Chapter 4: Deadly Battle with the Sand Worm

The vast grassland was desolate and devoid of people. Who could have imagined that three youths were locked in a life-and-death struggle with a super-mutant Sand Worm, a creature rarely seen even once in a hundred years, on this expansive plain!

As an intoxicating breeze swept across the grassland, Mels raised his single-edged sword. When the sunlight hid behind the clouds, the sand worm inched a bit closer to where Rek was. When its massive, steel-armor-like black body made contact with the ground, deafening booms erupted one after another!

As if retaliating for Mels's earlier constant harassment, the sand worm deliberately moved slowly toward Rek. By now, the sand worm had realized that as long as it advanced toward the motionless human ahead, the human behind it would cease its meaningless actions and become restless.

After the sand worm slowly moved its body about fifty meters closer to Rek, Mels could no longer hold back and remain a passive observer. He leaped forward, once again closing in on the sand worm's massive frame. His body spun like a top at high speed, using the inertia from the rotation to propel himself toward the sand worm's head. He raised his sword in mid-air, concentrating all his strength into the blade.

As golden Qi energy continuously flowed from his palm into the sword, he did not slash at the sand worm's huge head. Instead, he inverted his body in the air, head down and feet up, still spinning rapidly as he charged toward the sand worm's back. With a fierce shout, "Thunder Blade Technique, Dragon Battles in the Sky!" the rotational force reached its peak in an instant. From a distance, Mels's form looked like an inverted cone, plunging fiercely into the sand worm's back.

When the golden sword made direct contact with the sand worm's back, sparks flashed as if two metal weapons had clashed!

"Yahhh…!" As if to bolster his own spirit, Mels pushed his body's Qi energy to another peak. Finally, the sand worm's hard shell began to crack; finally, a small wound appeared on the sand worm's impenetrable back. From this wound, a small stream of blue blood sprayed out, dyeing Mels's entire body a strange shade of blue.

"Roar…!" The sand worm, in pain from its back injury, never expected that this tiny human could break its hard shell. Rage and agony nearly drove the massive monster mad. It wildly thrashed its body, hurling Mels's form far into the air.

Although his body was slammed heavily onto the ground, wracked with pain as if every bone were broken, a faint smile appeared on Mels's still-youthful face when he saw the sand worm turn its head and angrily bare its fangs and claws at him. "Heh heh, you dead monster, now you know this young master's power!" Struggling to push himself up, Mels loudly mocked the sand worm.

"Roar…!" As if provoked by Mels's taunts, the sand worm roared and stopped spraying mucus. Instead, its entire body lunged toward Mels.

"Boom!" Like a whale churning the sea, the ground where Mels stood erupted in a towering spray of mud. Severely injured, Mels barely managed to evade the sand worm's attack but couldn't avoid the tremendous impact. His defenseless body was thrown into the air and then crashed back to the ground!

"Boss!!" Sol, watching Mels's perilous situation, let out a heart-wrenching cry of anguish.

"Yah… ah!" Desperate, Sol struggled frantically, hoping his hands could come together to complete a spell, even the smallest one. The thorny vines tightly wrapped around him dug deeper into his flesh with his struggles. Copious amounts of blood flowed from the hundreds of small wounds covering his body.

However, the belief in saving his friend finally overcame the mage's frail physique. When his thumb and index finger came together, the wounded Sol shouted, "Wind! Gather around me! Power of the spirits! Be released for me! Wind Blade!"

In an instant, a storm erupted around Sol, instantly severing the thorny vines wrapped around him.

"Ah…!" Before Sol could even feel joy, his body completely lost control and fell beside the sand worm, which was continuously attacking Mels.

The greatest difference between a mage and a warrior lies in physical strength. If a warrior like Mels could be thrown into the air several times by the sand worm, for someone with Sol's physique, even being thrown into the air once might leave him unable to stand.

