"Femi, you'll announce the counterattack in a moment."
"Blom, once Femi gives the signal, I need you to lead every warrior and Orc out!"
"Rangers, follow right behind them. Ignore the Ratfolk in the camp. Loose your arrows! Keep shooting! Slow the Rat Tide on the slope! Whether we retake the camp depends on you!"
"Ymir, split the Mages into two groups. One group raises a magical Barrier as soon as they get out; the other casts spells to clear the Ratfolk from the camp and the slope."
"Goblins, you go out with them. Carry every Rolling Stone and Log through the Portal, and be quick!"
At 11:50 that night, Belial finished assigning everyone their roles for the operation ten minutes away.
"Can't we hide here until the twelfth?" asked Locran, who had been listening in and was now the acting adjutant.
"We could have, but that Ratfolk in your group ran off!" Belial shouted, his voice thick with resentment. "You're all so young and capable. How could you be so foolish about something like this?"
"Lord Annan trusts him," Femi said.
Belial wanted to say To hell with Annan, but he had no doubt Femi would turn against him if he did. Instead, he put on a patient expression.
"It's not that I distrust him. But can you guarantee the Ratfolk won't torture the truth out of him? My teacher taught me never to place my hope of survival in someone else's hands."
Belial was satisfied by the silence that followed.
"Then the opening of the Portal is our signal. Remember, we have only one chance. The Ratfolk won't let us pull off another desperate counterattack..."
Everyone seized what time they could to rest. The Goblin Golems and Knight Golems were sent to the passage to buy time.
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