The commitments in Westeros followed one after another without pause.

The Glorious Battle fought by HOH alongside other alliances such as FFS was not going as hoped, and it seemed that third place in the overall ranking was now guaranteed for them.

Today, however, Neik and his companions Ferrious, TheOnlyGroot, and Ferra were focused on another competition, one that guaranteed participants high-level rewards useful for improving their equipment, as well as a significant boost to their troops' stats for the best fighters.

They would fight in...

Arena of Honor

The k345 group was joined today under the Stark banner by allies of the caliber of DRS16 and an acquaintance such as Stabs, also a member of HOH.

“Let's get ready for a tough challenge,” Neik began immediately in a concerned tone, addressing his allies after a quick glance at the roster of rivals who had arrived today...

Targaryen: NightBunny, FrenchToast, and Stromgarde would lead the group, a truly formidable faction fighting under the dragon banner.

Lannister TheDoge, POULTS, and Vidoq were just some of the incredible warriors of the third faction, which would undoubtedly aim for victory in this heated match.

“It's undoubtedly a balanced match, but we have to do our best if we want to triumph,” said Ferrious, who was also uneasy at the sight of the lineups. The determined looks on their rivals' faces were almost frightening, and the efforts of the Glorious Battle would undoubtedly take their toll.

“We'll do our best,” replied Neik, trying to instill confidence.

The match was about to begin. The thirty members lined up on the battlefield, ten on each side, were finalizing their preparations under a light rain falling on their heads. The atmosphere was tense, and fog covered the horizon, limiting visibility and making every assault treacherous. The long winter of Westeros seemed endless, and even today the wind was blowing strongly, making it difficult for the fighters to breathe as they waited for the 60-minute battle to begin.

Start AOH

The battle began with the K345 group adopting the tactic that had paid off so far, securing two out of three victories in previous rounds: TheOnlyGroot defended his castle with his trusty knights, while his companions immediately rushed to build attack outposts to capture, with a little luck, the adjacent castles: GreyJoy and Baratheon in this case.

In the first attack carried out by their house, as hoped, Neik and his teammates immediately managed to get their hands on the Greyjoy castle, where Ferra took over the defense with his granite Inf to defend its possession from the assaults that would come as the match progressed.

Meanwhile, the HOH member immediately launched an attack on the first altar of the match. Having immediately conquered their second castle put them in a good position of advantage, and to strengthen it, conquering the altars was crucial for them.

The final conquest of the latter was unexpectedly simple.

With Lannister and Targaryen also following their own strategies, no one attempted to oust the Stark member who, at the end of the two minutes, returned with possession of the objective on their side.

“Let's focus on building trading posts in the areas adjacent to the second castle,” Ferrious suggested to his companions in an attempt to maximize the points per minute earned.

“In the meantime, I'll try to conquer Maiden Altairs and Dragon Pits,” said Neik, asking his companions to send support if necessary. 

Maiden and Dragon Pit

Once again, it was an easy victory for him, with his opponents clearly opting for a different strategy.

When the Dragon Pits became available, Neik launched an assault on the first one. The importance lay in the three buffs that each one guaranteed, instead of the single buff given for capturing an altar. This time there was a clash, and it was bloody...!

The first to arrive at the siege, clashing with the Stark member's Weakness-Spear formation, was GTOMA of the Targaryens and his Female-Cav formation, perfectly countered by Neik, who left him no chance, repelling him without much trouble.

A few seconds before the end, another attempt by the Targaryens, this time by FrenchToast5, was very different. The rival's Bleeding-Inf formation was of the highest level and inflicted considerable losses on the defender, but thanks to the support sent by the Starks for their comrade, their numerical superiority played a key role in defending possession and completing the conquest! 

Once the first target was captured, the HOH fighter's eyes turned to the second Dragon Pit, where he managed to establish himself without any major problems. “Send me reinforcements quickly,” he exclaimed to his companions, anticipating an imminent attack, which once again came at the hands of FrenchToast5, who... failed! The Stark reinforcements, particularly those of Ferrious, TheOnlyGroot, and Ferra, arrived very quickly. The faction also managed to take control of the second Dragon Pit of the match!

