After the painful battle fought against RoD in the first round of Ultimate Conquest, HOH immediately found themselves in a difficult position.

They had already used their chance to suffer a defeat before being eliminated, and now, in order to advance in the tournament, they would have to defeat any opponent that came their way otherwise, it would mean being knocked out of the competition, and such a premature farewell did not suit an alliance of their caliber.

Neik was among those who felt the loss the most: the strength of their rivals was well-known, but not even being able to scratch them was a hard blow for him, especially since he thought he could at least put up a fight alongside his allies but that was not the case. Then again, RoD was an alliance aiming to win this edition of Ultimate Conquest, and their incredible superiority was almost a given even before the match.

In the following days, they had time to recover their energy, but before they could fully focus on the second round, another event arrived in Westeros, requiring the participation of the fighters. The rewards it offered would significantly improve their equipment, and they could face off against high-level rivals with different objectives, such as the conquest of the city.

It was time for K345 to compete in...

Champion City Siege!

A challenge as daunting as it was rewarding for the prizes it offered. When they arrived on the battlefield, they immediately realized it would not be an easy task to earn the eliminations needed to reach their goals and obtain the 60 battle diamonds. Alongside Neik, Ferrious BloodWick, and the other members of their kingdom who made up their small group, many high-level warriors had taken the field, having joined forces in various alliances such as StrawBerry a fearsome warrior who would lead AfV to victory or DeGeNeRaTe, supported by a large group gathered under the ORY banner. These were undoubtedly the two groups aiming for the top positions in the city occupation rankings.

For Neik, it was immediately clear that they would have to use their energy and resources wisely and not be carried away by the heat of a match that would undoubtedly be tough. With only a few days left before the second round of UC, suffering significant damage to their troops would be a grave mistake.

“We should wait for our moment and try to counter the rival defending the city,” was the shared strategy decided by the HOH group, suggested by the fighter from K345. Without the necessary reinforcements to carry out the difficult task of conquering and defending the castle walls to earn the best rewards the event had to offer, the plan—as usual—was to focus on eliminations and earn diamonds by targeting the opponent best suited to their abilities.

As the start of the battle drew near and they were making their final preparations, a summer downpour began to fall over their heads not at all a bad sign, as it brought relief from the scorching heat of the past weeks. The tension was palpable among the warriors lined up on the battlefield, ready to clash as soon as the battle began.

At the start of the clash, the fastest fighter to reach and conquer the walls of the stronghold was, as expected, STRAW BERRY renowned for his unmatched speed. In the blink of an eye, AfV reinforcements arrived, once again proving to be a solid group when it came to supporting their allies.

"The rival relies heavily on Cavs," Ferrious suggested to Neik, who, without hesitation, rallied the troops of his allies and began besieging the city walls using his weakness-spear formation.

The strikes delivered by the HOH member were undoubtedly fierce.

Thanks to the higher number of troops brought to attack the defender, along with the advantage of the counter, it wasn’t a problem for him to emerge victorious from the assaults.

"Keep hitting the defenses—at this rate, reaching the required eliminations will be a breeze," said Neik to his allies, urging them to be quicker in sending their troops. He wanted to strike while the iron was hot.

But just when everything seemed to be going their way...

After an initial phase where, despite the losses, the AfV member managed to maintain control of the city by coordinating precisely with the other alliances on the battlefield, DeGeNeRaTe seized the perfect moment and struck the walls when reinforcements were low managing to take possession of the city and drive out STRAW BERRY!

“A truly clever move,” said Neik to his companions. Waiting for other rivals to hit the walls and weaken the defender before launching the final attack was a smart strategy that paid off for the ORY member, who now held control.

Knowing that the new defender used his Bleeding-Inf formation very effectively, and that attacking him with spears was not a good idea, BloodWick took command for the HOH group and began the siege on the city walls. His strikes shook the defender from within, causing heavy losses, though ORY’s strong coordination allowed them to quickly replace the fallen with new troops an excellent display of teamwork!

After spending a phase supporting from the sidelines by sending troops to his ally, tired of waiting and eager to test himself even against an opponent that, on paper, was best avoided, Neik also decided to throw himself back into the fray!

“You sure that’s a good idea?” Ferrious replied.

“Worst case, I won’t push beyond a few attacks,” answered the HOH member. Testing his combat skills against such rivals had always been his wish and even though common sense told him to hold back, he decided to try anyway!

When Neik’s first attack reached DeGeNeRaTe’s walls, the outcome was the least expected of all... it was a success!

Caught up in the euphoria of victory, the HOH member continued to strike the defender’s walls relentlessly, achieving completely unexpected wins and dealing significant damage to the ORY group, who had no choice but to keep reinforcing their ally determined as ever to claim first place in the final city occupation ranking.

But...

The attacks launched by the various factions on the battlefield eventually gave the defender no escape he too was pushed back from the city walls!

In the following phases of the battle, the city changed hands repeatedly. Due to the ferocity of the strikes dealt by the fearsome fighters on the field, none of the contenders aiming for first place in the final city possession ranking managed to hold it for more than a few minutes, as reinforcements became increasingly scarce.

With the HOH group having largely achieved their objective thanks to the incredible assaults carried out by Neik and BloodWick, they observed the rest of the fight without wasting unnecessary troops, resources, or energy just as planned.

At the end of the 60-minute battle, the victor was DeGeNeRaTe. The ORY member clearly had a large number of allies on his side, providing the troops and resources needed to secure first place in the fight.

As for STRAWBERRY, he had to settle for second place despite the heavy investment made, he was narrowly beaten in the final moments, losing by just 38 seconds of city possession!

Rounding out the podium in third place was HoratiuS, a true nightmare with his attacks, earning him a solid 8 minutes of control. However, the near-total lack of support prevented him from contending for the top spot.

Neik, Ferrious, BloodWick, and the other members of HOH and K345, who had set out with the sole goal of securing the precious 60 battle diamonds, could now consider themselves satisfied. They had fought against top-tier opponents and managed to come out victorious in several clashes some even unexpectedly. It was a result not to be underestimated, giving them renewed confidence in their abilities for the battles to come. A much-needed boost in morale after the crushing defeat against RoD.

With just a few days remaining before the start of the second round of Ultimate Conquest, the K345 group could now fully focus on preparing for what would be the most important match of their alliance’s season. Another defeat would mean elimination, and they weren’t ready to say goodbye to their dreams of glory just yet they would leave everything on the battlefield!

Who will be the second rival on their path? We’ll find out together!