"Sol!" Seeing the blood-covered Sol suddenly plummet from over twenty meters high, Mels, who had nearly exhausted his strength, found new power from somewhere. Just as Sol was about to hit the ground, Mels rushed to his side at top speed and firmly caught Sol in his arms.

Unfortunately, Mels's strength at that moment was only enough to act as a "meat shield" and couldn't carry Sol away from the danger zone. The massive sand worm would never let go of this heaven-sent opportunity. It agilely swung its body and lunged head-on toward the heap of Mels and Sol.

"It's over!" Mels thought to himself, pressing Sol beneath him, ready to face being devoured by the sand worm.

Just as the sand worm was about to swallow Mels and Sol, Sol shouted, "In my name, I summon my guardian sacred beast—Kerdos!"

In the blink of an eye, a yellow light emanated from the yellow gem on Sol's raised left hand. Within this light, a gorilla about ten meters tall, clad in heavy armor, appeared before the sand worm. With tremendous strength, it firmly gripped the sand worm's massive head, preventing it from advancing even an inch.

"Boss, run!" Seizing this chance, Sol helped up the nearly strengthless Mels and struggled to move away from the sand worm.

Although the Steel Ape was a physical-attack-type Summoned Beast of the magical beast lineage, facing a sand worm several times stronger, it was still outmatched. Within less than two minutes of confronting the sand worm, its legs were already pressed into the soft ground by the sand worm's immense force. If this continued, the Steel Ape would likely perish here. If that happened, Sol would also lose all his magical abilities forever and suffer injuries that could never be fully healed!

At the most critical moment, Rek, who had been silent for a long time in the distance, finally entered the final stage of fusion. When the blue-colored summoning stone on his left hand erupted in a warm blue light, completely enveloping his cross-legged form, the originally featureless, transparent-limbed Soul Mage suddenly became clear in features and distinct in limbs.

Suddenly, Rek let out a sky-shaking roar. The blue light on his body then shot straight into the sky like a blue pillar of light. Seeing this pillar, Mels smiled knowingly. He knew Rek had succeeded in his first fusion!

Soul Mage Melisde and Rek's soul merged into one within this pillar of light. Melisde, now possessing Rek's consciousness, did not hesitate. As soon as his ethereal form could move, he ascended to the sky above the sand worm in the shortest time and loudly chanted, "O spirits slumbering in darkness, gather your long-held grudges here. Guided by my name, use the shadow of death as the strongest power, gather all darkness in my left hand—Dark Magic Bow!"

As the incantation gradually completed, black energy continuously gathered from the ground toward Melisde in the air, forming a black bow and black arrow in his outstretched left hand. The moment the incantation finished, the black arrow shot toward the sand worm like lightning, trailing a black afterimage!

"Boom!" When the magic arrow struck the sand worm's massive head, a thunderous explosion rang out like a bolt from the blue. The sand worm's huge body toppled to one side from this blow, and Sol's summoned beast, the Steel Ape Kerdos, managed to free itself from the sand worm's immense force.

"We won! Hurray! Boss, we won!" Sol, ignoring his all-over pain and still-bleeding wounds, excitedly cheered and shouted.

Looking at the fallen sand worm, Mels let out a long sigh of relief and smiled, giving a thumbs-up to Melisde in the sky. Melisde, however, expressionlessly nodded to Mels. Though it was a small gesture, Mels knew this was the greatest reaction Rek could manage during his first fusion!

Suddenly, the sand worm's tail, directly below Melisde, shot straight up, instantly striking the completely unprepared Melisde into the sky. From this blow, not only was Melisde seriously injured, but even Rek, within the protective light sphere, suddenly developed a deep, bone-visible gash on his chest.

After the successful sneak attack, the sand worm raised its huge head again, parting its fleshy lips to bare its fangs and claws at Mels and the others. Completely unprepared for this low-level magical beast's successful ambush, the three youths were dumbfounded. Their earlier joy vanished in an instant.

