Note: I don't own Disgaea 2.
I've been hanging around too often in the anime sections so I apologize for neglecting this.
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Setting camp wasn't difficult, considering that it was a normal procedure to the remnants of Adell's group. Back when they were in Veldime, they would camp out for days while finishing campaigns in different regions of the world that would take them closer to Zenon.
The trees provided adequate cover as the group set their tents in simple construction as they would only stay there for the night. They were close to a river so access to water wasn't a problem. Once that was done, the women and girls headed out to take a bath south of the camp and in a very forested area several kilometers down the river while the men headed north to gather water, firewood, and food from the various plants they could harvest and from the animals that they could hunt. Only Trent and Alastor remained behind to guard the campsite.
North of the campsite, the trees echoed with the sounds of metal slicing through wood as Mick and Fubuki had their weapons drawn, slicing some large branches off the ogre-sized trees with the Master Axe and Niflheim. Piling the newly cut logs, both of them headed back to camp.
Not far away, Taro was picking berries from nearby bushes, gathering seven basketfuls before stacking them on top of each other and heading back.
Near the outskirts of the forest that was west of the campsite, Hawkeye aimed his Megiddo Cannon, which was on a very low power setting, before firing several shots into a herd of deer that were grazing on the field. His select targets fell dead amid getting shot in the head.
Loading eight large jugs of freshwater from the northern part of the river onto a largely thick column of wood with four hanging off each end, Jin hoisted the load up onto his shoulders before walking back to camp.
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Relaxing in the water, Emiria, Asagi, Catalina, Monique, Yukimaru, Reiko, Sara, Elise, and Irene bathed in the southern parts of the river. The bushes and trees provided privacy but Catalina and Monique cast several wards to deter males from finding them along with heating charms on the river water to make it hot like a hot spring.
"So that bloke Axel is actually in the Land of Carnage?" Reiko asked with annoyance.
"Yes and it was his fault that I caught captured while helping Kurtis and the others to escape." Asagi replied bitterly. "But thanks to you all, I'll at least have the chance to castrate the Dark Hero alive if I see him again."
Emiria smirked at Asagi before the Iron Maiden began speaking. "That battle against his horde was rather fun but I've never had to exert myself that much before."
"In all battles I've been in leading to the Zenon imposter, I have to agree with you that this world is a completely new playing field." Catalina replied. Monique, Elise, Yukimaru, Sara, Elise, and Irene nodded in agreement.
"But stronger enemies mean becoming stronger ourselves." Elise piped up.
"Not to mention that the experience in battling them will help once we head back to Veldime." Sara added.
"Even if we need to fight more battles just to fine tune our skills." Irene added.
Monique raised an eyebrow on how lively the little girls she secretly referred to as the "loli group" were in the conversation, despite being in the presence of the adult women.
"Well, I won't deny those facts but I must admit that we all have to choose our fights carefully as individuals." the Space Knight spoke.
"I still think that Jin was reckless to attack Kuro's horde head-on like that." Catalina replied.
Monique narrowed her eyes at the Clerical Saint, who continued. "We got lucky today but it's a bit nerve-racking to have to fight that many."
"Well, they were charging at us and we didn't have a chance to avoid them, de gozaru." Yukimaru replied.
"True." Catalina replied. "Makes me nervous on what tomorrow has to bring."
"Well, we could always discuss tactics with the others and see what their input if it puts your mind at ease." Monique suggested.
"That's sounds real good." Catalina replied
"But I know something even better." Monique spoke mischievously as she eyed the Clerical Saint's bosom. "Nice rack."
Catalina traced the busty Space Knight's gaze to see that she was looking at her chest.
"You're developing well and you have such balance such that I'm sure you'll set a good example." Monique continued while thinking to herself. 'Still, I doubt your bust size will overtake mine.'
It so happened that Elise, Sara, and Irene stared at Catalina's bosom that she quickly covered her chest with her arms and turned away.
"W-what are you talking about, you pervert?!" the Clerical Saint stuttered as her face flushed red while Monique smirked at her.
"Anyways, I think we need to get a map of the whole Land of Carnage." Irene piped up, catching everyone's attention. "Back at the Prinny Camp, Mick said none of them had a map of the regions that we're currently in."
