Tiki stretched her body as she got out of her room, turning her stretching into a muscle flex as she relaxed herself before meeting with the others who had gathered in the middle of the lobby area, Dante looked somewhat anxious while the others were a bit embarrassed.
"Can't believe we actually forgot about that...and it's not like it wasn't an important thing either." Hikari sighed.
"Its fine, we all forget things. Galatea will have to wait for a day then, assuming we can get things done swiftly." Terna optimistically said.
Tiki approached them, "Hah. Fell right on the money with that one!" she turned to Dante, "I already knew they'd have forgotten about it."
"I, however, did not. My gears are polished and Lina has been properly stationed -and locked- inside the room. I am ready for deployment at any given moment." Luna informed.
"Good. I've got a new version of my M.O.D. I want to try as well. Speaking of which, Dante, I think you'll like what Drima has in store for you if he is able to follow the schematics I provided him with." Tiki said.
"You made something for me?" he was somewhat surprised.
"It's a two way lane gift. I already knew that you'd be easy to talk out of giving you my precious bundle of cookies, but, I had already provided Drima with a heavy sword, claymore if you will, version of my schematics for my weapon. It's a rapid acceleration system that will be applied on the handle of your blade, making use of your Obsulyte to charge and function while providing basically the same swing force I have alone without technology involved. I would say even greater force for me, judging how weak-ass your muscles turned out to be. Haven't even touched the weights yet." Tiki shrugged.
"Wait...your weapon? Your equipment is somewhat pure, heck, your 'horns' were fake and an attachment to your M.O.D. and initial armor, basically only having your tail to boast about the 'demon' thing. Your axe was much of the same, merely being Obsulyte conductive. This is new, isn't it? I suppose untested as well?" Yuno pointed out.
"First of all, yes, no horns. Second of all, mention my tail again, I will slaughter you. Lastly, there's a first time for everything, right?" Tiki warned Yuno.
"At this point, I'm used to trying new things. My M.O.D. needed a few touches since it was tight around some spots anyway, so Drima had his hands on it to begin with. At least you said power on and off, so there's not much risk involved, since I can just turn it off when I don't need it." Dante nodded.
"All this talk is actually getting me somewhat excited. It'll be quite fun, I think! Working with each other to fight the monsters off, being in sync and playing the game like a team!" Terna seemed upbeat about it.
"Diva, I swear, your optimistic ass about everything is such a divisive thing. It'll be interesting, much less fun as it is dangerous and it ain't a game, that's for sure. You saw what Shadowers and Enmities are capable of, these shits are rapidly increasing their intelligence. Hell, they were seen using tactics and weapons all the way back at Corosta...it's a huge worry to know that some of us are vastly untrained but are to be deployed on a battlefield of that size with an enemy that is approaching intelligence of such an extent. Looking at you, Yuno and Luna, to an extent. Luna in particular, I have no idea how much she knows about combat with her past and everything. Even your training is revolved around hit and run combat with non-professional personnel, judging off the rebels in 'Eterna' city. Despite the volunteering villagers, we will have the military on our side this time, so there's also that." Tiki told Terna.
"Your worry is justified, but you need to remember that because of that, we will have some weight lifted off our shoulders, if we let the Victorian military do their thing, and we instead work alongside, not with, them as a third party reinforcement group. Not like they will let any of us mingle and command their army with their higher ups present anyways." Dante explained.
"But Dante, it prolonged combat in a bigger battlefield, much bigger than what we ever had before. Have you seen the Victorian agricultural zone and its villages? It'll be extremely difficult to maneuver around in a cohesive manner, with all the monsters and military in between, without causing stress because of slip-ups." Hikari added.
"I appreciate the concern but need I remind you that I'm not in any need for it, especially from you, right now. I warned you about it, so at least respect that. We will see further in the conference room, so I'm heading there before any more unfounded talk is done." Dante left as he got irritated by Hikari.
