With the two first groups formed, the players spent ten minutes preparing their respective sides of the field with the help of Panda and some soldiers, who provided them with a limited amount of materials and weapons to use. Panda helped carry walls and obstacles as the defensive side tried to come up with a good setup while Tricky handed the other team their weapons. They weren’t just using wooden swords anymore; they had at their disposal different types of blades, axes, bows, shields, and even spears, all of which were made out of wood and looked like they had been worn out in battle, so they didn’t even pose a threat to the students. They still hesitated to pick up their weapons, but as they had little time to prepare, they grabbed whatever they saw and continued discussing their strategies.
The first match took a while to begin, giving the other students in the audience time to begin coming up with ideas as well. But as most of them had no prior knowledge of battle and real combat, they couldn’t even imagine how a game like this would play out. Scott did seem to have an idea, being able to figure out what the defensive side was trying to accomplish as they set up a large wall made of logs and wooden planks. In reality, Panda did all the work, but as he didn’t struggle to lift heavy objects, he was able to keep up with the players’ disorganized orders as they tried to create the perfect line of defense to secure the win. They still weren’t sure about their strategy, but as Panda used the last materials at their disposal, the preparation time had finished.
The offense couldn’t decide on what to do as well, having to watch the other side to determine what would be the best course of action, trying to adapt their strategy to their opponent’s base layout, which looked massive yet barebones. The defense spent a good two minutes thinking before settling on a simple design; a large wooden box at the very end of the field, as far away as they could be from the other side. They had completely sealed themselves, except for the roof, though they did try to cover themselves with a couple of leftover planks.
They had also set up another wall in front of their base for more protection, though they didn’t have enough logs to cover the entire width of the field, allowing their opponent to easily walk around it to reach their base. To make up for the variety in their defense, they were handed bows with lots of arrows, which had their sharp tips padded with what looked like small sacks of dirt or sand, so they weren’t as deadly, though it looked like none of the players had enough experience with their weapons to be able to use them correctly. Regardless, their simple base looked strong and stable enough to withstand any attack, and as they were trapped inside, the offense had to think hard of a way to break in.
The time had run out, and while the defense practiced using their weapons, the offense reconsidered their weapon selection at the very last second. They tried changing some of their short swords and bows for stronger-looking weapons, switching them for axes, long swords, and spears. Despite looking cool and menacing with their weapons, they were just as inexperienced as their opponents and could barely hold them, especially one student who chose an axe as it had a stone head that was quite heavy. But since they couldn’t go back now, they were left to practice for a few seconds as they walked to their starting positions.
Since they could only respawn behind the middle line of the field, they had to choose wisely where they would position themselves. Each member was given one tall wooden wall to use as cover and respawn safely, but they looked lackluster compared with the wide walls on the other side. Once they crossed the middle line, they would be vulnerable to anything since there was a large gap between them and the first line of defense of the enemy team.
To make up for this, the offense chose to set up their starting positions right behind the middle line to be as close as possible to the enemy and cut their respawn times, though they were still thirty feet from the barrier wall that the defense set up. They set up a wide wall to create a collective respawn point, but as they were still lacking in protection, Tricky handed one of them a big wooden shield. She gave it to Turtle, though, so everyone watching cracked up when they saw their tall, feeble, and nervous classmate trying to hold a sword and a shield at the same time. He wasn’t able to hold both, so he picked the shield right as Frost approached the playing field to declare the start of the game.
–Alright, everyone ready? The ten minutes are over, so when I give the signal, you will have five minutes to fight, but I expect a clean victory within one…– Frost announced indifferently, not showing much hope in either team as everyone in the field faced him with surprise and nervousness. None of them seemed prepared, but since they were already in position and holding their weapons, they didn’t have a choice. Panda, Tricky, and the other auxiliary soldiers left the field to join Frost and the audience at the bleachers. And as Panda pulled out a whistle to hand it to Frost, the students in the audience stopped chattering to pay attention to the game.
–Do you think their base will work? It looks a bit overkill…– Zoey whispered to Scott with concern, which he seemed to share as he noticed that the defense’s base consisted of tall walls that looked impenetrable. They were also smart enough to leave two players outside to act as guards, positioning themselves at each side of the barrier wall set up ten feet in front of the main base, blocking the only two paths the offense could take to attack as they possessed bows like the rest of their teammates. But despite being completely safe in their wooden box, the other three players stayed put at the top of their base with their bows, though they looked more relaxed than the other two that had to defend the flanks.
–I don’t know, but I have a feeling it won’t play out like they expected…– Scott replied with a skeptical look, staring at the offense intently as they continued discussing their plans behind their line of thin walls, gripping their weapons tight to ease their nerves. Scott was suspicious of their formation since they chose to form a wall that blocked their path, and while it looked like it would provide a safe place to regroup after respawning, it only allowed them to attack from two directions, limiting their offensive options. He seemed to think hard about different approaches they could take, but his focus quickly shifted once Frost blew the whistle to officially start the first match.
