In the Seven Kingdoms, battles raged on, alliances clashed day after day in brutal encounters to claim the title of champion in the Siege of Winterfell.

Among the contenders was the House of Heroes, which, however, stumbled at the start of its adventure in the twelfth season. The battle was far from easy for them as they faced off against a formidable opponent like N3O, who, despite coming from a disappointing season in Alliance Conquest, showed why they had ranked first in the previous season of SoW. The match was brutal, with HOH fighting until the brink of exhaustion, until the third loot available, which, when conquered by N3O, put an end to the hostilities, declaring them the victors.

Few days passed since that incredible battle, and today, the group Neik was a part of had to prove that it was a mere misstep to steer their season in the right direction. The battlefield saw 93 members lined up out of 100 available, a sign of great desire for revenge to bring the name of their house where it deserved to be, among the best on the continent.

"We'll soon find out who today's opponent will be," said the leader Grombold, addressing his comrades.

Neik hoped to encounter another alliance of the same caliber as the previous round. The desire to fight against increasingly formidable opponents seemed illogical, as success would be harder to achieve, but his eagerness to measure himself against formidable enemies was all that mattered to him.

On the horizon, amidst the raindrops falling on the battlefield, rendering the environment even colder on this winter day, red and gold banners were seen waving. It was...

A highly respected alliance, which could rely on the combat skills of valiant fighters like TheMadKing and Tannim. Under their leadership, they achieved an incredible victory in the previous round, which today led them to face a truly challenging match against a high-level alliance. It would not be easy for them to achieve a favorable outcome.

"They've fielded 55 fighters among their ranks," Neik reported after returning from a quick check.

"Let's keep our concentration high without assuming this will be an easy encounter. A slip-up today could be lethal for our season," Depravity preached to the faction that would fight in Winterfell to claim the loot.

"Let's not change our strategy, and we'll divide into groups as we've always done," were Grombold's words during the final preparations before the battle began.

The wind blew cold air, penetrating the skin of the fighters lined up on the battlefield for the start of this second round, with both alliances seeking victory—one to extend their winning streak, the other to turn their season around.

And so, the match began!

The Winterfell group, where Neik was present under the command of Depravity, changed their strategy from the very beginning moments.

"The enemy heading towards HotSprings will be intercepted in base 4," were the leader's words of command. The strategy was to block as many enemy troops as possible to ensure an easy capture for the group assigned to the building and to cut off the game from an opponent who was clearly at a numerical disadvantage from the very beginning moments.

However, the disadvantageous part for them meant venturing into hostile territory where their opponents would have numerical superiority. Would their plan pay off?

The block of their enemy was a success.

When the fighters of SIN heading towards HotSprings realized that their comrades had been intercepted at Base 4, TheMadKing had no choice but to fall back to support his warriors. However, the return of the enemy's main group was a calculated risk by the cunning commander Depravity. The Winterfell group was comprised of the faction's most skilled melee combatants, and despite being temporarily outnumbered, they waited in their positions for reinforcements to arrive.

In the meantime, the most important buildings fell under the control of HOH.

SIN, with their largest group headed towards HotSprings, allowed their rivals to secure the Armory and push towards their bases. The strategy adopted by Grombold's faction enabled them to obtain HotSprings without major issues.

The intense battle at Base 4 reached a crucial point: with reinforcements arriving after they conquered their declared objectives before the start of the encounter, Depravity's group, no longer outnumbered but with the majority of their army supporting them, managed to repel their enemies. The adversaries had no choice but to retreat to their walls, allowing the advancement of the rival faction.

"Advance to their walls," was the order given by leader Grombold once the three major groups reunited. The numerical superiority was evident, and HOH, thanks to their great leaders, was able to fully exploit it.

When, in the middle phase of the match, the first loot appeared, there was no battle for its conquest. The advancement and stationing around the enemy base by the three groups allowed a handful of members to obtain and deliver the loot as soon as it became available.

As the match progressed beyond the initial stages, Grombold's group effectively possessed all the buildings on the map, and its members guarded the exit routes from the enemy base—they were trapped.

Approaching the enemy base on the muddy terrain due to the raindrops that had not ceased to fall in recent days, Neik noticed movement on the northeast part of the walls where SIN was entrenched. He decided to ensure there were no imminent dangers by checking it himself without alerting anyone.

Suddenly, however, he was ambushed by TheMadKing's troops!

It was a bloody battle as the HOH member suffered several injuries. The INF units used by the opponent perfectly countered the Spear units used by Neik. After a long struggle, Neik had no choice but to withdraw from the fight, resulting in defeat. However, he managed to inflict as much damage as possible to the opponent, who was astonished by the ferocity of the HOH member's combat skills. Despite being countered, Neik proved to be a very skilled warrior.

"He retreated behind his walls again after clashing with you. I believe you've severely injured him at the very least," Ferrious reported to his friend, trying to uplift his morale after the defeat. However, Neik didn't need it; the satisfaction of holding his own against a formidable opponent like TheMadKing, whose combat abilities were known throughout the kingdom, was enough for him.

The battle between the two alliances essentially ended after the initial skirmishes. SIN realized that today wasn't their day; facing such a numerically superior opponent was difficult for anyone.

In the end, the final victory went to... HOH!

MVP's

The top fighters of the match were:

Tannim for SIN, who narrowly surpassed the score of his feared teammate, TheMadKing. Few could withstand their onslaughts launched in rapid raids outside their own base. If the number of fighters from both alliances had been closer, perhaps Tannim could have led them to the final victory.

Oni Fae for HOH, as no one could achieve victory after facing his fury. Once again, he proved one more time to be a master of weapons and one-on-one combat.

"Well done, everyone. It wasn't a challenging match, but I'm pleased to see that the turnout was as expected today. I hope it will always be so," were the farewell words of leader Grombold.

The match didn't have much to say. Perhaps HOH's initially adopted strategy, or maybe SIN's understandable lack of conviction, as they conceded defeat after the first phase and decided to conserve their strength, marked the second round.

To prove their worth on the battlefield and reassure themselves that their loss against N3O was merely a misstep, they had to wait for another round, hoping for a more contested match.

Would they succeed in the next match?