The assassins came and went in a flash. Only two orcs were left alive. But then a small mistake happened. The last team of assassins, noticing that two enemies were still standing, became eager for credit. Instead of following orders and returning to the wall they turned around.
[Bleary Mirage: Stop! Let the mages take care of the rest!]
[Cyclone: Team leaders! Call them back!]
[Balm: Don't take risks!]
Liam watched the team outside with a frown. He saw that they froze for a moment but decided not to listen to the order and instead rushed towards the two surviving orcs.
"Boss, shouldn't we..."
"Don't worry, guys! We need the kills. Let's make it quick!"
There were some doubts in the team of four, but they had already turned around. Now they could only grit their teeth and follow the boss.
"F*ck!"
Laim couldn't help but curse angrily as he watched them. The assassins rushed behind the orcs and were just about to attack when the mist orcs let out raspy laughs. Instantly the earlier protective barriers reappeared like a red warning sign, signalling to the assassins that their assault was a terrible idea.
But the players couldn't stop now. Their attacks landed but the damage was not enough to overcome a single barrier.
"What are you doing?!"
"Run away!"
"Ah, they are done for!"
The rest of Dream Avenue's members were also reacting with disbelief, trying to warn the assassins.
But at this point it was already too late. The orcs turned around with excited grins, swinging their many fists in all directions. They didn't deal too much damage, but they managed to hold the assassins in place.
"I think this was a bad idea."
"Let's leave!"
"No, don't chicken out now!"
The assassins were still arguing when a few figures covered in mist suddenly rushed towards them. There were about ten mist dwarves left on the battlefield and all of them were now fervently targeting the vulnerable players.
The army was still targeting the lizards and didn't have the capacities to take down the quick moving mist dwarves. Dream Avenue tried to snipe them under Liam's directions, but they could only take out three enemies before the mist dwarves reached the assassins.
Suddenly the assassins were surrounded by nine enemies. If they worked together and coordinated with the guild they might be able to escape but at this point, they were too disjointed. The assassins tried to fight a way out in three different directions.
Finally, two of them, including the team leader, made it out safely and managed to return to the wall while the others died outside. Not even the healers managed to save them.
"Damn, so unnecessary!"
"Such a waste!"
Even Cyclone was genuinely angry. She considered storming down and confronting the assassins but knew that she couldn't leave her position yet. However, this stunt would definitely have consequences!
Liam wore a heavy frown. But he knew they had to make the best of the situation. Although the move was stupid, it created an opportunity for Dream Avenue. With the two orcs and all the mist dwarves now standing close together Liam immediately ordered the use of multiple AOE attacks.
Under the barrage of skills, the enemies didn't last long. The orcs were slow. Despite their high endurance they couldn't save their lives. The mist dwarves on the other hand tried to get away but failed to do so under Dream Avenue's watchful eyes.
A minute later only the lizards remained. The army was suddenly under a lot less pressure, getting the situation fully under their control. They methodically took down the lizards until no new reinforcements appeared.
A notification was displayed in front of the players, announcing the end of the first wave and the begin of the next one in twenty minutes.
"Over already?"
"Well, that wasn't too difficult!"
"Hehe, did you see my spears? I must've scored at least ten kills!"
"Tsk, who cares about kills? I probably dealt tens of thousands of damage!"
"Who do you think set the record?"
"My bet is on Cyclone."
"Fortune should be high up as well."
"You only think of Hotpot. Can't someone else shine for once?"
"Unlikely. Is there a way to look it up?"
"Try asking C."
"Oh, it worked!"
Dream Avenue's members were joking around and quickly figured out how to ask C for the statistics. Many searched for their own names before checking out the first place.
"Huh?! What's going on? Melodious Edelweiss?!"
"Does C count the increased damage which was dealt thanks to her buffs?!"
"This is the only logical conclusion, I guess."
