Chapter 245: 10,000 vs. 2,000
"Considering the possible long-range communication methods of the troll priests, we must prepare for the worst."
"The Gurubashi trolls already know about the situation here."
"If they have dispatched their army,"
"We now have four and a half days!"
"Today, let's discuss what to do next."
"Fight or not fight?"
"If we fight, how should we fight to achieve victory at the lowest cost?"
"If we don't fight, how should we retreat to prevent them from threatening the Bay Territory?"
Matthew's voice spread through the conference room, prompting everyone's thoughts.
Elio fiddled with the non-slip cloth on her sword hilt, carefully calculating the number of soldiers the Bay Territory could deploy.
Two thousand soldiers with considerable combat strength.
In field battles, they could confront about 4,000 troll soldiers.
In defensive battles, they could withstand around 8,000 troll soldiers.
Elio was more inclined toward defensive counterattacks.
Even though she personally preferred offense.
However, the Bay Territory soldiers had significant advantages in defense.
Abundant supplies could greatly reduce battle casualties.
They could take turns resting, maintaining combat strength with potions and food supplements.
But there was a drawback that troubled Elio.
Defense was ultimately somewhat passive, and it was uncertain how many troll soldiers the enemy would send.
If the number was too large, they might be worn down to death!
Beside her, Beelzebub looked at various materials and felt a bit overwhelmed.
However, this time he wasn't as perfunctory as before.
Even without many ideas, he tried hard to note down the number, characteristics, and combat methods of the Gurubashi trolls, as well as their own military strength and weapons.
The reason for Beelzebub's change
Was naturally because the Bay Territory's soldiers had effortlessly wiped out enemies twice their number, leaving Beelzebub inexplicably amazed.
Recalling his past failures, repeatedly thinking about the lord's arrangement and control of the battle situation, and remembering the confidence in easily handling the trolls, he naturally came to such an understanding.
"Learning how to fight is also very important!"
Others were also thinking carefully. The lord leading everyone to easily eliminate thousands of trolls made each person feel great pressure.
Even though a considerable part of the plan was led by Knight Angela, supplemented by their mutual discussions.
Noticing everyone's solemn expressions, Matthew was not in a hurry to speak, silently waiting for their discussion.
Growth is a process.
Some people grow quickly, others slowly.
Matthew was confident in rapidly developing the overall strength of the Bay Territory, but development was only part of future warfare; strategy and tactics were also crucial.
That's why he called everyone to discuss and improve together as the battle approached.
Only Elona's mind was buzzing.
In her mind, scenes of trolls screaming and falling were still echoing.
Of course, although she was kind-hearted, she didn't feel pity for these trolls.
Instead, she felt incredulous about everything happening before her eyes.
Why were those seemingly tall and strong trolls so fragile when facing the Bay Territory soldiers who were only two-thirds their height!
The enemy had stronger combat power and greater numbers, yet they lost!
And they lost miserably!
When Elona carefully thought about all this, she suddenly realized.
There must be many things she didn't know hidden in this!
If in the past, Elona hadn't been captured by human slavers, sent to the dark slave camps, and was still living carefree,
She would never have been interested in this seemingly "very cruel" war.
But now, she deeply understood the importance of mastering "power"!
If her hometown's half-elf village had armed forces as strong as the Bay Territory soldiers, would those cunning and treacherous slavers dare to attack them?
In this dangerous world, relying on others is really not as good as strengthening oneself.
This was only one aspect; although the lord was very good to her and her sisters,
She always had some worries in her heart. If she could be more outstanding and create more value for the lord,
Then, wouldn't she not be abandoned?
Although she had escaped the life of enslavement, this influence had already changed her character.
Having "figured it out," Elona also began to ponder deeply on what she should do.
In fact, even the fruit that Elona was holding—in other words, the Tree of Wisdom in her hand—was continuously emitting emerald green light.
It seemed to be preparing to listen to everyone's discussion, absorbing this knowledge to grow further.
Angela examined the terrain around the troll castle.
The troll castle was in the center.
In the middle was a dense forest; on both sides were flat hunting areas.
Further north was the upper reaches of the Silvermoon River.
It cut across a large area of dense forest, dividing it into northern and southern parts.
To the south, it was a day's journey from the castle.
To the north, it was four days to the Gurubashi trolls' gathering place.
Angela stared intently at this river, silently falling into contemplation.
She vaguely felt that this river would play a crucial role in the upcoming battle.
However, Angela was somewhat hesitant.
She didn't know how many troll soldiers the enemy would send.
Nor did she know the combat strength and tactics of those troll soldiers.
The current troll castle had a nominal number of 5,000 trolls, but only about one-third had received combat training.
The rest were just beasts with bodies but no tactics.
However, the soldiers under the Gurubashi trolls, who had a more complete social structure, would undoubtedly be different.
Therefore, Angela placed increasing importance on intelligence.
Just as everyone was lost in thought, Matthew suddenly took out a communication scroll, glanced at it, and said:
"I have a piece of bad news and a piece of good news for everyone."
"The bad news is that the Gurubashi trolls have learned about the changes here at the troll castle."
"They immediately assembled soldiers and are heading towards the troll castle."
Upon hearing about the trolls' movements, everyone was not as confused as before.
They awaited more information to make more detailed and accurate judgments.
"The good news is that the Gurubashi trolls only dispatched 10,000 troll soldiers to dare attack us!"
Ten thousand!
10,000 troll soldiers vs. 2,000 Bay Territory soldiers!
Before Matthew finished speaking, he marked the trolls' position on the map and drew a staff symbol:
"Their position has reached here, still four and a half days away from us."
"In addition to the usual 8,000 troll soldiers, they have 2,000 troll hunters with long-range attack capabilities."
"There are also four troll priests with high-level caster combat power!"
Everyone looked at the marks on the map and felt immense pressure.
The trolls' army of ten thousand would arrive in four and a half days!