While the frontlines of both guilds were embroiled in violent battles, the backlines still were rather calm. The mages waved their wands and staffs, preparing their powerful skills.
After reading Liam's deduction, Cyclone prepared to focus on the enemy's support players. An unusually large group of healers stood far behind, doing their best to stay out of range of Dream Avenue's own ranged attacks.
Suddenly Cyclone finished her cast. A bolt of lightning shot out, flashing above everyone's heads. It shot towards the furthest player Cyclone could reach.
Come on, jump correctly! Go!
Cyclone prayed inwardly as she watched intently. Her [Chain Lightning] slammed squarely into a warrior's chest and began to zap towards random players.
Watching the skill jump towards another warrior nearby Cyclone first gritted her teeth. But then her eyes lit up as the lightning bolt decided to flash through the empty area before fiercely striking one of Unity of Life's healers.
Success!
Under the shocked gazes of the healers, the skill jumped twice more. Even as its power diminished each time, the last player it hit still received close to one thousand points of damage, both magical and lightning.
And to everyone's horror this was not the end. Sparks appeared around the bodies of two of the healers like sinister snakes. Cyclone's passive triggered and the unlucky players found themselves incapable of moving.
Suddenly a figure appeared behind one of the paralyzed players.
"A thief?!"
"How did he get here?"
"Did our detection skills fail?"
"Quick, help him!"
Unity of Life's ranged players were all shocked, their stomachs sinking. A thief among mages and healers was like a wolf entering a flock of sheep, ready to slaughter.
And Bloody Edge had definitely become one of the most fearsome thieves by staying with Liam. His daggers flowed smoothly, unleashing his attacks without delay between them.
Everything happened in a flash and the first healer died before anyone could help him.
With his target dead and no one attacking him, Bloody Edge was regarded as out of combat and easily entered stealth again. Fear gripped all the support players' hearts. They felt as if a sharp blade hovered above their heads, ready to strike down at any time.
Naturally Unity of Life knew how dangerous it was to let thieves get into their backline. Usually, they had skills for detection and their warriors covered a large enough area to detect any stealthy intruder beforehand.
However, their defence faltered easily if the enemy was overwhelmingly stronger. Dream Avenue's warriors occupied Unity of Life's warriors, pressuring them until they had no room left to breath. They still managed to fish out one or two thieves, proving their skill, but it wasn't enough to hold back the likes of Bloody Edge.
Yet the young man wasn't the only one who found his way through the net. Startled cries came from the left and right as two more thieves attacked.
Friendly Dagger's eyes twitched as for some reason Unity of Life seemed adamant about interrupting his assassination. Multiple skills came flying towards him. He had to let go of his target and if it weren't for the timely shield of a tank, he would have died on the spot.
However, at least him drawing all the attention allowed one of his colleagues to succeed, taking out a water mage constantly releasing potent debuffs.
Meanwhile Fenchgal commented everything from the sky:
"Dream Avenue has taken the upper hand! Wherever the two guilds clash, Dream Avenue proves their stronger power. Unity of Life have trouble to bring out the strength of their playstyle.
Oh no, the healers begin to fall. This doesn't bode well for Unity of Life!
Oh, what is this! Look towards the centre of the battle, the aggro on Bleary Mirage seems to have worn off. Benevolent Moon attempts to reapply it but Bleary Mirage dodges skilfully.
Dream Avenue's terrifying player has been freed of his shackles. Ah! One slash and two warriors die!
A large, blueish sphere suddenly appears above the battlefield! This should be Fortune's arcane sphere. Look at that omnidirectional damage! Unity of Life is getting fried!
Or not?! A skill to cancel other skills? The arcane sphere is gone, how will Fortune react? Is it time for Unity of Life to strike back? Ice spikes erupt in a wide area, forcing Dream Avenue to scramble!
Oh what an angelic voice. This must be Melodious Edelweiss. Let me tell you, this unassuming woman is a large part of why the bard class has become so popular! Look how much she heals! She overshadows Unity of Life, and that's a guild built around healers!"
Fenchgal floated above the arena, trying to capture all the big events, fanning the audience's excitement.
