Val Kazar couldn't help the feeling of satisfaction at receiving the report that the human hit squad had been completely annihilated.
As expected, they use the tactics of a larger force but lack the knowledge of how war works in a system dominated world. Well, I can hardly blame them for that. They still did startlingly well for fledgling initiates.
He had no reservations admitting to himself that if the humans had simply been more knowledgeable the outcome would likely have been different. Their adaptability and perseverance was extraordinary, but nothing could change the fact that their exposure to the various facets of system-integrated life was too limited for them to have had a reasonable chance.
In short, it could be said the only reason the vishan had won was because of the difference in knowledge and experience. In particular, the fact they hadn't known about mage-breaker charms was the crux of the vishan's victory.
Charms were something that could be crafted by high-level crafters with skills in creating enchanted artifacts. They were not something that initiates with a poor understanding of the world would be able to create without instruction. Many charms acted as poor imitations of the legendarily effective system tokens, with potent effects that would destroy the talisman once used.
Mage-breaker charms in particular were a defensive-type charm that negated the first instance of a magical attack, then broke. There was an upper limit to how potent the attack could be before the charm became ineffective, but they were extraordinary tools against your average mage.
Still, Val Kazar was grateful that they had been lucky enough to receive intelligence on the enemy's strategy after only the single ambush.
No, perhaps it wasn't the first ambush. It's quite possible Yur Kuzak, our third casualty, was the true first victim of the human squad. It was quite disconcerting that there wasn't a single hint as to that incident at the time, but that was because we weren't lucky enough to have a witness.
Rud N'Mas' presence at the site of the duel between Kal'o Kir and Eve was something nobody had expected. Under ordinary circumstances her erratic behavior would have been met with swift disciplinary action, but the information she'd been able to provide had outweighed any amount of resentment Val Kazar had for her actions.
After all, though mage-breaker charms were extremely potent, they'd only brought the five with them. It was frustrating how limited the resources they'd been allowed to bring had been, and even more frustrating that they'd actually had to play most of their hidden advantages.
There isn't much time left before the protected period expires. I need to start planning the specifics of what's to come, assuming nothing else goes awry.
The discontent between the two camps of humans was still concerning, but now that he'd robbed the leader of Arkania of her squad he hoped she'd settle down and stop making so many overtly antagonistic moves.
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And that's why I didn't fancy any potential plans involving direct conflict with the vishan.
Devon sat in the concealed safety of a treetop. He'd watched the entire conflict unfold, and found the skirmish thoroughly interesting.
Nix's squad had used a tactic befitting of their larger force, employing a variety of attacks from a practiced formation. In a sense, it was a very human strategy. Devon had never been particularly interested in military matters, but to his knowledge battlefield strategy usually revolved around using people as a resource, or perhaps a tool would be a better way to phrase it.
Their leader had divided the squad into three roles. That being mage, archer, and warrior. Their strategy revolved around the mages locking the enemy in place while the archers dealt damage from afar and having the melee fighters clean up whatever remained.
The vishan's approach to war was a stark contrast. They also moved as a unit, but they focused far more on utilizing each individual's unique strengths rather than assigning them a generalized role.
The most concerning thing is how they managed to remain unaffected by those lightning bolts.
Devon was willing to bet a lot of money that those bolts of lightning had the same effect as his Lightning Imbuement, so he understood why they'd been a central part of the human's strategy. And yet the overseers had been completely prepared for it. In fact, their entire strategy seemed to be baiting out those attacks and countering with their precise spear throws.
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Well, it's not surprising they knew about the human's strategy when Zane is on their side. But still, the ability to negate magic…
When the lightning had come out two of the spear wielders had blocked bolts intended for the shield bearers. Most likely they were the only ones impervious to the paralyzing bolts. The real question was what their immunity stemmed from.
A class-based passive ability perhaps? Or maybe an item? Either way, I doubt that little trick works more than once because they still targeted the mages first before they could get a second attack off.
