I release a sigh and look out of the distance. I am currently in Sable City, where a fight will soon happen. The civilians had already evacuated, leaving only those who wanted to fight. However, we are here not to fight them with all of our strength. We are here as a hit-and-run unit that harasses the marching army.
We only have one thousand soldiers fighting against more than forty thousand armies marching to Sables. Luckily, they are slow because of their numbers, and we can make a trap to welcome their army to this party.
"I am sorry for the wait."
I snap from my thoughts and turn around to see Dinn with a giant map in his hand.
"I need to take care of something before coming here."
"It is not a problem."
Dinn smiles and says.
"Right! First things first: thank you for helping my people, Gerrald, Chiyome, Oboro, and Shigure."
The four of us are the ones Lucretia asks to help Dinn harass the incoming New Armes Army. I understand asking Chiyome, Oboro, and Shigure because the three of them are stealth fighters with Oboro and Shigure, a former Nether Gate member. Oboro specializes in sabotage and espionage, while Shigure specializes in assassination and sabotage.
Chiyome… she can do three of them at once.
"Thank you for coming here and helping me against the Armes."
Oboro waves his head lazily while Shigure is already sleeping on the edge of the wall.
"Don't worry about it." Oboro says, "It is only a small favor, anyway."
I nod and say.
"Oboro is right, Dinn. We are friends here, and as friends, we will help each other."
Dinn smiles brightly and nods his head. He then opened the map on the table that one of the soldiers had already prepared for us. I looked at the map, and I could see many things already marked on the map.
"As you can see on the map, these are the places that Lady Lucretia marked because she thought that those places were the perfect places to put a trap."
"Tell me the reason why."
Oboro says while looking at the map. Dinn nods his head and says.
"These four," Dinn points at the nearest marked points near Sable, "are the only ways for them to march. Sable is located in a strategic location. To march from the east and the south, they need to go through a mountainous region with only a few paths they can take. These four points are a long and narrow path that we can use to put up a trap. Here is the drawing of the place."
I blink for a second when Dinn takes out four scrolls of drawings of the path he is talking about.
"You have a drawing of that path?"
"Of course!" Dinn looks at me with a grin on his face. "With Armes as our neighbor, Governor Solis decided to make sure that we know the environment around us so we can use it effectively."
I nod and say.
"Smart."
"Thank you. Anyway, what should we do for the first four points?"
We think for a few seconds before I get an idea.
"This path is inside the chasm, right?"
"That's right. Do you have any idea, Sir Gerrald?"
"Yes."
I take out five Fire Rune Pieces and place them on the table.
"We can use this. We can place these on the wall of the rocky mountain. When they arrive, we can detonate them to create an explosion. It will block the path."
"That is good and all, but it will take more than five rune pieces to blow a good chunk of the rocks to block the road, sir."
I smile at Dinn and say.
"Don't worry. I have more than seven hundred of them."
"S-Seven hundred?! Are you going to blow up a wall with those kinds of rune pieces, sir?!"
"I want to learn how to be a Rune Master. Don't worry about it."
Dinn releases a relieved sigh and nods his head.
"I see. We can do this. What do you think, sir Oboro?"
Oboro looks at Dinn and says.
"Call me Oboro. I am not a knight or a noble. As for the plan, it is great. We can separate their army into two and kill the one trapped between the two boulders."
I nod and say.
"That is my plan as well. However, we need to do it fast. Surprise is our greatest weapon; they will be alert when they reach this area. Because of this, we need to do it fast."
"You are right," Oboro agrees with me. "We need to scout the area and plant the fire rune pieces deep inside the mountain to make a bigger impact."
"Yes. When they are trapped, we can rain them with arrows and maybe oil to burn them."
Dinn shakes his head and says.
"Sadly, we did not have that much oil to be effective, sir Gerrald."
"Then we need to place archers on the mountain to make it work," Oboro says as he is thinking of using this plan effectively. "However, if we do that, there will be casualties because we cannot effectively use the surprise attack. I know that they will have Nether Gate members in their rank, and they can wreak havoc in the archer's formation. We can release one volley and run, but it will not be as effective. It will only slow them down."
Dinn thinks for a few seconds before saying.
"We did not need to kill them all. We only need to kill some of them. We are here not to win but rather to stall. We can–"
"Ah, can you leave this to me?"
The three of us look at Chiyome, who decides it is time to talk.
"What do you mean, Lady Chiyome?" Dinn asks confusedly, "You are strong, but I don't think you can kill a hundred of them at once."
"No. I can do that." Chiyome looks at me and says. "I will use 'that' to destroy their morale and number, Lord Master."
I look at her in confusion for a couple of seconds before something connects.
"No. That will hurt you."
Chiyome shakes her head and smiles at me.
"It is not a problem, Lord Master. Since I follow you, I have learned something. I learned that it is time to accept what I am. It is time to accept my identity, strength, and curse. This curse of mine is a burden, but at the same time, it is my power. Please let me do this, Lord Master. You need not worry; I will not die using this power. It will hurt, but because of your power, I can bear it, and because of your presence, I can ignore it completely."
I grit my teeth for a few seconds before sighing.
"Fine. I will allow it. However, after this mess is done, I will cook you the best food you will ever taste and pamper you! That is an order!"
Chiyome only blushes at my word, and I can feel my mood light up seeing that smile. However, I still worry about her because she will use her Noble Phantasm.
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