My Necromancer Class

Chapter 269 Subterfuge Rally

Jay marched all the way back to the castle thinking that he may have been walking right into an ambush.

However Lamp, Jay’s forward scout, was fine thus far and the only thing the knights knew were that two roots had been cut.

Safely, the party eventually arrived at the mounds of roots near the castle, and he soon found out why there was no response force - an army was gathering, its size growing larger with each passing second.

Yet Jay still sensed some more opportunity to be taken advantage of, and he wasn't going to let it slip.

“By now they have probably sent another small force to investigate the first cut root, so why don’t we have a little look?” Jay smiled.

He and the skeletons marched back towards where the first flesh-root met the mounds of roots near the castle and sent Lamp into the forest before giving out some orders.

(Blue, if Lamp finds some easy kills out there, take all the skeletons with you to slay them - except for Red of course.)

Blue nodded, and waited alongside Jay and Red. It didn’t take long, not even thirty minutes had passed and suddenly the skeletons sprinted off into the forest.

Watching them leave, Jay couldn’t help but feel like he knew the enemy better than it knew itself, as he had accurately predicted another scouting party being sent this way.

“Seems like I just bought myself some more time.” Jay smiled.

[460 Exp]

The small scouting force was easily destroyed while Jay didn’t even have to lift a finger, and it seemed that the enemy had underestimated Jay.

Of course, this scouting force was sent out before the second root was cut, so it was much smaller than it should have been.

While Jay waited for the skeletons to get back, he kept his eyes facing towards the castle as the knights had reacted strongly to the second root being cut, finally it seemed like they were shaken into action.

By the time the skeletons returned, a large assembly of knights were gathered at the front of the castle and in an organised formation.

It was too far away to count exactly how many there were, but Jay guessed there to be well over fifty knights.

“We should move.” Jay whispered, and Blue got the skeletons ready.

Without giving the enemy any more time, Jay sneaked off with the skeletons through the mounds of roots, finding another position to lay on, further away from the dead flesh-root pipeline.

“Just in time.” Jay smiled, seeing the small army of knights began to march. If he didn’t move his position, they would have marched right over him.

The castle had acted.

The knight army had split into two as they went further from the castle, approximately thirty to forty soldiers in each as they marched directly towards the two cut roots. It was no wonder the villagers had to submit to this many knights.

Now there was not much time left.

Jay lay prone on a root mound and wondered what he would do next while watching the army of knights leaving.

Their numbers were much more than he had expected, but it showed they were starting to take the flesh-root sabotage seriously.

While one root going down may have simply been a falling tree, two was cause for alarm.

Still, there was no word about the situation of the first root either, no scouts had ever returned. Now, no more small groups of fixers and scouts would be sent; only a considerable force of soldiers.

“There were so many hiding in the castle… I wonder how many more I can get to come out…” Jay smiled mischievously as he sent the skeletons away to perform some secret missions.

The knight army was relatively slow moving compared to the smaller groups they had sent. Each of them marched much more slowly, not only to maintain the formation, but to respond to sudden threats.

Jay didn’t even entertain the idea of trying to fight such a large force. It would be nothing short of suicide.

For now he watched and waited as the skeletons got into position, carrying out his machinations.

(Blue, give the signal as soon as the large forces of knights enter the forest.)

All this time, Jay had been watching the castle gates, guessing how many knights were still hidden inside - and he would soon have a good guess after his plan was carried out. Not only that, but the gate itself caused him to wonder - is it still functional?

Finally, the two large groups of knights disappeared into the forest, and the signal was given.

Jay’s plan was put into effect as each of the skeletons positioned themselves above more of the pulsating flesh-like roots, all desperately carrying nutrients back into castle.

Red tapped Jay’s shoulder, telling him that the skeletons were going forward with the plan: In almost perfect sync they brought down their swords onto the defenseless roots, and Jay couldn’t wait to see the reaction of the remaining knights in and around the castle.

There were some still patrolling among the buildings outside the castle; In groups of three, they seemed to follow more structured paths now, while before it seemed more random.

Yet as the flesh-roots were all punctured simultaneously, they all paused as if in shock.

Four roots were being hacked apart mercilessly, and the knights all moved frantically, creating new forces as quickly as they could.

“Idiots…” Jay scorned, watching them with glee as his plan was coming to fruition.

He didn’t know how important these nutrient carrying roots were to the knights, but based on their reaction, they were very important.

Knights sprinted out of the castle gates, many of them being of the intelligent variety.

Yet there were really not many left.

Four roots cut meant four groups had to be created - each of them being approximately five to six knights strong.

However, they wouldn’t need to travel far to find that the cut flesh-roots were just out of sight of the castle, and much closer compared to the other times Jay had cut the roots.

Essentially, there was not much time.

Jay’s second part of the plan was about to start, and it was the most risky too.

While the knights were assembling into whatever groups they could, the skeletons were sprinting back to Jay.

Once the skeletons were all gathered, Jay simply waited until the perfect moment.

Soon enough, the perfect moment presented itself as the four small groups of knights each started their march towards the four freshly-cut flesh-roots.

This plan was the most dangerous Jay had devised so far, and it was a one-way ticket, but Jay believe he would be able to pull it off as the knights really were not that smart. At least not strategically intelligent anyway.

All this time, they had only dealt with pathetic starving villagers who could not even fight back - and if they did, well, the knights would just have more troops added to their numbers or more nutrient-rich green blood to feed their parasites; they were not at all used to fighting an organized enemy.

The skeletons had returned, covering Jay’s back as he crept forward towards the castle as quickly and quietly as he could

Soon he was closer than the four groups of knights which had just left, and that was when he broke cover and bolted in an all-out sprint.

With the skeletons at his side, Jay madly dashed towards the castle gateway.