After the destruction of the Sun Gods through the betrayal of its members, the situation on The Island had completely changed.
Rowan and Carter never expected that the Sun Gods would vanish so suddenly due to the mutiny in their ranks. Now, not only had the Berserker Alliance's strength not diminished as they'd hoped, but the Berserkers had grown even stronger after taking in some of the Sun God's members into their forces.
Having wiped out two major camps in quick succession, their confidence was now extremely inflated. Their status as the primary force of The Island was now obvious to everyone watching.
Soon, a new conflict flared up once more across the map.
By this time, the Holy Sword Tribe and Lunaria squad had realized the severity of the situation and immediately decided to join forces against the Berserker Alliance's threat. The entire Holy Sword Tribe had now migrated to the Lunaria squad's location for better defense.
Using the easily defensible terrain of a mountainside, the Alliance began constructing a large number of defensive facilities across several strategic chokepoints. Cannons, ballistae, and automated turrets were set up one by one at key locations.
Nautia had also thought about capturing a few more Giganotosauruses to serve as main battle dinosaurs, but unfortunately, she had searched all over The Island and only found that single specimen.
The consecutive victories of the Berserker Alliance had caused their confidence to swell excessively with each triumph. They soon marched south again with their forces aimed directly at the Lunaria and Holy Sword coalition.
The competition had now reached its final ten days before the prize distribution.
On the plains below the mountain, dinosaur herds gathered like a tide and numbered as many as two thousand creatures. They blotted out the sun with their mass, and their presence was terrifying to behold.
"Attack!" At the command of Ash Berserker, the cannons at the foot of the mountain roared first and sent red-hot shells whistling toward the mountain pass's defense line.
Explosions sent rubble and fire flying everywhere across the fortifications. Immediately after, the dinosaur herds on the ground roared and charged forward with the Tyrannosaurus Rexes leading the way. They slammed into the Triceratops formation at the pass.
Under the cover of smoke and dust, the Allosauruses tried to climb the steep slopes on both sides to launch a surprise attack from the rear flanks. In the sky, Argentavis and Griffins took flight simultaneously and lunged toward the Alliance's aerial forces at the summit.
The Alliance immediately counterattacked with everything they had. The cannons and automated turrets at the pass spat fire in unison while pouring down a dense barrage of ammunition like a rainstorm.
The first few Tyrannosaurus Rexes were hit instantly. Their scales shattered, and blood spurted as they collapsed with agonizing screams.
The ballistae and automated turrets on the cliffs also fired at aerial targets while accurately hitting Argentavis flying at low altitudes. Many lost their balance and plummeted to the ground with their players, though some managed to deploy parachutes quickly enough.
Nautia, riding the Giganotosaurus, stood guard at the center of the pass like an immovable sentinel. Seeing a Tyrannosaurus Rex break through the fire net and approach, she immediately ordered the Giganotosaurus to attack without hesitation.
The Giganotosaurus let out a roar and slammed its thick front claws down with tremendous force. It instantly crushed the skull of the low-level Tyrannosaurus Rex and killed it on the spot. Then it bit down on the neck of another Tyrannosaurus Rex and tore into it with devastating power that left it severely wounded.
Both sides had some Daeodons and Yutyrannus as support dinosaurs for healing and buffs, but on such a large-scale battlefield, their healing capabilities were spread too thin and seemed to lack effectiveness.
Although the Berserker Alliance's offensive was fierce and they were not disadvantaged in terms of dinosaur numbers or manpower, they struggled to break through the Alliance's line of defense.
The easily defensible terrain of the pass prevented their dinosaur herds from forming proper battle formations since three sides were surrounded by steep slopes and cliffs. They could only charge one by one through the narrow chokepoint, becoming easy targets for the Alliance's defensive weapons.
The steep slopes on both sides were filled with thorns and traps placed strategically. Dinosaurs attempting to climb up were repeatedly hit by ballistae or turrets, making it impossible to effectively flank from the rear.
The aerial units attacking from above were also heavily suppressed by the concentrated turret fire.
The presence of the Giganotosaurus was like an insurmountable wall. Every time it exerted its strength, it severely wounded the high-level dinosaurs of the Berserker Alliance while intimidating the entire battlefield.
