God of Tricksters

The next day.

They were standing in the middle of a forest, not far away from the goblin settlement.

Loris and Theo were leading the briefing with the map between them.

The main goblin settlement was in the middle of the map, surrounded by a hill on the north and forest on the other sides.

"We will be attacking them from the hill," said Loris while pointing at the north of the settlement.

"Isn't that what they expect? General Class Monster is capable of doing some sort of strategy, so I think it's not a good idea." One of the guys hurriedly raised his hand, asking while furrowing his eyebrows.

The War God Family had sent Theo to help them, but it was apparent the hill would be predictable, so he didn't understand why Loris agreed with such a plan.

"No, no. Let me explain first. We will indeed attack them from the hill, but our force will push through from the west." Loris waved his hand down.

"Attacking from the hill, but our force will go from the west?" The Holy Knights didn't understand and started whispering to each other.

"This is the plan proposed by Sir Theodore Griffith. You shouldn't judge him, but I will warn you too'¦ The War God Family has made a huge annual competition and he's tied with Lorenzo for first place. I hope that everyone can understand."

"Lorenzo?"

"The first expert of the current younger generation, that Lorenzo?"

"And it's a draw."

They started talking as they realized the reason for Theo to be handed this mission.

"Enough!" Loris raised his voice and started explaining. "On the top of the hill, we will build a dam from the water source. We can create a bigger tunnel for that, so I expect all of you to help on the first day.

"On the second day, we will clear the west area for us to attack the main goblin settlement along with the flood. This will allow us to rescue the hostages if there are still any.

"On the third day, we will attack the main settlement before eliminating the south and the east. That's what we're going to do. Any questions?"

Suddenly, a girl raised her hand and asked, "Aren't our main objective rescuing the hostages?"

"Yes and no. If rescuing the hostage means our group will be wiped out, I can't authorize such a thing. Hence, I agree to use Sir Theo's plan not only to minimize our casualties but also increase our chance of success.

"The environment will be chaotic, but lives are our priority. We will help nature to recover a bit, but we will let them take their own course later if the flood's been dealt with."

"I see. Environment, people, and goblins'¦"

"Yes. These three are our main priorities. I expect you all to contribute in this situation, and we shall return on the seventh day." Loris nodded with a calm expression.

"What if the plan fails?" Another guy raised his hand. "Two days are enough for the goblin to notice our plan."

"That's not going to happen. I will leave the first, sixth, and eighth groups to maintain the dam. We have two Water magicians, and they will maintain the water flow. Assassin and Reconnaissance squads will eliminate any goblins around that area."

"I believe that our Holy Knight Order can do it'¦ However, in any chance we fail, we will go back to the basics. Eliminate all goblins and attack their main settlement."

"Thank you for the answer."

While they were engaged in conversation, Theo observed them, understanding their level. He knew that the fact they were asking questions after questions meant they knew what to do in that situation and tried to get more information from their superior.

In other words, he didn't need to command through the whole ordeal since the group wouldn't crumble even if he collapsed like in the Grand Gaia Competition.

On the contrary, they were also convinced with Theo's plan because it looked solid despite looking from any aspects. Although they didn't admit it, they knew why the War God Family sent him.

The discussion went for an hour before the group looped around the area, heading to the hill.

The scouts kept guiding the entire group while looking around the goblins scattered around the area.

Although he couldn't see it with his own eyes, he got the report from the scouts, stating how brutal the goblins had killed their hostages.

They even found many goblin variations in the process and the group needed to watch out for them.

Ava maintained her silence this whole time even though the ladies often secretly took a glance at her cuteness.

Fortunately, not a single person dared to come to him because Agata stayed next to Theo.

It took them three hours to arrive on the foot of the hills.

There were four small villages around the hill, so they needed to take care of them first.  And they were aiming at the village on a small plain.

Before making their move, Loris came to Theo, saying, "I won't be joining you for the time being. After all, I'm just a supervisor here and it's a kind of training for the kids as well, so I will be leaving it to you.

"Of course, I will step in if the situation goes wrong or if we face a General Class Monster." Loris winked.

"I understand." Theo nodded.

"There are a total of two hundred goblins inside and their levels are quite high. Do you have confidence in completing the job? I believe this is your first assignment, right?"

Theo shrugged. "I know that this is my first task and I don't know what I should expect from you people'¦ But half an hour is enough, depending on your people's performance."

"Haha, if you're that confident, then I have nothing to say. They may be hard to handle, but they do everything earnestly." Loris smiled. "Please take care of them."

Theo smiled and plainly said, "No.. They need to take care of themselves."