"This… this thing, is it immortal?" Sol muttered in astonishment, staring at the unscathed sand worm.

"…" Hearing Sol's words, Mels remained silent. Meanwhile, the Steel Ape Kerdos retreated to a position in front of Sol. Without Sol needing to explain, Mels understood that Kerdos had already acknowledged it was no match for this sand worm.

"…Rek, can you use that magic again?" Mels, after a long silence, suddenly shouted to the ethereal, wavering Melisde in the sky.

Hearing Mels, the severely wounded Melisde nodded with effort, then held up one finger.

"One time? One time is enough!" Mels thought to himself, seeing Melisde's response.

"Boss, what are you planning? This thing is immortal! We can't possibly kill it!" Cowardice is a common flaw among mages, and Sol was no exception. At this moment, Sol was terrified by the sand worm's tenacious vitality. "Sol, calm down! You know how our escape went earlier. Even unharmed, we couldn't outrun it! Now look at me, look at Rek, and look at yourself. Do you think we can escape from it on this grassland? Today, if we don't kill it, we will definitely die! Alright, calm down. Use your power to enhance me. And the flight-guarding magic! Hurry!"

Mels patiently explained to Sol, ending his speech with a commanding tone. Fortunately, the sand worm's attention was now drawn to Melisde in the air, giving Mels and Sol time to talk.

After hearing Mels's words, Sol, who had only momentarily lost control, immediately understood what he should and shouldn't do now!

"Light, gather around me! O spirits of light, release your power! Bestow your strength upon the brave warrior, multiply the warrior's courage, let the warrior fear no threat of darkness, let the brave warrior shatter layer upon layer of darkness—Holy Light Protection!" Sol joined his little fingers and thumbs of both hands, then loudly chanted the light-element protective spell. When the incantation completed, intense white light enveloped Mels's entire body, forming a thin layer of white radiance around him.

Then Sol joined the middle fingers and thumbs of both hands to form the wind seal, loudly chanting, "Wind, gather around me! O spirits of wind, release your power! Share your ability with the brave warrior, free him from the earth's bonds, let him soar the skies. Guided by my name, release the power of wind—Wind Wings Soar!" Immediately, intense green light formed a pair of transparent green wings on Mels's back.

"Sol, use magic to attack the sand worm, attract its attention. Have Kerdos protect you! Just hold out for one minute! If we don't succeed this time, then we'll all die here!" Mels said as he flew into the sky.

"Boss, you can't die!" Sol shouted to Mels.

"Hmm!" Turning back to give Sol a smile, Mels soared skyward.

"Rek, gather your magic! Watch for my signal!" Mels flew higher and higher, heading deep into the white clouds, away from the sand worm and the two youths' sight. At this moment, if it were someone else, they might think Mels was fleeing without a fight. But Rek and Sol knew Mels would never abandon them. Perhaps "mutual trust" is like this—it's only in such life-and-death moments that one can truly understand it.

Just as Melisde began chanting the dark magic again, Sol, who had nearly exhausted his magical energy, forcefully chanted another spell: "O thunder, gather around me! O thunder spirits, release your power! Let the furious thunder descend from the heavens, make the earth tremble, let darkness fall, O thunder that destroys all, guided by my name—Heavenly Thunder Descent!"

As the incantation completed and Sol raised his hands high with the thunder seal formed by joining his ring fingers and thumbs, several bolts of thunder suddenly fell from the clear sky onto the grassland, violently striking the sand worm's body. Although these attacks didn't cause significant damage to the sand worm, the pain was enough to enrage it.

In that instant, the sand worm abandoned Melisde, who was gathering magic power in the air, and roared as it charged toward Sol. Of course, the first thing it had to face was Sol's summoned beast—the Steel Ape.

The purpose of attracting attention had been achieved. Sol, with no strength left whatsoever, simply sat on the ground, quietly watching Mels's plan unfold. He now understood why Mels had said failure meant death here!

