Chapter 912 Chapter 911: Review
?I pursed my lips as I stared at Belian, the Demon looking back at me with a neutral gaze as we stood away from the main group, who were all currently busy butchering the two large tortoises for any and all meat, bones, organs and of course, as much of their shells as they could manage to successfully harvest.
Satanya and I were here to get our review, and Belian decided to start with me, which was why I was currently standing there with a hint of nervousness as memories of my days in school way back when resurfaced, the all too familiar feeling of being 'judged' for my work resting on my shoulders once more.
"So... how do you think you performed, Kat? Let's start with that... self reflection is an equally important way to learn, after all. It ensures you can locate your flaws yourself and find ways to correct them, or locate what you do well and find ways to keep doing things well. So go ahead; give yourself a review."
The utter neutrality of which he spoke and the blank expression he wore just made it harder to not feel like I was being judged completely, but I had lived long enough to understand that this wasn't cruel, malice fueled judgement, but instead a critique for me to learn from, so I took a breath to calm myself and gathered my thoughts.
"It wasn't the greatest. On one hand, I was trying to work with a group and do things with more than just Anput, Leone and Jahi, but on the other hand I wasn't able to truly separate my group from Satanya's. My initial plan for the tortoise was to have Anput spike the tortoise with metal rods before having Ammit use her Lightning Magic to bypass the epidermis of water that the tortoise was using to heal itself, but obviously... I didn't have Ammit in my group.
So... I sort of... not panicked, but certainly faltered. Reverted back to the comfortable mentality of only working with my three lovers and not with the group, which meant they remained only as an afterthought in this battle. They were utilized as a shield wall and that was it. Especially after the initial idea of trying to engage it up close in melee combat - which was both a very unlikely hope but also a way to scout some of its defenses and abilities. They were turned into a glorified wall after that happened... and then I had Anput and Leone do most of the work."
"Then would you say you 'passed' this test, or failed it? With what you accomplished and how you accomplished it."
"I..."
Frowning, I took another breath and looked over towards the dead tortoise, deciding to take the realistic option for that question.
All while they stood in the back, not doing much besides blocking attacks that only came a handful of times...
I frowned, before noticing that Belian was wearing a small smile now as he nodded at me, the man noticing the gears in my head turning from his critique, before that smile fell away as he turned to Satanya and said "Your turn. Do you think you passed, and why?"
Unlike me, the Demoness nodded instantly and said "I did, yes. End result: a dead tortoise. The method: half of the troops barraging the tortoise with magic whilst the other half used their blades to hack away at its legs. No casualties, no difficulties. Therefore, I passed, and I believe that would be a better grade than 'just passing'."
The smugness in her tone as she smirked at me made me roll my eyes, though her smirk faded somewhat as Belian said "Now, don't be getting too cocky. Yes, you managed to utilize everyone equally, but ask yourself; was there no casualties because of your method, or because of the quality of your troops? Was that strategy risky at all? The answer is yes. If these weren't Demons, but instead the troops of the Empire, would you have been able to accomplish the same thing with the same strategy? No, probably not.
The barrage of magic worked because Ammit had an elemental advantage - and it's Ammit. Additionally, the Core of a Demon is usually only weaker than that of an Elf and a spattering of other magically attuned races, so the guarantee of distracting the monster is lost. Then, there is the physical attack. Enchanted weapons, powerful arms... those made it easy. Add on the fact that its skull was currently in the midst of being chipped away and melted, and that made it a breeze to get it down and attack its head.
The point is, Satanya, that there is always a certain amount of risk that makes strategies worth it or reckless, and yours was teetering on reckless... if you had anyone but Demons, of course. Additionally, putting your troops at risk just to feel like you have to make use of them to meet the requirements for something can make them feel like objects and not soldiers. That's another fine line that you have to walk."
The Demoness just stared at Belian for a moment before snorting as she asked "Why are we being graded on whether or not we 'could' have been leading a group of fighters that weren't Demons? We DO have a host of Demons to lead, so why should I think up a strategy that ANYONE could do, and not do what I know Demons can do?"
Even I had to nod at that, something that made Belian sigh as he looked up at the ceiling for a moment, something that made us both roll our eyes as he said "Practice for when you do have to lead a group of others, perhaps? Do you think that could be a possibility?"
"But then you would tell me to make use of what I have at disposal and make the most of my troops potential. This just sounds like we were going to 'fail' parts of your test no matter what! Damned if we do, damned if we don't."
"She's right, Lord Belian... All of those things are important to know, yes, but if we have a tool that others don't, why shouldn't we use it? We have it, after all... so why shouldn't we use a sword to cut butter, hm? Instead of hammering the sword down into a butterknife just because everyone else is using it..."
"I... oh whatever... just trying to teach some important lessons for you both, and yet here you are, complaining... Gods above..."