Season 2: Chapter 202: Even If We Can’t Eat, We Go (1)
OrangeKing's voice resonated loudly, "Wow~! LIL is so fun!!"
He was elated by the double kill in the bottom lane for a particular reason.
"How about that?! That’s my composition! Yeah!?"
The composition he had devised performed flawlessly.
"See?! When Chronology's Time Freeze and the Ice Arrow sync up perfectly, the enemy can't move at all! In that time, Sori finishes the job and continues dealing damage!"
— Wow, even while jungling, his tongue doesn't rest
— Literally dealing damage with his tongue as a Dragon Tamer lol
— lol But seriously, the composition is OP, agreed
The composition was focused on eliminating Sori's critical weakness: the two second gap.
Rope → Freeze → Time Freeze → Freeze...
This combo was designed to buy time for those two seconds.
"But! I didn't account for the possibility of the Ice Arrow missing! Hahaha!"
Of course, the combo would be useless if Sori's arrows missed.
"Right? If the player has no skills, this combo can end up doing no damage at all! It's thanks to Almond's skillful play! OrangeKing took that into account when he devised this combination!"
— Wow
— Two self-made heroes on one team?!
— Amazing
The thrill of seeing a combination concocted in his head perfectly work felt more gratifying than OrangeKing had anticipated.
That was the first reason for OrangeKing's excitement. The second reason was simpler.
"Jungler OrangeKing is heading for a counter-jungle on the bottom side!"
It was simply because he was the jungler.
— Why is he calling out his own name?
— Is he a warrior without equal? lol
— lol Commentator machine
— So funny lol
A jungler didn't belong to any of the three lanes, yet they belonged to all of them in a way. If a laner struggled, the jungler struggled too. If things went well for a laner, it was easier for the jungler too.
Expanding one’s territory became simpler. That was when counter-jungling occurred. Entering an area that was considered the enemy's domain to kill monsters and take their XP and gold. This was called counter-jungling, or counter-jung, for short.
"Ah. An excited OrangeKing is salivating from his mouth as he enters the enemy territory for a counter-jung!"
If OrangeKing killed the monsters meant for the enemy jungler through counter-jungling, that would effectively double his gains. The enemy lost one resource while OrangeKing gained one. This was why junglers focused so much on counter-jungling.
“Actually, the Dragon Tamer chosen by OrangeKing is terrible at counter-jungling. It's weak in the jungle! If he runs into the enemy jungler, he's dead.”
— What is he doing right now?
— This isn't counter-jungling; it's stealing~ Please scroll down~
— Dragon Tamer really sucks at jungling lol
OrangeKing spoke while properly counter-jungling in enemy territory, "But the bottom lane skirmish blew up, so I can do this. Even if I run into the enemy jungler now, our bottom duo can come to help. Theirs can't, right? Why? Because they're dead!"
He could counter-jungle because the bottom duo of Almond and Chronology had secured a double kill.
— Dead, so dead! lol
— Great quote
— "The dead earn no XP." by Plato
— If you're dead, you're just dead lol
OrangeKing was explaining the crux of how the game unfolded. This was not just about killing the opponent for more gold, but also about the opponent being absent from the battlefield for ten to twenty seconds. They could gain enormous wealth on their side.
"Yes, they're experiencing quite a significant advantage as OrangeKing explained. The gold difference between the teams is starting to widen. Almond and OrangeKing will get the upper hand!"
Almond's team began to pull ahead, clearly gaining the advantage. This was why players feared the bottom lane dying.
"The top dies alone, but the bottom dies together! And when you add the jungler, that's three players dead!"
Even if the top lane did well, it would only make life difficult for one opponent. If the bottom lane was successful, they could effectively remove two opponents from the game. It suddenly became a five vs three match.
"That's why challengers offer sacrifices to the bottom lane gods before they start rank matches! You get that, right?! Popcorn?!" a confident OrangeKing shouted over the voice chat.
— lol
— OMG lol
— He can't even hear it lol
The viewers who placed bets couldn't just laugh off OrangeKing's words. They began to feel uneasy.
— Wow
— Are they really going to win???