Just as the sand worm and the Steel Ape were entangled, Mels in the sky, single-handedly, once again dove toward the sand worm's head. However, this time, there seemed to be a small green lump on his shoulder!

"Little One? Boss, have you gone mad? What use could your slime be against this thing?" Sol, sitting on the ground, watched Mels summon his summoned beast but spoke dismissively.

However, Mels in the sky paid no heed to their reactions. He flew straight onto the sand worm's head, using the flight spell to stabilize his body, then loudly said to the slime on his shoulder, "Little One, hurry!"

The small slime, though not large in size, understood Mels's intention perfectly. Before Mels's words even finished, a stream of green corrosive fluid had separated from its body and shot toward the sand worm's head armor.

With a sizzling sound and a foul odor, the sand worm's hard armor was instantly melted by the slime's secreted corrosive fluid, creating an area about two to three square meters, allowing Mels to see the pale red flesh tissue beneath.

"Rek, it's up to you now!" Seeing his plan succeed, Mels struggled to evade the sand worm's counterattack, which was now feeling the pain, and shouted to Melisde.

Only now did Sol and Rek finally understand what Mels intended. They watched as Melisde's already-prepared "Dark Magic Bow" shot toward that narrow wound at the fastest speed and the best angle! This time, besides the thunderous explosion, there was also a towering spray of the sand worm's blue blood. And the magical power that penetrated deep into the sand worm's body erupted wildly inside it moments later!

"Boom!" Amidst a cloud of dust, the sand worm's massive body finally collapsed. Watching the sand worm twist in agony and gradually grow still, the three youths knew it would never rise again. They had finally defeated this supposedly undefeatable super magical beast with their martial skills and wisdom!

The three youths, having recalled their summoned beasts, sat around the giant sand worm's carcass. "Haha, we managed to take down such a huge thing! We must be invincible!" Sol stretched his simply bandaged limbs, lying in a spread-eagle position on the ground flattened by the sand worm.

“Hah, we just got lucky! If the Sand Worm hadn’t underestimated us, even with hundreds more people, we wouldn’t have stood a chance!” Leke, equally exhausted, smiled modestly.

“Come on, don’t be modest! Leke, I can’t believe you actually managed to fuse! I’m so jealous! Keldos and I have tried countless times, but it never works!” Sol said with an envious look, recalling Leke’s impressive fused form with Melisde.

“Yeah! Leke did the most to take down the Sand Worm this time! If he hadn’t successfully fused with Melisde, we’d be chatting inside its stomach right now!” Mels smiled as he gazed at the Sand Worm’s corpse, praising Leke.

“Nah, it was nothing! Without the Young Master’s plan and Little One’s corrosive fluid, my Melisde would’ve been completely useless against that thing!” Leke laughed, scratching his head. Yet both Mels and Sol could sense his quiet pride in his words and expression.

“Hey, I helped too. My Keldos might not have matched it, but he held it off for quite a while!” Sol puffed out his chest. Kids always like to brag—and after such a hard-won victory, letting them boast a little is only natural.

“Alright, alright! Everyone contributed. This Young Master is totally beat now! Let’s find a place to rest first! Too bad our plan didn’t pan out, and we brought all this stuff for nothing! We bought all this with our own money, so we should still take it with us!” Stretching, Mels stood up and looked sadly at the pile of packages on the ground—packages Leke and Sol had been carrying.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! Boss, this is slave labor! It was all your idea—saying ‘let’s buy a bunch of pork to lure that thing out,’ making Leke and me carry these packs of dead pork until we were half-dead! And now you still want us to carry them? You’re standing there empty-handed, talking without feeling any back pain!” Sol moaned dramatically. Leke also loudly objected to Mels’s decision.

“Alright, alright! What a pain! Fine, don’t carry them then—I’ll be democratic. The cost of these packs of pork will be deducted from your wages!”

