"An ambush on the main camp?"
Hearing those words, Rei mused as he tilted his head in confusion. The current state of the battlefield was a head-on collision between the lead units of the Kingdom of Mireana Army and the Bestia Imperial Army. He found it difficult to believe that any force could have bypassed the front lines to strike at the rear.
"Did they circle around the entire battlefield just to hit the main camp?" Rei asked the Dragon Knight behind him, his eyes never leaving the two Bestia adventurers in front of him—the man with the sword and the giant over two meters tall. He remained vigilant, ensuring he wouldn't miss a single twitch of their muscles.
Even as he asked, however, he felt the logic of his own question was strained. Launching an effective surprise attack on a command center required a significant force; slipping such a large group past the lead unit without being detected was virtually impossible.
No... wait. Could it be that they deployed the Beast Soldiers? Rei wondered. His intuition was half-right.
"The enemy is striking the main camp from the rear," the Dragon Knight explained. "Furthermore, reports say the surprise attack unit is composed of hybrid beings—crossbreeds between humans and monsters."
"...I see. So that’s how they're playing it." Rei clicked his tongue.
The presence of Beast Soldiers was one thing, but the use of Teleportation Stones was unexpected. According to what Rei had heard, such stones were prohibitively expensive and limited in the number of people they could transport.
But then again, this is a war between nations, he thought. They might not be able to use high-tier magic items like water, but they certainly don't need to be frugal either.
"I understand. I'll head back to provide relief immediately." Clicking his tongue once more, Rei channeled magic power into his Death Scythe and swung it, flicking away the blood clinging to the blade.
Dozens, no, hundreds—at this rate, perhaps over a thousand—Imperial soldiers had already been swallowed by the crimson sea Rei had created. Yet, not a single drop of blood stained his Dragon Robe. Such was the utility of a magic item crafted from dragon hide.
"Guruuu."
Seto appeared with a low, rumbling cry. The Gryphon manifested so silently that the Dragon Knight’s Wyvern flinched in terror. The two Bestia adventurers facing Rei also froze, their movements paralyzed by the creature's sudden arrival.
"Seto, it seems some idiots in the rear are being ambushed. They want us to go bail them out."
"Guruu."
Seto nodded slightly, its cry promising to handle the task. Though its claws, beak, and body were splattered with the blood of the Imperial Army, the Gryphon seemed entirely unbothered. Rei, too, remained clean thanks to his robe, though a few stray droplets of gore had speckled his face. He ignored them and mounted Seto.
Before departing, Rei turned his gaze toward the knight atop the shivering Wyvern.
"I’ve acknowledged the order. But is it really alright to let this enemy lead unit go?"
"I-It’s fine," the knight stammered. As a Dragon Knight, he was supposed to be part of an elite unit worth a thousand men, but he seemed utterly cowed by the sheer presence emanating from Rei and Seto. "Units led by Lady Filma and Lord Daskar have already joined the fray."
His assessment wasn't wrong. In truth, the Wyvern he rode was cowering instinctively before Seto’s aura.
"I see," Rei replied. He was about to signal Seto when another thought occurred to him. "You mentioned other reinforcements were being sent. Do you know specifically who?"
"Since they requested high-mobility units, I hear Lady Elena and her group are heading there. Also, the advance unit that was already en route from the main camp is reportedly turning back."
"Heh, I see." A small smile played on Rei’s lips.
Because of the friction between the Neutral Faction and the Noble's Faction, we didn't end up on the same part of the field, but knowing Elena, she's probably been causing a massive scene. And if the opponents are Beast Soldiers, she’ll be a perfect counter. As the original who underwent the Ritual of Inheritance, she's the natural enemy of those modified copies.
Muttering to himself, Rei looked down at the two adventurers who had been unable to move since Seto’s arrival.
"Consider yourselves lucky," he said briefly.
He signaled by stroking Seto’s neck. Without needing a single word of command, the Gryphon understood. Seto kicked off the ground and beat its powerful wings, soaring into the sky.
"We really did get lucky," the man with the sword whispered. "If we’d had to fight that thing for real, we wouldn't have stood a chance."
"...No argument there. More importantly, we’re retreating. Even if that monster is gone, there’s still a Dragon Knight here. I have no desire to fight him in this state."
