OrangeKing''s voice resonated loudly, "Wow~! <em>LIL</em> is so fun!!"


    He was ted by the double kill in the bottomne for a particr reason.


    "How about that?! That’s myposition! Yeah!?"


    Theposition he had devised performed wlessly.


    "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!"


    <em>— Wow, even while jungling, his tongue doesn''t rest</em>


    <em>— Literally dealing damage with his tongue as a Dragon Tamer lol</em>


    <em>— lol But seriously, theposition is OP, agreed</em>


    Theposition was focused on eliminating Sori''s critical weakness: the two second gap.<em>Rope → Freeze → Time Freeze → Freeze...</em>


    Thisbo was designed to buy time for those two seconds.


    "But! I didn''t ount for the possibility of the Ice Arrow missing! <em>Hahaha!</em>"


    Of course, thebo would be useless if Sori''s arrows missed.


    "Right? If the yer has no skills, thisbo can end up doing no damage at all! It''s thanks to Almond''s skillful y! OrangeKing took that into ount when he devised thisbination!"


    <em>— Wow</em>


    <em>— Two self-made heroes on one team?!</em>


    <em>— Amazing</em>


    The thrill of seeing abination 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.


    <em>— Why is he calling out his own name?</em>


    <em>— Is he a warrior without equal? lol</em>


    <em>— lol Commentator machine</em>


    <em>— So funny lol</em>


    A jungler didn''t belong to any of the threenes, yet they belonged to all of them in a way. If aner struggled, the jungler struggled too. If things went well for aner, it was easier for the jungler too.


    Expanding one’s territory became simpler. That was when counter-jungling urred. 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.”


    <em>— What is he doing right now?</em>


    <em>— This isn''t counter-jungling; it''s stealing~ Please scroll down~</em>


    <em>— Dragon Tamer really sucks at jungling lol</em>


    OrangeKing spoke while properly counter-jungling in enemy territory, "But the bottomne skirmish blew up, so I can do this. Even if I run into the enemy jungler now, our bottom duo cane 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.


    <em>— Dead, so dead! lol</em>


    <em>— Great quote</em>


    <em>— "The dead earn no XP." by to</em>


    <em>— If you''re dead, you''re just dead lol</em>


    OrangeKing was exining 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 exined. 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 yers feared the bottomne dying.


    "The top dies alone, but the bottom dies together! And when you add the jungler, that''s three yers dead!"


    Even if the topne did well, it would only make life difficult for one opponent. If the bottomne was sessful, 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 bottomne gods before they start rank matches! You get that, right?! Popcorn?!" a confident OrangeKing shouted over the voice chat.


    <em>— lol</em>


    <em>— OMG lol</em>


    <em>— He can''t even hear it lol</em>


    The viewers who ced bets couldn''t justugh off OrangeKing''s words. They began to feel uneasy.


    <em>— Wow</em>


    <em>— Are they really going to win???</em>


    <em>— Popcorn, do something please</em>


    <em>— Bettors, are you paying attention?! Bettors, are you?!</em>


    <em>— Popcorn is losing???</em>


    <em>— Those who bet on 2, good effort~</em>


    <em>— Almond being Diamond is overrated</em>


    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 topner 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 yer was too significant.


    <em>— Popcorn, do something</em>


    <em>— Are you washed, Popcorn? You should be pushing the topne turret by now</em>


    <em>— Aren''t you embarrassed in front of Electronica? Popcorn!</em>


    The viewers desperately tried to reach him.


    The situation wasn’t smiling at Almond and OrangeKing yet.


    <em>[You have in an enemy!]</em>


    <em>[Popcorn → YoYoFace]</em>


    Popcorn had killed their topner 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 bnced 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?!"


    <em>— Popcorn is on another level</em>


    <em>— That''s right, they haven’t lost yet!</em>


    <em>— Heading to the topne expressway, New Vige Movement style!</em>


    <em>— The opponent is pitiful lol</em>


    This death was not just a simple death. With the enemy jungler also lending strength to the topne, they pushed the turret.


    <em>[The enemy has destroyed the first turret!]</em>


    They also imed 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!"


    <em>— Bettors, are you paying attention?! Bettors, are you?!</em>


    <em>— The greatest topner in the world!</em>


    <em>— Off to squeeze some orange juice!</em>


    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 spected that Popcorn would now move to the lower part of the map, but that guess was due to a profound misunderstanding of a topner’s tendencies.


