Chapter 165 - A Small Skirmish (1/2)
”Would anyone like to volunteer?” At the very instant Herellia finished asking this question to the normal members of the alliance, without hesitation, all of the normal members stepped forward in front of Herellia, wanting to become one of the first volunteers for the war.
Normally, when Animates would ask other Animates to volunteer to act as bait or act as reconnaissance in the middle of a war, it would take quite a long time for that to happen since Animates prioritized their own benefits rather than the benefits everyone could get. As for Inanimates, it was quite the opposite, with everyone wanting to volunteer at any chance they could.
They did not do this because they had the resolve to die, but rather, it was because their souls were formed while they were enhancing their power. This meant that their souls were not tainted with corrupt ideas, unlike Animates, who had grown up in a world filled with corrupt ideas. This meant that they volunteered with the purpose of helping everyone rather than helping themselves.
Unfortunately, since all of the normal members were volunteering, this meant that Herellia had to choose from a couple hundred members, thinking up of an ideal party that would allow them to attack, defend, and heal when necessary. Eventually, Herellia had chosen 10 members out of the couple hundred members wanting to volunteer, telling them to fall in line in front of her.
After sweeping through the 10 members in front of her, she then said, ”I've told you the purpose of having you 10 in front of me a while ago. You shall form a party of 10 and make the other party that's coming here think that we're weaker than we actually are.”
She then continued, ”In other words, you have to limit your damage output as much as possible. You could also kill one or two members of their party. Make sure to never exceed that number though. What's most important though is your safety. If you think one of the members in the party will die soon, retreat as fast as possible.”
”And with that out of the way…” While saying this, Herellia focused her field of vision towards a decently sized tree. She then said, ”Since you're the sole healer of the party, you shall be the commander. Is that alright with you, Verutia?”
”Yes, leader.” Hearing Herellia's request, Verutia accepted without hesitation. Nevertheless, this was the first time Verutia was put into a position like this, emanating an aura of slight nervousness as she accepted Herellia's request. She was going to make sure that she'll do her best to follow Herellia's conditions amidst her nervousness.
Herellia then radiated an aura of slight happiness before using a red tendril to point towards the opposing party that was getting closer in the distance. She then said, ”Well then, I wish all of you the very best of luck. Make sure to not die.”
”I'll try to make sure,” Verutia responded to Herellia's words before looking at the other members of the party she was about to lead. Suppressing her feelings of nervousness, she then said to them, ”We depart!”
Whoosh!
Not long after, a hexagonal formation appeared in front of the entrance of the main hall. This hexagonal formation consisted of 3 tanks at the front, 2 attackers and 2 buffers at the middle, as well as an attacker, an illusionist, and a healer at the back. After making sure that everyone was in proper formation, Verutia, the sole healer at the back, commanded the formation to move forward, setting off for the mission Herellia gave them.
…
As he watched the party Herellia just sent move towards the opposing party, Aurus could not help but look at Herellia and ask, ”Are you confident that they'll make it back safely?”
”Mm,” Herellia responded as an aura of affirmation radiated from her. She then said, ”Although they're normal members of the alliance, all of the members I chose for the party are still peak level X-grade Inanimates. Anyways, it seems something is bothering you.”
”Well…” Aurus pondered over how he was going to word the thought in his mind without making Herellia seem stupid. Eventually, he decided to just be straightforward, saying, ”To be honest, I think they'll give off the idea that our alliance is far stronger than Chonk and his army would think.”
”Eh?” Herellia looked back at Aurus in slight curiosity and asked, ”Why do you think so?”
”They have equipment sets on.”
”Ah.” This sentence alone made Herellia realize that she should have told them to remove their equipment sets before they left to head for the opposing party. ”Fuck.”
Not long after that, she thought of sending a thread of energy to Verutia to tell her that they should remove their equipment sets, but she could not help but think that the opposing party was far stronger than the party she just sent out. In the end, she let out a sigh and muttered to herself, ”I hope Verutia follows my words as close as possible.”
…
A few minutes have passed since Chonk's army and the Tempest Branch Alliance had sent out small parties. At this moment, the two small parties were already facing one another in the middle of the large space that was cleared out for this war. On one side was the party sent out by Chonk's army, wanting to gauge the strength of the Tempest Branch Alliance. Each and every member of this party radiated an aura that would usually instill fear in normal X-grade Inanimates.
As for the other side, it was the party sent out by Herellia, which consisted of normal members of the alliance. Unfortunately, due to their affiliation to the alliance, as well as the equipment sets they were wearing, instead of giving off the impression that they were weak members of the alliance, the impression they gave to the opposing party was a party that consisted of demons that could easily kill one of them with one skill. The aura each member gave off was stronger than the aura radiated by a member of the other party by onefold.
Nevertheless, even though they were up against a party that seemed to be stronger than they thought, the members of the opposing party mustered their courage, taking the initiative to attack the alliance party. The leader of the opposing party, who was at the rear of their formation, shouted, ”Attackers, use your ultimate move!”
”[Jade Wind Blade]!”
”[Grand Flame Burst]!”
”[Noxious Domain]!”
”[Azure Slash]!”
”[My Strongest Move]!”
At the very instant the opposing party told their attackers to attack, Verutia, who led the alliance party, could not help but push her soul to its limits, thinking as to how they would retaliate from this attack without making the other party think that they were incredibly strong. Eventually, a thought came to Verutia's soul as she hastily commanded, ”Buffers, increase tanks' defense. Tanks, use reflect skill!”
Whoosh! Whoosh!