Hunters: The Prequel - Chapter 280

Back in the meeting room, the Elders and Village Head Fan were still having a meeting. Samoa was nowhere to be found. This meeting wasn’t one that he could partake in. Frowning Tiger had left to call the other Predators. Since it was decided that the village wouldn’t be evacuating and that they would stay and fight as one, the Village Head and the Elders had to plan their defense.

“The village has 24 Predators, 75 Thrashers, 295 Animal Hunters, and 400 Soldiers. We have to know how many are available.”

Village Head Fan furrowed his brows and said. On the table before him was a board. There were several pieces on the board. Some of these pieces were white, others were green, some were red and the last color present was blue. The green pieces littered the board, and were the most of all the pieces. The white pieces came next when it came to number. The blue pieces were about quarter of the number of white pieces and the red pieces were the fewest, with only 24 present on the board.

The pieces represented the fighting power of the village against the threat of the Magical Beasts. The green pieces represented the Soldiers. They were the most of the fighting force. The white pieces represented the Animal Hunters and the blue pieces represented the Thrashers. The fewest pieces, the red ones, represented the number of Predators. The board was custom made, and its surface was etched with a map of the village and its surroundings. It even included the Enchanted Forest. It was something that was purchased from the recently destroyed Iris City.

“We the Elders have 7 of the 9 Predators under our command available for dispatch,” an Elder lifted his head and took his eyes off the board as he spoke.

“I see. Out of the 15 Tigers under my command, 11 are available. The others were sent to Redgrave.” Village Head Fan sighed as he said. If his intuition had pushed him towards the direction of the Enchanted Forest, instead of Iris City, he wouldn’t have sent so many Tigers out. He had recalled most of them when he started feeling uneasy, but he had also sent some of them off to check the situation of the next closest city – Redgrave City. This city was very far from the village, and it would take the dispatched Tigers – 5 in total – about 2 weeks to complete the journey. Based on the information Samoa had given them, the Overflow was likely to happen in a week. So there was no way the Tigers would make it in time.

“Do you think we could get them to rush back if we send a Cheetah after them,” one of the Elders asked. Since a war was coming, every good fighter was a supreme resource. If it was possible to send someone after them, he thought they should.

Cheetahs were Predators given the title of the speedy cat because of their insane speed. They weren’t ferocious like Tigers or domineering like Lions, but when one wanted a Predator who could complete a mission on a tight time limit, Cheetahs were the best bet.

“We can’t. Even if the Cheetah could catch up to them, they don’t possess the same speed. So it wouldn’t make that much of a difference. And we can’t send out any additional force. We need everyone to be here. That means those who are here must remain and fortify the village.”

It was another elder who answered the question. This elder easily saw the difficulty of task, and was against it. Tigers were under the jurisdiction of the Village Head, but the other Predators fell under the command of the Elders. Out of the 9 Predators under the command of the Elders, 3 were Cheetahs. In a battle like this, where they would likely face off against an opponent vastly superior in numbers to them, having speedsters who could handle several zones at once was a great advantage. On the other hand, sending them off on a mission that wasn’t likely to produce any prominent results, was a waste.

“Elder Light is right,” Village Head Fan obviously agreed with Elder Light.

It was a waste to send off a Cheetah on some hopeful mission. It was better to gather what they had and make the best out of what was available. Village Head Fan didn’t ask about the two Predators under the command of the Elders who were unaccounted for. He gave them an explanation regarding his numbers, but they didn’t do same. However, it was his decision to tell them. It wasn’t obligatory for him to do so, and neither was it mandatory for them to tell him how they handled those under their command. It was his decision to say, so he didn’t expect the elders to reciprocate his actions.

“Right now we must focus on distributing our forces in strategic positions so that we can defend against the Overflow. Some areas of the village would have to be abandoned and evacuated because we don’t have enough manpower to protect every part of the village.” Village Head Fan spoke calmly as he distributed the pieces on the board. Because not all the Predators were around, Village Head Fan took out some of the red pieces from the board. Some parts of the village didn’t receive any of the pieces, and Village Head Fan circled those areas as those places that would be evacuated.

The places that were to be evacuated were those that lay at the periphery of the village. It was best to reduce the area to defend as much as possible so that their forces would be able to fight as one. That way they could keep their forces together and defend against any unforeseen circ.u.mstances.

“Those who live at the village’s border would be evacuated. The evacuation would focus on pushing people towards the centre of the village, and would occur for everyone living outside this circle.”

Village Head Fan drew a circle on the map, cutting out the houses that weren’t so central from those that were closer to the centre of the village.

“Head Fan, why don’t we attack instead of sitting and waiting like sitting ducks,” Elder Light suddenly questioned.

“After all, attacking is the best form of defending,” Elder Light continued.

