Fortune's magic sphere dominated the battlefield for a few seconds, a feat not many could achieve. Just as the members of Force of Nature thought their squishy fighters had made it through, Callida's warning echoed through the battlefield:
"Careful! Thieves behind you!"
At this moment more than ten bodies were revealed simultaneously. Dream Avenue's thieves realized that their chance had come, appearing to finish of the mages before they could recover their HP.
Callida let out a sigh as she watched many of their ranged fighters falter. She felt as if a dagger had been stabbed in her back.
"Hmpf! I always told you that we don't need so many of those squishy classes. If they were warriors in heavy armor how could a few thieves bring them down?!", scoffed Earthquake.
"But how can warriors match the destructive power of mages?", sighed Callida. She didn't take Earthquake's remark personally. This was probably the thousandth time they held this discussion.
"Are you looking down on me? I show you how warriors can match mages!"
"You know I would never look down on you. But unfortunately, our guild only has a single Earthquake."
Husband and wife discussed with each other but didn't stop fighting. Radiant Shield rolled his eyes as he faced Earthquake, blocking the powerful warrior's advance with his body.
As the fight continued it became obvious that Callida's words weren't without substance. Since the devastating blow to their backline Force of Nature lost access to their big AOE skills.
The battle gradually tilted in Dream Avenue's favour. Cyclone unleashed her [Rain of Thunder], her lightning dominating a large area, paralyzing and damaging many enemies.
Slowly Force of Nature's healers found it difficult to cope and their casualties increased.
Liam had been wreaking havoc among his enemies. With his ultimate skill [Holy Tempest] he was slippery like a loach, weaving between the enemies.
He was just about to finish of another warrior when a large shield suddenly blocked his sword.
[Stance -13]
Liam glanced to the side, looking at Immortal Boulder who had appeared at some point.
One head taller than his enemy the opponent looked down on Liam, his eyes brimming with a challenging gaze.
Liam wasn't intimidated, a grin forming on his face. It was no secret that the prominent tank had a way to recover stance just like him. A fight between them might just go on infinitely.
Knowing that Dream Avenue was on the way to claim victory, Liam decided that he could waste some time to indulge himself. He wanted to see for himself if the towering orc could hold on against him.
Immortal Boulder noticed the change in Liam's gaze and felt a vague pressure. He felt surprised. On Falva Star he had never met any opponent who could make his heart flutter. Only those talents from other planets could put some pressure on him.
It was only natural that Falva Star couldn't produce top players able to shake the federation. The planet hadn't been populated for long, carrying not even one hundred million humans.
The chances of a genius emerging were too minuscule compared to places like the central star system, which consisted of multiple developed planets, which were all tightly connected even allowing travel between them.
And on the extremely rare occasion that a genius of any field would be produced on Falva Star, they would sooner or later be poached by other forces and head to richer lands.
Thus, while Immortal Boulder had some fame, he could only be considered among the top talents on Falva Star.
Yet Liam didn't have a habit of underestimating his opponents, treating the fight seriously. He dove to the right of Immortal Boulder, aiming his swords at the tank's waist.
The orc showed his prowess. His shield appeared in a perfect position to block. Despite the impact pushing against his body, he stood stable like a mountain.
But Liam's second sword moved at a tricky angle, staying outside the orc's vision, hitting him diagonally from the back.
[-155!]
"Impressive."
Immortal Boulder wasn't stingy with his compliment. He reorientated his body, preventing Liam from attacking his back.
The two men exchanged attacks with Liam attacking and Boulder blocking, spreading daunting shockwaves through the surroundings.
No one interfered in their fight, both sides recognizing the honourable contest.
A moment later Boulder's shield suddenly flickered with a bloody red light. Liam didn't even need to think. He recognized the enemy's passive instinctively.
Immortal Boulder took a step forward, his heavy frame digging into the soil. Under his perceptive eyes Liam's body twitched. Immortal Boulder grinned, this move allowing him to gauge the direction Liam would dodge in.
