Eight thousand down.

Eighteen thousand to go.

Close to zero casualties.

Let me pause here for a moment and try to help you guys process the absurdity of the number.

The first thing you need to understand is that these mechas are god damn freaking huge bodies of high tech metallium.

Eight thousand mechas is a HUGE number. Eight thousand ducklings, not so much.

Eight thousand mechas, even practice mechas, if marched into any third tier country, would be strong enough to occupy that country, overthrow their government and set up a new regime.

It wasn't a cute spelling bee Sheera Lin just aced.

She just took down a MASSIVE military force!

The next thing which I must emphasize is that she did it with a much more inferior force.

Inferior in number, obviously, she did it with only four thousand.

But also very markedly inferior quality.

As much as we were the generation of dragons and phoenixes, we were still very young then. We were still cute little lizards and chicken.

Sheera Lin's army, if sent to fight in an open, up front clash against even a thousand of her massacred victims, would be completely disintegrated.

The only reason they won against the eight thousand that day was due to Sheera's decisions, tactics and strategies.

It was an impressively incredible achievement!

But she was not done yet.

Oh hell no.

Eighteen thousand enemy mechas were still alive, and that meant that she was just getting started.

As I have mentioned before several times, in battles, nothing ever goes according to plan.historical

The three massacres which Sheera managed to unleash upon her seniors according to her unmodified plans were exceptions.

And the battles that followed were notably not as easy as the first three.

For one thing, the superstar and the notorious gangstress of the gifted program finally appeared not long after Sheera Lin reset her trap.

"So, what do you think? Is she as smart as you?" Priamus Jin asked with a slight chuckle.

"Smarter." Emma Whitefrost conceded with obvious reluctance in her voice.

"Good. The first trait of a good leader is knowing when he or she is outclassed, outgunned, outnumbered or outmaneuvered. Accepting reality as it really is, is the first step in creating a winning strategy." Priamus said in a gentle and somehow easy to accept manner.

"I don't need you to give me a sermon. I just need a thousand mechas, and I will break this stupid trap and destroy that cocky upstart." Emma snapped at Priamus in her usual style, but noticeably sharper than she usually was with me.

No, I am not reading too much into this.

She WAS much gentler with me even if her words were still so prickly.

As I had mentioned before, her very harsh environment growing up made her that way.

Yes, I am being defensive. Why shouldn't I be? She is MY Emma.

Anyway, I digress.

"Hold your horses." Priamus chuckled. "You just admitted that this little general is smarter than you, and you want to charge into such an obvious trap with a quarter of our number? You know how hard it was to convince those jugheads to combine forces with us right?"

"She is smarter, yes. I would never be able to create such a pretty trap with such effectiveness. But a trap is a trap. As soon as we figure out how to deal with it, the trap they laid for us will end up trapping them instead." Emma pointed at the mass of dead soldiers. "One thousand mechas are all I need to rush those fake corpses and rout them. Even light mechas will do."

"I will give you those thousand mechas. But not until we have more back up plans ready. I do not have the habit of taking an obviously genius general's weakness as face value.

Against sneaky generals like this one, you can be sure that when they look weak, they are strong there.

Answer this question for me. What would you do if those mechas are truly dead, and that they are hiding in those trees instead?

Two thousand on each slope, half firing down at you, half charging in to finish you off." Priamus asked Emma seriously.

"You and I both know that if they do that, then they would have lost. You can sweep one of the slopes with your full strength while I lock those charging in at me in place. And once they lose one slope, their pretty terrain advantage is lost. And without their pretty trap, they are just weak first graders. I don't even need your reinforcements to kill them. Just my little gang of two hundred is enough." Emma replied dismissively.

"You would be taking the brunt of their fire. You sure you ca-"

"Stop nagging like a senile grandma. Give me those thousand mechas. I will bait them out and you can do as you will. You're not a dumbass yourself anyway." Emma snapped at him sharply. "If those are their real forces as Hardy here had said, then victory is secured. I would leave none alive."

"Hmmmm." Priamus Jin went silent for a few minutes, probably cooking up his ridiculously genius level plan which was in no way inferior to Sheera's.

Finally, probably mere seconds before Emma probably would have exploded, Priamus spoke up.

"I will give you five hundred fliers. Lead them to wipe out half "corpses" on the ground, then leave the battle on my signal to attack their leader. On my signal. Not before, and definitely not after. Can you do that?" Priamus asked Emma.

"Fliers? Good. You finally grew yourself good sense. With fliers, I would probably be able to wipe out every single one of those weak ass first graders before you give your sign" Emma said in a pleased voice.

"No, do not wipe them out. Do not push a cornered enemy too hard. And besides, I won't be waiting for too long. Just watch for my signal, alright?" Priamus pressed.

"Fine! Now get me those fliers!" Emma replied impatiently.