Chapter 166 Drawing Up A Plan

At the center of the camping site where Elsa's forces rested the night in, is a much larger tent surrounded by several other small tents.

Standing at the entrance of the tent, are two guards, a male and a female, cladded in full body armor with spears in their hands.

Inside of the tent, is Elsa having a meeting with three other high members of the forces, with her vice captain Blake standing beside her while she and the other two are seated. The seating position goes like this, Elsa at the head, one on her right, another one on her left, then Blake standing by her side.

"okay Blake, we are all ears".

The purpose of Elsa and the two other high military officials not sleeping when they should have, to prepare themselves for what is to come tomorrow, is so that they can listen to the plan Blake has drawn up for their conquest of the forest of Anjonu.

Blake raised his right hand up, with a stick in his hand. He pointed the stick in the direction of the table in front of Elsa and the rest.

"i have scouted the perimeters leading to the forest, and so far, there are only two entrance safe enough for our soldiers to march into".

After checking out the several routes leading into the forest of Anjonu, Blake had seen that a lot of dangerous monsters have made it their home, and most of the routes are full of them.

The forces main goal, is to get to where the monster Caius is chasing after, and all the while, they are to make sure he remains uninterrupted when fighting the monster.

That is the reason they were dispatched, but that reason would not be able to come to fulfillment if they do not find themselves a safe passage to go through, a passage where they would not have to exhaust their strength before getting to their destination.

They have to carefully navigate themselves into the forest if they are to complete their mission, and one of Blake's job is coming up with a way to make that possible.

"even the so called safe entrance, isn't completely safe. For a successful passage, we will have to select a group of soldiers to distract the monsters while the main forces march their way in".

"you mean sacrifice a group of soldiers".

The man sitting on the right side of Elsa, spoke up, unveiling the true intentions of Blake.

They all kept quiet in the room, none seemingly want to agree to willingly sacrifice soldiers that are ready to lay down their lives with a single word from their superior.

Blake was also at a loss, but he also knew that their choices are limited, and this is the best course of action for them to prevent the loss of even more soldiers and left with an incompleted mission.

"i don't understand captain, can't we just leave it up to the Cardinal to clear the path for us? He is the reason why our men are out of their homes and on their way to sacrifice their lives, he should be willing to bear a part of the burden to ease us of any further loss".

The other man sitting in the left side of Elsa showed his boldness by not being afraid to speak what they were all thinking of.

"we can't do that".

Elsa said, turning over to the man.

"why can't we captain? If you are too scared to ask him, I can do it in your stead".

"scared? When have you ever seen me get so scared before anybody".

Her face brimming with confidence and her expression firm toward the one who called her scared.

He couldn't give a responsible reply to Elsa's rhetoric question, and could only remain mute with his head slowly going down.

There is a reason she is the captain of Murian city guards and not him. Elsa is known to be a strong, brave woman who isn't afraid of anything or anyone. She stares danger in the face and commits her full attention to whatever she pledges to.

She can be very docile when needed, and especially very strict when it comes to training the men under her, she does not take it very likely with them in that aspect.

"i am not against asking for Cardinal Caius's help in escorting our forces safely to our destination, but we all need to remember why Cardinal Caius came to us in the first place".

The two men turned their heads to look at each other, wondering where Elsa is going with her words.

"he came to us because what he is dealing with, is a monster whose rank is unknown. He has less information on the monster than we do of what is inside the forest. To face a monster of unknown rank, he has to be in his full strength".

"Cardinal Caius escorting our forces safely, will require him making use of his mana, and for every mana that dispenses out of his body, increases the risk of him facing the unknown rank monster. We are doing this without the help of the Cardinal, and that's final".

"Blake".

"yes ma'am".

"brief them on your findings, and the several tactics you have thought of to getting us safely to where we are supposed to be. Report to me of your conclusion when morning comes".

Elsa was done with what she wanted to say. She got up from her seat and made her way out of the tent, leaving the two men and Blake to continue discussing their options.

"you know, I do appreciate you looking out for me, but I am sure I can take on a couple of monsters for you without any sweat".

Elsa getting to the outside of the tent, saw Caius who was resting on the tent's body, beside the guard on the right side.

She did not bother minding him and went on her way to her own tent to get some rest.

"no, they are more than capable enough to carry out their duties, no slacking for any of them".

She said, still walking with Caius following right behind her.

"if you say so".

"are you not supposed to be getting yourself ready for tomorrow".

"i was, but then I got pissed off by my roommate, so I came outside for some fresh air".

"i see".

Elsa making it obvious with her choice of words that she had absolutely no interest in extending the duration she uses to speak with him.

"you know, Ignatius told me ab!!".

Caius was on the verge of talking about Ignatius to Elsa when he felt a tingle in his body".

"wake your forces up right now".

He said, with his head looking up at the sky in the direction of the forest of Anjonu.

"why?".

"something big is coming".

He said, with his head still turned in the forest direction, and his gaze undisturbed.