Hearing the first part of Mels’s statement, Sol cheered loudly; however, when Mels finished his last sentence, Sol’s face went white. He then turned sharply to Leke and declared, “Even though I’m a mage, I still need to exercise my physical strength—so we *should* carry them! Right, Big Guy?”

“Yeah, yeah! As a warrior, I need even more exercise! We’ll carry them, we’ll carry them!” Leke—whose wages were deducted by Mels every month for various reasons and who had barely any gold saved up—hurriedly sided with Sol upon hearing Mels mention deductions again.

As the three were goofing around, another tremor shook the ground. Though this tremor wasn’t strong, their faces all paled simultaneously.

“No way! Is the Young Master cursed or something?” Mels said, stunned. Though Sol and Leke were equally shocked, this time they didn’t suggest running away—because right now, they could barely walk a few steps without panting heavily, let alone race a Sand Worm across the plains!

“Then what? What happened next? Was it another Sand Worm?” Sarikat, captivated by the thrilling story, saw Mels pause and urgently pressed for more.

“What happened next…” Mels deliberately slowed his speech, then suddenly jumped up and shouted, “Whoa! Hundreds of Sand Worms popped up!”

“Ah…?!” Hearing Mels’s sudden shout, Sarikat, Skete, and Kerjes all exclaimed in shock.

“Haha… Just messing with you! If there were that many Sand Worms, could this Young Master be sitting here telling you stories? What appeared later were tunnel-loving dwarves! That Sand Worm had also attacked the dwarves’ village, so their elders sent out hundreds of dwarf warriors to try and capture it. In the end, the Sand Worm didn’t die—but many of their clansmen did, and the survivors escaped only by digging tunnels.

After they saw we’d killed the Sand Worm, they made a huge fuss, then insisted on dragging us back to their dwarf village. Finally, when they learned we’d come to the dwarves for dragon eggs, they gave me the three largest dragon eggs in the village. That’s why I came back so quickly!”

After finishing his story proudly, Mels suddenly noticed the strange expressions on Sarikat and the other two’s faces. He hurriedly stood up, trying to escape while shouting, “Hey, hey, I said it before—a gentleman uses his words, not his fists! Ah… Godfather!” Mels, who had been laughing heartily, finally discovered that extreme joy begets sorrow—as Sarikat grabbed him. Then the three old-timers rolled up their sleeves and gave Mels a thorough thrashing.

“I told you not to go near magical beasts—and you still went! You deserve this!” Sarikat slapped Mels on the buttocks.

“I told you not to reveal my preferences—and you still did! You deserve this!” Skete seized the chance to get even, kicking Mels on the other buttock.

“Right, right! I told you to ‘respect your elders’—and you dared to make us serve tea and water? You deserve this!” Kerjes, after searching for a while, finally decided to punch Mels in the face—and swung his right hand.

“Ouch! I said no hitting the face! And you still dare to hit? Be careful—or I’ll get angry!” Mels stood up seriously, covering his nose.

Hearing this, the three old men froze for a moment—then looked at each other. Sarikat was the first to punch Mels in the face again, smiling slyly and saying, “We’ve already hit you anyway! Are you saying you won’t retaliate? Brothers! Let’s settle all the grievances we’ve suffered over the past ten years today! Hit him!”

And so, amidst a flurry of punches and kicks, the poor genius boy was brutally beaten into a swollen mess under the torment of the three formidable old men over fifty. We can only pray to heaven not to let such a “brilliant and mighty” young hero die young! Let’s all chant “Amitabha”!

Just as the three old men were thoroughly enjoying the beating—and Mels was in a pitiful state—Leke and Sol burst into the hall.

“Ah… Boss, you…” Seeing Mels’s miserable appearance, Sol said in shock.

“It’s fine, really! These three wanted to practice boxing, and the sandbags at the back mountain were broken—so I reluctantly agreed to be their ‘sandbag’ for a while.” Mels, too proud to admit defeat, certainly wouldn’t tell the truth about being beaten.

