"Let's recap. The people of Bonpei have around 2000 troops plus the civilians who should not participate in a fight. Adding everything that should total 5000 people, but they are at the foot of the mountain. They should have swords, bows, arrows, and those types of weapons, but nothing made for a siege. The city is surrounded by a wooden wall, and some checkpoints are going up the mountain. According to your scouts, there are around 500 troops on each of the 3 checkpoints and the last 500 back in the city. And you say they were also preparing something you're not sure what it is, correct?" Alex, Hera, and Blue were inside the stone tent, discussing the strategy with Releon in front of a large map of the area.

"Correct. Our scouts noticed some unusual movements here, and here," Releon pointed to two points on the map. At the same time, 2 red marks appeared on the table. Those were in between the outposts, meaning something might be in the path leading to the city.

"Those might be traps. Remember what the guy said? The elf, I mean," Hera said.

"Really? I don't remember him saying that" Alex tilted her head.

"Yeah, he did. You're probably too lost on his plump well-drawn lips to pay attention," Blue smiled.

"His lips weren't drawn in. It was just natural. There was no lipstick there," Alex quickly replied while looking at the map.

"She should be right, Blue. After all, I'm sure Alex has extensive notes about his lips," Hera snickered.

Alex kept staring at the map, pretending she didn't hear her friends teasing her, but it was easy to tell that she was embarrassed about it. Her cheeks were already turning red, and she was obviously not focusing anymore.

"Anyway, Adriel also said that we need to be careful with sabotages. So where are our supplies? That would be the first place they should hit," Hera asked.

"We have two caches, one is here in the center of the city to help us arm a militia, and the other is going to be with our logistic team to supply the troops in the front line. They should be moving back and forth between here and wherever the rest of the troops are located," Releon explained.

"OK. That might be something we should give more protection to. Also, something is telling me that we shouldn't leave the city alone. I'm pretty sure that they would try to come here and use the people that stayed behind as hostages," Hera leaned over the map, "Can't you just redirect the lava flow to flood the city?" the path made some twists and turns, but the city itself was directly at the foot of the mountain. If they just opened a hole at the side and let the lava flow, it was very likely that the city would be completely engulfed by the hot magma."

"Unfortunately, we can't. A few days ago we did our monthly redirection, the one that hit the farm and killed the farmers. That's the spark that triggered a war. If we try it again, our city will be in danger. We must constantly control the amount of lava that exists here to avoid an eruption and so that the volcano never becomes inactive. Going beyond those set and controlled releases is not an option," Releon shook his head while looking to the outside. By his expression, it was clear he was worried about the people in the city.

"I think I missed it, but how many troops do we have again?" Blue asked.

"893 proud warriors and I assure you that every single one of us is worth at least 3 of your kind," Releon puffed his chest. The man looked like a human made out of the fire, and his clothes were made of cooled-off magma. However, instead of small facial changes to present their emotions, the people of the lava tribe would change the heat from their bodies to express something. Because of that, it was hard to tell whether he was showing pride or arrogance, but there was a clear change in his temperature when he made that comment.

"Where are they? It's not that I don't believe in you, but I would like to see for myself," after Hera asked, Releon nodded and walked outside the tent. He pointed to where what looked like a raging fire was moving. It took her a moment to understand what she was actually looking at. The warriors of the lava tribe were all close together, and there was no clothing in sight to help her identify their shapes. In the distance, the battalion she was looking at was no different than the flames of a gigantic campfire.

Releon noticed she was having trouble seeing the warriors and called, "Captains! To the command tent."

Some of the flames started to move closer to Hera, and eventually, they detached from the mass, allowing her to notice their actual shapes. They were humanoid, but their faces were less well-defined. Unlike Releon, they didn't have beads of white flame for eyes and an area of a darker fire forming their mouth. Looking at their faces, Hera could only distinguish more or less a part of the fire that was a bit more yellow in contrast with the orange flame for their eyes and a more red part that formed their mouths, but the difference in colors was very subtle. Luckily, there was one thing that wasn't disturbed by their amorphous shape. Her [Observe]

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Lava Tribe Captain - Level 24 (Fire Affinity)

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Lava Tribe Captain - Level 24 (Fire Affinity)

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Lava Tribe Captain - Level 24 (Fire Affinity)

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Lava Tribe Captain - Level 24 (Fire Affinity)

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"Each of them commands a troop of 212 warriors," Releon told Hera and gestured for his captains to follow him, "Captains, this is Hera. She's one of the generals that will be leading us to battle," they all entered the tent made out of cooled off lava, and the chieftain introduced the rest of the humans.

