The Raon Alliance began to lose a lot of ground.

The Black Lion, Raon, stared furiously at White Lion's Lion Heart, and Black Sword's Lee Tan. They were the biggest reason the tide was turning against them.

The two guilds had made up a large portion of the Raon Alliance, so their betrayal gave the power advantage to the Hegang Alliance.

Moreover, the more time passed, the more dangerous the Phoenix and the Steel Golems became.

The Wyvern Squad and the Raon Alliance's elites fought against them, but they were struggling.

Raon's power and his leadership ability outstripped the Hegang Alliance's leaders, but even he couldn't make up for the shift in power.

However, Raon's expression remained calm, with no signs of unrest. He still had a card he had yet to play.

'She should be here soon.'

The Raon Alliance fought back, killing any enemy in their way, and waited for her arrival.

How much time had passed?

"Ugh." Magma, who'd transformed into the Incarnation of Hellfire, cried out. At the same time, the flames coating his body slowly began to die down.

He had fought valiantly, but he could no longer withstand the Hegang mages' concentrated assault.

Once their captain died, the Lava Squad crumbled.

The Steel Golems, the traitorous Black Sword Guild, and the Hegang Alliance's troops mercilessly slaughtered the Lava Squad.

Then...

All of a sudden, black clouds obscured the blue sky, and droplets of rain began to fall onto the battlefield.

"This is...?"

Hegang's mages could smell the mana within the raindrops.

This wasn't naturally occurring rain. Someone had caused it!

"Guaaahk!"

"Ugh."

Rain and lightning! It was a frightening combination. The only ones affected by it, however, were the members of the Hegang Alliance.

Whoever cast the rain and brought down the lightning was on the Raon Alliance's side!

"O-Over there!" Someone pointed at the Red Thorn Forest. People instinctively turned their heads in that direction.

"T-That's..."

There was a small hill in-between the Ekrast Plains and the Red Thorn Forest. There were people gathered on top of it.

"I-It's Helena! Numbers rank 5! The Witch of Annihilation, the most powerful mage, and the original owner of the Ecle Palace!"

"Aah, it's her. It's Helena!"

"Helena! It looks like she's being accompanied by the Witch's Forest."

The correspondents yelled.

That's right.

How many mages existed that were capable of making it rain on such a massive scale, and then strike one's enemies with lightning? And if we narrow it down even further, including only players, then...

Helena!

She was the only player capable of such a feat.

Of course, she wasn't strong enough to do it herself.

Using Mana Link, she was continuously supplied with her guild members' MP and Magic.

To add to that, she had used Double Casting and Overload, allowing her to use Exploding Lightning and other such powerful spells on such a large scale.

Anyhow, her sudden appearance, as well as her killing the Hegang Alliance's mages, was a welcome sight for the Raon Alliance, and a catastrophe for the Hegang Alliance.

"Helena is on our side! Shout out in victory!" Raon yelled.

Helena wanted to take revenge on the Hercules Guild, and Raon wanted to weaken Hercules' forces.

The two came to an understanding, so they temporarily joined forces.

"Uwooooh!" the Raon Alliance yelled forcefully. To think that one of the Numbers had joined them as an ally! How could they not feel good about this!?

"That bitch." Shion gritted his teeth and scowled. "Phoenix, burn them all to ash!"

Then, the Phoenix flew towards the hill where Helena and her guild members were standing.

In response, Helena unleashed two spells at the Phoenix.

Ice Drill!

Vortex Spear!

A sharp piece of ice, and a fiercely spinning stream of water, resembling Poseidon's trident, struck the Phoenix head-on.

Helena, who was using Mana Link, Double Casting, and Overload, and was also being protected by her guild members, could match the Phoenix blow for blow.

She continually cast giant, powerful spells at the Phoenix.

God of Thunder's Axe, Monster Bird's Wind, Ice Storm, Great Tsunami, Absolute Zero!

