The laning phase began. Yuel and Lars fired at the minions from afar with their long-ranged classes. Yuel positioned himself a bit ahead of Lars to intercept any attempts at aggression, but overall they both maintained a safe distance from the minions.

On the other hand, the enemy duo didn't have the same luxury. Kai's Pyromancer had to advance toward the frontline from time to time to unleash Flame Wave. And, Vincent's Viking was an entirely melee class save for his Throw Axe, so he had to be on the frontline if he wanted to deal any damage. Naturally, Yuel took full advantage of these facts.

Every time Vincent advanced to help with the farming effort, Yuel and Lars advanced to get Vincent within their firing range. They poked Vincent until he had no choice but retreat to the rear.

Figured. They won't let me play. Vincent smiled wryly. In a 2v2 situation where one of the enemies was melee, zoning him out was a basic tactic. So, Vincent couldn’t get to the frontline to help with the farming. not unless he wanted to commit suicide.

Once in a while, Vincent tossed his axe at minions from afar to get some damage in. But, overall, his contribution to the farming efforts was negligible.

“Sorry,” Vincent apologized. “Seems like the farming is up to you.”

“I noticed,” Kai shrugged.

Not fazed at all, huh. Vincent was impressed by the girl's confidence. Or rather, her overconfidence. She was probably still under the impression she could seriously take on the Golden Duo.

Still, even though their farming was effectively 1v2, Kai held her ground. The strong AoE burst of Flame Wave was effective at clearing minions and compensated for the fact she was farming alone. Neither Cryomancer nor Gunslinger had any particularly impressive lane clearing tools, so a Pyromancer alone could roughly rival them as long as the Gunslinger wasn’t landing quick headshots on minions all the time.

However, the bad news was that Kai had to get close to the minions to unleash Flame Wave effectively. This medium reach was one of the greatest weaknesses of Pyromancer. The burst of Flame Wave was powerful, but it forced Kai to put herself in danger every time.

“Just a friendly advice,” Vincent said. “Don't try too hard to match their clearing speed.”

“You’re asking me to surrender lane control?”

“You put yourself in danger every time you advance to the frontline. If you keep this up, the Golden Duo shall smite you down.”

“Aren’t you here to prevent things like that?” Kai asked. “If they get close, just boot your ult.”

“So, you’re using me like a scarecrow here?” Vincent chuckled.

Kai had the right idea here. Viking was scary at close range due to his ult, so even the Golden Duo will think twice before approaching him. So, even though Vincent couldn't help much with the farming, his mere presence on the lane kept Kai safe.

“Yo,” Lars exclaimed. “When we gonna go all out?”

“Not any time soon,” Yuel answered. “We can't go in while the Viking is here.”

“Why not? Let's do it!”

“You want to face an army of pirates? Yeah, didn't think so. Just wait until we wear out the Viking with pokes. He doesn't have any regen, so he'll have to retreat once he runs out of potions.”

“Geh, so boring,” Lars twisted his lips but kept following the game plan. He stayed far in the back and only advanced to pressure the enemy at Yuel's command. There was still a feeling of unruliness coming from him but, for now, he was cooperating with Yuel’s tactics.

I have to admit, Vincent is putting on a solid performance. Yuel nodded to himself. As far as defense was concerned, Vincent didn't come across as a weak player at all. He played patiently from afar and understood the threat he was posing with his presence as a Viking. It was a small thing, but Yuel saw countless melee Supports who impatiently advanced to the frontline to make their presence look more relevant.

A lack of greed was a virtue for a Support. While a Carry sometimes had to be greedy to score kills or secure objectives, a Support was almost always better off taking a slower and more methodical approaching. After all, the Support’s priority was to support the Carry during the laning phase, not to achieve anything amazing. Apparently, Vincent understood this profound concept.

Yuel picked a ranged Support in part because he hoped Vincent would fall for the mistake of being an impatient melee Support. However, so far, Vincent hasn’t shown any obvious weaknesses Yuel could exploit.

In fact, both opponents were putting on a strong show. Kai picked all the right moments to unleash Flame Wave on the minion wave while maintaining as much distance as possible from her foes. As a result, it was difficult to punish her advances. She wasn't a Diamond player for nothing, that's for sure.

Due to the enemy’s solid performance, the laning phase remained in a status quo even during the third minion wave. Yuel and Lars cleared the wave a little faster, but Kai immediately caught up with a powerful Flame Wave. Her Heat Gauge must have been staying close max at all times.

“Meh, nothing is happening,” Lars pouted. “Welp, at least I can work on my headshots.”

Lars apparently used this “peaceful” laning phase to practice his head shooting skills. He fired slower than usual but about half his shots landed on the minions’ heads. However, the other half either outright missed or just barely hit the body.

Even though Yuel asked to not be greedy with headshots, he didn't say anything about Lars’s practice. Since Gunslinger’s headshots were critical hits, firing a little slower to secure headshots was actually better DPS. It was hard to calculate the exact damage on the spot but Yuel estimated that, in the worst-case scenario, they weren't losing much in this exchange.

