YM778.TV Chapter 73 - Conflict (5)
"That can be done, but while I heard that you have some unusual skills, I am not so certain that they are fit for the battlefield," Jean said. "How about some demonstrations?"
"That is also what I wanted to hear," Edward said with a giant smile on his face.
In the end, the group left the fortress to show what they could do. It seemed pointless from Billy\'s perspective… a duel had to be something where people had to bet their lives on the line, or when they wanted to improve themselves by fighting stronger opponents, it wasn\'t something one had to do just to show up their strength. Still, in that kind of situation, there was no other option.
"At least Edward isn\'t acting while lowering his head… if things keep going like this, we will probably maintain our independence," Billy thought.
After calling some guards, Jean asked them to spar with Drew and Sarah. As for Leo, he just had to hit a few targets one hundred meters away to show that he was the real deal. Regardless, even though Drew held back, the opponent didn\'t have the chance to do anything against his barrage of thrusts. He raised his left arm and gave in because the furry of attacks broke his arm. Sarah did something similar, she fired two Earth arrows at the opponent\'s feet, and when that broke his defense, she knocked him out with an Earth Bullet in the chin.
"Hmm… I suppose your group have enough power to defeat an average guard, but what about the others?" Jean asked. "Those here are basically the strongest, right?"
"Yes, but while we don\'t have high numbers, all of them had plenty of combat experience and practice with each other daily," Edward explained. "Since your soldiers are trained to fight as a group, then you probably can\'t defeat them in a one-on-one battle.
"I suppose… Since you have your elite here, you can help me right now and show that you mean it," Jean said. "There is this one enemy commander who is causing me a lot of trouble recently, his tactics are pretty solid and with each passing day, he corners my men. However, he has a son who is guarding their deposit of supplies. I want you to capture him."
That was a pretty cowardly tactic, but everything is fair in war times. Regardless, the real issue was the fact that they would reveal their existence while doing something like that… they would become known for such a thing. Not to mention, that kind of mission would be dangerous… very dangerous.
"Do you think you can pull that off?" Edward asked while looking at the tribe leaders.
"We can\'t tell until we know some things, like the location, the number of guards protecting the place," Leo replied. "We might also need some tools and a distraction."
The usual Leo would say no to such a crazy plan, but he couldn\'t voice his opinion like that. Billy, on the other hand, was wondering if that was some sort of tactic to leave the people back home without their leaders and their best warriors… the possibility existed. However, what would Jean gain by using such a tactic when he already had dozens of times more soldiers? The chances of Jean truly wanting to get in the commander\'s head but not having the means to do so we\'re actually high.
Jean guided everyone back to the commander\'s room, and then he showed the map of the region. At the points east of the current position, there were three armies of two thousand. Half a day behind them, there was a small spot where the son of the commander could be found. He had a unit of two hundred under his command.
Usually, a group would have to take a roundabout way to attack the supply warehouse. Still, a large unit would leave traces behind and could be found from a distance, even at night, but with a group of five or six… they probably could take the shortest route at night and then get the enemy. Leo realized that, but he still was thinking of a way in which they wouldn\'t have to rely on the kids of the group. It would be better to call for reinforcements that were left on the river, but it would take too much time.
"How much time do we have?" Leo asked.
"Even with some small skirmishes, I am losing one hundred soldiers every day, so…" Jean replied.
It wasn\'t something that they had a significant amount of time to prepare. They needed to take some risks in order to show that they could be powerful allies now and then. Fortunately, it seemed that they could on Jean to offer a minimal amount of support.
"We will depart tonight and attack the warehouse tomorrow night," Leo declared. "If you don\'t mind it, sir, we would like some supplies and tools."
"Naturally, that can be provided," Jean smiled.
While Leo was looking for the tools they would need, the others went to rest. The trip to Vergena city had been quite rough, and they would need all the energy they could muster to succeed on that mission.. As for Billy, he was more worried about what he should do to make sure that things would end up well for his people and also to make sure that their future wouldn\'t be so chaotic due to that mission.