— Popcorn, do something please
— Bettors, are you paying attention?! Bettors, are you?!
— Popcorn is losing???
— Those who bet on 2, good effort~
— Almond being Diamond is overrated
The odds had almost been nine to one in favor of Popcorn winning. That was the rational bet. After all, Almond was an amateur using Sori for the first time while Popcorn was a top laner who dominated the world during his pro days.
Even though Almond's team also had a world-dominating jungler, the difference between Popcorn and that washed-up player was too significant.
— Popcorn, do something
— Are you washed, Popcorn? You should be pushing the top lane turret by now
— Aren't you embarrassed in front of Electronica? Popcorn!
The viewers desperately tried to reach him.
The situation wasn’t smiling at Almond and OrangeKing yet.
[You have slain an enemy!]
[Popcorn → YoYoFace]
Popcorn had killed their top laner again. It was a solo kill without the jungler's intervention. This meant the enemy jungler would gain much more.
"Another kill!? It's another solo kill! The enemy jungler is going for a counter-jungle in OrangeKing's top area. Now it's a five vs five match again, right?!"
The game had returned to a balanced state.
"Popcorn's Supreme Celestial is a pick capable of carrying the game alone. It’s a terrifyingly strong pick! Are they going to let him grow like this?!"
— Popcorn is on another level
— That's right, they haven’t lost yet!
— Heading to the top lane expressway, New Village Movement style!
— The opponent is pitiful lol
This death was not just a simple death. With the enemy jungler also lending strength to the top lane, they pushed the turret.
[The enemy has destroyed the first turret!]
They also claimed the bonus given for pushing the first turret.
"Popcorn is growing at a terrifying pace. The money difference is huge now! He took the first kill and the first turret!"
— Bettors, are you paying attention?! Bettors, are you?!
— The greatest top laner in the world!
— Off to squeeze some orange juice!
With the situation reversed again, the chat was filled with frenzied messages. Since many more had bet on Popcorn, the chat scrolled by much faster.
"Now that Popcorn has pushed the top turret, what's next? Is he going down to show his influence?"
The host speculated that Popcorn would now move to the lower part of the map, but that guess was due to a profound misunderstanding of a top laner’s tendencies.
— ??
— ??? I just push
— Are you going top again?
Popcorn sprinted back to the top where the first turret had disappeared.
— lol This is so top
— Top maniac on!
— lol That's how the world's best top laner should be!
Top laners were addicted to their solitary battles and tended to have tunnel vision on one lane. Many were so obsessed that they were dubbed top lunatics for their madness in focusing solely on the top lane.
"Is this what they call a top devotee? He just goes to the top and beats down Iron Ball again!"
Commentators jokingly called them top devotees for their maniacal behavior.
"Not this crazy guy again..." OrangeKing muttered a curse without realizing it.
Frankly, he had hoped that Popcorn would come down to the mid or bottom lane. It was tougher dealing with him relentlessly advancing in one area. In other words, Popcorn made the right call.
***
Meanwhile, Popcorn continued to pressure the top lane.
"Going down would just complicate things."
As a legendary player, he saw right through the situation. LIL's siege warfare wasn't about clustering for brawls. It was a literal siege. The aim was to push towers and eventually destroy the enemy's nexus.
Theoretically, continuing to push the top alone could secure a victory. This would also force the enemy to come to the top lane.
Popcorn aimed for that scenario. The opponents would start at a disadvantage if they had to come up and engage forcibly.
What about Popcorn? Simply surviving here would turn the tides in his favor. Even if the enemies came all the way from the bottom lane to the top, simply leaving without any gains would still benefit him.
Meanwhile, their team's mid, jungler, or bottom laner could keep growing and gaining advantages.
"So... die!"
He slammed his staff on Iron Ball as if venting his frustration.
Boom!
A scene of one-sided violence unfolded. Iron Ball lacked the skills to counter him.
"Stop... Stop!"
Iron Ball shrunk back into a defensive posture and attempted to chant some magic spell.
"You want to get hit more? Some more? You like getting hit, huh!?"
Popcorn paid him no heed.
— lol
— Are you deaf?
— lol
"Popcorn, hahaha!"
