Once Sally finished eating, she headed out with Chrome and Kanade in tow.
“Will this next fight end things?” Chrome wondered aloud.
“I think it’s very likely. What’s the plan, Sally?”
Kanade took a few grimoires from the shelves floating behind him.
If they were trying to settle things, he had plenty of cards up his sleeves. He’d run out of defensive skills, but he still had plenty of offense remaining.
“Depends on how things go. Total numbers on each side will be critical, and it’ll end in an assault on one of our castles.”
“True. If I run through the grimoires too fast, I’ll be helpless by that point.”
“Pain’ll bust out a big gun before our small stuff does anything. It’d be better if we waited for that.”
Before heading out to the field, they took stock of the total number of players remaining.
They’d avoided taking major casualties from the enemy’s big moves in the fight the previous day, and after the smaller nighttime skirmishes, their side had the numbers advantage. Now they just had to keep from losing that advantage, which meant eliminating any chance of that now.
“Kanade, you got any detection skills left?”
“I do. The Order’s members were handling that last night.”
“Great. Let’s go make sure they haven’t placed any items around. I’d also like to make sure there aren’t any players in hiding that snuck up on us under the cover of night.”
In a large-scale battle, the main damage dealers would be mages, with their spells cast from a distance and dealing heavy AOE damage.
Sally and Chrome were both great at one-on-one fights, but their options were limited in an all-out war.
However, this next battle was set to have both sides going all-in. If an ambush took out a row of cannons, their whole army would be in trouble.
“Our foes aren’t gonna take this sitting down.”
“Nope, so stay alert. We could get hit at any time.”
“We’re counting on you to protect us if that happens.”
“Will do! I’ll keep you both safe.”
They made the rounds outside the castle, checking for anything out of place or any lurking foes. This was the final round of checks before the war began.
✦ ✦ ✦
Meanwhile, in the Order of the Holy Sword’s base, a similar discussion was taking place. Thanks to their sheer numbers, however, they needed to be much more specific about planning than Maple Tree.
In short, the Order had formed alliances with several other guilds and were coordinating their efforts.
Those allied guilds’ remaining forces and preferences would play a big part in deciding their plans.
Whether on offense or defense, if their side was not on the same page at this critical juncture, it would be that much harder to win.
“Paaaain! How’re things shaping up?”
“Good. Most guilds agree this will be the decisive battle.”
“Huh, well, we do have a numbers advantage.”
“Exactly. Everyone wants to press that advantage before any fatal mistakes are made.”
They’d weathered them once, but Mii and Velvet’s super AOEs were still a terrifying threat. If their enemy landed those properly, they’d be the ones trailing behind.
Everyone wanted to consider every contingency and minimize their opportunities to use those skills.
“Well, if it goes that way, fine! Best to charge in when everyone’s game.”
“Which brings it down to our enemy’s plans.”
The Order knew their first move. Buff everyone, use Frederica’s Multi-Transfer, then out goes the holy sword.
Simple, yet powerful. Nothing better.
“What do you say? Should I throw Mana Ocean on top of it?”
“If we’re pushing through, it’s not a bad plan. But…I have a concern, and I’d like your input.”
“Hmm? Shoot.”
Pain ran it by her, and Frederica had to think about it.
“Riiiight…yeah, that sounds nasty.”
She mulled the problem over for a minute, then explained her thinking.
“How’s this?”
When Pain heard her proposal, he nodded. It was settled.
“Let’s do that. It’s merely one possibility out of many, but we’d better share it with the other guilds.”
“Roger! No use being too timid, right? And that plan would take real guts.”
They set about contacting the other guilds and hammering out the details.
Nothing harder than turning an advantage into an actual victory, so they needed to make sure they hadn’t missed anything. Like Maple Tree, Pain and Frederica were leaving no stone unturned.
✦ ✦ ✦
As the second massive battle approached…
On the other team, Ignis landed on the outer walls of the watery nature town.
They, too, were verifying the safety of the area around their base.
“Thanks, that sped things up quite a bit,” Wilbert said, hopping off Ignis. He could search for enemies far faster and more accurately than anyone on the other side, and that gave them peace of mind. After all, it merely required a quick circuit around the battlefield on Ignis’ back.
“It certainly is useful.”
“All right, no one out there and no traps laid. We’re good to go.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
They knew Maple and company would come at them from the fore. They’d have to be ready.
Back in town, they found Lily and Velvet waiting.
“Will, anything?”
“Negative. All clear.”
“Good, then let’s finalize our plans.”
Flame Empire, Thunder Storm, and Rapid Fire’s actions were the core of their strategy.
“We’ll set the plan into motion once the predetermined conditions are met.”
“And if that doesn’t happen, that’s totally fine.”
“Precisely.”
“Still, if we find our forces slowly draining away, this plan will get much harder to pull off. If we’re really going through with it, we’ll have to grit our teeth.”
“True! Okay, will do.”
Velvet slapped herself on the cheeks at Mii’s point, putting her game face on.
“Be careful in the thick of combat. An accidental death will ruin this before we even begin.”
With that last reminder, they waited for the outbreak of hostilities. Everyone wanted to hit hard and fast, closing the numbers gap before their foes could make it worse.
Their motives may have differed, but both sides were eager for war.
And that made it inevitable. The event gimmick simply provided the stage.
All four leaders made sure they’d be ready for it.