The most tense match for SIR ST

The journey of Alliance Conquest took a tough turn for SIR ST and VME. They had lost their last match two matches, one against a rivaling alliance for the top 16, putting their entire campaign under scrutiny, making their goal of reaching Ultimate Conquest harder than ever before in this season. SIR ST, a veteran fighter of the alliance, who had faith in the team throughout all of these hardships, was ready to give his all once more on the fifth round, no matter what kind of tough opposition they were going to face.

He was a warrior whose experience speaks greatly about him, he had honed his skills for years under the banner of SKR, almost reaching top 16 as their strongest warrior, to now move on this season and have the same aim under VME, where he believed the chances would be even greater.

VME had come close to qualifying a few times in the past, and now with SIR ST in their ranks, Vernei, the leader of the event, believed that they could finally pull it off, even in this dire circumstance. All they needed was to win the next two matches.

Vernei is an experienced leader in the event whom SIR ST was going to follow no matter what happened. He believed that Vernei would make the right calls and lead the alliance to glory even through a harsh path. The alliance was going to face against one of the toughest of opponents they could face this round, UTB. An alliance that in the past tasted glory, being a participant of Ultimate Conquest, fighting amongst the very best, and although they were just a shell of their former selves, the alliance was still a force battling to hit top 16, just like many others.

They had many great names amongst their ranks, one of which SIR ST knew very well, having faced against him in many other events. Immortal was the warrior whom SIR ST considered not only his equal, but the one that VME stood no chance of kicking out of any building. Other than Immortal, SIR ST was confident in his own abilities, believing that he could pull off a win by just helping his teammates with solo attacks.

Before the battle began, SIR ST made sure to tell Vernei about his beliefs. He ensured that Vernei knew he planned to solo attack all of the buildings in sight without worrying about the costs. He was going to go all in for his alliance's goals. He wished to see VME and himself in the top 16, no matter what it took.

An important part of the match, if VME wished to win, were going to be the races. Against an alliance of UTB's calibre, they had to be racing at incredible speeds, only then could they assure a great influx of points early on. SIR ST knew that races were a flaw for the alliance, but Vernei did not assign him to be racing, as his job was another: to intercept the opponent's swaps.

SIR ST had not done this before, but he was willing to try it even in this high-stakes match if it meant improving the chances of a victory. Once the buildings unlocked, the racers gave it their all for the capture of the buildings, without any hesitation they sprinted without looking back, but they were all almost too slow. UTB had captured 3 of the starting 4 buildings, and although SIR ST was told to try and intercept, he was doing so for the building which got captured by VME, the start was harsh for them.

Seeing this, SIR ST was not demoralised however, he was more eager in fact to start his solo attacks onto the opponents, he saw this as an opportunity to witness how the match will look like going forward. With every attack, he felt as if he was getting closer to capturing the buildings and making a comeback for VME, and not before long, they were equal in their possessions.

What came after was the race for the ports, it felt as only a few mere moments had passed due to the high pace of the match, but it was a full 5 minutes. This time, the races came to an equal result, with Vernei swapping in the strongest of VME, MondryBogdan, into the port they captured. This ensured that UTB would not be able to capture it, but it would put the strength of the entire team to the test. This was something which they had to prove if they wished to battle at the highest of levels, SIR ST thought.

After the port was secured, SIR ST's rampage continued, trying to weaken UTB's hold on anything in their sight, however, Immortal had started to do the exact same right back to them. This became a battle that only the most coordinated and aware team could come on top of.

The battlefield became highly chaotic, no one knew what to defend and attack anymore, SIR ST and Immortal were mirroring each other to perfection. If one helped capture the temple of the mother, the other would do so with the tower of the warrior. Immortal was impressed by SIR ST's capabilities, although they knew each other from before, this was the first time that SIR ST was not at a disadvantage based on his teammates. This time both teams were equally matched.

SIR ST suddenly stopped attacking the enemy buildings: it was time for Casterly Rock, this time he was going to slow march for it. He was going to be the essential holder if Vernei failed his attempt to switch in. However, SIR ST knew that would not be the case, Vernei was an exceptional and experienced fighter, he would not make such a mistake. But this all was only in the case that Casterly Rock would be captured by the VME racers.

Once the bubble dropped, so did everyone's hearts and expectations, not knowing what the outcome was going to be, they could only hope for the best. SIR ST had full faith in his teammates, and it proved to be the right choice: VME captured Casterly Rock.

SIR ST and Vernei both were slow marching towards the building, SIR ST was the back-up but everything seemed to run smoothly. The racer disbanded Casterly Rock, Vernei got in, whilst reinforcements were arriving. But the joy lasted only a fleeting moment. Somehow UTB had managed to intercept and now the chances of winning had gone down considerably.

Losing Casterly Rock pushed both SIR ST and Vernei to their absolute limit. They were attacking UTB like there was no tomorrow. They clung onto the hope of winning until the very end. The score was neck-and-neck the entire time, with VME even managing to recapture Casterly Rock for a fleeting moment, only to lose it again.

Immortal felt overwhelmed by having to compete against two such strong opponents, however, the reinforcements of VME had slowed down whilst UTB's only got fiercer, they had the experience on their side, they knew the costs going into the match, and knew exactly what to expect. This made a great difference between the two sides, and in the end, the side with more experience at the highest level, as well as being more willing to give everything up, had won it. UTB came out on top, whilst SIR ST and Vernei, despite their best, couldn't change the outcome.

The defeat stung, this was the last chance for top 16, and now their whole goal was gone just like that, with one round to go. Everyone was demoralised, but especially SIR ST. He did not know how to react, he was at a loss of words. Vernei however, was there to remind, not just him, but everyone in VME: "We still have something to reach in the final match, we need to make sure to win it. We still have not reached our third win of the season, make sure to go all-in once again.".

Although it was a bitter end to the season's mission, there was still something to look forward to, something that needed to be achieved.