( Meanwhile, the WhiteSaber guild, The Western Duchy)
The spacious command tent of the Whitesaber guild was a flurry of activity, but none of the commotion seemed to enter the guild master's ears who was lost studying the war map.
Seated at the center of the room, his piercing gaze was fixed on the massive paper map sprawled across the table, however, judging by his expression and how his lips were pressed into a thin line, one could easily establish that he did not appreciate what he saw before him.
Every red marker on the map—representing the guild's planned conquests—seemed to mock him, reminding him of the sharp divergence between ambition and reality.
'This is bad…. Everytime I send my men to fight, it bites me back spectacularly' The guildmaster thought, as he clicked his tongue in disgust.
Unlike NPC's, who stayed dead after being killed once players could respawn infinitely, giving them a massive advantage in NPC vs player wars in the long run.
However, when his men lost 3-5 levels each time after dying, the resentment within them was not easy to manage.
Gaining 3-5 levels in this current gaming environment was extremely tough and about a month's work for most and seeing it go down the drain for nothing made many feel furious.
It wasn't a problem as long as the WhiteSaber won the fight and territorial gains were made, however, when they charged and died pointlessly day after day, many began to feel discontent.
Thankfully, with the uprising members joining his war effort, the overall morale within the guild seemed to have been uplifted somewhat, however, the situation still remained precarious.
"Guildmaster….. Guildmaster" an urgent voice came from outside his tent, as a scout hurried in, while clutching a tattered report in his palms.
The scout was in a visibly pitiful condition with his armor being dirt-streaked, and his breathing labored from the urgency of his message.
"Another failure at Coventry Town, Guildmaster," the scout reported, barely able to meet the guildmaster's eyes.
"Our forces were driven back again…by both DarkSky operatives and the Duke's men, apparently they're working in tandem now, even cooperating on strategy" the scout reported, as the WhiteSaber guild master felt his blood boil listening to this report.
"How many?" the guildmaster asked, his voice sounding steady on the surface, but with a dangerous undertone hidden beneath.
"We lost eight thousand men—half of them ambushed by DarkSky's rogues before even reaching the gates. The rest fell to the Duke's forces, who…well let's just say that the enemy fought with a resilience we hadn't anticipated."
"What?" the WhiteSaber guildmaster said, slamming a fist onto the table, as the sound of the wooden table cracking spread across the tent.
"Coventry should've fallen days ago. It's just a tier3 town, damn it. What's stopping us? I want details."
The scout hesitated, then stepped forward, unfolding the report. "The DarkSky guild is using hit-and-run tactics, wearing down our forces before they can reach their targets. Meanwhile, the Duke's men, though weakened, have fortified key positions and are holding their ground far better than we estimated."
Listening to this report the guildmaster took a deep breath, his mind racing.
"Dismissed," he ordered, waving the scout away, as he needed time to think alone.
*********
After the scout left, the guildmaster leaned back in his chair, his eyes flicking to the calendar pinned to the tent wall.
Twelve days... It had been twelve days since they'd launched their grand offensive, a campaign meant to carve a path of dominance through the western territories.
However, so far, their conquests amounted to two villages and one town, and each victory had come at a staggering cost.
The guild's elite forces were stretched thin, morale was dwindling, and supplies were running dangerously low.
The failures weren't just frustrating—they were humiliating, as the Whitesabers, known as one of the most powerful guilds in the game world, were supposed to steamroll through these lands, however, instead, they were bogged down by a war effort that felt more like a slow bleed than a triumphant march.
'Everyone apart from us is thriving. The uprising rebels are steamrolling their way to the Capital, while the Northern guilds are also dominating their local regions.
The WhiteSabers are the only guild in this alliance without any merit to show for and if things don't change soon, we might not get a piece of the pie when everything is said and done…' He thought, as he dug his nails into his own skin.
This was supposed to be the WhiteSaber guilds moment to shine. This was their ticket out of mediocrity and into the stratosphere, however, they could not deliver on this heaven sent opportunity as expected.
The guild's fatal mistake so far was that they had underestimated their enemies—both the DarkSky guild and the Duke's forces, however, even worse, they had overestimated their own ability to wage war under the current debuff.
The 35% debuff was causing their chief mages to be able to only cast their best spells twice instead of thrice and their archers could no longer shoot as far as necessary.
These problems though seemingly simple affected the war mechanics big time, and the WhiteSabers were only finding this out now.
"Tell the generals to meet me in an hour," the guildmaster muttered to an aide. "If we don't change our strategy, this war will break us."
The aide nodded and rushed off, leaving the WhiteSabers guildmaster alone with his thoughts.
"Cervantez…Duke James…" he whispered, the names laced with frustration. "You won't hold me back forever."
But even as he spoke the words, doubt crept into his heart. Could they truly turn the tide, or was this the beginning of the Whitesabers' inevitable decline?
"Let me talk to my generals…. Including the one the uprising sent.
If I can solicit more supplies and support from the uprising, perhaps we can turn this war on its head" He concluded, as at the end he realized that he could not turn the tides of this war with his own strength and needed to rely on the uprising to win more land.
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/// A/N - Hey guys, last few hours of the quarter-final voting and Lord Dumpy is currently trailing by only a few points.
Only the top1 progresses! Let's do it guys! Lord Dumpy for the win! ///