Proof of Value

After the king, among Boca, Chayle, Riddler, and THE WICH, it was the latter who stood out as the strongest with his cavalry and took the initiative or defended the kingdom every time Vangark left in search of his own adventures. On two occasions, in the king's absence, he had to rally the kingdom's members to fight against the Night King, and they succeeded—not in a single day, but they did it, with him delivering the final blow. Known for his optimism in the face of adversity, he has always been one of the pillars of K276.

He was the second strongest until the king returned, but with the arrival of the group from K29, he was relegated. In cavalry, he took second place, behind Uriel the Great, but with the arrival of Arthurion and Mammuth, he fell even lower.

Both Boca and he were somewhat skeptical of the new inhabitants of the kingdom and the relationship they could have with them, even though they already knew some of them. The daily coexistence was a delicate and fateful matter. He understood the king’s intentions; the kingdom was almost empty, and only the five of them remained with a few alts to fight in every KvK.

Even though the newcomers were stronger than those who remained, the king didn’t forget them and always considered them for every rank in which rewards were obtained, such as the Red Mine, Lord of Lords, and KvK itself.

In the first kingdom war they fought alongside the new members, THE WICH took second place behind Uriel and earned some Unsullied medals, and for this kingdom war, the king also placed him among the top three.

As always, he followed the instructions, hiding at the beginning and preparing for a surprise attack, supporting Vanette's rallies, then Uriel the Great's, and his friend Boca and Fraant’s. Each of these rallies was victorious, and the war was practically won. His place in the top three was secured and unshakable; this time, he would surely be third. He was always grateful for what was given to him, but inside, he felt restless. He hadn’t had the chance to strike a blow during the entire war; he had only reinforced rallies.

He would seize the first opportunity that came his way without hesitation; he just needed to stay alert. Recently, he had improved a commander to four stars and obtained T5 cavalry troops. He felt stronger and needed to prove himself in battle. Moreover, the current war didn’t involve troop losses, making it the ideal chance to test his strength.

The moment and target would have to be found by him, as with the war already won, the enemies typically did not come out to fight; they usually focused on gathering enough points for the minimum rewards.

An attack on an alt—Vangark gave the signal. From the Vanette, they started sending the enemy's coordinates, as their lord had been captured. The attacker, true to his avatar, was jumping around like a rabbit. THE WICH watched him, recalling that Fraant had rallied against him earlier in the morning, causing him to lose three million T3 cavalry, the rest being T4. He debated whether or not to attack while following the coordinates and preparing his army. His doubts were set aside; deep down, he knew he could win, as he had better stats. But the enemy was elusive, moving too quickly to launch an attack.

He positioned himself in Winterfell, where his enemy was moving, and waited patiently for his target to take a bit longer to move. He then launched his attack, mostly T5 cavalry. His enemy was immobilized, blocked by one of K276's blue dragons, unable to even hide his troops, watching the attack approach. THE WICH hastened his march, eager to see the battle’s outcome.

Losing was a possibility, but not in that way. His troops didn’t return, nor did his lord, and his optimism left with them.

"Rally!"—the king's shout woke him. Vangark was on alert and reacted immediately.

Uriel the Great positioned himself in front of THE WICH’s lord’s captor and began receiving troops from everyone who responded.

The one who had lost approached Vangark and asked why he didn’t attack with his spears; he could annihilate the enemy, perhaps with a solo hit.

“Relax, Uriel will rescue him. I don’t need these points,” Vangark responded kindly. “Just keep an eye on him in case he tries to hide his troops.” It didn’t happen—THE WICH’s lord was rescued and returned.

In another rally on an alt of his former captor, he saw that some troops were hidden in an allied castle, then two deployments moved to another location. They weren’t heading to a node; they were moving to occupy. No one seemed to notice. Those minutes of waiting felt endless, and he couldn’t intercept those armies since he was tied up in the rally; he had to wait.

The attack, as expected, freed his lord. He rushed back and checked where the two armies were heading, side by side. He jumped, intercepted the first one, then jumped again to annihilate the second army.

Still not satisfied, as these were almost insignificant victories compared to what he wanted, he moved one of his alts and sent a garrison, as someone from another part of the kingdom was attacking an alt. But the lord was quickly returned, so he thought setting this trap could give him the victory he was looking for.

Waiting again—it made him impatient. The war was nearing its end, and he still hadn’t found his opportunity. Suddenly, an enemy army marched to attack his alt, but it wasn’t prepared for what awaited and was defeated by THE WICH’s army. When he saw the captured lord, he realized it wasn’t a large army—another disappointment.

The king announced to everyone the distribution of the level 5 mines. Each warrior was assigned a large city, but he wasn’t interested in that; he was already resigned. Some of his companions began to say their goodbyes, going to rest, as darkness now dominated the sky. He gathered his alts.

"WICH, it's your turn"—Vangark interrupted. The king held a message in his hand. An enemy warrior was ready to receive a rally, and he had been chosen. The opponent on the battlefield was a bow user; fighting this kind of troop was tricky. In his view, spears were better, but the king had chosen him, already securing his top-three position. His companions gathered around him, providing buffs, and those still present began sending troops. The rally was full, and for the first time, he had two blue dragons with him. He thanked the gods for this. His cavalry swept through the spears, infantry, and horses that acted as the frontline, only to be attacked by archers, who caused some casualties. The cavalry moved so swiftly that they dodged most of the arrows and fought against the archers, defeating many of them.

THE WICH achieved victory at the end of the war and also what he had been seeking, thanks in part to fate and the opportunity given to him by the king. Although his opponent wasn’t as strong as he had hoped, it allowed him to gauge his strength. The defeat he suffered also showed him there was still much to improve on if he wanted to launch another attack like that.