Genius Chapter 182: Fraction Battle

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter: Faction War

Chapter 182: Fraction Battle

Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

 

Faction battle?!

Upon hearing this, Su Mo replied, “I rarely participate in faction battles, so I might not be much help.”

ScarletFruit asked in confusion, “Did you make a mistake, big shot? We rarely do faction battles…”

“We usually just participate in resource battles for points,” ClearWind added, “And faction battles are quite difficult to manage, right?”

“No,” BrokenOracle clarified, “We are here to discuss a capture battle. Last week, we encountered an unprecedented disadvantage, and the current situation is extremely passive.”

Su Mo glanced at Yu Zhen beside him. Yu Zhen also seemed interested in BrokenOracle’s statement, so Su Mo said, “Go ahead.”

The faction battle mechanics in Celestial Horizon had been in place for a long time. Except for the brief closure during last year’s Grand Debate of the Realm, it had been a weekly event for players. Celestial Horizon’s war system was quite sophisticated; compared to the guild battles for capturing points between large guilds, faction battles were an event for all factions except neutral players.

In simple terms, faction battles were scheduled according to the Capital Planet time zone, taking place on weekends (Saturday and Sunday) across various branch servers. Each player could only choose one branch server to participate in during registration.

Players needed to submit their registration to the faction-related NPCs before Friday. Based on the number of registrants from both factions, the system would adjust the participating players. For example, if the Eclipse faction had 100,000 participants and the Abyss faction had 110,000, the system would select the smaller faction, setting the battle scale to 100,000 versus 100,000. Participants would be chosen based on the order of their registration to ensure fairness.

Faction battles were divided into two types: one was the faction resource battle, where any registered player could participate, and the other was the faction capture battle, which required guilds with command authority to coordinate. To make faction battles more strategic and coordinated, the resource sites were fundamental, while capture battles were the key. In short, the former was a mixed battle open to almost all faction players for points, while the latter was a main assault battle requiring elite players.

Faction battles did not have a win-or-lose outcome; instead, they were measured by the number of captured points.

Within each faction, there were four points corresponding to the four seasons—spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The resource battles, held all day on Saturdays and Sundays, used various statistics such as resource occupation, battles, and participation points in the faction battle area map to determine rewards and resources for the players of both factions.

The faction resources served as the essential foundation for the capture battles that took place on Sunday nights from 7 PM to midnight, providing significant support for the main assault teams vying for faction points. Unlike the resource battles, capture battles were on a scale of 1000 vs. 1000, with the participant list chosen by the guild master of the command guild from the faction battle registration list.

BrokenOracle had come to Su Mo regarding the capture battle within the faction war.

“Last week, Eclipse faction players triggered a faction buff during quest gameplay, which granted the [Revive on the Spot] buff to Eclipse players involved in the capture battle,” BrokenOracle continued, “CloudTraveller used this advantage to turn the tide in the previously stalemated situation, capturing the spring, summer, and autumn points. We, the Abyss faction, only managed to capture one winter point in the end.”

ClearWind was taken aback, “No wonder I saw Abyss players complaining on the forum about last week’s faction battle being poorly handled. So that was the reason!?”

“Yes,” Bitter Melon chuckled dryly, “but that buff was a one-time thing, and there’s no certainty on how to trigger it now. We only know that high-level quests might trigger it. As you know, our two factions are actually quite evenly matched, but capturing three points is difficult. The strategies for defending and attacking differ, and the advantage of Eclipse in capturing points also affects our resource battles. The disadvantage accumulates, and the Abyss faction could easily fall into a continuous disadvantage, becoming the thoroughly disadvantaged side.”

BrokenOracle said, “It’s normal to have wins and losses, but continuous defeats would greatly affect the overall morale of the Abyss faction. Additionally, with new rewards being added to the faction battles in a week, if the situation isn’t reversed before then, the overall morale of the Abyss faction would deteriorate.”

