Chapter 576 - 576 - Planning And Preparation (Part 1)

Closing his eyes for seemingly only a brief, fleeting passage of a moment, Aiden exhaled softly as he gave the commands. Meanwhile mentally he formed two smaller-sized squads from the large mass, specific to these two waiting in front of him.

Strangely though, even before as he spoke, both the captains, Madam Dara and the leader of the trained soldiers, the so-called 'Elite' group of 36 eager warriors, had an inkling, a sudden suggestion appearing in their minds. 

As if they received a divine premonition, they just suddenly received the image of the order their leader Aiden used the form of Archbishop Zark have explained to them in the next instant.

"[Reptilian] Listen guys. What we should do first, is to form several new groups, all with their specific tasks. You see, even though we have a large force and the advantage of the terrain, we lack massively in the experience department. Most of our men are just not warriors, but instead regular people wanting nothing more than to just live their lives with peace and happiness." He began, giving a long-winded introduction to his following decisions. 

Although he was unaware, both of them had already learned of his orders and were ready to carry it out even if he were to not voice them. 

"[Reptilian] Excuse me my lord…" Unable to hide this strange, mysterious knowledge she received, Madam Dara spoke up, interrupting Aiden's speech. Though that would normally be considered rude, Aiden didn't mind it at all, and instead turned to look at the mature skink woman and asked with a thin smile.

"[Reptilian] Yes? Is there something bothering you, miss Dara?"

Madam Dara shook her head in denial in response. She took a large gasp of air and exhaled to calm the chaotic beating of her heart before she managed to properly continue.

"[Reptilian] N-no, my lord there's nothing wrong. I-It's just…" She turned to look at the Elite Guard Captain, a Skink by the name of Draghar, asking for confirmation with her eyes. Seeing him nod with an understanding glint in his dark beady eyes, Dara was slightly more relieved. Taking one last sigh, she finally began to explain:

"[Reptilian] I… I am not sure how to explain it… but, as we stood before you, we both received images… visions, I guess?… Visions of-"

"[Reptilian] We believe your commands have appeared in our minds in the form of a short image, my lord." Seeing how she struggled to explain what they experienced, Draghar broke his silence and finished the woman's words. He looked sternly, seriously at his lord standing above him atop the rubble of what was an inner section of their camp wall. 

"[Reptilian] What do you mean? What was the image you have seen?" Aiden, asked the elite captain, with a surprised, slightly perplexed look on his face.

"[Reptilian] My lord, I believe you want me to command the 36 soldiers you have titled as 'Elite' and had the 'Power Level: 4' added in the text next to them. You want us to each pick a Tower Shield, and a shorter sword and stand as the first line of defense in a straight single line right there by the remains of the gate, blocking the way from the enemy to advance further." With a straight, seemingly emotionless expression Draghan, swiftly reiterated the tactic Aiden had indeed just done in the Army Management screen of his System. 

As a first step, he created two smaller groups, two small companies from the larger mass of defenders. First would be the group he named 'Draghan's Elite'. After the scanning have come back, and Aiden got a quick look at the supposed skills, he could finally start optimizing the defense strategy. 

The newly created group of first-line defense was looking like this in the system, after the restructuring and assigning their positions with the new optimized equipment orders.

[Group: Draghan's Elite

Efficiency: 75% (+20% Pending Equipment Bonus)

Power: 108 (144) -> 129.6 (172.8)

Toughness: 36 -> 47.5 (36)

Quality: Tier 1+ (Clean Bonus: +20% Power, +10% Toughness)

Composition: 

[Elite (Power Level 4) : 36] 

Group Skills: 

Heavy Armor Proficiency (Level 3), 

Sword and Board (Level 4), 

Sword Mastery: Advanced (Level 2), 

Spear Mastery: Basic (Level 4), 

Mace Mastery: Basic (Level 6), 

Axe Mastery: Basic (Level 2), 

Draconic Skink Tenacity (Level -), 

Basic Regeneration (Level 3)

Active Effects: 

Loyal to the Cause (Level -)]

When he first saw the tooltip, Aiden was quite shocked to see such detailed information about his men. Yet, it also made assigning roles that much easier at the same time. The main difference between the normal Soldiers and the Elite warriors was the higher level of skill and the addition of the Heavy Armor Proficiency.

These veterans were trained to properly wield, and fight thicker, metal garments, protecting every inch of their bodies. Something that could be easily overlooked but incredibly important nonetheless. Just being able to accommodate the reduced vision range due to the visor blocking most of your surroundings was already a heavy detriment to most. The loss of one's ease of movement because of the thick, strong conjoining armor plates and sections was also not something everyone could handle.

Since they were already having problems with the equipment, the 40 sets of Steel Full Armor would be best used this way. Together with the huge, humongous tower shields, these elites would be the best option to block the withstand the incoming first wave and give that much-needed protection to the back liners to dish out as much damage as they could.

Their goal was only to withstand the barrage of assault for as long as Aiden could spot the enemy general and deal with it. After his fall, the rest of the invasive force would be like a headless monster, it would quickly break formation as it lost its morale and was overcome with fear, thus ending the battle shortly afterward.

…

Listening to Draghar's perfect recount of the orders he made in the system, shocked and surprised Aiden. So much so, that he could only nod at the man with wide eyes and frowning lips. 

"[Reptilian] Y-yeah… that's right... But h-how…" Aiden stopped himself midway in his sentence, shook his head, and turned his attention to the alluring woman instead.

"[Reptilian] It doesn't matter, I guess. You are right, that was the command I was about to recount to you…. What about you, Miss Dara? You are also aware of the orders I assigned to you and your girls? It is crucial that you-"

"[Reptilian] Rest assured my lord, we will complete your assignment perfectly. You can count on your 'Daughters of the Dark'. I can see the route you have planned for us to take. You can count on us!" 

Before Aiden could finish, Madam Dara spoke up, his alluring, charming smile never leaving her face, as she nodded. She could see the special and important task they were ordered to take and he couldn't help but smile at the surprising cunningness of his Lord. 

She had never seen this side of his before…

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