But this seemed almost unnecessary. By now the arena was boiling and the audience had grown to about 600.000 people.
Shouts of 'Dream Avenue, Deram Avenue' echoed through the Northern Desert. Fortunately, Unity of Life weren't without support as well. The guild was not unknown on its home planet. A part of the audience bravely tried to hold their own against Dream Avenue's fans.
As the fight went on, however, a trend quickly emerged. Dream Avenue clearly had the upper hand on the battlefield and in the audience.
When the first members of Unity of Life began to fall, the pressure increased noticeably. Meanwhile Dream Avenue was coordinating beautifully, sharing the brink of the damage among the tanks and using their healing skills efficiently.
Additionally Dream Avenue had quite a few skills making life difficult for their enemies. Silver Blade's [Aura of the Sloth] proved highly effective. It was way more powerful in a fight against players than in a fight against bosses with high resistance.
But this was not all!
Suddenly Quickstep unleashed her ultimate skill [Storm of Blades]. A large whirlwind erupted. Only a few players could hold their ground against it. Many were grabbed and flung away, opening a path for Dream Avenue to push through.
Not missing the chance Quickstep led a few warriors deep into enemy lines. One or two were held back but the rest reached Unity of Life's ranged fighters.
If Bloody Edge resembled a wolf tearing into a flock of sheep, then Quickstep was like a giant, sharp blade, completely running rampant.
Unity of Life quickly sent support to contain Quickstep, but this only burdened their frontline even more. Their situation turned increasingly dire. And yet Dream Avenue managed to keep Quickstep alive.
Finally Benevolent Moon was attacked by Watchful Eye's [Five Element Array]. Under the assault of water, fire, wood, earth, and metal damage the tank was soon crushed, losing the last bit of her HP.
As she appeared in the audience ranks, she let out a helpless sigh. Now there were only 45 of her guild members left against 83 members of Dream Avenue. Only a miracle could enable them to come back from this.
But sadly, no miracle occurred. Dream Avenue, now with an overwhelming majority dominated the rest of the fight. Soon, the last member of Unity of Life fell.
"Dear audience. We have a winner. And they are called DREEAAM AVEENUEE!!"
Fenchgal gave it his all, almost shouting until his voice became hoarse. Yet his voice was almost drowned out as the audience went crazy.
Dream Avenue stood in the arena, taking it all in, overwhelmed by this unprecedented feeling. For the first time they so clearly felt the power of their fans.
"This must be how those famous singers feel…", whispered Balm in awe.
"Yes. Or like sports clubs."
"But we are only starting out. Just imagine what it must be like for those longstanding guilds."
"I've been to a tournament of Libra Legion when I was younger. It was incredible.", agreed Final Fend.
Liam and his friends enjoyed the fervent reactions of their fans, waving in all directions. Unfortunately, the tournament was on a tight schedule. A light engulfed Dream Avenue and sent them back wherever they came from.
Cyclone appeared in the audience stands and was immediately swarmed from all directions.
"Cyclone! You were awesome!"
"Cyclone please sign my shirt!
"Sign my cup!"
"Sign my body!"
"Cyclone I am a journalist of Gamer's Weekly, please answer some questions."
"Cyclone!"
"Cyclone!"
The poor woman's head spun. She quickly communicated with C to be sent to a random arena. A light flashed, Cyclone disappeared, and only confused faces remained.
Meanwhile, the situation for the rest of the friends was not much better. Balm chose the same way out as Cyclone.
But at least some of the friends were more professional in dealing with the situation. Fortune basked in the attention, even drawing energy from it, clearly showing her experience.
Silent Acacia and Quickstep also knew how to behave correctly, dealing with fans and journalists calmly.
Silver Blade put on the commanding face of a confident CEO. Coupled with Watchful Eye holding others off, people became obedient around her, almost lining up.
Liam contemplated leaving for a while but decided to put up with it for the guild. He donned his mask and handled the situation as if he had done so thousands of times.
And Radiant Shield and Bloody Edge appeared shy but also enjoyed the situation, doing their best to satisfy everyone.