Sam woke up promptly to her alarm a half hour before sunrise, filled with anticipation. She checked Jask's countdown which indicated that the Apleem warships would be there in four hours. Given that most of the camp was still asleep, she decided to take a long shower to help calm her nerves. Even though they had fought and won against them once already, this time felt different. The air was heavy from the tension, and anticipation rippled through the outpost. After taking a shower and getting ready for the day, she headed down to the main gate where she found Perceval meditating there.
Sam called, "Good morning, Perceval. Don't you sleep anymore?"
"Good morning, Lady Rice," Perceval chuckled who opened one of his eyes, "Ever since I got this new power, I haven't needed to sleep as much as I used to. What are you doing up so early?"
"Pre-battle jitters, I suppose. I know we've beat these guys before, but this time feels different," Sam commented as she sat beside him and moved into a meditative pose.
"Ah yes, I think this time feels different as well," Perceval nodded, "It's not just the massive number of troops we have this time; it's all the knowledge we've accumulated since last time as well. But you must not let it affect you."
Sam sighed, "I'm trying. I checked on Temia, but the Apleem haven't reached there yet either."
"I wouldn't worry about them," Perceval smiled, "Our Lady Supreme is there, and she will not be taken down so easily."
"That may be true, but I know her better than most. I just hope she doesn't overextend herself," Sam worried.
"I understand. Here's what you need to do," Perceval persuaded her, "Bottle up all that anxiety and use it as fuel for today. I can feel someone quite strong among the enemy; we will need to give it all we have."
Sam gulped, "They must be quite strong if you can feel them approaching us. Maybe they sent a Laxtros this time."
While they were chatting, Myrrh walked towards the pair from the forest. She looked slightly different, almost shining. As she got closer, Sam could tell Myrrh had used a different wood to form her body this time, one that was more durable than the normal one she used. Still, as she walked towards them, flowers popped out of the ground in full bloom, creating a trail of beautiful buds among the dirt.
"Good morning, friends," Myrrh greeted them, "I've set up several areas to fight the enemy this time, so we should be able to force them to land there again and proceed like last time. However, I've never sensed this many approaching as I do this time."
"You're right; there are between seven and nine million this time. But if we use the same tactics as last time, it shouldn't be any more of an issue than last time," Sam replied hopefully.
"I've made three distinct locations for them to land, assuming they take the bait," Myrrh explained, "Based on what you told me, this will allow you to keep the strongest among you in pairs without spreading my assistance too thin."
Perceval nodded, "That should be just fine, Miss Myrrh. The men are all ranged attackers, so we will support the ladies with all our might. I will warn you that I don't think we'll defeat this enemy in a single day, which means you should put up safeguards to defend yourself from their pollution."
"Thank you for your concern," Myrrh bowed, "I have already finished the strenuous process of putting up barriers deep underground to protect myself. It should hold out for a week at the least. If we can't defeat them in that amount of time, I'd predict we will lose anyway." Her words, though honest, cut deep into the gravity of the situation.
"Don't worry. If the battle drags on that long, Emory will certainly arrive by that time. Thank you for all your help, Myrrh," Sam confidently answered as she bowed slightly to Myrrh.
"I'll take my leave then," Myrrh turned back towards the forest, "I wish us all good luck in the battle ahead." She confidently strolled back into the forest before disappearing from view. A few minutes after she left, the first of the army started to congregate near the front gate. Elffin, Gatrie, Gwen, and Tana joined Perceval and Sam near the teleport pad.
Sam cleared her throat, "As we discussed yesterday, the army will be split into three groups. Gwen and Perceval, you two will lead the west side. Gatrie and Tana, you two will lead the north side. Elffin, you and I will lead the east side."
"Are we certain they will come to the battlefields we've prepared?" Gatrie asked nervously, "What's the plan if they come from the south?"
"There's no reason to believe they'll land in the middle of a forest, especially one covered with Myrrh's special plants. It would put them at too great of a disadvantage," Sam assured him.
"I suggest we start making our way to the battlefields," Perceval gently offered, "Remember to rotate your people as you can; this will be a tough battle." Everyone nodded with conviction as they split off to their sections of the army. Within the next fifteen minutes, the army dispersed, heading to their designated areas with a mix of determination and anxiety. The landing zones Myrrh had created were roughly an hour walk away which gave them about an hour before the Apleem were supposed to land. The melee fighters poured into the clearing and formed a half shell with their backs against the woodland while the ranged unit stayed just inside the tree line, either in the trees or on the ground. Luckily, Myrrh had layered her special plants throughout the open fields, which wouldn't stop the Apleem but would surely weaken them the longer they spent in the area.
Time seemed to tick by slower and slower until black ships began to litter the sky above them. They seemed cautious to land at first because of how the last battle went, but after scanning the planet for other options, they were forced to land exactly as planned. Besides restricting them from landing on unprotected sides, it also created a small bottleneck of ships because only so many could land at a time. Just as Emory had warned them, Uthid were the majority of Apleem troops headed out of the ships. At first, they congregated on the opposite side of the field from the humans until roughly half of the ships had been unloaded. Then the Apleem charged across the field without any more hesitation.