Season 5: Chapter 143. The Knight Order Comes Alive (4)

Long ago, a very long time ago, Bubblegum had always been terrible at games. He was so bad that his teammates always cursed him out, and he could never argue back because he was bad at arguing back too.

'You need to know the game to argue.'

Even to argue, one needed to understand the game theoretically, at least. He didn't have that either.

'I have to be good at something first.'

In this nasty world, he had to be good at something. Whether it was games, studying, or sports... He had to be good at something to matter. It was during that time.

"Haah... isn't there a carry I can get some mileage out of?"

Bubblegum looked at the champion tier list on LIL Pro with a blank expression.

LIL Pro had a tier list organized by data, such as win rates, based on each champion's current performance. Tier 1 meant the most usable champions at the time. If someone wanted to win, they’d obviously pick Tier 1 champions.

Bubblegum found himself checking the very bottom tier without thinking. Why? He didn't know. Maybe simple curiosity or perhaps a faint rationalization that he could just blame a bad champion for losing.

At the very bottom of Tier 5, the effectively unusable tier, he spotted one champion.

[Iron Ball Dino]

Angry review comments could be seen below this champion.

— Garbage champ

— A pure tank that can't actually tank

— Not a single redeeming quality lmaooo

— Last 12.4 patch nailed the coffin shut

— 17-time repeat offender champion

└ lmaooooooooo

└ lmaooooooo

└ fr

The repeat offender meme was the nickname for champions with bad performance. Since the developer was Police, repeat offenders were champions that Police had marked and kept patching to be weak. Among those, Iron Ball was apparently a 17-time offender. What crime had it committed?

"You're in the same situation as me." Bubblegum somehow couldn't take his eyes off Iron Ball. "It's not like you have to win games."

A world where someone became a criminal just for losing a game. In this nasty world, he felt like finding a companion to walk alongside.

"Let's go together, Dino."

His stream wasn’t doing well either, but someone couldn't bear to watch.

A donation came in.

Ding!

[YeahSure has donated 1,000 won.]

[You're just picking a bad champion to use as an excuse lmaooo]

Bubblegum didn't respond to that donation.

'Sharp little brat...'

Because it was true. ℯ

[Ban]

He barely even had a few viewers. That comment had irked him enough to ban the user. Regardless, his bond with Dino continued.

— Oh!

— He's actually gotten pretty decent LOL

— Wow...

— Iron Ball one-trick!

— Driving skill is getting better!

Little by little, he earned a reputation with Iron Ball. Of course, he was still bad at the game overall.

— Just having him play Iron Ball is funny LOL

— So funny watching him play

— LOL he's genuinely so bad

His stream improved steadily. That was it. Even if the streamer was bad at the game, the stream could still do well. Even with a terrible performance, someone could find their greatest champion.

'Iron Ball... It's all thanks to you!'

Memories with Iron Ball flashed through Bubblegum’s mind like a montage.

Kiiiiiiiiing...!

That very Iron Ball was now approaching and making tremendous noise.

"This... what was it again?"

Despite such deep memories, he couldn’t even recognize the sound of his own champion.

— It's Iron Ball...

— Run!

— LOL it's Iron Ball!

By the time the chat told him, it was already too late.

CRASH!

"Oh..."

Iron Ball rammed into Bubblegum at a perfect angle. The speed was also tremendous. It was a pure straight shot. Bubblegum took a hit he could have obviously dodged.

'Whoooooosh...!'

Flying high into the sky, he murmured, "Oh, Iron Ball... h-how could you..."

— lmaooooooooooo

— They stole Iron Ball

— How can you people live with yourselves??

— Stealing Iron Ball? What kind of people are these??

— How is the carry...

Bubblegum was in shock at being rammed by Iron Ball, but the general outrage was about the audacity of stealing Bubblegum's Iron Ball in a mere scrimmage.

— This is a crime...

— Immoral

— Wow not human fr

It was practically treated as an act of moral transgression.

Pop.

[Sweet Potato]

Sweet Potato released his ball mode and called out excitedly, "Iron Servant! Entering! Ta-daaa!"

He was completely unbothered.

