Arena of Honor | K345 | Neik |

Following Neik and his HOH teammates' recent victory over WAO, there were a few days of relaxation where the fighters, exhausted by the succession of challenges, had the opportunity to recharge their batteries.

However, Neik and his allies spent their time preparing for future commitments such as the fifth round of Alliance Conquest, where they would inevitably have to face a high-level alliance, unavoidable due to their alliance's position in the rankings.

Before reaching it, however, another adventure was on the horizon for the fighter who was always looking for new challenges. For this reason, with Ferrious and his other allies deciding to take a break until the AC battle, Neik ventured alone into the depths of the dreaded...

Arena of Honor

Arriving on the battlefield, with fate placing him under the banner of Tyrell, Neik was able to take a look at the various houses gathered today for what promised to be a difficult challenge for him. Among the various groups lined up, there were some that were strong candidates to dominate the battlefield. 

Lannister: Led by Ronin Vernei and MondryBogdan, this group was undoubtedly one of the most dangerous in the lineup and would undoubtedly be the favorites to capture the city.

Greyjoy: Wartime, SkyRocket, and GameOfKorea were just a few of the names feared throughout Westeros who would lead the faction in search of glory.

Baratheon: with the leadership of Env0y, Total Wreck, and Smurrf, they certainly needed no introduction. Composed mostly of members of RoD and OBV, among the most feared alliances on the continent, they were also serious contenders for the final victory.

But this time, the matchmaking wasn't so cruel to Neik...

His clan also featured fierce fighters of a certain caliber, such as Stereor and THE KJ BOOM, who would certainly be decisive in their journey. “It's a pleasure to fight alongside you,” said the HOH member once he had joined them as they waited for the battle to begin.

A battlefield with mostly well-balanced clans would be the scene of fierce clashes for the next 60 minutes, where the warriors would face each other to claim the final victory and climb the rankings by earning as many points as possible. The pouring rain on the ground gave them no respite on a gray and gloomy day, with the cloud-covered sky offering little visibility on the horizon, making their every move uncertain.

The start of the contest saw Tyrell's strategy as very simple and clear. The members of the faction agreed to immediately build Trading Posts in their own positions, as a tough match against high-level warriors was expected, and they wanted to secure second or third place.

As soon as the first altar became available, THE KJ BOOM took the initiative and set out to conquer it. Reinforcements from Neik and his companions were quick to arrive to try to get the match off to a good start, but from the north, a furious attack came that... failed in its intent! Stromgarde from the Stark faction attempted to take the Tyrell member by surprise, but thanks to the support of his allies, his infs prevailed against their rival cavs despite being countered!

It was an acceptable start to the battle for Neik and his companions, who were waiting for the next altars to open after conquering the first available one.

“Let's keep our guard up for the next conquests,” said the HOH member while waiting. 

During the next phase of the match, despite their rivals' attempts to block their path, with teamwork and timely reinforcements, three more shrines close to their house were conquered by the Tyrell members, who were demonstrating great coordination despite all being members of different alliances.

But their rivals proved to be extremely combative.

In an attempt to conquer a rival altar, Neik ventured far afield and encountered the formidable troops of S Blackstar. The rival Bleeding Inf formation outclassed the Weakness-Spear formation of the HOH member, who was also outnumbered and had to retreat.

Minute after minute, more and more rivals began to set their sights on the Tyrell family's positions. They represented a serious threat to their conquest of the city, and every altar available guaranteed them countless buffs. If they wanted any chance of weakening them, they had to act quickly!

However, the strategy suggested and adopted by the members of the Neik family was different and very clear: “Let's continue to conquer one altar after another.” The idea was that rather than trying to defend themselves, they would continue to besiege their most feared rivals in order to balance their losses and gain a numerical advantage during the conquest with allied support. It was a truly effective strategy applied by THE KJ BOOM and Stereor.

“It's a really clever idea,” Neik thought. 

For his part, however, the member of HOH, attempting to reinforce his allies as much as possible with the necessary troops, continued to try to hinder the rival capture by taking it upon himself to defend the buildings in his possession wherever possible.

