1222: Might of a Guild

Might of a Guild

...…

It was already late at night when the guild war ended. And it was quite an eye-opener for Shin, who just joined the gaming community recently.

He knew that the forces from a powerful guild were very strong, but what he had seen from the broadcast was pretty much overwhelming.

He had already seen the force of a top-class guild and even fought against them himself, so he was very familiar with how strong they could but.

Starting from the HeadHunter Guild that he had first encountered to the Hydra Guild and their alliances, to the forces of the Central Order and Undying Guild during the incident in the Blind Abyss Empire, to the Corrupted Cult, and up to the sweepers of the Pandemonium Descendants – all of them were much stronger than what he had expected.

He thought that he had already grasped the strength of these guilds since he clashed against them for quite some time. He had also seen what the Hand of Midas Trading Firm could do despite being known as a Merchant and Lifestyle Guild.

He had thought that he already experienced the real strengths of these Powerhouses within the game.

But he immediately realized how naïve he was when he saw the live broadcast of the war between the Central Order and the Hydra Guild.

Huge troops, cavalry units, archery units, mage units, support groups, thieves squadron, and assassination teams – he had seen quite a number of organized groups within the army of each side, which were led by powerful individuals.

Based on what he had heard from the others, those leading figures were Godlike Players with solid prestige or Maverick Gods that were only known in the expert's circle.

Shin had realized that he had yet to see the real capabilities of these powerful guilds.

Aside from that, he had also seen them using some advanced tools during the war along with sieging weapons and machinery.

He could clearly see how strong these Powerhouses could be when they decided to get serious. This made him realize what a real 'guild' could be. He even started to doubt whether their small elite group could face such a large army.

He started to understand the limitations that a powerful individual could have. He also realized the limited strength that an elite group could possess.

But realizing that and being convinced to create their own force was a completely different matter. Even though he knew that it would be impossible for them to face such an army by themselves in the future, Shin was still confident that they would not lose that badly.

After all, both Arthur and Leonard had become a legend within the game due to them obliterating an entire force from powerful guilds by themselves.

Even though they could not fight them head-on, he was sure that those guys would still hesitate to fight them since the consequences would be much larger than they could afford.

Moreover, there was also the Hand of Midas backing them, so Shin was not that concerned. If these Powerhouses, the Central Order and the Hydra Guild, possessed such a force, then the Hand of Midas would surely be no weaker than them given that it was also among the top forces within the game.

As one of, if not, the wealthiest guild within the game, Shin refused to believe that the Hand of Midas was inferior to them.

Thinking about that, Shin thought that he had to invest in the guild more and help Shiella in the future.

Aside from the forces of the two guilds, Shin was also impressed by the top combatants of each side.

The 'Heads' of the Hydra Guild showed that they could not be messed with. Shin could already see how strong they were even without the help of any kind of Secret Mechanics within the game.

Even though he was confident in himself, he was not sure if he could win easily against these top experts. At most, there would be an intense struggle before he emerged victorious.

On the other side, the 'Order of the Knights' of the Central Order was not that weak either. They were comparable to the forces of the opposing side, putting up a good fight.

Watching the battles between these top experts, Shin was able to pick up a few tricks and learned a couple of moves that he could use in battle.

He could see how experienced these experts were, so it would not hurt to learn a thing or two from them.

During the battle, Shin was discussing with the rest of the group. They were exchanging insights and voicing out their thoughts about the battle.

With this, Shin also realized this kind of discussion could also help him in his progress in both Mentalism and Martial Paths. He was able to share some of his insights and learned a few things from the others.

He thought that this must be why those old experts were discussing martial arts or mentalism rather than fighting against themselves.

Yet another discovery made Shin realize that an individual could not do everything.

Realizing this fact, Shin planned to have this kind of discussion with the others from time to time in the future. As long as they had time, he would suggest they exchange martial insights with words rather than doing more sparring matches.

The other thing that made Shin interested in this guild war was the strategists of each side. He could tell that they were quite experienced veterans of war.

Even though Shin was confident with his commanding skills due to him playing «War Tactics» Online before, he still felt that he would not win overwhelmingly against the strategists of the two guilds.

The person behind the movements of the army of the Central Order seemed to be well-versed when it came to orthodox military tactics. They seemed to be very knowledgeable when it came to battle formations and strategical movements.

Even though Shin felt that this person followed the basic tactics in the book, he could still feel that they were quite skilled when moving the entire army.

The only problem that Shin could see from this strategist was they were not too keen on reading the traps that their enemies had laid for them. They were vulnerable when it came to unexpected circumstances since they were relying on the 'book strategy' a little too much.

