Way of the Knights

Chapter 929: Baiting

Mark infiltrated the enemy territory to spread poison. 

Anne is there to siphon the vitality of their Nature. 

Paul was there to make sure that the word about the invasion doesn’t spread too far. 

And last hut definitely not the least, Raven is also there to make sure that the Abyssal Emperor is cut off from the picture. Suppressing him enough for the Abyssal army to be a headless chicken.

With the four of them working their magic in the enemy territory, there’s practically a 100% chance that next part of their plan will go along the schedule. In addition to that, the Dawn Council is also making sure that the Abyssals are distracted in different areas so that these three won’t encounter any disturbance in their mission. 

Ellen didn’t have to go there herself. If she’d ever come there, it just to do even more damage since that’s her specialty. She could turn into her Phoenix form and scare the living daylights of them to lower down their morale even further but that negates Paul’s efforts of keeping the common folk ignorant about the invasion so she wouldn’t do it. 

But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t anything for her to do. There are a lot of things that needed her attention so even though she isn’t there with them, she’s occupied as well. 

General Grimm’s efforts were bearing fruit. With his constant surveillance, he’s slowly but surely starting to discover where Divine Realm is. Although he needed to sacrifice some troops to confirm his theories so far, its still acceptable so long as he manages to discover where Humanity’s home is. 

Alas, the poor general still hasn’t discovered that he’s being lead on by the nose. 

He thinks that he’s making progress because of is outstanding abilities but in truth, he wouldn’t discover anything if Humanity didn’t purposefully let him discover these clues. 

Luna and the rest of Humanity’s Pillars are luring the Abyssals in. This, is one of the key points to Raven’s plans so far. 

With them being so transfixed into discovering Humanity’s Territory, they are effective peeling their eyes away from what’s happening under their nose. The bait was masterfully executed that the Abyssals wouldn’t know what hit them until they feel the injury. 

Humanity’s still had the initiative here. Although it is already established that Humanity can’t fight the Abyssals head-on, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they have to avoid confrontations. 

Since the ball is in their hands, they could control the intensity of these confrontations. Plus, Humanity’s prepared for this. Hundreds of years were used to ensure that Humanity’s strength increased by a certain margin. So long as they’re careful, their casualties shouldn’t pile up too high. 

It is for this very reason that Ellen remained behind. 

With Humanity luring the Abyssals in, somebody has to stay and defend their home. With how destructive Ellen’s strength is, there’s no doubt that she fits the requirements for this. The position’s practically calling her name. 

Though, that isn’t all…

Ellen also took it as her mission to ensure that the children wouldn’t be in danger. 

Richard, Vanessa and Jeanne enlisted to participate on this war. They were stationed at the front lines so there are some certain risks involved. But with Ellen leading them, she can minimize this and look after them while the adults are busy taking down the Abyssals from the inside.

She had no doubt that these three are strong. They are more talented than them after all, if anything they’re just lacking experience. Something that they will gain in their participation to this war. 

Still, it wouldn’t hurt to make sure that they’d be fine. And Ellen vowed that she will make sure that none of them would die so long as she lives. 

That being said, this war can also serve as a tempering experience for them. They have so much potential that it’d be a sin to not let it bloom. In order to do that, they need to go out there and experience battles. Which is why she didn’t shy away from sending them to confront groups of scouts who managed to come too close. 

A great example of this, is what’s currently happening this day. 

This morning, she received reports that at least 10 groups of scouts, each group consisting five members, are closing in to their home. They are scattered and somehow surrounding the area just outside Divine Realm. 

Ellen didn’t hesitate to send out troops after them to eliminate them swiftly. One of the group she sent was one where the children belonged. 

Their group was sent to the scouts closest to where Ellen was of course so that she can see their situation and could react fast enough if something wrong occurs. 

These scouts are basically fodders. They aren’t strong and wouldn’t last under heavy assault. Their real use is to gather intel and send them back to their superiors. 

In actuality, Ellen could’ve sent troops to intercept them way earlier than today. They had their eyes in the scout the moment they left Paradise so if she really wanted to, she could’ve eliminated them the moment the left. 

But since she has to follow the plan, she didn’t do this. Instead, she allowed them to come close. 

She’s deliberately allowing them to discover where Humanity’s camp is in to get the attention of their pathetic General. That way, she can manipulate him into sending more troops to die under Humanity’s hand. 

Ellen was provoking him in a subtle manner to keep his attention here and not on Paradise. If she does this well, she could even keep him occupied and invested long enough that Grimm would forget about his path of escape. 

After all, their goal is total elimination. Complete eradication of the Abyssals. 

Under her watch, the children was far from any danger. They are pressured just enough to hone their talents and make them even stronger. The longer this war goes on, the stronger they’ll get and the higher their chances of surviving. 

As they deal with the scouts, Ellen was constantly paying attention to stream of intel. 

The Outposts are doing god’s work till now. The Abyssals still hasn’t discovered that the outposts already infiltrated deep into their base as well as the ports which could act as a transfer point of humanity to send their troops in. 

Laughing Dragon was running laps around these fools. They have no idea how much intel they’re feeding him because of their stupidity. With the steady stream of intel flowing to them, Humanity knew every move that the Abyssals does.

The scouts were handled with relative ease. Ellen called back the troops and gave them a few days of rest. 

According to the intel she received from Laughing Dragon, the scouts brought back some results but that’s within the expected outcome. They gave them another piece of tasty bait and as expected, General Grimm got lured in again. 

He planned on setting a new batch of scouts, this time he planned on sending a few guards with them to toughen them up so that they can bring back more intel. 

Ellen almost laughed uproariously upon hearing this. 

The fool fell for it again. 

But since he wants to play, it would be rude for Ellen to turn him away. But there’s no need to rush. She doesn’t have any plans on sending troops for now. The Abyssals will need time to gather their troops, just enough time for Ellen’s troops to rest and be ready for the next deployment. 

With General Grimm’s decision of sending guards along with scouts, he’s effectively spreading their forces even thinner. The guards already have their hands full with guarding Paradise yet now, Grimm was sending them away to scout the location of the Divine Realm.

Ellen had to give it to Grimm, he’s helping out with their plan. 

This move of his would peel off even more heat to her friends who’s crippling them from within, giving them more room to move around and relax. 

As expected, Raven’s plan was working wonders. 

Now so long as this keeps up, the plan would enter the next stage without any hitches. It just up to Ellen to keep Grimm occupied which shouldn’t be hard to do considering how he’s taking all the bait they’re feeding him. 

According to Laughing Dragon’s report, Grimm was planning to send 20 groups of scouts. Each group would be accompanied by at least 3 guards who’s strength could match Empyreans of their own. 

It’s a bit daunting but nothing she couldn’t handle. So long as she uses her pieces carefully, she can ensure that all of these guards will never be able to return home while also keeping her casualties zero for the most part. 

The Abyssals haven’t discovered where Divine Realm is yet. Ellen could use this to her advantage and lead these scouts far enough from each other to crush them with sheer numbers.

Just like before, she’d allow some of them to get close to their camp before destroying them to bait Grimm again.

Ellen would repeat this process as many times as she could to make sure that the Abyssals will face certain extinction the moment they’re done with them.