— lmaooooooooooo

— Iron Servant LOL

— So funny hahaha

— Iron bar lmaooo

— Did well this time LOL

Sweet Potato and the viewers were excited because Iron Ball's speed was second to none. Just rolling around and crashing into things was most satisfying.

"Hm? A S-Servant!?" Zelo, who'd been fighting Almond, was startled at Iron Ball's appearance. "No, Lord!? I-Iron Ball!? Isn't this too much!? How can you make a father kill his own son!!"

— lmaooooooooo

— Pure chaos

— Genuinely merciless

— Knight Order is in deep

— Is it your child? LOL

— Who would you have to marry for Iron Ball to be born...

— LMAO

— lmaooooo

— Seems genuinely upset?? loool

Almond paid him no mind and just kept firing arrows at him.

Bang!

Zelo didn't have time to be making speeches anyway.

[Roll]

Whooosh!

He busily rolled while shooting arrows and started to feel something.

'Wait. What is this?'

He thought they would quickly handle two people.

'We're getting eaten alive.'

The situation was unfavorable. Once Iron Ball actually reached the center, everything had completely changed. The situation had reversed. They were the ones being devoured. Even the Red Turtle's aggro had been pulled to their side.

Shing!

At this moment, ForeverAlone pulled out a sword and charged.

"Zelo! Zelo should handle Iron Ball...!"

Zelo, as their champion, had to handle Iron Ball.

[Charging Slash]

ForeverAlone used a weapon skill to instantly close in on Almond. It became a sort of tag match.

"Oh." Even at the sudden attack, Almond lightly deflected the sword strike. "ForeverAlone, it's been a long time."

Throughout four games, the Knight Order and Can't Can't Can't had never crossed paths. This was their first fight.

"Losing again would be quite inconvenient, wouldn't it?"

ForeverAlone told Almond this wasn't the time to be leisurely and swung again.

Clang!

Almond blocked with his bow and fired.

Bang!

The arrow buried itself in ForeverAlone's head. This was Civil Empire’s close-range archery.

ForeverAlone took the hit head-on. Forutatenly, they were in LIL.

'One headshot doesn't kill you.'

A single arrow didn’t decide life and death in this game. He merely took a hit.

Shing...

Deflecting the bow aside, ForeverAlone thrust his sword.

Thud!

It struck Almond's shoulder. Then, ForeverAlone lightly flicked his wrist to slash.

Whoooooosh!

It looked like one slash.

[HP: 52%]

Almond's HP instantly halved.

— ?

— ??

— Wow what the

— Insane

— Physicality

— As expected from the lone warrior...

"Hm?"

Almond was seeing this kind of technique for the first time.

'He's really strong? How many hits was that just now?'

Like in the previous streamer tournament, ForeverAlone and Almond were neck-and-neck in LIL specifically.

'Fall back for now.'

Tap.

He tried to create some distance away from ForeverAlone.

[Roll]

Tap!

Zelo rolled and followed.

"Step aside! Never-Done-It One! This is a sacred arrow duel between the Lord and me!"

"Excuse me!?" ForeverAlone was horrified because this was absolutely not a good call.

'Zelo too?'

This impulsive decision also put Almond in quite a tough spot.

Bang!

Zelo shockingly triggered a Mana Burst.

[Mana Burst]

Whoooooosh!

As the blue flames combusted, all the viewers were startled.

— Wow

— I see

— Hm?

— Wow did he only practice this?? LOL

— lmaooo

— What what what what??

"Wahaaaa~! Amazing! Did you see that!? Did you see that!?"

From Zelo's reaction, it seemed like pure luck.

Almond was genuinely in danger.

[HP: 11%]

He hadn't contracted a champion yet, so he didn’t have enough HP to hold out.

"Oppa, heal..." Lemon was about to heal him.

"No! Just pour everything in!" Almond actually headed toward Zelo.

Bang!

An arrow instantly buried itself in Zelo's forehead.

"That side has low HP too!"

Zelo wasn't taking it that seriously.

[Zelo]

[HP: 29%]

Almond's arrows had also gradually chipped away at his HP.

"At Zelo!"

Lemon fired Fireball instead of healing Almond.

'But then Almond oppa dies?'

ForeverAlone wouldn't just stand and watch this.

Almond said one more time, "At Zelo!"

Phwing!

