"That really is... an utterly unglamorous lineup..."

Some of the observing children were momentarily speechless. They had no clue what Norton intended by selecting such seemingly useless units—after all, even an eight-year-old vampire with only preschool education could easily defeat multiple skeleton infantry units.

"Hey, hey, Norton, you're really holding back, aren't you?" Norton's younger companions began to complain, suspecting he wasn't taking the game seriously.

"Not at all. I've just come up with some new tactics I want to test," Norton replied, flashing a confident smile.

"What kind of tactics can you even use with those trash units?" Though Norton's smile was bright, his companions remained skeptical.

"Don't worry. Just wait and see," Norton concluded, focusing his full attention on the battle platform. After securing his opponent's agreement, he initiated the battle. The simulated battlefield sprang to life, with clouds drifting by and the wind rustling through the grass. The mock battle began.

Previously, Norton’s unit compositions resembled those of other children, relying on refined strategic and tactical applications to win more often than not. This time, his whim to field low-tier skeleton units stemmed from his discovery of an ancient imperial tomb, filled mostly with ordinary human remains, unsuitable for converting into elite units like Tomb Guards. Norton thus saw this simulation as an opportunity to hone his command of low-tier soldiers.

"Still, I never planned on losing," Norton mused, guiding his army forward and dispatching small squads of skeletal cavalry as scouts.

Contrary to Norton's cautious advance, his opponent's army moved swiftly. Using undead troops, the opponent pushed them in a forced march, unconcerned about exhaustion, though the formation grew slightly disordered. Seemingly unfazed by this, the opponent continued his rapid advance.

His troops scattered, with individual squadrons of Black Knights far from the main force. Discontent with the gargoyles' reconnaissance speed, he used the Black Knights as scouts too.

"Just locate the enemy and charge with the Black Knights,” the opponent thought, smiling. “They're only low-tier units and no threat to my Black Knights. This will be an easy win." Initially, things went as he expected.

Fifteen minutes into the battle, the armies' scouts clashed. Armed with longswords, drake-cutters, or heavy lances, the Black Knights decimated Norton’s skeletal cavalry like cutting through butter. A hundred Black Knights faced a hundred skeletal horsemen and effortlessly annihilated them, the latter leaving nothing but bone fragments, while the Knights remained unscathed.

The Black Knights wheeled their mounts, their undead steeds, draped in black iron armor, moved with uncanny silence. Apart from the ethereal jingling of the bells on their necks, they made no sound at all.

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“Cavalry scouts… so they’re in this area. Interestingly, it wasn’t the gargoyles but the Black Knights who spotted them first,” the cousin thought, pleased.

Having crushed the skeletal cavalry, the opponent began to consolidate his forces, advancing eagerly towards that direction.

“That direction…?” Norton quickly accessed the skills of his skeletal cavalry and ordered the nearby centurions to release their vultures, predatory birds kept by vampires for military purposes.

These carrion birds, accustomed to tearing rotting flesh, carried a host of bacteria and viruses in their mouths and claws. A scratch, even if initially harmless, could lead to infection, fatal without prompt magical treatment. While possessing some combat capacity, vultures were primarily used for scouting.

Despite their unappealing appearance, vultures were excellent aerial scouts, their keen eyesight detecting strands of hair from high altitudes, outperforming gargoyles. Designed for battle, gargoyles weren't optimized for reconnaissance.

Releasing seven vultures, Norton shared their aerial view, monitoring the enemy's every movement within kilometers. This allowed him to anticipate and prepare his formations optimally. He elongated the central two phalanxes, integrating necromancers and skeleton archers, while angling the flanking units to form a U-shaped trap, ready to ensnare the opponent.

His opponent’s response was, to Norton’s amusement, reckless.

“So naïve... rushing all forces forward with no scouts after his initial success. Even with the Black Knights’ speed, his army split, leaving Tomb Guards and necromancers trailing. Does he really think a Black Knight charge alone can break my army?”

Against a more experienced vampire opponent, Norton’s simplistic tactic might have failed, or even been countered. But facing a thirteen-year-old, it succeeded.

As the scattered Black Knight vanguard encountered Norton’s army, they charged straight into the trap. The two front phalanxes braced, while the flanks closed in, creating a three-sided assault.

Witnessing this, the children finally cheered for Norton, having maintained silence out of consideration earlier.

They marveled at Norton’s tactics, which, though simple, seemed impressive to them.

Seeing his forces ensnared, the cousin forced himself to stay calm, reassuring himself, “He has the tactical advantage, but those low-tier skeletons can’t harm my Black Knights. If they break through, victory is still mine!”

However, events didn’t unfold as he expected. Norton’s skeletal soldiers, though seemingly weak, were more formidable than their appearance suggested.

As the battle commenced, the first assault didn’t come from the advancing Black Knights against the phalanxes, but from Norton’s skeleton archers.

Hundreds of archers released a volley in sequence, creating a cloud of arrows. The cousin dismissed them, thinking, “Skeletons lack strength, their bows weak. They might trouble unprotected soldiers, but they can’t pierce Black Knight armor.”

Nevertheless, he followed academy teachings and ordered the Knights to raise their shields, halving casualties in the first salvo.

Arrows clanged off helmets, armor, and weapons, but this was expected—Norton never intended to harm armored, enchanted Black Knights with mere arrows. The real threat was the magic imbued on them.

Upon impact, the arrows triggered a powerful acid spell, equivalent to aqua regia, dissolving the Knights' armor, helms, siege mounts, and eventually the Knights themselves. The enchantment on their armor flickered, then vanished with a “pop,” leaving the skeletal bodies exposed.

“It’s acid magic! They enchanted the arrows!” The opponent realized, and the onlooking children exclaimed in understanding.