Chapter 250. Flashy Blade (2)
Most people said this when asked to predict the outcome.
"Balloon Stars has never beaten High Protein before."
"I like Balloon Stars, but High Protein will win."
"Um. Three to zero? High Protein will definitely win."
"Even three to one is hard. They never won even a single game even in scrims."
It was an obvious prediction. Around 80% predicted High Protein's victory in the actual survey, and the other 20% supporting Balloon Stars were their fans. The difference would have been much bigger if it were a betting game.
But...
An upset occurred.
— What is this!?
— Is this real?
— A level one solo kill, wow.
— What the!
"No way, a Level 1 solo kill? Is this a major accident?!"
A Level 1 solo kill just happened.
OrangeKing shouted excitedly, "Almond is shouting, right?! Bring the main dish! The sweet radishes are already chopped!!"
— It's you who’s shouting
— Fact: OrangeKing shouted.
— Lol, send in the sweet radishes.
— The main dish is more expensive… he sure sounds confident.
The caster wanted to calm the excited OrangeKing, but he also sounded quite excited.
"Okay, okay! Let's watch the replay!"
OrangeKing didn't stop talking even while they showed the replay.
"Wow! What is this!? What happened! Such a crazy play happened right at the beginning of the finals! Is Almond sick with a disease that causes him to not feel any nervousness?"
"In my opinion, it looks like he's sick with a disease where he’ll die if he doesn't play well! He's playing as if he practiced with his life on the line!"
Even the red glasses analyst got involved with a heightened voice.
OrangeKing, no, the entire broadcasting team was so excited for a reason. It was a hidden card prepared for the finals, and the weaker team achieved an upset. A kill happened right at the start. The broadcasting team couldn't but love all these elements.
Why?
— Wowowowowow!
— Almond! Almond! Almond!?
Cheers echoed in the stadium because the underdog's rebellion always drove people crazy.
The broadcasting team had a duty to further fuel this madness.
"Look here!"
OrangeKing continued to fervently commentate while looking at the fall of SweetRadish.
"From the perspective of SweetRadish, they were hugging and stabbing each other in the back! It's like they were filming a romantic movie! Suddenly, one of them died!"
— The world of mid lane, wow.
— A romance movie lol
— Red got the kill.
— One even died, a perfect ending, lol.
"During~ the replay! On the live screen, SweetRadish has revived and returned. It's going to be really hard from now on, right?"
Fortunately, the replay ended before OrangeKing's throat exploded, and the screen switched.
***
Players had to kill minions to obtain gold and experience, but all the minions that SweetRadish would have killed were already gone. The turret had killed all of them and only left their corpses behind.
In contrast, Almond had already reached Level 2.
"They said it’s surprising that Flashy Blade reached Level 2 first. That makes things quite easy, doesn’t it?"
The broadcasters emphasized Flashy Blade's Level 2.
"Yes, reaching Level 2 doesn’t dramatically increase one's power, but getting there first does make things easier!"
They kept saying it was easier because of the skill Flashy Blade learned at Level 2.
[Blade Recall]
[Will call the blade back to the hand. If an enemy is in its path during this, damage will be dealt. Cooldown: 3 seconds.]
From now on, Flashy Blade could throw his blade and call it back to his hand. Originally, one would have to teleport to the location and pick up the blade after throwing it or run there to retrieve it. Flashy Blade could also throw the blade back and escape with a teleport.
"With this, he can basically use ranged attacks every three seconds, right?"
It meant that ranged attacks were possible, which meant that stable gold and experience farming were also possible.
"Of course, it's much safer compared to level one Flashy Blade. It's not truly safe since he's a melee character with less health to begin with."
"Right, one always has to be cautious. Isn't Almond playing really well right now though? He's even zoning out his opponent!"
Almond threw his blade not only at the minions, but also occasionally toward SweetRadish.
"Wow, the fact that Flashy Blade is zoning in the laning phase... shows the current situation, right?"
"It's a huge advantage!"
In reality, Almond had complete control of the mid-lane phase.