Almond dodged one of Raina's blue arrows. Then, he actually closed in on Zelo.

'At Zelo...?!'

Lemon raised her staff and swallowed dryly.

'Oh well!'

Almond said it with such absolute certainty, Lemon had no choice but to follow.

[Fireball]

***

Almond rushed in.

Zelo, rather than dodging, had shining eyes thinking about the title he would soon earn as he drew his bow again.

'Oh ho! Just one more...! Just one more hit and I’ll kill the Lord with Raina!'

One clean hit and Almond would really die.

'I have to clean this up.'

ForeverAlone wanted to quickly eliminate Almond before their formation fell apart further.

With Iron Ball intervening, it had turned into complete chaos. The Red Turtle was attacking Acorn Jelly, Iron Ball was attacking Bubblegum, Bubblegum was fleeing in chaos, and Choco Shroom was contesting Iron Ball.

Iron Ball alone was tying up three people.

If Zelo and ForeverAlone didn't fully eliminate Lemon and Almond to rejoin the main group, they wouldn't be able to handle Black Tea and Sweet Radish, who would be arriving soon.

"Die!"

Shing!

ForeverAlone charged at Almond and swung his sword.

Almond fired one last arrow directly into Zelo's head. Being right in front of Zelo, he naturally took Zelo's arrow too.

[HP: 0%]

Bang!

Almond became a rune spirit.

[Rune Spirit]

"We won...!"

The moment Zelo grew excited, a large fireball was reflected in his sunglasses.

"Oh."

CRASHHHHH!

Lemon's Fireball landed.

He had completely lost sight of the other person after taking Almond's aggro.

Pop!

[Rune Spirit]

Zelo became a rune spirit too.

"Oh oh oh!?"

ForeverAlone's HP had dropped into the 70s range. He continued to take burn damage.

"We're... done," he muttered with a stunned look.

Almond and Zelo had effectively traded. A champion traded for a non-Champion, which was a net loss. On top of that, they had over-invested in attacking Almond.

'We have to revive quickly.'

ForeverAlone approached Zelo's rune spirit and began reviving him.

Lemon did the same with Almond.

[Zelo]

[Revive: 10%]

[DumbYoungMan]

[Revive: 15%]

The speeds were different.

'Oh no. He's a champion, so it takes longer.'

Contracted champions took more time to revive.

[Zelo]

[Revive: 20%]

[DumbYoungMan]

[Revive: 35%]

ForeverAlone looked anxiously back and forth between Almond's rune spirit and Zelo's. It took far slower than expected.

"Uh oh... if this keeps up... They're coming..."

His words quickly became reality via the kill log.

[Enemy Triple Kill!]

[SweetRadish → Bubblegum]

[SweetRadish → AcornJelly]

[SweetRadish → ChocoShroom]

Sweet Radish had arrived.

— Instant wipe LOL

— Wow...

— Insane

— As expected from a Challenger

— Sweet Radish is insane this game

***

'Damn.'

By the time ForeverAlone came to his senses, five people surrounded him.

ForeverAlone smiled awkwardly. "The Knight Order... has assembled, right? I, I'm also a devoted follo..."

Bang!

The revived Almond buried several arrows into ForeverAlone’s head and killed him.

[Team Can't Can't Can't Out!]

After Almond got the kill, Sweet Potato approached the body and warned. "Hey, there aren’t any devoted followers in the Knight Order anymore."

— LOL

— lmaooooooooo

— Hahahaha

— Sweet Potato?!

— Reduced headcount!

The Knight Order had vanquished Can't Can't Can't and continued their winning streak.

Sweet Radish gestured toward the already-dead Red Turtle. "Please, help yourself, bro."

Almond walked over and confidently opened the rune box.

Three cards appeared before him.

[Cautious Hunter: Sori]

[Frost Archer: Leon]

They all felt excited at the last card because nobody knew if a champion could be contracted again after being eliminated.

[Cold-Blooded Evil Archer: Raina]

With Zelo's death, Raina's card had reappeared. She looked at Almond with sparkling eyes.

— Wow...

— I see

— What the

— This is completely...

— Uh oh

— Zelo sobbing in the corner

— Coming straight back here??

— The moment Zelo abandoned her LOL