OrangeKing, Almond, and their support had attacked and destroyed the enemy's bottom turret around two minutes before Almond encountered Popcorn. This was a significant achievement, but they couldn't entirely rejoice because of it.
“Ah, brothers, please save me. I'm getting hit by Popcorn all day...!”
It was because of Iron Ball's plea for help.
“At this rate, we'll lose the second turret too!”
Their bottom lane was winning, but their top lane was losing significantly.
OrangeKing pondered,
'It would be the right move to push for the advantage here, but...'
Rushing to the top to help could lead to a huge loss. What if they couldn't defeat Popcorn? It would be a major disaster. Even if they did, they would only break even.
'But this is to test team combinations after all.'
OrangeKing made up his mind and stroked his chin for a moment before speaking, "Ah. Perhaps the time has come."
He thought it was finally time to demonstrate the power of their team combination. In other words, he didn’t expect anything spectacular with this plan. It was an act of entertainment.
"Alright, Mr. Almond. Let's go for that thing this time."
That thing he mentioned was undoubtedly the core of their team combination: group movement.
"Ooh... that thing... I’m ready," the supporter energetically voiced his excitement.
“What about me?” the Rope Assassin Kai asked. Their mid-laner teammate had remained in the mid-lane.
“Join us on the way.”
“Really? Can I?”
“Of course. Let's go.”
OrangeKing gestured with his palm and cast his ultimate ability.
[To summon me with such determination, your courage is commendable, contractor.]
Rumble...!
The sky turned blood-red and lightning crackled, ripping through the clouds as a gigantic dragon descended.
[Siridma]
Siridma was the Dragon Tamer’s ultimate dragon. Only by riding this dragon could they use the
[Glide]
skill .
"Alright, Mr. Almond. You have to time it well. If you use it too early, the rope will wind up and you'll drop midway," OrangeKing explained to Almond and climbed onto Siridma. "Support, please apply the speed buff right away."
"Yes."
The key was for Almond to anchor the rope and Siridma's gliding needed to advance faster before the rope movement finished.
[Glide]
“Kraaaa!”
Siridma spread its wings and took off.
Whooosh!!
[Rope Movement]
Almond used the Rope Movement skill toward Siridma.
Snap!
The hook precisely lodged into Siridma’s back.
Ziiiing!
The rope began to wind up, lifting Almond into the air.
'Wow.'
It was as if he was tagging behind an airplane with a single line attached. Almond was about to land on Siridma's back as the line wound up.
[Speed Up]
Just then, Chronology cast a spell while following from the ground. A gigantic hologram of a clock appeared above Siridma.
Whoosh!!
Their speed increased several fold and the rope slackened again. The distance between Siridma and Almond remained the same.
“Here I go!”
As they passed through the mid-lane, the Rope Assassin also hooked on with a rope and joined them.
'This is possible.'
The Rope Assassin was much more adept at using a rope and clung on even more smoothly than Almond.
— Wow, they're doing all this at once
— Buggy game lol
— Didn't expect it to work in one try...
— Such tricks usually take several tries to succeed
Even though the trick looked easy and powerful, executing it correctly required several practice sessions to perfectly coordinate the movements. Almond’s champion had only just been released that day, so they didn’t precisely know Sori’s speed and how her rope skill would behave. It all had to be calculated in their heads.
Fortunately, it worked on the first try and the viewers were naturally amazed.
— Incredible
— Popcorn's going down
— Everyone hanging on lol
— Like Indian public transportation
— Let's go!
OrangeKing laughed marvelously from on top of the dragon's head.
“Sergeant Popcorn is tormenting Iron Ball in the top lane." He raised his hand high and shouted, "Operation save Private Iron Ball begins now! Even if we can't eat, we go~~~!"
— Private Iron Ball lol
— lmao
— Iron Ball lol lol
— Legendary lol
Swoosh...
They quickly reached the top lane.
'Is that Popcorn?'
Almond briefly observed Popcorn from above.
'... What?'
Iron Ball wasn’t a weak player, but he was no match for Popcorn.
'Not a single hit is landing.'
In
LIL
, there was a basic mechanic known as parrying. It was nothing extraordinary, just the ability to knock away a weapon with another weapon. Even if Iron Ball swung his mace, Popcorn easily deflected it with his overwhelming staff skills.
Iron Ball struggled to land even a basic attack, but what about Popcorn? He continued to pressure his opponent without missing a beat whether it was parrying, dodging, or landing critical hits on vital spots.
"The Great Sage is a champion who specializes in fighting solo against many opponents. He can deceive opponents and escape from the battlefield or pick out a single target among many," OrangeKing continued to explain from on top of the dragon.
Almond was left wondering.
'Can we simply win by fighting?'
Relying solely on tactics against Popcorn's Great Sage seemed more likely to incur greater losses. Of course, they would kill him. However, how long would it take and at what cost?
'Especially since he's the highest level.'
Popcorn had reached level nine and Almond was only at level seven due to sharing experience in the bottom lane. Popcorn had the highest level in the game.
Almond briefly contemplated before speaking, "OrangeKing, act like I'm not here."
"Excuse me? Act like you're not here? What does that mean...? Ah."
OrangeKing immediately figured out what Almond's plan was.
Just before landing...
[You haven't forgotten the contract sealed with blood, have you?]
Almond cast his ultimate ability.
[Invisible Breeze]
[Remaining Duration: 7 seconds]
Thump...
Afterward, OrangeKing's Siridma landed and Iron Ball safely escaped with barely any health left.
A battle ensued immediately after a bit of taunting.
Boom!
OrangeKing and the Rope Assassin charged in first.
"Second place losers!"
"Second place losers!"
