Bodanen: Cobalt War

Chapter 12: Battle Plans

"We have no current map of the area, correct? Then send out some fliers. Standard procedure, yes? I volunteer, and I could lead a small group to survey the forest from the sky to find any abnormalities. It may not give us an exact location, but it should help us narrow down our search area, right?" Boris made the room jump; everyone had been so focused on the map that they forgot about each other's presence save Blake and Talib.

Taken aback slightly, Talib took a moment before answering Boris's query. "I...I suppose that may work. That is standard procedure, I suppose, but it would be perilous, and we'd have to wait until tomorrow for the suns to come up. But yes, that may help us a great deal."

"No, what I am suggesting is to send out a small scouting force now, as the suns set; with the lack of sunlight, any artificial light would become apparent instantly; even at night, their crests glow brightly. We also have the means to help us see in the dark, making flying safer; the king was quite generous with providing survival equipment. And with a small force, we would be less likely to be spotted." Boris looked to the new faces in the council chambers; the six captains that Talib brought; three were angels, one was an eagle therian, one was a demon, and the last was a light elf. "We need to keep this quick and quiet, so the captains that you brought with you that can fly can join me in our search of the forest. That means that there would only be six trusted scouts out in the dark night, making them next to impossible to spot in the sky." As Boris looked to the captains, those that could fly nodded approvingly in agreement with Boris's suggestion.

Stroking his beard in thought, Talib quietly contemplated the situation before speaking again. "Night flights can be quite dangerous, but this could prove instrumental in our success. Very well, so long as all that go are going voluntarily, and you are all quick and quiet, this may just work." Looking to his captains, Talib was pleasantly surprised yet incredibly proud as the five captains that could fly stepped up without hesitation. "Well then, you six go get ready to depart; the rest of us will continue to plan until you set off."

"Boris, you good?" Siegfried glanced at Boris as he passed.

"No problems here. We will find the base, so you lot make sure our plan of attack is foolproof, yeah?" Boris patted Sieg's shoulder with a smile as he passed before leaving the room with the five captains.

After the six new scouts left the room, the rest returned to the map. "Okay, with the scouting party's information, we'll be able to at least narrow down the area that we have to search, so with that, how do we proceed once we do find their base?" Talib looked to Blake and Siegfried, the people responsible for putting these plans into motion.

"Once we do pinpoint the enemy's base, we'll need your men to begin an assault. Then, while the enemy focuses on your attack, our infiltration group can act. As for your assault, I leave that to you and your men." Blake acted as if his work was done and sat back in a chair away from the table.

"Wow, really?" Siegfried looked to Blake for a moment in disgust before returning his attention to the table. "Talib, you said that those six captains were your most trusted, yes? Then have them lead individual companies to attack at three different angles of the base. For now, let's work under the assumption that there is just a singular point of entry, then their focus will be that main entrance of the facility, so they can come at it from three directions. First, separate into three battalions led by two captains, each leading one company; one company per group focuses on attacking the base while the other acts as reserves that can take the attacking force's place should they need to rest or heal. With the three attacking squads in front, we could have the reserve squads just out of range of the main fighting while providing ranged support as well. At the same time, Sayen's tribe could stay back with the reserves; I understand that your tribe prides itself in its speed, yes?" A proud nod from Sayen caused Siegfried to smirk with some confidence. "Then focus on that; use hit and run tactics, rush the enemy and fall back before they can react. Of course, it's far from perfect, and I'm sure there are holes in it, but I think that this may be our best plan of attack as of right now, at least until we know more about the enemy's base and its defences. Other than that, I'd highly recommend moving fast on this. Possibly as soon as tomorrow once we know the general location of the enemy's base. We can't have this plan leaked, so the sooner, the better, yeah? So, what do you say?" The remaining six strategists in the room looked at Siegfried for a moment in awe. "Hmm; what is it?"