266 Chapter 266: Hit and Run (1/2)
”There's way too many of them for us to fight head-on,” I was saying the next morning while jabbing at a holographic screen projected from my glasses to emphasize my point. ”Even if we include the 5 scouts we took out yesterday, and the casualties they suffered during our retreat, there are still at least 20 of them. And we haven't accounted for the possibility that they would swell their numbers with reinforcements.”
”That Ji Xuan really has his tentacles sunk in everywhere across the Federation. I can't believe so many schools were sheltering his lackeys.” Lilith huffed angrily. Then she frowned. ”There are rumors that he has ties to the Assassin Guild…”
I narrowed my eyes at that. The Assassin Guild again. Come to think of it, those ninja-like dudes were pretty similar to the amateur assassin trainees that I had come across. The connection made some sense, but it felt ridiculous that someone who called himself the ”Spiritual Saint” would have any ties to an underground organization like the Assassin Guild. Then again, maybe the title ”Spiritual Saint” was something other people gave him.
However, it made sense that he was able to mobilize them under one banner and for a single goal – because they were all from the Assassins Guild to begin with.
”In any case, what do we do?” Lilith asked with a frown. ”We can't run away from them forever. They're still hunting us. At this rate, they'll corner us before long and we'll be forced to fight them head-on regardless of what you say.”
”No, we won't.” A smile was creeping across my face. Lilith shuddered when she saw my insidious expression.
”Why not? What are you scheming?”
”You've never heard of guerilla warfare?” I pushed my glasses up my nose. Since this was like a thousand years into the future, the history the people of this period learned was very different from the history that I had learned.
First, the Chinese Communist Party, despite the odds, managed to defeat the Nationalist Kuomintang despite the latter having better trained troops, more technologically advanced equipment, wealthier funds and foreign support. They did that by recruiting the farmers and launching guerilla strikes against the Kuomintang troops, hitting them when they least expected before melting into the forests and withdrawing before the superior forces could retaliate.
It wasn't just the Chinese Communist Party. The Vietnamese, particularly the Vietcong, were able to drive a militarily superior force from the United States out of their country (granted, politics and other reasons also forced President Lyndon Johnson's hand), but prior to that, Viet Minh guerilla forces defeated their French enemies in the war for their independence shortly after World War II.
When used properly, guerilla tactics could prove to be extremely effective against superior opponents, even if they outnumbered us or had better equipment, weapons and technology. Or in this case, magic.
Of course, I didn't give Lilith an entire lecture on history because she had no interest in it other than how it was relevant to our current predicament. Fortunately, she was intelligent enough to understand the reasoning behind my plan.
”That does seem to be the most logical course of action,” she agreed with a nod. ”If we can take out isolated units, we'll be able to gradually chip away at them and finally wear them down. Especially since they won't be able to receive reinforcements and replenish their numbers from outside the Spiritual Road.”
”That's right.” I was glad that she saw the wisdom of my suggestion. ”The only unknown factor for us is how many Assassins or whoever this Ji Xuan has under him. But it's unrealistic to think that he will commit his entire force just to chase and capture you. He must have other goals…”
”It's probably regarding my status as the Holy Maiden of the Porter Clan.” Lilith paused for a moment, chewing on her lip. ”Political marriage…and I heard rumors of some sort of…ritual. I don't know the details, but apparently they need me specifically for some sort of spell.”
For some reason I thought of the spirit contract that Dad told me about, the one that required the sacrifice of someone dear to you in order to bind a spirit from another dimension into this world, in exchange for tremendous power. Surely, it couldn't be…
Well, there was no use speculating and over-thinking things. For now, I decided to focus on the present and do my best to ensure the situation wouldn't lead to that.
”Anyway, that's a good idea you have, but…” Lilith had also chosen not to dwell on the rumors. ”Even though you say guerilla warfare, what are we supposed to do, concretely?”
I grinned. ”How about I demonstrate it to you right now?”
*
The ninja dudes appeared to like moving out in groups of five. While I certainly couldn't take on twenty to thirty of them at once, even with Lilith's help, five was a manageable number. The odds of two against five were something I would take any time over two against twenty or thirty. After all, I was the guy who defeated ten mages by myself.
Okay, admittedly that was just me wanting to rip off Ip Man or Donnie Yen, and these guys were probably much more skilled than the poor mages I defeated during the qualifier rounds for this Spiritual Road training camp. So there wouldn't be any more ”I want ten!” scenes. Not to mention, ripping it off once was funny, but doing it too many times would just get annoying. Repetitive jokes got stale and old really fast.
Anyway, Lilith and I stood by somewhere and watched the five. Given their skills, they should be able to locate us really soon, but I had planned to ambush them before they found us. It was all a question of timing.
”Are you sure they'll be in this area?” one of the ninjas complained. His leader spared him a glare.
”Sure as sure. If you got a better idea, out with it.”
The guy shut up after that, his face flushing red.
They continued to comb through the forest, leaving no stone unturned. One of them stopped at a tree and frowned when he found some tracks.
”There's a footprint here! Human…it might belong to the two of them!”
”Really?” the leader sounded skeptical. ”Don't forget that there are plenty of other students in the Spiritual Road besides those two. Make sure they belong to either of the two we are pursuing. Otherwise don't waste our time!”
”Sorry, sir!” the guy leaned down and poked the print that Lilith had deliberately left. He closed his eyes and used his magical senses, savoring the sensation for a few seconds before he finally opened his eyes and raised his head. Smiling triumphantly, he rose to his feet. ”The mana signature matches that of Lilith Porter's! And it's recent too! She can't be far!”
”You're right. I'm right here.”