“This time, most important thing, is for monster army to not crumble.”
“Why are you starting there? Explain it to use in the proper order.”
“Tercio. Amazing power to protect. But, slow to move. Also, very few are able to fight, at once.”
Sheto used a branch to draw a large square in the sand. He then drew smaller squares in the corners, and added small circles around them.
“So that is their formation.”
“Look closely. Tercio, soldiers who fight, only on the outside. Also, behind, about two.”
“I see. Now that you mention it, it’s not as if we are fighting all sixty thousand men.”
‘You idiot. Don’t stop there. Explain everything.’
The Dragon God said angrily after seeing the relief of the monsters.
‘In a tercio, every soldier is poised to take action. When a man in front falls, the one behind has to step forward to fill the gap. No matter how many you cut down, another will come to take their place. That is the true strength of the formation.’
“…You fight only a few, at once. But, you must, repeat it, hundreds of times. What happens then?”
“Is that what you meant by crumbling…”
“A unit that can, push back advancing tercio, no one backing down, that is what we need.”
A unit that could withstand such gigantic mass. The demon general’s gaze turned to the ogres and trolls.
“Put them, in center. And we need, others to stop enemy, who try to go around.”
“I will deal with them with my unit. Besides, we will need a way of dealing with the magic unleashed from behind the wall.”
“If anything, it would be better to spread out the pressure they bring to bear as evenly as possible…including across my own unit.”
Berganda picked up a branch as well and began to draw a formation that faced the tercio. The center would be held by a mixed force of ogres and trolls, while on both flanks, Komos and Berganda’s goblins would line up and support them.
‘The Fang Riders and the lizardmen warriors will operate as skirmishers. Their goal will be to harass and deter the enemy cavalry, and to strike the flanks on both wings. But above all, the moment that any dragoons are spotted, they must be taken down immediately.’
“Role of taking down enemy knights. The dragoons. Can the lizardmen and Fang Riders, do it?”
“You want us to cross blades with cavalry using Kuna steel…? Hah, that’s quite the request.”
On the map, the small squares drawn at the four corners of the tercio to represent cavalry were gradually filled in with the lizardmen’s units.
“However, even if this makes things an even match, we still have fewer numbers and will be pushed back before long?”
‘Sheto. Ask them about the types of magic beasts and bugs. Also, ask the knife thrower how fast his subordinates are.’
As the kobold asked, the insect handler and the hobgoblin each gave their answer.
“They can’t beat the Kuna clan or the boars, but they’re still quite fast. For about the time it takes a heart to beat thirty times, they can run right alongside a horse at full speed.”
“Magic-scent worms, fire demon hounds, storks…roughly forty or fifty of each. As for insects, armor scale bugs, mountain urchins, rust eaters, hanging spiders…about a hundred. And for the general’s mount…a wyvern.”
‘In that case, they will be useful for both the ambush and traps. Now, as for the next order…’
New plans were added to the ground formation map, and the deployment steadily took shape. The commanders, each assigned their roles, had their subordinates copy down the diagrams or committed them to memory themselves.
But just as the war council was finally coming together, Komos abruptly hurled a boulder into the middle of it.
“By the way, Lord Berganda. Where will Sheto be stationed?”
He looked up from the map in surprise and stared at Komos.
While he seemed calm, there was a strong will in his eyes as he glared.
“Indeed, his suggested strategies are impressive. However, this army has no place for a weakling who is all talk and no action.”
He understood Komos all too well. He wanted to shackle the Goddess’s Hero somehow, so that he would not continue to be free.
“Do not worry about that. I have already decided where his place is.”
“Perhaps you should make use of his running speed, and have him join Zebine’s throwing unit?”
“You will be by my side, Sheto.”
Komos’s expression changed then. The others also noticed the change in the air, and they watched carefully.
“There is also a chance the Hero’s army will send a strike force specifically to take me down. That is why I want this Sheto’s break arts, along with the eye of his goddess to prevent such attacks.”
“…And you do understand what this will invite?”
There was no need for a victor in this war.
When Sheto had heard the Dragon God’s conclusion, he had shuddered.
This plan of annihilating both armies and wearing down their strength almost felt cruel.