we should be shaking in our boots like some scrubs. We gotta be bold and do our thing, with confidence!

Clamming up just because the enemy was a little “dangerous” was like the lamest shit ever. Cato’s wonky-ass leadership was already questionable at best, but this was a whole new level of lame.

We aren’t supposed to yield like this before the game even started. Ronald insisted. Seriously, when the cap is acting weak like that, it just sends a bad message to the entire team. So, I say, screw that shit! We gotta be bold and show these Stratus bois that we ain’t scared of them! They can pick DK or whatever, we gonna trash them even in the early-game! Now THAT’S how ya boost the team’s morale.

But, Cato wasn’t enough of a man to do any of that, so it was up to Ronald to be bold here. Therefore, he gonna place these important early-game wards and nobody will stop him! That was bound to reassure everybody that the Leopards were on top of things as usual.

Besides, there’s barely even any danger on this side of the jungle. Ronald thought. The DK and Berserker gonna be in Top, so there isn’t anybody dangerous over here. Seriously, Cato is just being paranoid. There ain’t no threats over here-

“Hello there.” Luke popped from around the corner, his black blade already filled with dark energy. “So, you really came, huh? Looks like Yuel’s guess was spot on!”

SLASH! The Dark Knight swung his blade, firing a blast of darkness right in the opponent’s face!

“For real!?” Ronald jumped. D-Damn! I gotta dodge this shit!

He rolled aside immediately. Thanks to his in-born athletic skills, his reaction speed was top-notch. The Dodge Roll came out instantly, right as the Dark Knight was slicing through the air.

Alas, Ronald was just one heartbeat too late. The fierce darkness grazed his shoulder, burning his flesh. And so, 30% of his HP was gone in an instant!

“Fuuuuuu!” Ronald exclaimed. Shit, what the flying fuck is the DK doing here!? He should be preparing for the game to start near Top! I mean, I guess he has a little time to kill before jungle camps spawn, but like, c’mon! Why!?!?!?!!?

This was definitely an unconventional opening. Things weren’t supposed to go like this!

B-But, it’s okay! I’m okay. Yeah. Ronald took a deep breath and turned around to flee. As long as it’s just the DK, it’s no biggie. I’mma just place my ward here and-

ZAP! A laser beam cut through the air and pierced through Ronald’s side.

“C-Come again!?” Ronald yelled. “The Elf is here too!? H-Ha, haha. G-Guys? It looks like I might be in a little bit of trouble here, haha...”

This was getting wild. First the Dark Knight, and now the Elf, too!? Sure, it made sense for the Elf to be around here, but c’mon! It’s like the two of them were waiting here to ambush Ronald or something!

And, in truth, his guess wasn’t far off the mark. There was indeed somebody on the enemy team who anticipated this exact development and deployed the ambushers accordingly.

This is a good start. Yuel nodded in satisfaction. I figured that if anybody was going to overextend early, then it’d be either Challenger or Winner.

As experts in defense, it was natural for the Leopards to be wary of early fights against Stratus’ current lineup. Therefore, they were bound to play it safe during the early-game, going as far as passing on important opportunities to place wards.

Nonetheless, there were two players on that defensive team who stood apart from the rest: AbsoluteChallenger and AbsoluteWinner. Those two were the most confident attackers among the Leopards. In fact, they were an oddly aggressive duo that enjoyed pushing forward even when the rest of their team preferred to back away.

In particular, Challenger came across as a rather adventurous player. He seemed like the type who often searched for trouble, like a little kid trying to act cool.

As such, unlike the rest of the Leopards, there was a good chance that either Challenger or Winner will ignore the dangers of an early invasion and will play the opening as usual. In other words, they’ll extend deep enough into Bot Jungle in order to place wards in good positions despite the danger. And, that’s where Stratus might be able to ambush them!

To fully capitalize on such an opportunity, Yuel swapped places with Luke for the opening. He headed to Top Jungle in Luke’s stead and handled the warding over there together with Vincent.

And so, that’s how Luke ended up accompanying Lars and Kai in Bot. On top of that, Yuel advised them on how to best position themselves in the jungle in case an early overextension happens.

Therefore, all three of them were eagerly waiting for such an overextension from great ambush spots. And, the overextension really happened!

Not only that, but the poor guy chose the worst area to waltz into. Out of all the options, Challenger ran straight into the dangerous Dark Knight!

Now, with Luke in the front and Lars providing backup from behind, AbsoluteChallenger found himself in an extremely dangerous situation!

However, the guy’s response was fast. He immediately turned around and dashed away as if his life depended on it because it really did.

Challenger must’ve believed that he’d easily get away like this, but things weren’t so simple. Luke and Lars have been eagerly waiting for this moment, so they won’t let their prey get away unscratched. They WILL chase him down and they WILL shave away at his HP bar. Perhaps, they’ll even be able to score a kill here.

With that determination, Luke and Lars opened a hunt for their juicy prey. They were going to kill that dude, yoooooo!