"Heh heh heh... Want to fight with your backs to the flames? It won't be that easy!"
Standing on a small hill two kilometers away, Chris watched the abandoned camp through his telescope and muttered to himself, unable to hide the smugness in his voice.
Beside him, Mia first stood on tiptoe to peer into the distance, then turned to look at Chris, confusion spreading across her face.
"Why did we leave? Why did we abandon the houses?"
"Because doing that can destroy the Minisians' will to fight... Hmm..."
Chris thought for a moment, then explained it to Mia.
"If someone you couldn't beat wanted to eat Aisha, and had to fight you to do it, would you fight that person with everything you had?"
"I'd run away?"
"What if you couldn't get away?"
"Then I'd hit him really hard with a stick, and Aisha would help me!"
Mia answered earnestly, her little hands unconsciously curling into fists. Chris couldn't help laughing and ruffled her messy hair.
"So right now, the Minisians are the ones ready to fight for their lives."
Chris pointed toward the smoking camp in the distance.
"But what if they discovered that the enemy they wanted to fight had suddenly disappeared?"
Mia tilted her head and thought for a moment, then her eyes suddenly lit up.
"Like if I raised my stick, but the bad guy ran away?"
"Exactly. They want to fight for their lives, but they can't find anyone to fight. And then they discover there's a way to escape... Do you think they'll keep charging at us to fight to the death, or run away?"
As Chris spoke, he broke into a smug grin.
The first surge of courage was strongest; the second weakened, and the third ran dry!
Chris could take the