Crellan, if he was being honest, was nervous. Thankfully, he wore a mask and looked more like a machine than a human. His usual form hid any emotional weakness. That was the power of a mask.
The reason for his nervousness was that he had to prepare a battle plan with the four tribes to protect Chaotic from the upcoming M'arrillian attack.
The other Codemasters agreed earlier that something big was about to happen. They felt a storm was coming. Their defense systems were powerful and efficient, but they weren't made for a siege. Especially when the creatures would port directly into Chaotic. Not outside.
Once his nervousness abated, Crellan ported to Kiru City, landing near the entrance of the castle. The guards pointed their weapons at him, "I have come for an important meeting with Maxxor and the others."
"You are this Codemaster Crellan?" One of the guards asked as he carefully observed him.
"Yes."
"He is," the other one said, having met the strange human the last time.
"Follow me." the guard turned around and guided him in the castle.
The Codemaster walked into the castle. It wasn't long before they reached a large door. Behind it was the war room. He could already hear a bit of the commotion inside and knew the others were already there.
The door opened, showing Chaor and Theb-Saar arguing. The two other rulers stood away, watching the argument. Each of them wore Telebracers.
"And I still haven't forgotten about the deal you made in our name with the Codemasters!" Chaor pointed his claw at Theb-Saar.
The Mipedian king remained calm, "Chaor. I was the first to arrive there, and I made sure the deal was fair between us." Theb-Saar's hand went to the side and looked into the blue eyes of the angry creature, "We are all equal in Chaotic."
Maxxor and Aszil simply remained off to the side quietly. They had nothing to say and had their own priorities. They were looking at a recently made map of Chaotic, drawn up from what they had learned. The map was made by Najarin when he visited recently.
Crellan coughed. The four creatures turned towards him, "I'm here," he took out a sphere, "I also brought a lot to help with the plan."
The tension between the kings of the Underworld and Al-Mipedim ceased.
Chapter 65: War Plan
Maxxor nodded, "We are here for that first and foremost. This is no time to argue about the deal Theb-Saar made."
"Fine," Chaor grunted, crossing his arms.
The Codemaster put the sphere on the table. He took out his scanner and pressed on the screen. The sphere opened to reveal a 3-D map of Chaotic. It had much more detail in it than the map drawn by Najarin.
The four creatures watched it. For a second they looked like astounded children seeing a new toy. The map was well detailed.
"It doesn't show everything. There are a few things that you shouldn't know, just in case the M'arrillians read your mind. Thankfully, those are hidden deep within Chaotic. What I brought is extremely important. This is where we must stop the M'arrillians when they come."
"That is an impressive battlegear you have here," Queen Aszil commented. It would have been able to show the entirety of Mount Pillar. It was as impressive as she said, but also terrifying.
"We are not here to compare battlegear. We are here to prepare a defense against the M'arrillian's invasion. It could come at any moment now," Crellan reminded them.
That put the four creatures back to full focus.
"The first thing should be that we have to bring more creatures to Chaotic," Chaor grunted before slamming the table.
"I have to agree. With only eight creatures, we won't be able to do much," Theb-Saar said, studying the map.
"I have already spoken with the other Codemasters about this. We cannot allow an army to enter Chaotic, but we can accept an increase in numbers, even if you aren't equal. Once the invasion situation is solved, we will return to the deal," the Codemaster replied as he waved his finger.
The four leaders looked at each other. It looked like they were about to reveal some secrets.
"We can send 10 Mipedians," Theb-Saar said, implying how many Telebracers they had.
Aszil had a feeling she wasn't that bad in number. She smiled, "Seven Danians."
Maxxor nodded, "We can send a total of 12 Overworlders."
Chaor grumbled loudly. He realized he was the loser in this, "Three Underworlders."
Crellan knew those numbers wouldn't be enough. Especially with the Underworders. He was also surprised at how many Scanners had never been recovered and fallen into the hands of the creatures. With that in mind he pulled something out of his clothes and set it on the table, "You can add 15 creatures, if you can make those Telebracers fast enough."
The ruler of the Underworld grabbed most of them, "We will make sure we won't lack in numbers."
"They need to be made quickly," the ruler of the Overworld reminded them all as he let the other tribes grab it.
Theb-Saar offered one to Maxxor, "Some of your experts should make some for the other tribes too."
"We are focusing on preparing protections against the mind control power of the M'arrillians. We need to be sure they can't corrupt anyone we send."
"We can make some of those too," the Mipedian king replied as he crossed his arms. His red eyes shined at the others, "If you focus on making the Telebracers, we will focus on the circlets."
Chaor grumbled, but agreed. They needed to compensate for the lack of Telebracers first.
They continued to observe the map. Now that they had settled on the number of soldiers they could send, they had to focus on strategy.
"Now, we should focus on how to protect Chaotic," Codemaster Crellan pointed his finger at the Port Court, "One thing is certain. The M'arrillians have no choice but to appear in the Port Court. That means they are vulnerable to an ambush."
"However, the humans will be taken by surprise," Theb-Saar pointed at the tables. It was obvious that they couldn't escape to the Cothica. Unless the M'arrillians ignored that location.
"Do not worry about victims. They will get their code back if they lost it in Chaotic. This is one thing not to worry about," Crellan told the creatures.
"Would they remember the attack?" Maxxor asked.
The Codemaster nodded negatively, "No. We already prepared out a message to explain it. Two sets of messages actually. One for when the M'arrillians attack. The other one… if they manage to reach the Earth. We are ready for anything."
"You think they are going to reach the Cothica? They won't pass us!" Chaor shouted, hitting the table with his fist.
