Chapter 166
Lawrence pouted and commented, “Winning the championship is an unlikely feat for us. Simply reaching the top 12 is a remarkable achievement. Among these 12 teams, there are plenty of formidable competitors besides Team Blood Wolf and Team Xander. There are numerous skilled players here. It’s most likely we’ll end up in the last place and face elimination…
Howard gave Lawrence a pat on the shoulder and comforted him, “Buddy, it’s already a great opportunity to fight alongside a woman. You should be grateful!”
Such a statement rendered Lawrence speechless.
Darwin, meanwhile, refuted, “Ridiculous!”
Howard shot back, “Fuck you!”
Following another brief exchange of pleasantries between the host and Hannah on stage, they proceeded to announce the competition’s rules. After that, the tournament commenced.
The format they were currently facing was a round–robin competition, where each team had to compete in one match every day. In the end, the top four teams would be selected based on their accumulated points.
Following that, the four teams would engage in another round of round–robin matches to determine the top three winners. On that day, Samantha’s team was the fourth to take the stage, facing off against Team Pumpkin.
Among all the teams that contested, Team Pumpkin boasted exceptionally strong capabilities. That team even emerged victorious in the Elstunda Heroes of Kings tournament on one occasion. They were in a completely different league compared to Team Blood Wolf and Team Xander. Many people even predicted that Team Pumpkin would be the champion of this competition.
One reason for this prediction was Team Pumpkin’s possession of two top–ten national server players.
Apart from that, their mid–laner had even earned the nickname of Reaper.
This was due to the fact that even though Team Pumpkin had encountered a dire situation, they had the potential to reverse. their fortunes by relying on the exceptional skills of their mid–laner, Reaper.
Team Pumpkin had even created numerous memorable moments like these. For such, it significantly boosted the popularity of their mid–laner, Reaper. In the audience, there were also a considerable number of their fans who came to show their support.
Lawrence felt extremely anxious when he learned that their opponent for the day was Team Pumpkin.
During the break in the backstage area, he couldn’t remain seated, constantly pacing around like a cat on a hot tin roof. Howard gave him a stern look and said, “Dude, could you please stop pacing? You’re giving me a headache,”
I’m feeling really anxious!” Lawrence said with a worried expression. “Why are we so unlucky? We’re up against Team Pumpkin in the first match, and with so many spectators onsite and watching online today, if we get brutally beaten, it’ll be a major embarrassment! Plus, there are already so many people who don’t have a high opinion of us.”
So what? Howard yawned nonchalantly. “As long as we get to compete alongside Goddess, I don’t care if we win or lose.”
Lawrence countered, “Do you realize that the internet trolls have been berating us relentlessly and branding us as a bizarre team? They’ve even questioned how we managed to sneak into the top 12. They’re rooting for our elimination as soon as
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possible.”
Howard, unfazed by it, replied. They are jealous of us.”
Lawrence didn’t know what to say at that point.
Lawrence glanced at his teammates, observing that Samantha was peacefully dozing off. Darwin was deeply engrossed in his phone, and Leila was lost in a book, while Howard was indulging in self–admiration through the mirror.
“What the hell? It seems like I’m the only one genuinely concerned about the competition while the others are here for the fun of it! Well, forget it, I won’t stress over it anymore. Losing ist such a big deall Lawrence thought to himself.
Samantha slept through all three rounds of matches. When it was ten minutes before their team’s turn to o play, Lawrence had no choice but to rouse her from her sleep.
As she opened her eyes. Samantha saw Team Pumpkin’s members strutting into their lounge, oozing confidence and acting as if they owned the place.
“I heard… You’re the team that managed to enter the top 12 based solely on your looks?” one of the Team Pumpkin members quipped.
“Yes.” Howard sat on the chair with his legs crossed, looking like a spoiled brat. He even had a mirror in his hand.
“Are you jealous of our high levels of attractiveness? Did looking at us make you feel like you’re too ugly?”
“You…” A male member of Team Pumpkin seethed “All right. Let’s settle this on the tournament stage. We’ll show true charm really means!”
you
what
Howard clicked his tongue while holding his phone and remarked sarcastically, “Oh no, I’m so scared… This only further infuriated Team Pumpkin, and they eventually left.
Lawrence was, once again, speechless.
Ten minutes later, the tournament began.