It was clear now that the attrition issue wasn't something he needed to worry about in the immediate future unless Nix tried to rally the entirety of Arkania against the overseers. Even if she had some kind of backup squad, which he highly doubted, there was little hope the humans could beat the overseers in a skirmish like he'd just witnessed. The vishan's tactics and resources were simply too much of an unknown.
What's the next move then, Nix?
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A rhythmic thumping sounded throughout the cave as Nix's fists repeatedly smashed against the ancient stone walls of the ruin. The skin on her knuckles had long since worn away, and the wall she was punching was cracked and covered in blood from her repeated strikes.
Damn it! Damn it! Damn it all!
A man named John watched from the side until he couldn't take it anymore, "Stop it, Nix. This won't help anything."
John was one of Nix's most valuable cards. He was something of an eccentric before they were whisked away, a recluse who spent most of his time playing with different crafts while repairing broken electronics to eke out a living. Those skills had been fully drawn out by his chosen profession and now he was by far the most skilled craftsman in the entirety of the tutorial.
Nix took labored breaths as she collapsed against the wall, "I was… so close. I was this fucking close!"
"I know. But there's no use crying over spilt milk."
Nix gave a shuddering laugh, "Spilt milk? That's a good one, John. Eve takes Phil and fucks off to who knows where, my brother is a filthy fucking traitor, and now the squad which I'd banked pretty much everything on has been left to rot in the wilds for monsters to feast on their corpses. You're right, let's just grab a paper towel and get to cleaning this little mess up."
John was silent at that. Nix rubbed her eyes with her palms as she took deep breaths, not caring that it left bloody streaks all over her face and disheveled hair.
Finally, she said, "There's too little time remaining to do anything against the overseers by myself."
"You mean you're finally going to try to resolve internal conflicts before external? Sounds like a great idea to me."
"Shut it. I'm not in the mood for sarcasm. I wanted to save this shit situation with Plainstown til after I played my ace. It would have been so easy at that point to get them to piss off, even if I had to threaten them with annihilation."
"Oi, I'm not rebuilding this thing so you can use it against other people. If that's what your plan is then you can count me the hell out."
"Relax. It'd simply be a measure of deterrence. Back home with weapons like this there was the threat of mutual annihilation, so we haven't seen their use for a good long while. But Plainstown doesn't have anything this strong up their sleeve, so we can be relatively sure they'll leave us alone for the duration of the tutorial."
John didn't look completely convinced, but Nix knew he'd been working on the project long enough that he wasn't simply going to cast it aside. "I'd like to remind you that even before the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki the Japanese had been warned beforehand. It still took a live demonstration to get them to back down. I'm fine with that demonstration being against the overseers or maybe the wilderness, but if you dare try to use it against those people without a proper warning I'll break it before you ever get the chance."
"Duly noted."
So what's your plan?" He asked.
"I'm going to try and drag Trey to the table so we can resolve our differences like adults. No more of this arm's length crap. Whether I like it or not, I can't beat those damn overseers without his help anymore."
"But weren't you saying that might not be a good idea?"
"...Yeah. If what Zane said was true, loathe as I am to acknowledge that possibility, there's potential Trey was the one instigating conflict between the camps."
"Wait, what? I never heard about this."
"Oh, sorry. Guess I've been a little busy over the past day. Basically, Zane said there's someone with the ability to change their face and name. Ivan and I theorized that such a person could potentially be responsible for this mess between the two camps. But the real issue is one of the identities Zane asserted this mystery figure assumes. That person being Trey's aid, Gregor."
John put his hand to his chin thoughtfully, "I see. So either this mystery man is like a snake in Trey's pocket, manipulating him from the shadows, or Trey is the real mastermind and he's using this shapeshifter to do his dirty work."
"That's exactly what makes this situation so damn complicated. If Trey is the one that's been making the tutorial such a mess then a meeting will be utterly pointless. But I have to be careful how I broach the subject of this mystery man because if Trey isn't the one pulling the strings then it may sound as though I'm accusing him of being the mastermind."
"Talk about walking along the razor's edge…"
"Yeah, no kidding."