In the meantime, the person controlling the army of the opposing side was completely opposite.

Based on what Shin had seen, the strategist of the Hydra Guild was not knowledgeable when it came to the overall moments of their troops. But they possessed sharp eyes and were able to read the overall situation of the entire battlefield.

There were no particular patterns nor battle formations in their movements, but they were able to repeatedly fight against the opposing side on equal terms.

Moreover, the strategist seemed to be relying too much on the overwhelming strength of their leading generals, who were at the forefront of each battlefield.

Shin could instantly tell at that time that this strategist was very similar to him when he was just starting to play «War Tactics» Online.

They were someone who relied too much on their intuition when moving their troops. An instinctive type of general.

Even though they had an advantage against their counterpart, their forces would still suffer immense losses if they continued this exchange.

In the entire battle, Shin was telling the group how each strategist was moving their forces and what kind of trap each side laid for their opponents.

He kept on reading their movements as if they were an open book, impressing both Jillian and Molton, who first realized how good Shin was when it came to this kind of strategic battle.

In the end, Shin predicted that the winner of the war would be the Hydra Guild because the strategist of the Central Order was too conservative. They had stubbornly persisted in using the strategy by the book, which the opposing side would take advantage of.

The battle continued for a few more minutes at that point, but it still ended up with the same result as Shin had predicted – the Hydra Guild had won with a very slight advantage in the end.

"If the strategist of the Central Order is not stubborn, then they should be the ones celebrating their victory instead," muttered Shin with a sigh.

Arthur shook his head and said. "Since the Hydra Guild have won, then that means they will be taking that 'piece of land' and turning it into their territory."

"Tsk! Tsk! These guys sure are lucky. They have already pulled out their forces from the Saint Heaven Kingdom and retreated, yet they still win a territory that is completely under their control," he added while shaking his head.

In the meantime, Cloe was thinking about a whole other topic. "Hey, Shin. Can you prepare something simple for us? It is already late night, but we are quite hungry."

Shin turned to her and the pitiful look that her eyes were showing. He then turned to the others and realized that they were mimicking her actions.

He then chuckled and nodded his head.

When the group saw that, they could not help but jump in joy. Even the Potter twins could not hide their excitement. Ever since the time they had first tasted Shin's cooking, they could not take it from their minds and wanted to taste more.

He was much better than the chefs from the hotels and restaurants that they had visited. He was comparable with the top chefs who were famous in the culinary industry.

While Shin was preparing their midnight snack, Arthur suddenly asked the group. "What are you guys going to do tomorrow after our afternoon classes?"

"What do you mean?" asked Jillian with a frown. She was just planning to do her usual routine. Go for extra training since they could not play the game before heading to bed.

Arthur thought for a moment before replying. "I mean-… the game will be undergoing their regular maintenance for Monday and Tuesday, so we are pretty much free from anything during that period."

"Unless you have any assignments from your respective departments – how about we do some club activities?" he added.

"Club activities?" muttered Lorraine before asking Arthur to continue.

"I mean-… we are not even a proper band yet, so we have to do some rehearsals or such during our free time," said Arthur before continuing. "We can't just head on the stage and perform whatever we want before messing up due to our lack of practice, right?"0

Shin, who was preparing in the kitchen, could tell that Arthur had some sort of hidden motive. But he did not expose the latter either and supported the idea instead. After all, what this guy was saying was pretty reasonable.

Even though he had already thought of his plans for those days, he could still change it since it had yet to be finalized. "I agree with him. It is a good time for us to get familiar with each other and work out our synergy. I think that it is a good idea."

Hearing those words from Shin, the others did not reject the idea.

"Alright, count me in," said Leonard in a nonchalant manner. As long as the two were on it, he would follow them. "But I did not bring my saxophone with me since I am supposed to train in this region. I left it in my home."

"Don't worry about that. We can handle such a small problem," said Arthur, telling Leonard not to worry.

Despite being a little suspicious, Lorraine nodded her head and agreed. "Just tell me the location and I will be there."

She was not sure what Arthur was planning, but as long as Leonard was around, she would be fine.

Cloe also nodded her head in excitement as this would be the first time that they would be playing instruments together since middle school.

Alice hesitated for a moment before agreeing. She even volunteered to book a venue for them. "Then let's use one of my studios here in the Ace City. We can use it however we want."

She then paused for a moment before messaging someone. "I will contact my manager now."

Jillian and Molton did not know what to do. But after seeing that everyone was excited, they turned their heads to each other before nodding.

Then Jillian turned to the group and said. "Then, count us in too!"

...…

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