Before Hobart revealed his tactics, Bishop Simpson's greatest headache had been where the enemy's ambush was located.
Only by knowing where the enemy's ambush was could they formulate an effective plan and make the correct choices.
But Hobart's tactics skipped straight over the point that troubled them most and made the enemy worry instead.
Before setting out, Hobart had also reminded Bishop Simpson that if burning the tree did not work, they should go into town and smash the demon statues, destroying the demons' symbolic icons.
In short, they were not to bother with the enemy's small-scale sneak attacks. Even if they still could not draw the "demons" out, they could simply burn the tree, smash the statues, and return by boat.
Simpson had initially been somewhat dissatisfied about having to follow Hobart's command. He had also disliked being in the first wave, because that very likely meant becoming bait.
But after hearing Hobart's plan, Bishop Simpson realized that Extraordinary Battles could actually be fought this way!
They had become accustomed to viewing matters through the mindset of Official Extraordinaries. That mindset was simple and brutal: concentrate their forces, surround the enemy, and annihilate them.
Moreover, Hobart had placed his own wife in the first echelon. This showed that he would never abandon the people in the first echelon, which was why Bishop Simpson had agreed to serve as its commander.
Simpson watched the "demons" charging toward them. The first step of the plan had succeeded.
However, those "demons" stopped halfway through their charge. They realized that they lacked the strength to defeat Bishop Simpson and the others or put out the ever-growing fire, so they ultimately chose to wait for reinforcements from afar.
The tree before them was indeed very important to them, but no matter how important it