While the Lumimancer was busy shooting the lion blocking her escape, Aron snuck up to her.

“I can hear him creeping up to me,” Kai said. Cold sweat ran down her forehead. A Grim Reaper in a lion’s skin was coming after her.

“Just keep shooting,” Yuel distanced himself from the lion and ran in the opposite direction. “I’ll stop him.”

“Oh?” Aron smiled meaningfully. So, Yuel was going to intercept, that’s sharp decision-making. Well, except for the fact Yuel signed up for this hopeless gank in the first place. Aside from that glaring flaw, the rest of Yuel’s decisions have been up to par so far. Truly, it was mind-boggling. Yuel both committed a terrible mistake but also made many smart decisions from there onward.

“Do you need help over there?” Alex asked.

“Hrm,” Aron frowned. “That could help, but save it for later. My ult is still up, so I can handle this myself.” Time to remind Yuel whose domain he invaded.

Aron was heading toward Kai at first, but he switched targets the moment Yuel entered the scene. Now, he was going straight after the cocky invader!

Me!? Yuel flinched. A flurry of sharp claws fired at him! Each slash was swift and powerful, such was the strength of the king in his domain. Stat-wise, Yuel and Aron were supposed to be on equal ground. However, inside The King’s Dominion, Yuel was like a mouse challenging a lion.

On top of that, Aron was a better duelist than Yuel, so skill won’t save him either. Nevertheless, Yuel had to stand his ground. He had to keep shielding Kai to help her get out of this predicament.

“We can get out now!” Kai announced. Finally, the needlessly tanky lion they’ve been attacking decided to kick the bucket. They penetrated a hole in the barricade! Time for a breakout!

Tch, so persistent. Aron clicked his tongue. He didn’t expect the enemy to pave an escape path so quickly. Even though the situation should’ve been a total dead-end for them, these two kept pushing forward as far as they could.

In fact, with this achievement, they successfully shook Aron’s confidence. Maybe, just maybe, there was a chance he won’t be able to kill the Lumimancer by himself. These two cracked a hole in his absolute domain.

However, all their hard work only proved the futility of it all. Yuel worked so hard just to keep the Lumimancer out of Aron’s claws, but that’s all he achieved. Unfortunately for him, Aron wasn’t the only threat on the lane.

“Change of plans,” Aron addressed Alex. “You take out the girl. I’ll handle Yuel.”

“Works for me,” Alex nodded. “I’m already in position to shoot whoever comes out.”

“Good,” Aron approved. There was no need for him to worry about the girl anymore. It turned into a real 1v1 between him and Yuel.

Too bad, but this is the end of your little rescue operation. Aron unleashed Mighty Roar in Yuel’s face. The difference in their HP percentages wasn’t high enough yet to inflict fear, but the roar properly stole stats from Yuel and transferred them to Aron.

Aron’s stats were already superior thanks to The King’s Dominion, and now he got even stronger. Meanwhile, Yuel only became weaker. This won’t even be a fight, it’ll be an execution. Aron, the king of this domain, shall execute the fool who dared to invade his territory.

Is he going all out against me!? Yuel jerked. This wasn’t supposed to happen! Aron’s goal was supposed to be Kai, not Yuel. Is he going to let her go? No, that’s not like Aron. He’d never let his prey escape like that. Then, what is- ugh!

A flurry of claws fired at Yuel. He had to create some distance or else he’ll be the one to die here! So, he rolled to the other side of the lion cage.

Okay, what’s next? Yuel recovered from the roll, but the enemy was hot on his trail. It seemed like Aron has truly given up on pursuing Kai. But, was such a thing really possible? Would Aron let a dying enemy slip away from him?

No chance, not unless he has a different way to confirm the kill... ah! It finally struck him.

“Kai, wait-” It was too late. While Yuel was stalling the warden, Kai has already made her escape out of prison.

Finally outta there. Kai sighed in relief. It sure was a close one. She just barely escaped the clutches of death back there. If not for Yuel, she would have been done for.

But, that didn’t matter. She was out! She was alive! Hell yeah! She exited the cage through the opening in the wall and set foot outside.

ZAP. A familiar magical sound. A magical orb collapsed inwards, dragging everything in the area toward itself. It was Dimensional Collapse!

“Wha-!?” Kai wasn’t given enough time to react. The mini dark hole pulled her in without her consent!

