Fantasy System

Chapter 220: Plan

The morning light shone on the walls of Avalon. In front of its doors, two large armies departed in two different directions. At the forefront of one army was Hayato, the prince of Ryuu kingdom. His mission was to conquer the Oni kingdom. Behind him were almost 40.000 soldiers, compromised of his kingdom's people, as well as the slaves that remained from the last war. These slaves were sent to the kingdoms that joined Avalon in standing against Blood sect.

However, they were not being forced into slavery. Instead, they were bound by a contract of five years. In these five years, they were going to do the bidding of the kingdom that took them, after which they would be released.

On top of these soldiers, two sect Elders from Glory sect joined Hayato. These two being Griffin and Bard. The three highest cultivators of the army would be the central force that would strike the enemy first.

The other army had Ellie as its leader. It was only obvious as she knew the kingdom best, and would be able to come up with a suitable plan to bring it down. Similar to Hayato's army, the soldiers amounted to 40.000 with both Avalon soldiers and slaves. Two Elders joined Ellie, Audun, and Becky, as well as Eric.

The march towards the two kingdoms was rather quiet. The galloping of the horses and the breathing of the soldiers was the only thing that was heard. They had a single mindset in their minds, to win. The soldiers had a high morale thanks to winning the last war, while the slaves didn't want to die before returning to their families.

They were all thinking about how this war would end much faster compared to the other one. The Oni and Beast kingdom both lost many soldiers due to allying with Blood sect. As such, they would be severely weakened and wouldn't be able to handle another war.

Both Ellie, as well as the leading figures of the army, summarized what the soldiers were thinking. Yet, they didn't say anything to remedy such flawed thinking. They simply allowed the soldiers to indulge in their nave thinking. At least, until they reach their destination, they weren't going to say anything.

Night befell the land, and the soldiers went to rest. Some of them unable to sleep, as the terror of war, was deeply ingrained in their brains. Even though they believed they would win, the harsh images of mutilated bodies didn't leave their brains.

Inside a tent, four figures stood in front of a large map.

"The beast kingdom is comprised of five cities, with four of them surrounding the capital. The least guarded one of them is the southeastern one. In order to attack it, we will have to take a detour and walk all the way to the south, ignoring the north-eastern city, as well as the capital. But, I don't think such a large army will go unnoticed, so we might get spotted."

Ellie explained as showed those present all the information by map. All of them fell into deep silence as they thought. They knew that if they targeted the capital, they would get surrounded by the military of the four cities. But in case they take over a city secretly, they would have the element of surprise, as the other cities wouldn't be able to react before the capital is taken down. However, if they take too long to take over a city, their plan would be toast.

"I'm certain that the Beastmen are being extra vigilant. They know retribution is coming, as they chose to side with Blood sect. *Sigh* Where is Ed when you need him" Eric remembered how Ed had left just the day before. He thought about how convenient his Space magic was.

"I suggest we head straight for the capital." Audun proposed the opposite of what they were trying to avoid.

"How come?" Ellie didn't want to agree nor deny his proposal. She was all ears now, as she couldn't decide on a plan on her own.

"If we target one of the cities, there is nothing that guarantees the reaction of the other ones. They could send people to investigate what happened, or they could send all of their militaries to the capital in order to protect it. In that case, we would have wasted time on a useless city." Audun explained as he was a veteran of war. His opinion weighed heavily in the matter.

"Judging by the map, the reinforcements would need at most one day to reach the capital. That gives us exactly that much time to take down the king."

Audun proposed an outrageous plan. The capital was surrounded by walls in every direction. The army would need to scale the walls, open the doors, and then take out the king. All in under a day.

"I see. Anyone else has a better a plan?" Ellie chose to listen to any other opinion before taking her decision. Seeing no one speaking she said, "Then we will go with this plan. Tell the soldiers that resting will have to wait until tomorrow. We're walking throughout the night!" Ellie took her decision while walking out of her tent and speaking to the guards there. They, in turn, went to let the army know.

The soldiers whose sleep was disturbed dared not to question why. They only gathered their stuff and started to walk in the direction of the Beastmen kingdom. After walking for the whole night, the reached a dense thicket by dawn, where Ellie decided to have a rest at.

"We will continue to walk during the night. Now, we can rest." Ellie told everyone before retreating back to her own tent to rest. As she was laying on the bed, she looked at her right fist, which she used to slug Ed in the face, as she smiled. She clenched her hand as a determined look appeared on her face.

The day passed by and the sun started setting. The group of soldiers stood up and started to walk in the direction of the capital. They were in the middle of the northern cities, a position Ellie chose due to the low watch over it. The army moved in total silence, and no light was used to show the way. People relied on their eyes to maneuver around.

"We fight at dawn, so make sure you are ready!" Ellie shouted as she raised the speed of her army. They needed to be as quick as they were quiet.