Popcorn was seized by madness. He pounded on Iron Ball, determined to eliminate him from the battlefield.
Boom!
Boom!
[Iron Ball - Dino]
[HP: 23%]
Iron Ball's health was almost completely gone again not long after reviving at the nexus.
"When is our jungler coming exactly!?" he ended up blaming the jungler. "We're going to lose the second turret at this rate!"
Crying out was his only option, but that didn't mean OrangeKing would come to his rescue. That only happened in comics.
"Uh...?"
Then, it actually happened. A huge shadow loomed from above.
"!?"
Popcorn flinched and stepped back for a moment, allowing Iron Ball to escape.
"He's here."
A deafening roar filled the air as a gigantic form appeared.
[Siridma]
The greatest dragon owned by the Dragon Tamer, Siridma. That was his ultimate skill. He could still engage in combat while riding and the Glide skill could fly even longer distances.
Whoosh—
A dark red giant dragon blocked the Supreme Celestial's retreat.
Zeeeeek!
That wasn't all. Tied to the dragon's leg was a rope that shortened as someone landed.
[Rope Assassin - Kai]
The opposing mid-laner had also arrived.
Almond was nowhere to be seen no matter how much Popcorn scanned the area. Weren't they supposed to charge in together? Had their plan failed?
Two players linking ropes to the dragon wouldn't have been easy. Gliding was faster than Almond's rope movement and OrangeKing's wish would have come true if both of them could tag along on ropes, but the chance of succeeding on the first try was low.
"So Almond isn’t here..." Popcorn scoffed. "A mid-laner with zero kills and a jungler with one kill, what can they do?"
With his control skills and Supreme Celestial's hallucination abilities, he could escape this situation and even potentially kill all three enemies.
Popcorn nonchalantly placed his staff on his shoulder and taunted them, "You think you can handle me with those numbers?"
However, his opponent was OrangeKing and wouldn't fall for mere taunts.
"Ha, the kid who used to light JeonJaPa’s cigarettes has grown up."
— lol
— Oh lol
— Didn't even get paid for that lol
— lol
— That’s too much lol
Despite trembling momentarily, Popcorn retorted without backing down.
"What? Did you ever get to refill your juice?"
— lol
— (Eye)water and (cigarette)fire clash lol
— The self-strengthening heroes
OrangeKing executed a skill.
"You JeonJaPa foot mat!"
[Devour]
The Dragon Tamer ordered Siridma to devour the enemy and the dragon lunged. The Rope Assassin also threw a rope at the same time.
Then—
"Second-place losers!"
[Illusion Technique]
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Multiple Supreme Celestials instantly appeared, all shouting in unison.
"Second-place losers!"
"Second-place losers!"
"Second-place losers!"
— lol
— Wow, this is crazy
— Oh lol
— Echo attack lol
Popcorn's illusions nullified the enemy's attacks and reflected some back.
Boom!
OrangeKing was hit by his own Devour skill.
"Uh…?"
Whoosh!
Popcorn's real body unexpectedly caught the Rope Assassin.
[Staff Smash]
Boom!
The staff slammed his head to the ground.
[Rope Assassin - Kai]
[HP: 73%]
Just one hit and nearly thirty percent of the Rope Assassin’s health had disappeared.
"What tremendous damage!!!"
Popcorn had dealt unbelievably high damage indicative of the level gap.
"But! Ah…! You were deceived, Popcorn!" the host cried out for some reason.
Whoosh!
A rope flew from somewhere.
'The Rope Assassin is here, so where?'
Shocked, Popcorn turned to find an arrow close to his face.
[Frost Arrow]
Boom!
It struck right in the middle of his forehead.
"!?"
Popcorn's eyes widened as he froze.
"What? Where?"
Even while frozen, he couldn't tell the enemy's location.
"Almond is right there! He’s using the wind element’s ultimate invisibility!"
The wind element’s ultimate was Absolute Invisibility. It kept the player invisible even while attacking. The duration lasted for seven seconds. Since Almond used it just before arriving, he still had five seconds left.
"This is a showdown between Almond with three kills vs. Popcorn with two kills!"
One of them would inevitably fall in this match.