While the three allied guilds were already collecting the loot, there was still a battle ongoing on the other side of the world.
In a certain valley of the Southern Mountain Range thousands of players had gathered. With such a big number they should have been able to eliminate the world boss long ago if it weren't for the chaos and order factions constantly sabotaging each other. Instead of attacking the boss they would often throw spells at each other or make sure that so block someone trying to dodge an attack from the world boss.
Also, there was no cooperation between the guilds. No one sent their tanks to firmly secure the boss's aggro. After all, no one wanted their tanks to take all the damage while the others remained unscathed. Thus, the boss would switch targets all the time. Even some feeble mages might suddenly find themselves focused.
At one corner of the battlefield Dream Avenue, Nest of Flames, and Force of Nature advanced together under the command of Callida. They formed a tight formation, defending against attacks from the chaos faction and the world boss. Of course, they also eyed the guilds of the order faction. But so far, they have not started infighting. This was not surprising. No one wanted to earn a red name right now. This would draw attacks from all sides, especially from the disorganized players greedy for the dropped equipment.
Right now, although the guilds formed the core of the two factions, there were way more disorganized players. They were actually the main force in the war, both against the enemy faction and the world boss.
"There! That's the demon who killed me earlier! Charge, revenge!"
"I don't care about the order faction. Let's attack the world boss! I need a new pair of daggers!"
"Hahaha, meteor, another meteor, and another! I, Lord of Flames, am the king of destruction!"
The scene was chaotic. Thousands of spells crossed the battlefield. Some players died and directly came back from the graveyard, throwing themselves into the fray, enjoying the thrill of the war. And in the centre of all this was the world boss.
Haola the Great Vine had changed slightly from the beginning. She had taken the form of a large tower created from wriggling vines, rooted firmly in the ground. The vines whipped in all directions, attacking at least three players at once, dealing massive damage. The players here were not all elites. Some were only level 30 and still came to join in the fun. Targeted by the world boss they often died in a single hit.
Two hours had already passed since the emergence of the world boss. Finally, its HP had been reduced to less than 100.000 points. All the guilds were getting ready.
[Callida: Advance! Don't fall out of formation! Keep up the tank line! Phoenix Feather, hold back a bit or you will draw the world boss's aggro!]
Callida felt quite strained. It was her job to manage everything. No threat was allowed escape her eyes. Even the rapidly changing aggro must be observed. Of course, she wasn't entirely alone. Callida also had some capable subordinates who could share her workload. Otherwise, she might have long gone crazy as a commander in a guild like Force of Nature which is filled with battle lusted brutes.
As Dream Avenue began to push their way through the crowd of players, Final Fend was walking at the front. His eyes were focused on the world boss. He was ready to rush towards the loot at every moment.
"I don't believe it! How can I, the great Haola, die after finally escaping my jail?! NO!"
Suddenly the boss screeched, causing multiple headaches. Her vines stabbed into the ground, absorbing even more vitality from the surroundings. In a large radius trees withered, and grass turned a sad grey. Meanwhile Haola grew taller. More vines came from her body. Their surface changed, taking on a bark-like texture.
"I won't die here!"
Haola's proclamation echoed through the valley as she changed her attacks. She combined a bunch of vines into a cone-shaped bundle. The vines detached from the main body, spinning rapidly like a drill, and shooting in a straight path. The crowd of players were immediately parted. Those who didn't escape fast enough suffered heavy blows. But a moment later the players streamed into the empty area and continued fighting. It was like a drill trying to create a path through a lake.
"The boss has gone berserk!"
"Careful! Avoid that attack!"
"Why are you panicking? Isn't it just going berserk? Why should that matter to us?"
"Well, because..."
"See. Before, we dealt 1 point of damage and now we still deal 1 point of damage. Before, we got one-shot by an attack and now we still get one-shot by an attack."
"Huh. You're right. So that means…"
"… that means, charge at those chaos losers! Push them in front of the boss's skill!"
Indeed, the boss going berserk didn't change the pattern of the fight at all. It was quite sad for a dignified world boss. But the players didn't care for its feelings. They kept attacking, shaving away at its HP. Compared to Liam's side where they were running out mana towards the end, the guild players on this battlefield were still in top conditions. Even now that the boss had gone berserk, they refrained from going all out. They watched closely. Fifty thousand HP, forty, thirty…
[Callida: NOW!]
Suddenly the entire battlefield sprang into action. Everywhere the guild players brought out their best skills as if previously coordinated. The damage suffered by the world boss in that single second was more than that of fifteen minutes prior. In no time at all its HP were reduced to zero. Haola let out a heart-rendering cry as its tall body started to whiter. The lush green vines greyed and eventually turned to ash, dissipating with the wind.
But no one cared for the world boss's plight. Everyone was pressing forward without consideration for anyone else, trying to forge a path through the crowd. A couple of seconds later half of the world boss's body had turned to ash when a bright light shone from it. And with the light items were shot into the sky, scattering in all directions.
[Callida: There! Focus on the brightest stars!]
[Tagtag: One is coming towards us!]
[Phoenix Feather: We are being attacked from behind! It's TwinThieves!]
[Callida: Hold them at bay! No need to chase for the kill! Our target is the loot!]
"Here it comes!"
One of Nest of Flames' mages let out a loud shout. His eyes were focused on a bright light ball. But suddenly a dark figure appeared next to him. The thief tried to take out the mage, but a shield arrived just in time. Annoyed, the thief turned into a shadow and retreated, not daring to stay now that he had drawn so much attention. The mage let out a sigh of relief.
But someone else thought quickly. They did a sweep of the area and discovered an additional five assassins. The hearts of all the mages sank. Fortunately, reinforcements were close by. With the help of tanks and warriors the assassins were driven away and the area secured. One of the brightest lights came towards them and the mage caught the item.
"It's a unique!! Ha! All worth it now!"
[Final Fend: Nice! Jackpot!]
[Braag the Virtuous: Awesome!]
[Callida: Let's leave! No need to get entangled here!]
Catching one unique item and a few miscellaneous items, the three guilds had their goal more than accomplished. They stuck close together and retreated from the battlefield. Getting out was easier than getting in. Although Galaxy and TwinThieves tried to stir some trouble, they were occupied with catching loot so there was not much attention to spare for their enemies.
Thus, the guild alliance soon managed to leave the valley with minimal casualties. Final Fend glanced back over his shoulders and spotted Graveyard of Bones leaving as well. During this war the two top guilds only clashed with some probing strikes. But Final Fend was looking forward to a real confrontation with the chaos faction sometime.
***
After the two world boss fights most of the guilds' members dispersed. Dream Avenue's members went back to Greypine Town or took quests from the guild association, still working laboriously to advance their guild.
Meanwhile the top members of the three guilds decided to meet in Dragon's Breath. This was a certain territory located south of Svebrial, known for its landscape characterized by hot geysers. The territory produced precious materials for blacksmiths and alchemists, especially fire and water related ones. It was also the territory claimed by Nest of Flames.
The core of the territory was 'The Nest', a town named after Nest of Flames. The town itself was in better condition than Greypine Town. Despite the rocky terrain red flowers bloomed between crevices, creating a special landscape. The town was not a bad place to live in, but the heat was not so easy to endure.