Another meeting was taking during this time. The location of this meeting was the Principal's office. Apart from Varchaswa and Bheeshma, all the heads of departments were present.
"So what formations were used by the Ayodhyaa Kingdom in the previous competitions?" Varchaswa asked.
"I am sorry your highness, I don't understand, what do you mean? What is this formation you are talking about?" Bheeshma asked, a little confused.
For a while, Varchaswa became confused too. How can a retired General not know Military Formation? After a while he realized the people of the sub-continent used a different word for it.
"I meant to ask about the arrangement of their army. The placement of their soldiers, the attack patterns etc."
"Oh, that. That will take a few minutes to explain because, depending on situation, the arrangement of Mages, Elementals, Cavalry and Knights brigade changes.
Also, we use numbers to denote a particular arrangement. Different armies use different numbers for the same arrangement." Vice Principal Bheeshma replied and then further explained the strategy, operations and tactics used by the Ayodhyaa Kingdom in the past 5 years.
"As per Grandpa Vidura, Sound Mages are used to transfer the orders to change the arrangement of the army or that of a unit, right?" Varchaswa asked.
"That is indeed the case." Bheeshma replied.
"So, can't we disrupt their Sound Signals?" Varchaswa asked.
"It is not easy. First of all, most Sound Mages only have the ability of communication. They don't have the ability to attack. Also, the signal change has to be predicted by the Strategist, who has to inform the commander and the commander has to give the command to the Sound Mages. This takes time, and by the time this process is carried out, the enemy has already used the Sound signal."
"I understand. What you call arrangement, I call it formation. From now on we will have named formations rather than numbered arrangements. I will explain its benefits in the third month of training. The arrangements used by the Ayodhyaa Kingdom will be called Layered Phalanx Formation." Varchaswa explained.
Varchaswa was incredibly happy. His Divine Wisdom was helping him a lot. He was a Strategist, a commander as well as a Sound Mage rolled into one. Hence, he could not only disrupt opponents' Sound Signals; he could also confuse them by creating pseudo signals for them. Also, he did not possess an ordinary Sound Element, but rather, the Thunder element which could be used to attack as well. Thunder was a higher level of Sound Element.
"So, what's the plan to break this 'Layered Phalanx Formation?" asked General Nakula.
Varchaswa smiled and replied, "We will break it by using the 'Trident Variant Formation'."
Under the expectant gazes of various military commanders Varchaswa began explaining the 'Trident Variant Formation'.
"As the name suggests, it is a basic arrangement of the Army in divided into three – Left, Centre and Right, called the three prongs. The precise placement of Mages, Warriors and Martial Artists will change based on the variant used and commander's planning.
The prongs can be a straight, curved, semi-circular or slant. Tactics vary depending on opponent's formation and can be changed through Sound Signals. However, the important part is the 4th unit, which are the reserved forces.
You can picture them as the handle or support of the trident. They can be used to support any of the three Prongs during crisis or to enforce a Prong in case a swift victory is desired.
For Ayodhyaa's Layered Phalanx Formation we can start with a variant in the shape of the letter 'W'. The three prongs will initially engage the enemy together. As the battle progresses, the central unit will keep withdrawing while the left and right units will encircle and enemy flanks and will try to breach through the rear.
The withdrawing army of the central unit will reinforce the left and right flanks. This way, the formation will change from 'W' to 'U' and then to 'O' and then to inverted 'U'. This way, we would be able to surprise them and attack the flanks and the rear.
This is just the general outline of the strategy. We will place appropriate soldiers at appropriate position determined by their performance during the training. This will be better than countering them with a phalanx of our own. Please let me know your opinions."
When his description ended all the Military Commanders were surprised by the analysis presented by a 16-year-old teenager who had not even faced a battle yet. On the other hand, Generals Nakula and Drona did not say much. They expected at least this much from him.
After a while General Drona said, "In that case, we will instruct the freshmen and sophomores according to this strategy."
Varchaswa stopped Drona and said, "Grandpa Drona, please do not do that. I have a different strategy in mind for the freshmen and the sophomores."
"Why?" asked Nakula.
"The Trident Variant strategy is meant to be taught to the students of Final and Pre-Final Year students only. That strategy is mainly for the Mock Battle. That is our immediate requirement. For the freshmen and sophomores, we need to prepare them for the future and the Championship Tournament. Their education needs to be different, right?"
"Very well. I am happy that you are clear about your priorities and your vision is just like your father." Drona appreciated Varchaswa's insight.
Just when they thought their discussion was over, Varchaswa said something unexpected, "Grandpa Drona and Uncle Nakula, I have a request to make."
"What is it?" asked Nakula.
"I need access to our spy network in Ayodhyaa and other Kingdoms. I need to know their preparation and practices. I do not want any disturbances and surprises that could have been avoided. We also need to try to conceal as much information as possible. They will have their spies as well." explained Varchaswa.
"Fine, we will do as you say, however, why didn't you let the Final and Pre-final year practice at the Royal Military Training Ground as well? This could have minimized our exposure to their spies." General Drona was a bit puzzled by Varchaswa's plan.
"Grandpa, please do not worry. I have my own anti-spy methods." Varchaswa said confidently.
And with that their meeting was concluded.
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Chapter End.