No one wanted to face continuous failure. While wins and losses could enhance players’ sense of honor, persistent defeats would lead to frustration. As this frustration accumulated, the number of players signing up for faction battles would decrease. With fewer players participating in resource battles and more focused on accumulating points, the Abyss faction’s resources would dwindle, making it even harder for players to capture points in the capture battles.

Faction battles were different from guild battles; in faction battles, players were the key to victory.

The blame for the capture battle losses would fall entirely on the commanders. Although ClearWind didn’t participate in faction battles, he enjoyed following the drama. After last week’s events, players in the Capital Planet server had strong opinions. Some had even begun criticizing BrokenOracle, HaiTang, Strawberry, and other Abyss faction commanders, placing all the blame on the commander guild [Ren Xiaoyao] from last week.

Hearing BrokenOracle say this, Su Mo immediately understood his intention. “Just speak plainly.”

BrokenOracle said, “We want to invite you to command the faction battle. You can set your own compensation.”

When these words were spoken, several people in the team were stunned.

What? Have they really asked Momo to command the faction battle? Isn’t this a bit off?

“It’s not about the compensation. I’ve never participated in a capture battle before; I only usually engage in the peripheral resource battles of faction wars. If even experienced people like you can’t ensure victory, it’s unlikely that I could change the situation, even if I helped.” Su Mo spoke honestly. Such matters weren’t solely dependent on individual capability; familiarity with the team, coordination, and the specifics of capture battle points were areas BrokenOracle and his team were more experienced in. He didn’t possess the ability to single-handedly turn the tide.

ScarletFruit and ClearWind exchanged glances. Su Mo wasn’t wrong; while having a commander in a faction battle was important, asking someone who had never commanded a capture battle to take on that role was quite a joke.

Bitter Melon smiled and said, “Of course, I told you that Momo would definitely refuse if we put it this way.”

“We knew you would refuse, and we had considered this,” BrokenOracle chuckled, “The capture battle for this week’s faction war is tomorrow night, and the command for this week is also with our guild Ren Xiaoyao.”

He changed his approach, “I wonder if you would be interested in joining us for the capture battle this week?”

***

Yu Zhen asked, “So, did you agree?”

Su Mo replied, “I agreed.”

Faction battles were a very interesting feature in Celestial Horizon. Originally, Su Mo hadn’t had the chance to participate, and later he had been busy with quests, only engaging in the resource battles of faction wars. Opportunities to participate in capture battles were rare. Su Mo enjoyed Celestial Horizon because of its diverse and dynamic gameplay.

Su Mo said, “But I didn’t agree to be the commander, nor did I ask for any compensation. I only mentioned that I would go tonight to observe the capture battle. ScarletFruit and his cousin went out for dinner, ZenSlasher had a gathering, and ClearWind needed to focus on streaming hours… so they probably won’t attend. They asked if you were coming, and since our resource battle data for this week wasn’t enough to get us into the capture battle roster, they said they could adjust two slots for me.”

“If you need it, you’ll need to adjust two slots with them,” Su Mo asked, “Can it be a marksman and an array master?”

“Just the marksman,” Yu Zhen said, “Are you playing a summoner?”

“No,” Su Mo replied, “I took an assassin slot.” He added, “I’ll let BrokenOracle know.”

Yu Zhen smiled and said, “Alright, I’ll finish work early tonight.”

Listening to the sounds on the other end, he asked, “Are you out?”

“Yes,” Su Mo said, walking on the street with Chen Shanxue, “There’s an ancient Chinese culture exhibition at the Central Museum today. Mom wanted to come and see.”

Chen Shanshue, hearing the conversation, asked with a smile, “Is it Xiaoyu?”

“Yes,” Su Mo nodded.

Capital University’s break was long. Shortly after the New Year, Yu Zhen had returned to work. He spent most of his time working during the day and only had weekends free. But today, unexpectedly, there was an issue with the project team, and Yu Zhen had to go back to work overtime.

Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, Yu Zhen looked at the distant cityscape as he listened to the voice on the communication line. “Have you eaten?” He had called Su Mo during his lunch break, and despite being exhausted from an overnight shift, he felt a strong urge to see Su Mo.

“I’ve eaten.”

Yu Zhen asked, “Aren’t you going to take a nap?”

“I can skip it,” Su Mo replied. “I’ve been feeling good lately. Dr. Wu said I’ve improved a lot and suggested I come back for another check-up next month.”

The voice on the other end of the line grew quieter. It seemed like Su Mo and others had arrived at the exhibition, and someone was calling Chen Shanxue. Su Mo’s response came a bit slowly.

Yu Zhen asked again, “Make sure to rest after you get back.”

“Brother,” Su Mo said with a laugh, “you sound like Lele today.”

“Lele?” Yu Zhen asked.

“A bit naggy,” Su Mo said. “See you tonight. Mom is calling me now.”

The call ended. Yu Zhen stared at his terminal for a while until his assistant came in with some documents. He hesitated slightly and asked, “Have I been talking a lot lately?”

The assistant paused and replied, “Not really, I don’t think so.”

Yu Zhen refocused his attention, his gaze lingering on the names on the communication interface of the terminal. After a short while, a new message suddenly popped up.

——

[-mo: I forgot to mention, I actually like it when you nag.]

[-mo: [Picture] A photo taken by Mom, just showing it to my boyfriend.]

The photo was a group shot of Su Mo with a particular exhibit. The youth was wearing clothes styled by Chen Shanxue and was using the standard “peace” gesture. He had a casual yet charming look with no extra expression.

Noticing that the boss seemed a bit off, the assistant worried that they had said something wrong. While trying to figure out what the boss wanted to hear, the assistant suddenly saw the boss pick up the terminal and appear to save the photo.

Then came the voice—

“Continue.”

The assistant quickly resumed reporting work.

Leadership was truly a mystery—who could guess what was on the boss’s mind!?

In the blink of an eye, it was Sunday afternoon. The faction war’s resource battle had progressed quite a bit. Given the disadvantage Abyss faction had last week, the players had put in a lot of effort to capture resources this week. Although they were not on par with the Eclipse faction, which had three faction buffs, the overall resource gap was not as large as expected, which was good news before the capture battle.

Every weekend, discussions in the faction channel only increased.

The Abyss faction had unprecedentedly lost three outposts, and before the battle even started this week, there was already significant discussion within the faction.

[Will we lose the evening’s capture battle again?] 

[It’s not that simple to play offense and defense; attacking is particularly difficult. Eclipse still has three outposts this week. To capture points, we can only attack.]

[Isn’t the command still with Ren Xiaoyao? Last week’s battle was terrible. The Autumn God was continuously ambushed three times, and we lost the Summer God point as well. It’s infuriating.]

[Who was in charge last week?]

[Who else? It was BrokenOracle and his group.] 

[Why do you all have this attitude just because we lost a point? Isn’t it normal to have wins and losses in games?] 

[I worked hard to capture resources. I don’t want to lose in the capture battle again. The rewards are doubled next week. If we don’t win this week, I’ll end up with lower-tier rewards next week. How can I not be anxious?]

The lively discussions in the faction channel continued for a long time, until 6:30 in the evening when the capture battle roster was announced. The arrangement was still made by Ren Xiaoyao. The battle channel was opened, and the list of a thousand participants entered the battle channel, with control of the channel falling into the hands of Ren Xiaoyao and Haitang.

“Everyone is really angry today,” Strawberry from Fruit Platter said. “Oracle, what’s the plan for today?”

“Defend the Winter God and recapture the Summer God point,” Haitang spoke for BrokenOracle. “We are familiar with the terrain around the Summer God point; it was a regular point for us before. Capturing the Summer God point would be advantageous.”

