Chapter 909 Chapter 908: Kat the Commander (1)
"Now, just remember, that this is what would be called a what?"
Belian, Satanya and I were still standing two dozen feet away from the current battle, the Head of the Beliali Clan making use of this time to continue teaching the two of us in the art of being the 'commander' in a party; not the leader, which was what Satanya and Jahi were, but the strategist for the battles we would take.
He wanted to continue grooming the talents he said he saw in us that made us perfect for the role; the ability to see a bigger picture when fighting, the way we fought, our instincts as well as a few other smaller things, all of which were the perfect recipe for us to become strategists and the 'commander' in a party, as he called it.
Our job was to take the battle we were seeing and find the ways to make it easier on our party as well as eek out as much probability of victory as we could, all while we minimized the risk to the people who were truly fighting; it honestly felt odd, not being the in the thick of things, but the Demon was adamant that we needed to look at everything first and get a better understanding of it this way instead of being by their sides fighting.
We needed to take this time to observe the pieces we had so that we could make better use of them going forwards, even if we were both itching to draw our blades and charge into the fray.
"A small scale battle?"
"Correct Kat. Now, Satanya, tell me - what is the difference between a small scale battle and a medium scale one? What are the things you are to look for when appraising the 'scales' of these battles?"
"Quantity of enemies, quality of enemies, location, battlefield, and your own troop composition to name a few. Currently, there are a lot of enemies, but they aren't strong; additionally, the battlefield is flat and wide, while there is a slim chance of reinforcements coming to the aid fo this herd. Finally, with a host of Demons, a Vampire, and a Jackalkin, we have a rather high combat potential of our own, so therefor... this is a 'smaller scale battle' thanks to how quickly it will be finished."
"Good. Now Kat, can you tell me what would shift this into a medium scale battle? And how would you change the current strategy employed to accommodate that sudden shift?"
Feeling like I was back at the Academy - and back at College - answering an essay orally and having to display my understanding of the subject as well as the ability to come up with an answer quickly, I took a deep breath and continued to watch the battle in front of us, making sure that there wasn't anything happening besides the usual massacre of weaker monsters.
"There are many things that could happen, and each would have it's own reactionary strategy that would prevent it from getting out of hand too quickly. If somehow more monsters came to reinforce this current herd - and they were around the same strength - I would have the mages shift focus to slowing down their approach before taking one of the 'spears' and shifting them to this new group. If a monster was actually hiding its strength and suddenly powered up, that would call for one of the 'spear tips' to intercept that monster and buy some time for the others to deal with their own fights before going to their aid.
If there was a sudden change in the battlefield - an earthquake or something else that alters the land - then I would call everyone back and begin attacking from range, or I would order them to press forwards and secure a new area for us to work from depending on the situation."
Belian nodded beside me, all three of us watching as Jahi lifted a bovine over her head and slammed it back into the ground, the monster's barrel chest skewered by her great sword and showering her in some blood; meanwhile, behind her, Anput was making use of a scimitar once more as she carved away at the smaller bovines, chopping and cleaving at them freely as she tried to alleviate some of the pressure that the two Demons beside her were feeling, all while they did the same as well.
"Hypothetically, let's say that one of the Fiends appears here, right? That would escalate this situation into a large scale battle, correct? How should you react?"
This new question made Satanya and I look at one another as we mulled it over, before she gestured for me to speak first, the Demoness tilting her head as she waited for me to make a mistake first - and allow herself to see just what he was expecting to hear so that she could come up with something better.
Giving her a dry look, I eventually said "Depending on how persistent the Fiend was, I would advise a retreat at this point in time. We've reached a threshold of being just tired enough that fighting against a powerful foe like that would be entirely ill advised and far too risky to tackle head on, but the likelihood of us being able to retreat without be pursued is rather low. However... with both Fiends in the area being a melee fighter and the other being a walking disease, I believe having Leone power up and having the mages support Ammit would give the warriors an opportunity to retreat, before the magic gives us all an opening to pull back. We could get some more information from that one magical barrage and potentially allow us to flee and reset the fight, or - best case scenario - actually be able to rest."
"Alright... Satanya?"
Pursing her lips, the Demoness crossed her arms and thought on it for a moment, only to eventually say "I don't think we can escape easily from a Fiend; Jahi has Light Magic, so they might act irrationally now that they know we have someone with the ability to easily threaten their life. Therefor, I believe the best option we would have would be pulling back and rallying around Jahi, with Leone and Ammit going on the offensive while the rest of the mages erect a ward. Then, the melee fighters create a shield wall and add to the defenses, giving Jahi some time to charge up an attack and deal serious damage to the Fiend before we head in for the kill."
"Alright... Alright, those are both rather excellent answers, and there is merit to both. One is more cautious and preservative, whilst the other is more straight forwards and-"
In the midst of his grading of our answers, a loud roar filled the air, followed swiftly by the crashing of water as something burst free from the rivers nearby, one after another.
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