"Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat."
-Sun Tzu
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MAMORU'S POV
"Heh, so our job is to wait for them here while Purple guy and Blondie lures the demons this way so we can ambush them, right?" I asked the Redhead person beside me who's been silent for quite some time now.
I can easily get bored whenever I'm not fighting, like damn! I want to cut some demon heads right now!
"That's correct, Mamoru. And for the last time, it's Lancelot and Gawaine, not Purple guy and Blondie." Redhead hissed at me returned his gaze back to the to the only narrow path between these two mountains we're currently waiting.
"Fine, fine. So Readhead-"
"For God's sake! It's Tristan, you female Blondie! Don't call me Redhead!" What?! Why is he so mad?! Did I say something wrong? What's wrong about calling them based on the color of their hair?!
"Geez, man, calm down." He doesn't have to be so mad right?
"Seriously, Mamoru. I can only have a serious conversation with you during battles, you're more respectable during those times." He said and looked at me from head to toe as if he's examining my whole existence.
"Yeah, for real. Having a normal conversation with you is just impossible. It's a surprise how Gawaine can keep up with your attitude."
"Hey! That's not a nice thing to say!" This bastard is just bullying me, I wanna slice him up real bad! But it's true though, for some reasons, only Blondie and I can communicate normally.
"Truth hurts, doesn't it? Anyway, you're about to say something earlier, right? What is it?" This bastard is really harsh, isn't he? And yeah, I almost forgot about the things that I'm supposed to ask because he cut me off!
"That's right, do you think we can finish those demons off using the tactics, General Mustache wants us to do?"
He starts rubbing his chin with his pointer finger as if he's thinking about something. General said that what we're about to do is a way of fighting in his world called, guerilla tactics. Well I'm not sure if it will be effective though, afterall, his world is completely different from ours.
"I'll pretend that I didn't hear you call him General Mustache. But if you ask me, I don't see any problem regarding the strategy he propose." He said while wiping his bow using a piece of cloth.
He said he prefers to use his bow on this mission, his aim is more accurate when he is using his sacred bow, Curtana instead of a gun,well that's according to him.
"I know it will work on lesser demons like Goblins, Orcs, Kobolds, and other monsters, but I'm not sure if it's the same to those high demons." He added and returned his bow to his back.
I can understand what he's saying, I actually think of that too. Demons that has similar feats to humans are actually smart and good at magic, I don't know if the strategy that we're going to use will be effective against them.
"I can actually agree, but if the manholes worked, it will help us win today's battle." He nodded as a form of agreement to what I said.
"Well, we have to maximize our army's new weapon, right? This has to work." He added to my statement and prepare his arrows.
That's right, this new weapon called gun that was introduced by the General is quite strong and interesting. Even those demons that can fly have no means to escape it's range.
And in addition, General is definitely a genius strategist specially when he explain to us the tactics he used in his world.
*Flashback*
"Listen up, all of you." General Mustache started to caught everyone's attention who is present in today's meeting.
"It's been a year since we massed produced the guns and trained our armies, we can now fight head to head against those demons." He continued and placed a rifle gun made out of mithril which is a strong metal and good magic conductor in the table.
"As I always said, we can't win this war if the only thing we do is defend! We have to strike and ambush them!" I can agree to what General said. Even if we can win battles and defend the Kingdom, as long as the Demon King is still alive, this war will never end.
"So, what do you think we should do, General?" Lady Merlin asked and placed both of her hands on the table. Anyway, lady Merlin is so damn beautiful even in her mid thirties! She must be a Goddess!
"I already have a plan, that is, if King Luther would approve it." The General answered and looked at the White-haired King straight in the eyes
"Let us hear it first, General." White-haired King stated, while me, Blonde, Purple guy, and Redhead remained quiet.
"This is a strategy often used in my world during war, and it's already proven effective. But this strategy of mine wasn't able to be fulfilled because I died before we manage to finish our preparations." I see, General Mustache must have had it rough in his previous world, huh?
General took out a replica of the Kingdom of Enthopia's territory and lay it on the center of the table. All of our eyes were focused on the replica of the terrain while General continued his explanation.
