The math doesn't check

  Alvin studied Ethan for a moment. It was only natural that someone would doubt the tactical analysis of someone who didn't even have to shave yet. Still, he could tell by looking at Ethan's eyes that he knew his shit…

"We can't retreat without accomplishing a single thing, so maybe we should split our numbers into two groups and protect our retreat path," Alvin rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"That might work, but the enemy might be expecting something that simple," Ethan said. "The cloud dust is also trying to return to this area… probably because of the distortion. It should be attracted by everything dense with mana, and I don't know if this was something that happened by chance. Still, the enemies should know that we can't stay here for long and are expecting us to move soon… we shouldn't do that and instead send someone that can scout ahead without being seen."