The Four Divine Beasts—Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter—each provided a different faction buff. Once an outpost was captured, the buff would benefit the faction players holding that outpost, lasting from 12:00 AM Monday to 7:00 PM Sunday. The Spring God’s healing buff enhanced healing effects, the Summer God’s high attack buff improved attack effects, the Autumn God’s chaos buff increased control effects, and the Winter God’s immortality buff provided defensive effects.

Originally, the Abyss faction held both the Summer and Winter outposts, which was very advantageous for them. However, losing the Summer outpost last week meant losing the attack bonus, making the faction resource battles very difficult over the past few days.

“Has everyone arrived? Adjust the roster for those who haven’t entered the channel or the team,” BrokenOracle said. “We will use the old method. There will be 20 teams in total, with 5 teams defending the outposts. The defense command will be given to Strawberry from the Fruit Platter. Players from teams 11 to 15 should join Strawberry’s command channel, and the rest will follow me to the Summer God point.”

There were 1000 people, divided into 20 teams of 50 each.

BrokenOracle led the main attack team.

As the overall commander, BrokenOracle could see detailed personnel arrangements for each team from his perspective interface. He focused on the team channel for a long time until he spotted two familiar names in Team 18. He immediately informed the team leader, “I’m temporarily reassigning teams.”

Su Mo had just joined the team when he found himself pulled into the command channel. His and Yu Zhen’s positions were moved from their original team to Team 2, the main attack team.

During faction battles, there were multiple sub-channels in the command channel. The command channel previously had only a few people, consisting of the main commanders and team leaders. Originally, there were 20 people, but now it had increased to 22.

He and Yu Zhen had been added.

“Oracle, who are these?” someone in the command channel asked.

BrokenOracle replied, “External advisors, Momo and UnchainedWonderer.”

“No way? Momo?” Watermelon exclaimed upon seeing a familiar face. “When did you bring Momo in?”

Neither of them entered using their main accounts. BrokenOracle had assigned two new accounts—Su Mo was using an assassin account, and Yu Zhen was on a marksman account.

Seeing this, Su Mo said, “Watermelon? What a coincidence. Which team are you on?”

Watermelon, hearing the different voice but with the same unsettling tone, felt goosebumps rising.

Strawberry said, “He’s leading the assassin team.”

Su Mo looked at his position, which was somewhat distant from Watermelon, and replied, “Well, that’s unfortunate.”

Watermelon was speechless. No, he did not find it fortunate at all.

Most people in the command channel recognized momo and UnchainedWanderer, as they were well-known figures on the leaderboard with notable reputations. However, these two had rarely participated in faction wars. It was the first time anyone had seen them in a capture battle since the faction war mechanics had been introduced.

“Wait a minute… ReturnToSimplicity, weren’t you playing as a marksman in the Eclipse faction’s capture battle last week?” one of the marksmen asked.

Su Mo was surprised, “You participated in the capture battle last week?”

Yu Zhen replied, “You were out with your auntie and them when CloudTraveller called me to help.”

Others were confused, “…??”

Wait a minute, how did this topic suddenly come up? Should they say something?

Su Mo vaguely remembered that he hadn’t joined that day. It seemed Yu Zhen had mentioned going to help out.

The conversation wasn’t over yet. Yu Zhen asked the marksman, “Are you so focused on me?”

One Arrow explained, “I have a lot of respect for the elder brother…”

Su Mo replied, “Oh, then you must have excellent basic vision.”

One Arrow was puzzled and asked, “What do you mean?”

Others were speechless.

“Don’t you understand?” Apple, well-versed in such matters, said, “In a chaotic battle with so many people, noticing that ReturnToSimplicity participated a couple of weeks ago and paying such close attention, that indicates pretty good vision, doesn’t it?”

One Arrow realized, “Stop! That’s not what I meant!”