Roar!

The Phoenix responded in kind, unleashing all the power it could muster.

Sun Wing, Eternal Flame, Burning Catastrophe, Flaming Sunset!

"Aah! What exactly is..."

"This is amazing!"

"It's the match of the century!"

The correspondents couldn't help but praise the fight. After all, Helena continuously cast powerful, showy spells one after another, all of which were different elements.

Despite that, the Phoenix's flames didn't go out. On the contrary, they became even more intense.

They were dead even!

'Dead even' was a truly accurate way of describing Helena's fight with the Phoenix.

"Now, Wyvern Squad!"

While Helena kept the Phoenix busy, the 50 remaining Wyvern Riders would begin attacking the surface.

They no longer remained in formation. Instead, they flew around freely and spewed their Poison Breath everywhere they could.

"Ignore the wyverns, and focus on the ground troops first!" Arthand yelled. He wasn't prepared to tackle the wyverns. Thus, it'd be better for them to focus on the ground troops instead.

"Yes, sir!"

The Steel Golems stomped on the ground and swung their weapons. Whenever they were ready, the cannons would fire their cannonballs.

Fighting against Helena required a ton of energy.

Shion focused on supplying it with energy and maintaining his control over its mind, so he couldn't do anything else at the moment. The mages that were supplying him with mana couldn't do anything either.

Paton commanded the Hercules Guild in his stead.

"Poseidon's Fury, reinforce the right flank! Hades's Revenge, attack the Leopard Squad! We're this close to victory. Don't let it get away!"

Lacus, Excal, Light Rock, Duvalnetta, etc. Once the Hercules Guilds' high rankers began to take a more active role, the Breaker Guild's high rankers came out to meet them.

The Jairus Guild had joined with the Leopard Squad, and Jairus himself was standing side by side with Snow Flower, cutting through anyone in their way.

The Lava Squad had fallen, but the Steel Sword and Leopard Squads had been saved. Raon's main force was left intact too.

However, the battle was still unfavorable for the Raon Alliance. White Lion and Black Sword's betrayal was a huge blow.

"Mm." For the first time ever, Black Lion, Raon, furrowed his brow. He didn't have any more cards to play. "Now it's a battle of wills."

His heart burned with a fighting spirit. If the battle was unfavorable, then he could turn things around with willpower, determination, and grit!

Kuhang!

Lion's Roar!

His roar spread throughout the battlefield like a ripple.

"Let's go. Let's fight. And let's win!" Raon yelled. His overwhelming charisma gave his troops strength, and made his enemies afraid.

"Let's go. Let's fight. And let's win!"

"Uhaaahk!"

The Raon Alliance, especially the Breaker Guild, began fighting through pure anger and courage alone. They wouldn't back down until their HP hit 0!

"Don't panic! We have the advantage. Don't let them get to you, and just kill whoever is in your way! Victory is at hand!" Paton yelled. In terms of leadership, charisma, etc., Raon was much better.

Instead...!

"Paton is right. Victory is at hand. Follow me!" One of the Numbers, Arthand, was here too. His giant, over 2 meter tall body, acted as a pillar that they could lean upon.

"Uhaaahk!"

This war had gone on for more than 10 days. The end was approaching.

Everyone was in terrible shape. They had all died at least once, afflicting them with the death debuff, and they had run out of bandages and potions. Thus, they didn't have much HP or MP left. Their weapons broke and their armor shattered too.

Both sides stared at each other with bloodshot eyes. If they didn't have a weapon, then they'd use whatever was at their disposal, whether it be their nails or their teeth. So long as there was breath in their body, they would fight. If they couldn't move their bodies, then they'd curse or spit on their enemies.

"Die, die!"

"Die!"

"You crazy bastard!"

"You won't kill me!"

It was a dogfight. No one knew who would come out victorious. After all, this was the most intense, brutal battle thus far.

However...!

