Fans all around the world cheered as they watched the first clash. But Dream Avenue's supporters were still tense noticing how the members of Hotpot were pinned down by their opponents.
Bleary Mirage was treated like a world boss, sieged by multiple tanks who kept juggling aggro. And yet he still managed to almost escape with some clever dodges, forcing Human Faith to send an additional player as support.
When the fight erupted it was the warriors who clashed first. The sound of steel meeting steel echoed through the arena.
"Haha, that's what fantasy is all about! Sword fights are a pleasure to watch!"
"Boring, they can't even move! I want to see some explosions!"
Differing opinions clashed in the audience. Fortunately, those connoisseurs of magic should finally get their wishes fulfilled.
Both guilds realised that the narrow space was perfect for AOE skills. Additionally, the mages were almost undisturbed, casting their skills in peace.
Thus, the fight suddenly turned into the playing field of lightning, flames, blizzards, or magic spheres. The entire cave was filled with violent spells.
Everyone had to scramble to escape. Liam could only glance back over his shoulder for a moment but what he saw caused him to frown slightly.
While Human Faith stayed coordinated, working together to get as many people to safety as possible, Dream Avenue appeared rather flustered. They sometimes dodged without thinking, blocking each other, taking more damage than necessary.
A slight gap in the coordination of both guilds could be seen. Liam tried to advice his guild mates which improved the situation somewhat, but Dream Avenue was still not on Human Faith's level.
However, looking towards Human Faith, they had to struggle as well. Especially Cyclone proved terrifyingly powerful. The mage had directly used her ultimate skill. The lightning raining down triggered her passive multiple times, leaving many enemies paralysed and with lightning jumping between them.
For a moment it was difficult to tell who had the upper hand. Instantly both guilds began a second wave of casts. Under the commands of Liam and General Protnor both guilds cleverly hadn't unleashed all skills simultaneously but rather in waves, making it more difficult to dodge.
But at this point Liam detected a rather worrying trend. Human Faith seemed to have more AOE skills than Dream Avenue.
This was not a sign of weakness from Dream Avenue but simply a matter of preference. While Human Faith was built like an army with the skills to face other armies, Dream Avenue's players liked to focus more on single powerful enemies like world bosses.
Thus, Human Faith's mages had more AOE skills than Dream Avenue's. In another battlefield with more room to dodge this might have even been disadvantageous, but locked in the narrow cave the AOE skills turned out to be a grave danger for Dream Avenue.
Others could see this as well. Bloody Edge gritted his teeth. He decided it was time to strike even if it meant giving his life.
The thief sneaked up behind a mage in the midst of casting and instantly unleashed all his attacks. His target died but Bloody Edge was instantly surrounded by three warriors. He struggled but it was futile. Bloody Edge unfortunately had to give his life.
Similar scenes happened among the backlines of both sides to varying success.
But as the thieves fell slowly, the mages were finally without threat and could fire even more freely.
For a while powerful magic dominated the battlefield while the warriors struggled at the front. Both guilds fought systematically, switching out their warriors before they died completely, turning the battle into a tug-of-war.
Like this the match continued for quite a while. The audience cheered frantically. They never got bored. Each successful kill was celebrated, and each narrow escape drew a wave of applause.
Both guilds had to prove their teamwork under these conditions. Were they able to save a comrade at the last moment or were they able to grasp the opportunity to secure the kill?
After a while fatigue could be seen on the players' faces. The mages began to run out of mana even though they were allowed to take a single mana potion.
Unfortunately, at this point Human Faith began to show a higher resilience. On average they were about half a level above Dream Avenue, which gave their mages the slightest edge, allowing them to cast maybe a single skill more.
On top of that the disciplined army seemed unaffected by fatigue, fighting in an almost robot-like manner.
As both sides ran out of stance, Dream Avenue's members began to show some tiny mistakes. Swinging their swords half a second slower or being one step too late in assisting their teammates.
As the seconds ticked by these minor mistakes accumulated and the momentum began to shift subtly.
"Human Faith! Human Faith!"