"As you can see, there is a small pathway between Mt.Maoumantai and Mt.Sheiju." he said as he pointed out the road some merchants often used. "I want to divide our force and ambush them here." He added and pointed at the center of the road.
"I see, but how are we going to ambush them? There are no trees in that part of both mountains, where are we going to hide?" Purple guy asked but General just grins at him as if he already has a plan in mind.
"We will dig trenches from this area-" He said and put a small flag in the area in the two mountains near the road entrance "-up to here." He added and place place another one halfway before the exit.
"It's true that there are no trees in that parts of both mountains but there are nearby forests." He said and placed small flags again to where the forests near the trench he's planning to dig.
I think in the terrain itself, our position will be a few meters above the main road which is a good spot for ambush. Not to mention, we have a new weapon specializing in long range tactics.
"We will be divided into four. King Luther, Young Lady Merlin, and Queen Igraine will be placed here in Mt.Sheiju." He said and picked up three human figures and placed it in the on the replica of Mt.Sheiju to where the trenches will be digged.
"Hero Tristan, and Hero Mamoru will lead the army that will be placed in Mt.Maoumantai." He added and just like what he did earlier, he took another human figures and placed it in Mt.Maoumantai this time.
"Hero Gawaine, and Hero Lancelot will lure the enemy to the road where we will ambush them while their army will wait for them at the exit of the road." He added, and it actually makes sense. But what will the fourth army do?
"And as for me." He said and put a single human figure infront of Mt.Sheiju near the entrance.
"There is a cave at Mt.Sheiju near the entrance of the road. My army and I will hide there and once the enemies entered the trap, we will block the entrance while Hero Gawaine and Hero Lancelot will block the exit so that they won't be able to retreat."
"I also asked Young Lady, Merlin to make this small communication device for us so we could communicate in times of need." He said and handed us a small piece of magic device that is fit in our ears.
T-This guy... He a real genius! That strategy is flawless! He already prepared the necessary equipment even before the battle starts! He's a powerful ally and a scary opponent! With him, the General on our side, we might me able to stop this war much faster!
"So, we'll just fire at them once we gather them at the center right?" General Mustache nods at the question of Queen Igraine, another Goddess looking human here.
I just realized, the women here at Enthopia are all stunning aren't they? Queen Igraine, Lady Merlin, even the Little Princess, Serrah. They are all beautiful! Not to mention, Lady Azrael, which happens to be the wife of Hero Roland. Even though I wasn't able to see her alive, her statue is enough proof of how stunning she is!
"I see, but what will we do if the enemy manage to close the gap?" That's quite true, even if we caught them off guard, it's only a matter of time before the demons can properly react right?
"That's why we dug trenches near the forest. We will hide there once they close the gap." I see, I understand now why General chose that location for our ambush, but there's still a bit of a problem.
I was about to raise my hand but Queen Igraine spoke again to ask the question that I was about to ask.
"Demons are advance when it comes to magic manipulation, they'll just burn the entire forest along with us." She's so damn right! Queen Igraine is not just beautiful, but also very smart!
I nudge Blondie who's sitting next to me to caught his attention. He face me with a questioning look so I whisper beside his ears.
"Hey Blondie, the Queen has a very charming face, doesn't she?" Blondie chuckles at bit and messed my hair a little.
"I know, Mamoru. But let's just focus on the main topic for now, okay? Let's talk about it later." He said with a bright smile all over his face. This guy looks good when he smile sometimes.
We waited for the General to speak but it seems like he's also thinking what would be our next step. He's a genius, I know he can think of our next counter attack.
After a short while, General slams the table while wearing a big smile on his face. He must've found a perfect solution.
"We'll do this." He said and picked up a couple of flags and placed it all over the forest located in both mountains.
"We will dig manholes around here and cover it with fire resisting materials." He said while pointing at the flags he placed.
"With that, we can execute another counter attack to eliminate their armies." He said, and that's when we realized that, General is indeed the missing piece we're looking for to end this war.
*End of Flashback*
"Any signs of them yet?" I asked Redhead but he just shakes his head and try to spot Purple guy and Blondie a bit longer.