And, if this little practice helps Lars to learn how to score headshots with a controller, all the more power to him. This investment might pay off in the later stages of the match.

“Okay!” Lars exclaimed. “Check this out!” He activated Fan the Hammer and barraged the minion wave.

The first shot hit a minion straight in the forehead. The second shot was also a headshot! And then, the third shot! ... missed completely.

“Dang it!” Lars ranted as he adjusted his aim for the fourth shot. Knowing that goof, he was definitely going for another headshot to prove that the ratio of his headshots improved.

It sounded like the wrong thing to do because Lars has already lost the rhythm of the shots for Fan the Hammer. Unfortunately, Yuel wasn't fast enough to advise against this idea. Gunslinger’s revolver was like a machinegun during Fan the Hammer. Therefore, while Yuel was still forming his analysis of the situation, the Gunslinger already fired the next bullet!

As expected, it wasn't a headshot. Yuel was no expert on the topic, but he watched some Gunslinger guides before and heard about it many times from Lars. Once the shooter's timing was thrown off with a miss, it was “super duper hard” to adjust again in the middle of Fan the Hammer.

So, it came as no surprise the bullet failed to hit the minion’s head. However, what did surprise, was that the bullet landed on the minion at all. Instead of hitting the head, the shot pierced through the minion's chest. The following shots were all the same.

“Meh, better than nothing,” Lars said.

“Did you aim for the head?”

“Nope,” Lars answered. “I messed up the third shot, so I figured I won't be making the next ones either. So, I just went for the body.”

“Really?” Yuel blinked. Did Lars really give up on the last few headshot opportunities? This was unheard of. “What's wrong? I thought you'll keep going for headshots until I lecture you like twenty times.”

“Hey, I’m learning from my mistakes, okay?” Lars chuckled. “Just figured it ain't good to go for headshots all the time before I practice them enough. I don't wanna lose the game just because I whiff headshots.”

“That's surprisingly smart coming from you.”

“Rude, haha,” Lars smiled wryly. “It's just that, sometimes, being greedy kinda costs you games.”

Welcome to MOBAs. Yuel retorted mentally but didn't say anything.

There was a hint of frustration in Lars's tone and it wasn't hard to guess where it was coming from: their defeat during the selection match. Lars died time and again by greedily chasing Ellen and by recklessly challenging Taison to 1v1s. These misplays were a big factor in the team’s defeat and the harsh experiences seemed to teach the goof a lesson or two.

Lars’s headshot ratio increased with every subsequent wave and he stopped going for impossible headshots he knew he’ll miss. As a result, his lane clearing speed increased every time through sheer skill. It was amazing how quickly this goof was leveling up his execution on a tablet.

Thanks to that, they have been progressively gaining the upper hand on the lane. Lars cleared the wave faster and faster with each iteration, which made it that much harder for Kai to contest. Eventually, they managed to clear the wave fast enough to give themselves some time to aggress on their opponents.

They prioritized attacking Kai because she was the squishy DPS, but Vincent didn't let that pass. He stood in their way and blocked with his body.

“That's how we'll wear him out,” Yuel explained. “We'll go after the Pyro and that’ll force the Viking to bodyblock. He'll run out of gas eventually.”

“Oh, smart!” Lars nodded. “We gotta go all out on that dude then! Let's go!”

“No, we don't,” Yuel shot down the idea. “Let’s force them to act. Right now, we got the lane advantage. So, they only got two options: either submit against our advantage or try mounting a counterattack. In other words, either they come to us or we'll slowly grind them to dust”

“Not sure I get all the details but sounds cool! So, when do I go all in and kill somebody?”

“When the Viking comes at us, if he ever does.”

“So, we wait?”

“Yeah, we wait.”

“Boo, but okay.” Lars went along with the defensive plan with surprisingly little objection. He was still the usual hungry beast who sought action and kills, but he was more accepting of a defensive plan than ever. Perhaps, this was the first step toward that goof’s growth!?

“So, can I go all out on these dudes already?”

“... no, I said we wait.”

“I waited for like five seconds yo. That gotta be enough, right? Haha.”

“Yeah, right,” Yuel sighed with a smile. Well, at least Lars was showing signs of developing patience. So, in twenty years or so, he’ll finally figure out what it means to play defense. Hopefully.

Following Yuel's game plan, they waited for the enemy to take action. They have already gained the upper hand during class selection and that allowed them to gain an early game advantage, so Yuel was going to abuse that fact to the max. There was no need to take risks by going on the offensive, especially not with Lars's half-cooked Gunslinger skills on tablet. Let the enemy come to them and commit mistakes.

The opponents were no amateurs, they understood the situation well.

“You not gonna initiate?” Kai asks. “In case you didn't notice, we're kinda in a rough spot.”

“You don't say,” Vincent smiled wryly. Yeah, this situation is rough. We attack, we're screwed. If we don't attack, we're also screwed.