"That's our army! Forged in steel and sweat! Knowing no fatigue!"
"Don't get ahead of yourselves! We still have Hotpot!"
"Look at Mirage, he's still tying down five people!"
Dream Avenue's fans also observed the worrying trend. They put their faith in Liam, believing that he could turn the match around.
Liam gritted his teeth. On the entire battlefield he was the only one not running out of stance due to his ultimate skill.
Fighting valiantly Liam did his best to take the enemy warriors down but as Dream Avenue members fell, Human Faith could send even more people to put pressure on Bleary Mirage.
We need a breakthrough point!
Frowning, Liam studied the battlefield and suddenly noticed something. Melodious Edelweiss was still using skills. Obviously she still had some mana left!
[Bleary Mirage: Edelweiss, use your ultimate skill on the general!]
[Melodious Edelweiss: Yes!]
Suddenly the sound of a lute shook the battlefield. Melodious Edelweiss made use of her last mana. Her angelic voice drifted through the air, but it was like a cannon shot to the players of Human Faith.
The ethereal melody sounded for a few seconds in which Melodious Edelweiss gathered all the damage done to her allies. Suddenly it was all unleashed with a single word:
"Mabavr!"
One word pierced through the air carrying the image of a terrifying, bloody army out for vengeance. It shot down on General Protnor. There were no skills left which could save the man. He raised his head, looking death in the eye.
Boom!
A powerful force crashed into the general. His HP emptied instantly, and he was removed from the fight.
Dream Avenue cheered, receiving a boost to their morale.
However, those expecting Human Faith to suddenly turn into headless flies were starkly disappointed. The deputy general immediately took over the command and the fight continued unabated.
Liam sighed as nothing changed, and the slug fest commenced.
Both sides were exhausted. Both sides lost players faster and faster.
However, it was undeniable that Human Faith was just a single step ahead. The rate of casualties was in Human Faith's favour.
85:91, 68:76, 42:51...
Dream Avenue fans slowly quietened down. It was painful to observe such a slow death. With every fallen member their hope dissipated step by step. Eventually only five people were left on Dream Avenue's side while Human Faith still had nineteen fighters.
Bleary Mirage, Silver Blade, Radiant Shield, Quickstep, and Final Fend.
Those five looked around with sad expressions. They gave it their all until it was only Bleary Mirage against ten enemies.
Liam tried to make a miracle happen, but Human Faith took no risk. Instead of giving Liam a chance to keep his stance up, the members of Human Faith dispersed and refused to engage Liam until his [Holy Tempest] ran out on its own.
Dream Avenue's fans cheered as Liam still managed to take down two enemies under these conditions but that's all he could do.
Finally, he also fell under the siege of the remaining eight.
Silence.
All of Dream Avenue's members fell silent. Sent to the audience stands they didn't seem to notice the cheers around them. No one expected to not even make it towards the final 32. No, they were eliminated after a few hours, together with the other guilds no one would remember.
Liam let out a sigh. He recovered rather quickly although such a feeling of defeat was novel for him.
It wasn't that Liam never lost anything but failing in such an important tournament was a first for him.
A sad whimper reached Liam's ears. He glanced to the side and saw Serena with a tear running down her cheek. Putting on a gentle smile he stroked his sister's hair.
But the young girl wasn't the only one who was shocked and sad. Cyclone and Balm were hit hard as well. They began to question themselves. Did they fail? Were they not good enough as guild leaders?
Looking at the two young women Liam realized their unstable minds. He quickly messaged his other friends.
[Bleary Mirage: Guys, don't get carried away now. We need to encourage Cyclone and Balm!]
Everyone took deep breaths. Radiant Shield and Bloody Edge also showed difficulties in dealing with the loss, but the others recovered faster.
Silver Blade and Fortune stepped forward, hugging Cyclone and Balm, sharing their pain.
"Guys, we are just getting started! Don't lose hope after a single defeat!"
"Right, listen to Mirage! Learn from it and come back stronger!"
"We have already fought well. One day, Dream Avenue will reach the top!"