A small moment of silence covered the rest of the group as they waited for Dante to walk away towards the conference room, having him build distance from them first, before they slowly started to head over there as well, wanting to talk without agitating him further than what Hikari, unwillingly, had done.
"Even two days later, huh?" Hikari frowned.
"Tough times, but this too, shall pass. Two nights straight, he's also been thinking about everything his memories had in store, you know." Yuno informed them.
"His distressed state, however, seems much more manageable and contained. Further danger levels are not needed to be raised." Luna affirmed.
"I just don't understand...I never once did anything at Dirunon, in fact, I was in the same state of self-loss as I was when we first met. I never knew anything up until my other half started slowly giving everything back to me, eventually building up to most of it at the orphanage. I know I hid key details off of him, but it wasn't in bad faith, I swear." she sadly said.
"I think you should relax, he will know that too, eventually. I honestly think he's just...confused, is all." Terna calmed her down.
"Again, I told him as I'll tell you right now. You lost Cecilia, you lost your dad, and we've all seen that shit, welcome to war. Like him, I lost everything, but the key difference is that I copped with it already. Imagine having everything come back to you at once like that, and how much of a shit-show that'll be for your brain to process. As the midget said, besides that day Dirunon was attacked, there's a ton more left unsaid before, let alone whatever Magi thought when she did what she did."
"For logic to come out of your mouth-ack!" Yuno got his throat grabbed by Tiki.
"I'll squish you like a dog toy before I throw you to the dogs, I swear that to whatever god might be out there watching!" Tiki's fuse was lit.
"I mean, she did last a little bit longer than other times," Terna whispered.
"Fuse is getting bigger but still burns to a crisp almost instantly." Hikari sighed.
A short breath away from the conference room and after letting Yuno go when they got inside, where Magi and Drima were awaiting them on the other side of the same holographic table, and Dante was firmly seated on the side already. The table this time showed a few small buildings scattered around a wide area in an almost circular formation, having a number of red dots, as well as other descriptions scattered around with the small buildings and even in the inner sides. After being gestured by Drima to have a seat, they gathered around the area and inspected what was before them. Drima then took the lead and started talking first.
"Alright, the day is here. What's before you is known as the Victory Plains. It one of the biggest open field areas that Victoria is known for, stands south of the capital and is what you travel through from the main road from Insinia to here. Scattered around are a number of villages and small towns, some closer, some further, and inside each and every one of them now has at least two battalions stationed in them. We untangled the mess of the logistical nightmare it was to deploy troops in such a wide field over such short notice in the past two days, and I personally took it upon myself to ask the Council for permission to grant third parties deployment authorization to reinforce the fronts we've got in our hands. You'll be extremely surprised when I tell you this: the Council never agreed, as they voted an overwhelming 83/17 against letting you deploy. However, the Grant Counselor, the person in charge of the Victorian Democratic Union agreed. I made a last ditch effort to make it look like she stumbled upon it when checking the latest voting process and its theme while talking to her about it. Unfortunately for us, the Victorian military will not heed a single word, Victorians being Victorians, they will just let us do our own thing while being as bitter as unprocessed coffee about having third parties involved in in-boarder affairs, so just cooperate with them at a surface level and listen to their commands. Had the Grant Counselor, Alexandra Victoria been here, it'd be a whole different story, as she's much more lenient and open-minded. Unfortunately, she's currently in one of the union's many countries, acting as a leading figure to similar events there, the location being unannounced for safety reasons."
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"Last time I remember Victoria and their army being mentioned, they were in over their heads completely, which made them a breeze to annihilate once they realized that Corosta and Sandaco, in general, weren't simply rumored to be horrifying in battle. Never fought directly against them myself, but the sole exception was definitely, unsurprisingly, the Silver Lances that were deployed alongside them, making for quite the experience in battle." Tiki recalled.
"I don't understand. If we are two completely opposite groups, then can't the military just do their own thing and let us just move along?" Hikari wondered.