Viking's melee attack range was a huge issue right now. He could throw his axe at enemies, but that was both his escape tool and initiation tool. The enemy will probably aggress on him right away if Throw Axe goes on cooldown, so he avoided using it too much. He also had the option of using Takedown to grab a minion and toss it at another, but that required advancing too far into the frontline and putting himself at immense danger.

Vincent hoped the enemy will be the first to attack and overextend, but so far Chessmaster and Gunz have been unexpectedly passive. They didn't radiant the same terrorizing aura they had during the scrimmage with the Leopards.

Then again, in this situation, Chessmaster and Gunz didn't need to lift a finger to win. They held the upper hand in this position, so it was a valid tactic to wait for Vincent and Kai to make the fire move. It was probably the smarter and more level-headed decision, but also the more boring one. Vincent wanted to see some thrill! He wanted to experience the unstoppable destructive force of the Golden Duo!

Welp, maybe that won't happen until Vincent and Kai prove they were worthy opponents. But, were they, though? It was hard to say, but at least they won’t go down easily in a fight.

“So, you want to attack?” Vincent asked.

“Well, duh,” Kai said. “Or what, you want to wait till they push us back to tower? Then what?”

“Yeah, you're right,” Vincent nodded. If he were playing a proper Support, perhaps he could've played the waiting game for a bit longer. But, with Viking, his strongest tools were on the offensive side. He had to start something, or else he'll be nothing more than dead weight.

Yep, I totally went for the best pick with Viking. 200 IQ play. Vincent shook his head.

The entire idea behind picking Viking was to secure himself a solid escape option with Throw Axe. However, he failed to consider the possibility that he'll have to be the aggressor to win lane advantage. Now, he had to go hard on the offensive with the very class he picked for defense. It was le derp of the year.

But, it wasn’t all bad news. Based on his observations during the Leopards scrimmage, the Golden Duo were godlike on the offense but their defense didn't leave much of an impression. So, if Vincent and Kai take the initiative and go hard, they might be able to pull something off.

“Alrighty,” Vincent started. “After they clear our minions, I'll try bumping into these guys with my ult.”

“Sounds good,” Kai nodded. “I'll follow up.”

“Just make sure you stay behind me to not give them a chance to target you.”

“Duh. No need to remind me every time, you know. Carry is one of my main roles, in case you forgot.”

“Yep, your second best role.”

“That's right.”

She didn't get the hint, did she. Vincent smiled wryly. Both he and Kai were playing their secondary roles right now. So, what chance they stood against the Golden Duo who mained Carry and Support in the truest sense?

Either way, Vincent had no choice but to aggress against these clearly superior foes. Here goes nothing!

The enemy cleared the minion wave first, per usual. They still had two bowmen alive and used this advantage to push along the lane. Little did they know it was all a bait! Vincent and Kai were about to pull a fast one on the Golden Duo and crush these godlike attackers! Muhahahaha! We're so dead...

Vincent activated Throw Axe and, you won't believe it, he threw an axe! The originality of this skill name always killed him. It's like the company held a competition for coming up with the most generic name ever and whoever named this skill was the winner.

Either way, he threw the axe but it wasn't aimed at the enemy. Instead, he aimed it at the wall far behind him. The axe dug into the wall and got stuck in it.

This was Vincent's lifeline and the reason he picked Viking in the first place. The axe will remain stuck in that wall for a while and during that time his Throw Axe skill was replaced with Axe Blitz. It allowed him to instantly blink to the axe's location. So, if anything goes wrong, this was his trusty panic button!

“Alrighty,” Vincent gulped. “I'm going in! Let us venture into the abyss!”

“Got it.”

Vincent and Kai charged forth at the incoming enemies. It was showtime!

“They're coming,” Yuel warned as soon as the Viking tossed his axe at the wall. It was the classic Viking opening. It was a bit too obvious to Yuel's taste, but it usually did the job. Too bad the enemy were facing somebody who has already analyzed this move all the way back during the drafting phase.

First, Yuel erected an ice wall behind Vincent. That kept Kai away and divided the enemy forces.

However, even alone, Viking was still a threat in this situation. His ult will summon a gang of savage vikings who were tough to deal with. Yuel had to prevent that play at any cost.

Fortunately, Yuel’s Blink was out of cooldown by now. So, he blinked forward and caught Vincent off-guard. It was a repeat of how the game began: the classic Blink + Ice Coffin! Yuel froze Vincent in place before the guy could even react.

“Ah,” Vincent exclaimed. “That perfect timing! Could it be!? Does he also possess Mystic Eyes of Timing Perception!?”

This was marvelous! Vincent knew the Golden Duo’s offense was their strongest suit, so he believed he got a shot against their defense. However, Chessmaster understood that too! Therefore, instead of defending, Chessmaster countered Vincent’s offense with an offense of his own! Offense was the best defense for these guys!

The hunter became the prey! This was a pinch for Information Blackhole! Will he find a way to crawl out of his predicament!?

I’m so dead, haha...