“But… Boss, your nose is bleeding!” Sol continued.

“Bleeding? Is it? Oh—that’s just tomato juice I drank on the way! Alright, alright—never mind that! Hurry up and tell me: did you finish the task I gave you?” To divert everyone’s attention, Mels quickly changed the subject.

“Yes—we’ve figured it out! Just as the Boss suspected, those bastards are targeting the fortress!” Reminded by Mels, Sol suddenly recalled the task Mels had assigned.

“What exactly is going on? Who’s targeting the fortress?” Sarikat sensed something ominous from Sol’s words and urgently asked.

“Fortress Master—it’s like this. Yesterday, on our way back to the fortress, we suddenly noticed several different groups of bandits and small-country troops heading toward Skull Ridge. The Boss suspected these guys were like the ‘Red Sun Bandits’ who attacked the fortress three years ago—intending harm to the fortress! So he ordered the two of us to follow and monitor them, while he returned to the fortress first to report our safety. As a result, we found these people were divided into seven groups—with numbers ranging from nearly a thousand to over two thousand. They have now gathered on the Sena Plain, less than eighty miles from Skull Ridge. Sol and I estimated the total number to be around 10,000 to 12,000!

Also, to confirm their purpose, we captured a bandit and questioned him about their goal. We can confirm they’re after a batch of jewelry we seized at Skull Ridge the year before last! Judging from the fact that even a small bandit like him knew the attack target, I think they’ll definitely attack the fortress within a day or two! So Sol and I rushed back on horseback to report to you and the two Fortress Masters!” Leke fully explained the situation he and Sol had scouted to Sarikat and the others.

“Did you find out the enemy’s specific troop types and formation methods?” Skete pressed.

“Yes!” Leke nodded very affirmatively.

“Second Brother—go get the nearby maps immediately!” Sarikat said loudly to Skete. In fact, even without his order, Skete had already gotten up to fetch the maps.

A moment later, Skete returned to the hall with several maps. Sarikat grabbed them, swept everything off the meeting table, spread the maps out, pointed at the Sena Plain west of Skull Ridge, and said loudly to Leke, “Is this where they gathered?”

From Sarikat’s actions and tone, he was clearly very tense. This was actually expected. Though the “Blue Whirlwind” was said to have five thousand members, this included the entire population—meaning it already included some family members of the bandits living on Skull Ridge. In reality, the Blue Whirlwind’s combat personnel numbered only around three thousand. But now they had to face an enemy force exceeding ten thousand—a huge threat to Sarikat!

“Yes! It’s definitely here!” Leke said with great certainty.

The location of Skull Ridge could be clearly seen on the map. Skull Ridge was located on the western side of the Kachit Mountain Range. The Kachit Mountain Range was a major mountain range spanning half of the Chaotic Country, with its westernmost part being Skull Ridge—where Mels and the others were—and its easternmost part lying within the borders of the Fijinando United Kingdom. Below the mountain range ran the “Peace Avenue,” a main highway parallel to the mountains, traversing Fijinando and Kalans.

West of Skull Ridge was the Sena Plain. Though the plain wasn’t very large, it served as the central entrance to the Peace Avenue. The Blue Whirlwind had always set up checkpoints on the plain to prevent enemy sneak attacks on the fortress. However, no news had come from these checkpoints this time—presumably because they had been completely destroyed by the enemy.

“Hmm…” Skete fell into deep thought upon seeing the location Leke pointed to. Then he pointed to a small valley northwest of Skull Ridge on the map and said, “If they gathered on the plain at this location, they must be planning to sneak-attack the rear of our fortress from here!”

