The command headquarters of the Kingdom of Mireana Army's lead unit was a flurry of activity. Daskar Larcus and Filma Dezil—the respective leaders of the Neutral and Noble Factions—had finished issuing swift orders to a stream of messengers. They turned their attention back to Rei.
Rei took a quick look around the command post. He let out a soft, disappointed sigh when he realized Elena was nowhere to be seen.
Filma likely deduced who Rei had been searching for from that sigh and the way his gaze had drifted toward the Noble Faction's side. The knight commander spoke up, his voice carrying though he addressed no one in particular.
"A Princess General raises morale simply by being present, to say nothing of her prowess in battle. She is a flower that blooms most brilliantly when at the vanguard."
The surrounding nobles looked at Filma with confusion. They seemed to wonder why he was waxing poetic at such a frantic time.
The vanguard had resumed its advance, which meant the command headquarters would soon follow suit. Staff members were scurrying about in a desperate rush to prepare. In truth, the high-ranking officials had only gathered here to discuss the sudden appearance of the flame tornado; once the nobles present mounted their horses, the headquarters could move at a moment's notice.
"Clear away this chair and bring my carriage! And I want food and wine! I shall surely fall ill if I am forced to endure the winds of the battlefield in such a dusty place!"
Despite the gravity of the situation, there were nobles who shouted such demands.
A middle-aged man climbed into his waiting carriage, completely oblivious to the cold, contemptuous glares from his peers. The vehicle itself was gaudily decorated and utterly out of place on a battlefield; it was a quintessential display of nouveau riche taste.
"In any case," Filma said, turning back to Rei after a momentary glance at the boisterous noble, "I merely wished to tell you that Lady Elena is at the front. Do not worry."
Rei realized that Filma had seen right through him. His concern for Elena had been perfectly read.
Daskar, his direct employer, had reached the same conclusion.
"Now then, Rei. It feels a bit strange to ask this after you've inflicted such carnage on the enemy, but how are your magic power levels?"
Rei replied with a smirk that could only be described as fearless.
"It isn't an issue. I can keep fighting for a while yet."
To be precise, the amount of magic power he had consumed to create the firestorm hadn't been that significant—at least, relative to his own massive reserves. For an ordinary mage, however, attempting a wide-range annihilation magic of that scale would have required more than ten times their total capacity.
"I see. Then I hate to ask, but would you head back to the front lines? We cannot afford to have a combat asset like you idle in a place like this—"
Daskar stopped mid-sentence as Rei noticed a single rider galloping toward them from the rear.
"What is that?" Rei asked.
The others turned to see the rider. Many of them frowned, realizing the implications of a messenger arriving from the direction of the main army.
The rider arrived and dismounted without acknowledging their stares, kneeling before Daskar and Filma.
"I bring an order from Lord Alius. He says that while the cause is unknown, the enemy has fallen into chaos. We are to seize this opening and launch our assault immediately. He also states that the main camp will move out shortly, so we need not worry about reinforcements."
"Heh... I see," Daskar murmured.
"Indeed," Filma added.
The two leaders exchanged wry smiles and a knowing nod.
Since they hadn't informed the commander-in-chief about the firestorm, it was natural he wouldn't know the cause of the chaos. However, his claim that the main camp was moving out to bolster their "lacking" strength was transparent.
Rei watched them, his mind working. He was happy enough to dump the vanguard duty on us, but once he saw the chaos from my flame tornado, he realized he couldn't just let the Neutral and Noble Factions wear themselves out. He'd rather snatch the credit for himself than let us have it. Well, he's quick to move when there's glory involved, I'll give him that.
Daskar glanced at Filma, who seemed to be thinking the exact same thing. After a few seconds of silent communication, they reached a wordless agreement.
"Very well. Tell Lord Alius that we shall begin our advance immediately. However, tell him it would be most helpful if the main camp held its position to keep the enemy's main camp in check rather than joining the fray directly."
"Understood, sir! I shall relay your message to Lord Alius exactly as stated."
The messenger gave a sharp nod, vaulted back onto his horse, and galloped away.
"He's surprisingly quick for a soldier of the King's Faction," a noble from the Noble Faction muttered.
"Even in the King's Faction, not everyone is obsessed with power struggles. Many of the rank-and-file soldiers are quite diligent," Filma remarked. "We’re moving out too."
Rei stepped forward before they could depart.
"Wait. When you launch the attack, make sure no one approaches the flame tornado I created. Anyone who gets close risks fatal injuries from the heat, the wind blades generated by the vortex, and the massive amount of metal shrapnel I threw inside."
The surrounding nobles stood frozen in shock.
They could see the flame tornado in the distance, but Rei’s casual explanation made the sheer horror of the spell clear. It wasn't just a fire; it was a lethal, vicious force of nature. If caught inside, there was no hope of survival.
Filma was the first to recover. As a veteran knight commander who had survived countless battles, he had a high tolerance for the extraordinary—and he had once crossed blades with Rei in the City of Gilm.
He thought for a moment before calling to a nearby messenger.
"You heard him. Ensure the troops avoid the flame tornado during the assault. Circle around and strike the enemy's flank."
"True," Daskar added, having regained his composure. "Let the Neutral Faction take the enemy left wing and the Noble Faction take the enemy right wing. Does that sound acceptable?"
"It does. We shall proceed as planned. You heard the Margrave! Go! Every second is precious!"
"Yes, sir!"
The messenger turned and vanished. Because this messenger caught up with the previous ones, Elk and the other front-line commanders would be spared from accidental friendly fire.
"Now then, Lord Daskar," Filma said.
"I know."