What's taking them so long? Did they got caught or something? But it's not possible though, even if its just the two of them, they are still very strong.
I felt a strong surge of power and miasma coming towards the entrance of the road and it made me grin.
It's finally time, I will kill every demons I lay my eyes upon...
"Everyone, pick up your weapons and prepare to engage." I said and looked at them with a prideful grin. "Let's show these demons just how strong the humans are."
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LUTHER'S POV
"Prepare to engage! They're here!" I said and picked up a gun when I saw Sir Gawaine and Sir Lancelot on my line of sight.
And just as planned, we wait for the enemies to gather at the center of our ambush.
When all of them gathered at the center, the army of General Luna blocked the entrance while Sir Lancelot and Sir Gawaine blocked the exit.
"It's time! Fire at them! Don't let any of them escape!" I shouted as my army and the army of Mistress Mamoru and Sir Tristan fires at the enemies relentlessly.
As expected, the enemies were caught off guard by our surprise attack. They are confused on what's happening and why they're numbers at thinning rapidly.
Now I can redeem myself! This is my revenge for my Younger Brother, Roland and his wife! I will eliminate you all!
The number of enemies decreases in a rapid state, some of them tries to climb or fly over the mountain to close the gap between our armies but our new weapons are powerful enough to repel them.
If we continue on this pace, we can eliminate every single one of them. My Wife, Igraine and I fires a barrage of gunshots at them while Merlin continues to throw destructive spells at them.
"My Queen, here's some bullets. Reload immediately so we can end this fast." She nods at me and took the bullets in my hand and emptied her gun first before reloading.
I pointed out my gun at the enemies again and noticed that there's still one of the enemies who's just standing in the middle.
I pointed my gun directly at that certain demon on a hood and fires a couple of shots at him but it seems like I can't hit him. Just what in the world is happening?
I'll make this shot hit this time. I picked up a single bullet and quietly starts embedding it with a strong lightning spell in it.
"Crackling torrents of thunder, grant me thy power of the lightning Serpent God, Ryuujin, I cast unto this object, shock of your thunder-"
"Black lightning bullet."
I load the magic bullet in my gun and charge an immense amount of magic in it and aim it to the mysterious demon.
After I pulled the trigger, the bullet hits the demon directly and it triggers the spell I cast on it. A black lightning dragon appears in the sky and strike down directly towards the demon wearing hood and eventually killing all the demons around it.
It seems like it's over now. I took a deep breathe and pointed my gun upward. No matter who that demon was, I'm sure it's already dead-
No...
This can't be...
How did that demon survive that attack!?
Me, My Wife, and Merlin looked at each other full of confusion, and when I returned my gaze to that demon.
I was taken aback when I saw him looking at me with his golden devilish eyes while grinning. It's giving me shivers down to me spine...
This can't be real...
This is dangerous!
I activated the communication device and scream! "Prepare your teleportation crystal or all of us will die!"
I took out my teleportation device and activate it immediately! I have to wait for five seconds before it activated!
I noticed the demon raised his hand and an immeasurable amount magic power gathered in the tip of his fingers!
Goddamn it! This is the longest five seconds of my life! If that demon released that amount of power, all of us here will be annihilated!
Two more seconds!
I closed my eyes tightly and prayed that we'll get transported before that demon releases that powerful magic!
And one!
I heard a loud deafening blast of sounds echoes all throughout the Kingdom, and when I opened my eyes, all of us and our army are gathered infront of the Kingdom's main gate without any casualties...
But half of Mt.Maoumantai and Mt.Sheiju was destroyed...
If we got delayed even just for a second, all of us will be dead by now...
I can see fear in everyone's faces, even in the heroes... Noone expected that the battle will end this way... That's unbelievable turn of events noone is expecting...
"What in the world was that?" General Luna asks with shock still visible in his face, but I know there's only one demon who can do that...
That's right... It's definitely him...
That golden devilish eyes...
That suffocating aura...
And that immeasurable power...
"That's him... The Demon of Destruction..." I uttered as I took a deep breathe and faced each and every one of them...
"The Demon King, Astaroth..."