The rivals, especially the Baratheon and Greyjoy houses, tried with all their might to regain what they had previously lost to the Tyrell members' conquests.

The opening of the city was imminent, and it was there that the match would certainly be decided. Until then, Greyjoy had been in the lead thanks to the conquest of catapults and towers, objectives ignored by the other houses, which had built trading posts instead of offensive buildings to attack them. This guaranteed them a good margin of points.

“Let's get ready for battle,” sounded the charge Stereor, a strong candidate for the conquest of the city against rivals of the caliber of En0vy and many others deployed on the ground!

It was Tyrell's member who was the first to conquer it thanks to the speed of his fearsome Cavs. Reinforced by his teammates, he had the arduous task of defending against the imminent attacks for the next four minutes to gain definitive control!

The minutes passed slowly for them as they waited anxiously, but then the rival assaults arrived on the horizon. The various houses, knowing the strength of their rival's defense, coordinated their assaults, attempting to strike in unison... and succeeding in breaking down the defense!

The blows dealt by the Greyjoy house in a matter of seconds, with rallies led by GameOfKorea, Wartime, and finally DerKobold, saw the latter emerge victorious, gaining temporary possession of the city.

But their hopes of winning so quickly were dashed with the arrival of the siege led once again by Stereor! The city, which had come under the control of SkyRocket and his Bleeding-Inf formation, was completely powerless against the attacker's Female-Cav, which managed to repel him!

“Well done,” Neik exclaimed to his ally as he attempted to defend the altars in his possession. The battle for the city was proving to be as tough as expected, and the HOH member, along with THE KJ BOOM, was doing his best to capture and defend his positions while supporting his comrade with troops.

But it was too early for the Tyrell faction to claim victory...!

Once again, less than 120 seconds from the final conquest of the city, it was Greyjoy who blocked their path! The faction in command of the match tried at all costs to prevent the capture of Stereor with three rallies that hit their rival almost in unison, joined by Env0y's rally, managing to repel him.

Neik was frustrated by the situation: with such well-planned assaults striking within seconds, they didn't give their rivals time to send reinforcements to their ally again.

With none of the factions able to effectively block the city, the match, now in its final stages, saw Lannister and Greyjoy fighting each other for first place with very few points separating them. Tyrell, on the other hand, was in third place with Stark breathing down his neck, catching up in the score thanks to his full concentration on capturing the altars.

“Let's try for the city again” was the decision made by Stereor before starting to gather yet another rally. The ally opted for an “all or nothing” approach, putting the defense of third place at risk in the hope of blocking the coveted building just minutes before the end of the match.

This decision was also agreed upon by his teammates, including Neik himself, who wanted to win with all their might.

The rally started and took possession of the city again, but time seemed to pass at an unprecedented slow pace as rival assaults were once again on the horizon, determined to overwhelm the defender's plans, and...

With 1 minute and 47 seconds left in the match... they managed to gain definitive possession of the city!

Resisting the incredible waves of incoming rivals thanks to the unbridled support of their allies, who continued to send as many troops as possible to reach their goal, Stereor was able to repel the last attack on the walls, managing to propel the Tyrell house to the top of the rankings and thus securing a thrilling final victory! 

A sensational match decided just seconds before the end, with Neik and his teammates ultimately triumphing on the top step of the podium. Lannister, who was pipped at the post in the final stages, still managed to finish ahead of Greyjoy by just 507 points, a tiny difference that earned them second place in the match, with their rivals relegated to third.

“A superb victory, thank you for the result,” said Neik humbly, recognizing the importance that his teammates, especially Stereor and THE KJ BOOM, had on the outcome of their match.

“We fought as a real team and everyone was indispensable in achieving this goal,” replied the latter, recalling how important the help of each member had been before everyone could return to their own kingdoms.

Neik, returning to K345, was proud and satisfied. He had faced top-level rivals, managing to prevail over them on several occasions, and the final result allowed him to climb several positions in the competition rankings. It had been a profitable day for him.

On the horizon, however, loomed the specter of the fifth round of Alliance Conquest. Who would the HOH fighter find himself facing? We'll find out soon!