Chapter 178: War Planning Room

The night deepened over Greyvale City. While the first floor of the Adventurer Guild buzzed with life, filled with drunken laughter, clanking armor, and shouted negotiations, the second floor had morphed into something entirely different: a war planning room.

The lounge no longer resembled a place for relaxation. The central table was completely consumed by layered maps, charcoal sketches of terrain, hastily copied bestiary pages, mana fluctuation charts, and handwritten notes filled with calculations and annotations.

Several mana lamps floated overhead, casting a pale blue glow that sharpened every line and shadow, making the atmosphere feel colder and more unforgiving.

This was not a discussion about possibilities; it was preparation for death.

Valeria stood at the head of the table, her crimson armor unfastened at the shoulders but still fitting like a second skin. She stood tall and commanding, exuding an oppressive pressure that made it clear this was no casual gathering of Adventurers. This was a command chamber, and she was its axis.

Sage sat slightly off to the side with his arms folded, eyes tracking every movement and word; his earlier outrage had been replaced by focused attention.

Mina sat quietly beside him for once, resting her chin on her hands as she listened intently with unusually serious golden eyes. Gregor leaned against a pillar with his arms crossed; his usual laziness had given way to sharp alertness. Vanthrice and the other mercenaries stood in disciplined silence, waiting.

Valeria broke the silence first.

“Let’s be clear,” she said calmly yet firmly, her voice slicing through the tension in the room. “A direct confrontation with a Sixth Order Lord Beast is suicide.”

No one dared to argue.

She placed a gloved hand on one of the maps, fingers splayed over a rough charcoal depiction of jagged cliffs and dense forests.

“The Crimson Abyssal Lion isn’t something you overpower,” she continued. “It’s something you exhaust, isolate, and dismantle. Anyone who tries to meet it head-on will die, no exceptions.”

Her gaze swept around the table as she ensured each face absorbed her message.

“The first mistake Aldric’s hired forces made was arrogance,” she said. “The second was ignorance, they entered its lair and fought on its terms.”

Her fingers traced a path across the map until they stopped at a narrow canyon-like stretch between two ridges.

“We do neither.”

The atmosphere thickened as Valeria straightened up to lay out their plan, each phase articulated with precision from someone who had survived battles that never made it into history books.

“Phase one is information,” she stated decisively. “Before any combatant even thinks about drawing their weapon, we scout: territory layout, mana density fluctuations, patrol cycles, feeding habits, we learn where it sleeps, hunts, and bleeds.”

Vanthrice nodded. “Scouts will be non-combatants,” he added. “Disposable teams, fast, quiet, and trained to retreat the moment they’re detected.”

“Exactly,” Valeria replied. “No heroics. No engagements. If they’re spotted, they run. Intelligence is more important than pride.”

Sage leaned in slightly. “How long do we have?”

“Two to three weeks,” Valeria answered without hesitation. “Anything less is a gamble.”

She transitioned smoothly into the next phase of their plan.

“Phase two is control,” she stated firmly. “We don’t confront the Lion in its lair, ever. That area will be saturated with abyssal mana, residual heat, and an instinctive advantage for it. We need to lure it out.”

Gregor pushed off from the pillar he was leaning against. “Using bait?”

“Yes,” Valeria confirmed, “but not living bait. We’ll manipulate its territory to force it into movement, through controlled destruction, noise, and mana disruption.”

She pointed at another section of the map where the terrain narrowed significantly.

“This corridor limits its movement, no full pounce or wide swings, it reduces acceleration. If we can suppress mana density here, even slightly, it will notice.”

Sage’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “Mana suppression… that could get costly.”

Valeria met his gaze directly. “So is dying.”

No one argued with her.

“Phase three is engagement,” Valeria continued decisively. “I’ll anchor the front.”

Her tone left no room for debate.

“I’ll take initial aggro, not to overpower it but to hold its attention while the rest of you rotate pressure.”

She looked at Gregor and then at the mercenaries gathered around them.

“Only Four-Star Master Knights are allowed,” she said firmly. “No exceptions; anyone weaker becomes a liability. Rotation is critical, no one stays engaged long enough to get crippled. Hit, withdraw, recover.”

Vanthrice chimed in, “Attrition over dominance.”

Valeria nodded once in agreement.

“Phase four is execution,” she said quietly as everyone leaned in closer.

“No dramatic finishing blows or lone charges,” she cautioned them all. “We start by crippling it, limbs, tendons, eyes and destabilizing its mana core first. Only when its output collapses do we strike together for the killing blow.”

She paused for effect.

“A Lord Beast falls when coordination overcomes instinct.”

A heavy silence filled the room as her words sank in.

Then Gregor spoke up casually, breaking the tension: “Oh, by the way, I’m already a 4-Star Master Knight.”

The room froze instantly.

Sage whipped his head toward Gregor so fast it nearly hurt him.

“You’re what?” Sage demanded incredulously.

Gregor blinked innocently back at him. “4-Star…recently advanced.”

Sage stared at him in disbelief. “Since when?”

Gregor shrugged. “You never asked.”

Mina gasped softly, her surprise evident. Valeria’s eyes lit up with newfound interest.

Sage pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “You kept that to yourself.”

“I didn’t keep it hidden,” Gregor replied calmly. “I just didn’t broadcast it. I don’t flaunt it like a title.”

Sage let out a slow breath. “So that brings our combat count to…”

“Eleven,” Gregor interjected, “including me.”

He straightened up and added, “I suggest we bring in the top ten Bronze Rank Adventurers.”

Valeria paused to think. “What are the criteria?”

“Combat experience,” Gregor answered without hesitation. “Discipline, survival rate, and no glory hunters allowed.”

She nodded slowly, considering his words. “Conditional approval then.”

Sage cleared his throat before continuing, “That means this will be a Guild-level operation.”

Everyone turned their attention to him.

“I’ll manage logistics,” Sage explained, his tone steady. “That includes healing potions and weapons distribution.”

He locked eyes with Valeria. “I won’t be fighting, but I refuse to let anyone die because we ran out of options.”

Valeria studied him intently for a moment before nodding.

“From now on,” she said firmly, her voice resolute, “this isn’t just a mission.”

The room seemed to hold its breath in anticipation.

“It’s a war operation.”

In that instant, what once felt impossible transformed from sheer madness into a tangible plan.

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