Boulder's shield slammed forward resembling a landslide, aiming perfectly at Liam.
Just as he was about to get hit, Liam showed a smile, disappearing in a flash of sparks. His vision changed and he looked at Immortal Boulder's back. He had deliberately lured the tank into making a big move, which now left his defence wide open.
It only took Liam two seconds to pull of his practiced rotation of skills. Normal attack, [Cross Slash], [Double Slash], explosion!
Holy light erupted above Immortal Boulder's head, extremely conspicuous to the warriors throwing glances from time to time.
[-1047!]
Losing more than two thousand HP in a brief moment, Immortal Boulder felt incredulous. He let out a sigh, knowing that in an exchange of skills he had already lost.
If his shield would have hit, he would have recovered his stance, which would enable him to hold Liam back indefinitely.
But now his stance was running low. Soon Liam would be able to deal damage freely. Of course, he had skills to shield himself. But what was the point of standing there and letting Liam attack him?
Immortal Boulder shook his head. He knew he couldn't let such thoughts discourage him. His guild needed him to block Bleary Mirage!
Just as the tank firmed his resolve, turning his body, he saw Liam standing behind him with his swords lowered, nodding politely at the orc.
Immortal Boulder was confused before he suddenly realized something. Looking around he found his guild reduced to only a few members. He exhaled, lowered his shield, and spoke to Bleary Mirage with a voice betraying his exhaustion:
"Congratulations. You won."
As if it had waited for Boulder's acknowledgement, C's voice suddenly sounded through the battlefield.
"Dream Avenue and Force of Nature. Congratulations on your valiant fight! You both brought honour to your guilds!
But one guild has proven to rise above the other.
Congratulations to Dream Avenue for eliminating more than 95% of Force of Nature's members!"
Booom!
Everyone stared at the sky when a magnificent firework suddenly erupted dispersing the thick clouds. Red, green, blue explosions celebrated the guild war's victor.
Cyclone's eyes turned watery. She walked as if in a dream, approaching Balm.
"Balm! I can't believe it! Pinch me!"
Balm looked absentminded but her hand moved in a flash, violently pinching Cyclone's waist.
"Ah! That hurt!"
The loud cry brought Balm out of her stupor. She turned her head towards Cyclone, meeting a pair of angry eyes. But as the two guild leaders stared at each other smiles quickly formed on their faces and they broke out in celebratory laughter, venting all their emotions.
The rest of the guild didn't hold back. Chants of 'Dream Avenue' rang through the battlefield. Liam and his friends embraced each other happily. Silent Acacia and Quickstep held hands, feeling that this was a big step towards their own goal.
Earthquake showed a wry smile standing among the few people left. He wasn't happy about the 95% rule. He would have rather died in combat, leading his guild to fight until the end.
However, Force of Nature were no sore losers, calmly congratulating Dream Avenue.
The commotion lasted a few minutes before C's voice sounded again:
"According to the rules of this battle Force of Nature has eliminated 240 members of Dream Avenue, earning you 1200 war points.
Dream Avenue has retrieved the relic, eliminated 314 members of Force of Nature, successfully reducing the opponent's numbers to below 10%, earning them 2170 war points.
Both guilds will now be allowed to exchange their points. Remember that points can't be saved!"
Extensive lists introducing hundreds of items immediately appeared in front of Cyclone, Balm, and Earthquake, dazzling to behold.
The items ranged from weapons to recipes, from simple apples to all kinds of curiosities.
Cyclone and Balm were instantly overwhelmed. They browsed the list out of curiosity before simultaneously staring at Liam as if prepared beforehand.
"What? Need help?", chuckled Bleary Mirage.
"Just tell us what to buy, expert!"
"Yes. I'm sure you already planned it before the war even started."
Liam raised his brow. Balm had hit the mark. However, with such a long list even Liam reached the limits of his memory. Especially since it was subject to change, showing only items they could buy with their points.
Thus, Liam didn't want to choose blindly, asking Cyclone to lead him through the options, causing a prolonged discussion.