For now, my relationship with Melissa is based on information sharing and an agreement in which we swear to not harm each other. Slowly, I'm making progress toward a formal alliance.
Though It's clear that she does not trust me as an ally yet. The moment I tried to ask about her Gift and skills she refused to share anything, even though that was the price agreed upon for me to explain my Gift which she seemed interested in initially.
I'm not too worried as her trust will naturally increase with time, even more so when it's made clear that anything she shares with me is not going to leak. The real problem right now is whether her tribe can hold long enough for me to formulate and put into action a plan.
Licia: "Hmm... that's gonna be hard..."
Claire: "How many soldiers does she have?"
Miwen: "That was the last topic before I left. She maintains a standing army of 600, but she could recruit between 800~1000 more men. The enemy has anywhere between 6000 and 7000, not all of them are professional soldiers though."
The conversation I had with Melissa ended up being quite productive, but extremely worrisome at the same time. Each of her soldiers would need to kill 10 men at the bare minimum for her to win, and even though she can conscript more men, the enemy would also be able to do the same, and probably dwarf her numbers even more.
Most of what I know about war comes from history classes and documentaries, so while it's useful knowledge, it's definitely not on par with an actual seasoned general. Thankfully I have a veteran to consult with Claire who used to fight in the army under her dad.
Claire: "You may have chosen the wrong side to support..."
Miwen: "I know they are outnumbered but isn't her position quite good? To win she just needs to defend her land for long enough or cause enough casualties that the enemy gives up, given the terrain, I thought it wouldn't be so hard."
Defending is always easier than attacking, the enemy needs to cross the sea and disembark, after that, they would have to cross through a snow field towards a forest, where they then will have to face a fortress. Outside of the numbers, in my eyes, Melissa should have everything in her favor.
Claire: "The problem is that the enemy is capable of diminishing her numbers. Her standing army is only six hundred strong, which means that any time one soldier from that army dies, she needs to bring someone who doesn't have as much experience or training. Eventually, discipline and morale will be too damaged for her to maintain proper fighting conditions."
Licia: "There is also composition to consider. After a trained soldier dies, ideally she'd get a hunter, a mage, or an adventurer to replace them. But since there's no dungeon on the island, both adventurers and mages should be scarce, making it so that her army becomes unbalanced as most recruits would want to serve as archers."
I didn't think about the army composition so Licia brought up a good point. And I also agree with what Claire said, but...
Miwen: "With proper training wouldn't she be able to deal with both of these problems?"
Licia: "Not at all."
Miwen: "Huh? Why not?"
From the little that I know, proper military training should, by all means, be capable of at least alleviating some of these problems.
Claire: "Yeah you can train a hunter to be a swordsman, no problem. But what are you gonna do about his Gift and skills? Chances are, if he chose to become a hunter, his Gift probably had some influence on this decision. If she doesn't place her people in positions close to what they are used to or at least where their Gift will have an impact, her army quality will quickly decrease."
Ever since the First Contact 20 years ago, most governments and organizations have been busy with internal affairs, so war with other countries has been low on the priority list as armies are busy dealing with internal security most of the time. Although from a few conflicts and studies, the fact that Gifts and skills would impact any war is unquestionable, though exactly how is not currently known.
That left a gap in my understanding of this situation, as any history or theory prior to the First Contact would fail to take into account superhuman powers.
Licia: "The lack of a dungeon in her territory is also particularly concerning..."
Claire: "Yeah it's a huge minus for her..."
This one was quite easy to understand, after all, I myself have experienced the impact a dungeon can have on someone. Be it strength, intelligence, speed, or even one's mana, through leveling up in a dungeon one can get unrecognizably more powerful in a bunch of different aspects.
Melissa has to replenish her army with soldiers that cannot level up, as they can't leave the island to raid a dungeon. The enemy possessing a vast territory is able to do it, meaning she will eventually face a level disadvantage. Yeah, it's clear how this is a big problem...
Miwen: "Even though the event description said that her army was individually stronger..."
Licia: "That doesn't mean this will be the case forever."
Claire: "If she keeps losing soldiers from her standing army, even though she can replace them with men from the villages, her defeat will be set in stone."
Miwen: "I guess you're right... Well, it's a bit more grave than I thought, but it doesn't change what I should do, if anything, it just makes it more urgent that we take action."
Claire: "Even after all we said you still wish to ally yourself with the underdog?"
Miwen: "Yes. And I also believe there's something we can do right now, but I'm going to need your opinion."
Claire: "Go ahead."
Before leaving I offered Melissa whatever I could get from the [Weapons Banner] and the [Armor Banner], this time however I came to terms with the fact I was parting with possibly great items.
But curiosity ended up winning over me in the end and I decided to take a look at exactly what I was giving away. Thanks to that, an item managed to grab my attention:
[Scout's Cloak Of Invisibility]
As the name suggests, the wearer becomes invisible, and the detection skills of an enemy also show greatly diminished effects, in most cases even being incapable of detecting the presence of whoever is wearing the cloak. The biggest weakness is that you can't attack or cast magic while wearing the cloak, the moment you do, your invisibility will be turned off and the effects of the cloak will stop working against the enemies that you attacked or saw you attack.
With this in mind, this item became the cornerstone for a trap that could take one of the enemy generals down, if this works out, it could become the feat that changes the tide of war and makes me Melissa's invaluable ally.
To end the day I discussed the details of what I had in mind with the girls and also spent [Kingdom Points] to get Licia and Claire some new clothes, the warmest possible, as it was definitely going to be needed with what I had in mind.