Elemental Cats

?The Alliance of Kingdoms' military had stocked up on enough potions to make several potion runs under the assumption that most, if not all, combatants were alive. Now that many of them had already died, there were more than enough potions to go around. And with the barriers shielding the troops from the Tribe of Death's attacks, the runners also didn't have to sacrifice themselves to get through the battlefield.

However, potions could only do so much. They could help restore mana, but not as quickly as the troops expended it. And they could help patch up wounds and alleviate fatigue, but only physical harm and exhaustion. Ordinary potions couldn't deal with tired minds or psychological scars.

Surging motivation and morale could help the troops power through their mental fatigue, but they could still make mistakes.

So, before the state of the troops got too bad, General Scoll had to step in and change the flow of the battle.

The Tribe of Death and their forces were ceaselessly attacking the Alliance of Kingdoms' combatants and troops, who had hunkered down beneath their multiple layers of barriers. Abruptly changing the situation in a way that would favor the Alliance of Kingdoms would take a little finesse. Simply casting aside the barriers and sprinting toward the Tribe of Death wouldn't work.

General Scoll looked at the two sides of the battlefield as he devised a plan. He discarded the idea of keeping the barriers up while charging as soon as he thought of it. Doing that would burn through the troops' mana quicker than the potions could even hope to restore.

The general saw how the Tribe of Death's forces were singlemindedly focused on slinging spells. Not everyone on the enemy side concentrated wholeheartedly on casting magic and attacking the Alliance of Kingdoms. But most of them were, which would significantly delay their mobility in case of a sudden change in the battle. And it would be even worse if there was a diversion at the same time.

A plan gradually began taking shape in General Scoll's mind as he went over the available resources and combatants as well as the Tribe of Death's most likely response for when things changed.

After taking a final look at the condition of his troops, General Scoll relayed his plan to his subordinates. Riella, Cooper, and Merr took off and began carrying out his orders while Derada stayed behind.

Although there was an entire army between him and the enemy, there was no guarantee that there wouldn't be any assassins trying to kill General Scoll. He could have asked someone else to carry out his orders since there were many messengers and the like stationed nearby. However, sending away all but one of his bodyguards could bait any potential assassins and lure them into attacking the general.

If they did that, General Scoll could get an idea of how well-prepared the enemy is and what kind of cards they have up their sleeves. He wasn't the least bit worried about his life as long as he had Derada by his side. After all, Derada was one of, if not the most, reliable of all his bodyguards despite her attitude.

However, no assassins showed themselves, and Riella and the others had time to return. All of them reported a successful execution of their orders, which elicited a slight smile from the general.

The fact that no assassins had tried to launch a strike against him meant that they either didn't even want to try while Derada was there or that there weren't any assassins. General Scoll was more inclined to believe the second option. If an opportunity to kill the supreme commander came along, an assassin would take it, even if it could be a trap.

Not to mention how the Tribe of Death wasn't known for its elaborate preparations and schemes when it came to winning battles. They probably hadn't planted any assassins deep enough to try and reach the general. That meant that they had been confident that they would win, which only solidified General Scoll's conjecture that the Tribe of Death had lost their Fountain and were trying to hide that fact by using Chalices.

Since the Tribe of Death hadn't laid a trap using their movements, General Scoll didn't have anything to worry about when it came to the execution of his plan.

And now that the initial preparations for the end of the war's beginning were ready, General Scoll only had to put them into play.

General Scoll couldn't guarantee the success of his plan since there were too many variables on the battlefield. And he didn't know what the combatants he would be using were exactly capable of or how far they were willing to go in a proxy battle when they weren't used to risking their lives. ' 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝑐𝘰𝓂

It was one of the disadvantages of using the combatants from the factions of the Transcendent Realm. They were only here to experience battle and play around a little. They weren't fighting for their lives or the continued existence of entire kingdoms.

However, General Scoll didn't have the leeway to complain about the quality of the troops he commanded. It was up to him, the commander, to make the best use of whatever means he had available, even if they weren't as good as he would like.

Thankfully, his plan didn't require the same self-sacrificial willingness that his infiltration mission had required. It was a regular military maneuver that would allow the Alliance of Kingdoms to press the attack and force the Tribe of Death to take action.

It would hopefully be enough to cement the Alliance of Kingdoms' victory over the Tribe of Death. General Scoll's mind spun rapidly to get rid of the 'hopefully.'

With a final assessment, General Scoll took a deep breath and readied his voice magic.

The Alliance of Kingdoms' troops were losing morale and getting more tired with every passing moment. However, General Scoll could see that it was the same for the enemy.

So, before his own troops fell too far, it was time to execute the plan.