Earthquake gritted his teeth. Out of his top subordinates only five remained standing, pushed back by the bull riders. He fought together with Immortal Boulder, forcing the enemy to pay a price for each step taken. But eventually it was too much.
The tall orc leader was the first to break through the defence. He pushed the last enemy aside and raised his axe, roaring to the sky. His comrades followed swiftly. There were only seven orcs left, bleeding and with battered armor. But the mission has been accomplished!
Once a hole appeared in the defence it couldn't be closed again. All of Galaxy's players streamed towards the gap, defending it with their lives. Under their ferocious pressure it only increased. The path ahead was free from obstacles!
[Earthquake: Sorry guys, I failed…]
[Cyclone: Eh? You did good. You held out so well!]
[Bleary Mirage: No need to blame yourself.]
[Silent Acacia: I don't know if I would've been able to hold out for so long.]
[Callida: No need to beat yourself up over it. The fight is in our favour. We have 3400 soldiers remaining. Galaxy has about 3000. The battle just now cost them a lot! In terms of points, it stands 4586/5000 to 6904/10.000! Everything is in our hands!]
Earthquake still felt like he should have been able to hold out longer. But he also knew that now was not the time to think too much about it. He adjusted his emotions and focused on the ongoing war.
The situation was as Callida had just described. However, she made it sound somewhat too optimistic. With 6900 points, Galaxy was not as far from victory as it seemed. They only needed to conquer three cores and Greypine Town would change owners. Watching the army break through the defense line, Age of Frost wore a confident grin. The last obstacle had been overcome and there were still one and a half hours left of the war. Galaxy would win this!
The frost mage felt anxious. He looked towards the guild leaders, suggesting:
"Why don't we also advance? Shouldn't we stand with our troops? Let's boost their morale!"
While the guild leaders appeared somewhat tempted, Shorty frowned:
"Don't loose yourself during the final sprint. You count as a guild leader. You alone are worth 200 points. There is no need to take risks."
"No need to worry. I have made precautions. Perhaps I can even bait out a powerful spell from Dream Avenue, increasing our advantage even more."
"I'm against it!"
Shorty and Age of Frost stared at each other. A silent tension spread. Silken watched from the side, somewhat curious. He honestly didn't care that much. The alliance was already formed, and the benefits were negotiated. If Age of Frost made a stupid move and lost the war for Galaxy, it didn't matter to TwinThieves and The Only Way. They couldn't be blamed.
Sevrance on the other side somewhat agreed with Age of Frost. Not because he wanted to increase morale but only for revenge. Losing the guild war had displeased many of his men. The ruthless gangsters wouldn't swallow such a humiliation easily. Sevrance knew that their emotions were boiling. If he could take out some high-ranking guild members of Dream Avenue, especially Cyclone or Balm, it would increase the prestige among his men a great deal.
The more he thought about it, the more Sevrance felt that it made sense. But he couldn't go alone and risk being blamed should he fail. He needed someone from Galaxy to take the lead. Thus, he messaged Age of Frost, nudging the mage who was facing off against Shorty.
Age of Frost grinned. This was just the confirmation he needed. He ignored Shorty's opinion and jumped on his mount, turning towards the town.
"Whatever, I'm going! Whoever wants to come with me, let's go!"
Sevrance's face was hidden behind his black mask. But as the assassin stepped forward, Shorty intuitively looked at him.
The strategist frowned. He somehow knew that Sevrance had convinced Age of Frost to go. He wanted to warn the guild leaders but ultimately, he knew he had no authority over them. He could only hope that they wouldn't ruin his beautiful war. If he lost because of their hubris, he would… well, he couldn't do anything to them. Frustrated, Shorty could only focus on the war and make sure that it ended in a splendid victory for him.
While Age of Frost and Sevrance set off, riding towards the town, the battle continued in full swing. Callida had already made her preparations and was now managing the troop movements. After Galaxy broke through their defence, the army was separated into two flanks, east and west. Both flanks were falling back under her meticulous command, fighting while retreating towards the two cores. Their aim was to take out as many enemies as possible while staying safe themselves.
As the armies distanced themselves from the wall and even had to fight between buildings, the players on top of the wall soon couldn't reliably attack them anymore. Thus, they were forced to move. The mages, hunters, and healers ran along the walls, descending close to the eastern and western cores, joining the troops already waiting there.
However, while Dream Avenue still held some control over the flanks, the same couldn't be said about the centre. Here, Galaxy had broken through, storming down the road and soon reaching the southern core.
Dream Avenue didn't have many troops left to protect the southern core. About a hundred warriors waited there, led by Vice-Commander Enphour. The man narrowed his eyes, tightly grabbing the handle of his swords.
"Can someone remind me why I agreed to come here? Didn't that scholar say that life here is relaxing and enjoyable? How did a war begin as soon as I arrived?!"
Mumbling to himself Enphour stared at the enemies coming closer bit by bit. He could tell that they were somewhat disorderly. While the mercenaries advanced in a closed formation, the players were too eager for merit. There was no cooperation between the three guilds. Perhaps these players thought that the war was already won and what followed now was only the clean-up. However, this couldn't be further from the truth.
"Men! Get ready!"
"Yes, Sir!"
The one hundred warriors behind Enphour answered in unison. It didn't matter if they were players or NPCs. They stared at the incoming enemies with determined eyes. Callida didn't expect this small unit to stop the advancing enemies. And even if she did, they would readily give their lives away. The NPCs fought with a sense of duty. They knew that their deaths would better the future of the territory.
Compared to them, the players had it much easier, knowing they could still be revived. Thanks to Callida's arrangements there were almost no players without revives left and those few were in rather safe positions. This was another hidden advantage Dream Avenue had compared to Galaxy. The latter suffered too many casualties. Some of their players, having already died twice, didn't dare to rush to the front and would rather play it safe.
This could even be seen now that the two guilds were about to clash at the southern core. A few players slowed down, allowing others to take the lead, inevitably decreasing the pressure faced by Dream Avenue. But even so Galaxy remained confident.
"Let's go! There's the southern core!"
"Attack! It's barely defended! Haha!"
The leading players were laughing arrogantly. They finally reached the southern core. They were just about to clash with Enphour when the latter made the first move. His sword flashed at a terrifying speed like the tail of a beast, and the first three players received brutal blows to their chests, halting their advance.
Damage numbers in the thousand plopped up. Instantly the players were surrounded by Dream Avenue's warriors and attacked from all sides. Despite creating some hasty shields, they stood no chance. A second later all three players fell to the ground with no HP left.
For a moment the attackers had chills run down their spines. The advancing players slowed down. However, the same couldn't be said for the mercenaries. They knew no fear, marching straight towards the southern core. Enphour watched them solemnly. The formation was way more difficult to fight than the lose players. Taking a deep breath Enphour readied himself. Suddenly he shot forward like a bullet, crashing into the mercenaries with his sword held in front of his body like the tip of an arrow.
Boom!
A shockwave washed over the surroundings as the two sides clashed. Enphour made it a few steps into the mercenary formation and began to attack the fighters if front of him. His subordinates took a moment to understand what had just happened before rushing forward to assist him. Instantly the two sides were caught in a fierce struggle.
However, Dream Avenue couldn't hold on for long. They were pushed back by the orderly mercenaries while players came from the left and right, delivering vicious blows. Dream Avenue's force of a hundred players was not enough to stop the rising tide.