After waiting and studying the area for a couple of hours, the group didn't learn anything… not like they had confirmed the other things that they had assumed. In any case, they stopped since Ian suddenly appeared nearby.
"Sorry for my delay, but I managed to map the area," Ian said, and then he grabbed a knife from his waist and then began to draw on the dusty ground. "There are eight armies nearby, each one of them biding on the other side of the mountains and ready to climb down to this side. Each army had twenty thousand of them… I could have looked for a bit longer to confirm if they were being controlled by someone nearby, but I don't think they are. They received the orders and are waiting to put them in action."
Everyone looked at each other while Ian kept drawing his map. That massive number of monsters was something else… Their formation also was perfect despite being simple. Since they were surrounded, it was unlikely that they could decimate one army before another got them from behind. It was also unlikely that they had enough supplies to give them any chances of fighting when the odds were like eight hundred to one.
"... I can't see many options for us here," Emily rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Were you able to see things far away and beyond the armies?"
"I climbed down one mountain, but soon I gave up since everything was covered in dust," Ian explained. "If we have some good earth mages, I bet we could make some tunnels and attack them from behind. They are just waiting for us to climb the mountains. So, our only option is to cross through them."
"I highly doubt that it will work… I have the feeling that they are also using all this dust to monitor us, so they will notice if we do something like that," Emily said. "I think an all-out attack to split and decrease their numbers is our best option. If we focus on defending this area and cause a massive amount of damage all at once, we will benefit more."
"Do we have enough people that focus on the area of effect attacks here?" Ian asked. "Even if we focus on that, we will use a lot of mana, and we will end up with very little for the following war of attrition."
"I suppose we can't split our numbers in the following war of attrition, huh," Ian nodded while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "What do you think? Do we have enough people here that can fight hundreds of those beasts by themselves?"
Alvin stayed silent for a while… he wanted to say yes, but that would be a lie. Perhaps thirty of the people there could do that, and that was hard to admit considering that Ethan pulled that off and he was just a rank E hero. He was supposed to be one of those that recovered his powers faster, but Alvin didn't want to admit that he was stronger than his rank B soldiers.
"We don't have enough numbers…" Alvin said and then sighed after throwing away his pride. "A war of attrition for us now would be terrible. We need to find a way to obtain some results without retreating or losing too many numbers."
Isaac studied his half-brother, it was rare for him to be that honest, and it was even more suspicious given that he was talking to some teens… Isaac could tell that he felt himself against the wall. Unfortunately, no one had an answer to those problems… Ethan wondered if the enemy would gain anything by waiting for those people to retreat. After considering some more options, Ethan imagined that they still were producing more of their monsters… it was hard to imagine that such a world was only a few couples of hundred thousand, after all.
"You are quite silent, Ethan," Ian said. "Don't you have any idea that could help here?"
"I don't have any idea of what to do considering the checking marks that he has," Ethan shrugged.
"But you do have a plan," Ian said. "Tell us what you are thinking."
"Bring your thirty better soldiers and ask them if they are ready to die to defeat this whole army," Ethan explained. "We will pierce the enemy's lines throughout the whole mountains. We can't afford to slow down. Those who will slow down will fall behind and die, so we can't afford to take more than thirty of them with us… while we cause havoc on their lines, the others will stay here and hold their ground. They should be able to last for a while, even more so since most of the enemies will focus on us."
Everyone looked at each other… it looked like a plan that a muscle head would come with. Still, considering what they saw Ethan doing it, maybe it was possible. Alvin also saw some footage of Ethan fighting, and while he didn't look as impressive as Dante, he still was a force to be reckoned with.
Alvin considered that possibility… risking the lives of thirty rank B heroes was something too risky. Still, it was hard to imagine that they could achieve anything with those odds against them.
"Are you really sure that the person that attacked him isn't here?" Alvin asked.
"Yep, he isn't here," Ian said. "If I notice his presence, I will do something."
"I am more worried about that guy attacking those thirty of my people," Alvin rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"In that case, make all of them carry shields. I will do something about that," Ethan said. "Even if they are shields made of magic, it will work, and they won't die with ambush attacks."
Alvin wasn't so certain of that, so he asked what Ethan was planning. Explaining his power wasn't something that he liked to do. Still, he decided to show it without explaining since he wanted that mission to end already…
Iron Shield (Common) (+0)
Defense: 10
Durability: 50/50
Effects: None
Additional effect: Increases the defense of the shield by five points. (600s)
Requirements: 50 STR
Fortunately, Emily could use magic and create metal… her skills were a lot more diversified than Ethan had expected. In any case, once he returned to recover some parts of the ghost armor that the groups killed, Ethan made Alvin feel the difference between a normal shield and one synthesized.
After he asked one of his men to hold both shields, Alvin confirmed that one endured his attack while the other was pushed away and rolled on the ground. Still, in the end, Ethan was forced to explain that the effects couldn't work forever, so the soldiers would have to change their shields forever.
"That can be avoided. I am with you guys," Emily said. "I can just keep creating them, and you will keep improving them. That will increase their effects duration, right?"
"I guess so, but I am not sure if you can keep up with the others when it comes to running," Ethan scratched his chin.
"Don't underestimate me, and I don't have to do it the literal way. After all, I can use some tricks," Emily declared.
"There is no point in saying that and then saying that you won't do it the normal way afterward…" Ian said and then frowned. "Anyway, I guess I will lay low and wait for those guys to show up again, and this time, they won't escape."
The plan got a bit convoluted, but again, the group couldn't have their cakes and eat them as well. Alvin selected the strongest heroes that could fight at close range and then explained what they would do and what the others would do.
"As soon as we start moving, the enemies will make their moves as well. They will soon confirm that things aren't going the way that they have planned, though," Alvin declared to his underlings. "If the monsters are just responding automatically to our actions, then we will have an easier time dealing with them. If not, then we will find them and get rid of their master minds of this incident. Show me your guts and protect our home country!"
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The soldiers roared in excitement after they received those words. They sure were excited… only because Alvin didn't disclose their numbers, and he only told them about the eight armies. They probably won't have time to count them, so it will be fine.
Without wasting any more time, Alvin and his thirty soldiers, alongside Ethan and Emily, began to move to their right side. They would start attacking the enemies in that direction… Some people looked at the foreigners with suspicion, but they didn't do anything. They also didn't question their leader. They respected him too much to do that.
Thanks to a pretty quick pace, they began to climb that mountain that was around three kilometers tall, and since everyone had superhuman speed and strength, they didn't get tired. They got a bit surprised, though. When they almost reached the peak of the mountain, and then suddenly, the place began to tremble… the ghost armors began to move.
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