"It doesn’t matter if he got a solo kill at Level 1, Flashy Blade remains Flashy Blade. He's hardly leaving any openings, right?"
"Is it just me? Almond's movements look exceptionally smooth today!"
As the broadcasters said, perhaps it was due to Almond's remarkable condition that day. He continued to pressure the opponent and reached Level 5. If things continued this way, he would effortlessly reach Level 6.
In response, SweetRadish made a cunning move.
"SweetRadish is leaving the lane. Is he roaming?"
SweetRadish left the mid lane and headed somewhere else.
"He's been trying to use the map extensively, right? The vision wards are also widely spread out."
Thanks to SweetRadish and his jungler, SweetPotato, frequently lighting up the map with vision wards, the current path from the mid to top lane was bright as daylight. There were no risks.
"Ah, Almond is playing the mid lane phase very well. He can’t interfere with the vision wards since he's Flashy Blade, right?"
"Right? It's best to grow quietly until Level 6! On the other hand, SweetRadish read his opponent's mind and is now maximizing his advantage!"
Flashy Blade struggled to leave the lane before reaching Level 6, whether he was thriving or not. Therefore, Balloon Stars couldn't illuminate much of the map. They didn't know where SweetPotato and SweetRadish had gone.
“I don’t see SweetRadish.”
They could only tell each other that they hadn’t seen the enemy.
"SweetRadish! He’s almost at the top lane now!?"
"The timing is perfect, right?"
SweetRadish lost the battle, but he didn’t lose the war yet. He worked toward the team's victory on a grand scale and targeted the enemy’s weakest lane.
"Ah, Bubblegum has to escape!"
"Isn't it already too late!?"
Bubblegum sensed the danger too late and tried to retreat. He couldn’t use his normal quick roll as Iron Ball and his reaction was a bit delayed.
"SweetRadish! He needs to accurately land his skills!"
"Bubblegum has to dodge!"
Pop.
SweetRadish leaped out from the right bush.
Swoosh—
His sword was imbued with a blue wind.
[Gale]
[A massive gust of wind will push forward. Enemies hit will be launched into the air. Cooldown: 4 seconds.]
Wham!!
A slicing wind followed the swing of his sword.
[Airborne]
Bubblegum now floated in the air.
"Ah, it hit!"
Following this, AcornJelly's divine pole stretched out and struck the airborne Bubblegum.
[Pole Strike]
Wham!
A heavy attack resounded.
The floating Bubblegum crashed to the ground and bounced back up due to the impact.
SweetRadish crossed his hands to activate another skill.
[Slice the Sky]
[Teleport to the airborne enemy and slash them three times. Cooldown: 4 seconds.]
This was both a movement and attack skill usable on airborne enemies.
Pop.
SweetRadish's silhouette appeared next to the floating Bubblegum. His sword, filled with wind, slashed him three times.
Slice! Slash! Slish!
Bubblegum, now tattered, floated in the air like a severed kite. The Beast pounced from above and caught him as he fell.
Thump!
[Pounce]
The Beast bit him without hesitation.
Bubblegum lay on the ground and helplessly died.
[Bubblegum]
[HP: 3%]
SweetRadish's final strike ended him.
Thunk!
His elongated blade from the passive skill pierced Bubblegum's belly.
[Enemy Eliminated!]
[SweetRadish → Bubblegum]
"Wow! Perfect combo and team play!"
"Telling Bubblegum to survive that was cruel. He had no choice but to die! SweetRadish's roaming and timing was perfect! He started questionably after Almond killed him!"
However, SweetRadish had perfectly recovered from his earlier mistakes.
[Level Up!]
[Level 5]
He reached Level 5 and caught up to Almond's level.
"Can we take the tower since all three of us are here?"
They were even in a situation where they could destroy a tower.
It was more than possible with AcornJelly, SweetPotato, and SweetRadish. All three had a knack for destroying towers.
"That’s right! Wind Sword, Jecheon, and the Beast are all experts in taking down turrets!”
“Wow, is this how a strong team operates? Balloon Stars definitely scored the first kill... but High Protein somehow managed to favorably turn around the game?”