"Second place losers!"
However, the Great Sage easily diverted their attacks with clone techniques as OrangeKing had predicted and kept taunting them.
“You, you bastard...!”
OrangeKing seemed to have lost his cool and was furious beyond reason.
“That guy must die! Die twice!”
— lol
— Twice? Ouch...
— lmao
— That’s understandably infuriating lol
Meanwhile, Almond quietly bided his time and waited for an opportunity.
'Everything is missing.'
It was unclear how much longer Siridma would remain on the battlefield. All its attacks were missing and OrangeKing’s ultimate ability was effectively rendered useless in combat. Conversely, the Rope Assassin got caught by Popcorn’s CC ability.
'I’ll go in once the rope cooldown is back.'
The cooldown for his rope started right after he used it, so it had almost reset while he was gliding.
Almond waited for the perfect opportunity. Then—
[Rope Movement]
[Ready]
Finally, the cooldown was up.
Snap.
He spread his index and thumb, aiming at a certain spot. This was the gesture for the Rope Movement skill.
A holographic target appeared in the air.
[Rope Movement]
Whizz!
Almond’s rope shot toward a rock beside Popcorn.
Clang!
The hook successfully anchored onto the rock.
Zzzing!
He was pulled forward, soaring through the air. Popcorn turned around, but couldn't find Almond.
Whoosh!
Almond refrained from shooting until he was close enough and glanced at the duration of his ultimate ability.
[Invisible Breeze]
[Remaining Duration: 4.8 seconds]
Only five seconds remained.
'Now.'
Almond brushed past Popcorn.
Shrrrk...!
[Frost Arrow]
He shot a frost arrow.
Bang!
The arrow precisely hit Popcorn.
[Frozen]
"What, what!?"
Popcorn became frozen. He was quite startled, not having calculated Almond's presence at all.
Meanwhile, Almond finished the Rope Movement and landed.
Skrrrik...!
He pulled back his bow again while sliding on the ground.
Bang!
Bang!
Two shots consecutively struck the back of Popcorn's head.
[The Great Sage - Son]
[HP: 68%]
Then, Almond shot the last elemental arrow.
Shrrrk.
He slightly twisted his wrist and chose the frost element again.
[Frost Arrow]
Bang!
The arrow swirled with white frost.
That was supposed to be the end. Almond thought so until—
'Huh?'
Clang!
Popcorn knocked the arrow away with his staff. Almond knew Popcorn was skilled at parrying, but...
'What? How can he move already?'
Certainly, the freezing effect only lasted one second. No, it was at a higher level and lasted 1.5 seconds. Popcorn was still alive and parrying instead of remaining frozen.
How could this be? Almond felt confused.
“The Great Sage's passive! If several enemies surround him, he gains resistance to CC effects for each one!”
OrangeKing's voice snapped Almond back to reality.
'Ah.'
With three of them surrounding Popcorn, CC effects essentially became useless.
"I'll just go in and kill him!"
The mid-laner Rope Assassin stepped forward.
[Rope Strangle]
His rope flew straight at Popcorn, who was momentarily stalled by parrying. It seemed like a direct hit, but...
"Too slow."
Popcorn suddenly stood on his staff and performed a handstand on it. Then, he extended the staff all the way up into the sky.
— Ah.
— That skill
— Damn it
Swoosh!
Popcorn soared up into the sky while doing a handstand on the tip of his staff.
[Trickster's Staff]
[Ascend to the clouds with the staff, briefly evading enemy attacks. Strike the ground hard upon landing and slowly deal damage to ground enemies.]
Screeeech...!
The Rope Assassin’s attack became useless as his rope tangled around the enlarged staff like a vine.
"Ah! The skill missed! That's Popcorn for you!"
— For real
— Wow
— Masterful skill use
Popcorn laughed from above, "
Ahahaha!
Found you!"
His voice rang out from high up.
Boom!
The ground shook.
"Almond! So you were here!?"
Popcorn landed near Almond.
[Duration Has Ended]
Moreover, Almond’s ultimate ability to turn invisible had just ended.
A new variable suddenly emerged.
Whirl—
'?'
From the other wall, a shadowy figure leaped over.
[Blade Cloak - Shadow Zone]
The assassin Shadow Zone could freely leap over walls, obstacles, and small cliffs. He was the enemy mid-laner.
'He knew.'
The enemy knew they were targeting Popcorn and followed suit.
— Dreadful
— This is bad
— How will this turn out?
The situation had gone from three against one to suddenly three against two.
The Rope Assassin's health didn’t look good.
Sssshak!
As Shadow Zone swung his Blade Cloak, blades flew in every direction.
[Rope Assassin - Kai]
[HP: 15%]
Blood scattered everywhere.
— 3 against 2??
— Oh no
— Doomed
— Wow, Popcorn's no joke
— This is why ADCs are...
— A well-fed top is worth more than a truck of ADCs lol
— They shouldn't have come here, too much of a variety show decision
— Even if we can't eat, we go... special: can't eat lol
Negative opinions filled the chat. Even the host found the situation difficult to be optimistic about.
"Ah...! It just got more complicated with Popcorn’s teammate joining in! Almond’s team took a huge loss coming here! If they don't kill Popcorn, they’re in big trouble!!"
For Almond's team, it wasn't just about killing Popcorn. They needed to deal with him quickly and retreat to make it worthwhile since going there was already a considerable loss from the start.
'Even if we defeat Popcorn, it's a loss. But...'
Almond still saw a glimmer of hope.
'It's not a loss if we defeat both of them, right?'
They could naturally compensate for their loss.
Ping!
[Concentrated Attack Here]
Almond marked Shadow Zone as the target.

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