Bzzt. Bzzt. Marim's simulation shut down. There was no choice but to improvise on the spot.
Both Beat and Memer are healthy, so I think it makes more sense to target the Orc. Marim reasoned. He's the one who's gonna dish out the most DPS throughout the fight, so we better dispatch him first.
"Let's double-team Memer!" Marim shouted. "He's the biggest threat!"
"Wait, shouldn't we pull off?" Nahum asked. "With all due respect, I don't think we have a high chance of victory here. You're already half dead."
"It's gonna be okay," Marim reassured, "I ran a simulation!"
"What simulation?"
"A very accurate one, trust!" Marim insisted. "Besides, do you really think they'll let us get away so easily if we give up now? Like it or not, we're in for a fight."
"I suppose that's true…" Nahum frowned. As much as he wanted to get out of here, he recognized that these opponents likely won't let them get away scot-free. One of them will die at the bare minimum. Maybe even both of them will.
"Fine, I get your point…" Nahum sighed. "I'm still not sure what you meant by a 'simulation', but I take it you have a plan?"
"Yep!" Marim nodded. "It's pretty simple, actually. First, you've gotta step in between me and the Orc so I can live."
"Hrm. Using me as a sacrificial pawn..." Nahum scoffed, but he didn't have a good argument to shoot back. The two of them had to cooperate if they wanted to stand up to the enemy's assault. To that end, both of them had to be alive, even if it meant that Nahum would act as a meat shield.
Not to mention, if Marim lags behind any further, then her DK will become a deadweight for the team. Nahum reasoned. Also, her death would leave Mid in a delicate spot. So, I suppose I have no choice but to comply…
"Fine, I'll do it." Nahum stepped up. "I assume we're going to focus on the Orc first?"
"Yep, that's what I was thinking." Marim nodded. "He's the biggest threat, so we hafta get rid of him pronto."
"Very well," Nahum said. On the rare occasions when Marim and I see eye to eye, it implies that the conclusions we've arrived at are almost certainly on point.
And so, Nahum focused all his brain cells on the task at hand: taking down Memer. He analyzed every little detail in his surroundings, searching for the optimal method to gain an edge against such strong opponents.
Alas, there wasn't much time to think things through. SWHISH! The enemy's scourge crackled once more! And this time it was a basic attack, so it was a far more powerful blow than before.
Curses, I cannot block it in time…! Nahum could only watch as the whip slashed Marim, deleting another 15% of her HP. She was almost at death's door.
Frankly, there's only so much I can do to shield her from these whip attacks. Nahum thought. Nonetheless, I must do what I can, which is to get in between her and Memer.
There was no time to waste, so Nahum had to settle on a suboptimal plan here. Nonetheless, even as he moved to the destination, the gears in his brain continued to turn. He analyzed every little detail, desperately trying to find a better solution to this complex equation.
Wait a minute. Nahum knotted his brows. If the Orc is our primary target, then it'll be helpful to isolate him.
Currently, there was a fair distance between Memer and Beat. The two foes were pincering Nahum and Marim from different directions, probably not to get lumped together as one easy target. However, that "safe play" might become their undoing.
If I'm not mistaken, I should be able to fully isolate Memer with my ult. Nahum crunched the numbers in the heat of the action. WHISH! The continuous whipping definitely wasn't helping here, but Nahum tried to stay focused on his calculations.
The King's Dominion was technically a circular AoE skill. However, unlike typical AoE attacks, it didn't unleash any shockwave that perfectly spread across the circular area. Instead, it summoned a finite number of lions and arranged them in a circular formation.
Naturally, due to math limitations, it was impossible to form a perfect circle out of these lions. Perhaps using a near-infinite number of them would allow one to approximate a circle almost perfectly, but that would look goofy in action.
Nonetheless, the devs put much effort into carefully arranging the lions. Thanks to their efforts, Nahum could safely rely on the circular AoE preview of the skill's range. The only thing he had to be careful about was the thickness of the border, which caused unexpected issues in certain edge cases.
But it's fine so long as nobody is on the edge of the AoE when the barricade is summoned. With that in mind, Nahum calculated how to place The King's Dominion so it would entrap Memer while leaving Beat outside.
Unfortunately, there isn't time to stop and calculate everything carefully. Nahum grumped. I suppose I have no choice. I'll have to examine the targeting indicator on the move.
Nahum booted a preview of the ult's range. It wasn't the most comfortable thing to do in the middle of an intense situation like this, but he had to make it work
And so, he juggled the two tasks at the same time: he rushed to protect Marim while scheming to entrap the enemy. Most likely, the execution of both missions would suffer as a result, but such was life.
I suppose Marim was right in a way. Nahum had to admit. In truly difficult situations, there isn't nearly enough time to make accurate calculations. So, I have to trust my ability to form snappy estimations, rough as they might be.
Thankfully, Nahum had plenty of experience playing Lionfolk. That experience, combined with all the knowledge he researched, instilled him with confidence. So, he went for it.
"This domain is now mine!" The Lionfolk summoned its brethren to enclose the area. As Nahum envisioned, the blockage successfully separated Memer and Beat. The Pyromancer was stuck outside while the Orc was imprisoned. This was a chance to turn the tables around!
"Wow!" Marim exclaimed. "You had the time to aim your ult in all this chaos!? Nice."
"Honestly, there wasn't much time for it at all," Nahum admitted. "I had to make the play on the fly with almost no time to verify it."
"No time to verify it, you say?" Marim smiled meaningfully. "So, you're saying you improvised?"
"Not at all," Nahum denied. "I precalculated most of it. It's just that the execution required a little bit of faith in my own skill."
"Hoh. Impressive that you had the balls to act on it, then. You usually dodge uncertainties like these."
"True, but I figured I might as well go for it," Nahum explained. "There wouldn't have been much to lose even if I had been wrong, so it was a calculated risk."
He was supposed to be celebrating this success, but he had mixed feelings about it. After all, this kind of improv was more Marim's style. It didn't fully align with Nahum's ideology of making calculated plays.
Regardless, the success was undeniable. Nahum separated Memer and Beat, giving himself and Marim a huge edge in this fight. From this position, they had a very good chance of coming on top.