Despite Enphour's best efforts the southern core couldn't be held as more and more enemies arrived. Eventually the vice-commander had to order a retreat.
"Kill them!"
"Don't let them escape!"
"They took down so many of us! Don't show weakness now! I want to see them all dead!"
The attackers were furious. Wouldn't they be fools if they allowed those one hundred players to escape? Just now, with the help of Enphour this small troop caused them considerable casualties. They lost 40 comrades at a ratio of almost three to one, a complete disgrace.
Thus, Galaxy went for the chase. Others could conquer the core, their revenge was more important.
Dream Avenue's players naturally realized what was going on. They gritted their teeth, chasing after Enphour. However, being outnumber by a lot their chances were obviously bleak. The two players bringing up the rear soon fell.
At that moment they reached the end of the main road, where it entered a plaza and branched off in multiple directions. Strong buildings surrounded the plaza, enough to block the advance of the army. The players discussed briefly and came to a decision. They allowed the NPCs to escape through a side road. The players, though, didn't continued running and instead blocked the side road with their bodies.
"Galaxy dogs, you won't get through here!"
"Haha, losers only bullying with numbers. Do you dare to fight us fairly?"
"Idiots of Dream Avenue, this is a war! Do you think we are stupid?!"
"Maybe not stupid, but cowardly. We are willing to risk our lives, but you are afraid of dying!"
Dream Avenue's players were just randomly mocking, buying time for their NPCs to escape. Yet they hit a sore spot. Some of the enemy alliance's players suddenly stiffened. Earlier they felt empowered by the masses and fought without fear. But now that someone mentioned it, they indeed couldn't risk dying for a third time.
One of the men running in front of Galaxy's group was Levit1cus, a prominent warrior originally belonging to Miss I Never Miss's mercenary team. He glanced left and right, noticing that some people unconsciously retreated, trying to fuse into the crowd. He let out an angry sneer:
"F*ck! Idiots! They are still 40 people at most! Do you have the brain of a fish?! If you're in danger of dying, can't you just retreat in time?!"
The players froze, feeling embarrassed. They turned their embarrassment into anger, directing it at Dream Avenue. The defending players knew that they wouldn't be able to buy more time, but their goal had already been accomplished. The NPCs should have made it to safety by now.
A second later the clash began. Dream Avenue's players held their ground. Leading them was Iront, an old acquaintance from the first guild war against Force of Nature. The man was even somewhat amused. Back then he would have never thought that he would be in this situation, fighting side by side with this newly rising guild. However, as he watched more than 200 Galaxy players storming towards him, his blood boiled with excitement.
There was no surprise in this battle. Dream Avenue held on for a bit until all their shield skills were off cooldown and were overrun thereafter. But they didn't die without a fight. They choose a somewhat insidious tactic, focusing their attacks on those enemies who had already died twice. With multiple attacks arriving at the same time the targets often couldn't escape in time, dying a third time, and thus losing one of their permanent lives. It was a light blow to the enemy morale which might deter them in future clashes.
However, this was just a small scene on the battlefield. The defenders of the southern core bought enough time for the rest of Dream Avenue's army to retreat towards the western and the eastern core.
Shorty watched everything that happened and could only grit his teeth. He had ordered the army to advance swiftly after chasing the enemies away from the southern core. Those more than two hundred players who had hunted down Iront and the other players were actually going against his order. He knew this happened for two reasons. One, his prestige was not splendid enough, and two, the players became arrogant after breaking through the defence line, considering the war already won.
But Shorty could see that it was far from over. He did his best to coordinate everyone to pressure the eastern and the western core. They had to fight on both flanks simultaneously. Otherwise Dream Avenue could attack them from the back, putting them in a perilous situation. But the progress was like wading through mud. Galaxy could barely gain any ground as Dream Avenue was determined to protect the cores till the end.
Shorty considered all his options and soon realized something. The western core was placed in a residential district, surrounded by buildings. This made it difficult for the entire army to advance as one. Many players remained idle at the back. The eastern district on the other hand was located at a training field for soldiers. There was enough room for some extra troops. He immediately came to a decision, pushing the idle troops from the west to the east.
Watching these movements, Callida revealed a smile. She had expected this to happen at one point. She was prepared. From a distance it was difficult to tell but Dream Avenue still had some reserves. A few teams were still on patrol. Now that Callida was sure that Galaxy was out of tricks, she ordered these patrols to support the western core.
Furthermore, while the western and eastern flanks were nearly equal in numbers, the same couldn't be said about the quality of troops. All their powerful players were in the west.
This was a trap Callida had carefully set up. She grinned faintly. Victory was at hand.
"Hold on, don't let them conquer the core!"
"For Force of Nature!"
"For Nest of Flames!"
"For Dream Avenue!"
The fight at the western core was fierce and chaotic. The screams of both sides clashed in the sky, as did their swords on the ground.
"Haha, the boss is here, guys! Don't show weakness now!"
"The boss came personally! That's the confidence of us, Galaxy!"
Age of Frost had arrived at the western core as well. He stood on the roof of a building, overlooking the war. Protected by two tanks he freely fired various powerful ice spells. Even Dream Avenue had to admit that he was a formidable mage. However, it was difficult to say if he could rival some of the famous mages present.
Finally, the signal came from Callida. Grins formed on many faces. The final showdown had arrived. On cue, the western troops suddenly went all out.
Fortune's ultimate skill [Conduit of Magic] was ready. She chose one of the three options available, and ripples of powerful magic spread from her body through the battlefield, striking countless enemies. The damage dealt within a few seconds was incredible.
[-2613!]
[-1917!]
[-3113!]…
Shock spread through the attacking army like an infectious disease. The tanks and healers scrambled to protect their own. But Fortune's ultimate skill was only one of many sources of danger. Quickstep, Bleary Mirage, Watchful Eye, all the elites were present and used their most powerful skills.
Melodious Edelweiss's voice sounded with an ethereal melody, boosting everyone's stats. A resplendent shield appeared behind Silver Blade's back. In such a large-scale fight the magic damage saved by her passive was abundant. When she activated her ultimate skill, it was a far-reaching protection for all her allies.
The range players were standing on various rooftops. But there were not only Dream Avenue's people. No, many of the mages came from Nest of Flames.
Of course, Phoenix Feather was also among them. When she unleashed her ultimate skill [Wrath of ten thousand Flames], the attackers were thrown into hell. A sun appeared above the battlefield. It consisted of multicoloured flames, shining in all the colours of the rainbow. It turned languidly and fired clusters of flames at the enemies. Wherever they exploded they not only caused violent explosions, but also came with side effects like freeze, bleeding, poison, blind, and more. It was an absolutely devastating skill in such large-scale battles.
Not far from her Cyclone was preparing her [Raining Thunder]. Her wand moved in circles, attracting vast amounts of mana. She was determined not to fall behind the other guild leaders. But just as she was focused on the cast, there was movement beside her. A figure clad in black appeared, swinging two daggers at Cyclone's waist like the fangs of evil ghosts. A chill ran down Cyclone's spine. She immediately cancelled her cast and prepared for a flash step.
[-4570!]
Cyclone was too slow. Before she could escape, the daggers had reached her. Not only did they deal strong initial damage, but they also applied a special effect which would increase the damage of the next attack. Cyclone felt her chest tighten, pushing the flash step to its limits.