"Yeah, that is a problem, de gozaru." Yukimaru replied.
"We can discuss this later at the camp." Reiko spoke. "When do we do our laundry?"
"A few more minutes." Emiria replied. "Elise, Catalina, and Monique, I take it you three know how to cast the flames of purification?"
"We can do so." Catalina replied.
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All of the females in the group, after finished taking a bath in the heated river and washing their clothes, returned to the campsite to find stacks of firewood, jugs of fresh water, freshly killed deer that were stripped of their flesh and entrails, and baskets full of clean berries.
"Wow, you guys must have been tasked with such heavy work to get all this stuff." Emiria remarked.
"Hunting and gathering." Mick replied, having assisted Jin in cutting up the deer meat. "All of us need to clean up, though."
"Literally." Catalina remarked. "We'll have all this cleaned and cooked by the time you all return."
Leaving the women and girls to prepare dinner, all the men and boys headed downstream where Mick, Jin, and Fubuki smelled the feminine scents lingering strongly such that they moved several meters upstream to avoid washing up in an area that had already been used by the women but not too far such that further upstream meant spoiling the fresher water.
After Trent and Alastor quickly conjured brick walls and false trees to prevent unwanted interruption, all the males took their time to wash themselves up thoroughly as their stomachs were growling with hunger. Ten minutes later, Trent and Alastor were the first to finish before Jin, Mick, Fubuki, Taro, and Hawkeye came out of the water. All seven, wearing towels around their persons, headed a few feet upstream to wash their clothes.
Trent and Alastor, having taken their staves with them, cast purification flames on their clothing before proceeding to the same to the clothing of their fellow comrade-in-arms.
Once the men and boys were finished with putting their hygiene back to high standards respectively and getting dressed back into their attire, they proceeded silently back to the camp to find the women and girls having prepared everything for the group to eat. The deer was cooked and the berries were cleaned before both were divided equally.
As everyone sat down and ate, Reiko brought up the topic about the need for a map of the whole Land of Carnage.
"The Treasure Maps we stole from the pirates only gave us a limited overview on some of the lands outside of the Prinny Camp." The kunoichi spoke. "We need something that will show us the entire world itself."
"With the kind of enemies were facing, it will be somewhat difficult to look for a town that has a good cartographer." Mick spoke.
"The nearest town is seven kilometers due north and the Prinnies say that it is called the Fortress of Trysting." Emiria spoke. "We could stay there for a week or two, make it somewhat of a base that we can use to return to while strengthen ourselves until we need to move on."
"Looks like it will be a good opportunity for you to become more powerful, Asagi." Catalina added.
"I see." Asagi replied.
"The route to Trysting is a hazardous one, considering that there are reports of marauders roaming about, harassing travelers." Fubuki spoke. "They're incredibly strong but power alone isn't the only thing that can win battles."
"There is also the political situation in Trysting as much of the populace are living under the iron rule of a corrupt magistrate." Hawkeye added. "If we head there, be prepared because the magistrate's cronies are of the bullying type, abusing their power and ordering residents to pay tributes just so that they can go on without being harassed."
"Surely, those guys can't be very strong as you seem to imply." Jin remarked.
"They probably could almost match us. We could beat them but they probably won't make it easy for us." Hawkeye replied. "After that battle against Kuro and his horde, it's hard to say on how much power we've gained from those fights. Some of you are professionals in your specialties and can coordinate well together. Some of you work well while going solo. Some of us are either getting there or are just not at that caliber for heavy combat."
"Don't feel that way." Catalina spoke. "You still can contribute in other ways that the strong ones are unable to. Besides, strength comes in numbers and political power grows from the barrel of a gun."
"We can probably worry about the situation in Trysting once we get there." Alastor spoke. "The main concern would be getting there while avoiding those marauders."
"We travel by night. It's a lot easier to move in the darkness, de gozaru." Yukimaru suggested.
"Some of us could easily get lost." Sara spoke. "We could bait the marauders to come out of their hiding spots and then engage."
"Engaging them would put a strain on us before we get to Trysting." Trent countered. "But the baiting idea is a good one. If we can find a wagon and load it with explosives, we could draw those bandits to get close before detonating them."
