Chapter 188 - The Valley
Chris
"We need to hit them from the West, it gives us the high ground and it will pin them against the opposite valley wall," Ashton said as he ran his finger over his proposed battle plan.
"How will we safely descend the steep wall? I could jump it, but what about the others?" I said in rebuttal.
After a full night of information gathering the scouts came back with everything they found. The Demons were settled into what had once been a lush valley between two steep hillsides. The surrounding walls of the Valley had sheer drops at certain points but for the most part, it was only steep hills.
The slope made it nearly impossible to climb up or down without significant time and effort.
Learning that the Demons had holed themselves into such an area, we were all rushing to come up with our plans of action. Where they were gave us the chance to box them in, but it also gave them a defensible advantage.
If we just marched at them from the open end of the valley we would be playing directly into their hand. Plus, if things went poorly for the Demons, they could just run out the other side and into the Wild.
We needed to find a way to get behind them and close off the other end of the valley while also not letting any climb out. With the numbers we had, it was unfeasible to surround them entirely.
Another aspect that worried me was the fact the Demons were here in the first place. They usually sought out areas of high mana density or rare treasures to consume, yet they were here.
Either there was a reason for that deeper in the valley we couldn't see, or there was an intelligent Demon leading the pack making them gather here for some reason.
The Demon had to know if all the humans in the area banded together, it would be outnumbered. Was that why it chose a fortifiable spot? Even so, there wasn't anything else to signify an Intelligent Demon at the helm.
The scouts reported hundreds of Demons just milling about in the valley and some were even fighting each other. Conflict inside the ranks didn't speak of someone formidable in charge.