"Yeah, what if we just assign ourselves a different task than them? For example, they defending the villages and farmlands while we press forward?" Terna pointed out.
Magi stepped up to the stage, "That they will. Defending is what Victoria is known for, as fighting within borders has been historically proven to be an impossible to break through, ironclad defense. However, hardships always come along, including this time. The attacks from the monsters were subtle at first, cutting down all sorts of supply lines and ransacking most crops. While the Grand Counselor might authorize the trading between other unions rather than the VDU, especially when we now know that if other countries of the VDU cannot supply us in time when Insinia and other Trifecta Pact countries are in the way that will only be temporary. It was a meticulously calculated inside job. These monsters have even gone ahead and started copying Victorian military formations and are now using them against us, essentially creating a shield facing a shield that's been slowly withering down both Victorian and very soon, global food supply."
"These newfound monsters are like machines. They appeared to be learning and have even managed to sometimes master other abilities and other properties with mere observation. A suggestion would be to root them out immediately, while also ensuring to the best of our abilities that what they have learned does not end up in more of their troops' hands." Luna suggested.
"It's blatant from the map markings that they are just doing dummy raids to distract the battalions stationed in the villages, with their numbers concentrated around the areas they want to occupy. But look here, inside the circle. That's a massive number concentration right there. Meaning that this must be the root of the issue. Judging solely on what we know from Corosta, I suggest an all-out assault similar to Luna's idea. If we were to turn the defense on the surrounding villages into an offence, because of their positioning, they are already surrounded, with the only route of escape being the bottleneck of the Victory Plains down to Insinia's borders, which are already heavily monitored for such monster attacks alongside with its cities, making for a guaranteed kill. Otherwise, their only escape will be the narrow passage from Victoria to Sandaco, which is less than ideal, but an option without risk nonetheless. And routing back to the knowledge from Corosta, I don't even think they will retreat since their position and number concentration heavily betray that there are leading figures behind their lines. Kill those, and the lesser Shadowers or Enmities will basically go ahead and become mindless monsters again." Dante said.
"I like the idea of an offence, but what if they realize and push back?" Tiki questioned.
"Who cares, battalions are already there and encircling them. Most casualties will be a few farmlands and plants." Dante shrugged, "As for us, with our power and coordination, we should be able to make three groups of two in a triangle formation inside the circle and meet up at the eye of the storm, adding pressure from 3 sides to break through their defenses, regroup and go from there. I'm only accounting for us inside the room anyways since I don't want to have an open conversation that'll last hours with the Victorian military."
"We might have a few more issues than that. Remember when I showed you the image of a new type of enemy? Here's a higher quality version of it.", Drima pulled up a better version of the previous image, "Enmities brimming with Obsulyte energy, taken over by Shadowers who seek it. They have been given a name, befitting of their looks, 'Corrupted', like the Corrupted Obsulyte that sometimes secretes from their bodies. They have shown full autonomy compared to Shadowers, even those who have come across and used Corrupted Obsulyte themselves. And more terrifyingly, they are extremely intelligent. They were originally spotted in Larussia before they headed up here, with more fusions taking place. Now, Enmities who have memories, experiences etcetera, are unable to use them because of their bodies consistency lacking proper evolutionary organs, specifically, a brain. Shadowers are vague, non-fully solid Obsulyte structured beings who have said brains, and other organs, that only become fully materialized when more energy or a host providing them is achieved, as we've discovered from careful autopsies before their bodies caved in and crumbled away."
"Wait, you performed autopsies on these things while alive? Because the only way they actually do dissolve is...death." Yuno quickly asked.
"That we did. As for the morals of it, that's for you to decide. Going back now, these new Corrupted enemies of ours have taken a very accurate, historical tactic that Larrusia used every time it was involved in major conflict with other countries. Scorched Earth. Meaning that if we prompt a last resort move and the farmlands, a very massive expansion of at least 10 million square kilometer land is gone, which is not the largest part of Victoria's farmland capacity, but a major determent, are in direct danger, along with the livelihoods of many." Drima added.