"Would that be enough to destroy them?" Taro asked.
"Probably not but it could weaken them enough so that they're easy to take out." Irene replied.
"That could actually work but we should also find a way to cut off their retreat." Elise spoke.
"I certainly wouldn't mind doing some cleanup before we reach Trysting." Mick spoke. "But planning this will require some real information so that we can set things up."
An hour later…
Taro, Irene, Catalina, Asagi, Sara, Trent, and Elise slept soundly in their respective futons within their tents while Alastor, Fubuki, Yukimaru, and Reiko sat outside, all four in meditation and keeping watch for the approach of any hostile elements. Jin, Monique, Mick, Emiria, and Hawkeye were still awake around the campfire. Within a number of security wards to prevent eavesdropping, Monique conjured a holographic image of a map that showed the road to Trysting.
"From what the Prinnies back at their camp managed to pass onto us, the reports of previous attacks are centered around these three points." Monique pointed out. "There used to be a river that ran underneath a bridge here but that was later destroyed after it dried up. That's the first point for common ambushes as the grass around the area is very high."
"Some of us could fire a well-placed Totenkrutz or a Zielreigen to level them out." Hawkeye spoke. "Burn the grass and they might suffocate from the heat."
"The grass is resistant to fire due to their unnaturally high water content." Jin spoke.
"Ice and wind magic might suffice before hitting them with a powerful fire attack." Emiria replied.
"I concur." Mick added. "But those bandits could evacuate before our attacks can land. If we cast some strong smokescreens, they won't be able to see us coming at them."
"Alright, that can work." Monique replied. "But casting a smokescreen by magic would delay things so we'll need some real smoke bombs for that."
"Trent, Elise, and Sara can help on that." Emiria spoke.
"Then the second point is this area as the road moves up in elevation." Monique continued. "The higher ground gives the marauders an advantage in being able to pin down a convoy, halting it in its tracks."
"The bomb-rigged wagons can work right there." Jin spoke. "The moment they see it, they'll swarm the convoy like wolves such that we can detonated the explosives be remote."
"But we'll need to have some people on the convoy so that they'll think they'll be robbing it without repercussions." Emiria spoke.
"Too risky and we shouldn't have anyone sacrifice themselves for that task." Monique replied.
"What about using pheromone scents?" Hawkeye suggested. "A good number of the marauders are sensitive to feminine pheromones such that it can lure them close enough to be caught in the blast radius."
Emiria and Monique glared at the gunslinger for a moment before the latter spoke. "As much as I hate to admit it, that might do the trick. Catalina, Emiria, Reiko, and I can brew a good potion before dousing the wagons with it."
Jin and Mick raised their eyebrows but didn't say anything, amid seeing the angry looks coming from their respective girlfriends being directed at Hawkeye.
"Third point is the open field not far from the front gates of Trysting. We're out in the open before reaching our destination." Monique spoke. "Most of the attacks occur from fast movements and the bandit groups that are bold to raid directly while being seen."
"When the Baal pirates attacked us, we peppered them with long-range attacks. Any chance for this to work, though?" Emiria asked.
"You and anyone else using bows and staves should take cover while the others lure them out." Monique replied. "But the moment they get within fifty meters, the group luring them needs to withdraw."
"Due to the vast distance between these hotspots, timing is going to important in not only shattering these bandits but to also prevent any from escaping lest they warn others of our presence." Jin spoke. "Strike fast and hard before they can react."
"Easier said than done, Jin." Mick replied.
"But it's possible no matter the difficulty." Monique spoke.
"You'll need more than just real complex planning to pull each hotspot off." Emiria replied.
"That means playing real cheap with some innovative plays." Hawkeye added.
"Considering the resources we have, it can be done." Jin answered. "I need the list of our equipment inventory along with some blank notebook paper. I have an idea for the first two parts."
With that, the group of one Sword Master, one Space Knight, one Battle Master, one Iron Maiden, and one Gunslinger went to work planning their moves throughout a good portion of the night.
IIIII:::IIIII
Mostly filler for now. Next chapter will be more… eventful. My apologies for the lack of updates.