"Agreed. Besides, you heard them, right? Their main camp is under attack. We need to spread the word. If our people hear their command center is being hit, it might actually boost their morale. I think I finally see a way for us to survive this war."
Consulting in low voices, the two adventurers began to back away toward the rear. The Dragon Knight watched them with a look of resentment, but he didn't pursue. After witnessing their brief clash with Rei, he had judged that they possessed strength comparable to his own. While he didn't believe he would lose, a fight would certainly be difficult and time-consuming. In a situation where every minute was worth more than a gold coin, he couldn't afford to waste time.
Besides... The knight looked at his partner. He gently stroked the Wyvern’s neck, but the creature wouldn't stop trembling.
The Gryphon was simply in a different class altogether. Its majesty was overwhelming—a rank A monster whose sheer pressure made other creatures realize their place in the world through pure instinct.
If they had encountered Seto at the Dusk Wheat Inn in the City of Gilm, where Rei usually stayed, they might not have been this overwhelmed. But here, the context was different. Unlike a stable where it could relax, Seto was in the middle of a war zone. Its very atmosphere was tuned for slaughter.
"Sorry, friend. Just hang in there a little longer," the knight whispered, trying to calm the Wyvern. "I have to get back to Lady Filma and report that Rei has headed to the main camp."
Soothing the beast as best he could, he finally managed to guide the Wyvern away from the area.
"Damn it! Why is there an enemy army behind us?! They aren't even human!"
One of the kingdom's soldiers screamed in frustration, thrusting his spear at the creature charging toward him.
The misshapen being—a beastly thing with two extra, gorilla-like arms covered in coarse hair growing from its back—simply reached out and caught the spear from the side. With a casual squeeze of its fingers, it snapped the spear's shaft as if it were a dry twig.
"Damn you, monster!"
Reacting on instinct, the soldier lunged forward with the jagged, broken remains of the spear. He had lost the tip, but the splintered wood was still sharp enough to kill. However, the opponent merely raised a shield—held by the human arm growing from its shoulder—and blocked the strike effortlessly.
"Gyahahaha! Pathetic! Truly pathetic! You really think you can stop us with that?"
Laughing, the beast swung one of its hairy back arms and seized the soldier’s face in a crushing grip.
"Gugh—damn it—let go!"
The soldier struggled desperately, but the Beast Soldier merely watched him with a cruel, amused expression. After a moment of savoring the struggle, it tightened its fist and crushed the soldier’s skull.
The sensation of bones shattering, flesh squelching, and brain matter bursting in its palm made the Beast Soldier wear an ecstatic smile. It looked around to find similar scenes of carnage playing out all across the camp.
"Mmm, that felt good. Hey, how’s it going over there?" the creature called out to a man whose lower body was that of a giant snake.
"Perfect," the snake-man replied, his voice laced with dark joy. "The feeling of an entire skeleton snapping piece by piece... it's addictive."
"Hyugyaaa! H-Help... help meeeee!"
A man who appeared to be a minor noble was currently coiled within the snake’s tail. His jaw had already been shattered, leaving his pleas slurred and unintelligible as the coils tightened.
"There, there. Slowly... I'm going to squeeze you very slowly. Ah, there goes another one. Was that a rib? I didn't realize you had any intact ones left. You’d better pray they don't pierce your lungs while you're still breathing."
The Beast Soldier flicked a strangely long tongue in and out of its mouth as it continued to torture the noble.
"No! Stop! Stop it!"
"Hey, shut up! Be a good girl and be quiet. This is better than dying like him, right?"
Nearby, a lizard-faced man was busy tearing the armor off a resisting female adventurer. He ripped through the clothes underneath, exposing her skin to the open air. The woman fought back frantically, covering herself with one hand while punching at the lizard-face with the other. But her strikes were weak and ineffective, sliding off the hard scales on the man's face without leaving a mark.
The lizard-man sneered and began to expose himself, only to be struck by a sudden, jarring sensation of wrongness.
"...Eh?"
He stared blankly at the object now protruding from his own chest.
As he slowly turned his head to look behind him, he saw a man looking down at him with eyes that treated him as nothing more than trash on the side of the road.