“Second Brother—that’s impossible! They have tens of thousands of troops, and I believe they have a deep understanding of us. Though this valley leads directly to the fortress, it’s very narrow—allowing at most thirty people to walk abreast! If our fortress were on flat ground, they might advance quickly! But the fortress is on a mountain. Such a large force moving on mountain paths would be extremely slow. If we discovered them—wouldn’t they be doomed?” Kerjes voiced his objection after looking at the location Skete pointed to.

“Third Brother—don’t rush. Let Second Brother finish.” Sarikat interrupted Kerjes and said to Skete, “Second Brother—continue!” Clearly, Sarikat trusted Skete’s wisdom and judgment greatly.

“Alright. Actually, Third Brother raised many questions. But my speculation is based on the premise that they have a thorough understanding of our strength!” Skete said, making a startling statement.

“Third Brother—if I gave you two thousand troops—but your enemy only had five hundred, and they hid inside the fortress without coming out—would you commit all your troops to attack and assault the fortress head-on?”

“No! If it were me, I would attack in waves—wearing them down until they were exhausted—and finally… Right! Why didn’t I think of dividing the troops to attack?” Kerjes suddenly realized that the enemy, with their large numbers, could completely split their forces to attack the fortress.

“Exactly! If my guess is correct, the enemy’s forces likely don’t have many cavalry. They would use infantry and mage units to forcefully attack the front of the fortress—while sending Summon Warriors and a small number of archers to attack our rear through the valley. Since Summon Warriors have strong attack power—coupled with the long-range shooting ability of archers—and our defensive forces at the rear mountain are already few—they would easily be breached. By then, we’d already be overwhelmed dealing with the frontal enemy. Having to face the sudden appearance of the enemy’s main force from behind would pretty much seal our fortress’s doom!” Skete explained his conjecture to everyone while pointing at the map.

“Haha! As expected of Second Brother! Those bastards are in for big trouble meeting Second Brother!” Kerjes clapped his hands and said loudly.

“Hehe—don’t celebrate too soon. This is just my conjecture. Let’s hear Leke explain how the enemy is deployed. If it matches my guess—then we can think of a plan!” Skete’s cautious nature absolutely forbade him from being overconfident.

“Alright—I think the enemy’s attack method should be similar to what the Second Fortress Master said.” Leke nodded while pointing at the map. “There’s a force of over six thousand troops relatively close to the highway—and about two thousand cavalry to their north, near what we assume is their main camp. Between these two forces is another infantry unit. Though we’re not sure if they are Summon Warriors, Sol and I saw the Royal Knights banner of the small southwestern country ‘Crido.’ I think they are the Summon Warriors meant for the main attack on the rear mountain! Oh, right—this unit was mobilized very frequently. Just during our half-day observation, there were three large-scale mobilizations! So I can’t confirm exactly how many troops they have—but it’s definitely not less than two thousand!”

“Good! This matches my speculation exactly!” Skete clapped his hands with great confidence. However, just as he was about to present his plan, this experienced old man suddenly noticed Mels—who seemed lost in thought. Skete suddenly said to Mels, “Mels—what do you think we should do in such a situation?”

“Huh? Ask me?!” Mels, caught off guard, looked at Skete in surprise.

“Yes—exactly! I think it’s time to hand over the leadership of the fortress to you! I don’t want to offer any more opinions on this battle! You’ve been learning military strategy and tactics from me for over ten years—this is your best chance to showcase your talent! Hehe—don’t say anything about how if you fail, everyone will be doomed! Besides you kids, your Godfather, Third Uncle, and I can definitely escape. If your tactical arrangements fail—then let the ghosts of several thousand brothers haunt you for the rest of your life!” Skete seemed to see through Mels’s thoughts—preemptively stating what Mels wanted to say.

“This is making me dizzy!” Mels made an exaggerated gesture—then suddenly said seriously, “If you really want me to arrange things—then Godfather and Third Uncle must also follow my command! We need to establish a military pledge right now—otherwise I won’t do it!” Mels declared loudly.