But was that the point? The main issue was the big shots running around!

During the New Year, it was widely known that ReturnToSimplicity and UnchainedWanderer were the same person. ReturnToSimplicity was with the Eclipse faction, while UnchainedWanderer was with the Abyss faction. It was unusual for a major alt account to be in two different factions. Just two weeks ago, ReturnToSimplicity had been helping CloudTraveller fight against Abyss, and now, this week, he was using a marksman to help Abyss fight against Eclipse!

“He’s not that kind of person; you don’t need to worry,” BrokenOracle said. “Momo, the battle starts at 7 p.m. We plan to focus on capturing the Summer God point first. However, due to the resource disparity, it might be tough to secure it. What’s your plan?”

“UnchainedWanderer will join you,” Su Mo said. “You can assign me to another team. I want to get a look at the terrain.”

This was also why he wanted the assassin account. The summoner lacked invisibility, and solo actions in such maps were easily spotted by enemy patrols. An assassin, on the other hand, with its invisibility, made solo operations much more convenient.

Su Mo thought that if he was going to help, he naturally needed to understand the current positioning of the Abyss faction and the actual map of the faction battle. Although BrokenOracle had provided most of the information, knowing it in theory wasn’t the same as having a clear understanding of the real situation.

BrokenOracle and the team had extensive battle experience and their own strategies for dealing with the Eclipse faction.

Su Mo was clear on the resource battles, but for the capture battles, he needed more time to familiarize himself.

“Assassins usually operate with mobility. You should join Watermelon’s team; you know him well. If you encounter any issues, you can communicate with him,” BrokenOracle said, assigning Su Mo to Watermelon’s team.

Su Mo replied, “Okay.”

Watermelon was speechless. How did it end up back with him again!?

Before 7 p.m., the team quickly completed the adjustments. Aside from those in the command channel, the other players in the battle channels did not notice the subtle changes within the team. After all, it was common for commanders to adjust the team composition based on personnel before each battle, so personnel changes were routine.

After Su Mo joined the team, he heard two types of voices: one was the casual chatter from the assassin mobility team, and the other was BrokenOracle’s instructions in the command channel. He turned down the volume of the assassin team’s chatter while familiarizing himself with the assassin’s skills and paying close attention to BrokenOracle’s directives.

At 7 p.m., Su Mo was pulled into the faction capture battle map.

The resource battle in faction wars took place in the outdoor areas of Celestial Horizon’s main map. In contrast, the capture battle used a newly created map, omitting the extra parts of Celestial Horizon’s map. This new map was smaller in area and focused on the four key capture point zones.

As soon as they entered the map, the team quickly followed the commands and took action.

Su Mo followed the assassin mobility team, listening to the commands and observing the map.

In simple terms, the capture battle map was a combination of the four seasonal locations: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Each area was characterized by its associated faction’s weather, and the map bore some resemblance to the dungeon maps from the Spirit of the Four Seasons quest. The spring map featured mostly flat terrain, the summer map had lakes and mountains, the autumn map included forests and buildings, and the winter map was a snowy expanse, each with its own distinct features.

The Four Divine Beasts’ points were located at the centers of the four maps. Capturing these points involved two sides: attackers and defenders. The previous week’s point holders became the defenders, tasked with repelling the attackers. Defenders needed to protect their faction’s boss; if the attackers killed the faction boss, the point’s monument would begin to change color. After 15 minutes, it would fully turn to the attackers’ faction, marking the point as captured and ending the contest for that point.

In simple terms, there were two rules:

1. During the capture battle, the attackers needed to kill the boss and hold the point for 15 minutes to capture it. Each point in a faction capture battle could only change ownership once; once taken, it couldn’t be reclaimed. If the attackers succeeded in capturing a point, the contest for that point would end early.

2. The defenders needed to prevent the attackers from killing the boss. Even if the boss was killed, as long as they cleared enemy players from the monument’s vicinity within 15 minutes, the monument would stop changing color. When the capture battle ended, the point would remain under the control of the defenders.

