This is an interesting board position. Yuel examined the mini-map.

At a glance, things were looking grim for Stratus. The split-push in Bot fell through, so the enemy successfully maintained their map control. Stratus had lost control in Top and Mid, whereas the enemy only had to worry about Bot for a moment.

Getting Bot Golem all the way down to 30% HP surely put a lot of pressure on the enemy, but it wasn’t enough to make them crack. All they had to do was to defend Bot until the rest of their teammates revive, then to initiate a decisive push as a team.

Such a push would either make or break the game. And, unfortunately, the odds favored Taurus, especially with the infamous Triangle on board.

We have to make a move before it comes to that. Yuel concluded. Fortunately, there was some leverage to work with.

Even though the enemy put a stop to the push on Bot, Lars achieved something unexpected in the process. He killed DragonMaster, which turned the current situation into a 4v3.

Not to mention, thanks to Kai’s efforts, StormMonster was also dead. In other words, the enemy’s fearsome Triangle was out of commission for a while.

In short, the enemy team had fewer players and they were missing their greatest weapon. If this wasn’t a golden opportunity to make something happen, then when would it be?

I better get something done too. Yuel felt like he was left behind.

Kai scored a difficult kill on StormMonster, whereas Lars took a great risk to get a kill on DragonMaster. Meanwhile, what did Yuel achieve? Nothing that was worth mentioning.

If anything, Yuel nearly blundered twice this game. He was slow in rotating to Top, barely getting there in time to save Kai. And, his lack of confidence almost made him stop Lars from fighting DragonMaster. So, rather than achieving anything great, Yuel almost ruined the team’s chances twice in a row.

I better make up for it somehow. Yuel thought. My teammates worked so hard to create these great opportunities, so how can I call myself a shot-caller if I don’t capitalize on them?

As it stood, the enemy was more than likely going to be on the defensive for a while. They’ll band together to defend Bot, and wait it out until their entire team revives. They were unlikely to split up or to commit to any risky plays.

Okay, think. How can I draw them out? Yuel racked his brain.

Taurus was currently lacking in manpower but they had no reason to rush anything. Stratus were the ones losing in terms of map-control, so they had to make the first move to get something moving.

Honestly, this was tough. Taurus players were maintaining their cool even under these circumstances, so it’ll be hard to crack their defense. There were no obvious openings to strike.

If only I could force them to split up, then we could handle them individually. This sounded like wishful thinking. The enemy will definitely stick together for now. They understood the importance of traveling together as a group at this stage of the game. They won’t spread themselves thin for no reason.

But, what if they suddenly get such a reason? Can I come up with one?

If the enemy splits up and Stratus scores one more kill, it’ll become the decisive blow they needed to turn the game around. A 4v2 situation would give them tremendous leverage. In fact, it might even propel them all the way to victory.

Question is, how do I split them apart? Is there any way to bait them out? Yuel overclocked his brain.

All in all, it seemed impossible. Nevertheless, as the shot-caller, Yuel had to find a way. He couldn't let Lars and Kai’s efforts go to waste. Those two created a great opportunity to mount a counter-attack, so Yuel had to follow up on it.

Okay, let’s take a step back. What do I know about these three players? Nirvana, Renegade, and Laplace. Who had a weakness Yuel could exploit?

Nirvana was a strong all-rounder, whose only weakness was his lack of assertiveness. But, even that one flaw disappeared during this game. The guy started aggressing hard and delivered great results, without showing any new weaknesses in exchange. In short, Yuel had nothing on this guy.

Laplace was an elusive player who didn’t stick out too much, similar to Nia. He didn’t have any notable weaknesses either. The guy came across as a calm player who relied mostly on game knowledge and decision-making to carry himself, similar to Yuel. These types of players were usually the hardest to bait out since they understood the value of tactical thinking.

So, the only option left was Renegade, the ringleader of the famous triangle, the one Vincent dubbed as the “God of Triangles”. He was probably something of a leader for that trio. From the moment they subbed in together, their Triangle teamplay had been terrorizing the game.

But, the Triangle was out of commission right now thanks to Kai’s efforts. So, besides being the Triangle’s leader, how did Renegade perform as an individual player?

He was good, no question about that. His mechanical skill and decision-making were both impressive. As a whole, he came across as an all-rounder.

The only thing so far that could count as a “weakness” was Renegade’s occasional competitiveness. For example, like the way he picked a fight with Lars during the early-game. If not for Laplace’s support, Renegade would’ve died right there and then.

But, Renegade learned his lesson. Ever since that incident, he hasn’t challenged Lars alone even once. In fact, it even looked like he was overcompensating for that trauma by keeping his distance from Lars. 

Most likely, Renegade was hoping to win this game without directly taking Lars down. It was similar to how Yuel was playing around the enemy’s Triangle because it was too difficult to defeat.