Rat-a-tat-tat!

All of a sudden, the ground shook, and healthy troops arrived on the Ekrast Plains. Their flags bore a raging whirlwind.

"I-It's the Storm Guild!"

"The Storm Guild!"

That's right. The Storm Guild had appeared on the Ekrast Plains.

'Why are they here?' Raon, Arthand, and Shion simultaneously thought.

Why, you ask? The Raon Alliance and the Hegang Alliance had signed a secret deal, stating that they wouldn't involve the Storm Guild.

It was a Sabra's Contract! The amount they'd have to pay if they went against the contract was tremendous! It was even larger than the war reparations.

'Are they prepared to pay the penalty?' Raon, Arthand, and Shion all thought the same thing. They assumed that the other side had violated the contract.

However, that was a complete misunderstanding.

Kang Oh was riding a horse beside the Storm Guild's leader, Hernandez.

"Hmm." Kang Oh stared at Hernandez and Han Seol, and recalled the events that happened the day prior.

* * *

The day before.

Kang Oh had come to the Storm Guild's mansion in Latnia City.

"Why are you here?" Hernandez saw him and snarled.

"I heard you lost to Dukeram."

Hernandez raised his eyes. "What!? I didn't lose."

"Really? If you'd have beaten him, then you would be in the Empire Guild's headquarters right now, not here," Kang Oh said.

Hernandez kept his mouth shut.

"What business do you have with us?" Han Seol asked, standing beside Hernandez.

"I have a business proposal."

"A business proposal? What kind?" Hernandez asked.

"Let me ask you this first. Do you think you'll be able to handle the Empire Guild?"

"We can. We're one of the 5 great guilds," Han Seol said.

"Of course." Hernandez nodded his head.

If they weren't confident that they'd be able to, then they wouldn't have attacked the Empire Guild in the first place.

"Then if I gave you the Hercules Guild's soul dungeons, would you be able to handle them too?" Kang Oh asked.

"What?" Hernandez widened his eyes. 'What are you talking about?'

"No," Han Seol quickly replied. She sure caught on quick.

"As expected, you wouldn't be able to handle both the Empire Guild and the Hercules Guild."

"For now, that is."

"What if the Hercules Guild was completely destroyed?"

Han Seol's eyes gleamed. "So you're saying we could possess the Hercules Guild's soul dungeons without fear of retaliation. But is that really possible? The Hercules Guild is one of the 5 great guilds. They won't fall so easily. Even if they experienced a disastrous defeat on the Ekrast Plains."

Han Seol spoke the truth. As one of the 5 great guilds, the Hercules Guild had the power and size to match.

"Indeed. But if they were to lose their support, would they still last?"

"Stop talking in circles and get to the point," Hernandez said.

"I stole six soul dungeons previously owned by the Hercules Guild's allies."

"Mm."

"I'm going to use this as bait to get them to turn their backs on the Hercules Guild."

"It won't be easy."

"That's why I need the Storm Guild. Completely annihilate the Hercules Guild. If you do, then they'll have no choice but to bite."

"Could you explain in more detail?"

"So..." Kang Oh began explaining his plan. The more he explained, the more Hernandez and Han Seol's eyes shined. "That's everything," Kang Oh said.

"Let's do it," Hernandez replied.

Han Seol covered her mouth with her hand, and thought things over. "We have to take this opportunity. This is our chance to greatly increase our forces before the Empire Guild strikes back."

Ultimately, she agreed to his proposal too.

"Then, shall we sign a contract?" Kang Oh grinned and pulled out a Sabra's Contract.

* * *

"Haha, they sure are having a blast."

Hernandez's words snapped him out of it, and he then stared at the battlefield.

The battle was being fought all across the Ekrast Plains!

Players filled the battlefield! He could clearly see Shion amongst them.

Kang Oh drew both of his demon swords, and pointed both of them at Shion simultaneously.

'You're mine!'