Daskar nodded and looked at Rei. Filma’s gaze followed, and soon everyone in the command post was staring at the boy once more. He looked like a mere youth, yet he was the one who had conjured that terrifying incarnation of destruction.
"As I said, we cannot have you idling here. It seems the King's Faction has grown greedy after seeing the state of the battle. Rei... head back to the front lines."
"Understood. I'm on my way," Rei replied casually, as if he were being asked to run a simple errand.
The nobles watched in a daze as he turned his back on them. Ordinarily, such a departure without formal leave would have been condemned as insolence, but no one dared speak up. Not after seeing what he was capable of.
Daskar and Filma, the only ones present with the standing or experience to challenge him, simply watched his retreating figure in silence, knowing he understood the mission.
Thirty seconds later, the powerful beat of Seto’s wings echoed through the air. Daskar finally broke the silence.
"Come, we cannot leave the fighting to the vanguard alone. Advance! If we hesitate, the King's Faction will move in and turn the battlefield into a chaotic mess. We must settle this ourselves before that happens."
The Neutral Faction members snapped to attention at Daskar's command and hurried to their units.
"We shall do the same! In the name of the Noble Faction, we will not let the King's Faction steal the glory!" Filma shouted.
The Noble Faction members dispersed with equal fervor, determined not to be outdone. Filma turned to Daskar as they watched the exodus.
"That youth... he is far more than we imagined."
"Indeed. I never dreamed he would use such a vicious spell. Perhaps the Majin of legend used magic like that."
Daskar spoke the thought aloud, unaware of just how close to the truth he was—that Rei was the direct successor to the Beast Magic of the Zephyle Clan, the very Majin he spoke of.
"Fire!"
Following their commanders' shouts, a volley of arrows and magic was unleashed simultaneously.
The Bestia Imperial Army realized that the Kingdom of Mireana Army had split into two wings to pincer them, but they were unable to mount a proper defense. The firestorm was still roaring in the center of their camp, preventing any coordination. The volunteer soldiers were in a state of utter panic, making a retreat impossible. They were forced to clash with the kingdom's forces without any semblance of an organized line.
The preemptive volley of arrows and magic rained down on the confused imperial forces. While some managed to raise their shields, far more were struck down while defenseless. The rain of arrows was relentless. The only small mercy for the imperials was that the wide-range annihilation magic had been limited to the initial strike. Even so, small-scale spells were fired repeatedly, precisely calculated to avoid the kingdom's own vanguard while systematically whittling down the Bestia Army's strength.
The front lines were a scene of one-sided slaughter.
"Uoooooooh!"
Elk swung the Axe of the Thunder God with terrifying force, hacking through Bestia soldiers as if he were cutting down straw dolls. He severed limbs and heads with ease, his strikes scattering blood, bone, and entrails across the scorched earth.
The professional soldiers' armor proved utterly useless against his power. Even knights in plate armor were sliced apart or crushed by Elk's herculean strength and the vicious magic power of his axe. Those who weren't cut down were scorched to cinders by the released lightning.
Some distance away, the three members of Scorching Wind were coordinating their efforts against a pair of Bestia adventurers.
"Hah! To think I'd run into Scorching Wind here. Between that insane tornado and this, my luck is truly in the gutter!" one of the Bestia adventurers shouted, swinging his sword.
Mirene dodged the blow with a half-turn and countered with a sharp thrust.
"Not a chance!" a woman's voice barked.
A woman over two meters tall lunged between them. She held a massive Shield of Bone and Hide that covered more than half her body, shoving her partner aside to catch the tip of Mirene's blade.
"Ugh, what are you wearing? Are you a nymphomaniac?" Mirene shouted in disbelief.
The giant woman wore practically nothing—her outfit barely covered her chest and pelvis, looking more like lingerie than armor. Mirene didn't have time to dwell on the sight; her sword had failed to pierce the shield. She frowned at the shield's incredible durability, called out to her companions, and leaped back.
The male adventurer tried to pursue, but several arrows fired by Ekryl whistled through the air in rapid succession, forcing him back.
"Damn it! What a cursed day!" the man screamed, giving up the chase to parry the arrows aimed at his partner. He leaped back just as several wind blades slammed into the ground where he had been standing.
Against the three members of Scorching Wind, the imperial pair was holding their own. Their skill was clearly on a different level than the panicked soldiers around them. The fact that they could suppress a renowned party like Scorching Wind was a testament to their strength.
And yet... they could only manage to contain the trio. They could do nothing to stop Elk, the incarnation of destruction who was currently ravaging the imperial lines elsewhere.
Then, fresh despair descended from the skies.
"You're in the way. Move."
A man dropped from the sky alongside a gryphon, swinging a great scythe in a wide arc. With a single strike, the Shield of Bone and Hide—which had been unmarked by Mirene's full-power thrust—was sliced in two. The woman's right hand was severed along with the shield, sent spinning into the air.
"Gyaaaaaah!"
"Tch! What—!? Retre— Gwah!?"
The male adventurer’s shout was cut short. As his partner’s legendary shield was destroyed, the gryphon that had landed beside the scythe-wielder swung a massive front paw. The man managed to get his sword up to block, but the force of the horizontal slash sent him flying, sword and all.
The pair that had been troubling Scorching Wind was defeated in an instant, as easily as snapping a dry twig.
The three members of Scorching Wind knew exactly who had arrived.
"Rei!" Mirene shouted.
Her voice rang out through the din of the battlefield. It reached the adventurers from the City of Gilm who were fighting at the vanguard, and their morale soared to unprecedented heights.
The war, which had already defied every imperial expectation, had entered a new and even more devastating phase.