Arena of Honor | K345 | Targaryen |

The challenge for Neik and his group didn't end there!

A few hours after the recent battle in the Arena Of Honor, the members of the faction who managed to snatch second place in a tough challenge decided to return to the battlefield for a new match!

The group was going through a period without any major events, with their alliance about to come to an end with the arrival of All Out War, which would see them engaged in 14 days of battles against the strongest alliances in Westeros.

To get there in top form and with the buffs that the event guaranteed to the highest-ranked fighters, even though they knew they might be carrying the aftermath of the recent battle, Neik, accompanied by his trusted group consisting of Ferrious, Ferra, and TheOnlyGroot, decided to face a second match of...

ARENA OF HONOR 

This time, fate smiled on them, under the banner of House Targaryen, with valiant warriors such as Hang Man and da R1m who were happy to put their skills at the disposal of a close-knit group like HOH.

“It will be a pleasure to fight alongside you,” Ferrious immediately told his allies during preparations for the upcoming match.

Meanwhile, Neik, curious to find out who they would be facing, scanned the horizon in an attempt to discover what formidable rivals fate had placed in their path...

STARK: Led by IziLastek and Ogan, members of the feared VME alliance, the group was made up of mid-level fighters who would certainly cause their rivals difficulties.

LANNISTER: Win01 NickaTime1 and FERNAN were just some of the names under the golden lion banner who presented themselves as candidates for the final victory. The strength of their individual fighters was feared by their rivals.

“It won't be easy at all, Win01 will be a tough rival to face for the conquest of Glory City,” Neik immediately confided to his allies, sharing his knowledge. He feared the presence of the latter at the helm of the main objective.

“We'll have to play smart and build up a good lead if we want to compete for first place in the match,” replied Ferrious. The strategy decided by the faction would therefore be to try to capture more of their rivals' castles at the start of the match in order to build up a good lead in the score.

The preparations were being finalized. The 10 fighters from each of the three houses lined up on the battlefield were ready to fight a tough match with an uncertain outcome and the ambition to achieve final victory. A slow snowfall settled gently on the battlefield, accompanied by the cawing of crows high in the gloomy sky, adding to the tense anticipation for the start of the contest.

Start of the Arena of Honor match

The battle began with the strategy tested in the previous clash. The HOH group decided to attempt to conquer the adjacent castles to maximize their score per minute by subsequently building trading posts around them.

The plan was immediately successful, and thanks to the rapid construction of Attacking Posts, the faction managed to establish itself in the undefended castle of House Tyrell. To complete the conquest, Ferrious moved to defense with his strong Inf-Bleeding formation.

Meanwhile, with the opening of the first altars, Neik immediately set out to conquer one of them, where he received insidious attacks in the final seconds of the conquest, and...

The last blow delivered by Meiestix and his Weakness-Spear formation was easily repelled by the HOH member. The majority of troops defending it played a crucial role in the battle.

“Well done with the conquest of the first altar for our faction,” said Ferrious, addressing his ally.

Things were looking up for the Targaryen house...!

Following the capture of the second castle, the faction did not stop there, launching an assault on the undefended Greyjoy castle. This time, Neik took charge of defending it, consolidating a crucial advantage over his rivals with three castles on his side. At the end of the two-minute wait, he repelled the incoming assaults and succeeded in his intent.

“We're doing great, let's focus on attacking the altars now,” Neik said to his companions. Their faction had a slight advantage in the match, and capturing more altars than their rivals could play a decisive role in its outcome. 

The clash with the other houses was in full swing.

Stark and Lannister, seeing their rivals pull ahead in the score, focused their efforts on capturing the altars under Targaryen control, but the fighters in the group concentrated their forces on defending them, consolidating their position at the top of the match while waiting for the Dragon Pit to open. Conquering them would play a key role in their troops' statistics for the upcoming battle of Glory City.

Fight for the Dragon Pits

When the designated targets became available, Neik immediately set out to capture them, reaching his destination first.

“Quick, send me as many spears as possible,” he said to his companions, fearing a strong wave of attacks from the other two houses in an attempt to weaken the leading group.

The two-minute wait to consolidate the conquest of the lookout post was filled with incessant attacks, especially from the Lannisters. The group, a strong contender for the final victory of the match, hoped to break through their rival's defenses, but...

The attacks that came from the troops led by Win01 did not have the desired effect against a well-supported defense for the Targaryen member. The rival's Bleeding-Inf formation was powerless against the defender's Weakness-Spear despite countering it, and the number of defensive troops played a key role in the battle between the two rivals.

Once he had conquered the first Dragon Pit, however, Neik didn't stop there! The team member launched an attack on the second one as well, hoping to gain possession of it. His teammates immediately rushed to support their ally, who managed to capture it at the end of the two minutes, repelling attacks from valiant rivals such as NickaTime.

