Two Arena of Honor Battles in a Row: One Sad Day

Arena of Honor: A Sad Day

On that rainy Sunday, the crows heralded the day of the Arena of Honor.

I hadn't been able to participate in the last battle.

So I had two attempts to use that day.

Unfortunately, I was a little late getting started, and I didn't have any companions available at noon to go into battle.

Only one person responded to my call: Arthurion! My faithful combat partner was there, which was already satisfying. I knew his power would be useful to us, but we still needed to find warriors to support us.

We began our search, but given the time remaining to find reliable and experienced warriors, was it wise to enter the arena?

My initial feeling was reinforced by the warriors who had joined us. I had never gone into battle with so many unknown and novice companions.

Doubt gripped me. But I quickly dismissed these thoughts; it was time to focus on the event at hand. The enemies appeared before our eyes: former companions from FFS, including Joseph, players from wxd, Don Stéfan, and HHH.

It seemed impossible; we would not be able to hold our buildings.

Arthurion cursed beside me: “This confrontation is completely unfair, we have no chance of doing well!” 

I agreed with him and suggested we treat ourselves to some eliminations, as unfortunately we had no chance in the team rankings.

Our companions had a hard time quickly filling the buildings we were constructing, so we switched to attack mode; if we had to fight, we might as well have fun doing it.

The game had barely begun and we were already in last place, with all our altars captured by the enemy.

I sent my spies to the four corners of the map, without any strategy, looking only for affordable targets that would allow me to climb the elimination rankings.

It quickly became a ballet of spies and troops, constantly going back and forth as soon as a target was found.

Despite the satisfaction of some attacks, we were well behind.

We had captured the catapults and watchtowers too late.

But wxd, despite being in first place and possessing the city of glory, decided to take them back from us and changed the composition of their buildings.

Very quickly, we lost everything again, and with three players having left the game, there was nothing more to hope for.

Admittedly, my individual ranking was respectable, but I had never achieved a team ranking before...

Last place! That would teach me to rush off.

I would remember that lesson.

But my mind was already focused elsewhere.

The last arena round of the day was approaching, and this time, despite the many absences, I had contacted some of my usual companions with the aim of forming a better team than this morning's.

It shouldn't be too complicated, but I knew that everyone would participate without holding back and without leaving in the middle of the battle.

Unfortunately, there are days when nothing seems to go right.

There weren't 10 of us, and it was going to be difficult to find fighters who were as sharp and ready as usual to accompany us.

A few available warriors had joined us, and they already seemed sharper and more experienced than during my first arena battle of the day.

Once again, the competition promised to be tough.

Three NBE teams, the Rods, the FDH, and the FFS. On paper, we had the skill level to finish 5th or 6th, but I knew my teammates, and we were going to fight for something better.

We had divided up the roles, and this time we would start in trade mode. The goal was to finish between 3rd and 4th place, as 1st and 2nd were out of reach given the level of our opponents. 

I spared a thought for Arthurion and Zarachiel; we were going to miss them in this game. 

Beyond their strength and fighting spirit, they always brought joy, enthusiasm, and cohesion. 

We were off. The first captures were quick and efficient. We had taken the altars of the maiden on our side of the map, and for the moment, everyone seemed to be watching each other.

This calm lasted only a moment. Very quickly, hostilities began, and we were attacked mainly by the NBE, which was not surprising given their numbers on the map. Neo, with his spearmen, and I, with my infantry, had the mission of taking and defending our main hotels.

The scores were even until the opening of the City of Glory. Mirella's Nbe team had already seized it, and despite our attempts to retake it, the point gap between us all grew.

Neo then suggested that we go for broke: “Why don't we launch several rallies on the City of Glory?”

Everyone agreed to the gamble. It was risky but daring, as the city did not appear to be full of troops.

In no time, our rallies were prepared and quickly joined by our companions. 

Already, the two rallies were rushing towards their targets. 

Although they were inferior to Mirela's, it was worth a try! The march reached its target, but unfortunately, the damage was less than we had hoped for.

Meanwhile, our enemies had not been idle and had taken the opportunity to capture our buildings. We couldn't be on all fronts...

Neo launched a rally on one target, I launched one on another, and Raymund launched a third. Only one was successful: Neo's.

I had crashed miserably into CDany86's spears, which, it must be said, looked impressive.

The rest was simple: there was little time left, and we just had to defend our possessions; we weren't in a position to do more.

We finally achieved our goal with this fourth place.

I had mixed feelings about the day, but in the end I wasn't unhappy with us, and as my teammates breathed a sigh of relief behind me after those intense final minutes, I told myself that satisfaction wasn't just found in victory, but also in the fight and the struggle.