"Look here. Mirage Fan#1, Flirting Fairy, and the others are also high up on the list."
"Damn, is this C's way of telling us that the supporting players are the real MVPs?"
"Honestly, Edelweiss is insane. I don't know if anyone can catch up to her."
Melodious Edelweiss heard all the others discussing her ranking. During the war she was also on the central tower so that her voice could reach as many people as possible. She never considered gaining any kind of ranking and instead admired Cyclone who fried the enemies with her lightning.
Now that Melodious Edelweiss got so much attention, she froze feeling quite embarrassed.
Cyclone and Fortune would have loved to support the bard, but they were already on the way down. The core members gathered at a quiet spot some distance from the wall and called the disobedient team of assassins towards them.
Those two who escaped, arrived first. They were a man and a woman clad in black leather. The male assassin was the team leader, called Dot.
"Guild leader. I know..."
"Shut up!"
"Don't talk!"
Dot tried to apologize quickly, bringing the guild leaders on his side before the other assassins could arrive. His strategy might have worked on Cyclone and Balm, but some people immediately saw through it. Silver Blade and Liam revealed a non-nonsense attitude, instantly silencing Dot.
[Silver Blade: Girls, if you want to, I can take over.]
[Bleary Mirage: I can also question them.]
Cyclone and Balm locked at each other before taking deep breaths.
[Cyclone: No thanks. We got this.]
[Balm: Yeah!]
The scene fell silent for a bit. Under the stern gazes of the guild's leadership, Dot and his companion felt a great pressure.
A few seconds later a few figures could be seen coming from the direction of the town. In the lead was Bloody Edge, and behind him the two assassins who had been revived. Bloody Edge was smart enough to leave some distance to avoid being influenced.
Soon, the two groups gathered. Cyclone did her best to look frightening as she addressed Dot:
"Ok. Now you can talk. What do you have to say?"
"I'm really sorry, Cyclone. I failed as the team leader. We all got greedy for credit, and I didn't stop it. Please remove me from my position."
Cyclone and Balm were just about to nod, thinking that the assassin did good in acknowledging responsibility. But the two revived assassins instantly began to shout:
"What?! Bullsh*t! You pushed for us to go out there!"
"I even tried to warn you!"
"F*ckign liar!"
"Urahv, say something!"
The two assassins looked at the only woman in their team. But her words caused their expressions to freeze:
"Dot is right. We all wanted to go out there. Honestly, I think he is a good leader."
"You...!"
Instantly an argument ensued between both sides. Cyclone and Balm watched with deep frowns, not quite sure whom to trust. Both sides had the motivation to lie.
[Cyclone: What do you think?]
[Balm: I don't know...]
[Quickstep: I think those accusing the team leader are lying. They were greedy and now don't want to take the consequences.]
[Fortune: I don't know, I feel the team leader tries to cover something up...]
Dot sneered inwardly. The longer Cyclone and Balm stayed silent, the more confident he felt. He was increasingly certain that the other two would be punished, perhaps even kicked out of the guild.
However, the chance of that happening immediately was rather low. This territory war was too important for Dream Avenue as to kick someone right at the start.
But Dot didn't know what was going on the chat.
[Bleary Mirage: Why are we even discussing this?]
[Cyclone: What do you mean?]
[Bleary Mirage: All of them were already on the way back before turning around. They disregarded orders. They all deserve to be kicked out of the guild!]
[Balm: Kicked?!]
[Cyclone: All of them? Isn't this a bit harsh?]
[Bleary Mirage: No.]
[Silver Blade: I agree with Mirage.]
[Cyclone: What do the others say? Fortune? Shield, Edge?]
[Bloody Edge: Sorry, I don't have any leadership experience.]
[Fortune: I have seen both lax and harsh guilds. It's your decision.]
[Watchful Eye: Disregarding orders should be met with strict punishment.]
[Silent Acacia: Just be careful not to create a bad atmosphere in the guild.]