Chapter 237: Tactics (1/2)

Flashing back towards Elderfire, I stepped out onto the city's center. Gialgathens flew overhead, carrying clusters of wisps held in glass orbs. Several groups of gialgathens carried tail covers on their back. This allowed them to smash a Hybrid, get rid of a tail cover, then replace it with a new one. Considering how infectious the Hybrids where, that kind of defensive utility was invaluable.

Walking past a few groups, they gave me a bow of respect. It weirded me out as always as I stepped up to Spear. I tapped the Sentinel's shoulder,

”Hey, we're about to head out.”

The Sentinel's shoulders moved as he jostled back to life. Standing upright, Spear cracked his neck before turning to me, ”Then let us go.”

We passed through Elderfire before meeting up with Torix. The ancient lich tapped his finger over a map as we paced up.

Spear walked up, ”We're ready to leave.”

Torix cackled, ”Excellent. This battle will be different from the last, that much I know for certain.”

I raised an eyebrow, ”So we're not just rushing in?”

Torix lifted a map with the flick of his finger, hovering it against a wall,

”This is a map of Astelle. With it, we can come in through the sewers like before. The goal is to overwhelm them with a direct assault that crushes their resistance to ash.”

I walked up, staring at the map. It showed a city surrounded by ancient woods, the kind of town from early civilization. As I inspected closer, I committed the routes to memory. Unlike in Polydra, we weren't forced into heading in blind. Instead, we had a choice to take our time and really wallop them from the get-go.

Torix cupped his bony chin while staring up at me, ”What are you pondering?”

I pointed at a few places, ”This city will have spires, won't it?”

”I would assume so.”

”Then they'll probably be here, here, and here. The Adair Family likes to cluster the spires along the outskirts of the city, and those chokepoints let them keep the city contained. It also prevents anyone from burrowing out of the city. They have these root systems that extend outwards.”

I clasped a hand, channeling energy into a mana bomb, ”We can run along the sewers of this town and plant bombs onto those roots to blow these connections points apart. After that, I'll use my Orbital Bombardment to make a splash as we rush in.”

Torix leaned back, ”Huh...that sounds, ahem, well thought out.”

I turned to him, ”I'm just using the information I have. It's like you said. They'll be more prepared this time. We'll need to finish this fast before Lehesion can show up and make a mess. We still aren't ready to take him down.”

Torix spread out his arms, ”I didn't take you for much of a strategic asset, and perhaps I was correct in that regard. However, tactically speaking, this is quite the edge we've gained if you happen to be correct.” Torix turned towards the map,

”Considering the chokepoints you mentioned, perhaps we can design a route using the city's sewer structure? It should aid in speeding through this process.”

I nodded, ”Yeah, that'll work. You can sketch that up in a few minutes and send us the coordinates, right?”

Torix steepled his fingers and cackled, ”If I couldn't, then I wouldn't be much of a mastermind than, would I?”

”Good. We'll head out towards the landing zone when you can organize the soldiers.”

Torix sent a few messages using his status, ”I've already sent the position for them to head to. We'll be traveling using our Sentinel's spears.”

Spear raised a, well, spear, ”I am known as Spear now.”

Torix turned to him, looking him up and down,

”Hmm...fitting. Spear can land us relatively close to the city. He's been stationed within a rift near the area fortunately for us.”

I received the meetup position in my status before rolling my shoulders, ”Let's show them what we're made of.”

After stepping out of the temple, we rendezvoused with the troops. Near the outskirts of Elderfire, our legions assembled. They carried more confidence than before. We would need that if this was going to work. As I placed another mana bomb into my storage, soldiers lined up. Many carried fresh scars on their faces.

Beside me, Krog landed with enough weight to quake the stony slabs over the sand. He gave me a bow before looking towards the troops. Kessiah rode on his back, her face exhausted yet determined. They faced the Hybrids in Polydra, yet they still went into battle. Many of the gialgathens here did the same.

It took guts to stand up after seeing those monsters in person. As a hundred or so gialgathens amassed in front of me, a few butterflies flew up in my stomach. That nausea crept up into my chest as I got nervous.

There was expectation in the crowd. They needed a leader, and I was the best we had. No matter how many times I did this, it never got more comfortable. The thing is, they showed guts coming to fight again. It was my duty to show some guts too.

I lifted my hands, ”Everyone here saw the battle for Polydra?”

Almost everyone nodded.

”Then you understand what's at stake. The Adair Family is going to turn each and every one of you into mindless husks. In a way, your backs are against a wall, and there's nowhere to run. It's death one way or the other.”

I banged my fists, ”How do you want to die? Strung up by butchers, or would you rather burn in a blaze of glory, a fire to be remembered?”

They gave me cacophony of roars, deafening like thunder in your eardrums. I gripped my hands into fists, giving them a look of absolute confidence. I spread The Rise of Eden over as many soldiers as I could,

”That's good, because we won't be dying here. We know the enemy, and they lack grit. They fight with surrogates instead of fighting in person. They can never understand our resolve because they would never do the same.”