Once the shield wall fragmented into smaller units, the DarkSky guild’s tactics shifted from operating as a unified force to fighting as a collection of small, independent groups, with each of these groups developing their own dynamic strategy, adapting to the chaotic battlefield in their unique way.
A typical group consisted of 5-6 members, including one tank, two close-range damage dealers, a mage or support member, and a knight.
This balanced structure presented significant challenges to the attacking demons as athough the demons could overpower the close-range damage dealers in one-on-one combat, they struggled to break through the tank’s defenses and couldn’t afford to ignore the mage’s devastating attack power.
When combined with the knight’s timely interventions during crucial moments, the demons found themselves trapped in a situation where they were systematically overwhelmed, unable to exploit a single weakness in the opposing team.
However, this arrangement was effective only when these 5-6 member teams faced a maximum of two demons at a time as when confronted with multiple demons simultaneously, the entire group often met a brutal end.
Overall, the battle progressed smoothly for some teams, while others faltered, with the DarkSky guild gradually but surely losing ground to the relentless demon assault.
It was as if everything went downhill for the DarkSky guild once their initial formation crumbled and they exhausted their strategies, and were forced into a dog-fight against the demons.
Of course, there were exceptions— as fighters like Cervantez and Luke thrived in the chaos, with the two not only taking down numerous demons on their own but also saving many guildmates from certain death.
Apart from them, the average guild member saw an increase of 5-7 levels, while a few unfortunate souls failed to kill a single demon and perished early in the fight.
However, despite the ups and downs of the battle, in the end, both the DarkSky guild and young duke Jerome’s forces were forced to retreat from the top of Stonebridge Hill, as they made their way across the Massive Stonebridge, where they had no choice but to destroy the bridge to halt the advancing demon army.
Once the Stonebridge was destroyed, the demon army had no other route to chase after the retreating human forces, as although they had successfully captured Stonebridge Hill, they too had suffered significant losses and could not afford to recklessly chase the retreating enemy.
This forced the war to end, with both sides walking away with small gains and losses, as on one hand the demon side had finally captured Stonebridge Hill, gaining more ground against humans.
However, on the other hand they had lost tens of thousands of demons to do so, and while all of Dark-Sky guild members were going to come back to life, all the demons that died while killing them were going to stay dead forever.
************
( The human camp, Stonebridge Village, after the war )
Jerome was furious once the war ended in the defeat of the combined forces of the Western Duchy and Dark Sky guild, as he seethingly went looking for Luke.
The Stonebridge village had been converted into a large-scale medical center to treat the wounded after the war was over, as there were hundreds of soldiers who needed immediate medical attention if they had any shot at surviving.
Since the village itself was quite small, finding anyone amongst its now crowded space became a challenge, however, Jerome still managed to locate Luke, who was laughing and joking with Cervantez in a private tent.
“Skylion! You’re here–” said Jerome, as he placed his hands on his hips and looked at Luke with disappointment evident in his eyes.
“Jerome….. you look rough, are you okay?” Luke asked, as he noticed the horrifying bandage that Jerome had all over his face.
“No I’m not okay….. my nose was slightly chopped off by an enemy demon…. However, that’s not what I’m here for.
I’m here because you did not obey my order!” Jerome complained, as Luke immediately threw his hands in the air and shook his head.
“I’m sorry, Jerome but you can’t ask me to just throw my life away.
And if it was just me, I would have considered doing it. However, you asked me to throw BrownPuddings life with mine and that’s not okay” Luke said, defending his decision, as Jerome snickered in sarcasm.
“Your opponent in the finals of the grand tournament, ‘TheBoss’, recently killed a Demon Count on his own.
I’m sure you have heard about his feats in Thumba City.
If he can do it. You can too!” Jerome said as he tried to imply that it wasn’t his order that was suicidal, but rather it was just Luke who was too chicken to fight.
“Have you lost it Young Duke? Let alone SkyLion, not even your father can fight A Demon Count and he’s a master level fighter.
Also, I don’t appreciate you talking to my Vice-Guildmaster this way.
In-case you don’t understand, let me lay it out for you.
He fought hard today, just like you and has probably killed 5 times more enemies than you have.
Disrespect him much and I swear I’ll pull my entire guild from this village overnight and leave you alone to defend it” Cervantez said, as he stood up for Luke against Jerome who was being unreasonable with his demands.
“You’re the best fighter I know, SkyLion, if ‘TheBoss’ could do it….I genuinely thought you could too–” Jerome said, turning his back as he started to walk towards the tents exit, not wanting to escalate this debate anymore.
Luke too said nothing, as he knew that Jerome was probably just looking to vent somewhere for this defeat and had came to him as a friend, however, he did not like the accusatory tone that he walked here with.
“Sorry man, but I’m not ‘TheBoss’….” Luke muttered under his breath, as although Jerome could not hear it, Luke felt it necessary to be said.
He wasn’t scared to fight a Demon Count, he was just practical enough to know that he wasn’t strong enough to take one out yet.