This is bad! Kai saw clearly what awaited her ahead. There was another orb, lying in wait for its prey. She saw the threat from a mile away, but she couldn’t do a single thing about it for she couldn’t move during the gravitational pull. She was heading straight toward the second orb!

It’s a little overkill, but I rather not take any risks with you. Alex thought. If he all he wanted was to erase what little remained of Kai’s HP, he merely had to land one shot with Repelling Force.

However, last time he tried to confirm such a hit on her, Kai dodged his shot from afar. She must have reacted to it by sound and there was just enough time to move aside. It’d be pretty embarrassing if the same thing happens again, wouldn’t it? Aron won’t let him hear the end of it. Therefore, he had to do everything in his power to prevent the Lumimancer’s escape.

That’s why he first pulled her with Dimensional Collapse. While the Lumimancer’s movements were sealed, he unleashed a burst of magic and sent a Magic Orb flying right at her. An easy guaranteed hit.

“D-Damn!” Kai saw it all. The unleashed magical force and the orb darting toward her. She saw everything, but she couldn't even budge. The black orb rammed into her and snuffed out her remaining HP.

『You have been killed!』

“Shit!” Kai punched the chair arm. This play wasn’t supposed to end like this! She aggressed on the Sorcerer to reclaim the lane, but she wound up dead in the process. Now the entire lane belonged to that bastard. I reap what I sow, huh.

Thinking about it, what did she even expect to happen? It should’ve been obvious that opponents of this caliber would shut down her flimsy offense on the spot. Her entire plan was suicidal.

In fact, it was a miracle that Yuel nearly got her outta that disaster. For a moment there, she really thought she’ll get away scot-free. It felt like Yuel made all the right decisions in that situation. And yet, it wasn’t enough.

Guess that’s how deep of a hole I dug myself, Kai hung her head. Speaking of which, did Yuel get away? She switched her view to Yuel’s perspective, a luxury only the dead possessed.

Damn, this Lion shifts his focus fast. Just a moment ago he was chasing me, but now he’s all over Yuel, Kai gritted her teeth. You better not die here. I don’t want that to be my fault as well.

As I feared. Yuel frowned. It was only logical to assume that Freezer will wait outside. Yuel knew about that possibility all along, but there was nothing he could’ve done about it. So, he wanted to believe it won’t happen. So naive.

Seriously, why did I even bother going through with this gank? Yuel sighed. Even though he knew the odds of getting Kai out of here alive were slim to none, he still went for it, as if to convince her that he was wanted to help her lane situation.

Thanks to this misplay, the enemy was about to score not one but TWO kills. The cage of lions was still up, so Aron still maintained an immense boost of power. Not to mention, Freezer was right around the corner and could join the offense at any moment. This was beyond hopeless.

But, I can’t let it end with two deaths. I have to get out. Yuel was already down to 40% HP. Aron’s swift and sharp assaults were rapidly draining his HP. I can’t keep soaking this damage. But, there’s nowhere to run.

A wall of lions stood in Yuel’s path. Just beyond them laid the road to his Turret, but he couldn’t cross through them or even get closer. The moment he approaches, the lions will lash at him.

But, this wall won’t stand here forever. The effect of The King’s Dominion should wear off in a few seconds. Yuel just had to find a way to stall Aron until then.

Normally, Yuel could’ve gone for Takedown and tossed Aron away. However, as long as The King’s Dominion was in effect, Aron was immune to CC here. So, Yuel had to handle this one with fundamentals.

Except, there’s nowhere to run anymore. Yuel bit his lip. I can’t start running in the opposite direction, that’ll only take me farther away from my tower. But, I can’t just stand here and wait. Turning into a sandbag isn’t an option either. I don’t have enough HP to tank many more hits. If only I could make Aron whiff a few attacks...

But, was that even possible? Could Yuel somehow make a player of Aron’s caliber whiff attacks in this situation? Actually, there was one way. Yuel experienced it on his own flesh about a month ago.

Back when he fought against Howard’s sister, Yuel whiffed a bunch of attacks. For some ungodly reason, his Knight struggled to land any counters against Ignis’s Warrior. As it turned out, the reason was the slight difference in attack range between the two classes.

On paper, Knight and Warrior had the same “melee attack range”, that’s how it appeared on the wiki. However, turned out that the specific numbers hiding behind that generalization slightly differed across various melee classes.

