Chapter 567 - Commence (2)

Auron was leading his group towards the previous path. His group consisted of the same members as the previous mission, the new cleric and swordsman, Auron's swordsman and mage, Axton, and Cedric.

Out of the 4 groups that dispatched, Auron's group had the fewest number of members. However, he was assigned with the same members as the previous mission.

Smite's group had the most members out of the 4. It was because Smite's group would become the main attacker in this mission.

This time, Auron's group's task was not to make a detour and attack the enemy from behind. However, it was to intercept the enemy's reinforcement.

Auron's group's goal was not to stop the enemy's reinforcement. It was enough if they could buy 10 minutes or, even better, lure the enemies away. Although it seemed simple, in reality, it was not. The danger level was still high. However, because of Auron's accomplishment in the previous mission, Smite had assigned his group this mission.

Actually, Auron didn't want to accept this mission. However, in a military environment, it would be difficult to reject an assigned mission. Moreover, this was in a war state. Auron could not help but accept the mission.

Fortunately, Auron was not alone. Julia's group had gotten the same mission as Auron. Julia's group was assigned in the opposite direction of Auron's group. Furthermore, her group had more members than Auron's group.

While Auron's group only consist of 6 people, Julia's group had 12 people. The biggest group, Smite's group, had more than 80 people. While Jeffrey's group had around 50 people. In total, there were approximately 150 people on this mission.

It was not a small number considering this was just to attack a stop area. However, it was not a big number either.

Based on the spy's information, there were currently around 100 people inside the Regalia's stop area. The number had increased significantly from the original number because of the missing enemy's soldiers from the Sparrow Family. 

This would not become an easy fight. However, Smite could not wait either. They had a schedule to follow. Moreover, Smite was sure that even though he waited for a long time before attacking, the enemy's number would not drop below 80 people. Hence, it would be a waste of time.

Smite decided to clash against the enemies. And, he would try to reduce the casualty by employing a good strategy.

After several hours marching, the enemy's scout had gotten the information about Smite's big group marching towards them. They immediately went into battle position.

There was still a long way to go before Smite's group arrived at the enemy's place. However, the enemies had already dispatched several small groups. These small groups were tasked to harras Smite's and Jeffrey's groups for 24 hours. Their main goal was to harras and made Smite's and Jeffrey's groups  not in a fit condition. Of course, it would be great if they could reduce Smite's and Jeffrey's group's numbers.

The small groups had high mobility compared to Smite's and Jeffrey's big groups.  However, Smite and Jeffrey would not let these small groups did some casualties. They immediately adapted and made a shift out of their members. This act obviously slowed them down, but it was safer this way.

Meanwhile, Auron's and Julia's groups could do anything with this. They had to hide so they could launch a surprise attack later on. 

Smite's and Jeffrey's groups were next to each other. While Smite's group was the main attacker, Jeffrey's group was the second attacker. These two leaders had met and amended their strategy.

Seeing the development of the battle, Smite and Jeffrey knew that Regalia's side didn't have any intention to fight out in the field. They wanted to optimize the use of their stop area. 

It would be a disadvantage for Gaia if they fought near the Regalia's stop area. Hence, they actually wanted to lure the enemies out. However, it seemed the enemy's commander was a great commander.

Several hours passed by. During these hours, Smite's and Jeffrey's didn't make any move. Instead, they hold on to their position. Seeing this, the enemy dispatched more small groups to harass them more.

However, since Smite's and Jeffrey's groups held their position, it was easier for them to fend off these small groups. The first casualty occurred when one of the small groups made a mistake. Three people from the group died as a result.

However, Smite and Jeffrey could not stay at this place for too long. The longer they stayed here without doing anything, the higher the failure chance.

By staying here, Regalia would obviously already call for reinforcement from their base. The longer they wait, Regalia would have more number. Moreover, by doing this, Regalia could accurately count the number of soldiers in Smite's and Jeffrey's groups.

Thirty minutes after the first casualty occurred, Smite's and Jeffrey's groups started to march once more. 

Not long after, the night came. It was really dark. There were only moon and stars as the source of the light. The soldiers didn't even light up a fire camp as it would attract a lot of attention.

In the middle of the darkness, two small groups detached from Smite's and Jeffrey's groups. Each small group went in a separate direction. These two small groups had gone to Auron's and Julia's locations.

An hour later, at Auron's location, the small group had already arrived. The small group consisted of 5 people. They had brought Smite's message, and they also joined Auron's group.

Auron frowned when he saw Smite's message. There was a change in the strategy. Tomorrow, Smite's and Jeffrey's groups would hold their position once more for a long time. This way, they would attract more and more small groups to harras them.

When Smite gave a signal, Auron's and Julia's groups would march forwards and block these small groups' way of escape. Their mission was to completely eradicate these small groups. It was not an easy mission either.