As Daniel's relaxed appearance walked through the portal, he found himself standing in open space. Around him was nothing but the four pieces of wood connected into the rectangular wooden frame he had just walked out of, and an infinite expanse of dark and cold spatial essence. It was only thanks to his senses, that Daniel was able to feel the presence of the other champions, who, just like him, were sitting at a table within the dining hall no longer than a couple minutes ago.
Once in this starless expanse of open space, these cultivators split up, and spread out in order to find a spot from which they could observe the fight between the champions of the domains of War, and Morality.
In these types of events there were no real rules. A challenge was thrown the moment one of two conflicting groups would leave the safety of Polis, and any form of preparation needed to be done before accepting the challenge, and following the challenger through the portal – the reason why the battle had begun even before Daniel's arrival.. Nevertheless, Daniel's appearance had brought the exchange between the two groups to a pause only seconds after it had started, causing every cultivator, regardless of whether they were fighting or simply observing, to turn to look at him with suspicion and curiosity.
"I don't know to which domain you belong to, but you better not interfere, this time." Said a voice that reached Daniel's ear from a depth of space that no member of the younger generation of champions could have ever reached in such a short amount of time.
In the sound essence that carried these words, Daniel could feel an immensely higher power than that of the restaurant's clients, as well as a stronger, yet less refined, presence of the intimidating and domineering aspect of War. It was clear that this fight was not only being observed by the younger generation, but by older, more powerful champions as well.
Daniel did not respond to the voice's veiled threat. Instead, he stood quietly as black blotches appeared on his skin, and by slowly growing in size, completely swallowed his figure, erasing him from the scenery as if he had never been there to begin with.
Immediately after Daniel's disappearance, the fight between the two domains resumed just a few hundred miles away from the portal. There, the champions of war orbited at incredible speed around the party of champions of Morality, like the electrons of an atom-avoiding the thousands of arrows, elemental constructs, and rays of light that came from the core of a barrier made out of thick vines.
Snakes of molten metal and semi-solid slush were coming out of the staff of the female summoner, easily moving through the net of spiky vines that she had put in place, creating a blockage that made the infinite number of arrows shot by her archer companion, and the incandescent light rays constructed by the monk, almost impossible to see. Within this constantly moving formation, the heroic-looking warrior, and the giant in massive plated armor waited in silence, each holding their respective weapons of choice, a sword, and a towering shield that weighed as much as a mountain.
Dashing in a seemingly random pattern were the twenty or so champions of war, who used their impressive speed to avoid the uncountable ranged attacks unleashed every second by their opponents, while occasionally shooting bullets made out of pure essence aimed at the gaps between the vines.. But that were ultimately blocked by the living vines, or by the giant's towering shield.
From an outside perspective, it seemed that the champions of Morality were in an advantageous position. After all, while the attacks of both teams were ranged, and the soldiers had a numeric advantage, they lacked a defensible position, and were forced to focus on constantly avoiding the constant barrage of attacks from their opponents before they could even think of fitting in an attack or two.
The lack of a formation within the soldiers was cause of ridicule between the younger champions of the other domains, who conversed with one another despite being far beyond each other's sight.
"That is all that talk was about?" Said a female champion from afar in anger. In her voice was a power that expressed the quality of the aspect of Dominance, whose domain she was part of. "They are nowhere near vicious enough."
Following her remarks were the exclamations of agreement that came from the members of the other domains.
"Does it bother you that your domain is subject to the domain of War?" Said a second voice that came from the other side of the battlefield. This voice belonged to a man, and in it, was contained a power that many would recognize as representative of the aspect of Collectiveness. The tone of the champion of Collectiveness' domain was scornful, and implied rivalry between his domain, and that of Dominance-both of low level.
Irritated and embarrassed by her domain's subservience towards the losing side, the champion of Dominance and her companions turned to look at the portal, above which the counter had burned only a fourth of the way through. In their mind they were considering whether it was better to bear the humiliation, or leave.
After the back and forth between the two domains took place, the situation seemed to be even more dire for the champions of War, as the attack pattern of the other party became more intense. To end any debate on the possible outcomes of this encounter, was the man in white gold armor himself, who, from within the several layers of protection created by his companion's attacks and defensive means, would swing his sword towards specifically prepared gaps between the vines in instantaneous motions.. causing blades of warped space and light, to fly at his opponents.
Each attack was more accurate than the previous one, as the warrior appeared to be gradually getting a hang of the random pattern of movements of his opponents.
The closer one of the soldiers came to being struck by one of these attacks, the more the pressure on those who had bet on the win of the domain of War became.. To a point where, just like the champions of Dominance, they were considering whether it was worth wasting time witnessing this exchange, or leave to find entertainment elsewhere. Before any of them could leave, however, what everyone had come to expect finally happened.
The massive net of vines opened just enough for a particularly rapid and thin blade to pass through, striking an unaware soldier who, after noticing the incoming attack, was only able to move his arms in the way of the strike to reduce the impact. Yet, despite being somewhat successful in protecting his life, the attack was still able to pierce through the layers of protection created by the soldier's very own essence, and cut through his skin and flesh.
Pridefully, the hero in white gold armor stared at the injured body of the unconscious soldier he had just hit, from within the core of his party's formation.. Confirming for both teams, and the observing cultivators, that his party was on the path of victory-or at least, that was what they thought.
From the moment the vines opened to allow the warrior's attack through, to the moment the strike hit, only a fraction of a second had passed, allowing the warrior to witness the result of his attack briefly before the vines would close once again-yet, a moment was all the well organized members of War's domain needed.
