"It's Mirage Fan #1! What is she doing?"
"Huh? What's with that name?"
"I heard she's Bleary Mirage's sister, but I'm not entirely sure."
"Of course that's her! She is also the one who developed the revitalizing food!"
"Wow, look at her. Such a young girl standing alone against an entire army!"
"Guys, we can't let her efforts go to waste! Attack, quickly!"
Cyclone stood on top of the central tower, observing everything that was happening. When Liam's prediction came true and someone indeed betrayed the guild, Cyclone was filled with anger. But luckily Liam had already prepared. According to him the scroll used by Serena was incredibly powerful, able to last for a long time.
As the mist army was mindlessly pouring into the blocked path it was the perfect time for the players to take them out. Cyclone was just about to motivate the guild members, but she noticed that it was unnecessary. The image of Serena standing alone in the breach was enough to rile everyone up. Immediately all kind of attacks rained down on the mist army.
Instantly the casualties among the mist army began to rise sharply. However, the players looked on worriedly. The enemies who were close to the wall or even within the breached area were difficult to hit. Only those standing right one the edge could easily reach them. Thus, the damage done to them was not as impressive as the players would have hoped.
Some worried voices began to spread.
"Does anyone know what scroll Mirage Fan is using? How long can it last?"
"No idea. But if it were to stop suddenly…"
"The poor girl would get overrun!"
"And we would lose the territory war! Don't forget that the town is without any defences!"
"We… we need to hurry up!"
"Don't hold anything back guys! Give it your all!"
Some anxiousness began to spread, but it only served to improve everyone's determination even further.
At a certain spot close to the breach a young woman suddenly lowered the spear in her hands. The players around her immediately glanced at her sceptically, being remembered of S3lin earlier. However, those who recognised the young woman were immediately reassured. After all she was Abacus, a trusted confidant of Sun's Knight, responsible for observing the auction house.
"Abacus, what are you doing? We need to attack!"
"I know. I… don't deal that much damage. But I have really grown to love Dream Avenue. All I want is for the guild to succeed..."
The man standing next to her, a good friend of Abacus, was confused by her speech.
"We all know how much you are doing for the guild. No one would ever doubt that. Not only you, but everyone else is also giving it their all!"
"Exactly. Everyone is giving it their all. So, there is no reason for me to hold back!"
"What do you mean?"
The male player looked into Abacus's eyes and saw a flash of determination as if Abacus came to certain decision.
He was completely puzzled watching the young woman stepping forward towards the edge of the wall where it had been breached. Abacus looked down and saw the hordes of enemies fighting against the violent storm coming from Serena.
Taking a deep breath Abacus suddenly took out a spell scroll of her own. This was not something she had procured for the guild but found while treasure hunting in her free time. Abacus gritted her teeth, bent her knees and suddenly… jumped!
"Ahhh!"
Letting out a cry which was anything but heroic, Abacus attracted countless eyes. But she didn't forget her plan. With a thought the scroll in her hand activated.
A sinister, bloody magic erupted. It didn't take the surrounding mana as fuel but instead begun to steal Abacus' vitality. From more than 7000 HP the woman quickly went to 5000, 3000, 1000… until all her HP had been sacrificed.
Abacus vision went black. A moment later she appeared in ghost form far above the battlefield, finding herself surrounded by all the players who had died so far. Immediately chaotic voices reached her.
"Abacus! What was that scroll?"
"Did you sacrifice yourself?"
"So heroic!"
"Can you ask your questions later? I want to watch what is happening!"
The commotion toned down a bit. Abacus was already used to the situation, having died twice before. She also watched with great anticipation, praying that her sacrifice was worth it.
Under the eyes of all the players Abacus' body transformed into a small red star. A bright light shone, dying the entire battlefield red, giving it an even more sinister atmosphere. Until suddenly the red star exploded.
There were no sky-high flames or deafening rumbles. The red star exploded, spraying a red, bloody liquid in all directions. The players were disgusted when the liquid hit them but fortunately it had no effect. Yet the opposite was the case for the enemies.
When the liquid hit them, it seeped into their bodies. They let out cries of pain and stacks of bleeding began to appear in their status. Each enemy in the vicinity received something between 10 to 20 stacks, which caused them to suffer large amounts of damage every second.
For a moment the scene fell silent before the players reacted.
"Wow! That's the spirit!"
"Abacus actually sacrificed herself!"
"Damn, who is cutting onions here?"
"Don't let her sacrifice go to waste! Quick, take those injured enemies out!"
Instantly the motivation climbed by another level as the players became fervent. Serena, watching everything from up close had tears welling in her eyes while the storm defended her from the bloody liquid, blowing even more of it towards the enemies.
Another player suddenly gritted his teeth. With a flick of his wrist a small bomb appeared in his hands, and he throw it into the dense crowd of enemies.
"Take this motherf*ckers!"
Boom!
This time the explosion shook the surroundings for real. Many players noticed the conspicuous scene.
"Hey, didn't someone say MoneyMaker is the guild's second most stingy person? Now even he is taking out his private stock. How can we fall behind?!"
Instantly a new movement started among the players. People brought out their own scrolls, bombs, and consumable items. With each group of enemies killed the players hyped each other up even more. It was as if they were in a rush, or in a competition to see who could kill more enemies. No one would have expected that the players' private accumulation even dwarfed the guild's stock. Only the lack of real top-grade spells was a pity.
Cyclone watched everything happening from the central tower, suppressing the tears threatening to erupt. This scene of players sacrificing for the guild would forever be etched in her memories.
Her friends watched from the back of the enemy army, where they had been attacking the priests. They were dumbfounded. No one could have expected such a scene to occur.
However, not all of the core members were happy.
[Sun's Knight: Oh no! Quick, tell them to stop! We will be forced to reimburse all of that. The expenses… I don't even want to think of it.]
[Cyclone: Is… it too much for our guild?]
[Sun's Knight: It will definitely strain our finances. Didn't Mirage say the storm spells has a duration of half an hour? It should be more than enough to take out those few remaining enemies.]
[Cyclone: Ok. So, should I tell everyone to stop?]
[Balm: No. Let's not do that.]
[Quickstep: I agree with Balm!]
[Braag the Virtuous: Really? But the money...]
[Silver Blade: This moment will be defining for our guild. It's not something money can buy. We need to let them continue!]
[Silent Acacia: Right, we couldn't wish for anything better to happen.]
[Bleary Mirage: I wouldn't stop it either!]
[Cyclone: Ok. Then I won't say anything.]
Sun's Knight read the messages and let out a sigh, accepting the decision. He didn't see who started all of that, cursing them inwardly for making his work more difficult. He could only hope that Mirage's words held true and the territory would indeed become a treasure trove for them.
While the core members were discussing, the war continued. Players threw everything they had at the mist army, gradually thinning out their lines. Slowly everyone used up their consumables and the bombardment came to an end. The players stared at the place where a big army had been once, only finding a bit more than a hundred strugglers left.
"Haha, good job everyone!"
"Victory is close!"
"Take them down!"
Relieved laughter spread. The players switched back to spells and arrows, taking out a few more enemies. After a couple more seconds movement suddenly came into the mist army. The surviving mist dwarves were hit with a realization. Fear took over their minds as they suddenly turned around and escaped.
"They are running away!"
"This is it! Hahaha, we've done it!"
"F*ck those spies! You won't bring down Dream Avenue!"
"The territory is ours!"
"Dream Avenue!"
"Dream Avenue!"