Glory City was just around the corner, and it was clear that both Lannister and Targaryen would be going all out for it. “A no-holds-barred battle is coming, we must be ready for it,” said Ferrious, drawing his companions' attention.

Glory City

When the Glorious City became available, Neik immediately launched an assault on it without organizing a rally. Learning from past mistakes, the HOH member opted for a different strategy this time, not giving strong opponents time to capture its walls, because if they had received support in time, it would have been difficult to break through its defenses.

However, the tactic did not work as planned due to the lack of reinforcements arriving from his own faction. When FrenchToast's troops arrived, they managed to break through Neik's defenses thanks to the strength of the attacker's Inf, which countered the defender's Spears.

Ferrious then attempted a rally to strike the city walls, but his rival's combat superiority and numerical superiority played a key role in the battle, allowing him to remain firmly in command.

Unexpectedly, however, a subsequent assault by Neik was successful, repelling FrenchToast5 and gaining temporary possession of the city, which now only needed to be defended. “Let's just focus on capturing the city,” said the member, urging his teammates in Stark to apply themselves if they wanted to win the match.

The minutes in possession of the city passed very slowly, and attacks from rival factions continued unabated, with Neik in command of the city attempting to resist them, but the waves of rallies that relentlessly struck the Stark member's defenses ultimately ended once again in an attempt to repel him, again at the hands of FrenchToast5.

The match wasn't going well for them, and they had a decision to make.

The time spent attempting a possible reconquest of the city used by the members of K345 had seen them slip to third place in the match, despite having three castles under their control. However, due to the lack of commitment from their alliance partners, they were not scoring the coveted points per minute because the construction of the trading posts had not been completed as planned.

“I think it would be better to focus only on conquering the mines and give up on our ambitions to take first place,” Ferrious suggested to his companions, who agreed with her. 

Mines

Neik and his companions, in an attempt to secure at least second place, began to attack as many mines as possible in an attempt to overtake and maintain possession over the Lannisters. At this point, thanks to FrenchToast5's capture of the city, first place was largely secured by the Targaryens.

Despite this, however, their rivals, seeking elimination points, did not make life easy for the Stark members, who found themselves facing formidable opponents.

The clash between dingleberry and Neik in one of the mines saw the former's Female-Cav formation clash with the latter's Weakness-Spear formation, which, despite being outnumbered, managed to triumph, winning yet another mine for their group.

Just when everything seemed to be finally going their way, the unexpected happened: the Greyjoy city under Ferraa's control fell! The ally alerted his companions as quickly as possible, and Neik immediately attacked the walls again before they could be significantly reinforced by the Targaryens, and... the attack had the desired effect, with the group regaining control!

“That was close, well done,” said Ferrious to his ally, complimenting him on his quick response. A fall would have significantly undermined their second place in the match, but that did not happen.

From that moment on, until the end of the match, the Starks only had to manage the possession of the two houses to take home a bitter second place at the end of the 60 minutes of battle.

It was a far from happy result for them, as they certainly had the chance to challenge their rivals for the conquest of Glory City, but this was not possible due to poor teamwork and support from their allies. This was also a factor to consider in matches of this type, and today it was a decisive one for Neik and his teammates, in a negative sense. Targaryen managed to secure a straightforward first place, while Lannister finished third in the final standings.

The top five positions in the final elimination rankings included five members of the Stark faction, but it was a bitter satisfaction for them because they failed to win a match in which they gave their all.

“At least we managed to get the extra points for holding more castles,” said Neik, seeing the glass as half full as he returned to K345 with his teammates, giving each of them additional points in the personal rankings.

“It's a shame because victory was within reach, but it's true that things don't always go as hoped, especially when you don't have the cooperation of the allies you happen to get with random matchmaking,” replied Ferrious bitterly.

This first round of Arena of Honor required more energy than expected. What will be the next adventure for Neik and his companions? Let's find out together!

Highlights AOH