This person was not an enemy. He was supposed to be their leader—their master.
"W-Why? Lord Theoreme..."
"Don't speak," the man replied, his voice devoid of any emotion. "When you speak, even the air around me becomes polluted."
Without a moment's hesitation, Theoreme flicked his sword upward. The blade sliced through the lizard-man’s torso, and the light of lust in the creature's eyes was instantly replaced by the cold void of death.
"Scum," Theoreme muttered. He shook the blood from his blade and turned his cold gaze toward his lieutenant.
Siance understood the meaning behind that look immediately. He turned a frigid stare toward the other Beast Soldiers who were still busy venting their sadistic urges on the kingdom’s troops.
"I wonder what you all are doing in a place like this?" Siance asked, his voice sharp and formal. "Have you forgotten your duty? You there—tell me. What was the order Lord Theoreme gave you?"
The snake-man, who had been gleefully crushing the noble, found himself pinned by Siance’s piercing gaze. He struggled to find his voice.
"To... to capture or kill Count Alius, the supreme commander of the Kingdom of Mireana Army."
"Correct. You seem to understand perfectly. And yet... what are you doing? Did someone order you to toy with routed soldiers?"
"...No."
Realizing his life was on the line, the snake-man looked around desperately for a way out of the situation, but no clever excuse came to mind.
"Listen well," Siance continued. "As I told you before the operation began, speed is everything in this surprise attack. You all saw that flame tornado, didn't you? There is an enemy out there capable of creating such a disaster. We expected the Dragon Knights to suppress him, but it's clear he isn't an opponent to be taken lightly."
"...Yeah."
"If you understand that, then move! Pursuit immediately! Most of the Beast Soldiers have already gone after the main body. We have no time to play around in a place like this."
The snake-man remained silent, unable to find words under that chilling gaze.
Siance was about to bark another order when Theoreme raised a hand, stopping him. Siance fell silent instantly upon seeing the look on his master's face.
"I announce this to all the Beast Soldiers here," Theoreme said, his voice carrying clearly across the blood-soaked camp. "One hundred soldiers. Or thirty adventurers or knights. Or one person of significant rank—a noble, a general, or a knight commander. Any among you who fails to achieve at least that level of merit will be severely punished once this operation is over."
A stir went through the Beast Soldiers. Those quotas were incredibly steep, even for beings with their enhanced strength. For an ordinary soldier, it would be impossible; even for them, it was a target that demanded absolute focus.
"Do you understand? I am serious. Now, go."
At Theoreme’s emotionless command, the Beast Soldiers scrambled away in a panic of awe and fear.
Once they were gone and only his lieutenant remained, Theoreme let out a small, tired sigh.
"Honestly... even if miscalculations are to be expected in a new tactic, this is quite the error."
The Beast Soldiers' bloodlust was one problem. The procedure to transform them had apparently made them more susceptible to the atmosphere of war and the scent of blood than the alchemists of the Ministry of Magic had predicted. But for Theoreme, the biggest miscalculation was the absence of the enemy supreme commander.
According to a noble he had happened to capture, the Kingdom of Mireana's lead unit had achieved such overwhelming success that Count Alius had grown worried about losing all the glory. Hoping to steal some credit for the King's Faction, he had moved his command center toward the front. It was an act utterly unbecoming of a supreme commander, yet it had inadvertently saved him from the initial teleportation strike.
"...Count Alius," Theoreme mused. "Was this a calculated move, or pure luck?"
"It is possible he read the situation," Siance replied. "Information suggests he is a man who values intuition over theory."
Theoreme sighed again.
"Either way, our primary objective has been thwarted for the moment. All that remains is to see if the Beast Soldiers take his head first, or if..."
He looked toward the horizon, where the Beast Soldiers were likely clashing with the King’s Faction. He shook his head slightly and approached a warhorse that had been left tied up nearby.
"Let’s go. Unexpected or not, this is still an opportunity to slay the enemy supreme commander. We must decide the flow of this war before their reinforcements arrive."
"Understood!"
Siance gave a sharp reply and mounted his own horse. Together, they rode off toward the heart of the conflict, intent on claiming the head of the Kingdom of Mireana’s supreme commander.