"Damn it! We've been ambushed!" Blue Elf screamed into the chat. They were outnumbered. It was just five of them against thirteen players from Dreams of Heroes. The missing players finally decided to show themselves.
There were certain blind spots in the battle arena which players can take advantage of to hide and plan an ambush. But this wasn't one of the tactics that Dream Heroes had used before. Rather, they were incapable of coming up with a proper attack plan. Most of their clan wars were fought bluntly by forcing their way through their opponent's tower.
At this moment, Lucas noticed the few unfamiliar names he saw earlier. These weren't the usual members from Dream Heroes. New recruits but from where?
"Caught you by surprise! Now eat this!" RavenX and his team now had the upper hand. They made good use of it and launch a series of consecutive attacks, casting spells and dealing damage to wipe out Blue Elf and his team.
[Public Chat Channel]
"Whoa, that is so unlike RavenX."
"It still doesn't change the fact that I hate him."
"Are those new faces? Wait, weren't these players from the Space Warriors clan?"
Right, Space Warriors. Lucas figured out what RavenX had been plotting. Knights of Freedom was the top clan in the rankings, followed by Dream Heroes. The third clan was none other than Space Warriors. Where else would RavenX try to recruit new members other than from the third highest ranking clan in DOJ?
Saying he 'recruited' them was a nice term. He knew RavenX had the habit of poaching players from other clans to join Dream Heroes with the aim of taking down Knights of Freedom to become the top. He often gave them privileges like offering them special positions in the clan to entice them to join him. This was also one of the many reasons people hated him because the strongest members in their clans were often his target.
Clans in DOJ reflected the ugly side of the corporate world in real life. If your current company didn't give you enough privileges, you'd be tempted to join one that promises you a brighter future. Loyalty? What was that?
Of course, RavenX attempted to persuade players from Knights of Freedom to join him too. But they had remained united, at least till now.
The entire Team A was lying on the cold, hard ground except for Blue Elf who had 10% HP left. The Speed buff was glowing behind his enemies.
"Backup, I need backup! Snowman, where the heck was you!" he shouted.
"Don't bother, it's just a Speed buff! Let them have it, come back!" Snowman felt there was no point in joining a fight to obtain the last remaining buff on the arena. The Speed buff only offered increased agility, they can live without it.
Seeing that his enemies were about to deal the final blow that would reduce his HP to zero, Blue Elf abandoned his teammates who had to wait fifteen seconds before reviving back at the same spot. He ran for his dear life.
It was a good thing that they didn't give chase. RavenX signaled them to collect the buff instead.
[Dream Heroes has received the Speed buff and increased their Agility by 20%!]
[Public Chat Channel]
"So much work…for a Speed buff?"
"They Attack buff is much more useful. Lol, Dream Heroes GG."
Wrong, they were very wrong. Lucas had seen through RavenX's plot. Every buff in the arena was useful, even the Speed buff. Most players would think that being able to move faster wasn't a big deal. But those who know how to use it to their advantage can turn things around. He knew RavenX wasn't smart enough to come up with this plan on his own. The new recruits must be his new advisers. If he was right, Panda's team would be their next target.
"Okay, so what do we do now? Backup Panda?" Blue Elf asked as he returned to base. A Healer restored his HP back to full immediately.
"No, no. Wait. We don't know what they are up to yet. They might come straight for our tower. Panda, how are things on your side?" Snowman asked.
"Umm, yeah. I think we're good…" the moment he said "good", he turned around and saw several players from Dream Heroes approaching his side of the arena. They were part of the team who had been snatching the buffs.
"Err, maybe not so good."
They had managed to hold out since the beginning of the game but their HP and mana were now in the mid-range. A new wave of attackers was like a bomb that could crush them in no time.
"Damn, we're coming!" Snowman singled his team to charge fiercely towards where PandaHero was but halted all of a sudden.
"Oh, screw it! Pull back!"
Approaching their base was the notorious RavenX and his team traveling at lightning speed. With the Speed buff, they had reached Knights of Freedom's base in a matter of seconds, giving Snowman little time to react.
"Defend, defend!" Snowman shouted frantically. His sudden change of command was confusing for everyone.
"Argh, defend or attack?" Blue Elf was irritated more than before.
"I said to prepare to adapt!" Snowman retorted.
"If you were a real Snowman, I'd melt you right now…" Blue Elf's tone was mixed with anger and sarcasm. Though agitated, he was well aware of the circumstances. The clan war was more important right now. Reprimanding Snowman can come later.
