58: plan

With the alliance established, the atmosphere inside the treehouse, though still heavy, lost some of its suspicion and gained the substance of shared enmity. The future fate of Shattered Star Island was about to be outlined in the discussions taking place around the round table.

"Great Priestess," Linn cut straight to the point, his gaze sharp, "Since we are allies, the immediate priority is to understand the current situation and find a way to break the deadlock. Please inform us of the specific situation on Shattered Star Island, especially the troop strength, deployment, and recent movements of the two Orcs forces."

Great Priestess Sea Song nodded, a shadow clouding her face. She turned and whispered a few words to a guard beside her, who quickly left upon receiving the order. Before long, a middle-aged male Sea God Clan member, dressed in a deep blue mage robe and holding a long, slender staff, walked in. His face was gaunt, his eyes deep like an ocean holding a storm, and his body radiated powerful magical fluctuations—he was clearly a Gold Intermediate Rank Mage!

"This is Sebastian, the leader of our Mage Corps." Great Priestess Sea Song introduced him, her tone carrying a hint of reliance and helplessness, "He is currently the strongest fighting force in the clan besides Aivi and me. He is the most knowledgeable about the specific battle situation."

Sebastian nodded slightly to Linn in greeting, then began his narrative in a deep voice, every word seemingly carrying the scent of blood: "Baron of Star Sea, the situation is grim. The Minotaur and Orcs tribes, individually, might not match our clan at its peak, but combined, they far surpass us. The Minotaur are numerous; adult individuals possess immense brute strength. Their leader, 'Broken Horn' Malok, is a High Gold Rank warrior, and he has several Gold Rank leaders under him. The Orcs are more elite; though fewer in number, their individual combat power is stronger, and their discipline is slightly better. Their leaders, the 'Bonebreaker' Grom brothers, are both High Gold Rank Berserkers, incredibly savage."

He paused, grief and anger surfacing on his face: "If not... if our Old Clan Chief hadn't previously sacrificed his life to exchange for the Earth Warriors of the two Orcs tribes, our Sea God Clan would have long ago... Even so, in the continuous battles that followed, although our Mage Corps fought desperately, under the combined strangulation of their two tribes, we have steadily retreated and suffered heavy losses. Just a few days ago, they launched another attack, and we... we lost dozens more brave warriors, and nearly a hundred clansmen were captured, their fate unknown..." Sebastian's voice was filled with suppressed rage and profound helplessness.

Great Priestess Sea Song interjected, her tone heavy: "Their goal is very clear: to completely annihilate our Sea God Clan and occupy the entire Shattered Star Island."

Silence fell over the treehouse, broken only by the heavy breathing and suppressed sorrow of the Sea God Clan members.

Linn's fingers tapped lightly on the tabletop as he fell into contemplation. A moment later, he looked up, a sharp light flashing in his eyes: "Passive defense will only lead to a slow death by attrition. Can we... launch a preemptive strike?"

"Preemptive strike?" Aivi's eyes lit up. She had long been tired of the passive beating they were taking. "The Orcs would never expect us, having suffered continuous defeats, to dare launch an offensive! This might catch them completely off guard!"

Great Priestess Sea Song and Sebastian exchanged glances, both seeing the eagerness in the other's eyes. Sea Song mused, "A preemptive strike... the risk is immense, but it is indeed the only method currently available to potentially reverse the situation. If we act, I believe we should prioritize dealing with the Minotaur! Although they are numerous, their organization is loose, their minds are relatively simple, and there are often internal frictions between their tribes. As long as our action is swift and fierce enough, it is entirely possible to severely damage or even rout them before the Orcs can react and provide support!"

This assessment coincided perfectly with the prior thoughts of Linn and Aivi.

"Good! Then we will start with the Minotaur!" Linn's spirits lifted. "Great Priestess, please bring out the detailed map of Shattered Star Island so we can discuss the specific tactics."

Great Priestess Sea Song signaled, and a servant quickly unrolled a map drawn on tough sea beast hide. The map was quite detailed, clearly marking the mountains, rivers, forests, and the main settlements of various forces on Shattered Star Island.

