The Zeb'Sora raid plan

Night had fallen, but the magical lamp in the command tent still shone.

"That idiot was right. His squadron is nothing but rookies. If we deploy them between Zeb'Sora and Boutilier, I doubt they can effectively intercept the Shadowpine troll reinforcements."

Sylvanas studied the map intently, her slender finger moving across it. "I doubt they can even slow the reinforcements down."

"I'm very worried about that myself. Why don't we send the Third Battalion up instead?" Lor'themar said with a frown.

"No. We cannot divert our attacking force! We barely have enough troops for the assault as it is." Sylvanas firmly rejected Lor'themar's suggestion.

"My idea is to relieve them of the task of intercepting and delaying the troll reinforcements. Instead, they will scout the reinforcements' movements and intercept any messengers sent toward Zeb'Tela if the trolls discover our operation early.

"As long as we move fast enough, we may be able to disengage before Zeb'Tela reacts," Sylvanas said.

"That will be difficult. We're committing six hundred troops to battle, after all. Withdrawing won't be as simple as deciding to leave. The trolls in Zeb'Sora outnumber us by quite a bit," Lor'themar said after some thought.

"According to our intelligence, most of the Shadowpine trolls in Zeb'Sora are greataxe fighters and axe throwers, with only a handful of hexers. As soon as we establish the exact location of any one of those hexers, we can launch an attack."

Sylvanas said, "As long as we withdraw to the Tower of the Stars before the headhunters and hexers from Zeb'Tela arrive, we'll be safe."

"The trolls have been very alert lately. Our rangers can barely get close enough to scout. We can't pinpoint the hexers' tents," Lor'themar said.

"Then send more rangers to scout. We must find out!" Sylvanas said firmly.

She paced a couple of steps, then added, "The Bloodhawk Squadron will not travel with us! Tomorrow, they will head straight for the eastern foot of Dawnpeak Mountain and find somewhere to rest. The following night, they will march at speed and must enter the Tower of the Stars in secret before the early hours of the morning."

Sylvanas stopped pacing and visibly considered the matter before saying, "Once they reach the Tower of the Stars, they will immediately begin scouting between Zeb'Sora and Zeb'Tela. As soon as they learn anything, they must notify the arcane mages guarding the tower. Those mages have a way to contact us.

"After the raid succeeds, they can choose to withdraw to the Tower of the Stars or Farstriders Camp, depending on the situation!"

"Aren't we going to Farstriders Camp first, then splitting up?" Lor'themar asked.

"No. The Farstriders must not participate in our operation! The Farstriders have always been on the front lines. The Shadowpine trolls are highly alert now, and our scouts have spotted quite a few additional troll scouts near Farstriders Camp.

"I suspect both the Farstriders and the trolls have stepped up their surveillance of each other. Any move the Farstriders make will surely be noticed by the trolls.

"We can only inform the Farstriders of our plan. We must not let them take part in the operation. They can come out to cover us only when we retreat," Sylvanas said.

Lor'themar studied the map and pondered for a moment. "All right! I'll go give the Bloodhawk Squadron their orders."

"I'd better go myself. You know that squadron is full of rookies, and I suspect that idiot is no better. I'll have to remind him of the details, or those rookies may end up as dessert for the trolls," Sylvanas said.

Inside his tent, Lin Yu was still trying to decide whether to sleep. He paced back and forth, his eyelids heavy with fatigue. I should sleep. Once I wake up, this incredibly realistic game in my dream will probably be over, and it'll be time to go to work.

But he wanted to play a little longer. He had not fought even a single monster yet. How could that count as playing the game? The problem was that he really was getting sleepy, and he could not keep forcing himself to stay awake forever. While he wrestled with the decision, Sylvanas's voice came from outside the tent.

Huh? The queen? What's she doing here? With that thought, he stepped out of the tent.

"Your Majesty, what brings you..." Lin Yu asked when he saw the rolled-up map in her hand.

"Call me queen one more time, and I'll show you the wrath of Sylvanas Windrunner!" Sylvanas snapped.

So fierce? No wonder nobody will marry her! Lin Yu grumbled inwardly.

"Inside!" Sylvanas pointed at the tent and spoke coldly.

"Oh." Lin Yu obediently walked back into the tent.

To his surprise, Sylvanas followed him in. She turned up the magical lamp, spread the map on the ground, and beckoned him over.

"There have been some changes to our raid plan. Most of them concern your squadron."

When Lin Yu said nothing, Sylvanas continued, "Your unit's assignment has changed. You no longer need to intercept or delay the troll reinforcements. Scouting and providing early warning will suffice. In addition, you must do your best to intercept any individual trolls heading from Zeb'Sora toward Zeb'Tela to raise the alarm."