For the Abyss faction, the only point they needed to defend was the Winter God’s. Their goal was to reclaim the highly advantageous Summer God’s point. The Summer God’s attack buff had always been a key target for both factions. The challenge was that the defenders had an advantage with their respawn points being closer, making it easier for them to provide support even after dying. Thus, capturing points had always been a very difficult task.

Last week, it was the [Instant Revival] buff that allowed the Eclipse faction to perform crucial counterattacks at the key moment, not choosing other respawn points but reviving on the spot, which ultimately allowed them to capture the Summer God’s point from the Abyss faction.

At the start of the game, BrokenOracle led 15 teams towards the Summer God’s point, leaving 5 teams to defend the Winter point. When they reached the vicinity of the Summer God’s point, BrokenOracle made adjustments in advance, sending two mobile teams to the Autumn God’s point.

Watermelon’s assassin team happened to be among them.

Su Mo understood BrokenOracle’s strategy immediately upon seeing this arrangement. Winter had to be defended, and Summer had to be captured. The Eclipse faction would certainly be aware of this, so the defense at the Summer point would be the most rigorous. Everyone wanted the attack buff, and with BrokenOracle aiming to capture it, Eclipse would undoubtedly put up a strong defense, likely making it a long battle on the Summer map.

Realizing this, BrokenOracle had decided to send mobile teams to scout the Autumn God’s point. If the Eclipse faction’s defenses at the Summer point were too tight, he would have the mobile teams attempt to capture the Autumn God’s point. This could alleviate some of the pressure on the Summer point and, with luck, secure the Autumn God’s point as well.

This strategy was quite logical and a necessary choice at that stage.

The Abyss faction desperately needed to capture new points, or the accumulation of disadvantages would continue into the next week.

“Is it a bit stable today?”

“Yes, yes. I feel like the main force is under a lot of pressure. With three points, Eclipse will definitely focus on defending Summer. I’m not sure how many people they’ve spread out across Spring and Autumn points. There are a lot of people, and our team might not be able to overpower them.”

“The main force will definitely make a push. Summer has to be captured.”

“Exactly. Without the Summer God’s buff in the wild this week, it’s been really frustrating. I almost got killed several times just a few hits away.”

“We should try to lure more people over to help relieve the pressure on the main force.”

Watermelon, leading the mobile team, quickly moved towards the Autumn point. His team, an assassin squad, was responsible for stealthy actions, while a second team with both personnel and assault capabilities followed behind. With a total of 100 people in the two teams, they estimated that it would take 4 to 5 minutes to kill the boss with their firepower. However, the opposing faction would not give them the chance to attack full force, so they would have to push through defenses and take even longer to kill the boss.

As Su Mo listened to the commands from both sides, he decided to leave the crowd and slip into the mountains as the assassin team entered the range of the Autumn point.

“Hey, our team has fallen behind,” someone shouted from the assassin squad.

Watermelon, seeing that the person who fell behind was Momo, said, “It’s fine. We’ll proceed as planned.”

After entering stealth, the assassin’s movement speed increased. Once Su Mo entered the mountains, his main focus was on the routes from this side. The main force was taking a shortcut for a quick arrival, while Su Mo was following the main roads of the original Autumn map. He reached the base of the mountain, used his agility to climb swiftly, and soon arrived at a certain midway point of the Autumn map, where he could overlook the direction his teammates were heading.

He pulled out his drawing pad and quickly sketched out the paths through the mountains.

Even the shortest routes had been thoroughly checked.

BrokenOracle had studied the routes quite thoroughly, and for the mobile squad to launch a surprise attack, this route was indeed the best option. However, good routes would eventually be figured out by the enemy, and if this route was so convenient, it would naturally become a key defensive route for Eclipse…

While he was thinking, he heard voices.