Seeing everything happening, Lucas was feeling a little anxious. Dammit, when his friends were fighting a hard battle, he was sitting in some scenic forest watching all of this. He should have made a wish to transform into Ash Knight and enter the battlefield, maybe it'd happen if he wished hard enough.
If he had predicted correctly, they would first wipe out everyone in Panda's team and leave a group of players there to kill them the moment they revived. Using the Speed buff to their advantage, they'd move fast enough to kill anyone who revived and tried to rush back to defend the tower. In the midst of that, they'd gather another team to attack the tower which was guarded by less than ten players.
"Panda, everyone in Team C come back to base now!" Snowman yelled. No one responded to him, they were too busy trying to fend for themselves. Dream Heroes had deliberately conserved their energy, waiting for the right moment to unleash their stunning spells and Ultimate skills. One by one, PandaHero and his team were wiped out. Even if they tried to escape, they couldn't outrun their enemies who were blessed by the Speed buff.
"We're barely surviving and they're moving too fast. Uh, who was the one who said the Speed buff was useless?" PandaHero was trying to stay alive, dodging attacks coming his way.
Snowman remembered they still had some men in Team A who had died trying to get the buffs. They should have been revived by now.
"Those who were in Team A, come back to base once you revive!"
Gritting his teeth, Snowman was ready to take on the battle. He was the toughest tanker in the clan. It was a six-man battle against RavenX's team which was made of up more than ten players. No, he will not melt today!
"I haven't introduced you to my new recruits yet! Meet DemonicJ, Hobohobo, StingRay, and the rest!"
Whoever introduced their team mates as "the rest"…only a snobby leader like RavenX would do so.
[Public Chat Channel]
"I recognize those people. They're some of the best players from the Space Warriors clan!"
"Hohoho, seems like RavenX has convinced them over to the dark side."
"Space Warriors were on the brink of destruction anyways…"
"You betrayers will be forever banned from returning to my clan!!!!!!"
The last comment was made by none other than the clan leader of Space Warriors, Astro Donut. Lucas recalled there were rumors that RavenX proposed a merger between Dream Heroes and Space Warriors. He wanted the best players from Space Warriors to join his clan so they would become stronger and stand a better chance against Knights of Freedom, to finally become the number one clan in DOJ.
This created a dispute within the Space Warriors. Some welcomed RavenX's proposal but not everyone wanted to be under RavenX's command. With conflicting interests among the members, Lucas guessed they eventually decide to split ways. DemonicJ and "the rest" were probably not satisfied with being in the third highest ranking clan and wanted to achieve more, so they decided to join the cunning RavenX.
It wasn't the first time where clans were formed, merged, or disappeared off the rankings in DOJ. Knights of Freedom clan was as legendary as Ash Knight himself because few clans were able to stay united in the history of DOJ. Ash Knight's charm was one thing that kept them together and he was a fair and tactful leader. Would they continue to remain as a family without him? Time would tell where one's true family lies.
A hot battle was taking place in the arena. As tough as Snowman was, even the strongest tanker would succumb to these attacks. Besides Blue Elf, there was a healer, another tanker, and two swordsmen. They hadn't anticipated Dream Heroes to reach their base so soon and didn't think they'd need more people here.
"Good tactic you guys suggested. Ambush, speed up, and surprise them! You like the new talents from my clan, huh?" RavenX taunted them.
"Panda is dying, help, help. SOS." By now, only a handful of players in PandaHero's team were still alive. Witnessing their teammates go down, the four players who had revived after getting slain in the buff region decided to go help PandaHero instead of returning to base.
"What the? COME BACK!" Snowman shouted after them.
Nothing was happening according to plan!
"F you, Snowman. We're going to seek revenge first, the idiots who killed us are over there!" and the four of them continued running towards where PandaHero was, hunting down the very players who sent them to their death earlier.
Lucas had one thought on his mind - disaster. He sensed egos flying all over the arena. When everyone decides to do their own stuff on the battlefield, things could get dangerous. The four of them should have listened to Snowman and returned to base or they would be walking right into their enemies' trap.
[Dream Heroes has made the first attack on their opponent's tower!]
This system announcement shocked many audiences watching the battle.
[Public Chat Channel]
"Oi, guys! What are you doing?"
"We're the ones who always made the first attack!"
Other members from Knights of Freedom who did not participate in the clan wars were alarmed to see the Health Bar of their tower drop by 10%.
Lucas hoped the wishes he made at the temple would come true. His clan might really need some blessings!