After suffering an embarrassing defeat at Ignis’ hand, Yuel dug deeper into this topic and found the ranking of the attack ranges of all melee classes. Indeed, Warrior’s range was slightly superior to Knight’s. And, there were many other interesting bits of info on that list. Yuel made sure to memorize the entire thing.

So, there was one thing he knew: Viking’s attack range was superior to Lionfolk’s. And, the difference was big enough to have practical applications. Yuel even practiced this specific matchup before when he was verifying the listed rankings in training mode.

It wasn’t enough to just know which classes had a superior range. The differences between their attack ranges were so minute, that they normally didn’t play a role in combat. Nevertheless, if the player with the superior range could reliably keep their opponent at maximum range, they could bait their opponent into whiffing, just like Ignis did to him.

Since Yuel has been playing Top a lot lately, he decided to practice such interactions for some classes; Viking was one of them. It wasn’t easy to translate this theoretical knowledge to practice. However, if Yuel fully concentrated on this task, he could pull it off once or twice. Probably.

Not like I have any other options here. He gulped. There was nowhere to run and he couldn’t allow himself to get hit anymore. It was a sink-or-swim and he had to swim!

Okay, examine the distance of our feet. Yuel took a deep breath. Now! He swung his axe at the incoming predator.

Oh? You’re challenging me? Aron raised an eyebrow. Hrm, I suppose that’s your last resort. Very well. Then, prepare yourself!

Aron shot a counterattack right away. His Lionfolk swung his long arm and clawed right through Yuel. At least, that’s what should’ve happened. In practice, his claws cut through empty air.

What? Did I get out-spaced? Aron frowned. Was it intentional?

“Y-Yes!” Yuel would’ve pumped a fist if he had the luxury to do so. But, time was of the essence. He made Aron whiff one attack and now it was time to run the hell out of here!

The effect of “The King’s Dominion” came to an end and the lions dispersed. The path ahead was clear! Go go go!

Cheeky brat. Aron clicked his tongue. You’re not getting away!

“Sorry,” Alex casually jogged after the two of them from afar. “Can’t help you with this one. I’ve spent all my spells.”

“No problem,” Aron said. “I’ll get him. I’m faster.”

It’s not over yet. Yuel knew. Aron’s Lionfolk was faster on foot. It won’t take long before Aron catches up and continues his relentless assault. That’s why a little bit of a tricky was necessary.

He’s about to catch up. Yuel estimated. Three. Two. One. Stop! He halted in place and turned around to face his pursuer!

“Wha-!?” Aron blinked. Did he give up? Very well, then I’ll- no. Wait!

Aron realized what was about to happen, but it was too late. He was already within the Viking’s reach.

“Haaaaaa!” the Viking roared as he grabbed the lion man with both arms. Then, he hurled the beast far away, to the other side of the lane. It was Takedown!

Tch. not bad. Aron landed a fair distance away from his prey. Naturally, Yuel didn't waste any time making his escape. Aron gave chase for a little while but then gave up. It was over. Yuel reached the Turret area, he was untouchable now.

That's a polished Viking you got. Aron thought. Viking wasn't a Support class, so Yuel wasn’t supposed to excel this much with the class. Then again, Top was Yuel's secondary role, so perhaps it was no surprise he could perform well with one of the highest tier Top Laners. I'll keep that in mind for our next fight.

Phew. Yuel sighed in relief as he finally reached his tower. Can't believe that gimmick actually worked. He probably didn't expect me to play Viking like this, so he let his guard down. It won’t happen again, that's for sure.

Aron was like a self-correcting killing machine. Every time he was outplayed, he stored the data of that play in his database and processed a solution. The next time he comes across the same situation, he'll counter it without fail. That's how the killing machine always built itself up into an unstoppable late-game terminator.

However, this game was only about to hit mid-game. So, for now, it was still possible to outplay Aron with tricks like these. That's the only reason Yuel escaped death this time.

Unfortunately, escaping alive was all Yuel ever achieved from this gank. He just managed to escape, nothing more. He didn't score any kills and he couldn't save Kai. It was a pointless gank, just as he feared.

For a moment there, he thought he might actually pull Kai out of that predicament, but he should've known better. Against opponents of Aron's caliber, that gank was hopeless from the beginning; it was borderline suicidal.

Everybody was surely going to diss him hard for this terrible misplay. Or, so he thought...