Chapter 15:

Planning for the Battle

The Rise of Outcasts


“Take some rest. I will be in the guest room with others. Feel free to come when you feel like it.”

With that said, I came out of the room. Trying to maintain my posture, I entered the guest room where everyone was seated. Weren't they in the lounge just a moment ago? I was trying to act as if nothing happened but despite me acting cool, they figured it out. Angelo let out a big laugh and everyone followed it. This man was asking me to break his back once again.

“That’s enough everyone. We have some important stuff to discuss.”

Valentinoooooo! You have always saved my ass in time of need.

The mood became serious the next second.

"What happened to us, was very unfortunate. We were way too careless and it came back to bite us. We are not here to discuss who was at fault but instead, to be more cautious moving forward. The process of building a suitable vessel for Nox is moving with fine speed. We have already set up two of our bases in two months. There is an increase in our allies as well. I guess we are doing just fine. We will be ready within two years.”

Valentino was the one who took matters into his own hands at that time.

"The only problem we are currently facing is the number of weapons we require."

"More importantly." I interrupted Risa. "What will happen with your enterprise, Jeronimo?"

“I can’t go back to my main business because Alessandra knows it all, but we can still work underground, creating ships while supplying weapons to you as much as possible."

"But doesn't Alessandra have men within your enterprise?"

“Yes, but only a selective know about the underground shipbuilding stuff. I will just completely abandon the enterprise for good.”

"Then, that settles it. Jeronimo is one of our suppliers, I need to talk with Alibi to provide us with another supplier."

"Wait, Nicolo. I will talk with Alibi instead. I fear you both will end up fighting.”

“Hahaha. Fair enough. Anything else?”

"I struck a deal with the technological department in IV-99 Opus. They will provide us with as many rides as possible, in two years. They also have a three-winged vehicle." Miss Aida said.

“Perfect. As soon as the vessel and ships are done, we will launch our attack.”

"YO… Were you guys in the middle of a meeting? Sorry, I disturbed you." It was Jacob.

“That’s fine. We were just reviewing things one more time. You came at the right time; you were the one who planned the battle strategy so briefly go through it, we haven't heard a single thing about it besides attacking it from the port.”

"But I just came here to say hi… Sigh. Fine, but this is just a basic outline.”

He sat down on one of the sofas.

Jacob was the one who formulated the plan of the attack at Lavister Hall. It went smoothly, thanks to his guidance. I didn't know how much work he did behind the scenes but he surely put effort into that. That was why he was in charge of coming up with strategies for us to work with.

“Firstly, how are things moving with the ships and the vessel?”

"The progress is still in its initial stages, but it's moving with a fine pace."

"Good. Now, here is what we need to do. As you already know, our main goal is to obliterate the port using Nox. We will deploy a similar weapon design as Nox towards the main gate. To them, it seems like an impossible task to attack from the sea since it will require massive warships and no one is capable of creating or handling them. And even with that, it’s a high chance of you losing.”

“If they know that, then why do they have such tight security at the gate?"

“To protect the city from outside forces.”

“You mean other nations?”

“Exactly. The port even has a vessel for Nox in case of emergency. But it would be of no use now that we have stolen it.”

"You know a lot of stuff, Jacob.”

“It’s good to do some research about the place you are going to attack.”

“So, what’s the idea behind releasing a fake Nox?”

“To lure them in. They will expect us to bring Nox towards the main gate but they just won’t blindly send all of their forces before confirming it. Once they get fooled by the fake Nox, they will deploy most of their forces there which will make it easy to attack from behind.”

"But isn't Nox powerful enough to annihilate them in a single blow?"

“It is, but we are toning down its power.”

“Why?”

“An attack like that will kill every single person in the High End. We don’t want that. We want to destroy High End but not commit genocide, not everyone deserves to die. Nicolo and I figured out which section will go down first.”

“That means an evacuation team is required as well since it will be chaos at that time.”

"Indeed. I was just thinking about who to choose for it. Valentino will handle the attack from the rear while Nicolo will handle it from the front. Now, we need an extra team that will help those people escape during the midst of all this."

“How about me leading it?”

Everyone turned their gazes towards the door.

Fina was standing with her arms crossed while leaning on the jamb of the door.

“Fina…”

“Are you sure?”

"Absolutely. My father will be there as well because this will be the perfect moment for him, he enjoys seeing people suffer. I will settle my score there. I know it’s a selfish request but I will also make sure that they get to leave safely.”

There was a brief silence in the room.

"Then, I am willing to join Fina as well."

“Me too.”

"I am good with the three-winged plane, so count me in as well."

Marsia, Risa and Aida, all three were willing to join Fina in her selfish request.

Anybody could tell Fina was filled with joy to hear that.

"That settles it. Train yourself to your fullest potential. Prepare yourself for the worst-case scenario. You have 20 months for that. That’s plenty enough in my perspective. Brace yourself for, probably, the worst night of your life. There is no guarantee that we will come out victorious but still, we will do our best and will die with no regrets. Is everyone willing to take such risks?"

“YEAAAAAAAH”

Everyone screamed at the same time. I felt good and more confident after giving that brief speech.

Two years from now, a battle for freedom would commence. That would be the end for either them or us. No one knew the answer… no one, except for one.

-june-
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