"Hold on! We only need to last ten seconds! Keep everyone away!"
Broken Leaf motivated his players. With their numbers it was not impossible to hold on for ten seconds. But if a player of the Dream Avenue's alliance managed to get a single foot in, the cooldown would be reset. And other than flash step there were also otehr skills which pretty much guaranteed that a player would be able to reach the core.
However, Broken Leaf welcomed his opponents using such skills. If they came one by one, it would be just right. They could collect points for killing and for conquering the core.
Silver Blade also knew this, but they didn't have much of a choice. She ordered the players and NPCs under her command to attack from two sides, concentrating their strength there. Yet Galaxy was prepared and didn't give in by a single inch. Thus, Dream Avenue had no chance but to sacrifice a player from time to time.
"We can't go on like this. Does anyone have a suitable skill to push them back?"
Just as Silver Blade felt a hint of anxiousness, she received a message from Callida.
[Callida: Silver Blade, reinforcements will arrive within the next thirty seconds!]
Silver Blade was greatly relieved. From all she knew about Callida so far, she trusted the strategist a lot. If Callida made such an announcement, then the reinforcements should be able to turn the tide.
Subsequently Dream Avenue held on for thirty more seconds before orderly steps could be heard.
Broken Leaf frowned. He looked towards the source of the sound and saw a troop of NPCs turning a corner, appearing on the open field. They were dressed in the armor of Greypine Town's army except for the man in the lead. He wore an impressive silver armor, looking somewhat lazy as he dragged a long sabre along, its tip scratching the floor.
Silver Blade felt some curiosity. The newcomer was Vice-Commander Enphour, who had been recruited by Scholar Feng. No one had seen him in action yet, but Liam had reassured his friends that the man was quite powerful.
Enphour trotted across the open space, scanning the scene with a languid expression. His eyes stopped on Broken Leaf and the man subconsciously tightened the grip on his weapon.
"Enphour, Sir, can you…"
When Silver Blade tried to urge the vice-commander, she was quickly interrupted by a wave of his hand. She took a deep breath and focused back on her players. The timer had once again risen to 8 seconds and one of Nest of Flame's warriors had to use his ultimate to win some space and get his foot into the range of the core, resetting the timer.
But at this moment Enphour finally made his move. He suddenly flashed with incredible speed, appearing in front of Broken Leaf in the blink of an eyes. His comrades were just in time to protect him with two shields before Enphour swung his sabre. An arc of red light erupted from the sabre, shooting into the crowd of players, dealing terrifying damage.
[-8812!]
[-7933!]
[-9481!]
The players froze in shock. Some of them, already at low health, had no chance to survive the sudden damage. And yet Enphour was far from done. His sabre flashed, conjuring a cross-shaped light which also cut into the crowd of players, dealing no less damage than his earlier attack.
At the end Enphour stabbed his sabre into the ground, causing a fissure which was accompanied by an earthquake, taking even more players out. Even armed warriors stood no chance. Only the tanks survived the onslaught.
But the spot where Enphour went on a rampage was now barely defended. Silver Blade immediately saw her chance.
"Charge! Conquer that gap! Hold it until we win!"
Silver Blade rushed ahead together with twenty more players. Before Broken Leaf could organise a defence Silver Blade had already occupied the space, which was firmly within the core area. Seeing this, Broken Leaf inwardly felt helpless but outwardly he still put on a strong front.
"Push them out! Kill!"
However, the situation was already pretty much lost. Now that Dream Avenue had occupied part of the space, they were determined not to give it up again. Even if one of their players were killed, others immediately closed the gap before Galaxy could gain any ground.
And one shouldn't forget that the defenders here at the northern core still outnumbered the attackers by two to one.
What followed was a brutal battle with both sides determined not to lose easily. Broken Leaf's group was desperate to hold on. However, as a part of the players who left the town together with Earthquake returned, Galaxy lost all hope. Their morale took such a big hit that they didn't even focus on taking down as many enemies as possible. Thus, when the fight finally ended, Dream Avenue had suffered less than one hundred casualties, achieving a great victory.
The same was true at the western core. Although Fried Wings motivated his subordinates to fight valiantly, the number disadvantage was too severe. Out of the thousand enemies they managed to kill about eighty, which was already quite a feat. However, it was far from enough. After the failed infiltration mission Dream Avenue had a comfortable lead in points, causing anxiousness to spread among Galaxy.
Shorty kept a calm expression, but inwardly his blood was boiling. He could feel the gazes of the guild leaders on him. They might not say it out loud, but it was obvious that they were questioning him.
And yet Shorty would love nothing more than blame those unworthy guild leaders. If their information had been more accurate, the infiltration mission wouldn't have ended in such a disaster.
According to Shorty's calculations the 500 troops should have been able to conquer a core. Or at the very least they would have baited a major spell from Dream Avenue. Now, he didn't even know how they had been discovered after hiding in the park. Shorty could only consider it bad luck. But the sudden appearance of such a powerful NPC was critical information. That the guild leaders didn't warn him about it was their failure. And yet Shorty had to grit his teeth as he couldn't blame his bosses.
Thus, silence engulfed the mountain. The atmosphere was tense, and confidence was low. Shorty knew that they had to secure a win quickly. But now they had to wait five minutes for all the players to revive.
Meanwhile the battle still continued. After celebrating a victory in the west and the north, the defenders dispersed again and continued patrolling the area. Earthquake also returned with his warriors. They had chased the enemies for a while, securing some kills. But Callida soon warned her husband not to distance himself too far from the town.
Now the east, west, and north were silent but the mercenaries in the south were still a source of trouble. With three catapults and two battering rams remaining they dealt a lot of damage to the walls. The defenders gave it their everything to keep them away.
Phoenix Feather stood on the wall amidst her trusted mages. She swung a gorgeous orange-red staff which was surrounded by tiny sparks of fiery light. She quickly finished a cast, and a flame began to burn at the tip of her staff. Immediately, the fiery mage swung her staff again, unleashing a normal attack. As the magic passed through the flame it received a buff, becoming fire attributed magic. It crashed into one of the battering rams, causing an explosion which damaged the surrounding mercenaries.
"Phoenix Feather is really amazing!"
"Yes, each of her skills deals so much AOE damage. Even her normal attacks!"
"That's what you need if you want to lead the ranking list. I heard Phoenix Feather is always gathering huge crowds of enemies and blasts them to pieces. Facing a hundred monster is just an average weekday to her."
"Impressive!"
Such discussions could be heard among the mages of Dream Avenue and Force of Nature. They were indeed convinced by Phoenix Feather, who contributed a lot to the war so far. Nest of Flame's players heard others praise their guild leader and their chests swelled with pride.
But it was not only Phoenix Feather who convinced the masses. Cherry Blossom was doing a good job as well. Her powerful ice attacks always slowed down a part of the mercenaries, disrupting their formation.
All in all, Nest of Flames accumulated a lot of merit in the battle. Their many mages formed a strong front against the mercenaries, causing a lot of damage among the NPCs. This territory war was a great chance for the guild to show their prowess. After they neglected the federation tournament the mood among the guild hadn't been especially great. If they didn't have their unique identity as a guild prioritising females and mages, they might have even struggled to recruit the full 1000 members.
Thus, they were in bitter need of a chance to increase their reputation. The territory challenge came at the right time for them. On Falva Star if you could defeat Galaxy, even if it was as part of an alliance, your name would definitely make the news for at least a week.