"Is the assignment still in the same area?" Lin Yu asked.

"Yes, but you must expand your scouting range as much as possible."

Sylvanas traced a finger across the map. "At a minimum, you must keep the entire area from here to here under close surveillance. Whenever you learn anything, you can relay the information to us through the arcanists in the Tower of the Stars!"

The Tower of the Stars? Arcane mages? Something seemed to stir in Lin Yu's memory, but he could not quite grasp it.

"Are we leaving now?" Lin Yu asked. Time to fight monsters.

"Not now! Tomorrow morning, you will lead your unit to the eastern foot of Dawnpeak Mountain and make camp. The following night, you will march at speed. You must enter the Tower of the Stars before daybreak. Can you do that?" Sylvanas looked up at him.

"Well..." Lin Yu hesitated. He did not dare make a promise lightly. Even if this was a dream, he could not be that shameless, could he? Setting aside whether deceiving a young girl was right or wrong...

Who knew whether he would have this dream again? Or whether he would be able to enter this game tomorrow?

This is a military pledge. What if I agree and can't carry it out? What happens the next time I come in? Will I even be able to keep playing? If they chop my head off the moment I arrive, how the hell am I supposed to play?

"I'm asking you whether you can do it!" Seeing him hem and haw, Sylvanas felt her anger flare again.

"It's not that I don't want to agree..." Lin Yu grew anxious.

"I don't want your excuses. Just tell me whether you can do it!" Sylvanas said with utter sternness, her icy gaze trained on Lin Yu like two sharp swords.

Lin Yu had no doubt that if he dared say no, he would immediately be dragged outside and punished under military law. "All... all right!" he said reluctantly. At worst, I'll have the deputy commander lead them.

Sylvanas stared coldly at him, her chilling gaze seeming to pierce straight into his heart in search of the answer she wanted.

"I can do it!" Lin Yu said firmly. Cold sweat had broken out on his forehead, but if he still did not know how to answer at this point, he really would be an idiot.

"I'll take your word for now." Sylvanas's gaze softened a little.

"The arcanists there will tell you the exact time of our raid. Before we attack, however, I expect you to gather as much useful intelligence as possible!"

Sylvanas said, "Once the battle is over, we will send a signal into the sky. When you see it, you can decide whether to withdraw to the Tower of the Stars or Farstriders Camp, depending on the situation."

"Our squadron isn't going with you?" Lin Yu asked in surprise. He remembered that Sylvanas had said nothing last time about having them operate separately.

"No!" Sylvanas gave him only that single word. She saw no need to explain too much to this idiot.

March tomorrow, enter the Tower of the Stars the day after, then scout and wait for the battle to begin and end. That adds up to at least four or five days, perhaps even seven or eight. I can't possibly wait that long.

He had noticed something very strange: time in this dream actually passed at the same pace as in reality. His previous dreams had always been a succession of constantly shifting fragments. This one was different; everything unfolded continuously, just like real life.

Even more incredible was that whenever he realized he was dreaming in the past, he would wake up. This time was different. He had known it was a dream from the start, yet even after so long, there was no sign of him waking.

He felt that only after his dream self went to sleep would he wake up in the real world. Whether he could return to this dream afterward was another question.

One thing was certain: he would not get a chance to fight monsters and level up over the next two days. Forget it. I'll stop playing, get some sleep, and go to work when I wake up. I still have to put food on the table. Who knows whether I'll ever have this dream again after I leave?

"What is it? Is there a problem?" Sylvanas asked when he remained silent, unable to tell what he was thinking.

"A problem? Not at all!" Lin Yu smiled. Once I wake up, all of this will be gone. How could there be a problem? If there is, it'll be the deputy commander's problem.

"Then what were you thinking about just now?" Sylvanas assumed he had been considering how to organize his troops' movements.

As a battlefield veteran, she did not mind offering this idiot a little advice, lest he blunder about and get more than a hundred recruits killed. She had no fondness for him, but those hundred recruits were innocent.

"I was thinking about the arcanists in the Tower of the Stars..." Lin Yu suddenly stopped. He had finally remembered why the mention of the Tower of the Stars had stirred something in him: the place was closely connected to an arcanist named Dar'Khan.

"Is Dar'Khan in the Tower of the Stars right now?" he suddenly asked.

"Dar'Khan, the arcane archmage? Yes!" Sylvanas said, puzzled.

She did not understand why Lin Yu had suddenly brought up the arcane archmage. Was there some connection between them? Was Dar'Khan his backer?

Naturally, Sylvanas did not think this military operation would have much to do with Dar'Khan, an arcane archmage and member of the Silvermoon Council, so that was the only explanation she could think of.