The mobile squad had already engaged in battle; Eclipse had indeed set up defenses there.

Three squads… no, more than that.

Su Mo jumped to the midpoint of the mountain and saw the clash below. The mobile squad was fierce, but their defense was lacking. After an initial burst of activity, they were bound to face a lull, and with the enemy’s larger numbers, pressing into the boss point would be challenging.

“Damn it!!”

“Why are there so many people!?”

Watermelon’s voice came through the command channel, “Autumn God is heavily defended. Preliminary estimates suggest four squads; we can’t push through.”

Shortly after, Strawberry, who was stationed at Winter God’s point, also shouted, “There’s a raid at Winter. Three squads have arrived.”

…….

The outbreak was sudden, and the clash between both sides quickly intensified.

The Eclipse faction had played so many matches against Abyss. After Abyss lost the Summer God point, they immediately adjusted their strategy in response. Recognizing the importance of attack and control buffs, Eclipse had predicted BrokenOracle’s choices and prepared their defense meticulously, even sacrificing the Spring God point to focus on guarding the two key points.

And it just happened to be that they hit right into BrokenOracle’s plan.

Su Mo understood that even though BrokenOracle knew he was unfamiliar with faction battles, he still sought his help. Both factions were well-acquainted with each other’s command styles and predictions. Eclipse could anticipate Abyss, and Abyss could anticipate Eclipse. They were trapped in this framework, making it easier to fall into a passive state when at a disadvantage.

The battle began with a stalemate. BrokenOracle’s main force engaged at the Summer point, which was also held by the enemy’s main force, making it a fierce struggle. Meanwhile, Watermelon’s squad had not managed to break through and was unable to seek aid from other areas for the time being. Abyss faction was at a disadvantage in resources, affecting their revival counts, movement speed, teleportation options, and attack bonuses in the battle.

“I don’t understand. Why split into two teams to come here? Wouldn’t more teams be better?”

“Can we not circle around? We can’t get into the center position!”

“Wow, how many marksmen do they have over there? They’ve pushed us out!”

“Last week, we were buried by their teams several times here. Are we coming back this week just to continue getting beaten?”

“Two teams against four is tough. Commander, can we get another team over here?”

Watermelon said, “Of course it’s tough to handle, but can you not go for this point?”

They knew the enemy would defend, but they had to attack. BrokenOracle had anticipated this, but he couldn’t spare additional manpower. Despite the known difficulty, they needed to take on the pressure if they wanted to reclaim the point.

Watermelon continued, “Everyone fall back, watch my position, don’t rush in and get killed. We need to be strategic. Two teams against four can still work. If you have the courage, you can handle 1v2 situations. And not everyone left behind is a CloudTraveller. Follow my orders; if you can fight, you can win.”

“Commander, even half of CloudTraveller would be tough to beat.”

“I feel like I’m not an assassin; I’m a hedgehog shot through by marksmen.”

“Does our team have spies? It feels like they know wherever I go.”

Watermelon, with his experience, and Banana, who led a team working with him, managed to break through a defensive line with a flanking maneuver. But new problems quickly arose.

The boss of the autumn map’s stronghold was in a manor. To kill the boss, they had to enter the manor, but the Eclipse faction had occupied the key positions and used the height advantage from the rooftops to ambush them. The scattered assassins were quickly identified and eliminated by the marksmen. The team couldn’t advance, and single-handed infiltration proved to be a significant challenge.

Two teams against four was already a disadvantage. Not only were they unable to pressure the enemy to reallocate their forces, but they were also on the brink of collapse.

Watermelon shouted, “Banana, how’s your team? Can you make a push? Give us a chance. Clear a path so we can flank them.”

Old Banana sighed and replied, “Banana is dead and respawning. Can’t you use lightness skill to get in?”

Watermelon said, “Can’t get in. It’s heavily guarded.”