"It was always like this in their past confrontations. Even if Almond somehow won the laning phase, the opposing team always took the turrets first. Their skills in skirmishes and time management are on a different level. In both league matches and scrims, Balloon Stars couldn’t counteract SweetRadish's overarching strategy. They always fell for such plays."
"But..."
“Almond, come from behind. I'll approach head-on.”
“Yes.”
“The Beast is the primary target. He has no escape.”
While they always fell for such plays, it also meant they gained plenty of experience to practice and prepare for such tactics.
"'But! Almond and Tako stealthily entered the jungle’s top side! When did they get there?'"
"Tako also studied SweetRadish's strategy to compensate for their losses and roughly predicted his movements. He knew that SweetRadish would target Bubblegum to tip the scales of the game. He used that as bait."
"'Are they preparing for a skirmish? The situation is intriguing! High Protein! If they push the turret, they might get wiped out in return!'"
"'Miho is also approaching from far away! Was the plan to use Bubblegum as bait all along?'"
Tako, Almond, and even Miho closed in from a distance. In contrast, the opponents were fully focused on breaking the turret in the top lane.
“Hey, someone is coming from behind. Maybe two?”
“Let's take down the turret first.”
“The support from the bottom lane is missing too.”
“So, three of them?”
High Protein was aware of the approaching enemies. However, SweetRadish's decision was rooted in concern. The game would gradually become tougher if they didn't gain an advantage by taking down the turret now.
Was his judgment correct?
[The turret has been destroyed!]
The turret fell with a rumbling sound.
"'They really pushed that turret quickly?'"
"'Will High Protein retreat now?”
“They're retreating!"
High Protein turned around and ran like madmen. After all, they took down the turret and killed Bubblegum. Escaping now would only benefit them.
“Almond! I'm going in!”
Tako jumped ahead to catch them as they fled.
[Push]
Whoosh!
Tako shot forward at high speed.
"It’s the Hammer Warrior's Push! Well executed by player Tako!"
"Isn't he too far ahead?"
Tako slammed precisely into the Beast.
Kuwoong!
"The Push hit!”
"And he got a wall stun too!"
The Beast was pushed back until he hit a wall.
[Stunned]
He was stunned too.
"'Ah! But player Tako is too far ahead by himself!'"
"'At this rate, he'll be outnumbered three to one!'"
Excluding the stunned Beast, the two remaining opponents were capable of dealing explosive damage and aimed their skills at Tako.
'Damn.'
The combination that killed Bubblegum earlier began again.
[Gale]
First, a powerful wind engulfed Tako.
Whoosh!
Tako floated up in the air.
Then Jecheon rushed in.
[Staff Slam]
His staff extended and slammed down.
Kuwoong!
Tako struck the ground and bounced back up.
[Takoyaki]
[HP: 68%]
Jecheon and Wind Sword were both powerful and quickly took away nearly half of his HP.
[Sky Slash]
Wind Sword unleashed his Sky Slash.
Shraaak! Thunk!
[Takoyaki]
[HP: 29%]
Tako fell down after taking three sword slashes in the air.
Jecheon waited below and prepared to swing his staff.
Whoosh!
He swung his staff like a home run hitter.
Kaang!
'?!'
A projectile flew and knocked his staff aside. Jecheon turned to look at where the projectile came from furious eyes.
'What?'
By then, the enemy was no longer there. At that moment, something sparkled beside him.
[Flash]
Flash!
Almond appeared like lightning between the three enemies.
Thud.
He accurately grasped his blade after spinning in the air. It was the same blade that knocked aside Jecheon's staff earlier.
He spun in the air and naturally attacked with his blade imbued with blue energy.
Shraaak!
A red line appeared across Jecheon's neck.
Almond had dealt critical damage to him.
Whoosh!
Red blood splattered everywhere after the proper strike.
'Huh?'
What surprised Jecheon wasn't the damage. It was the text reflected in his pupils.
[LazySoldier]
[Level 6]
Flashy Blade had reached Level 6.
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