Chapter 8: Shifting Tides

They were no more fighting a routine insurgency, but a systematically professional and strategically astute enemy. The aura of invincibility that for so long bordered them, has now been shattered, and regained by a strange and insidious sense of confusion.

Nyx, pragmatic as always, recognized the possibilities of this shift. He realized that the success at Aethelgard was not the last blow of the battle but rather a significant turning point, a spark for the transformation. He continued to use his proven guerilla tactics, making use of his deep knowledge of the ground to his benefit. The labyrinthine forests, treacherous mountain passes, and hidden caves became his allies, allowing his forces to move undetected and strike with devastating precision. His mastery of shadows, both literally and figuratively, allowed him to harass the Ouranios army, disrupting their supply lines, ambushing their patrols, and sowing chaos within their ranks.

For its own purposes, Nyx purposely avoided general, large-scale free-for-all engagements in contrast to the Daimonas who, although highly motivated at present, are still numerically and technically inferior in conventional arms and legs combat. Instead, he focused on a "war of attrition, a strategy designed to slowly but surely erode the strength of the Ouranios Alliance. He carried out a systematic program of inflicting them minute, unavoidable casualties and crippling them of their logistical infrastructure and leveraged that exhausted state of both body and mind with a relentless campaign of inflicting pain. The continuous danger of assault, the absence of a place of refuge, all started to wear at the morale of the Ouranios forces, inducing fear and delusions of persecution.

Outside combat, Nyx furthered his network of spies, and brought in informers. Such covert operatives, embedded in the very core of the Ouranios Alliance, provided them with unprecedented levels of information on the destination, the way, the purpose, the strategy of their movement. This constant flow of information allowed Nyx to predict his strikes, neutralize his foes' attempts and anticipate his own counter-manoeuvres with a surprisingly high level of precision. He also understood the information as a powerful tool, and he wielded it skillfully and effectively.

The war had evolved. It was no longer just about retribution for the sins of the past; it was now a struggle for survival, for the survival of the Daimona race itself. Nyx understood that if they were to have any hope of building a new life for themselves, of escaping the shadow of oppression, they needed to cripple the Ouranios Alliance. They needed to inflict enough damage, cause enough disruption, to force them to the negotiating table. Resolution could only then be attained through diplomacy and negotiation. The tide of war had shifted and Nyx promised to surf it to a new dawn for his kind. War was not over at all, but for the first time in a long while the potential of hope flickering in front of the eye did not vanish.