“Fine! No problem!” Sarikat and Kerjes agreed almost simultaneously—and Skete also nodded with a smile. From this, it was clear that Mels was indeed the most beloved disciple and child of these three. To let him gain practical experience—they were willing to entrust their lives to this seventeen-year-old boy!

“Alright—that’s good!” Seeing the three nod in agreement, Mels began to explain his thoughts.

“I think Second Uncle’s arrangement must be to have Third Uncle and yourself defend the front of the fortress—while having Godfather lead the fortress’s Summon Warriors and archers to ambush the enemy in the rear valley. Since the front of the fortress is quite far from the enemy’s main camp—when their sneak-attack force is wiped out, it would be difficult for them to report back to the main camp promptly. This way, Godfather can lead the fortress’s cavalry from the rear mountain to attack the enemy’s main camp—aiming to defeat their cavalry and assault their base! Finally—turn the cavalry around and charge toward the enemy attacking the front of the fortress!”

Seeing Mels accurately articulate the battle plan he had prepared, Skete smiled knowingly—with slight surprise. “Exactly—that’s what I meant!”

“Second Uncle’s idea is indeed correct. Though our Blue Whirlwind occupies the mountain as our stronghold—we are essentially mounted bandits; we’ve always relied on cavalry for long-distance raids as our main method of robbery. With Second Uncle and Third Uncle’s Summoned Beasts and a thousand infantry defending the fortress—which has narrow paths and is easy to defend but hard to attack—it would indeed make it difficult for the enemy to advance. And Godfather leading two thousand brothers accustomed to fighting on horseback to attack an enemy cavalry force of similar size shouldn’t be too problematic. Even if they can’t succeed—retreating safely to the fortress shouldn’t be too difficult. But I think such a battle method might not go as smoothly as we expect. Everyone—think about it: why would the enemy continuously mobilize the infantry near the rear mountain? If it’s just to confuse us—why would they prominently display the Royal Knights’ banner? Also—why would even a small bandit know they are going to attack us? You must understand—though our Blue Whirlwind isn’t a major bandit organization—we’ve been established on Skull Ridge for twenty years! Fighting here—we have absolute advantages in both timing and terrain! I think—if the enemy commander were really such a fool—he wouldn’t have silently destroyed our checkpoints outside the fortress and secretly set up camp on the plain still far from us!” Mels’s words immediately plunged everyone into silence.

After a long pause, Skete finally said, "Mels, aren't you overestimating the enemy's intelligence?"

"Second Uncle, our decision now concerns the lives of thousands in the stronghold! I'd rather assume the enemy is a hundred times smarter than they actually are than be treated like a fool by them!" Mels suddenly raised his voice.

"Mels, you're absolutely right! It's your Second Uncle who hasn't considered things thoroughly enough. Maybe I've gotten too used to peaceful days! Go ahead and share your thoughts. Even if it completely overturns my decision, it's fine!" Skete encouraged Mels.

"No! Second Uncle's plan is the safest approach, so the main strategy should still follow your idea. But I want to add an extra layer of protection!" Mels, shedding his usual playful demeanor, spoke seriously and cautiously. "My thought is that the enemy deliberately wants us to believe they'll use Summon Warriors to ambush the rear mountain. In reality, they only send a small portion of soldiers and Summon Warriors to station in the valley.

Everyone knows that in such ambush battles, it's hard to tell exactly how many Summon Warriors the enemy has. So the enemy exploits this, making us think their strongest force has been eliminated, then luring us to attack. Meanwhile, their cavalry coordinates with archers outside the valley to engage our attacking troops in a chaotic battle, dragging us down and wearing us out!

If that really happens, our stronghold only has a little over a thousand defenders. With such limited strength facing seven or eight thousand enemy troops mixed with Summon Warriors, I think even Second Uncle and Third Uncle would be hard-pressed! Moreover, the most crucial point is that the enemy outnumbers us by at least three to one. They can afford a war of attrition, but we absolutely cannot!"