Chapter 49: Strong Attack (Part 1)
“It’s simple, just two words: strong attack.” Jima stood up, gesturing towards the high ground in the stronghold with her fingers. “We have the advantage of strong fighters, the advantage of going first, and the advantage of intelligence. Now is the time to decisively attack under the cover of night.”
Military decisiveness is built on familiarity with military strategy and confidence gained from multiple victories.
George hesitated, feeling that conquering a stronghold was not as simple as Jima believed. He asked, “Your plan seems similar to what I suggested, just a bit more cautious.”
Jima shook her head.
“Warfare is not like chess, where every move must be cautious. During an attack, especially during a surprise assault, we must go all out and not count the cost. For example, you plan a night raid to weaken the defenders before ordering the troops to take a steady approach, right?”
George nodded.
“If the plan goes smoothly, the army will be up against a weakened force with reduced supplies and lacking the high ground,” Jima said. “But at the same time, they will be on high alert, and the surprise attack can turn into a siege. Trust me, George, this is the time to strike hard at the enemy when night falls.”
Jima pointed at the sand table, her finger moving upwards. “First, we need to clear out the outer sentries.”
With that, Jima’s finger landed on a rock outside the stronghold, which was like a natural lookout point, with a mountain path winding up beneath it.
“According to my investigation, there are likely a few lesser horned beasts up there, we need to take them out first.”
…
On a dark, windy night.
The starry sky was covered with thick clouds, obscuring the moonlight and starlight, and one could barely see their hand in front of their face.
On the rock, a torch was burning, and a lesser horned beast yawned, with a bow and arrows leaning against it. It stood up and stretched lazily.
A low male voice suddenly came from behind it:
“Hello.”
The lesser horned beast turned its head and saw a tall figure at the boundary of light and darkness, emerging from the firelight, its details obscured by the dim light.
“You—”
It had just uttered one word when George swung his sword across its neck, followed by another thrust through its chest. The lesser horned beast fell to the ground, eyes wide open in shock.
“Why do you love a chest strike so much?” A black-haired girl appeared in the firelight. “And why remind him that a paladin must face an opponent honorably even when backstabbing?”
This lesser horned beast had no horns. As Jima spoke, she grabbed its hair, turned it around, and made it sit on the ground. From a distance, it appeared to be sitting there, head down, yawning.
George stepped back from the firelight and said, “This way, there won’t be any blood stains visible from behind.”
“You’re quite meticulous.” Jima also retreated into the darkness.
Beside her, George wore only a chest plate, bucket helm, and hourglass gauntlets. This way, he wouldn’t make noise from clanking armor while moving, and the originally silver armor was coated with a layer of gray dye.
More professional than Eve Frostleaf, the elf was just wearing a forest cloak washed free of blood, appearing very green.
Jima couldn’t help but glance at George and whispered:
“You’re too professional. I thought for a night raid plan, you would at least condemn such cowardly behavior with righteous words, and insist on wearing clanking armor.”
“The temple has a night raid exam, which counts for one-fifth of the final score.”
“My impression of the temple has changed again.”
As Jima spoke, she stepped over the body of the lesser horned beast that George had choked to death with one hand and began to climb up the mountain path.
In the dark, Jima’s vision was able to penetrate the thick darkness. The path was only three people wide, rarely traveled by beasts, leading straight to the wooden wall.
Jima led the way, with the two powerful extraordinary beings behind her, stopping suddenly behind a fir tree.
George halted, tugging on Eve Frostleaf’s cloak; in this darkness, even elves became highly myopic.
Jima pointed behind the fir tree, where a faint snoring could be heard. It was a hidden lookout.
Jima made a motion to cut her throat. George nodded and raised his nearly two-meter-long two-handed sword, ready to thrust at the sleeping lesser horned beast’s throat. The sounds of bones cracking within its body echoed in the darkness.
The snoring stopped completely.
Behind the fir tree, George extended his hand and made a ‘yes’ gesture.
Only then did Jima move forward. Not hearing any footsteps behind her, she felt that Eve Frostleaf had not kept up, and couldn’t help but glance back, finding Eve Frostleaf’s beautiful face obscured by her green hood less than a meter away.
She walked lightly, making no noise.
Passing the fir tree, the bodies of the two transformed lesser horned beasts lay beneath it. George did not hack at them anymore, just exerted too much force.
It must have been this afternoon when he went to investigate the crimes committed by a certain white beast that had ignited his fury.
Jima thought as she gently stepped over the twisted body of the lesser horned beast.
This was already the last lookout.
They came to the secluded wooden wall, and there stood a horned beast holding a torch. Every wall had a horned beast with a torch.
Jima complained, “Their vigilance is too strong, more like that of humans than beasts. If we take one out, the beasts next door will definitely notice.”
George instinctively glanced at Eve Frostleaf, only to realize that the once-aimed-and-hit elf could now only draw her bow. He quickly redirected his gaze to Jima.
Eve Frostleaf noticed his look and sadly watched George and Jima whispering to each other.
“Do you have a plan?”
Jima nodded, raising her hand to forcibly pull the two horned beasts near the wooden wall into slumber.
George easily jumped up onto the three-meter-high wooden wall, and Eve Frostleaf followed closely behind. Jima tried to jump and grab the branch but only reached a little over two meters high.
