Mouse trap in kingdom 299

Not every hunt ends in glory.

For most players, that was an obvious fact. Defeats happened. Mistakes were made. Armies disappeared and cities burned every day across the kingdoms. But when it came to Camie, the top merit hunter in the game, people often forgot that reality. They saw the enormous merit count, the endless collection of battle reports, and the reputation she had built through years of hunting. To many, Camie seemed untouchable.

The truth was far different.

Even the best hunters could make mistakes.

And in Kingdom 299, Camie was about to make one that would cost her dearly.

The kingdom first caught her attention after reports surfaced of several promising targets gathered close together. Clusters like that were rare. Usually, players worth attacking were spread across different regions, requiring careful planning and multiple relocations. But Kingdom 299 appeared different. Several armies sat within striking distance of each other, creating what looked like the perfect hunting opportunity.

As always, Camie began with scouts.

The reports that returned only strengthened her confidence. The targets looked vulnerable enough, their troop counts manageable and their defenses nothing out of the ordinary. It was exactly the kind of kingdom she had farmed countless times before.

The decision was easy.

She ported directly into the kingdom and prepared to begin the hunt.

The first target was Saint Word.

The battle was everything Camie expected. Her infantry marched forward with the overwhelming bleed synergy that had made her famous. The defenders simply couldn't withstand the pressure. Casualties mounted rapidly as Saint Word's army crumbled beneath the assault.

The battle ended quickly.

Merit poured into Camie's account.

One target down.

The second target, Raboni, offered little more resistance.

By this point, Camie was fully in control of the hunt. Her troops were performing exactly as intended, tearing through defenders and converting armies into merit at an impressive rate. The attack unfolded almost identically to the first.

Another victory.

Another army destroyed.

Another pile of merit added to her total.

Within a relatively short period, Camie had already accumulated approximately 12.5 million merit from the two attacks alone. Kingdom 299 was proving to be exactly what she had hoped for.

An easy feast.

With two victories secured, her attention shifted toward the final target.

This one appeared to be the largest prize of them all.

From her perspective, it looked like the perfect way to end the hunt. Two successful attacks had reinforced the scout reports. Everything suggested another straightforward victory waiting to happen.

Without hesitation, Camie launched a solo attack.

Her army surged forward.

The march looked routine.

The target appeared no different than the others.

Yet hidden behind the apparent weakness was something the scouts had failed to reveal.

A garrison.

And inside that garrison waited Aventio.

The realization came too late.

Once the march landed, there was no turning back.

What Camie had expected to be another easy battle instantly transformed into a nightmare scenario.

Aventio wasn't simply another defender sitting behind city walls. They were a powerful infantry lord with an army significantly larger than Camie's own. Even worse, their force contained a substantial number of Tier 5 troops, elite soldiers capable of changing the outcome of battles through sheer power alone.

Suddenly, the advantage had disappeared.

Instead of attacking a vulnerable target, Camie had charged directly into a prepared army waiting specifically to receive her.

The worst possible case had become reality.

Still, there was nothing she could do.

The battle had begun.

The fight itself was brutal.

Camie's infantry performed admirably under impossible circumstances. Years of refinement and optimization were evident in every exchange. Her bleed synergy triggered repeatedly, allowing her forces to remain competitive despite the odds stacked against them.

For a time, the battle remained surprisingly close.

Reports later showed that her infantry's superior combat efficiency kept her in the fight far longer than raw numbers suggested they should have.

But numbers mattered.

Aventio's army simply possessed too many advantages.

More troops.

More Tier 5 soldiers.

More staying power.

As the battle dragged on, those advantages became increasingly difficult to overcome.

Camie's army fought stubbornly, refusing to collapse immediately, but eventually the pressure became too much.

The line broke.

The battle was lost.

At first, Camie didn't know exactly how badly things had gone. The battle reports hadn't arrived yet, leaving her without the detailed information she normally relied upon.

But she didn't need a report to understand the immediate situation.

Her lord had been captured.

That alone told her everything she needed to know.

The disaster worsened only moments later.

A blockade appeared.

Aventio wasn't satisfied with winning the battle.

They were coming for her city.

For many players, panic would have followed.

Camie remained calm.

The battle itself could no longer be changed, but the damage could still be managed.

Quickly assessing the situation, she made the safest decision available. Her valuable high-tier troops were withdrawn and hidden away before Aventio's army could arrive. There was no reason to sacrifice them in a battle that was already lost.

It proved to be a critical decision.

When Aventio's forces reached her city, they smashed through the defenses with ease. The walls fell. Fires erupted throughout the settlement. What remained of the city's defenses collapsed beneath the assault.

Yet when the attackers searched for valuable targets, they found very little.

Most of Camie's elite troops were gone.

Instead, the invading army encountered large numbers of Tier 1 soldiers left behind.

The city suffered.

The walls suffered.

But her most valuable troops survived.

It wasn't a victory.

Far from it.

But it prevented the disaster from becoming even worse.

When the battle reports finally arrived, the full picture became clear.

Camie's 1.36 million troops had entered battle against approximately 1.7 million defenders.

That difference alone was significant.

The hidden garrison had completely altered the matchup.

Worse still was the quality of those troops. Aventio's army contained a heavy concentration of Tier 5 soldiers, creating an enormous advantage in direct combat.

As Camie studied the report, one conclusion became impossible to ignore.

Her infantry had actually performed remarkably well.

Their battle-hardened nature and superior synergy had kept her competitive despite every disadvantage. Against a weaker opponent, they might have carried the day.

Against Aventio, it wasn't enough.

And perhaps the harshest realization was that even if she had somehow won the initial battle, the outcome might not have changed.

Her lord would likely still have been captured.

The siege would still have followed.

The city would still have burned.

Kingdom 299 had simply positioned itself too well.

As the flames continued consuming what remained of her city, Camie sat quietly reviewing the reports again and again.

The mistake was obvious now.

She hadn't lost because of poor troop choices.

She hadn't lost because of bad execution.

She hadn't even lost because Aventio was dramatically stronger.

She lost because she missed something.

A single garrison army had slipped through her vision.

One hidden force.

One overlooked detail.

For most hunters, such a mistake would have been understandable.

For Camie, it was a painful reminder that no amount of experience could completely eliminate human error.

There would be other hunts.

Other kingdoms.

Other victories.

But Kingdom 299 would remain in her memory for a different reason.

It was the kingdom that reminded the greatest merit hunter in the game that even legends can bleed.

And on that day, Kingdom 299 had earned its victory.