Heaven's Greatest Professor

All the preparation was complete. Well, as much as could be managed with the relatively tight schedule. But yes, with everything prepared, Warden could clearly see a path to victory.

Now all that was left was to ensure everyone believed that as well. Victory would be impossible if they weren't on the same page. So, before they went into battle, it was time for a gathering.

There were exactly forty-one people who could fight. Forty-one elite iron rankers and seasoned soldiers against close to three hundred forsaken... Looking at the odds, other than Young Lord Tayl, nobody seemed any bit confident.

Thankfully, it wasn't his job to ease them into talking. He left that to Lady Cassandra, whom everyone found a pleasant prospect to turn to in times of need. Tayl Alebson, coming from a great family, only knew of combat and shouting orders, irrespective of whether they'd be completed or not.

In contrast, Cassandra was insightful, and everyone seemed to have trusted her, Tayl Alebson included.

So, Warden simply stood in one corner with May and the others of their crew, leaving the stage in the care of the Successor of Azalea Valley.

"As we see now," Lady Cassandra said, tracing her fingers on the roughly made map that Warden had prepared for them, "our odds do not raise confidence against such an overwhelming enemy. Thankfully, we do not plan on attacking them straightforwardly. No, we are going to divide and slaughter them."

Eventually, the talk progressed to the battle strategy. Warden had explained everything once more last night to her, and that was too in great detail.

"Miss Cassandra, what are you really implying?" asked a sergeant ranked soldier from Tayl's camp.

"Look here," Cassandra drew her finger on the centre of the map where the gate was located. She drew an imaginary circle with her finger. "The forsaken are located here. Hundreds of orcs and goblins, along with at least forty trolls. Their numbers have surely decreased with all our hunting, but they still hold far too many in their ranks.

"However, if we all know one thing about the forsaken, it is that... as much as they hate humans or elves, they hate the other races with the same intensity. Orcs and goblins didn't go one night without bickering... While trolls were dumb... we're going to use all that. We are going to use that."

"How?" Tayl Alebson asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"The forsaken do not trust one another," she said. "The situation has become worse among them when they found out the other race was secretly trying to sabotage them."

"They are sabotaging one another?" May raised an eyebrow.

Cassandra smiled. "It appears as much to them... After all, the orcs couldn't just let go when a few of the goblin bombs exploded in their camps, destroying their food and injuring others, nor could the goblins leave it as it was when a dozen of their members were found dead at the hands of orcs."

Lady Cassandra's eyes drifted off to meet those of the Janitor for one second, who was really behind the sabotaging and creating a barrier of distrust between the forsaken.

"As we're speaking now, the argument between goblins and orcs has reached the point that they won't work together with one another," she said. "We're going to use that."

A silence descended on the gathering as everyone exchanged glances with one another until Tayl Alebson found his voice. "What are you implying?"

Cassandra smiled and explained the plan.

***

Eight hours later, Warden alone crept to the location of the gate while the rest of them took positions around his trap a couple of kilometres away. Warden's job was to draw the forsaken to the trap. Hopefully, there won't be a problem...

He targeted the goblins first. After all, they were the weakest of the bunch. Just to make sure they didn't suspect anything about the attack, Warden acted naturally. He began his work silently, slitting the throats of a couple of goblins on guard duty.

The cover of the night provided perfect stealth. The goblins had not even noticed what had hit them before they fell to the ground. Warden did not store away the corpses as he had for the last couple of days. He needed to give them some evidence to grieve over, after all.

However, he did not stop after just killing a couple of them. After loitering around for a few minutes, he found another few targets a distance away from the vicinity. Goblins are not really the last line of defence but are mostly used for scouting and keeping watch.

Warden did not know if they were particularly skilled at it or simply lacked motivation, as he managed to almost kill the group of four without a hitch. However, he stayed his hand when he noticed one of the goblins bringing out a device to signal others. Warden was familiar with the construct, having a few of them in his subspace as well—taken as spoils of war.

He allowed the goblin to fire the signal. A small missile emitting red fire shot up into the air and burst, alerting everyone in the vicinity. The goblin succeeded in its endeavour as relief flashed on its expression. Warden didn't hesitate to plunge his sword into its heart. He stood there for a couple of seconds, listening to the chaos brewing in the camps of the forsaken.

They weren't so calm now…

He withdrew his broom and rode on top of it, though he did not fly away with it. There was a good chance no orcs or goblins would catch up to him if he left just like that. The trolls stood a small chance, but they lacked any qualities to harm him if he just flew dozens of metres above them. The only thing they could do was chase after him.

So, when he saw the first signs of the forsaken taking note of him, Warden began to move along the surface. He could have run, but why bother when he had the [Bane of the Calamity]?

"It is the purple-eyed fiend," screeched a goblin. More goblins began to scream at him, shooting their favourite bombs, which barely had any effect on him.

"We will make you pay for hunting us, purple-eyed fiend! We'll castrate you, burn you in the fire of a thousand suns... We will..."

"Catch me first, twat," Warden did not forget to taunt as the broom carried him away. It was a truly humbling experience. He had to move very down to the Earth to give them a chance.

Within a couple of minutes, there were dozens of goblins after him, even if a dozens of orcs joined them in the chase. After all, Warden had killed a number of their kin, though not as many as the goblins, but it was still a significant amount.

They did not stop chasing even after Warden increased his speed. To keep their anger and rage blinding them, Warden brought out a bow and began shooting arrows at them. The arrows were nothing like the ones he used to kill a moonspawn. They were carved out of thick ironwood trees and strengthened with a couple of runes.

Needless to say, in his hands, the weapon possessed considerable strength against the goblins and orcs.

His first shot sailed through the eye of a goblin, killing it instantly. Its green body fell to the ground, hampering the movement of the goblin behind it. Another arrow shot from Warden's bow struck the neck of another goblin, though more of them were obstructed by the thick armour they wore. Especially those orcs, they are a more warlike race. A regular arrow was not enough to make them fall.

Not to mention, he still had to direct the broom and navigate his way through the thick forest.

The other bombers in the group shot bombs at him. Warden smiled and let the [Void Shroud] protect him from the bombardment.

He moved faster, at the top of the broom's speed. The forsaken chased with renewed fervour, screaming curses and throwing bombs at him. The number of them had not reached 100, though it was still close to it. They had simply no idea what he had in store for them.

There had been a little argument about who would take this role, taking all the goblins' rage and leading them to the trap. They argued that Warden the janitor, was not suited for the job, yet none of them raised their hand when Lady Cassandra asked for volunteers for the job. Needless to say, the job wasn't particularly safe, or their expertise warrant them suitable for it.

Still, Warden had to prove his skill. Young Lord Tayl definitely wanted to take the role, if only he had mastered the broom. Unfortunately, it wasn't easy to ride this thing. It requires a lot of practice, not to mention expertise in manipulating the anti-gravity runes. It was not everyone's cup of tea.

A few hundred metres away from the traps, Warden had already seen a couple of soldiers on the lookout, hiding in the trees. With him drawing the undivided attention of the forsaken, none of them were detected. Hopefully, they would not even notice the traps, either. Warden did not really have high hopes for the forsaken, after all, their cognitive ability towards spiritual things was quite dull.

Warden did not decrease his speed and led the forsaken into the traps. The ground below their feet undulated as the surface disappeared immediately. Dozens of forsaken fell into the large pit they had created, while Warden flew away.

But that was not all.

"Cole, activate the formation mark!" Warden shouted.