As time passed during the prolonged siege, the Berserker Alliance's charges were repelled time and again. The plains below the mountain were littered with the corpses of dinosaurs and players.
Most of the cannon ammunition had been consumed through constant bombardment, and morale began to plummet among the attackers.
Ash Berserker stood on the high ground in the rear and watched the impenetrable mountain pass with a face twisted in fury.
"Useless! A bunch of worthless trash! You can't even take down a single gate!"
But despite his rage, the tide of battle showed no sign of turning in their favor. The Alliance's defensive facilities remained solid, the Giganotosaurus's combat power was still astonishing, and their line of defense remained impenetrable while keeping the Berserker army firmly at bay.
Rowan breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the retreating beast herds below the mountain pulling back.
"As long as we hold this place and survive the last ten days, victory will be ours."
As the sun set, its afterglow spilled over the blood-stained pass, and the two sides fell into a temporary stalemate.
Before long, another fierce assault began with renewed determination.
This offensive lasted for three brutal days of continuous fighting. The entire mountain pass had been battered until it was riddled with deep crevices from the prolonged combat.
Looking at the still-resilient Alliance forces holding their ground, unwillingness flashed in the Berserker leader's eyes. But now that most of his main dinosaurs were lost in the grinding attrition, continuing would mean losing everything he had built.
He had no choice but to lead his army away in frustration and defeat.
The Alliance players who had successfully defended the mountain erupted into a sea of cheers at their victory. They had held their ground against impossible odds.
With only a few days left until the end, the grand prize was within reach for all of them.
At this moment, the players of the Berserker Alliance were planning to return to their base to regroup. Suddenly, a piece of news arrived through their communication system that caused the leader's expression to change instantly.
"Leader, it's bad! The base is gone!"
The panicked message sent by the player guarding the Berserker Alliance's home base nearly made him fall off the back of his dinosaur in shock.
"What?! Who the hell did this?!"
While they were fighting to the death, they never expected their home base to be raided by opportunists. He didn't have to wait long for answers.
Since his base was already gone, the Berserker Alliance players who were rushing back to defend were soon blocked on the road home. Inside the canyon leading back to their territory, a row of max-level players riding dinosaurs was already waiting for them in ambush.
Though they were few in numbers, with only about a dozen members, they were followed by a pack of extremely powerful-looking dinosaurs.
Pulling out a spyglass to look at their stats, Ash Berserker's face went pale.
[Tyrannosaurus Rex] Level: 401 Health: Level 70 Stamina: Level 50 Oxygen: Level 32 Food: Level 31 Weight: Level 31 Melee: Level 150 Speed: Level 36
[Tyrannosaurus Rex] Level: 407
[Tyrannosaurus Rex] Level: 403
[Yutyrannus] Level: 385
[Daeodon] Level: 378
Such terrifying levels left the players completely stunned by what they were seeing.
"What's going on? Why are these people's dinosaurs at such absurd levels?"
"Impossible! They must be cheating somehow."
In reality, these were all second-generation dinosaurs that had undergone selective breeding programs. At present, most players have not yet discovered breeding mechanics.
This top 100 elite squad had clearly discovered this dinosaur-breeding method long ago and had been breeding dinosaurs by selecting individuals with high stats. For example, a second-generation dinosaur bred from a male with level 60 melee and a female with level 60 health could inherit both stats and break through normal level limits.
During the breeding process, individual values could also mutate and continue to increase beyond those of their parents.
This was also why they had been hiding away from the major conflicts. Due to the competition rules, the development time for juvenile dinosaurs was greatly extended to balance gameplay, and to make them grow faster, they could only be force-fed special fodder to mature them quicker.
This group of players had been searching everywhere for materials and breeding pairs since the start of the competition. Finally, after lying low and avoiding attention, a powerful dinosaur army was born from their efforts.
Now that the players on the field were battered and broken from their constant warfare, with many dead or severely weakened, it was the perfect opportunity to come out and claim victory.
It wasn't just the Berserker Alliance's home base that had fallen either. Other team members from the elite squad had already begun clearing out the remaining small groups across The Island.