Chapter 218. Roaming (3)
In LIL, keenly observing the actions of summoners held great significance. If they were devising a strategy or planning something, their movements often betrayed their intentions. A challenger's discerning eye could discern even the most subtle shifts, such as Miho's present movements.
"Miho is moving suspiciously! ForeverAlone needs to figure her out now!"
"That's impossible! He can't look at her at all!"
"No way! Is the pool party skin this detrimental!?"
ForeverAlone couldn't even look in Miho's direction. Meanwhile, Almond was getting closer on the minimap.
Almond traveled by gliding on the ice. He was getting used to this skill.
Activating the skill solidified the water beneath him, enabling him to glide swiftly over it. Aqua's movements were marked by a trail of water, providing him with a straightforward path to traverse.
He could feel the brisk wind rushing through his hair.
“You're going ahead by yourself too quickly!”
He could hear Tako say.
“If I slow down, he'll get away. He’ll run away the moment he notices.”
Almond had no intention of slowing down. The SoMaek duo in the bottom lane would soon alert the team that Almond and Tako were missing. They had to attack before then.
'I need to kill ForeverAlone here to secure the game.'
He didn't want the first set to repeat.
“But do you think you can do it alone?”
Almond remained silent at Tako's question.
'Is it my first time going alone?'
It was the first time Almond roaming by himself. However, his answer was simple.
“Pulling the bowstring and shooting will always be the same.”
Whether it was his first time or not, shooting a target was always the same for him.
That was the given reality. Everything else was a concoction of his mind, mere illusions based on inflated theories and nothing more than anxiety stemming from baseless concerns. He closed his eyes and focused only on what truly existed. His hand tightly grasped the bow. The expression beneath his hair fluttering in the wind had grown noticeably more composed.
He opened his eyes again. In the distance, Miho's bare back came into view.
“Oppa! Are you almost here?”
“Yeah. Let's get started.”
As he responded, Almond bit an arrow in his mouth. This one shot would determine the game and was crucial to crush ForeverAlone.
“I'm going to shoot!”
Miho made a certain motion with her hand.
Multiple bubbles formed and quickly flew toward ForeverAlone.
They looked difficult to dodge. As expected, one of the bubbles struck ForeverAlone.
'Alright, he's seasoned now.'
Almond readied his bow at ForeverAlone's wet body.
He carefully nocked the arrow in his mouth onto the bowstring.
Thanks to keeping the arrow in his mouth, his movements were kept to a minimum, and he maintained his balance.
His eyes were calmly fixed on the target. The string rested just above his lips, and his right hand remained drawn back. Even the sound of his breath and the cheers of the spectators faded away.
The sound of the board sliding on ice resounded in his ears. Gradually, the figure of the target drew nearer. Almond adjusted the board's direction to overlap with Miho's position. The scenery seemed to waver for a moment, then it straightened out again.
His right hand quietly released the bowstring.
An eerie wind could be heard. It was too late by the time ForeverAlone realized it.
The arrow came from behind Miho and pierced his temples. It was a curve shot.
He instantly froze from just one hit due to the Frost Archer’s synergy with Aqua.
Almond appeared from the distance on his board. As soon as he got off, he readied four more arrows. He was determined to fire multiple shots without having to balance on the board anymore.
All the arrows struck the bullseye.
ForeverAlone's HP went down to 25%. Almond's damage output wasn't particularly impressive as the Frost Archer. Nonetheless, the accumulation of multiple shots made an impact.
'How long will the freeze last!?'
ForeverAlone continued to get hit for the next two seconds while he was frozen. As it was about to end...
Miho formed a huge bubble that trapped him.
For three seconds, he was rendered useless again. Almond continued to excitedly shoot at him.
ForeverAlone thought there was still hope, but...
"Huff. Puff. I finally caught up!"
Tako arrived late, but with perfect timing and threw his net.
The Fisherman's net also caught hold of ForeverAlone. Tako's beefy arm started to rip the net.
The net dragged away ForeverAlone. Meanwhile, Almond fired four more shots. A target on the ground made for an easy target and all the shots landed on ForeverAlone’s head.
At the same time, a loud announcement could be heard.
[LazySoldier -> ForeverAlone]
The cheers that followed interrupted Almond.
— Let's go to match 3!!!
— Almond! Almond! Almond!
— I choose you! Lazy Soldier!
The crowd shook with excitement. Fans of Balloon Stars had been waiting for their comeback and the moment they crushed ForeverAlone.
"Argggh! So much CC (crowd control)!!!"
OrangeKing wrapped his body as if he had been attacked.
"Frozen and trapped in a bubble. The net as well! Their consecutive plays were beautiful!"
"Even as a Challenger, he died without being able to do anything."
"You can't get out of being frozen so easily even as a Challenger!"
"That's right! CC is fair! This is a famous saying for all MOBA games."
"Anyway, it's been a while since Almond used a bow. Thanks to that, the game sure is refreshing to watch."
"Indeed. There probably aren't many players who can fire so accurately from maximum range using the Frost Archer. At least, not in this tournament. That's for sure."
"Yes, the first shot was the most important, and it landed perfectly."
"It was crucial that ForeverAlone didn't see the arrow. If it was him, he would've been able to dodge it."
"Almond intentionally shot from behind Miho. He took advantage of the fact that ForeverAlone couldn't look in Miho’s direction."
