The next day, the group finally crossed over the river and reached the plain.
The terrain was vast. Even though they could see the hill in the distance, walking alone would require at least two to three hours before they could reach it. In addition, the grass was quite tall—around their thighs.
However, if one took a closer look, there was an area with taller grass in the east, which wasn't something they planned to visit just yet.
Even moving in this plain was already a hassle, but with the grass being this high, there was a chance a smaller alien could sneak up on them.
Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, there was no animal inside this plain, at least not one that was threatening them like a snake. So, they didn't have to worry much about an ambush from aliens because the aliens had killed them all.
Even then, it didn't make this plain less dangerous.
"It doesn't look quite good," said Jinwu after perching on Nathan's shoulder.
"That bad?" Nathan frowned. The others couldn't help but listen to him, wondering what was waiting for them.
"Yes. In the south, there is a group of aliens. I don't know if they have warrior class aliens or not, but their number is quite high. On the west, beyond the tall grasses, I could see at least one warrior class alien, but I'm assuming it's more than that. My instinct is telling me that this place is extremely dangerous, so there might be one or two more warrior class aliens.
"On the north, specifically that hill, I couldn't find them, but I could feel that it's a bit safer than the west, but it's still too dangerous. I'm assuming there are two warrior class aliens on that hill and three or more warrior class aliens on the west.
"Still, this area is extremely vast. These five or more warrior class aliens are just the beginning. If we venture deeper, it won't be weird if there are ten more warrior class aliens."
Sera and Flora couldn't help but gulp down. They had expected it, but hearing it directly from Jinwu made them feel chills down their spine. They were really going to hunt more than ten warrior class aliens.
"I see. I guess if we don't act a bit bold, we won't be able to clean them up within the time period." Nathan squinted his eyes. It appeared that Sullivan was already aware of the situation but still gave them five days as the time limit.
In other words, he expected their group to kill at least fifteen warrior class aliens in less than five days, despite knowing how hard it was to take down a warrior class alien.
If they were too reckless, they would use too much of their ena, which would result in failure because they didn't manage to recover enough ena.
If they were too conservative, they wouldn't be able to defeat all the warrior class aliens.
In addition, they had other tasks to complete.
In other words, they had to be calculative. No, they had to take a calculated risk.
In the alien territory, they wouldn't be able to receive any support. There was no reinforcement or information either.
They had to scout themselves before calculating the risk, including the risk of the unknown.
As soon as he understood the whole picture, his expression turned solemn.
"Since we will set up our camp on that hill, should we eliminate the warrior class aliens on the hill first?" Selena asked. "That's what you're planning to do, right?"
Nathan smiled wryly. "That was what I was planning to do."
"Was?" Selena looked surprised.
"If we proceed with that plan, the situation might not look good. If we deal with them on the hill, the stench would be unbearable, which would make it hard for us to rest.
"That's why we will have to lure those aliens down, specifically toward the area with those tall grasses. I mean, not there directly."
"Are you trying to lure the warrior class aliens from there as well?" Flora looked shocked. "Didn't Jinwu just tell us that there were three or four warrior class aliens there?"
"What about other aliens? What is their number?" Sera asked while glancing at Jinwu.
"The hill probably has several hundred, if not a thousand. As for the west, I'm not entirely sure. A thousand? Two thousand?" Jinwu shook his head. "I couldn't go close enough to determine their number."
"Isn't this a bit reckless, Nathan?" Selena asked.
"No. I call this a calculated risk. Even if we take down the aliens on the hill first before heading to the west, there's a chance we will take more time and those aliens will have reinforced them.
"In addition, the hill will be our camp. The stench will make us unable to get a proper rest.
"Last but not least, the number of warrior class aliens can't be underestimated. It's true that fighting a lower number of warrior class aliens at a time will result in less ena being consumed.
"But if we proceed with that plan, we won't have enough time to kill them all and return to the fort.
"That's why we have to be slightly reckless and invite them right away," explained Nathan.
"Still, why not go for the ones in the opposite direction? We can destroy the ones in the south. Even if the aliens on the west notice it, there will be at least one less warrior class alien compared to the north," argued Selena.
"While that's true, the aliens on the hill have a higher elevation, which allows them to easily see the ruckus compared to the aliens on the south." Nathan shook his head.
They couldn't refute that claim.
"That's why I believe we should lure the aliens on that hill down and take them out at the same time. If we position ourselves correctly, there will be a delayed response from the aliens on the south.
"In addition, there's a chance we can complete another person's task."
Selena couldn't really argue anymore, so she asked, "So… what is your plan? Which one is our respective target?"