    <em>— ??</em>


    <em>— ??? I just push</em>


    <em>— Are you going top again?</em>


    Popcorn sprinted back to the top where the first turret had disappeared.


    <em>— lol This is so top</em>


    <em>— Top maniac on!</em>


    <em>— lol That''s how the world''s best topner should be!</em>


    Topners were addicted to their solitary battles and tended to have tunnel vision on onene. Many were so obsessed that they were dubbed top lunatics for their madness in focusing solely on the topne.


    "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 woulde down to the mid or bottomne. 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 topne.


    "Going down would justplicate things."


    As a legendary yer, he saw right through the situation. <em>LIL</em>''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 toe to the topne.


    Popcorn aimed for that scenario. The opponents would start at a disadvantage if they had toe 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 bottomne to the top, simply leaving without any gains would still benefit him.


    Meanwhile, their team''s mid, jungler, or bottomner could keep growing and gaining advantages.


    "So... die!"


    He mmed his staff on Iron Ball as if venting his frustration.


    <em>Boom!</em>


    A scene of one-sided violence unfolded. Iron Ballcked 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.


    <em>— lol</em>


    <em>— Are you deaf?</em>


    <em>— lol</em>


    "Popcorn, <em>hahaha</em>!"


    Popcorn was seized by madness. He pounded on Iron Ball, determined to eliminate him from the battlefield.


    <em>Boom!</em>


    <em>Boom!</em>


    <em>[Iron Ball - Dino]</em>


    <em>[HP: 23%]</em>


    Iron Ball''s health was almostpletely gone again not long after reviving at the nexus.


    "When is our junglering exactly!?" he ended up ming 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 woulde to his rescue. That only happened inics.


    "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.


    <em>[Siridma]</em>


    The greatest dragon owned by the Dragon Tamer, Siridma. That was his ultimate skill. He could still engage inbat while riding and the Glide skill could fly even longer distances.


    <em>Whoosh—</em>


    A dark red giant dragon blocked the Supreme Celestial''s retreat.


    <em>Zeeeeek!</em>


    That wasn''t all. Tied to the dragon''s leg was a rope that shortened as someonended.


    <em>[Rope Assassin - Kai]</em>


    The opposing midner 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 n failed?


    Two yers linking ropes to the dragon wouldn''t have been easy. Gliding was faster than Almond''s rope movement and OrangeKing''s wish would havee true if both of them could tag along on ropes, but the chance of seeding on the first try was low.


    "So Almond isn’t here..." Popcorn scoffed. "A midner 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 nonchntly ced 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.


    "<em>Ha</em>, the kid who used to light JeonJaPa’s cigarettes has grown up."


    <em>— lol</em>


    <em>— Oh lol</em>


    <em>— Didn''t even get paid for that lol</em>


    <em>— lol</em>


    <em>— That’s too much lol</em>


    Despite trembling momentarily, Popcorn retorted without backing down.


    "What? Did you ever get to refill your juice?"


    <em>— lol</em>


    <em>— (Eye)water and (cigarette)fire sh lol</em>


    <em>— The self-strengthening heroes</em>


    OrangeKing executed a skill.


    "You JeonJaPa foot mat!"


    <em>[Devour]</em>


    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-ce losers!"


    <em>[Illusion Technique]</em>


    <em>Boom! Boom! Boom!</em>


    Multiple Supreme Celestials instantly appeared, all shouting in unison.


    "Second-ce losers!"


    "Second-ce losers!"


    "Second-ce losers!"


    <em>— lol</em>


    <em>— Wow, this is crazy</em>


    <em>— Oh lol</em>


    <em>— Echo attack lol</em>


    Popcorn''s illusions nullified the enemy''s attacks and reflected some back.


    <em>Boom!</em>


    OrangeKing was hit by his own Devour skill.


    "Uh…?"


    <em>Whoosh!</em>


    Popcorn''s real body unexpectedly caught the Rope Assassin.


    <em>[Staff Smash]</em>


    <em>Boom!</em>


    The staff mmed his head to the ground.


    <em>[Rope Assassin - Kai]</em>


    <em>[HP: 73%]</em>


    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.


    <em>Whoosh!</em>


    A rope flew from somewhere.


    <em>''The Rope Assassin is here, so where?''</em>


    Shocked, Popcorn turned to find an arrow close to his face.


    <em>[Frost Arrow]</em>


    <em>Boom!</em>


    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 yer invisible even while attacking. The durationsted 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.