Brain Storm

"Master Apollo, since you arrived late, let me quickly summarize what I already explained to Master Jaylee."

As she spoke, Negi started pointing out parts of the map.

"As you can see this island is shaped like an inverted &. We are located in the Southern half with me in the center, Master Jaylee on the West and Master Apollo on the East. As of now the entire North half of the island was dominated by the one we call Master of Red Onis. The reason for this name is obvious enough but here is a picture of his servants so you can have a better idea."

Negi passed a badly drawn picture to Apollo who, after taking a look, passed it to Jaylee. The picture looked like it was drawn by a seven years old kid and it basically showed a muscular monster with a little horn and angry face.

"Hayate has been monitoring the Master of Red Onis for some time now and concluded that he should proceed South in three days. That was two days ago, so he will probably start moving tomorrow." (Negi)

"To reach us they should pass through this route as it's the only route linking North and South, so my idea is for us to make a stand right over here and to help us accomplish that my engineer team and lumberjack team have been working the last two days tirelessly to build a fort right on this point." (Negi)

"Won't they just dodge the fort by passing on it's side? Couldn't you just make a wall?" (Lee)

"Even if I made a wall, there are not enough people to defend it, so it's useless. In such situations I think it's better if we concentrate our forces in a single location and if they decide to pass, we can attack them on a pincer attack from both front and behind." (Negi)

"So you want to separate our forces in two?" (Lee)

"Initially yes. At least until we are sure they won't ignore our fort and proceed their march." (Negi)

"Couldn't you have consulted us about this whole plan before starting implementing it? If you had at least talked about this when you visited, maybe I could think of some ideas." (Apollo)

"Sorry but due to the urgency of the matter I had to skip a few steps. And I was actually very nervous meeting you for the first time." (Negi)

"Hmph... So, that's it for the plan? Hold the fort and wait for a miracle?" (Apollo)

"Well, if we hold them back for 3 weeks the next phase will start so I don't think he will have the time to care about us."

"Oh! That's right! There is that!" (Lee)

"Are you really going to trust that Fatty Bastard's words?" (Apollo)

"What do you mean?" (Lee)

"...nothing." (Apollo)

(So it's just me who doesn't trust that guy???)

"Looking by the marks in this map that guy has eaten 3 other bases already." (Apollo)

"That's....correct, but if we use the defensive advantages of the fortress, shouldn't we be able to stop them? Isn't it said that to capture a castle one needs at least twice as many people? Even though we have less people than them, it's not to the point they have twice our number yet, right?"

"I think that's valid only to well built fortresses, but I have no real experience so it's just a guess." (Lee)

Apollo nodded to Lee's comment and complemented it himself.

"Even if they don't have twice our numbers now, that guy will probably continue to make new soldiers and because he can produce faster than us he will eventually overwhelm us." (Apollo)

"Then what do we do?" (Negi)

"I'm not saying your strategy is completely wrong, but we need something to win this war, not just stop them in their tracks."(Apollo)

"So?" (Negi)

"How about we attack their base at the same time they are attacking us? We can buy some time using your wall and sneak some units to strike their heart."(Apollo)

"That won't work. " (Lee)

"Why not?" (Apollo)

"The road is too narrow here and there's no forest, it will be impossible to pass by them undetected, and on the moment the strike team is detected..." (Lee)

"...True. Any other idea?" (Apollo)

"How about we build a boat and circle around like this?" (Negi)

"If we had enough time, sure, but we don't." (Lee)

"If only we could fly past them..." (Apollo)

"Hey! Aren't you guys forgetting something?" (Lee)

""Eh?""

"Aside from having their HQ destroyed, which other way a Player can lose this game?" (Lee)

""...""

Instead of answering, Lee just grabbed the King piece in his hand and showed them with a smile.

""Oh!!!!""

After a small pause, Negi questioned.

"Yeah, that's also a plan, but how can you be sure he will not stay in his base and wait the good news? I mean, travelling around this island is a pain!" (Negi)

"Don't you say, my butt is still feeling a bit numb from this last trip!" (Apollo)

"Gross!!!" (Negi)

"Hahahaha!" (Apollo)

"Cough! Cough! So, answering your question, if you were in his place, would you stay in your house or watch the show??" (Lee)

"That's..." (Apollo)

"Hmm..." (Negi)

"And this is not the only motive, let me also ask, how far can that antenna of yours spread the HQ's signal? If I'm right you would need to build at least 4 other of those to allow our signal to reach his base." (Lee)

"Oh! So that's what that tall structure near the forest does?" (Apollo)

"Yeah, it amplify the HQ signal and allows orders to be passed to your subordinates from a longer distance, detect enemies and it also reveals the tower's range to your real time map." (Lee)

"Nice! What's its name?" (Apollo)

"I think it's repeater or something... Just search through the list and you will find!" (Lee)

"Right!" (Apollo)

"We are getting off topic! Let's discuss how to capture the King!" (Negi)

""Yes, your highness!"" (Apollo & Lee)

Seeing that the two answered in complete sync, they looked at each other and started to laugh.

"All right! Let's call this operation Capture the King!" (Apollo)

"Right! I completely agree with that!" (Lee)

"Stop playing around and let's get to work!" (Negi)

The clock continued to tick at the same rhythm but evening arrived before anyone could notice. Food was served as they continued to perfect their plan and it was only hours later that the three bid good night and returned to their own camps.

Tomorrow there was a lot of work waiting for them, so each of them hurried to their bed after passing a number of orders and as the new day arrive the three camps started to move.