Hannah and another retired male veteran player of Heroes of Kings assumed the roles of commentators.
Having played ten matches together, the coordination and synergy between the team led by Samantha had significantly improved, and they no longer resorted to haphazard character selections like before.
Furthermore, they had solidified a mutual understanding of their battle strategy, which primarily focused on dominating the mid–laner, utilizing a level–up and defensive strategy in the top laner, and designating the bottom laner as the sacrificial role, often incorporating a theatrical aspect into their gameplay.
Having completed ten matches and with the competition videos available to the public, it was clear that over the days, other teams had been thoroughly studying the gameplay tactics of each participating team-
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While Samantha didn’t delve into studying the other teams, she assumed the other groups thoroughly analyzed hers. Meanwhile, when Team Pumpkin saw the characters of Samantha’s team lined up, they burst out laughing. “Reaper, just as you anticipated, it appears that their team relies solely on a single style of play, someone commented. “Focus the attack on the mid–laner later.”
Will do.”
With 40 seconds remaining to select their characters and just before entering the game, Samantha suddenly spoke into her headset, saying, “Howard, switch characters with me”
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“What?” Howard was stunned by it.
Samantha selected an aggressive character suitable for early–game attacks, while Howard chose an archer more inclined toward early–game leveling up and late–game combat.
Their established strategy was centered around dominating the mid–laner. Swapping characters meant that Howard would take the lead in this game. However, he lacked confidence in his ability to execute it effectively.
“I can’t do it, Goddess…
Samantha replied, “If we win this match, I’ll treat you to a meal.
“I can do it. Goddess!” Howard immediately squared his shoulders and decisively clicked to exchange characters with Samantha just three seconds before the competition officially began.
Lawrence was at a loss for words. “Is this the power of appearance? Did we really win games just because we’re good- looking?” he thought.
Meanwhile, someone on Team Pumpkin exclaimed, “Damn it! They changed characters at the very last second. How shameless!”
Upon hearing this, Reaper curled his lips into a smile and said, “Can’t you see it? They want to concentrate the battle in the bottom lane. In that case, we’ll focus on the mid–laner and the bottom laner. Let’s ensure both of those lanes will send them to their doom!”
“Okay, Reaper!”
At the start of the tournament, all five members of Team Pumpkin gathered in the mid–laner, expecting to face off against Samantha.
However, it appeared that Samantha had anticipated their move and remained hidden under the turret, never showing.
herself.
In this situation, all five of them had no choice but to return to their respective lanes.
Meanwhile, Howard, stationed in the bottom lane, launched aggressive attacks against the opponents, seemingly fueled by a newfound determination.
Because his character already possessed significant strength earlier on in the game, Team Pumpkin’s bottom lane players. struggled to withstand his onslaught, even resorting to sending out a distress signal.
“We need help at the bottom lane. The opponent’s bottom laner is being overly aggressive!”
The jungler replied, Tm on my way.”
Meanwhile, Leila immediately sent a signal.
“The opponent’s jungler has gone missing. I think that person has gone to the bottom lane.”
“Okay Samantha said, “Get ready for the team fight.”
Surprised, Lawrence asked, “Why are we having a team fight so early?”
Samantha smiled and replied, “How else can we show them our strength?”
Darwin said, “Okay. The teleportation is ready.”
Leila replied, Tm on my way to the bottom lane.”
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Howard said, “I guarantee that I will complete the mission.”
Then, Howard suddenly started acting as if he were losing.
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As expected, Team Pumpkin believed that their moment had come and all emerged. They intended to use their skills to stun–lock Howard, but the latter, filled with energy, skillfully dodged their attacks through a positioning.
At that moment, Leila leaped into the fray from behind and delivered a direct kick to the ADC, who was hiding behind the support of Team Pumpkin, sending them straight to Lawrence.
Lawrence capitalized on the opportunity, employing his grappling skill, while Howard followed up with his own skill.
The opponent’s ADC died instantly.
Upon noticing something was amiss at the bottom lane, the opponent’s mid–laner quickly signaled for help.
Two top laners also arrived.
The opponent’s mid–laner was the first to arrive. Since that character was a mage that had been leveled up, they managed to stun–lock Howard.
However, the prey had now become a predator.
Samantha unleashed her skills on the opponent’s mid–laner, and that character died.
