Ats and his elite subordinates gathered in the fortress to discuss the first wave of battles, set to begin in just two days. Edrik stood at the front, leading the discussion. Not because he was the most experienced, but simply because he had a knack for artig strategy in a way that was easy for everyoo uand, especially for Ats.
There were three primary strategies they could adopt for the uping battle: Attack, Defensive Hold, and All-Out frontation. Each option offered distinct advantages and disadvantages, allowing each lord and their territory to approach the flict acc to their strengths and resources.
Ats nodded slowly, abs the significe of each choid weighing which approach would best serve them.
Edrik tinued his expnation.
The goal of each battle was to earn Rank Points, which would allow a Lord to climb the ranks—from Division 1 to Division 5 aually, to the rank. In Ats’s case, he ress through these divisions to reach Rank 2: Scout.
The First Strategy: Attack
This proactive approavolved challenging a nearby oppo directly on their owory. The primary goal for attackers was to break through enemy defenses and secure victory points.
[Advantages:]
[- Higher Rank Point Reward: Successful attacks yield more points, 20 rank points.]
[- Loot Opportunity: A victorious attacker cim a portion of the defender’s resources as spoils.]
[Disadvantages:]
[- Risk of terattack: If the attack fails, the defender is allowed to un immediate terattack.]
Edrik cluded, "It's a high-stakes move, but the rewards be worth the risk."
The Sed Strategy: Defensive Hold
In this strategy, Lords remain on their own isnd, fog on fortifying defeo repel potential invaders. Rank points are earned by successfully defending against attacks.
[Advantages:]
[- Defensive Rank Point Gain: A successful defense awards 15 points. While this is fewer than the points awarded for attag, it ehe isnd’s safety and prevents resource loss.]
[- Resource Prote: With a successful defense, all resources are retained, strengthening the isnd’s security and stability.]
[Strategic Preparation: Defenders set traps, reinforviroal fortifications, and take full advantage of the home field, signifitly increasing their ces of success.]
[Disadvantages:]
[- Slower Progression: Each successful defense earns fewer points than an attack, which may slorogression.]
[- No Resains from Oppos: Defending only provides rank points, without the resource bohat e from a victorious attack.]
Ats tinued, “How far these attacks go? I mean, is it a fight to total destru, or does each Let a sed ce?”
Edrik nodded and expined. “In both Attad Defense sarios, attackers and defenders have the option to retreat or surrender before reag total devastation.”
He added. “However, the earlier they choose to retreat or surrehe greater the penalty. Think of it like this. If they retreat with only 40% damage taken, the penalty will be steeper than if they’d waited until they were down to the maximum threshold of 10% remaining.”
After taking these as, both attacker and defender enter a 1 month cooldown, during which they focus on rebuilding and fortifying their territory.
Ats nodded slowly, summarizing what he had learned.
“So, whether attag or defending, each Lord still has a ce to fight in the battle, but they’ll face penalties, losing rank points, resources, or even fag death.”
He nodded again, realizing that, despite setbacks, Lords still had the ce to reset their strategies and e back stronger.
“What about an All-Out frontation, Edrik?”
Edrik expihe final strategy:
The Third Strategy: All-Out frontation
In this high-stakes strategy, both Lords meet oral ground or at a tested location, engaging in an uricted battle. This option is the riskiest, but it also offers the greatest rewards.
[Advantages:]
[- Highest Rank Point Reward: Victors earn 25 points, making this the fastest path for rapid rank adva.]
[Disadvantages:]
[- reat Meism: Ohe battle begins, there is no option to retreat. If one side is overpowered, surrender is the only escape.]
[- Severe sequences on Loss: If a Seeker surrenders, the winning Lains trol of the defeated Lord’s isnd and all its resources.]
Edrik tinued, “Because of the high risks, not many are willing to choose this third option. Both sides must agree to an all-out frontation. When a Lord challenges with an attack, the other side respond with a defensive hold or accept the challenge as an all-out frontation.”
Ats houghtfully. “So by issuing an attack challenge, a Lord is also opening themselves to the possibility of an all-out battle?”
“Exactly. If they choose the attack strategy, they should be prepared for the greatest risk as well.”
Ats processed the information carefully: Attack, Defense, or All-Out frontation. If someone was greedy enough, they might choose the riskiest option, the all-out battle. But that path left no room for error. If they lose, they'd face either death or plete subjugation to the victor.
He recalled what Lyrassa had shared; over hundreds of years, she had only chosen the deferategy, growing her isnd slowly and steadily.
Karian, oher hand, was mgressive, preferring to attad advance quickly.
Edrik mentiohat he varied between attad defense based on his assessment of each oppo.
Milo? He said he always started with defehough he often ter-attacked once his oppo was weakened.
And Manna? She didn't give any ents.
“Now tell me, Edrik—what’s the best strategy for our isnd?” Ats asked.
“I only provide a logical assessment; the final decision is yours,” Edrik replied.
He tinued, “We have several powerful individuals. An attack strategy would be feasible, and with our strength, we could execute it effectively. However, the risk is that our oppos might respond with an all-out frontation if they uimate us—especially sihey won’t likely anticipate Milo as a threat.”
He paused before adding, “As for defense, we have the fme beas, but at this early stage, a defeance would still result in some damage to our isnd, which would take time and resources to repair. I’d say we have a stre in attag rather than defending—not because our defenses are weak, but because the potential damage we’d sustain in defense could slow us down.”
Edrik tinued, “But attag head-on also carries risks, since we haven’t fully assessed what our oppos might be hiding. We don’t know what surprises they might have in store.”
Ats houghtfully. “And what’s the status of our preparations with the troops?”
Edrik gave a slight smile. “Not to boast, but our troops are at a solid level. Their armor and ons have been upgraded over the past week of hunting at Fre Peak, though not all of it is fully reinforced yet.”
He went on, “As for the Elite Subordinates, only Lyrassa and Milo are still waiting for their Signature ons. But Lyrassa is still more than capable in her support role, and Milo, well, Raze, he’s plenty powerful even without one.”
Ats nodded again. “Right… uood. Thanks for the assessment, Edrik.”
He then stood and faced his Elite Subordinates.
“We’ll review our defehhly over the day. Make sure everyone, every team, is prepared with their part of the strategy for the battle,” he said, his gaze steady.
“We’ll engage in at least otle, then assess whether to tinue or shift to the fallback phase.” He paused, sidering. “If needed, we’ll activate the Reinfort Phase, where we retreat behind the protective barrier, giving us time troup and rebuild.”
With the first battle wave less than 48 hours away, they had only moments to finalize their preparations. This would either be their first major victory—or their first signifit loss. The oute would be known soon enough.
***
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