'The third?!'
In a single moment, my mood went from relatively satisfied one to an extremely bad one.
Was this just a normal shot? But it was close enough to consider it a signal!
And were all three shots combined in one, successive series? Or were the last two separate from the third one?
In the safety and height of her position on the hill, Fay had much better outlook at the situation than anyone anywhere near the camp did. And that's what made our ability to somewhat communicate so valuable...
Or so it would, if I wasn't desperate to figure out whether Fay was trying to tell me something or if she was simply helping with the fight.
'Was this a warning about a new threat? Or the order for a general retreat? Or maybe it was nothing at all?'
Unable to decide, I had to do something.
My troops continued to press their advantage, reinforcing and then widening the gap in the middle of the human formations. And as more and more of celestials got to the other side, the desperate defense of their backs that the humans mounted quickly collapsed.
Right now, all that was left was to divide and conquer the enemy tropps, focusing on each smaller unit at once while simply holding back the others. And with each repeat of this cycle, the our ability to crush an individual unit would grow as more and more troops would join the effort instead of just stalling their respective human formation.
But that's how things would go if not for Fay's shooting.
'What is it, Fay?' retreating a few steps and pulling my guards along, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on the soul thread that connected me with my girl. 'What are you trying to tell me?'
BOOM!
A new shoot exploded right above the heads of the biggest unit out of all the individual ones we managed to separate.
A shot far closer to me than any of the ones before. And after a mere moment of pause.
And this order was the simplest of all the ones the celestials and divines had to remember.
Retreat but keep the humans locked.
And like one man, the elites I came with started to retreat, ignoring the perfect tactical position they were in to cut scores upon scores of humans.
First, the celestials that made it to the other side of the human formation made their hastily retreat, clogging the gaps their companions held for a moment.
Then, one after one, celestials and divines at the gaps started to retreat, gradually allowing the humans to mend their lines and present an united, although much thinner than before, front.
And in a matter of three minutes at the very most, all of the fighting ceased, with my alleys retreating to roughly fifty steps away from the human lines all across the battlefield.
The humans... didn't try to pursue or to capitalize on the retreat. They no longer had the forces to do anything but to dig their feet and defend their positions with all their might.
'If you throw everyone in one direction, you will expose yourself on two sides. If you stay and do nothing, there's a chance, albeit small, the reinforcements will arive,' I thought, guessing what could be going through the head of the human leader.
And then, with a sigh, I gestured at my guards before moving ahead.
It was time to let the last phase of this battle, and my strategy, to play out. It lasted long enough for mere warm-up, after all. And ultimately, it was nothing more but the apetiser before the main course that could arrive at every moment.
'Let's just hope that's not the case,' I thought as I made my way through the scattered crowd of the celestials and divines, quickly reaching the front of the line... and actually stepping out.
The humans aimed their weapons at me... but seeing how I approached with just a few celestial, all the while strolling peacefully and with no sharp piece of metal on me, they didn't fire any arrows.
Throw everyone to one side in hopes that at least some of them will make it out. Dig their feet into the ground and leave it in my hands to decide what to do with them.
Those were the only two realistic options the enemy leader had.
And it was now my turn to offer him another way.