Amai’s Hunting Journal: Unexpected Finds and Fierce Battles on a Peaceful Weekend

Dear friends, it’s time for this week’s battle report once again. Amai has been visiting K479 for three months now, during which time we’ve witnessed events such as the defection of ap1, K479’s second-largest alliance, and the departure of the formidable TigTig and Cap Black; it feels as though Amai’s journey in this kingdom is drawing to a close.

The K479: As Solid As A Rock

The main reason I feel it is time to seek out my next destination is that the residents of K479, under the leadership of DRAGONS 666, have wrapped themselves quite tightly within a protective shield. My purpose in travelling to various kingdoms is not merely to explore local customs; given their excellent discipline, the chances of me securing military merits are, of course, negligible.

With Cossomo on board, DRAGONS 666 is an even greater threat to me!

Furthermore, DRAGONS 666 was already a formidable archer player to begin with—by no means an easy opponent for Amai. Recently, he has even unlocked the awakened Cossomo; to be honest, if it came to a head-on confrontation, I wouldn’t be full of confidence if I could defeat him!

An Unexpected Catch On A Weekend Morning

Just as I was slowly pondering my next destination, on a quiet, warm Saturday morning, I unexpectedly stumbled upon a few long-missed and delightful targets on K479. Three members of the Pikachu clan from the LMS Alliance had lowered their shields. I’d spotted them before the server reset, but I didn’t dare launch a scout mission or attack lightly. Instead, I prepared a delicious breakfast, brewed a cup of lightly roasted Kenyan AA, and waited for the server reset whilst enjoying the weekend morning light. 

Just a few days ago, I also saw DRAGONS unexpectedly lose his shield, but I didn’t dare make a move without thinking it through—mainly because I was worried that a higher-level hunter would take me out as well. Sure enough, a visitor from CRY arrived; if I’d called for a rally at that moment, I’d probably have been wiped out and reduced to zero even before DRAGONS were!

Saturday marked the event day for Season 24 of Alliance Conquest, which meant that other powerful merit hunters couldn’t migrate over to disturb me. If the Pika clan were opponents I could take on solo, I wouldn’t be too worried; however, both Pika Chu and Pika D OR were in combat mode, and their Archer Castles were well-stocked with troops. I would inevitably have to launch a rally to mount an effective attack. Being a merit hunter these days is fraught with risk. As the saying goes: ‘Whilst the mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole lies in wait.’ When you’re on a rally, leaving your main castle’s defences unguarded whilst the Lord is away is nothing short of a tragedy. I certainly don’t want to become a defenceless, tasty meal in someone else’s eyes, so I waited patiently for the server reset, allowing the cross-server lockout period for the AC event to act as my natural barrier.

As it turned out, I was quite fortunate; the waiting period passed without anyone coming to snatch my prey. So, it’s my turn to take the stage! 

Whilst the DRAGONS and henomaus haven’t turned up yet, I’m going to infiltrate enemy territory and strike as quickly as possible.

I’m well aware that I currently face only two threats in this kingdom: one is the King of K479—DRAGONS 666, whom we mentioned at the start—and the other is the formidable cavalry player henomaus. It seems neither of them is online at the moment, and both are still kitted out in rebel leader expediton gear. I’ll have to keep an eye out for them whilst I’m attacking, just in case they wake up.

Two-Player Co-op: Defeating Pika Foes

My first target is Pika Raluer. The reason is simple: he isn’t in combat mode, and he clearly appears to be an alt account; his commander’s line-up hasn’t even taken shape yet. Riding alone on my light horse, I’ll escort his lord back to my castle in one go for a proper welcome! 

For such an alt, he really had far too many soldiers; the first battle was a breeze!

My second victim was Pika chou. The sheer size of his forces was staggering—nearly twenty-five million T4 archers—and he was kitted out in full combat gear. This was no opponent I could defeat on my own. I called upon my comrade BunnyVault to join my rally. Don’t let his name fool you into thinking he’s just a storage account; in fact, he’s a skilled cavalry player. Not only did he join my rally, but he also garrisoned his troops at my castle. Should any enemy dare to attack me, Bunny’s army would form my first line of defence; even if the enemy managed to break through that line, my remaining soldiers would continue to inflict damage. 

Pika Chou is far stronger than Pika Raluer; I wouldn’t dare launch a reckless attack without activating Rally.

Pika Chou certainly has a vast number of soldiers; it took me no fewer than three rallies to wipe them out completely. As a result, Pika Chou lost 800 million power, and the toughest challenge of this campaign followed hot on its heels. Pika D OR is the most powerful player in the Pikachu clan. Not only was he at full strength, but his castle walls were manned by commanders including the awakened Melisandre and Kravras. For Amai’s infantry, the nearly 40 million archers within Pika D OR’s castle were no easy opponents.

Pika D OR’s merit achievements may not appear particularly impressive, but the calibre of his commanders and the size of his forces mean that he should not be underestimated.

When we set out on the first raid, I was genuinely a little worried. After all, it was just Bunny and me. The cross-server lock period in AC had also restricted the alliance member list, so I couldn’t temporarily add my alt account to expand the size of my rally force. With a mere 3.4 million-strong rally force, we were up against a force more than five times our size, whilst also having to be constantly on guard against DRAGONS and others waking up. I couldn’t take this lightly at all. Sure enough, Pika D OR’s defences were a whole level tougher than those of Pika Chou. However, having successfully taken down the first wave, there was no reason to stop there. I launched several more rallies, one after another, and succeeded in significantly whittling down Pika D OR’s forces! 

The battle against Pika D OR took me a full five Rallyes to finally bring to an end; he certainly dealt me quite a bit of damage, but compared to the rewards I gained, it was all well worth it!

Amai’s Long-term Hunting Philosophy

These days, there are many merit hunters who flit between kingdoms with extremely low combat power, moving in and out swiftly; whereas Amai prefers to lie in wait within a single kingdom for the long term, thoroughly conquering it. Have you ever encountered a merit hunter? Have you suffered at their hands? Or have you witnessed the downfall of an ally? Or are you yourself a hunter who relishes the thrill of battle? Let’s have a chat about it!