Chapter 516 Attack Force
The next morning, Shiro woke up feeling rather confident about the upcoming operation but she quickly suppressed that feeling since feeling confident was a bad omen. Especially when she's fighting someone like the Light God.
Shaking her head, she got dressed and had a quiet meal.
Seeing that Keiko was also in the canteen when she walked down, Shiro gestured for her to sit down next to her.
"Any news on the attack force? The government doesn't exactly know me so I doubt they'd message me the news." Shiro joked. Since the canteen was completely bought out by them, no one else was around and they could talk about information without any worry.
Of course, just to make sure, Shiro had set up several protective formations around the place to keep spies from hearing any of this.
"Well I wouldn't be so sure. You are quite infamous for your habits after all." Keiko chuckled.
"However, I will say that there is indeed some news. In order to not arouse any suspicion, the attack force is split into several waves that will arrive at different times. The first wave is arriving in about 5 hours while the second wave will arrive in 8. All in all, we have roughly 6,000 adventurers that are levelled around 400 to 500. Very few are actually at the peak but there are one or two." Keiko explained as Shiro nodded her head.
While 6,000 was a bit less than what she had hoped or expected, it was better than facing off against the Light God with just their small party.
"What's their average level? Please tell me it's higher than 450." Shiro asked.
"Unfortunately, the average level is 430. Getting to higher levels is very difficult after all." Keiko sighed.
"Urg… That's fine. I can work with this. Since it's a make or break situation, I can't be stingy with my wares. Maybe I should craft them a few items to help out with the fight? Actually, never mind. The maximum level of weapons I can make right now is 200. With them being 430, they can't wield my weapons." Shiro clicked her tongue. Unless she was able to make weapons that were a minimum of 425, most of the adventurers can't use the guns. That being said, it's probably for the better since hitting the target with the gun was quite difficult. Especially when they're fighting at their speed.
'Hmm… what can I make in order to increase their fighting potential?' Shiro wondered to herself while going through the different blueprints that she had stored up in her database.
{I thought you wanted to hide your class?}
'Yeah but dealing with the Light God is higher on my priority list. Of course, I wasn't planning on giving everyone a gun but rather a few on the lower level side of things so that they dealt more damage. Plus, I was planning to spread my influence the moment I deal with the Light God. After all, he's the main thorn in my side. Not only was he the one that killed me or rather, Kuromi, but he is also my mortal enemy that recognises my skill set. With him around, I can't spend a single day with ease.' Shiro shook his head.
This single battle held more significance than what most of them realised. If they win and are able to kill the Light God's current body, she'll be free to develop her power in this world till the arrival of the age of demons and gods. However, should they fail, the future is basically sealed. The worst part of this is that they MUST deal with the Light God. If he's left to his own devices, he'll become an unstoppable force once again.
"Anyways, I'm not sure about how the attack force would react to you as our leader. The Martial Hero and the elders are reasonable in that they see talent over level but I doubt the attack force will be the same. They might feel a little uncomfortable having a commander that is 200 levels below them." Keiko reminded since this was one of her main concerns. If there's a disconnect between the commander and the soldiers, the overall fighting power they have will fall dramatically. In this state, the soldiers will be more inclined to do their own thing rather than follow orders.
"Don't worry about that. I won't be the one 'commanding' the attack force." Shiro smiled since she had already prepared for this.
"You, the Martial Hero and the Elders will be the ones to lead the attack force. Think of me as a strategic headquarters. I'll be installing tracking models on every single soldier so that I can see their health and mana pool. That way, I can efficiently use my Grace skill to the best of its power.
"Plus, I'll also be giving the main figure heads an earpiece for me to contact you and inform you of the current state of battle. My main goal for today is to do some more scouting along with informing the Elders and the Martial Hero about this plan. Hopefully, they agree and follow through, making the fight a bit easier. After all, from a strategic standpoint, I'm one of the better choices for command post since I know most of his skill set. I'll be able to inform the attack force of what they should do when he uses certain spells." She explained as Keiko nodded.
"I trust you. But what about command delay? It takes time for the information to be relayed from you to the attack force. In that time, there's a high chance that a few casualties may appear." Keiko furrowed her brows.
"I got that covered too. For skills that are relatively easy to defend against, I'll just relay the information to the different leader's and have them choose how they should react to the situation. For the skills that require an instant reaction, I'll change my voice to one of the leaders and command their part of the attack force for them. Example being if your part of the attack force is being targeted, I'll change to your voice and forcefully override your comms." Shiro explained while changing her voice to match Keiko's.
Pausing in surprise, Keiko raised her eyebrows before smiling.
"Seems like you got everything handled."
"Of course, the enemy we're facing is one that we must defeat after all. I cannot be half assed with the preparations." Shiro nodded her head.
"Speaking of the enemy, it sounds to me like you have a personal vendetta against him. You know him from your past life?" Keiko asked curiously.
"Mn? I haven't told you yet have I?" Shiro tilted her head.
"Hmm… in a nutshell, I have lived three lives. In the first one, I was betrayed and killed by the Light Hero who became the Light God. In my second, where I was Kuromi, I was once again betrayed and Killed by Duan Han Ying. As luck would have it, it seems like the Light God had reincarnated as Duan Han Ying. And finally, in my third life, my sense of self from the first life was placed in this body and I was reborn as a snow girl. It wasn't until recently did I gain all of my memories back." Shiro explained as it was only now that she realised how ridiculous the situation looked like from an outsider's perspective.
"Wait… so you're telling me, for three life times, you were mortal enemies with this Light Hero?" Keiko asked as she took a moment to digest the information.
"Yup. In the first two, I was killed by him. However, you know what they say. Third time's the charm and in this life, I'll be the one to kill him. Plus, I've already screwed his daughter over by taking her body from her. You know Lisandra? She was actually supposed to become a vessel for the Light Goddess." Shiro chuckled as Keiko once again took a moment to digest the information.
"Am I drunk right now? Because I feel like I'm f*cking hallucinating." Keiko sighed.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Just know that I need to kill this f*cker and that letting him live is a bad idea." Shiro smiled and patted Keiko's shoulder. Standing up, she cleaned up her plate and prepared to do some scouting in order to pass time until the attack force arrived.
{Honestly, I swear that everyone that finds out more about you will be forced to have a mental breakdown.} Nimue sighed.
'What? Nooo~ I don't give them a mental breakdown. The feats I accomplish is the one that gives them a mental breakdown.' Shiro replied with a smile.
{And by extension, you.} Nimue rolled her eyes.
'Eh, semantics. Just know that if they get used to the insane things, it benefits them later when the world will literally be flipped on its side.' Shiro chuckled.
Shaking her head, Nimue decided to give her mind a rest and not focus on what Shiro is doing. After all, if she did, she would require a furniture store for the sheer number of tables she would need to flip.
Spending 5 hours to scout out the dungeon some more, Shiro returned back to the village in time to see the first wave of the attack force arriving.