Linn's gaze quickly scanned the map, finally settling on the area marked as the "Minotaur Stronghold." It was a region of many hills and caves, easy to defend but difficult to attack. Frowning slightly, he pointed to the area and said: "The Minotaur dwelling is a complex network of caves, which is unfavorable for deploying large forces, especially your clan's Mage Corps, making it difficult for them to utilize their maximum Area-of-Effect Magic advantage. A frontal assault would result in heavy losses and allow them to rely on the terrain to resist stubbornly, delaying us until the Orcs arrive as reinforcements."

His long, slender finger moved across the map, finally landing on a long, narrow valley not far from the Minotaur Stronghold: "This place, I believe, is very suitable as a battlefield."

Everyone's gaze focused on it. The entrance to that valley was narrow, the interior relatively wide, but the exit was also small, with steep cliffs on both sides.

Linn began to explain his plan, his voice clear and calm: "My plan is—Lure the snake out of its hole, and catch the turtle in the jar!"

"The Sea God Clan will dispatch an elite force to feign defeat, luring the main Minotaur force into this canyon. As soon as the majority of them enter the valley..."

He pointed to the cliffs on both sides of the canyon: "The main force of your clan's Mage Corps will be ambushed here beforehand. Once the Minotaur enter the ambush zone, they will immediately unleash their strongest Area-of-Effect Magic, a saturation strike! This will break their momentum and negate their numerical advantage!"

Next, his finger pointed to the entrance and exit of the canyon: "Meanwhile, the army of my Star Sea Territory will be ambushed at the front and back of the canyon. As soon as the magical strike begins, they will immediately seal off the exit and launch a frontal charge from the entrance, coordinating with the Sea God Clan decoy force inside the valley to completely trap the Minotaur inside for an annihilation battle!"

Finally, his gaze swept over the experts present: "And all the high-end combat power from both sides—Ocean Jack, the Great Priestess, Aivi, Commander Sebastian, and myself—will be deployed to the battlefield! Our goal is clear: spare no effort to swiftly cooperate and kill the Minotaur leader, 'Broken Horn' Malok, and his subordinate Gold Rank leaders! Once the leader is dead, the leaderless Minotaur horde will be nothing but scattered sand, not worth fearing!"

This strategy by Linn maximized both the geographical advantage and the strengths of both sides. The Sea God Clan Mage Corps avoided close-quarters combat with the Minotaur in complex terrain, allowing them to unleash terrifying magical damage from a safe distance; meanwhile, the Star Sea Territory army took on the tough task of frontal assault and interception, which undoubtedly greatly reduced the potential frontal casualties for the Sea God Clan warriors.

This arrangement caused surprise and a hint of subtle gratitude to surface in the eyes of the Sea God Clan high-ranking members present, including Sebastian. This Human Baron was not just trying to use the Sea God Clan as cannon fodder; he genuinely considered how to achieve the greatest victory with the least cost, and he actively took on the most dangerous task of frontal combat.

Great Priestess Sea Song's gaze toward Linn softened considerably. She nodded slowly: "This strategy is excellent! It utilizes the strengths of our Mages while avoiding unnecessary losses. Baron of Star Sea, you have gone to great lengths."

To ensure that the main Minotaur force, especially their high-end combat power, was successfully lured out, Aivi volunteered. Her eyes were resolute: "Teacher, Linn, to make them believe that our main force is attacking and that they must pursue us at all costs, you and I will personally lead the decoy force! Our combined status and strength will be enough to make 'Broken Horn' Malok think this is a desperate counterattack, and he will certainly mobilize personally to try and capture us in one fell swoop!"

Sebastian also said solemnly: "Great Priestess, Clan Chief Aivi, the decoy mission is dangerous, please be extremely careful. I will lead the Mage Corps and make full preparations on both sides of the canyon, waiting only for the Minotaur to fall into the trap!"

The strategic plan was successfully finalized, with every segment carefully scrutinized. Linn's last remaining worry disappeared, and a surging Battle Intent rose in his chest.

"In that case, we must act immediately!" Linn looked at Ocean Jack. "Ocean Jack, you must immediately arrange reliable personnel to take a fast ship and secretly return to Iron Sand Island to relay my orders! Have Clay lead all the troops to immediately prepare for battle, taking transport ships in batches to secretly sail to 'Crescent Moon Bay' and rendezvous with us! Remember, absolute stealth is essential; we cannot leak any information!"

"Yes, My Lord!" Ocean Jack accepted the order solemnly and immediately turned to leave and make arrangements.