“Reaching this point in the match with such an advantage was a key objective,” Neik commented on the imminent opening of Glory City. “However, nothing is decided yet. The advantage we have could crumble if we don't continue to fight with this intensity,” he added.

Conquering the city was a key objective, but the group's advantage was considerable with the majority of altars and dragon pits on their side. 

Glory City

When the city opened, however, Targaryen and Lannister opted for two different strategies: Neik decided to gather his comrades' troops and launch a simultaneous siege, which took longer than expected, and Win01 took advantage of this to launch a single attack and hope for reinforcements from his allies at the right time. When Neik's assault reached its destination...

The offensive army found itself clashing with the formidable army composed of Inf from their rival, who, thanks to the counter on their spears, managed to emerge triumphant from the battle!

Neik did not panic and reorganized another siege, convinced that after managing to drive out some troops with the previous one, he could now emerge victorious...

But once again, the defender's army, fresh with reinforcements arriving, prevailed despite being outnumbered!

“Let's try again,” suggested Ferrious, urging his teammate to launch yet another assault. Time was running out and they had to hurry, but even if this attack failed, Lannister would win possession of Glory City thanks to the work done by Win01. When the last blow landed...

Thanks to the exceptional work of his allies, who once again reinforced him with the necessary troops, Win01 and his army composed of Bleeding-Inf managed to triumph once again against the attacker and his Weakness-Spear formation!

“You did your best,” the members of Targaryen tried to cheer up their ally, who was unhappy with the outcome of the battle and felt he had let his comrades down.

However, things were far from going badly for them...!

Although Lannister had managed to conquer Glory City, the exceptional work done up to this point in the match by Neik and his companions, with the conquest of the two adjacent houses, towers, catapults, and altars, saw them still firmly in first place.

“We must maintain control of our buildings by defending them with all our strength if we want to keep our hard-earned advantage,” said Ferrious, sounding the charge. 

Defending buildings

The first Lannister Berserker arrived at the hands of FERNAN in Dragon Pit. The rivals' strategy was to wrest control of the buildings from the Targaryens in an attempt to stage a comeback, which now seemed only a matter of time.

Without wasting a moment, however, Neik launched an attack and when he struck the rival troops, there was nothing they could do. The Female-Cav formation, countered by the attacker's Weakness-Spear, collapsed like a house of cards despite their strong numerical superiority.

“They're attacking the other Dragon Pit,” said TheOnlyGroot, alarmed, to his returning ally, who immediately rushed to defend it and... found himself clashing with NickaTime's troops, which outnumbered the attackers two to one, but that did not allow them to resist the ferocity of the Targaryen member, who managed to regain possession of the position!

In the minutes that followed, Neik and his companions made one last effort to secure victory in the match, devoting themselves entirely to conquering a few mines in order to settle the score once and for all.

The members of Lannister, now with little hope of hindering their progress, attacked the mine under Neik's control... only to find themselves facing a well-reinforced rival with more troops at their disposal in a one-sided battle.

“I think this may be their last attempt,” Ferrious said to his teammates, who understood their intentions. With Win01 still in command of Glory City, the Lannister faction decided to opt for the strategy of retaining control of it to gain extra points at the end of the match, but sacrificing a possible comeback with their best fighter busy defending the city.

It was therefore only a matter of time before they secured victory in the match, which came at the end of sixty minutes of battle! 

So Neik and his companions took first place despite failing to gain control of Glory City. The faction did an incredible job with all the buildings scattered across the battlefield, managing to build up a large lead, minute after minute.

The Lannister members led by Win01 and NickaTime had to settle for second place, which was acceptable overall as it was enhanced by their possession of the city in the final score.

The Stark faction, led by IziLastek and Ogan, threw in the towel well before the end of the match, realizing that they would not go beyond third place, which still guaranteed them some position in the personal ranking of each fighter. 

The eliminations saw the top four places occupied in order by Neik, Win01, NickaTime, and Ferrious. The four fighters leading their factions saw their work on the battlefield reflected in the elimination rankings, which brought them personal glory.

“An exceptional match by each and every one of you,” Neik congratulated his allies. “Without the possession of so many altars, our rivals would certainly not have given up until the very end. Each of you made an incredible contribution to the final victory,” he said before leaving for K345 with his group.

“The strategy we adopted was successful, but we need to make a few small adjustments,” Ferrious said to his allies during the march. “I believe that with a combined attack, we could have wrested possession of the city from our rival,” he added.

“That's true, but it would have been risky to lose control of the Tyrell house defended by you. Next time, however, we could consider it,” replied Neik, revealing his fears about such an approach. 

Thus ended a very long day for the members of HOH, who played two Arena Of Honor matches, finishing second and winning one to end the day on a high note!

All-Out War is on the horizon, and thanks to the rewards and upgrades they obtained for their equipment, Neik and his companions would certainly be ready for it, ready to raise the HOH banner high!

Highlights AOH