Chapter 00017: Tactical Wargame
# Tactical Wargame
Chapter 17
Novel: AFK Game: Portal to Another World
Chapter 17: Tactical Wargame
The Spine of the World Mountains was truly immense.
From the name alone, one could sense its grandeur—it really did seem like the colossal ridge that held up the heavens.
Because of this, it wasn’t hard for a group of nearly a thousand to hide somewhere in the range, making it no easy task to locate the bandits' stronghold.
Viola had dispatched her best scouts from the army and maintained close ties with the villages near Leon Stronghold.
With help from the local hunters, they had finally picked up the trail of the bandits.
They’d marched for hours through a light drizzle and were now taking a break behind a concealed hillside, gnawing on dry rations.
Holding a monocular telescope, Viola gazed into the mist-covered mountain range.
Judging by the distance, they should be close.
The drizzle made it harder to pinpoint their location exactly, and she couldn’t see any signs of cooking smoke rising in the air.
Just then, the bushes to one side rustled faintly.
The Royal Guards beside Viola instantly drew their longswords, alert and ready for battle.
“Don’t attack, don’t attack! It’s me!”
A figure in a dark green cloak, carrying a bow and arrow, emerged from the brush.
He quickly raised both hands in the air.
A tuft of unruly violet hair popped out from under his hood.
Recognizing him, the guards sheathed their swords.
Viola asked,
“Hill, how far are we from the bandits’ camp?”
“Not far. Just around the bend.”
The scout named Hill gave the guards a sheepish grin and deliberately rubbed his fingers together.
Though this ranger named Hill was without question the best scout in Viola’s army, he was also undeniably a die-hard coin-chaser.
Viola tossed him a gold coin.
He let out a delighted whoop and caught it mid-air.
“Your Highness is truly generous. Following you lately, I’ve earned quite a bit.”
Strictly speaking, Hill wasn’t exactly her subordinate.
He was a hired hand.
At least, he’d stay loyal until the coin ran out.
“Then, where exactly are the bandits?”
“Just over this slope. Keep to the base of the mountain—at your pace, you’ll see the camp in about half an hour.”
Hill blew on the coin and held it to his ear to listen to the sound, clearly satisfied as he tucked it into his pouch.
“But Princess, I should warn you—the bandits might have spotted your troops. I noticed some commotion in their camp.”
“No need to worry. I expected as much.”
A force of five hundred might not be much on a grand scale, but it wasn’t exactly a size that could slip into a village unnoticed.
To launch a surprise attack, night marching would be necessary.
But since Viola and her troops were unfamiliar with the terrain, moving at night would be dangerous rather than advantageous.
So Viola hadn’t planned on ambushing them to begin with.
She intended to confront them head-on.
“Form up! Let us carry out our Lord’s will!”
The Royal Guards roused the resting soldiers, who quickly assembled into neat battle formations.
Hill shrugged at Viola’s command.
“Will the Lord Demon God lend us a hand?”
“I don’t know. But I know He’s watching us. If your devotion is sincere enough, He may turn His gaze to you as well.”
“Is that so? Still, I trust in gold coins more.”
Though he spoke flippantly, his eyes—hidden under the hood—briefly flickered with a different kind of glint...
——
Outside, torrents of rain poured from the sky, thunder cracking every now and then, shaking the windows with each booming roar.
Just like the weather forecast predicted—down to the minute.
Li Chengxi double-checked the doors and windows to make sure no rain would blow in.
Although it was early spring in the game, it was already July in real life.
According to the forecast, this downpour would last a full day and night.
His phone had even pushed a landslide warning.
He was glad he'd gone to the vegetable market first thing in the morning—if he’d delayed even a bit, he would’ve been drenched to the bone.
After checking everything in his store downstairs, he decided to close up early and headed upstairs with his laptop.
Business was always slow when it poured like this, so might as well call it a day.
On the screen of the laptop, he watched as Viola led her troops along the base of the mountain.
“They’re finally about to reach the bandits' camp...”
Switching the map to minimap mode, Li Chengxi could clearly see a clickable settlement icon just ahead in the direction Viola’s forces were moving.
The name was as simple and straightforward as it could be: “Bandit Camp.”
Status: Hostile.
Perhaps because of the hostile relationship, Li Chengxi couldn’t see the resource list for the camp.
Come to think of it, he had assumed all the mountain bandits who’d attacked Leon Fortress earlier had been wiped out.
Who’d have thought a group had hidden away in the mountains?
Back when Viola had started mobilizing her troops, Li had already used the map function to locate the bandit camp.
He’d even considered just bringing down a giant fist on the place and be done with it.
But when he saw that his Faith Points hadn’t even reached a hundred, he wisely decided to sit back and enjoy the show.
At that moment, the bandits in the camp emerged in a rush, forming up right in front of the entrance.
They clearly had no intention of staying holed up.
Looked like they wanted a proper fight against Viola’s army.
Li Chengxi poured hot water into his cup noodles.
While he waited the few minutes for it to be ready, the two forces met at the foot of the mountain.
Neither side charged recklessly.
Instead, they rapidly reorganized their formations.
On Viola’s side, shieldbearers formed the front line, spearmen held the middle, and archers and crossbow units brought up the rear.
Royal Guards roamed the flanks—classic formation through and through.
The bandits, on the other hand, were clearly disorganized.
Melee fighters stood up front, ranged ones behind.
Many lacked even basic shields.
A lot of them were clutching crude wooden clubs as weapons.
Then, the chibi-styled, two-headed-tall Viola puffed out her cheeks and blew the attack horn.
The soldiers began marching forward in neat rows.
The bandits hadn’t even finished forming ranks yet.
Seeing the army approach, they threw formation to the wind and charged.
Both sides unleashed a volley at almost the same moment—arrows raining down from both armies in a bid for early dominance.
Several of the bandits fell immediately, but spurred by adrenaline, they kept pressing forward.
Viola’s troops, meanwhile, raised their shields while still advancing, the sound of arrows clanging off armor echoing across the field.
The Royal Guards, skilled and seasoned, deflected arrows with their longswords and directed nearby soldiers with swift hand gestures.
Of course, for all the chaos being described, it didn’t feel very tragic or bloody—after all, it was portrayed in a chibi, pixel-art style.
More like watching a cartoon than a real battle.
Li Chengxi casually peeled the lid off his cup noodles and stirred with a plastic fork, watching the battle like it was a movie.
But just then, the screen suddenly flickered—and the map transformed into a grid layout.
The soldiers and bandits now stood on grid squares, taking turns to move as units.
“…When did this switch from real-time strategy to a tactics grid game?”
(End of Chapter)