George looked left and right, searching for something longer.
Beside him, one horned beast was having sweet dreams, chewing something and mumbling in its sleep:
“Human flesh… so tasty.”
George grasped his giant sword, positioning the hilt towards the horned beast’s face, but Eve Frostleaf reached out to stop him, shaking her head, “That will expose us.”
With that, Eve Frostleaf gently took the long spear from the horned beast’s hand, gripping below the spearhead portion, extending it down from the wooden wall.
Jima jumped up, grabbed onto the spear shaft, and was pulled up. Seeing Eve Frostleaf assisting her with the spear, she felt a bit regretful, took the spear back, handed it to the horned beast, and whispered:
“Sister Frostleaf, if you’d just stretch your leg down, I could have reached it too, which would be safer.”
Eve Frostleaf thought Jima was just jealous of her figure and didn’t take the verbal harassment seriously.
According to their plan, the three would directly raid the beastman shaman’s dwelling, behead him, then charge to the main gate to coordinate with the army and conquer the stronghold.
The journey went smoothly, with no one noticing the presence of three additional individuals in the stronghold, not even the war dogs.
They reached the high ground of the stronghold and successfully approached the lair of the beastman shaman, standing before a cave. A sturdy wooden door secured the cave, and none of them knew how to pick locks, so they temporarily hid nearby to discuss.
“Jima, how long has it been?”
Jima looked down, pretending to check the back of her hand, “There’s still over half an hour until the agreed attack time.”
They had previously coordinated with the army about the attack time.
“Very smooth.” George tightened his grip on the sword, “By now, the army should be fully deployed. If anything happens inside the stronghold, they will attack immediately. Frostleaf, are you ready?”
Eve Frostleaf nodded, saying, “No problem, but I hear heavy footsteps inside.”
“Not an issue, just three or four minotaurs.”
George asked, “Jima? Are you ready?”
“Wait a minute.” Jima began to chant a spell, “This place is tranquil and hidden.”
An invisible barrier enveloped the cave entrance, the Quietude spell was so powerful that even intense physical activity right in front of it would not necessarily be detected by platinum-tier fighters.
However, its area was limited and could only cover the wooden door’s opening.
“Ready.” Jima shook the straight branch as if it were a magic wand, and in an instant, the branch transformed into a long spear. She held the spear in both hands, her gaze fixed on the door with a serious expression.
In Eve Frostleaf’s left hand, a restless flame had already begun to gather.
George said, “This will be just like last time when we ambushed the demon lord; things will surely be simpler than we expect.”
Jima took a deep breath, suppressing the impulse to stab the spear at George’s face.
“Jima, don’t be too tense.”
“Yeah, thanks,” you and your whole family.
“Countdown: three, two, one!”
Eve Frostleaf slapped the flame in her hand against the door, creating a loud bang as a charred hole was blown through the wooden door, after which Eve Frostleaf immediately turned and moved aside.
George charged towards the hole like a furious bull, breaking through to create an opening large enough for a person to pass, while Eve Frostleaf followed closely with her dual swords. Jima yelled: “Charge!!”
Gripping the long spear, she dashed in as well.
As soon as Jima entered the smoky wooden cave, she felt ten pairs of eyes locked onto her.
A minotaur, standing a meter and a half taller than George, stared in confusion at the three of them, clad in armor, with its hair set ablaze, emitting wisps of smoke.
Not just him, but at least seven or eight other minotaurs surrounding a campfire also turned to look at the unexpected guests behind him.
The scene fell silent for a moment.
George asked Jima, “Minotaurs?”
According to Jima’s intelligence, there shouldn’t be so many minotaurs in the cave.
Jima stared at the heavy dark circles under the minotaur’s eyes and the Gwent brand scattered on the floor, cursing, “You bunch of minotaurs, don’t you fear dying from staying up all night?”
Only then did the minotaurs react.
The one whose hair had caught fire due to Eve Frostleaf’s flames slapped the flames off its head, which was just a shiny bald head. Its eyes reddened as it picked up a heavy steel axe and shouted in beastman language:
“Die! Minotaurs are invincible!”
With that, it swung the axe at George.
George delivered an angry strike, his two-handed sword filled with power, deflecting the axe, then pierced the minotaur’s chest, driving through its heart, and kicked it away, proclaiming, “Justice will prevail!”
Jima watched with her hand over her heart as the minotaurs quickly grabbed their weapons and charged at the three, naturally waking the beastman shaman they were guarding deep within the cave.
A crow’s caw sounded, and a beastman shaman wrapped in a crow-feather cloak and adorned with a white ram skull, with a pair of curved black horns pointing straight up and several heads hanging from its waist, appeared behind the minotaurs.
Plans had gone awry. The beastmen were playing cards and naturally kept quiet so as not to disturb the shaman. Having stayed up late, they misjudged the number of minotaurs guarding the shaman due to a combination of coincidences.
As the ambush was about to turn into a brawl, the three remained at the cave entrance, certain to be caught in a sandwich situation.
Without a word, Jima turned around, pulled out of the cave, clutching the long spear tightly, hiding in a concealed spot, prepared to escape immediately if the situation took a turn for the worse.
