New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

It took an hour, close to two, to get every guild leader on the same page on how to siege the fortress. Killi was exasperated and exhausted from having to juggle everyone’s expectations.

Every guild leader in that tent, including the smaller ones that had the guts to speak up, thought the method they thought of was the best. It was hard to form a plan with all the bickering and light infighting already happening.

In the end, they managed to have a general plan, if only barely, that everyone could agree to. The only person who Killi was worried about was Azamus.

He had been quiet this whole time. Almost too quiet.

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Every guild had its part to play today, and thus, no one guild would be pivotal to their victory. But any one guild could rapidly turn into the reason for their demise.

Killi had convinced the other guild leaders to let his guild lead the charge on the fortress’ main gate. His guild members were the most numerous, and their composition of them was mostly melee combatants.

From various tanks to all kinds of hand-to-hand combatants and many martial weapon wielders. Of course, Killi’s Knights also had a ranged division, as well as some healers.

His guild was one of the most well-balanced, in terms of player composition, and also the bigger in terms of numbers. But it was also the one with the least high-level players.

He had always valued loyalty and honour over personal strength. That didn’t mean he lacked powerful players, though.

He, as well as all three of his principal officers, were well inside the top hundred on the level rankings. As he walked away from the tent, heading toward the part of the battlefield he would storm, he came across the newly burnt woods.

Not stopping his gait, he turned his head slightly to look at his vice guild leader.

“What happened here?”

“We had an incident. Vex was taking shots at the people on the wall, as attacks of opportunity, and she fired an arrow at Phoenix. This was Phoenix’s retaliation.”

Killi looked around, taking in all the damage.

“Did she come here to burn the place? Did we lose anyone?”

“She stayed on the wall, sir. She threw what appeared to be a flaming lance. Also, we lost no one, but two of our long-range attackers were gravely burned while escaping the inferno she created.”

Killi sighed deeply at the news.

“She is as fearsome as ever. I just hope she isn’t positioned over the wall where our guild will be. No one wants to become a wellington, after all.”

The vice leader nodded.

The guild leaders had agreed to each take a last hour to prepare, before launching the assault together. This way, they would immediately put equal pressure everywhere around the fortress.

It was hard to tell what the Paragons were doing inside their gigantic walls, but they knew one thing for certain. Their lack of manpower would play against them if they were surrounded.

Inside the walls of the Bastion, a certain dwarf had just completed the last of his runes, completing the massive ring around the base. As soon as he finished carving it, the whole ring flashed once, in a soft blue light, before dimming again.

Malador grinned madly.

A notification had appeared before his eyes.

*Rune Circle complete. Engraver Exp gained: 5,000 points. Congratulations, player Malador, for replicating a barrier rune circle without prior knowledge. Extra 5,000 points awarded.*

Phoenix, who was now standing over the back portion of the Bastion’s wall, also got a notification through the guild window, as did Astaroth.

Astaroth wondered what this new thing was, but he wouldn’t be the one using it, so he didn’t bother looking at it for now. Phoenix, on the other hand, immediately opened the interface to inspect its function.

*Rune Barrier*

Activating this function drains mana from the reserves of the Bastion to erect a barrier protecting the fortress from all directions for half an hour. Mana cost: 50,000 MP. Cooldown: 24 hours.

*Caution!*

No mana reserves have been detected inside the Bastion. To activate this function, mana will have to be poured inside the circle manually.

Knowing this option was available to them, Phoenix was happy. This could extend their preparation time, or even as a safety net, if needed during the siege.

Any extra help they got might save them from losing their fortress. Phoenix was slowly regretting the provocation Khalor had done.

The plan sounded great at first, with the possibility of them establishing dominance. But if anything went slightly wrong, they could also lose all their advantages, which they had worked hard to get.

But it was already too late to change their minds. The enemies were already here, snarling at them from a distance, waiting for a signal to dash into battle.

Signal, which came soon. Everyone inside the Bastion saw the signals.

Every five hundred meters, a flare launched up into the sky, be it magical or chemical, until they went full circle around the base. Seconds later, roars of excitement echoed in the forest as the ground started rumbling.

The guilds were finally on the move.

Every player standing outside the walls in defence, as well as every player standing on the newly built platforms, started sweating nervously.

The distance shrunk between both parties, all around the base, until the attackers crashed into the defenders and the wall. Only one place was still unoccupied.

The front of the base, where the gate was raised, almost inviting players inside the Bastion, was completely unguarded. This raised alarm flags to Killi, whose guild was currently charging there.

But before he could relay his fears into the chat, a loud roar came from the skies. A shadow started growing over Killi’s troops, followed by screams of surprise from the players looking up.

“A drake! Take cover!” one player shouted.

But there was no cover to be had. Only wooden huts and fields of corn to the sides. A gout of fire suddenly blew over all these players, followed by a dull thud.

Standing on the ground, in the middle of burning players, stood Khalor. He looked straight at Killi.

“It was about time you attacked. I was tired of waiting. Let the show begin.”

Closing his eyes and raising his arm, Khalor whispered his incantation.

“Legacy Skill; Death’s Door.”