(Cervantez's POV)
Despite all his shortcomings as a friend, when it came to running a guild, Cervantez was an absolute machine.
Standing atop the Bernabeu City walls, He stoically observed the stalemate as the WhiteSaber guild walked towards their own death.
While on the surface, it looked like the WhiteSabers were an impressive guild, having thousands of engineers, dozens of war machines and an impressive supply of ammunition for their archers to use, in reality they were absolutely nothing in comparison to the DarkSky guild, who were currently merely conserving their strength.
Having prioritised quality over quantity and having controlled the critical supplies of the game for a long time, the DarkSky guild was no stranger to war.
Not only did the guild members have years of experience fighting the demons at the borders, but they also had access to vast reserves of ammunition of their own, which far surpassed anything the WhiteSabers could ever hope to muster.
The smoke that arose from smithy's run by the DarkSky guild, never wore thin throughout the year, as no matter night or day, the production never stopped.
"Good, everything is going as planned…. Inform Lysa and Tor to get ready, it will soon be time for the 'intervention'." Cervantez said, as once the Whitesabers approached the one kilometre mark outside Bernabeu City walls, he activated plan 'Intervention'.
Plan intervention involved the DarkSky guild going all-out to intervene and slow down the enemy's advance, as once Cervantez gave the command to activate it, not only did Lysa and Tor get ready, but so did Jess and his archers, who cracked their necks and began circulating their mana.
"Archers… darken the skies." Jess commanded, as immediately a terrifying volley of arrows were unleashed into the air, nothing like what the Whitesabers had seen before.
Up till now, the DarkSky archers had held back, firing nothing but basic volleys that served only to test the enemy's resolve. But now, the time had changed.
Suddenly, the air above the battlefield came alive with thousands of projectiles, as unlike before, this time the arrows shot seemed to be of the special skills kind, changing their nature mid-air.
[Arrow Replication]
Each arrow split into dozens mid-flight, creating a deadly rain of projectiles that seemed endless.
[Rapid Shot]
The next wave was a barrage, faster than the eye could follow, filling every gap in the air left by the previous volley.
[Armor-Break Shot]
These arrows glowed a menacing red, tearing through shields and heavy armor as though they were paper, as the sky above Bernabeu turned black with arrows, blocking out the sun as the storm descended upon the WhiteSaber guild.
Meanwhile, on the ground, the WhiteSabers braced against the onslaught.
Shields were raised, barriers conjured, and mages worked frantically to deflect the deadly projectiles.
However, despite their best efforts, casualties mounted quickly.
Screams echoed across the battlefield as men and women fell under the relentless hail. Healers ran from one injured soldier to the next, pouring potions and mana into their comrades to keep the line intact.
"Hold the line! We're almost there!" shouted a WhiteSaber captain, his voice hoarse but unwavering.
Yet, despite the chaos, the army continued its march forward, dragging their siege engines closer to the walls with sheer determination.
Soon, as the WhiteSaber forces reached the 1km mark, Cervantez lowered his arm once more.
"Lysa, Tor, it's time. Show them what we're made of." he said, as the messenger standing beside him wasted no time relaying the order.
Within moments, the massive gates at the eastern and western ends of the city groaned open, and the ground began to tremble.
From the gates emerged two single-file columns of mounted warriors, their armor gleaming and blue banners snapping in the wind.
Lysa and Tor led their respective units with stoic precision, barking orders to their riders as they formed into battle formations outside the walls.
Ten thousand mounted soldiers now flanked the WhiteSaber army. Once their ranks were set, Cervantez gave the final signal.
"Charge."
Like a tidal wave, the riders surged forward, their lances and swords glinting in the morning sun. The thunder of hooves drowned out the sound of battle as they closed the distance to the enemy front lines with terrifying speed.
Panic rippled through the WhiteSaber ranks as the charging cavalry threatened to envelop their flanks, as for a brief moment, it seemed as though the line would break, throwing the entire formation into disarray.
But then, as if choreographed, the WhiteSaber guild executed a maneuver that turned the tide. The frontlines parted into neat corridors, creating straight, open paths leading directly to their rear.
From these corridors, their backlines surged forward with practiced precision. A contingent of heavy infantry and Uprising guild members charged headlong into the oncoming cavalry, meeting them with a thunderous clash of steel, as they seemed to have long predicted this move.
"So it begins…." Muttered the WhiteSaber guildmaster, as if Cervantez was a great guildmaster, he was no slouch either, as he had long foreseen such a maneuver.
In terms of pure quality, there was no equal to the DarkSky guild, as not even the uprising could take them on in a clean battle.
However, when they were debuffed by 35%, the Uprising guilds men were more than a match for them, as the frontlines turned into a bloody contest of steel.
Swords clashed against swords, spears clashed against spears and spells clashed against spells.
The entire frontline turned into a mish-mash of allies and enemies, while from the back the war machines continued to hurl their projectiles.
For now, the stalemate continued, however with how intense the fighting was, something had to give and soon.
*******
(Meanwhile Leo)
Leo observed the developing battle through livestreamers on the forums and while he did not have an unimpeded picture like Cervantez or The WhiteSaber guildmaster, he could gather information of his own.
He was already on his way to Bernabeu, being only an hour away from the battlefield, However, he had still not made-up his mind on whether or not he would join the war now.
For now he continued to observe, as he waited eagerly for the stalemate to break.