“They’re more thodical than I expected.”
“Agreed.”
The guild battle had made it to mid-ga, and it had been ten minutes since the last Big Castle fell. Ten minutes. It was more than enough ti to make a move.
But, we didn't see any sign from Temple Saber.
On the contrary, they were steadily and efficiently capturing small squares, firmly securing an advantage. It was an unexpectedly cautious strategy.
"If I am right, they'd typically shift their focus to skirmishes during mid-ga, right, Aegis?"
"You're right. I don't think I have ever seen them focusing on small castles."
I inquired from Aegis, she was with as a two-person team, and nodded with a confused expression.
The prelude had co to pass, and now, we're vying for small squares. After we brought down «Central Eastwest Big Castle», we regrouped into two-man cells and returned to capturing Small Castles. This ti, Pala had rotated out, and Aegis was my partner.
Aegis and I were in charge of the south, a spot from where we could always keep an eye on Temple Saber's movent.
Aegis followed after on her horse, Dandy-kun, appearing befuddled as she surveyed Temple Saber's movent.
“Well, it makes sense, I guess. They no longer have the White Throne, so they couldn't just stick to their usual tactics."
I'd take the sa changes had I lost an essential aspect of what made my strategy work. It didn't really co as a surprise to . If anything, it was completely reasonable. It's just, the surprise stemd from how spot-on we'd predicted this situation.
“I was expecting them to force a fight at least once."
“They even bring in three healers with them, huh.”
If you ask , three healers in a fifteen-player match was an overboard move.
It’s one thing if they’d high-ranking hybrid healer jobs like Lana or Misato, who can fill other roles as well. But bringing three pure healers throws off the balance. It compresses your combat lineup and hurts point efficiency—normally.
Temple Saber, however, had compensated for that weakness with an absurd strategy that shouldn’t have been possible in Dungeon Activity. The twelve knights.
The current scoreboard was—
«White - 9,640P» vs. «Red - 6,160P»
«Point Difference: 3,480»
The gap was steadily shrinking. We were losing the Small Castle race.
It had been a long ti since we’d been outpaced in Small Castle control, so this situation genuinely caught off guard.
The knight's biggest advantage was their agility. A lineup entirely consisting of knights was every player's dream. I am jealous!
It was a tactic you wouldn't have seen in Dungeon Activity.
We also had Rina dedicated to off-field situations. Once we're past the opening, she returned to the base. So, we're operating with fourteen people, split into seven two-person teams. When the two sides were mirrored to each other in composition, the agility determined the point sweep.
We'd support of Rina, allowing us to capture small castles efficiently. And yet the gap won’t close. In fact, little by little, they're only widening the gap. Well, they're a forr A-rank guild. They knew their weight, and despite Ester's team having eliminated one of their mbers, they still kept the upper hand.
If I hadn't known before, then I see it now. A knights exclusive guild could truly be formidable.
"Perhaps, it would be better to say... they've started to learn?"
"I bet. Frankly, I think it’s a solid strategy. You could say they’re finally bringing out the true strength of a knight guild.”
At my response, Aegis gazed at Temple Saber with intricate emotions. It took them the loss of the «White Throne», the fall from their pinnacle, the abandonnt from their pillar Tabasa-senpai, to finally notice their potential. She must have been thinking the sa.
But Aegis quickly shook it off and turned back to .
“Zephyr-san. How should we move?”
The enemy wasn't making a move. We'd thought they would rush to challenge us directly, given their past record, and that's why we'd positioned ourselves so we could shut them down at any mont.
They'd never pivoted to another strategy, until today—I had thought so too, after looking at their past matches, sothing I had requested from Yumiki-senpai. It was also «Eden»'s first guild battle against a truly ranked guild, so I had wanted to know every bit about our opponent. My words, though, she handed over a thick stack of materials in just a few days.
It cost a fair bit of QP, but that’s a necessary expense.
To cut to chase, since our opponent had clearly been taking a different approach than we'd expected, it was ti for us to re-think our strategy.
«Zephyr-san, can you hear ?»
"Ah, Rina's contacting , just when we needed it. —Yes, loud and clear."
I cut off my interaction with Aegis, and shifted my focus on Rina's transmission.
«I haven’t detected any suspicious movents on my end. A few small groups have rged briefly and exchanged sothing a few tis, but nothing beyond that. How does it look on your side?»
“Sa here. No signs of a large-scale regroup or an offensive push. They’re steadily securing their advantage through small castles. Aegis is equally surprised, since they'd never taken this approach before.»
«We expected them to go on the offensive… looks like our prediction was off.»
Rina shared the sa conclusion as .
"Since we've all the four Big Castles on our bag, it makes sense they’d want to secure the Small Castle advantage first. If it were , I’d aim for a Big Castles at so point, leaving just enough HP to keep it standing."
It was a tactic «Arc-Arcadia» had once used during their E-rank promotion exam.
If they pull that off, things get really annoying. We’d be forced to dispatch reinforcents just to stop it.
«It does sound probable. In that case, let's deliver the hamr there.»
“If they proceed with this, then we need to keep an eye on «Central East Big Castle», «Northwest Big Castle», and «Southeast Big Castle». Let’s stick to the planned deploynt. Until then, we keep capturing squares.”
“Understood. If I detect any offensive movent on my end, I’ll contact you imdiately.”
“Much appreciated.”
The call with Lina ended. It was truly a blessing to have ans for long-range communication. Who would've thought an unassuming skill in the ga would beco a pillar of our strategy?
Aegis seed curious to know, so I shared what we'd discussed.
“So when they co to chip away at a Big Castles, we face them right there?”
“Or intercept them outright. If it were , I’d target anything but «Northeast Big Castle».”
“…? Why wouldn’t they go for the Northeast one?”
“It's strategically in a bad location.”
Since they're skipping on PvP, their next target would obviously be Big Castles. If they keep avoiding taking any action, they would lose, given the difference in overall points.
If it were , I’d aim for two minutes before tiout, but until then, just shave Big Castle's HP enough to keep them alive. This was the safest, and best approach give current situation.
The final two minutes were a race. You'd want to keep your opponent surpassed, and aim for the Big Castles. This was the last they could make any move.
«Northwest Big Castle» was an unfortunate situation strategically. Because the audience stands acting as obstacles, the approach is a single narrow path.
If Temple Saber took that, it would only give us the opportunity to wall them there. A deadlock at the race-against-ti would an certain defeat. If they’re taking that one, it has to be right before ti runs out.
I explain all of that to Aegis.
“I see. Then what do we do?”
“Right. The closest ones are the «Central East Big Castles» and the «Southeast Big Castles». We’ll secure the surrounding squares, join up with other teams and intercept them—before wiping them out.”
“Understood!”
That settles our plan. By now, Rina should've already entrusted soone nearby to start trimming down the HP of «Central West Big Castles» as well.
On the other hand, Temple Saber was now stuck on the choice route. They'd want to keep focus on sweeping squares, but shifting their focus on Big Castles would an they'd to shift their attention.
What would be their next move then?
.
.
.
.
Another ten minutes passed.
There was finally a change in Temple Saber's pattern. They're aiming for the «Northeast Big Castle», the one closest to our base.
Alright then. It was ti to face them.
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