No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric)

Frank choked at Noelle's words. He couldn't understand Lucas's intention, either. Was he trying to spite Noelle?noveldrama

The match quickly kicked off. Noelle watched as the match unfolded and, as she predicted, Team Luminark was headed for a crushing defeat.

As expected, Lucas's temper flared up quickly. He tried to go on the offense, but Xenia couldn't keep up, constantly exposing their positions. Every time she took a shot, she missed. Lucas cursed angrily, "Xenia, what's wrong with you? I told you to shoot the enemy! Are you blind? How can you miss from this close?"

"I'm trying! But they have someone holding me back," Xenia said, feeling frustrated that no one was covering for her.

Soon, the enemy team closed in.

Lucas kept cursing as he moved, "Xenia, I told you to snipe their mage. Come on, hit him!"

"I really tried. They're guarding him well, and no one is protecting me."

"You're gunner; that's what you're supposed to do! If Noelle were here, she'd get the job done!" Lucas blurted out.

At that moment, the team fell silent. Lucas had voiced what everyone was thinking-if Noelle had been there, things wouldn't have gone this way.

Xenia burst into tears. "I may not be as capable as Noelle, but I've been giving it my all. What more do you want from me, Lucas? You were the one who acted recklessly and got ambushed!"

"Enough with the excuses!" Lucas snapped. "We were in a worse situation in the revival match, but Noelle still managed to push through! You told me you could handle this-do you really think you can fucking do this now?" Lucas was on the verge of breaking down.

If Xenia hadn't kept insisting on how much she had been training, and if he hadn't been impressed by her performance in the previous match, he might not have believed she was capable of handling this match.

Who would have thought that Xenia had actually made no progress at all? No words could capture the depth of Lucas's regret in the moment.

Xenia continued to cry as she followed the team. In the end, they lost the match in a crushing defeat.

Lucas slammed his keyboard in

frustration and glared coldly at Xenia. "You have the nerve to tell me you've made progress when you play like shit. This is a match, Xenia! Not some practice session! You're not even half as good as Noelle, for crying out loud!"

It wasn't fair to make the comparison. But now, Lucas finally understood how much Noelle had handled for him in the past, how she'd taken care of everything so he didn't have to worry.

It was when he started managing

the team on his own that he realized

just how much she had been

doing-and how he had been completely oblivious to it. Without Noelle as the core of the team, it was impossible to keep going.

Xenia was stunned. She never expected Lucas to lash out like this, especially not in front of everyone, and compare her to Noelle.

When she noticed the cameras on her, she quickly wiped her tears and said, "I'm sorry. I really tried! I'm sorry!"

"All you do is cry! Can crying fix this?" Lucas snapped, nearly losing his composure.

He looked up and saw Noelle in the VIP seats. His expression shifted to one of embarrassment and unease.

Without Noelle, he was nothing. He needed her more than she needed him. Just then, the live broadcast cut to Noelle.