Seemingly renouncing the random evasive measures they had employed to avoid their opponent's ranged attacks so far, the champions of War suddenly released a large amount of power, and used it to boost their speed as they dashed towards the position of their injured companion. Once their movements came to a halt, however, the observing cultivators noticed that the soldiers had not moved in to rescue their companion, but instead, had formed a tightly packed formation composed of three ordered lines.
The soldier's formation was just the right size to grant each them a clear view of the warrior in golden armor, and was put in place so quickly, that the champions of Morality could do nothing but open in his in shock as the end of the barrel of the soldiers' guns charged with vast amount of power. All aimed at the heart of the warrior in golden armor, the soldiers pulled the trigger of their guns at the exact same moment, sending a shower of light beams through the thick vines.
As these beams of light made their way through, the summoner in control of the vine formation managed to deflect several of the beams, but not all.. Leaving it in the hands of the warrior in gold armor to defend himself from the remaining ones, which he did by raising his sword in an attempt to protect his chest.
Out of time, the beams of light struck heavily against the warrior's sword, forcing his arm to jerk back due to the combined impact caused by the full power attack of half a dozen cultivators at a similar stage than his own. Most of these attacks dissipated after landing onto the flat part of the sword-All but two, which were instead deflected by the edge of the blade, and ended up striking the back of the female archer, injuring her severely.
Disappointed and enraged, the warrior in golden armor turned to look at the formation of soldiers, who, before he could say anything, turned into beams of light, and resumed their evasive manoeuvres.
"You were saying?" Asked the disembodied and proud voice of the champion of Dominance.. A question that was met with the silence of the champion of Collectiveness, and the faint laughs of the other observers, who were just there to enjoy the show.
Back on the battlefield, the party of Morality's domain reacted to the soldiers' surprise attack like anyone would have expected them to. Their focus shifted to defence, as shown by the ceasing of the barrage of attacks from the injured archer, and of light attacks from the priest, who was now tending to his injured companion while the other three focused on defending.. But, alas, that was not the only change in behavior within the battlefield.
Like a pack of hyenas stalking an injured prey, the formation of soldiers reformed below the defending party, with guns already charged, and aimed at the archer. To the eye of the observing cultivators, this attack was identical to the previous one, and was likely being performed not to further damage the enemy party, but to maintain the pressure on them.. Or at least, that was the case for those who did not know how the champions of War fought.
Another barrage of highly concentrated essence was shot out of the guns barrels of the soldiers' weapons, but this time, the aim was slightly off. Right before striking against the layer of vines, the twenty or so beams merged into one immensely powerful attack, which pierced through the vines like a hot knife through butter.
Unprepared for such a powerful attack, the giant in massive armor moved in front of the attack, with his towering shield covering not only his body, but that of his entire party. He then enhanced his shield with as much power he could spare before bracing for the impact.
Like a hammer striking a scorching bar of steel, the impact caused the shield to bend inward, and for the warrior's arm to break in several points.. However, it was only after his essence was exhausted, that his body jerked back to an unnatural degree, and he was thrown against the thick vines that formed their team's innermost layer of protection.
Shocked by the sudden turn of events, yet suspicious that such a powerful combined attack could not be repeated more than once, the summoner pushed herself to construct more vines that could cover the massive gaping hole within her protective formation. New and thinner vines emerged from the surface of the untouched ones, and quickly joined together in order to patch the hole, and give her companions a moment to breathe.. A kindness that her opponents did not possess.
Before the vines could widen and gain in resistance, the soldiers, still panting from the strain of the joint attack, injected a small portion of their power into their guns, and once again pulled the trigger.. This time, however, the powerful rays came out with a delay of, at most, a fraction of an instant between one another.. Each striking one of the newly formed vines, and blowing it to bits so that the following attacks could move through.
The vines kept reforming after being destroyed, but it soon became clear to the summoner that the consumption required to reform the vines was much higher than the alternated and infinite attacks of the champions of war. "I can't resist much longer!" She shouted as her white hands tightened around her staff firmly enough to turn even paler.
In just a few minutes, the party of the man in white gold armor found itself on the losing end of the battle. Of their five members two were injured, and two were doing their best to protect, and aid their companions' recovery while the fifth member could do nothing but witness the events unfold, unable to help in any way.
With a grim expression hidden by his heroic helmet, the proud warrior in white gold armor swallowed the lump he was feeling in his throat. In his mind were the memories of the millions who had praised him, boosting his ego by assuring him that he was a hero among men, and that no fight could be lost as long as his cause was just.. A castle of sand that, after meeting with the experienced, disciplined, and relentless warrior of War's domain, had started to crumble as if caught under a flash flood.
"Argh!" Screamed the summoner, who, after finding herself unable to repair the barrier as fast as the attacks were thrown, had no choice but to shield her injured companions with her body. Unfortunately, despite her attempts to parry the blow with her staff, the shot broke her weapon, and went straight through her right shoulder, detaching her entire arm from the rest of her body.
Seeing the severity of his companions' injuries, the warrior in white gold armor gave up any idea of fighting, and instead, decided to retreat back to the safety of Polis.. where his companions could heal safely. In order to do that, he used the few moments of protection left from the vines formation to surround his companions' bodies with his essence, and without hesitation, he shot in the direction of the portal at full speed.
Behind them were the figures of the twenty-odd soldiers, who, unwilling to let the party escape, either gave chase, or prepared to hinder the party's retreat with ranged attacks.