What else do I know about Renegade? Yuel wondered. Not much, unfortunately. The last two games ended too fast, so I haven’t learned much. And, it’s not like I’ve ever met the guy before... oh, wait. I DID meet him.

It struck him only now. Yuel dismissed that bit of info at the time, but it came rushing to him all at once.

“My IGN is Renegade. You better remember it!” someone from Taurus said this before. It was the boy who came to speak with Yuel and Lars after the second game. That guy was Renegade.

But, that still doesn’t tell me much. Yuel frowned.

The only thing he learned from that exchange was that Renegade held some interest in Yuel and Lars. And, said “interest” came into play at the beginning of this game, in the form of Renegade challenging Lars in lane. However, Lars quickly extinguished that “interest” by stomping Renegade.

So, there’s nothing else left? Really? Yuel bit his lip. All this thinking and thinking, yet he had nothing. But, I feel like I’m on the right track here. Renegade seems like the one who is most likely to have an exploitable flaw. But, where is it!?

Was there any other information about Renegade? Anything at all? There got to be something.

For example, Renegade’s class picks: Gunslinger and Pirate. What story did they tell? Not a particularly informative one, unfortunately.

No, that’s not it. Yuel frowned. I need to dig deeper, try to understand his patterns and quirks. The answer has to be in there somewhere.

Who was Renegade as a person? The type of guy who’d come up to his opponents and boldly declare his name, implying he’d beat them in a match. A confident player, but not an overly cocky one. He simply sought to challenge the strongest players, that’s the impression he was giving.

Hmm. A player who wants good competition. Yuel mulled over that point. Also, the type to openly express his dissatisfaction if he doesn’t like the competition... Wait, how do I even know that one?

What piece of information helped Yuel reach that conclusion? It wasn’t anything from the recent games, so it had to be something that happened before that.

Was it from the time he talked to me and Lars? No, I don’t think so. Yuel knotted his brows. It has to be something else. But, did I even interact with him before that? No, I didn’t. But, I saw others interacting with him!

There was one more scene involving Renegade, buried at the back of Yuel’s head. It seemed irrelevant at the time since Renegade wasn’t even part of Taurus’ opening lineup. Yuel assumed the guy was just a sub at best, so there was no point worrying about him just yet.

But now, with Renegade actually participating, that brief scene from before turned into an important piece of evidence!

“Stratus is a joke team confirmed,” Renegade said something to that effect back when the teams were greeting each other. His comment came in response to learning that Stratus’s captain was a girl. Like many others on Taurus, he scoffed at Kai and assumed she was a weak player.

As the vice-captain, Yuel stood a short distance behind Kai at the time, so he saw these events from up close. He kept quiet and didn’t say anything back then, but he closely listened to the unfolding conversation and analyzed the enemy team.

That’s when he noticed something peculiar. Renegade, an unknown player they were supposedly meeting for the first time, was brimming with hostility toward Kai.

Unlike the rest of Taurus, that guy wasn’t just cracking a joke at Kai’s expanse to make his peers laugh. No, it wasn’t anything innocent like that. His sharp glare was filled with genuine malice.

I remember it weirded me out back then. Yuel recalled.

The reactions of the Taurus players were immature, but they were in line with being bratty middle-schoolers. They laughed at Kai for being a girl and thought she couldn’t play well, a common belief among egotistical boys who couldn’t imagine the possibility of losing to a girl in a video game.

If that’s how Renegade acted as well, that would be fine. It’d deduct some points from his maturity, but at least it’d make the guy easy to understand.

However, Renegade’s beef with Kai seemed much deeper, much more personal. He was emitting clear hostility toward her as if she was his sworn enemy.

It’s odd because Kai didn’t seem to know the guy. Yuel recalled Kai’s confused reaction. She also noticed this hostility and had no idea what to make of it.

So, it was probably safe to assume Renegade wasn’t familiar with Kai. Nevertheless, he treated her like trash from the moment they met and directed a lot of malice toward her. Why?

Maybe he wasn’t hating on Kai per se. Yuel guessed. Could it be he has a beef against female players in general? Or, at least something close to that?

It was a leap in logic, as there wasn’t enough evidence to support this theory. However, it’s the only way Yuel could explain Renegade’s peculiar behavior on stage. The guy had something against female players, so seeing a female captain triggered him. He even left the stage after that, refusing to watch the game.

He didn’t strike me as immature back when he was talking to me and Lars. So, whatever problem he has with female players must be running pretty deep. It actually reminds me of a certain boy-hater from our team...

In short, Renegade possessed the “Girl Hater” special ability! At least, that’s how Vincent would’ve presented this quirk. But, the clown didn’t mention anything about this. Why?

Because it’s not a positive trait. It’s a flaw. Yuel deduced.