Some elders discussed his idea in low voices. The ones who thought the idea was a good one did so because they felt it would be safer that way. If they were the ones to attack, the villagers could safely remain in their homes, and they may not even need to tell them of the impending crisis. It seemed like a plausible plan.

“I don’t think that’s possible, Elder Light”

But it wasn’t all of them who agreed with him. There were about 4 elders who felt the idea was a bad one. The elder who was the first to echo his sentiment was Joe’s father – Bright.

“Why so, Elder Bright,” Elder Light furrowed his brows and asked. Although Elder Bright was younger than Elder Light, he was very intelligent. In fact, he was the youngest elder of the village, but he still had the respect of all the elders because he was very wise. He was living proof that one didn’t have to be the oldest to be the wisest. And just like fools grow old too, the wise aren’t always old.

“Because we don’t know what we would be walking into. The Enchanted Forest is the domain of the Magical Beasts. It is their home. We wouldn’t be able to navigate through it as expertly as the Enchanted Forest Scouting Party. For this idea to be feasible, we need several scouts at the level of the Enchanted Forest Scouting Party to lead the way. But that isn’t possible. The other scouts do not have enough skill to navigate the Enchanted Forest, and most of the members of the Enchanted Forest Scouting Party are dead. We would to walking into the enemy’s territory with no feasible plan. It would be the same as going to war with a blindfold on.”

Elder Bright shook his head with a wry smile on his face as he explained the reason for his objection. The 3 elders who were of the same mind as Elder Bright nodded their heads in support. He stated their thoughts perfectly. Raiding the Enchanted Forest would never work. There was a reason why the cities and towns never raided Enchanted Forests whenever they received reports of an Overflow. It was too risky.

In a situation where one only had a rough estimate of what to expect, it was unwise to launch an attack at the enemy. It was basically going to war unprepared. That was why it was always best to prepare a good defense rather than to go off attacking.

“It is true that attacking is the best form of defending. But Elder Bright is also right in saying that it would be best to keep our forces within the village and fortify our home instead of raiding the forest unprepared.” Village Head Fan stated.

He took a long pause after his words. All the elders were focused on him. They were waiting for him to make a decision.

“Alright. We would go with the same plan. We would evacuate the areas that have to be evacuated and move everyone to the centre of the village.”

“Yes, Village Head”

Although some of the elders weren’t happy about Village Head Fan’s decision, they accepted it. They didn’t want to put their home and their families at risk. That much was understandable. But it was also true that if they raided the Enchanted Forest and failed, they would be left without any forces to defend their home whatsoever. They would basically be sitting ducks. And a Pseudo Legendary Magical Beast had been born. It would take several Predators to deal with such a beast, so fighting against it in its home was unwise.

“We are going to defend seven zones,” Village Head Fan indicated the seven zones outside the circle.

“Each zone would have 2 Predators taking charge. That would leave us with four Predators unrestricted to any of the seven zones. These four Predators would consist of the 3 Cheetahs and 1 Mongoose. Their job would be to move between zones and provide support where necessary. They are also to rescue any villagers who violate the evacuation protocol and move outside the demarcation line”

The elders nodded at his words. Although they were going to issue an order for an evacuation, there were surely going to be some people who would sneak outside the demarcation line for no good reason. If that happened to be during the time when the beasts attacked, the Predators would save them.

“Each zone would have 10 Thrashers who would be under the command of the Predators. The 5 Thrashers remaining would fall under the jurisdiction of the 4 Predators that are in charge of support. Each zone would also have 42 Animal Hunters and 57 Soldiers. 1 Animal Hunter and 1 Soldier would remain. They are to join the first zone.”

Village Head Fan quickly distributed the forces across the zones.

“I myself would lead the first zone,” Village Head Fan announced.

“Head Fan! That is too risky!”

“Elder Light is right, Head Fan! You are our leader. You cannot put yourself at risk! Please reconsider.”

Several elders immediately argued. They wanted him to change his mind.

“It’s exactly because I’m the leader of this village that I cannot cower in times like these. I am the Village Head. But I’m also the strongest warrior we have. It would be a waste to hide in fear”

Village Head Fan waved his hands and shut down their arguments with his words. He was the strongest in the village! That was all. He couldn’t cower. It was in times like these that he had to shine brighter than anything and anyone else in the village.

“They are here,” Village Head Fan suddenly said and looked at the door. The door opened on cue, and Frowning Tiger entered with several men in tow. Rash Tiger had a disgruntled look on his face as he followed closely behind Frowning Tiger.

“Every Predator of the village is here, Village Head Fan” Frowning Tiger bowed and said.

“The Predators have seen the Village Head and the Elders,” the Predators bowed and spoke in one voice. Village Head Fan nodded his head and said,

“Good. Then let us begin”