As soon as Frost gave the signal, the fear in each team was not only visible but was reciprocated by some of the audience. Everyone turned anxious as they began watching closely, with even Shane and his friends on edge to see how the game would play out. But while the rest of the class seemed more curious and entertained than anything, Zoey and Scott became the most observant, almost as much as Frost, who had the closest view of the game as he stood on the very limit of the field, analyzing the attitude of each player to determine which team would have the best chances of winning.
Out of both teams, the offense was clearly the most insecure about their strategy, as they spent about half a minute arguing behind their walls for someone to make a move. The clock was already ticking, and while their opponents waited patiently for them to start attacking, they became confused as to what they were plotting behind their starting walls. The offense’s captain seemed to be Turtle, who was yelling at his teammates to attack, but it looked like none of them had the courage to do it. They took so long to make a move that the two guards at the barrier just looked at each other in disbelief and then laughed nervously. But the fun and games were interrupted by a rather weak battle cry coming from the other side.
One of the attacking players began running straight to the barrier, rushing towards the guard on the left, with another following right after and heading for the other guard, but they immediately responded with multiple arrows. They fired repeatedly, and after missing a few shots, they managed to shoot them right on the stomach and chest, respectively, a mere five seconds after the player left their position. They didn’t even reach the halfway point to the enemy base, so the two attackers returned to their starting position disappointed and a little annoyed, walking back to their side without a hurry as they had seemingly already given up all hope.
As soon as they returned, they were once again yelled at by Turtle, who was constantly trying to get more members of his team to start attacking. They almost began fighting each other right there and then, confusing the audience and the enemy team but giving them something to laugh about. But as soon as they tried to make a move, they were scared back into their positions by a barrage of arrows. The other defenders from the base had joined, trying to shoot at their opponents from far away just for fun. They couldn’t hit anything except the dirt from such a distance, but it looked like the two guards in front had pretty good aim since they were able to land a shot on the attackers every time a body part peeked out.
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Knowing that they would be shot immediately upon entering their opponent’s sight, the attackers were now more scared than ever to even move. They kept arguing to create a new strategy, urging the captain to do something, but he never dared to even take a peek to assess the situation. And just like that, two and a half minutes had already passed. The offense continued fighting over what to do while the defense relaxed in their box, with only the two guards actually attempting to play the game as they remained alert in case their enemies made a sudden move. But since Turtle and his team were too scared to attack, the guards eventually got bored and began shooting in their general direction just to mess with them.
The audience quickly lost interest; they were desperate for some entertainment, with even Scott growing eager to see some action so he could create a strategy of his own. But since the defenders began cracking jokes at their base, with even the guards joining in and chatting, the other students took the opportunity to do the same. They began mocking Turtle’s team, especially Shane and his friends, who began yelling insults at them to get them to move. Still, nothing was driving the attackers to actually attack, to the point that Frost lost interest and just waited for the time to run out as he talked with Panda and Tricky.
But all of a sudden, another battle cry roared through the field, this time much more powerful and even genuinely alarming, catching everyone off guard. The audience noticed the offense was trying another rush, and even though they didn’t have high expectations for them after their previous failed attempts, this time was different. The attackers were committing to their move, with Turtle finally coming out of his shell and going all in with the rest of the team. All five players began charging at their enemies, which reacted after some delay, losing their focus and a bit of time as they grabbed their bows again. But while the attackers managed to run more distance this time, as soon as the guards began firing arrows, they secured a good position, trying to take out Turtle first, who held his shield high to block all of the incoming shots.
–That’s it, keep them busy!– Frost shouted at Turtle, unexpectedly showing some support that surprised him, distracting him for a second, but continuing to block some shots as his pace slowed down. He was still too afraid to push forward, especially with the two guards focusing fire on him, but as he stood in place in the middle of the field, drawing most of the arrows to him, he allowed his teammates to advance and reach the flanks of the barrier wall.
Seeing this, the guards panicked and stopped focusing on Turtle, trying to prevent the others from pushing any further. However, Turtle was on the move again, forcing one guard to keep him in check while the other defended the right flank. Turtle had to hold his shield in place to be able to take some powerful shots, as he was at a close distance from the guard on the left, who instilled some fear in him the more they shot at him. Turtle’s vision was blocked by his own shield, and even though he was right about to reach the first barrier, he couldn’t find it in him to keep advancing.
The guards’ move proved successful, as the one on the right was able to take out everyone while Turtle was distracted while the other kept pressuring him to yield. Since they had advanced more than half the distance of the field, the attackers lost a lot of time running back to their starting positions. But as they returned to the start to respawn, Turtle had no idea what was happening and just stood still, protecting himself with the shield like his life depended on it. He froze in place until his teammates started yelling at him just like he did to them before, but this time, they were encouraging him to stay in position and hold on until they respawned. He did exactly that, staying in the same place right in front of the guard, who looked just as scared as him to attack despite being a couple of feet away.
