Rising to Fall

Chapter 2-9

Seto picks up a large roll of paper from the ground and spreads it out against the table, weighing down the corners with various objects to prevent it from rolling back upon itself. Adam sees that it's a map of the territories covered by the Packs, which includes the Squid's territory. His stomach clenches as he sees the Squid's name over the land that his Army used to take care of.

"The best place for a battle is obviously on a plain," Mitch is saying, standing up from his chair so that he can point to the Squid's territory. "We have a lot more warriors than they do and so we can overwhelm them with numbers. Their main base is here, at the Capital, which is right near a large plain. We'd want to draw them out of it before attacking."

"But it's near the water," Adam points out. "The two places where the Squids' battle tactics are strongest is near the water and on a vast plain. If you want to attack them, you'd want it in a small space with something preventing them from getting behind you. And their army would have grown over the 12 years the Sky Army last fought them, so your forces might only be twice as big as theirs."

"Forests would be good," Jerome says. "It'll reduce their mobility but my Baccas would be fine."

"Except that our archers would be useless in a forest," Vikk replies. "And there's no large forests in their territory that we can attack them in."

"If we pick a plain and then create defences at our sides and back, that should sort out the problem," Robert says.

"But we won't be able to retreat," Seto mentions. "And why do we need to face them head on at all? If we get them bit by bit, starting with the villages, we can reduce their force while we head to the Capital. By then, either they will come out and meet us or we'll put them under siege."

"I don't like sieges, they take too long," Mitch says. "And too many things can happen that you have no control over."

"And I don't have any dead cows to throw over the walls," Preston adds.

"What do you think Adam?" Lachlan asks. "You've fought them before, you know what they're weak against."

Adam frowns and stares at the map as he thinks back to his old battle plans against the squids. "Seto's idea is good. The Squids work as one unit and they're horrible without clear direction. If we attack them in groups, we'll have a greater chance of catching them off-guard and reducing their force. Can't say I've ever put them under siege though, so I'm not sure how they'll be able to handle that."

"What tactics do they use on the field?" Preston asks, leaning forward so that his head is resting on his fists.

"They normally start with a head-on attack," Adam replies. "Test your strength, find your weakest side. When they find it, they send a small group around to your strongest side, to distract you. While they're attacking, their strongest troupes hit the weak side and cripple it. They keep doing that until your forces are worn down from running around all over the field."

"Then what?" Vikk asks.

"I've never let them reach that point. By then I've already sent out my attack and forced them to change tactics. They use different coloured flags to signal their army, so they can have multiple groups around the field all moving in coordination, as long as they can see the flags."

"What about the last battle you had against them?" Jerome asks. "That was about 12 years ago, right? What did they do?"

Adam gives Jerome a hard glare, his mouth closed, jaw tense. His arms had been crossed on the table and he took them off, his hands squeezing themselves into fists.

"We don't need to know all the details," Lachlan quickly says, noting Adam's sudden shift in body language. "Just the Squids' tactics at the beginning of the battle."