BDR and N3O meet in the second round of Ultimate Conquest

As N3O progressed through the competition, increasingly challenging encounters awaited them following their resounding triumph over WoW in their first round of Ultimate Conquest. They were inspired by their first Ultimate Conquest match and were moving forward against increasingly formidable opponents. BDR, the opponent for today, was one such opponent. They had been enemies for a long time and engaged in combat whenever they had the chance. Both N3O and BDR have a rich past, which they hoped to respect by winning the tournament and taking home the trophy. But, N3O knew that going up against them early in the competition would cost them resources, even though they were prepared to try to defeat any opponent later on.

The leader and strategist of N3O, B3nni, wanted to avoid this kind of setback. This was especially crucial at this point because they were going up against BDR, who is currently ranked second in the competition and has proven their strength time and time again as the events have progressed. Knowing that few people could afford the match, Ashun shared B3nni's opinion and decided to follow the strategist's lead.

Inside the event, the Lannister and Targaryen sides battle it out in Ultimate Conquest over control of vital areas like Casterly Rock, Ports, Outposts, and Mines. New changes for this season include the alliance as a whole receiving strong bonuses from certain combinations of structures. According to their ranking, N3O was placed on the Targaryen side for this match. Their opponents were to the Lannister faction.

Ashun was aware that facing BDR would be expensive and that, after giving it their all, they would lose too much if they were to lose. He was thus faced with enormous questions: Will they attempt to take a chance for the greater good? Or are they going to enter the losers bracket and consider it a loss? What course of action will the leadership take? What will people think of their decision, and will everyone follow it?

He had to wait for the announcements before providing an answer after posing those questions. It seemed like an eternity, although it was only a few hours inside the alliance hall when B3nni announced the outcome. The council determined that a costly match was not appropriate for tonight due to the formidable forces of BDR, including FALCONN, one of the greatest fighters in Westeros, Tholking, and other amazing warriors.

Nonetheless, N3O would not want to simply surrender the battle to BDR, especially not its fighters or members. Consequently, a compromise was struck in the choice. N3O planned to battle until BDR controlled the majority of the buildings, leaving N3O with no means of retaliation. This decision made perfect sense in Ashun's eyes, as it attempted to reach an understanding between all sides. It seemed that most in the alliance also agreed with this approach thus they left for the battlefield.

The road there was filled with incredible tension and fear of the unknown fight to come. Many wished to win before the announcement, but with it done, they had no idea what to expect now. Ashun however, knew but one thing, he would always focus on his races. His poor run of form was to come to an end today, the decision they made was going to ease it up on him, which was the perfect opportunity to capture as much as possible.

The intense strain they were all feeling seemed to lighten as they entered the battlefield. However, that did not lessen the intensity of the feeling in the air once the two armies came into contact. The force that both sides possessed could be felt for kilometers around, making it impossible for a regular combatant to stand witness to such a scene. But N3O appeared to be short on manpower, since four of their fighters were absent from the bout, which will have a big impact.

As the initial buildings unlocked, Ashun got ready to capture his building. As soon as B3nni signaled the go, he rushed alongside others to every building they could get. In mere moments, it became clear that the races did not go to plan. Ashun had lost his, and so did most of the other racers. N3O had only one building, and now it was time for the swaps.

N3O had Hashine as a slow march towards the warrior, and in few moments after capture, the swap had already happened. On the other side of the map, N3O intercepted the mother with incredible timing from Trigg.

But now that the warrior was unbubbled as the only target, attacks from BDR were on their way, and they were not forgiving, soon after capturing the building, not giving N3O a single chance to breathe. This displeased Ashun, as not only the match is not flowing in their way at all, but he also lost his own race.

He had no time to contemplate however, as attacks started flowing from each side, buildings falling prey to the strong rallies, the match's intensity was high as N3O were trying their best to hold onto the hope of winning before it all could collapse on them.

As the fight raged on, the ports unlocked, something that Ashun desperately wanted to capture and make up for his losses. Unfortunately for him, that was not possible, as he lost the race against BDR once again. On the other side, Vrijbuiter saved one port for N3O, and then smoothly completed the swap.

The disappointment within Ashun grew even further after this race, and it continued to as he saw the port getting lost right in front of everyone's eyes. BDR had managed to solo B3nni outside of the port with ease. That was something that no one had ever expected to happen, it gave everyone a big shock and made them realise the match may really be unwinnable after all.

As they were drowning in despair, Casterly Rock unbubbled, and right under everyone's eyes, it was lost as well.

With this saddening sight the match was called by the leadership. Everyone's hopes and dreams plummeted on the ground but Ashun was trying to turn it into motivation for the future, as he knew the next time they will be going all out. For now however, N3O was kicked from the winner's bracket into the loser's bracket. An upcoming match against RRH is coming next, it announced itself to be an intense conflict as the loser will be kicked out of the competition, will N3O be able to get past their defeat and progress?