"Oh, hi. And what are your names?" Blue asked.

"They won't be telling their names to you. You can call them captain; they will understand when you're talking to them. This might seem unusual to you humans, but we can understand intentions through temperature," Releon said before any of the captains could even say anything.

"That seems a bit stupid. We need to know who we're talking to," Alex rolled her eyes.

"No. We need to know who you're talking to. As long as your orders are precise, we won't have any problems. You may be our generals, but you're still humans, and I will not sully my people's name by letting you know them," Releon changed his expression for the first time since he met the humans. Now he looked somewhat angry.

The three girls pressed on the matter, trying to learn the names of the people they would command but to no avail. Even if it would be bizarre to give them orders without having a way to differentiate between the four, Releon was adamant against it. At one point, he even started to repeat his answers.

"I guess this is just part of the dungeon," Blue sighed.

"Yeah. It's a bit weird, though," Hera looked back at the map, "So, Alex. Have you come up with a plan?"

"I did. I'm not sure it's gonna work, but I think it's a good idea. We're gonna split our army in four. Well, technically, 5. The team responsible for logistics will be split in half. Half of it will stay in the city with the supplies, and the other half will bring everything back and forth between the army and the city. According to this map, we can reach the base of the mountain in just five hours of walking, so I think they can just cover the distance in a rush if we have a smaller group that is highly mobile," Alex looked to the captains, "Do you think any of your troops fit that criteria?"

The captain on the far right of the line stepped forward, "I believe I can take that responsibility. My troop consists of those who are used to scouting in traveling long distances. If needed, we can move faster and reach the mountain's base in an hour or so."

"Great. I might ask for maybe 20 people to be actual scouts too. Unless somebody else has a scout team at the ready," Alex continued speaking.

"There is a team of scouts under my command. I believe their expertise would be more helpful. The scouts in the captain's troops are focused on trading and hunting, not warfare," Releon explained.

"Perfect. For the rest of us, we're going to split the army between two teams of vanguards and one that focuses on ranged attacks. For the vanguard, we will be using the continuous track strategy," Alex proceeded to explain what she meant by that. The idea was to move the army as if they were the tank tracks. Each battalion will be split into different lines. When one line fights against the Bonpei's army, they will hold their position while the second line pushes forward for a bit before stopping. Then it would be the third line doing the same, then the 4th so on. The reason for that was so everyone would have a chance to rest and recover their energy before going back into the fight.

"That is an absurd idea. We do not require rest between fights. We are not like you who can grow tired after a single combat," Releon scoffed.

"Doesn't matter. It's not just about physical tiredness but mental strain as well. Fighting for your life takes a toll on you, on your body, and your mind. If we keep only the first line in front all the time, it will come a moment when they will die for stupid mistakes. Not because they are not good warriors or because they are distracted, but because they will be in such a constant struggle that their minds won't be able to take it. If we allow them to rest, we are always in top shape and can lessen our casualties. Or, are you willing to let your people die just so you can prove that you're better than us?" Alex kept her eyes on the map, moving the small pieces representing the troops around the map to simulate some possible scenarios.

"I suppose you have a point. It's more important for us to survive than to show anything," Releon nodded.

"Thought so. Now for the range troops. Since we are uphill, we're gonna have a better time with any sort of bow and arrow or long-range spell. I want you guys to be focusing on hitting their backline. Don't worry about the front and we're gonna spread out so we can have a wide range of coverage. Blue, do you think you can protect them or maybe hide them somehow? Only hide them if you can allow them to see where they're shooting. The last thing we need is to get hit by friendly fire."

Blue looked to the side for a moment, "I don't think I can hide them completely, but I can do something. Worst case scenario, I might just make some cover so nothing from above can hurt them."

"Great. Now, what I really needed was someone to check for traps."

"I can do that. Actually, we can do that," when Hera spoke, her entire court appeared around her.

"Can you guys find traps?"

"Between me, Daskka, and my Blades, we can find most traps that would affect an army. I don't think we are going to have to worry about things that are too intricate.

"I agree, especially since the war was only announced recently. The traps might be tricky, but not like a trap dungeon hard," Alex nodded.

They ironed out a few more details and told Releon they were ready for the war. When they said that, the chieftain nodded and left the tent. To everyone's surprise, the outside was completely different now. The houses seemed more fortified, with more of the cold magma covering the entrances and windows, and the mass of fire that was the army couldn't be seen clearly. Each individual soldier was now wearing igneous rock armor, the same kind that Releon was using. The chieftain roared with the sound of a crackling flame, followed by every member of his army doing the same.

Releon turned back to the humans, "Let's go. It is time to exterminate some pests."