I Have to Win

I have to win. To be honest, this bottom gank is far more important than I initially thought. If it succeeds, not only will it connect into the wyvern objective, but it will also put the brakes on the enemy team composition that only gets stronger as the game drags into the late game. But the same goes for the opponent. If they successfully repel it, they'll snatch away control of the objective tempo in an already advantageous game and have a high chance of solidifying their lead. That's why, before this crucial gank, I need to at least give a heads-up to that demonic bot duo.

The bot duo, who already seemed to have half-checked out of the game, responded with the same lukewarm 'just try it' attitude. At the very least, I was grateful they weren't operating on some childish 'nah, I'm not doing it~' mindset. I revealed myself at the entrance to the bottom lane of the labyrinth.

A quick glance at the bottom lane showed the enemy bot duo both leaning slightly forward, focused on destroying our team's barely-standing first bottom turret. Our own bot duo was huddled behind the turret, only last-hitting minions.

"Looks doable."

Although there was a growth disparity with our bot duo, the enemy's escape route was effectively cut off. If I could properly utilize our numbers advantage, the item I had just purchased, and the item gap created by the Echo of the Apocalypse, this was definitely worth attempting.

My top priority target was the well-fed enemy marksman. Their support looked like it wouldn't deal much damage at a glance, so the key was to focus the enemy carry first.

I double-checked the plan I had sketched out and slowly approached behind the enemy bot duo. The moment their bodies leaned even further toward our turret—

"Now."

Using both Leap and Sanctuary, the priest dove into the bottom lane and instantly initiated the fight, slowing the enemies.

Our marksman followed up with Shadow Tracking and immediately fired a Black Arrow at the enemy carry.

But the enemy marksman skillfully erased the Black Arrow with their own ability, then countered with fast and precise movements. They quickly reduced our marksman's health to less than a third.

After that, both teams' supports joined in, turning it into a 3v2 fight. Even though we had the numbers, our marksman was the one fleeing from the enemy carry, so the situation was by no means favorable. On top of that, the enemy marksman was pumping out terrifying damage thanks to the buffs from their support and the paladin. Just grazing them would delete our health in an instant. The moment Sanctuary expired, it was clear our team would be picked off one by one.

"Pfft... they're moving so predictably."

However, there was one thing the enemy had overlooked. Just like their marksman, our mid-lane priest had also over-farmed. The amount of healing a low-health priest could provide was multiplied several times over compared to normal.

This had the potential to serve as the perfect joker card right when the enemy marksman, confident of victory, refused to back off and instead committed fully to the fight.

Just before our marksman took the final blow and collapsed, the priest's heal landed at the perfect timing. Our marksman's health shot back up to over two-thirds in an instant. Even they seemed slightly startled and missed a basic attack, but they quickly refocused and fired a second Black Arrow at the enemy.

The opponent couldn't react to the unexpected skill and was rooted. I immediately followed up with Spear of Longinus, successfully taking down the monstrously fed enemy marksman.

The paladin, now left alone in the middle of the enemy team, resisted to the end using their growth, but—

The limitations of a slow-moving tank were clear, and they stood no chance against a 3v1 beatdown with roots added to the mix. The absence of the enemy marksman—who had died standing—and the support who had been holding out alone in the 3v1 created a numbers vacuum. This naturally led to the enemy handing over the wyvern.

To make matters worse, the rune mage—who had been diligently farming in the labyrinth—was caught by the illusionist's skill on their way through and instantly focused down. The game began tilting back in our favor.

Looking at the bottom lane chat, which had become significantly less toxic than before, it seemed like the game could now flow normally.

Right as I had that thought, our top laner lost by a hair in a ghostly fashion. I had a feeling I'd just raised a death flag, but since I was nearby hunting, a quick gank should be enough to cover it. The enemy top's health was also in terrible shape, so I quietly stepped onto the top lane path.

It didn't take long to reach the top lane. As expected, the enemy top was obliviously hammering away at our first turret. With their health, ultimate, and leap all on cooldown, they could only stare in shock and horror as they were helplessly taken down.

After that, our bottom first turret finally fell to the onslaught, but—

We caught the enemy marksman once again, and this time a love shot came out in the top 1v1. The mid-to-late game, with the third objective—the dragon—approaching, began to flow with a slight advantage for our team.

Finally, the third objective, the dragon, spawned. A massive 4v4 team fight broke out in front ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of it. The enemy team, led by their solid frontline of paladin and berserker, had already taken position at the dragon's nest. But since we were running a dive composition, there was no need to force a frontal breakthrough. It wasn't particularly uncomfortable for us.

While the berserker danced around in front ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to draw aggro, the demon hunter, illusionist, and priest coordinated to focus down the core of the enemy composition—the outlaw—first.

In the ensuing fight, the enemy composition, having lost their main damage dealer, began to crumble rapidly. The utterly useless rune mage exploded first, followed by the berserker and then the paladin. We secured a decisive team fight victory.

The team fight was easier than expected. It was the result of our gold lead, the movement speed buff from the wyvern on our dive composition, and the massive mid-lane growth difference. From the enemy's perspective, having given up additional kills and the dragon, they could no longer claim superiority in gold or kill score.

To make things even worse for them, the priest's second item—the Demon's Contract—was completed. With a monstrous 5/0/6 KDA and a 2700 gold lead over their lane opponent, the item granted additional stats proportional to the number of kills participated in. If killed by an enemy, all additional stats would be lost.

From then on, the priest—who had finally secured the missing damage through the Demon's Contract—began a massacre.

The global gold gap had widened to 5,000. The enemy team, who had just been completely wiped in the last fight, had no more objectives left to take. Once they helplessly lost the final objective—the demon king—as well, they unanimously agreed to surrender.

A rare scene unfolded where the enemy team was the one surrendering, the complete opposite of just a few minutes ago. The game came to an end.

After the game ended, the overwhelmingly dominant stats greeted me. Among everyone who had played together, a few were even passionately debating the mid-lane priest in the lobby.