OrangeKing facepalmed himself after listening to the analyst.
"Ah~ That's brutal. Is this how popular people play!?"
"They're basically using the girl he likes and making fun of him! All together!"
— OrangeKing, are you a comedian?
— For real... they're basically making fun of him...
— Huh? Why am I crying...
The caster laughed and responded, "OrangeKing, I think you're making fun of him the most!"
— ??? This is why I hate smart casters.
After roaming to level five, ForeverAlone played more carefully. However, that didn't matter. When the opposing team reached Level 6, they charged at him with their ultimates.
Almond’s wall of ice blocked ForeverAlone's path, leaving him open to arrows. Miho's ultimate followed shortly afterward.
A large ocean of ice covered ForeverAlone.
ForeverAlone was left with no opening to breathe. Tako's net fired at the same time...
Meanwhile, around twenty arrows also came flying and turned ForeverAlone into a hedgehog.
[LazySoldier is on a rampage!]
The casters described it as bullying. ForeverAlone's death parade had begun.
"Ah, ForeverAlone! Is he dying again!??"
"I'd be losing it if I were him!"
"It's like they're getting revenge for the previous game!"
ForeverAlone was knocked back, frozen, or dead whenever the camera panned to him.
— This is like my school days...
— ForeverAlone... no...
— Stop bullying him! Stop bullying him! Stop bullying him!
Even though Balloon Stars wore him down already, they never stopped focusing on him.
"Wait this...! They don't even care about winning anymore. They're just beating him up at this point!"
Killing ForeverAlone any further wouldn’t make a difference.
“Oppa, are we going to do it again?”
“Yes,” Almond firmly replied.
“I, we should do something else.”
“No, this was our strategy. That's what Tako said.”
“Haha... true, that is what I said.”
Almond said it was because of their strategy, but anyone could tell this was revenge for the first game. As a result, ForeverAlone was hit by so many arrows that they would appear in his dreams.
"Ah... ForeverAlone! He's not the fire champion right now. He's just a hedgehog!"
"This will definitely affect his third game!"
"Man’s greatest... no, the best nut! Almond!"
"The world really is unfair! If ForeverAlone had a girlfriend, do you think this would happen?! I feel so bad for him!" OrangeKing spoke up as if he was ForeverAlone. "It pisses me off because I bet Almond has girls lined up to see him!"
"OrangeKing! You're married!"
Just as the casters pointed out, ForeverAlone seemed to be losing his composure.
'F... fuck... why are they doing this to me?'
He couldn't do anything on the battlefield anymore. Their team lost their main strength, so Balloon Stars easily won.
"With this, Balloon Stars has finally caught up! Their performance was remarkable. It's astonishing that they lost the first game. This match’s momentum has significantly shifted."
The nexus exploded, and the game ended.
"ForeverAlone finished with 12 deaths!"
ForeverAlone died twelve times. This death count was common in solo queue, but it was rare in a team tournament . It clearly indicated how one-sided the game was.
"I think this will really affect his pride."
"It really is terrifying."
"I think I'd delete all my social media apps if I was ForeverAlone!"
ForeverAlone wore a dark expression even after leaving the battlefield.
"ForeverAlone is actually quite young. I'd understand if he breaks out in tears."
"He might even get PTSD. His death count is 12, but they tried to kill him 38 times! Not even the most hated person would get attacked this much!"
— Poor ForeverAlone...
— Just leave him alone!
— ForeverAlone... we're with you...
— 38 times?! That's an overreaction.
"Are you sure it's 38 times?"
"It's a figure of speech."
The laughter in the crowd quieted down.
"Alright! Balloon Stars proved themselves in their scrims, but it was hard to determine their power in real matches because they only played against weak teams! Whereas Solo Is Back was weak in scrims, but strong against formidable teams during the tournament! These two teams finally met, and now they're one-to-one. There's nowhere to back down! The final match will continue! Let's look at some commercials, and we'll be right back!"
The channel went to commercials as the players disappeared into the waiting lobby.
"That felt good this time!"
The other teammates, including Miho, jumped around in the lobby. Bubblegum even rolled on the ground. Almond remained calm since it wasn’t over yet.
He had completely destroyed ForeverAlone, whom he lost to in the first game. Almond was human, after all. He felt happy and satisfied.
'This victory means a lot.'
It wasn’t only about winning the match, but also about strategically outplaying their opponents. Balloon Stars had achieved victory by adopting a roaming playstyle they hadn’t previously used. This new approach would undoubtedly pose a challenge for their future opponents to contend with.
'Above all, the match was clean.'
Almond finally gained a clear understanding of how games progressed. By his standards, this match required almost no feedback.
"Alright! I have no feedback for this match!" Tako clapped and announced so because the game went perfectly. "Let's go with a similar strategy for the next game. They obviously can't deal with it."
Almond's face brightened.
He felt glad that Tako thought the same.
Tako put a hand on Almond's shoulder.
"How is it Almond? LIL is pretty fun, right?"
It was fun. No doubt about it.
On the battlefield, teamwork was essential to thwart the enemy's strategy. These were the elements that truly ignited everyone’s adrenaline and excitement. At that moment, Almond's thoughts drifted away from archery and even So-Yeon. After briefly contemplating, a smile spread across his face, and he nodded in agreement.
That day, Balloon Stars went on to achieve an overwhelming victory in the third game.