Vincent’s insights were great, but they only ever presented one side of the coin. He only raved about the strengths of players, never about their weaknesses. It was Yuel’s job to figure out those.

If I think back on it… Yuel recalled the previous two games, the ones in which Kai fought Renegade in lane. He was clearly targeting her. Well, Kai was targeting him too, but Renegade accepted her invitations way too easily. He was eager to defeat her.

In addition, it felt like the Triangle targeted Kai quite often this game. They gathered in Mid during the early-game to kill her and later rotated to Top together to gank her once more.

It felt like Renegade, as the leader of the Triangle, was trying to send a message. He most likely viewed Kai as the “weakest link” in Stratus and planned to kill her over and over, to show everybody how “bad” she was.

In fact, it was very much possible that StormMonster chased Kai in Top due to Renegade’s orders. Or, at least, he received Renegade’s approval for that dangerous act.

No matter how great of a chaser StormMonster was, chasing an enemy alone into their own territory harbored great risk. It wasn’t the kind of play anybody would make unless they were convinced Kai was a “weak player” with no chance of turning the tables around.

Clearly, they were looking down on her. Especially, Renegade was looking down on her. And, that gave birth to an unexpected opportunity.

By a stroke of luck, Kai recovered from her slump and mounted a magnificent comeback at StormChaser. She outperformed herself and turned StormChaser’s chase into a grave overextension.

But, I doubt that was enough to change Renegade’s impression of Kai. Someone who looked down on female players so openly wouldn’t change his mind after seeing a single strong play. Renegade definitely still saw Kai as a “weak player” who’d lose to anybody from Taurus, especially to him.

That’s it! That’s the flaw I’ve been looking for. Yuel realized. He had to make a few leaps of logic to arrive at the current conclusion, but he was convinced the majority of his deductions were on point.

So, I wonder... Yuel thought. What would Renegade do right now if he saw Kai pushing a lane alone?

Maybe nothing will happen and Renegade will be smart enough to see through this bait. Or maybe, his hatred will blind him and will draw him toward Kai like a moth to a flame.

“Kai, can you please buy a Checkpoint Ward?” Yuel requested in a hurry.

“Huh? Why?” Kai asked.

“Just buy one before leaving the base, please,” Yuel insisted. There was no time to explain. Kai was about to leave the base, so this was her last chance to get a Checkpoint Ward before returning to the frontline.

“Okay, sure.” Kai shrugged and purchased the requested ward. “Where do you want me to place it?”

“I’m thinking about that now.”

“Huh??? You made me spend gold on a ward without a plan?”

“Not exactly, but...” Yuel pursed his lips. A plan was already coming together in his head at this very moment, but the board situation changed rapidly while he was taking his sweet time to deconstruct Renegade.

Lars finally escaped far enough from Nirvana and started recalling. At the same time, Luke was defending Mid by clearing minions, and he was no doubt planning to push ahead because nobody was there to stop him. They were both about to do something irreversible that’ll completely change the board state!

I’d like to properly explain the plan to them and get some opinions, but there’s no time. It was now or never. If he wastes any more time, the plan he had in mind will no longer be feasible.

“Lars, don’t recall just yet,” Yuel requested.

“Oh?” Lars took a step to cancel his recalling animation. “I know that look. I know it! You got some sick game-winning plan for me, right? Right!?”

“Something like that,” Yuel said. “For now, don’t recall. Go take the Dragon instead. Luke, can you please tank the Dragon for him?”

“Sure, but what about Mid?” Luke asked.

“Kai, can you please handle it?” Yuel asked. “I’ll be clearing Top.”

“Sounds good.” Kai left the base, with a Checkpoint Ward in hand, and headed toward Mid.

“Alrighty then.” Luke left Mid and entered Bot Jungle. “I’m on my way to the Dragon.”

“Waiting for ya,” Lars replied.

As odd as these shot-calls seemed at first glance, nobody objected to them. Going after the Dragon instead of reclaiming lane control seemed like a bad movie, but this was actually the best time to pull something like this. The enemy team was understaffed at the moment, so Stratus had an opportunity to steal some gold.

Besides, I know that look. Lars grinned. Dude is cooking something up. I dunno what, but I know he’s doing it. This gonna be good!

With everybody following Yuel’s instructions, the plan was ready to be set in motion.

Okay, all the pieces are in place. Yuel sighed in relief. He made all the necessary calls before it was too late.

Luke and Lars will be on the Dragon, from where they’ll be able to quickly get to Bot. Meanwhile, Kai will be pushing Mid alone. This was the required board state for executing Yuel’s plan.

However, next came the hardest part. Yuel’s plan demanded Kai do something she definitely won’t like. Basically, she’ll have to become bait.

How was he going to convince a prideful player like Kai to commit to such a play....?