Death... and me

"Have you checked the information?" Roan asked Tixa.

Tixa nodded, saying, "Yes. It seems like we'll be joining the battle of the 38th army. We're supposed to leave the enemy's left and right wings up to the others while we instead focus on the central army. With that, we'll be attacking it together with one more Dark Element division. From what's written in the orders, we will appear on the left side of the enemy's central army through the canyon. As for the other Dark Element division, they will use our central army's assault groups to conceal themselves."

Tixa continued. "Once we initiate our strike, we will draw the attention of the enemy, making them think that we're trying to break their defense on our own. However, the true strike will come from the division located in the middle of our central army. As soon as that's done, we can retreat straight away and leave the rest for our Vigal Army to deal with."

Roan looked at her and nodded, saying, "That's indeed what's written. Now, let me ask you something worth a million Divine Stones. Can you see the hidden purpose of our division in this chart?"

Tixa narrowed her eyes and looked at the information, their positioning in the map, and everything else. However, she couldn't see any problem there. "What's the issue? It seems pretty safe as we will have the canyon as a place for retreat. It should be even safer than before since we're not the main offensive."

Roan snorted in response. "Ha! Safe? Little girl, you need to broaden your horizons. The way the things are positioned here, there's no coming back alive for our division anymore. The only ones who might survive are the highest level cultivators of our group, like those at the Elemental Transformation Realm and you. Well, it's a lot easier for you since you can fly. As for the Elemental Transformation Realm ones, they will still most likely die. Let alone those at the Saint Realm and below."

"What?!" Tixa was shocked to hear that. "Why? Where can you see that? I can't see any forces that can force us into such a situation." However, she also took the chance to ask, "Wait, who the hell is a little girl? Do you know how much older than you I am?"

Roan ignored the last question before continuing, "You don't understand. The fact that it isn't present on the map doesn't mean they aren't there. You have to read the positioning of the enemy groups to understand this point. Can you see how the enemy's right wing is positioned? Pay very good attention to it. You should be able to feel something from that as long as you have some brain."

Tixa's mouth twitched in response. 'Why does he always have to put his words like that every time?' Nevertheless, she paid attention to the right wing for a while until she finally found the problem. "Isn't the enemy's right wing a little too far away than it should be?"

Roan nodded, satisfied. "So you do have a brain. There are only two possible reasons for that. One, the enemy is doing this on purpose to lure us into that position. However, that would put them at too much risk. Since that's the case, what's the problem here? Can you guess? I already gave you a clue before."

Tixa pondered over what Roan said from start to finish before saying, "You told me that we would not come back alive. Well, at least not the majority. Then..." Tixa noticed something she would rather not. "This chart is not showing the real position of the enemy's right wing. It was given to us like this so that we wouldn't complain about the strike."

Roan nodded as he said in response, "It seems you're still worth saving. That's correct. If you pay attention, our army could use this big gap between the right wing and the central army to launch an offensive that would separate both enemy armies. That would be terrible news for them, so I can guarantee that such a huge gap doesn't exist. Unless, of course, the enemy commander is a complete moron. I highly doubt that, though. After all, our army wouldn't need our division to strike that point if it was the case."

Roan then gave the jade slip with the information back to Tixa. "It's as I said, we aren't supposed to come back alive anymore. The objective of our division is not a lie, though. We're going there to catch the enemy's attention and make it easier for the other Dark Element division to strike the enemy's army from the front. It's just that we'll act as the sacrifice for that. The enemy's right  wing will definitely receive the information and get rid of us for what we caused them."

Tixa's expression was dark after hearing that.

However, Roan didn't stop there. "That's not the worst thing for you, though."

Tixa obviously understood what Roan meant. "Once my division gets obliterated, I will be pointed as the culprit for it. They won't kill me or anything like that. After all, I'm still a Transition Realm cultivator and one who uses Dark Element at that. It's just that I definitely won't be put in charge of another division anytime soon."

Roan agreed with Tixa. "That's correct. However, there's no need to feel surprised. Every war has its sacrifices. A power unwilling to sacrifice others is a power that will most likely lose in the end. War is a story full of sacrifices. You're not the first, nor will you be the last. Let's just say you took the short end of the stick this time around."

Tixa wasn't satisfied with that, though. "I won't simply accept that. I'm heading straight to the command center to complain. Do they think they can simply throw me away like that? We'll see."

Roan shrugged his shoulders. "You're wasting your time. Don't forget, the army follows a strict line of command. Since they gave you an order, you have no choice but to follow it."