Crellan made sure that the ball with the hologram didn't fall on the ground. He looked Chaor straight in the eye, "There is always a possibility. We don't know if we might get a worst-case scenario."
"Let's focus on the defense," Aszil suggested, focusing on the battle plan.
Maxxor and Theb-Saar nodded as they crossed their arms.
"Agreed. I will show you some of the defense locations." Crellan pointed his finger at the entrance, "We have around fifty pieces battlegear hidden inside the walls, without including those who are outside. They are solid and can handle damage at the level of a creature."
"At the level of a creature?" Maxxor asked, confused.
"Yes. Humans are much more fragile than a creature. They could barely handle an attack directed at them," Crellan explained.
Maxxor remembered how quickly Kaz was put out of battle by a single attack. That made him worry for Tom. If the creatures reached the Cothica, his life could be over with a single attack.
"They are that weak?" Chaor asked in disbelief.
"Yes. Kaz had been gravely wounded by a single Flash Kick from Mudeenu," the ruler of the Overworld replied.
"And they still come to Perim and put their life at risk. Good thing it's not their real body," the Mipedian commented.
Aszil nodded, "Those are all of the Battlegear?"
"No. There are many more. The machines are dispersed everywhere, hidden behind the walls. We won't tell you which ones, just in case the M'arrillians read your minds. That way we can have the advantage of a surprise attack with the machines." With that the Codemaster put his hands in his sleeves.
"That might not be enough. How many in total?" Theb-Saar asked.
"Eight hundred," Crellan replied a little reluctantly.
"We will be less than nine hundred to fight the M'arrillians." The king of Al-Mipedim muttered. He looked at the blue eyes of the metallic one, "That's all?"
"No. Those are the defenses we can compare to a creature. We have others, but they cannot be moved and protect the corridors only. It is dangerous to fight in these small spaces. Once they are taken care of, there is nothing else to replace them. They lack the power of the other pieces of battlegear, but a few good shots can bring a creature down. It can slow them down if you need to catch up."
The queen of the Danians smirked, "And you have a final card, right? I can feel something else prepared."
"Yes. The last option is less than viable. It is the last line of defense we have. We cannot tell you anything about it. It's best that this one is kept a secret. The less possible known by the enemies, the better. Just them knowing it exists will force them to proceed with caution. If all fails, then the war will continue on Earth."
"The Cothica," Chaor said. He knew he had to do everything to stop the M'arrillians from reaching it. He would rather let Maxxor reach it than that tribe. That was how much he despised them.
Theb-Saar commented, "Then it is best that we are left in the dark regarding the final line of defense. Still, what would happen if they reach the Cothica?"
"This will be a situation for Michel and Annette to handle on Earth," Crellan replied while correcting them about the name of his world.
"You have soldiers ready for this situation?" Theb-Saar asked as he scratched his chin with a small smile.
"Yes. They are organized to handle the situation on Perim and more." Crellan didn't want to elaborate more than necessary.
The creatures nodded. They could guess they wouldn't learn more than that. Just knowing that there were humans ready to deal with them in unknown ways.
"Where would the creatures be located?" Maxxor asked as he watched the map.
The Codemaster replied, "We cannot just let many creatures appear out of the blue in Chaotic. They would suspect something and the M'arrillians might be aware of it. I have a solution."
"And that solution is?" Chaor asked.
"Quite simple. Some of the creatures will temporarily live in an unused section of Chaotic," Crellan pointed at a spot that was isolated from the Port Court, it was still close enough to react, "This could be a perfect spot for the creatures to rest and be ready to act on any surprise attack from the M'arrillians. They would be hidden, so the players wouldn't be alerted. The M'arrillians will expect eight creatures and not fifty. As they would already be in position to act, they would have the chance for a surprise attack while the M'arrillians think that they have the advantage," Crellan concluded.
"And how do you expect them to go there undetected?" Aszil asked as she pointed at the path to it. It wasn't hidden at all. They had to walk into the Port Court for that.
"There is a moment where very few players are in the Port Court during the night. It would be the best moment for the creatures to come here," Crellan explained.
"It will be easy for my tribe if we go there while invisible. It can be during the day if necessary," Theb-Saar told him.
"That will be the exception. If you are invisible around during the attack, it might be useful," the Codemaster agreed.
The other leaders of the tribes grumbled, but didn't protest. They continued to study the map and went more into the small details as the big plan had been set.
Crellan felt a little at ease as the creatures seemed to be going along with the plan, "We will only have one chance to protect Chaotic."
"And what after?" Chaor asked.
Crellan put his hand on his mask and wondered about it, "If it's about the Cothica. I hold no power to decide if you can or not enter Earth. My c- my superiors hold that power."
The creatures looked at him.
The Mipedian tried something, "Maybe we rulers can try and negotiate with them on the Cothica. We won't go to forbidden places if this is what you want."
The other three gazed at him. It was worth a shot and agreed with him.
The Codemaster didn't know what to say. He closed his eyes for a few seconds. He communicated on Earth with his real self for a while. He gazed at them and saw the confused looks on their face. Eventually, his eyes shined for a few seconds, "It's a deal. Michel and Annette have agreed to this."
"Good," they all said around the same time.
The creatures and Crellan went on with the plan. A reward was in the way and the creatures had reason not to fail.
AC: This is the end of this chapter. Next, the showdown begins for this Arc.
Next Chapter: Battle For Chaotic Part 1.
The day has come. The day of peace in Chaotic is coming to an end. As Tom, Kaz, Sarah, Peyton, Cassandra and Alexandre were eating, the M'arrillians strike.