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Chapter 1022  Tournament 3, Siege and counterattack

While the trebuchets took a long time to be moved, that time wasn't infinite. The first projectiles were sent soaring through the air mere moments after the guild had decided on a plan of action.

"Take aim!" Zyviss commanded, pulling back his bow—a fire arrow from the Elemental Quiver loaded on string. Unsure how much power would be required to destroy the projectiles, they were erring on the side of caution.

Sadly, they didn't even know what was flying towards their castle. It looked like a round boulder, but due to the distance, they couldn't really see more than that. Eldrian had, however, informed them that the builders were magically empowered. Similar to the ballistae bolts they used. Explosions were, thus, expected.

It was thus imperative to destroy the flying boulders before they reached the castle. Yet, that didn't eliminate their threat. Even if it was a simple stone, destroying it would cause a shower of debris. And from the height the projectiles have reached, the damage would be catastrophic.

Still, it was better than taking a direct hit.

"Fire!" Dozens of arrows flew into the air. Empowered by magical bows and wielders past human limits, the arrows soared. Higher, and higher, and higher still. They became little less than tiny dots in the sky, and there they collided with the three larger dots.

Explosions filled the air, sending shockwaves all the way to the ground. If the castle had windows, they would all surely have been shattered. Heck, everyone's ears were ringing, their balance off.

Then came the shower of debris assailed the castle. Blocked by a barrier, its damage was insignificant compared to the earlier shockwave. The mana cost to the guild's mages, however, couldn't be written off. They could hold out for a while, but there was no guarantee they could weather the siege.

Worse, the fire arrows from Zyviss's Elemental quiver were limited. Sure, only because Zyviss was the only one who could create more arrows. But it was too late to unbind the quiver now.

And once the archers became unable to destroy the boulders from afar, the mages would need to expend even more mana. A direct hit would destroy any attempt at defense.

Though the castle walls would likely stand tall, everyone inside of them would be dead. If the earlier explosions were anything to go by.

"We can do this!" Zyviss shouted in encouragement. Sure, they had a limited number of arrows, but surely Nihon had a limited amount of projectiles too.

The next attack came soon enough, only to be thwarted by Phoenix's archers again. Yet, the number of explosions was less. One in three. Clearly, Nihon wanted to save on their more expensive ammunition.

Yet, without Eldrian in the castle, they couldn't determine which boulders to focus on from this distance. Heck, they couldn't allow the normal ones to reach the barrier either. Its mass would shatter any barrier the mages could muster.

Their only option was to strike the projectiles down before they could reach the castle. Wasteful or not, they believed in their Strike Team. They believed in Eldrian.

They just needed to hold out.

To ensure they managed that, the archers quickly experimented to see how many arrows were needed to take out these projectiles reliably.

—

While a division of Phoenix held down the fort, another division had snuck out of the castle. The so-called Strike Team.

Using a combination of spells to refract light and seal all sounds. Basically, illusion magic, divided between casters, they moved. Aiming to sneak around their opponents and attack them from behind.

The Strike Team was filled with the most aggressive-orientated members of the guild. Led by Judith and Eldrian, their firepower was not to be underestimated. And their speed was nothing to scoff at either. Even while keeping up their camouflage, they sprinted faster than any normal human could.

Even so, they had to pace their speed to that of the mages within the group. Eldrian could perhaps have managed it all on his own, but he had other tasks he needed to deal with.

His first task was to prevent any signs of magic. While illusion spells could trick the unenchanted eyes, they still caused a movement of mana. If someone used Mana Examination, or a similar spell or skill to empower their eyes to see mana, they wouldn't be fooled.

Eldrian's first task was thus to prevent someone with something like mana sense from seeing their illusion spells. Naturally, this was no easy feat. To hide the movement of mana, he needed to move mana. Which seemed to defeat the purpose.

However, it was possible to use the surrounding ambient mana to obscure the movement of mana. He had to do this carefully, needing to make everything appear natural. But, as long as the spells didn't cause too dense a collection of mana, Eldrian could manage.

His second task was watching out for traps. Now that they had made it into the forest, there was a high likelihood of them running into some. With chances increasing as they neared the trebuchets.

"We know you're here!" Someone shouted, causing the entire group to stop in shock. A few bumped into those ahead of them. Some nearly fell, but luckily everyone managed to keep quiet and stay calm. Despite their nerves flying through the roof.

The group believed that the player who had shouted had done so to try and root out any hiding players. Thinking this, they moved. Slowly. Aiming to circumvent this player. Lest their element of surprise be lost.

Yet, when they circled around, they found another player. Again shouting in their direction. They moved around again, only for this to happen a third time. And a fourth, and a fifth.

By now, the group was surrounded. No, they had likely been surrounded from the start. The encirclement had simply closed somewhat. Bringing to light their situation.

They didn't yet have a good understanding of Nihon's numbers. But it was past fifty. While their group consisted only of twenty players.

Those odds might seem decent, but this was against the top guild. The first seed.

Players with skill and top-class equipment. Worst, their enemy had the locational advantage. Being in an area they had occupied for almost half an hour now. There was no telling what tricks they could have nearby, waiting to be used.

"We really do know you're here. So why don't we stop this silly game of cat and mouse?" One of the surrounding players shouted, but Phoenix's members refused to show themselves.

They had noticed that while their opponents had found their location, they didn't know their exact locations. This left plenty of questions on how they had been found, obviously, their illusion and mana camouflage hadn't failed. Then, how did Nihon find them?

Think as they might, none of the hiding players could come up with an answer. They were currently talking through the tournament chat, not wishing to risk letting any sound escape and cause their opponents to hone in on them.

And while their situation filled them with questions, it didn't leave them without options. They might not have the full element of surprise, but they could still use their unknown location and immediate actions to their advantage.

After a bit of back and forth, a plan slowly started forming. Eldrian would stay hidden while the others rushed their opponents, aiming to escape the encirclement. Or take down as many of Nihon as they could before dying.

As they were discussing this via the chat, Nihon had slowly been moving closer. Slowly tightening the noose. And, somehow, they were deciphering where exactly Phoenix's members were hiding.

It was obvious that something was up, but clueless as to what, a better plan couldn't be made before the noose threatened to end them. Springing to action, the mages sent their strongest spells in a concentrated area. Which the warriors promptly assailed.

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