148 Flawless Strategy
It was an unwinnable fight! That much was painfully obvious.
However, by using the right methods, I could win flawlessly. Yep, this little Jeremy was going to face off against hundreds, no, thousands of high-spec Hobgoblins, and if he played his card right would hardly receive any damage.
It seemed foolish to even consider coming out of such a mess unscathed. But, here I was already pulling it off.
‘It’s time for the next blast…’ I reasoned upon seeing the dust had cleared from my first round.
Melissa’s frightened face prayed for a miracle, same as the other girls. As much as it would have been satisfying watching the bitch, Melissa, suffer some horrid fate at the hands of the Hobgoblins, I didn’t have any intention of giving her such an easy end.
‘Huu, here goes…’ I smiled.
Instantly summoning a couple of Demon Cores and placing them in strategic locations underneath the Hobgoblins that made to attack Melissa’s barrier, I sent my mana to them at the same time.
>BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!<
Once again, a cloud of smoke filled the area and commotion filled the air. It would be impossible for any normal person to see through such thick layers of dust and smoke. Fortunately, such logic didn’t apply to me.
Melissa and her fellow Gifteds screeched in terror, drawing the attention of the confused Hobgoblins. Once again, I had a window to strike!
‘Let’s go!’
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It was a simple plan, really. Once I thought it through, I found out how easy it would be to pull off. Firstly, I had my boat prepared. By giving them the wonderful sight of screaming humans, the Hobgoblins were bound to be attracted to Melissa and the other girls. Melissa’s [Safe Haven] Gift also stood out above all else. Even amid a thick cloud, there was no way anyone could miss a shiny pink force field shimmering and begging for attention.
Using this to my advantage, it was definite that the Hobgoblin Tankers would go after Melissa first. Using <Camouflage> Skill, I hid myself from sight, watching what happened from a distance. Everything happened exactly as I predicted.
The Hobgoblins began banging Melissa’s barrier, and while I knew that the thing was sturdy, Melissa wasn’t strong enough to hold it for long. I had to intervene!
Then came my second plan.
>BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!<
Using Demon Cores as explosives, I planted them around the area using <Summon> and activated them all at once.
While I knew the explosions weren’t enough to cause fatal damage to the Hobgoblin Warriors due to their high Dexterity Stat, they performed their tasks well.
Waves of smoke covered the area, impeding their sight. They could still see Melissa’s Gift, though, so naturally, the Demons all gathered around her.
It was the perfect scenario. Once this happened, the plan was for me to make my move!
Using <Camouflage> to mask my presence, I was able to sneak in amid the commotion and commence the next phase of my operation. Even though the <Camouflage> Skill’s effects were drastically reduced when in motion, it was no bother since I already had smoke as a cover.
The Hobgoblins had very low intelligence, so I was safe from any high sensory interference. The next question that naturally arose was how I would dispose of the enemies. After all, they were vulnerable once the smoke had blocked their vision and I was in their midst.
Killing them was one way of getting rid of them, but that would be unwise. Engaging in combat, no matter how covertly I tried doing so, would only end up blowing my cover. The sounds of my blades swinging, the noise of squishing flesh as well as the blood-curdling screams of dying Hobs would fill the air, and sooner than later, my presence would be exposed.
It also took a great deal of energy to kill, and considering the numbers and difficulty of my enemies, I reckoned I would run out of energy before I was done dispatching all of them.
The smoke lasted only for a few minutes. I only had limited Demon Cores for explosions, and the more time dragged on, the more of a risk I was in.
If I wasted time killing Demons and managed to escape unnoticed every time I raised the smoke curtain, one of these few things was bound to happen.
One, I would get caught sooner or later in my covert battle with the Hobgoblins.
Two, I would run out of energy before the Hobgoblins died since I would have to be repeating a process for the strategy instead of just fighting them head-on.
Three, Melissa’s barrier wouldn’t hold up and get breached. The Demons would kill the bait off before I could finish them. That would completely ruin the plan.
There were other disadvantages, but these three were my major fears. Considering their demerits, there was only one way I could win by getting rid of the Hobgoblin Warriors.
Trap them into [Subspace]!
I had already thought of this, which was why I had left sufficient Slots unoccupied. Of the five available Slots, one would serve as the prison for these Hobgoblins.
This was by far the most efficient method in winning against the Hobgoblins while they were distracted. Not only did [Subspace Trap] (as I called it) make no sound, it was a quicker way of getting rid of Demons instead of killing them.
All I needed was physical contact, a light tap, and they would vanish within the specified slots.
Using this method, I could take care of over a hundred within a minute, no, even more! I turned on <Coordination>, <Nimble> in combination with <Camouflage> and began.
Within the few minutes that the cloud of smoke was active, I had already taken over a thousand Hobgoblins prisoner!
Having a successful first round, I made my escape before it was too late and any of the Demons would notice me.
‘This isn’t too difficult… In a few more rounds, I should be done!’
It was unbelievable, wasn’t it? Using this method to win an impossible battle. However, I was inclined to take the safest and most efficient method. After all, nothing mattered except victory.
‘It’s not important how it’s done… as long as I win, that’s all that matters!’