"I really hoped for the challenge to feature a team fight… but this?"
"I know…"
Cyclone and Balm worriedly watched as the other guild began their fights. One might think that C had heard Dream Avenue's wishes, making the challenge a battle against a boss monster. But the AI added a cruel twist, forcibly choosing the ten players with the lowest level as candidates.
Although Dream Avenue's average level was quite high, the guild had more low-level players than other guilds. On one hand this was the case because Liam preferred to recruit players with strong classes no matter their level, and on the other hand other guilds usually opened sub-guilds to train those lower levelled players.
Out of the four guilds currently in the war Beast Den and Infinito had their own sub-guilds while TwinThieves preferred to recruit those players who were already strong. Thus, Dream Avenue faced a disadvantage in this field.
One also shouldn't think that in each guild the profession players were those with the lowest level. Quite the opposite. Professions provided ample amounts of EXP, especially for those profession players supported by guilds who were spending all their time producing goods. Purely speaking about levels those profession players could usually rank within the top 200 of their respective guilds.
Thirty seconds passed quickly. Soon, it was time for Dream Avenue to send their candidates. Cyclone spent a few points to buy some strength potions, handing them to the ten unlucky players before sending them off.
The boss the players faced was quite the annoying one. It was a massive fish with a pearl growing on its head which could shoot lightning at its enemies. The arena had turned into an ocean, providing three islands for the players to fight on.
This challenge wasted quite a bit of time. The boss would often escape into the water where it became difficult to attack. Dream Avenue's members watched the battle with some worry, cheering incessantly but without forgetting to kill the zombies.
The other guilds faced similar problems. TwinThieves, leaning towards melee players, was struggling a lot. Meanwhile Infinito and Beast Den were luckier. Both guilds had five ranged fighters among their ten lowest-levelled players. And Infinito was even more blessed with luck as they even had a healer.
Ten minutes later the results gradually came in. Infinito finished the fastest without losing a single player.
"Haha, thank you for letting us have first place!"
Even the usually amiable Mountain Lord couldn't hold himself back, mocking his enemies. On Beast Den's side Fat Tiger and Glorious Sunrise had black lines on their foreheads. Despite finishing the challenge with the second fastest time, they had suffered two casualties and had to give up the overall first place to Infinito.
The next to finish were TwinThieves but only after Dream Avenue also completed the challenge did it become clear that TwinThieves took a few seconds longer.
But being third or fourth in a single challenge was mostly inconsequential. What really hurt Dream Avenue was that they were now last place in the race.
When the candidates returned, they all had dejected expressions. Ten of them went out but only five came back. They felt like they not only failed the guild but even themselves.
"Don't take it to heart, guys. You did your best."
"Right. This challenge was simply unfavourable for us."
"Just wait, we will definitely rise soon enough!"
Dream Avenue's members remained full of confidence, not taking the temporary last place to heart. One only needed to look at the rate at which the four guilds killed the zombies to know that Dream Avenue had the most powerful players.
However, this was something the other guilds could naturally tell as well. Thus, they suddenly decided to send another wave of attacks towards the prominent guild.
Blue, red, and green lights rose from the three other guilds. Cyclone gritted her teeth watching all the lights converge towards Dream Avenue's stronghold.
"Damn! They are kicking us while we're down! That's bullying!"
"I agree! I really wish we could respond in kind…"
"Hmpf. Unfortunately, the others were right. We need to use our points to defend…"
Cyclone and Balm indignantly vented their emotions. Despite their wish to strike at their competitors they remained rational and quickly set up a defence.
Spending a full 550 points, which was almost everything the guild had, they bought a certain magic scroll. Cyclone activated it with a thought and quickly a sturdy, black barrier protected the entire stronghold.
The protection came just in time. At that moment the three spells arrived, exploding above the stronghold in beautiful fireworks.
"Haha, feels like the start of the flower festival!"
"Are our enemies creating a show for us?"
"How nice of them."
Since the barrier also held the zombies out, the players were idle, watching the activation of the enemy attacks. The first to arrive was another rain of fire, its heat distorting the air. However, in was quickly confronted with a violent blizzard which surged close to the ground, bombarding the barrier with hail the size of golf balls. The freezing cold and the searing heat clashed, causing powerful winds to erupt which lunged the zombies in all directions.
And yet this wasn't everything as roots sprouted from the ground, slamming against the barrier like tentacles of a kraken. The players shivered just thinking about what would have happened if they didn't have the barrier.
"F*ck, they really don't want to see us succeed!"
"Since when did this guild war turn into a 3v1?! So vicious!"
"A good thing our guild leaders held back our points for defence…"
Liam also watched the development with a frown. It was a good thing that their enemies used their spells simultaneously, saving Dream Avenue a lot of trouble. However, they probably wouldn't make the same mistake again.
Two minutes passed and the attacks slowly subsided. Only the guild's barrier remained. But at this point the zombies finally came back. While the skills were active, zombies kept spawning continuously only to be pushed down the hill. Now they all resurged like the ocean during high tide.
Zombies pressed against the black barrier, even starting to climb on top of each other. Their hungry eyes stared at the players sending chills down their spines.
"Did we land in a horror film?!"
Some players shivered. They had to turn away and take a few deep breaths to calm down. Cyclone was distressed as well realizing she couldn't cancel the barrier pre-emptively. Instead, she had to wait until its duration ran out.
This took another minute. Finally, the protection which had almost become a trap began to flicker and suddenly disappeared. Instantly it was as if a dam had broken and a flood of zombies rushed towards the stronghold.
Some zombies were pressed against the barrier. As they lost their support they fell to the ground. Their comrades didn't care one bit, mercilessly trampling them into the dirt as they advanced.
[Bleary Mirage: Don't hold back! Use everything!]
Suddenly the zombies posed a threat simply due to their large numbers. Everyone on Dream Avenue knew that they quickly had to decimate them.
Braag didn't stay on the wall. He left the stronghold, laughing maniacally as he used his [Flamethrower] skill without any care, burning swaths of zombies. Magical explosions ripped holes in the crowd as Fortune showed off her skills.
Lightning rained down from the sky and zipped between the zombies, halting their advance before burning them to ashes. A storm of blades caused a line of devastation, cutting the zombies up and throwing them away.
Fortune, Cyclone, and Quickstep's brutal attacks attracted a lot of attention, but they weren't the only ones in the guild with powerful AOE attacks. There also were others, especially mages like the Zen brothers, who caused chaos among the zombies. For a short while a spectacular scene ensued as the zombies were under brutal bombardment. Fortune recorded everything happily, knowing that it would be a great scene for a video.
It didn't take long, though, for the situation to calm down. The players had used their strongest attacks, nearly eradicating the zombies. Now they were back to only having to deal with newly spawning zombies, which were not enough to even reach the stronghold.
"Haha, that was awesome!"
"Right? I want to go again!"
"There aren't many opportunities where you can feel that overpowered! Thrilling!"
The guild members all laughed happily. Such a scene where everyone used their strongest attacks simultaneously couldn't be encountered often. It was a striking display of the power the guild could unleash.
After making it through this ordeal it seemed like Dream Avenue was on the rise. The sixth and seventh challenges both focused on fighting and allowed the free choice of candidates. Cyclone still kept the top players as trump cards but those she sent weren't much weaker. Full of fervour they fought valiantly and won a lot of time for the guild.
After the end of the seventh challenge Infinito secured first place and Beast Den remained second. However, Dream Avenue had overtaken TwinThieves and was in close pursuit of Beast Den.