Earlier that evening, while the Subjugation Army was pitching camp and settling in for dinner, Rei was roughly ten kilometers away.
Seto was by his side, as always. They were accompanied by the Mobile Unit and Paelnix, the man who handled the unit’s practical leadership. They were deep within a forest, where the dense canopy of trees blocked out most of the autumn sunset that had dyed the sky a deep crimson.
Despite their situation, Rei and his men were enjoying a hearty meal.
"Delicious! What on earth is this? I never dreamed we’d eat like this during a military operation."
"What are these long, noodle things? They’ve got a nice chew, but they’re so smooth they just slide right down. I could eat this forever."
"Ah... the broth has soaked right in. It's incredible..."
"Excuse me, Captain Rei. What do you call this dish?"
Rei swallowed a mouthful before answering the soldier. "This is a dish developed in Gilm, on the frontier of the Kingdom of Mireana. It’s called udon."
"Udon? I've never heard of it."
"I suppose you wouldn't have. But you can tell it's good, can't you? Don't overthink the logic; just enjoy the flavor."
"Yes, sir, absolutely... Gilm must be quite the place to come up with something so unique."
Half the comment was likely flattery, but the other half seemed sincere. Rei quietly averted his eyes from the admiring soldier and returned to his own meal. In truth, he was the one who had popularized udon in Gilm. He hadn't invented it, of course—he simply knew the recipe from his life in Japan. Being praised as a visionary for it always made him feel a bit awkward.
He pushed the thought aside and noticed his bowl was empty. He reached for a ladle to refill it from one of the pots he had set out. These were giant stockpots, nearly a meter tall, which he had commissioned from the Full Belly Diner before leaving Gilm. The pots had been filled to the brim with udon stew, but they were already half-empty. Two other pots lay nearby, completely drained.
While the soldiers of the Mobile Unit had eaten their fill, the vast majority of the food had disappeared into the stomachs of Rei and Seto. Normally, eating aromatic food during a covert operation was a gross violation of military discipline, but they were far enough from the enemy camp that it wasn't a concern. A few monsters had been drawn in by the scent, but most fled the moment they sensed Seto's presence. Those that didn't—mostly Goblins too dim-witted to recognize the gap in power—were swiftly dealt with by the unit.
Night began to fall over the woods. By the time the third pot was empty, the sunset had vanished, and the darkness of night began to bleed into the forest. A faint twilight lingered in the sky, but beneath the trees, visibility was near zero.
Rei and the men took a brief moment to rest, knowing they would soon be moving out.
"When I was told I was being assigned to the Mobile Unit, I thought I’d committed some kind of crime..." a soldier muttered.
"Me too," another agreed. "I mean, this is the unit led by Crimson himself. I figured I'd be dragged into one nightmare after another. But if we get to eat like this on the march, I’d volunteer for this duty any day."
"I have to agree," a female soldier added. "I'm glad I ended up here... though..."
"Though what? You've got a full stomach; what is there to complain about?"
"It's not a complaint. It's just... that Item Box is terrifyingly convenient."
"Oh, that. Yeah, I didn't think three of those massive pots would fit in there. Logistics would be a breeze with one of those. You could eat fresh meals every day instead of gnawing on dried meat."
"They say the morale of the Mireana lead unit was sky-high during the Spring War. I bet this was why."
"Honestly, I was more impressed by the water Captain Rei produced from that dagger," another man chipped in.
"Right? It was just water, but why was it so good? I’ve never tasted anything like it. It was almost unbelievable for just plain water."
"You already said that. But yeah, it really was that good."
The female soldier sighed wistfully. "He has a cute Tamed Monster like Seto-chan, an Item Box, he’s a B-Rank Adventurer with a famous alias... and on top of all that, he has Lady Vihera’s affection. How blessed can one man be? I wish he’d take me under his wing, too."
"Don't even try," her companion warned. "If Captain Rei took you, you’d have to compete with Lady Vihera for his attention. Are you insane?"
"I wish you'd at least ask if I was serious... but yeah, I know it's impossible."