Everyone briefly paused as they heard the extra details provided, trying to think of more ideas revolving around only their very few group's numbers, and struggling to do so, given the width of the battlefield compared to them. All but 5 minutes of silence later, Tiki spoke first yet again.
"Ever heard of ancient Sandaco scriptures and writings from the Previous Era?" she said.
"I have come across some due to proximities from the orphanage." Luna affirmed, "What would you be referring to?"
"I suggest a strategic 'Blitzkrieg'. A Blitzkrieg of divide and conquer. We deployed in the inner ring of the circle, behind enemy lines, and caught them by complete surprise. We cut the monsters off their commanding figures and force their last resort to retreat away from us, instead of them burning everything with Scorched Earth. Retreat right into the defending battalions placed in the villages. They all die, and we minimize loss of land to around 1 million square kilometers because of the first inner circle's area size, somewhere here.", she drew along the map, "With hours counting down, Alexandra Victoria not being here to do much else and the shitheads that the Victoria military force is without her, minimizing our loss, material only at that, to a tenth, while essentially forcing the military that won't hear a word from us to do part of our plan while they just pin themselves into position and defend for eternity is a golden option. If we were to face them from the front as Dante suggested, we'd instead give them a chance to do what they want, but a backstabbing of a flash war is surely something unexpected." Tiki planned out.
Dante agreed, "I very much like that idea. Deployment in the inner circle you drew isn't going to be hard anyways, since our numbers are this low to begin with, so we can escape undetected."
"A commendable plan. I agree on following it as well since we are also on a time restraint." Luna nodded.
"Maybe we should've planned something the past few days for something this serious, instead of playing home renovators," Yuno remarked.
"When was the last time you guys planned for something that didn't first pop up right in your way.", Magi shrugged, "Willing to bet the KoK tourney was much of the same, as Dante's applications was one of the last on the list."
"I'm on the fence about that. What if the Victorian military ends up finding out? How will we explain everything then? And besides that, there's the fact that we don't know if they are planning to move in or not as well." Hikari worried.
"They're not. I guarantee you that since they would update the public first. Everything in Victoria, aside from very specific manners, those that especially concern the public, are resolved with a vote, and to do that, going on the offence or starting a war, is prohibited without the former coming first. For now, they are eternally pinned into defending their positions until further notice. With the Grand Counselor being the only one who is in very, very specific situations that can overrule that law, now stationed elsewhere, it's pretty much guaranteed that they'll be sitting ducks until further notice." Drima explained.
"But we will be sending monsters their way, what if the flux is bigger than what they are used to fighting?" Hikari was still anxious.
"Then, since we are behind them already, we can help them sandwich the monsters between us and them before pressing on, right?" Terna suggested, "Exactly like how we helped each other in Delp-er-Eterna city."
"I...I guess we can go ahead then. I don't know if Enemy will have to come out for this, but she surely won't back down if she does." Hikari nodded.
"Then I guess we're settling with Tiki's plan then?" Magi asked again.
"Not that it's a bad one. The other way around, for the time frame she had, preparing the new M.O.D. version schematics and creating Dante's weapon modification, her new M.O.D. was actually ready for deployment and now this should speak wonders about experience on the battlefield and military. As expected." Drima started packing everything up, "The specifics of the route will be announced to you shortly, and an aircraft will be provided to drop you in, according to your preferred positions. This isn't total warfare, so thankfully, military gear will be unneeded, such as a stealth aircraft instead, since our enemy simply doesn't possess that technology in their hands yet. Get geared up in the armory and locker rooms, and pinpoint the locations on the map, as well as the groups you're working with. Once again, after being sorted, the maid bots will give you your stored gears, or new gears, until you're ready to place them in your rooms. Now, with four hours on the clock, no more words, get ready. This is a matter that, experienced or not, needs powers only Obsulyte users can provide to turn the tide. We will meet back here in an hour." Drima closed the program on the table.