Watermelon made two more attempts to advance with his team, but the enemy marksmen seemed to anticipate their moves, launching precise barrages of arrows at critical points. Each time, they managed to drive them out, making progress impossible and retreat equally difficult. The situation was extremely frustrating.

In the end, Watermelon was defeated, and the entire team had to regroup and try again.

Watermelon looked at the darkened ID in his team and curiously checked the map to see his location. He found that the person had left the autumn stronghold and was wandering around the junction of the spring and summer strongholds. Despite knowing that this person was there to scout the terrain, Watermelon couldn’t help but hold onto a glimmer of hope.

Soon, he withdrew his gaze and continued to lead the team forward. This time, their attack made some progress, but the enemy still hadn’t redeployed forces from the summer stronghold. Their two teams remained locked in a stalemate with the enemy’s four teams.

Eclipse’s strategy was clear: three teams attacked the winter stronghold, two teams defended the spring stronghold, and fewer than four teams defended the autumn stronghold. The rest of their forces were fully engaged in the summer stronghold against the main force of Abyss faction.

On their side, five teams defended the winter stronghold, two teams attempted to capture the autumn stronghold, and the remaining thirteen teams were concentrated on the summer stronghold. But the summer stronghold was easy to defend and hard to attack…

Watermelon said, “Forget it. We need to hold our ground and draw their forces away.”

He had just communicated with BrokenOracle. It was difficult to reallocate their forces, and the fact that they were managing to hold their ground was already a significant advantage. At least the Eclipse faction had completely committed four teams to the summer stronghold.

“Now it’s up to the main force…” Banana said, “We’ve already been at it for over half an hour. We don’t know if they can manage to push through and kill the boss. We can only hold off four enemy teams at most. The support we sent from home will take time to arrive. We don’t even know what’s happening with the direct confrontation…”

“You can’t keep going like this.”

Suddenly, a voice appeared in the team chat.

“Hey? Who’s speaking?”

“Is that LittleYellowFish? Where have you been? Your ID is still hidden.”

“Yeah, we’re over here working our butts off, and you’ve gone up the mountain.”

LittleYellowFish was actually Momo’s assassin character.

An anxious Watermelon quickly realized what was happening. He checked the map and found that Momo had returned from the spring-summer junction and was now on a nearby hill.

“There are fewer than four enemy teams, but they are familiar with the map and are using its advantages to counter you,” LittleYellowFish continued, “Your tactics aren’t a problem; advancing or attempting flanking and ambushes are all valid approaches…”

“But you’re assassins. This kind of strategy wastes mobility. Even if you manage to push through, you won’t create a sense of crisis for the enemy. Their goal is simply to hold you off. As long as the monument doesn’t change color, they can continue to stall you indefinitely.”

“If you want to stall them, that’s precisely what they want, because from the start, they aimed to drag out the fight.”

Everyone understood the logic, but the key was how to execute the plan.

The two teams were at a disadvantage no matter how they fought. They could only hold back the four enemy teams, and couldn’t assist the main force engaged in the summer stronghold. If they left, the Eclipse faction members at the autumn stronghold would likely reinforce the summer stronghold. The current stalemate and divided battlefield helped alleviate some pressure on the main force.

However, their goal went beyond this. If the enemy had only three teams, they could push in and try to lure additional forces.

“Exactly, holding off two teams is already a feat. Luring more enemies is too difficult.”

“Didn’t your team miss last week? Have you forgotten the pain of being wiped three times outside the autumn stronghold mansion?”

“Seems like LittleYellowFish wasn’t there last week.”

“Sigh, having dreams is good, but dreams must align with reality.”

“If you could go over there and assassinate their marksmen, I’m sure we could get inside.”

“Don’t talk so much. If you have a plan, come and do it.”

“Alright.” Su Mo stood on the high ground, looking at the autumn boss’s mansion in the distance. “Give me 15 assassins, and I’ll help you get into the mansion. How about it?”