Catch me if you can - K273

My last invasion exposed a weakness in my strategy: being careless between attacks. Invading and attacking NpW's kingdom is already dangerous on its own, and, trying to take my targets down as quickly as possible, I made the mistake of launching attack after attack without paying attention to garrisons or reinforcements, which proved costly. It cost me millions of troops, including my Lord, who was ambushed and captured in battle by Foxbat, a super-strong warrior from NpW.

I was badly wounded and running low on supplies, but I did not have time to cry about it. My original plan was to return home and recover everything I had lost; my alliance was even preparing resources for me, but then I received the location of excellent targets in a kingdom very close to mine. I had very few troops left to fight with, but I decided to take one more risk and follow my instincts.

Four castles, which most likely belonged to the same player, were unbubbled in Kingdom 273. That kingdom had been in my bookmarks for quite some time, but it was the first time I had actually found something there, which caught me a little by surprise.

I did not know anything about that land or the players from that team. But one of my allies warned me that they usually fight against merit hunters and that, to them, honor is more important than anything else. Protecting their allies is a duty. Obviously, that was not the kind of target I was looking for... not after the humiliating defeat I had suffered in Kingdom 327.

I found myself facing a difficult decision, torn between two choices: go there and risk everything once again, or turn around and head back home.

I noticed that both kingdoms used the same numbers, and maybe it was a sign that I should give up on that mission. But it was already too late. I gathered the few troops I had left, prepared everything I needed, and once again, I was there... invading an enemy kingdom when I should have been on my way home. A few minutes after making that decision, despite the strange feeling I had, I launched the first attack.

The invasion could not have started any better. Whinge, my first target, lost nearly five million troops in the first impact, and all of his fortifications were stripped from his wall. On the other hand, I knew that I could not afford to suffer heavy losses. The result of the first attack left me completely relieved.

Before attacking Whinge for the second time, I made sure that none of his allies had dropped their bubble and sent a full garrison to his castle. I had promised myself and my troops that I would not make the same mistake again, and that I would not fall into another ambush because of a small detail I had overlooked.

After confirming that no one had moved, I launched the second attack, destroying the castle, eliminating all of Whinge's troops, and bringing back his Lord as my prisoner.

After successfully eliminating Whinge, I shifted my focus to his neighbor, Little Kiwi. My troops returned almost untouched. I could not believe what was happening, because only a short time ago we had left a kingdom completely devastated, and now we were facing the exact opposite situation. Little Kiwi was almost destroyed, and it came very close to having his Lord captured as well.

As my troops were returning, I watched the area around King's Landing and the surrounding castles. I quickly realized that something was wrong. The positions of some castles had changed, and there were more players without a bubble.

Something was happening right in front of me, and I still had not realized what it was. I hid, relocated deep into the forest, and from the darkest part of the kingdom, I watched everything that was unfolding. That was when I realized it... someone had decided to defend the kingdom.

Finrahil, the great king of Kingdom 273 and the leader of the PHR alliance, was without a bubble on purpose. I kept trying to figure out what he was planning. Was he going to send a garrison to one of my targets? Was he going to try to attack me during the few seconds when my location was exposed? Or was he hoping I would attack him directly so he could capture my Lord?

I moved a little closer and tried to scout him, but he was using Anti-Scout, preventing me from seeing what was inside his castle.

I had not seen any troops marching out of his castle, which led me to believe that he had not sent a garrison to any of my targets. That was when I realized he wanted me to attack him directly. But instead, I marched toward my third target with full force, ignoring him.

Finrahil was there, watching every move I made. From that moment on, I started to feel extremely uncomfortable, with the constant feeling that I could be ambushed at any second. When my troops returned, I hid and carefully analyzed every castle in Kings Landing. I still had to finish Horreo. He was still standing, but I had no idea whether Finrahil had sent a garrison to his castle.

Time was running out... the tension was rising. I had to decide what to do while Finrahil waited eagerly for my next attack. I was afraid. I had just come out of a failed invasion and was facing the same situation once again, but this time I could actually see my enemy's movements.

Finrahil was becoming restless. Not knowing what my next move would be was clearly frustrating him. On the other hand, I had to act before it was too late. So I decided to risk everything once again and attack Horreo for the second time.

The attack went through, and Horreo fell. My troops hurried back, trying to hide before Finrahil could catch them. Fear had made me more cautious this time, and so far, everything was going according to plan.

A few minutes later, another castle dropped the bubble right in the middle of King's Landing. I... still carrying the scars from my previous invasions, knew something was wrong. A castle with one billion power, wearing rebel gear, and using Chris as its Lord seemed too good to be true. And very suspicious.

I moved closer, but he was using Anti-Scout. That was when everything finally made sense...

It was a trap... but I did not fall for it! Instead, I attacked with my scout account, and who was waiting inside? A full garrison from Finrahil. The feeling of relief was immediate.

Once Finrahil realized that I was not going to give him an opening, he started hunting me, and I was immediately overcome with desperation. For nearly ten minutes, I kept changing my location nonstop, trying to avoid being seen or even attacked, but it did not work.

Finrahil found me and used blockade to freeze me. I became more and more desperate. I could not afford to be attacked again and lose all of my troops. That would have been the end of me.

A few seconds later, Finrahil moved close to my position and launched an attack. I had less than five seconds to react and try to hide my troops. I did not think I had enough time. His army was getting closer and closer, raising the tension and making the fear feel more real than ever.

I did everything I could, and in the final two seconds, the only thing left to do was watch the outcome.

His powerful bow army struck my wall, destroying all my fortifications and killing a few soldiers. Miraculously, I managed to hide all of my troops at the very last second, preventing a second disaster in a row. I was completely overwhelmed by a sense of relief. Finrahil launched a few more attacks, but there was not much he could do because all of my troops were safe.

My breathing slowed. I was calmer, almost euphoric. I knew that just three seconds had separated my survival from a complete disaster. But fortunately, everything worked out, and Finrahil did not manage to destroy me this time.

I like to believe that everything, even the bad things, happens for a reason. Perhaps being caught by a garrison during my last invasion taught me that I need to be much more careful, and that lesson saved my troops this time, allowing me to leave the kingdom unharmed, even in the face of heavy resistance from Finrahil.

I messaged Finrahil. This time I won, but I will be back and give him a second chance very soon. Will he win this time? We are going to find out soon!