As this was the first quest the party took on together in almost two weeks the mood was light and everyone joked around. Liam was also infected by the atmosphere, keeping a smile until they reached a bridge. Or rather the leftovers of one. It was a broken wooden structure dangling above a turbulent river looking like it might crash into the water upon the slightest breeze.
Liam knew that the infernals they were chasing had destroyed the bridge. The quest was designed to be a lengthy pursuit forcing them to take a long way around until they finally reached the infernals just as those were about to slip back into the Southern Wasteland. But Hotpot didn't need to follow the script.
Making use of their mounts' [Flying Dash] they simply crossed the river and chased along the original path. This way it didn't take long until they managed to catch up to the fleeing infernals. It was a powerful group of level 44 enemies, with a lord as their leader. But Hotpot almost overran them on their mounts, wasting almost no time.
Havin taken down the enemies the players returned to the camp, reporting their success. The commander appeared surprised but gave them the full reward, nevertheless. Although it was just a normal quest the rewards were substantial as the quest was usually supposed to take a long time.
Everyone took the first step towards levels 43 and 44. Next, they left the camp, circled it once, and entered again. The met the same distressed commander, heard the same story, and received the same quest.
The friends chased down the infernals and received their reward. This loop went on for hours. One by one the whole party reached level 43. Looking at the ranking list they firmly took the second to eleventh place.
First place was held by Phoenix Feather, who was already close to level 45 doing her reputation as a level maniac justice. Although her guild Nest of Flames couldn't secure as many achievements as others, as long as their leader stayed number one the guild wouldn't fall into obscurity.
Unfortunately, this was bound to change soon. Dream Avenue was about to start the territory war, which provides insane amounts of EXP for everyone, and the other guilds would certainly not delay their wars much longer.
In fact, Liam was surprised that Galaxy and Force of Nature opted to rank up their guilds before starting a territory war. This way, the war would become more difficult. Perhaps this was a development brought by Dream Avenue's advancement pressuring the other guilds.
Anyways, Hotpot returned to the guild hall and the preparations for the territory war were completed. The friends spent the few hours left of the day leisurely. Balm found some time to work on her alchemy, eager to become an intermediate alchemist.
During the latest round of recruitment, the guild had accepted a lot of profession players with the highlight being an intermediate blacksmith and alchemist who had some renown on the server. With their addition Dream Avenue's shop in Brobrity and possible future shops would certainly receive big boosts.
The atmosphere in the guild was great as everyone was anticipating a bright future. Cyclone didn't hide the fact that they were about to start the territory war making everyone look forward to the grand event.
The next day arrived, and the mood was at its peak. A thousand players gathered around the guild hall. The crowd was too large for the guild's plot of land.
Since such a big commotion couldn't be hidden Liam and his friends decided to draw attention on purpose. While the guild members waited outside, Hotpot stepped out onto the guild hall's balcony, overseeing the crowd.
Instantly cheers caused the entire city to tremble. Many curious players stopped to watch the commotion. Ever since the tournament Hotpot's rise was unstoppable. They became a pillar for Dream Avenue and their fans were everywhere. Many of Dream Avenue's new recruits came for them.
"Hotpot!"
"Dream Avenue!"
"Quickstep, I'm your biggest fan! The next championship will be yours!"
"Are you drunk? Bleary Mirage is clearly on another level!"
"Only the ignorant focus on damage dealers. My heroes are Silver Blade and Radiant Shield. Without them Hotpot would simply be overwhelmed!"
"Guys, let's take Hotpot as an example and turn Dream Avenue into a similar powerhouse!"
Cyclone and Balm stood in front of their friends. A feeling of great accomplishment welled in their chests as they overlooked the one thousand guild members. They glanced at each other and Cyclone began to speak:
"Thank you all for the enthusiasm. We are glad that so many people decided to join Dream Avenue!"
A wave of cheers caused Cyclone to pause, and Balm took over:
"We want to thank all of you for making our dream possible. The guild can only thrive because of your hard work. And of course, the contribution of our sponsors can't be overlooked. Apart from those firmly supporting us from the start, namely - Colville Constructions, St. Fabre, Dourand Electronics, Cider, Malney & Sons, and Lucky Ten Malls Ltd. -, we acquired a new partner. Please warmly welcome Bellissio to the guild. The legendary clothing brand is committed to support Dream Avenue!"
The members below still cheered. Although they were less enthusiastic, they also understood that it were these sponsors who paid a large part of their wages.
At least Bellissio was a brand with a good reputation. They were a longstanding clothes brand which already existed before the development of Falva Star started. They originated from a neighbouring star system and spread over more than one star system, making them a huge corporation.
Out of Dream Avenue's partners only Colville Constructions might be able to dwarf them although their situation was special. The Colville Constructions on Falva Star was only a subset of the entire corporation, which had its headquarters on Libra Star in the central star system where the Colville family was located.
Cyclone and Balm didn't feel awkward talking about their sponsors. They grew up watching gaming competitions and were long used to players thanking their sponsors. Thus, Cyclone didn't show any awkwardness as she continued:
"Today is a big day for our guild! We will start the first territory war! This won't be easy, and I hope everyone can give it their all! Only together can we overcome all obstacles!"
Immediately the excited members answered confidently.
"You can count on us, guild leader!"
"Yeah, whoever dares to slack off will be laughed at!"
"Hey, don't we have that wall honouring players who made outstanding contributions? We should make another one opposite it, shaming those who slack off!"
Cyclone shivered as the idea gained traction. This was a bit too vicious for her. She quickly continued in order to distract everyone:
"I'm glad everyone is this enthusiastic! Now let's now delay any more time! I will now activate the territory war order!"
With this announcement everyone stared at Cyclone full of curiosity. She took out a small black token. It was so inconspicuous one might not even pick it up when finding it on the street.
But as Cyclone held the token in the air, the cheers entered a crescendo. Flanked by her friends, wearing purple mage robes, and with her long blond hair billowing in the wind Cyclone emitted a heroic image which convinced everyone watching.
With a thought the war order was activated, and a long list was displayed in front of Cyclone's face. There were thousands of territories to choose from. Be it in Southern Wasteland surrounded by infernals or deep in the Northern Desert where even water was sparse, everything was possible.
C could sort the list or give more information according to Cyclone's wishes. However, the AI didn't go too much into detail. If guilds didn't wish to take a gamble they would have to get information elsewhere, be it through research in libraries, or scouting it out themselves.
Of course, Silver Blade had also mentioned that her family has some knowledge about territories from ancient ruins. Territories were important to every guild and the most famous territories had naturally been discussed a lot throughout the ancient civilization.
Silver Blade had known about the territory Liam recommended to Cyclone and Balm. The likelihood was high that other guilds like Galaxy, Force of Nature, Infinito, or Graveyard of Bones, had a similar level of knowledge.
Liam could already foresee that the fight over the most prominent territories would be fierce in the future. But he was confident that Dream Avenue would emerge victorious. Yet the foundation for that had to be laid today.
While Liam was confident, Cyclone couldn't suppress her slight nervousness as she chose the territory. With C's help she directly singled out a region called Greypine's Tower. She didn't even ask for detailed information, trusting Liam's judgement. With a thought the location was selected.
Suddenly the territory war order let out a red light as it floated into the air. The sky above the city was dyed a bloody red creating an ominous atmosphere. The war order abruptly flashed brightly, and all members of Dream Avenue disappeared.