Scrutinizing the newcomer, Age of Frost wore a slight frown. He seemed to have seen the man before but couldn't quite remember where. Listening to the whispers of the surrounding players, he suddenly remembered.
Shorty had gained some fame during the Federation Tournament. He was the strategist for a small guild called Wind&Rain. Originally no one had any hopes for the guild, but they made it surprisingly far in the tournament before being eliminated by some guild from the central star system. And all of this was thanks to Shorty.
Obviously, The Only Way managed to poach the man from his old guild. Some may consider this a pity but to Age of Frost it was a nuisance. Now The Only Way had a great argument to take command of the alliance, at least for this territory war.
And this was indeed what happened. TwinThieves and Galaxy tried to negotiate some more but The Only Way took the upper hand. They were forced to give in and allow Shorty to command the war.
The strategist made some preparations, gathering information from the guild leaders. He was only halfway done when C's voice rang through the battlefield.
"Welcome, guilds, to this territory challenge. Guild Galaxy has officially challenged guild Dream Avenue. A war over the territory Greypine Town seems unavoidable. Or not? Guild leaders, you have ten minutes to negotiate."
"Hm? I don't get it…"
Cyclone, standing together with her friends, flinched. She realized that her voice could mysteriously reach every corner of the battlefield. And the same was true for the words of the other guild leaders.
"Interesting move from C."
"Mhm. I guess it goes to show that a good guild leader can not only lead their guild into fights but also knows how to navigate relations with other guilds."
"Hmpf. So, what is the idea now? Should we give Dream Avenue an ultimatum?"
"Why not? 10.000 gold and we cancel our attack."
"Sounds about right."
The guild leaders of Dream Avenue, Nest of Flames, and Force of Nature heard every word of the discussion. Instantly Cyclone's and Balm's eyes were blazing.
"You Galaxy idiots! You attack us and still want us to pay?!"
"Hmpf. You're overestimating yourself."
"If I were you, I would take the offer. It's better than losing your territory.", advised Silken with a hint of smugness.
"Fat chance! You know what? You pay us money, and we will be magnanimous enough to let you leave! Otherwise, the compensation will bankrupt you!"
Cyclone sounded quite confident. The rules of a territory challenge were displayed in the guild association. Before such an important war the core members naturally studied them thoroughly. Everyone knew that should Galaxy lose, they would have to pay a high compensation which increased with the value of the attacked territory. And Greypine Town was one of the most valuable territories out there.
However, exactly because it was this valuable, there was no way for Galaxy to let it go. The guild leaders exchanged a few more fierce words before they asked C to commence the war.
"No conclusion has been found. Thus, Dream Avenue and Galaxy will compete over the territory Greypine Town. The war will begin shortly. But first let me state the rules:
Five cores will be placed within the territory. These cores have to be conquered by the attacker, Galaxy. A core counts as conquered if at least one player of Galaxy can stand close to the core for 10 seconds without one player from the defender Dream Avenue being in range of the core.
Lost cores can not be regained by the defender.
The attacker wins after all five cores have been conquered or after gathering earning enough points.
The defender wins after either gathering enough points or surviving for six hours.
The attacker can deploy groups on only four entry points which are hidden from the defenders. Should the attacker deploy troops, the defender will receive a signal but will not get any details about the troop composition.
Points can be gained through killing players or NPCs, destroying defensive or offensive constructs, and conquering cores. Certain targets like guild leaders offer more points than others.
Careful: Points are only for determining the winner, they can not be spent in the shop. In this territory challenge only gold and other resources can be used in the shop.
Should the defender win this war, they keep their territory, the attacker has to pay compensation, and the attacker has to cover for the restauration.
Should the attacker win this war, they claim ownership of the territory.
These are the rules for the territory challenge. Now, without further ado! Guilds! The challenge… begins… now!"
Immediately murmurs spread through Greypine Town. A tense atmosphere slowly rose. Over the last few days Dream Avenue had done their best to rebuild the town as much as possible. Especially after knowing about the territory challenge, they prioritized the town's defence. The wall had been rebuilt although it was not as sturdy as it could be. Shelters had been constructed for the NPCs, mostly underground.
Only the territory army stayed behind to face the invaders. After the terrible casualties during the last territory war, the number of soldiers had decreased. Over time the army would be automatically replenished but right now it only had three thousand soldiers.
Luckily most of them were survivors of the last territory war. The levels and overall strength off these veterans were superior to other soldiers. Dream Avenue could have strengthened them even further by investing some money, but this was too expensive for now. Hopefully the soldiers could deal with whatever Galaxy threw their way.
While the emotions like excitement and anxiety spread among the NPCs and players, the guild leaders were gathered in Greypine Tower right now, discussing strategies. The map on the table showed the cores Galaxy had to conquer. There was one in each of the four cardinal directions with an additional one in the centre close to the tower. The alliance had to swiftly arrange their troops before the first attack.
Contrary to Galaxy's situation, the alliance around Dream Avenue didn't find it difficult to agree on a commander. Naturally, they choose… Callida. Although Cyclone and Balm were advocating for Liam, he himself agreed that Callida was the more skilled commander. Liam had never been keen on becoming a strategist. He was not particularly great at it. His advantage only came from his vast knowledge.
Now that the alliance had a qualified strategist, Liam was quite happy about it. He could provide Callida with everything he knew about the territory challenge, and she would create a suitable strategy around it. This was the perfect combination.
Liam pointed out the most likely spots for the four entry points and Callida arranged the troops in a way to counter eventual attacks. The ranged players were deployed on the walls while the melee players, especially Force of Nature's strong warriors, were sent to patrol the town, protecting the five cores. This was all they could do for now without knowing about Galaxy's arrangements.
Everyone got into position and waited for the attackers to come. The seconds ticked by. Murmurs spread among the players. Even the core members were confused what took Galaxy that long.
Age of Frost wore a deep frown as he stared at Shorty. Their alliance was in a predicament as The Only Way's strategist browsed the shop. Everyone knew that their guild didn't have enough soldiers. They couldn't attack without hiring NPC mercenaries. But these troops were incredibly expensive.
Shorty only wanted to hire the best. He didn't care about the money as Galaxy would be the one paying. But Age of Frost and Spiked Pen knew that the guild had a limited budget prepared for the war. They didn't want to spend more than 10.000 gold. And yet Shorty advocated to buy a mercenary unit which demanded 8500 gold. This would almost eat up their entire budget.
After a fierce negotiation Age of Frost finally managed to convince Shorty. They agreed to hire mercenaries for 7500 gold. Although it was already enough to hurt Age of Frost and Spiked Pen, they could still live with it. One of the arguments for spending so much gold on the mercenaries was that the shop in this territory war was less extensive than in other wars. C expected the guilds to prepare their own resources instead of providing hundreds of scrolls, bombs, potions, etc.
After the guild leaders finally came to an agreement, an army of 5000 NPCs arrived on their mountain plateau. They mostly wore heavy armor painted in black and grey, giving them a menacing appearance. Their leader was a was a tall, surprisingly burly elf with a great sword strapped to his back reeking of blood.
Feeling their intimidating presence, the guild leaders were finally satisfied. Even Age of Frost and Spiked Pen stopped complaining. Confidence found its way to many faces as the players were raring to go. Shorty made some final arrangements before officially commencing the attack.