Once the other attackers had respawned, they ran back to Turtle, who was now getting shot at from all directions. The three defenders at the box began firing, but since the wall in front of them blocked their view of Turtle, they were only able to rain a few arrows in his general direction in the hope of hitting him. With the sound of arrows falling all around him overwhelming him, Turtle turned around to place his shield on his back and use it like an actual shell, as he couldn’t keep holding it and withstanding more arrows with just his arms. He was trying to struggle with both the guard in front and the three other defenders attacking him, but it forced his teammates to act quickly and push forward fast.
The defenders didn’t seem so relaxed now, despite still clearly winning. They began to hesitate on who to target, as Turtle was the closest threat to them, but his teammates were closing in fast. They were focused on defeating everyone and not giving them a chance to move, so they shot arrows over their base and the barrier to block their opponent’s path, though they didn’t aim at any of them, so most of their arrows didn’t even come close. The attackers had spread out to make it harder for the guard on the left to shoot at all of them right away. And while he still had good aim and reacted quickly, he was only able to take out two before one attacker with a spear went for the kill and struck him in the chest, finally taking one out.
But as the other defenders now focused on blocking their vulnerable left flank and the other guard singlehandedly kept Turtle away from the other flank, the attackers were left in a hopeless position as they took cover behind the barrier. They turned to his captain only to see that he wasn’t moving, and while they were close enough to help him out, they had a better opening on the left flank that they had to take now since they were running out of time. The audience noticed that they were in a hopeless position, but instead of laughing, they began cheering for the offense, or at least everyone but Shane’s group. Even Panda and Tricky showed support to get the attackers to push one last time, which actually encouraged Frost to join in as he was running out of patience.
–Come on, Turtle! Don’t just stand there, push! You won’t get anything done if you don’t keep pushing!– Frost shouted commandingly, sounding just as invested as the rest of the audience, though he was also annoyed to see that the attackers waited for the very last minute to make their move. At least his words got to Turtle, and as he gave him a direct order, he gathered all the courage he needed to start pushing.
With all the support from the audience and some coordination from his teammates, Turtle turned around again, now holding his shield with both hands as he tried to push back against the incoming arrow. At first, he couldn’t take all of the shots by himself as the defenders above shifted their focus back to him again. But once his teammates saw that he was pushing forward and giving them an opening, they didn’t hesitate to join him in their last effort to put up a fight. They came out of cover and rushed to the wooden box, where the defenders took a second to notice they were right at their feet and trying to knock down their walls. They began shooting down and fending off the attackers, taking only one out. But as they left the only guard at the barrier alone with Turtle, he had nowhere to go but back, where he found all three other attackers surrounding them.
The once slow Turtle turned faster than a rabbit as he ran full speed with his shield straight towards the guard, who still tried to take him out before he was done. But as he panicked and couldn’t hold his bow properly, Turtle kept charging at him until he bashed him with his shield and slammed his body against the front wall of the base behind him. The audience gasped with shock and excitement as the guard dropped to the floor immediately, allowing one of the attackers to grab his bow before he could reach it and shoot him with it. The audience cheered as the attackers took out their second opponent, but as Turtle lowered his shield for a second, the defenders above finally got a chance to shoot at him.
With the defenders spitefully shooting Turtle over and over again, they had defeated the offense’s captain, forcing him to run back to respawn, though it looked like he wouldn’t be able to return in time. However, they only now realized that they were running low on arrows, and since they only had bows to defend themselves, they frantically searched for more ammo to take out the attackers. Taking advantage of their frenzy, the same attacker that took out the second guard aimed precisely at the defense’s captain, waiting for him to run into his sight to take the shot. In one fell swoop, he landed an arrow on the captain’s face, knocking him back and forcing his teammates to catch him before he fell, allowing the attackers to keep charging, now trying to tear down the wall using their only axe.
–They might actually do it!– Scott exclaimed in excitement as he watched how the three remaining attackers were trying to break into the defense’s base. Zoey couldn’t help but squeal as the thrill of the match reached its climax. And as the rest of the audience kept cheering on the attackers, they were inspired to give it their all in the last seconds of the match. Even Turtle stood in awe watching how his teammates began climbing the tall walls to reach the only two defenders left, being so close to victory. There was no time for him or his teammate to respawn, so they just peeked out of the barrier to see if their team managed to snatch the win or would only come close as time dwindled.
| THEN YOU NEED TO LOSE AND LOSE AND LOSE AGAIN
IF YOU WANT TO HOLD THE FLAME, YOU HARNESS PAIN |