Finally, movement came into the players. They went a long way around the fighting armies and rushed towards the void curtain in the distance. With a void compass in hand, they could hold out for up to twenty minutes within the void. Afterwards they would have to leave and wait a minute for the compass to recover.
On the other side the chaos faction players received small, violet amulets. After experimenting with the void, the Chaos Faction was naturally not without means to shield against void energy. The amulets were even more potent, shielding for thirty minutes against void energy.
The chaos faction players had solemn faces as they watched their opponents come closer. They would love to face the order faction in battle. However, if the order faction players were focused on getting into the void curtain it was difficult to hold them back. Thus, the guild leaders came to a decision. Since their amulets also had the ability to find the void cores, they would engage the enemy around the cores, forcing them to fight.
"Graveyard of Heroes, follow me!"
Wave of Bones sat on top of a skeletal, mammoth-like beast and waved his hand. Instantly almost nine hundred players followed his command. Graveyard of Heroes turned around and entered the void curtain. It spoke of the guild's strength that so many of their players had already passed level 50.
The movement was quite conspicuous and was observed by all the other players. While the chaos faction swiftly followed their example, the order faction players showed grave expression. No one wanted to collide with Graveyard of Heroes in the void. Even Dream Avenue was apprehensive. They only had a little over 600 players present. The number difference was difficult to overcome.
"Guys, don't show weakness now! Our order faction has a big advantage!"
"Right, did you see how few players they have left? On the way here we killed so many of those chaos noobs!"
"With the number advantage we can't lose!"
"Exactly! Let's go! Victory will be ours!"
Encouraging each other the order faction players gritted their teeth and also plunged into the void.
Silence. This was the first thing the players noticed. Even at the edge of the void curtain the energy was dense enough to corrode all sound. Further in, the void energy became even denser until one could only see darkness, like a terrifying abyss devouring everything. At that point the void energy was so terrible that even gods and devils would find it difficult to cross. It was a thorough destruction of the world itself, dividing the entire Hell, indeed a prison capable of holding even devils.
A shiver went down everyone's spines. Some people tried to talk with their friends but realized that it was impossible and they could only use the chat.
[Cyclone: What now guys? Do we rush towards the cores?]
[Bleary Mirage: No. We have to split up. Let's move in teams of thirty people.]
[Final Fend: Isn't this too dangerous?]
[Bleary Mirage: Just avoid enemies. Don't get caught in a fight.]
[Braag the Virtuous: Well, you're the boss.]
As Liam's order spread through the guild, it left many people confused. However, they soon realized why he wanted to separate into teams. After everyone took out their compasses, they realised that the needles pointed in many different directions. There were not only one or two cores in this void curtain, but hundreds, perhaps even thousands. It was inefficient to search in a big group.
Thus, Dream Avenue quickly split up. Liam and his friends led a team of thirty and headed straight ahead into the dense energy fog. It didn't take long until they came across the first core. It was a big, rhombus-shaped violet crystal embedded in a stone foundation on the ground. Since there was no one else present the team could instantly start to attack. To their surprise it took more than five seconds of their combined strength until the crystal broke apart. A slight ripple spread through the void fog but a single destroyed crystal didn't make much of a difference.
[Bleary Mirage: Let's continue.]
Dream Avenue had split up into many smaller teams, all advancing carefully. When coming across anyone from the chaos faction, who usually moved in large groups, they would immediately escape without thinking about fighting. Although this was a somewhat humbling experience, it was easily replaced by the joy of destroying one core after another.
Meanwhile the other guilds weren't that decisive. They moved in massive groups, sometimes allying with other guilds or even guildless players. Their efficiency of destroying cores was rather low. And when they came across a group of enemies it would often lead to a fierce battle until one side decided to cut their losses and escape. Also, it was rather annoying being forced to leave the area every 20 minutes with so many people.
Thus, after a while the other guilds also adapted their strategy. Soon hundreds of smaller teams spread throughout the void curtain, destroying cores quickly. Of course, the chaos faction was not stupid. They noticed the change and also split up into smaller groups. This led to frequent battles over cores with wins and losses on both sides.
At this point the chaos faction discovered one distinctive advantage they had. Since their amulets were able to protect against the void for 30 minutes, they would always win drawn-out battles. There was no need to defeat the enemy, simply holding them back would guarantee victory as the order faction suffered from the damage caused by the void.
This left many players of the order faction quite frustrated, and their strategies changed again. They would often try to occupy the chaos faction with a majority of their team while two or three players focused solely on destroying the void cores.
"This is so difficult…"
"Yeah, damn the chaos faction."
"I don't want to go in again…"
"We already lost seven people. Our efficiency dwindles by the minute…"
A few players gathered outside the void curtain, recharging their compasses. Their eyes showed extreme weariness as they stared at the silent danger zone ahead. Even after their compasses were recharged they hesitated to move.
At this moment another team came out of the void. It was led by Phoenix Feather. The red-robed mage saw the players not far away, noticing that one of the teams was from Nest of Flames. She walked over with a faint frown on her face.
"Girls, now is not the time to rest!"
"Ah! Hello guild leader. We… we were just about to go in again."
"I hope so. Just look at the void curtain. We are making solid progress. The fog is thinning and the black abyss at the back seems to be shrinking. Just a little more and we will complete our task. This war decides the fate of both factions going forward. Even if the order faction loses, we, Nest of Flames, have to do our best. So, don't slack off now!"
"Yes boss. We're going…"
The members of Nest of Flames knew that they couldn't rest any longer. They gathered their team and swiftly entered the void. However, inwardly they were somewhat conflicted. Everyone in Nest of Flames realized that their guild leader seemed to have become more ambitious since they formed an alliance with Dream Avenue. On one hand this was not a bad thing as the guild was indeed doing well, profiting all its members. But on the other hand, the comfy atmosphere was somewhat disturbed.
Phoenix Feather had an inkling of what her guild members were thinking. However, she was also under a lot of pressure. Since the creation of an alliance with Dream Avenue, the guild received a lot of attention. It was mostly positive, but what would happen if the order faction lost and Nest of Flames was seen slacking off? Phoenix Feather shivered just imagining the situation. She turned around and addressed her own team:
"Same goes for you guys. I will give you a break of two minutes. Afterwards it's back to destroying cores!"
"Ok, boss…"
"Guys, look at the red bar!"
"What… what happened?!"
"Are we losing?!"
Suddenly chaotic shouts came from the players. Everyone stared at the red bar with pale faces. During the final battle the bar had been reducing gradually, which was only logical. But just now it made a big jump, sinking below two million points. Suddenly the order faction players realized that there was a realistic chance of losing the event if they didn't destroy the void cores fast enough.
"Hurry up, hurry up! Don't laze around! We need to work!"
"Wait, my compass isn't recharged yet!"
"Then charge faster!"
"I don't know how…"
Instantly there was nothing left of the relaxed atmosphere just now. The players prayed for the tools to charge quickly before jumping back into the void together with their teams. Phoenix Feather also cut her team's break short and went back to work.
All the teams searching the void felt a sudden pressure. They increased their speed, running from core to core, avoiding the chaos faction as much as possible. And in such a frantic atmosphere Liam and his friends came across some powerful enemies.