"Exactly. Look at her beauty, her figure... and then there's her strength. Even if she fled the country, she’s still Imperial Family. Do you really think you stand a chance?"
"W-Well, maybe at housework? Like cooking, cleaning, or laundry..."
"Maybe? But Lady Vihera was raised as royalty; she probably had servants for all that."
"Actually," another man noted, "she’s been living abroad for years, hasn't she? Without maids, she probably had to learn to do everything herself."
"Stop it!" the woman cried, clutching her head. "Don't trample my last hope! At least let me believe I have one advantage over her!"
Laughter broke out among the men. "Give it up. Competing with Lady Vihera for the captain's favor is a losing game no matter how you look at it."
Rei ignored the banter from the soldiers. He was slightly apart from the main group, finishing his final briefing with Paelnix. As the vice-captain and practical leader of the unit, Paelnix was his primary contact for the operation. They had already received word from the scouts regarding the Subjugation Army's exact position. Now, they were simply waiting for the perfect hour.
"So, to confirm: Captain Rei will launch the preemptive strike. Once the enemy is in total disarray, the Mobile Unit will follow up with volleys of arrows. Is that the plan?"
Paelnix looked at Rei, who was currently leaning back against Seto's soft feathers.
"That's the one. In a standard battle, a unit might retreat after taking heavy losses, but a night raid is different. Escaping takes time when you're caught off guard. Most of them will be asleep, so it'll take them several minutes just to wake up and figure out what’s happening. Even if they realize they need to run, they’ll have to do it with only the clothes on their backs. And best of all, their own prefabricated protective fences will act like a cage, limiting their escape routes."
"Many will die because they can't react in time, and those who do will be trapped by their own defenses," Paelnix murmured. He seemed to be remembering the carnage he had seen during the Spring War while serving under Theoreme.
Rei nodded. "Exactly. And they're definitely overconfident. If they were closer to our lines, they’d be more cautious, but they’re currently in the heart of their own territory."
"True. No one would ever dream that an enemy force would penetrate this deep into their own backyard."
They were only a single day’s march for the Subjugation Army away from the Imperial Capital. By all accounts, they were deep in enemy-controlled lands. Under normal circumstances, they would have been spotted long ago, but Seto’s ability to fly had allowed them to bypass any surveillance.
The Subjugation Army did have Dragon Knights, but they were rare assets that even the Imperial Army struggled to deploy in large numbers. The First Prince Faction had influential backers, but they couldn't just throw Dragon Knights away. Many had been slaughtered by Rei and Seto during the Spring War. The mere rumor that "Crimson" might be with the rebels was enough to make the enemy leadership hesitate to use their aerial forces.
"Once we hit the camp, the survivors will try to flee or distance themselves to regroup," Rei continued. "That's when your unit needs to pick them off. However, unlike our last engagement, we don't have the luxury of taking prisoners. Focus on total elimination."
"Understood. Though it’s a bit of a shame," Paelnix admitted with a grim expression. "The First Prince’s troops are elite, and many of them likely come from high-ranking noble families. If we took them alive, we could negotiate ransoms or perhaps even convince some to defect to His Highness Mercurio’s side."
Rei shook his head. "If we were closer to our own camp, I'd agree. But we’re too far behind enemy lines to handle prisoners."
"Then shouldn't we have waited until they were closer to our territory?"
"If they get closer, they’ll tighten their security. Their overconfidence is the key to this raid. Their delayed reaction is what makes this work."
Paelnix gave Rei a searching look for a heartbeat. Rei noticed it but chose to parry the silent question. In truth, Rei wanted to kill as many of the empire's talented soldiers as possible. As long as they were hostile to the Kingdom of Mireana, they were threats that needed to be neutralized.
Paelnix didn't press the issue. He understood that regardless of their talent, as long as these men served the enemy, they were nothing but a lethal threat to Mercurio’s cause.
They spent the next few hours in silence. Finally, when the camp fell into its deepest sleep, the time arrived.
A large moon hung high in the sky. Rei sat atop Seto’s back, looking down at the earth below. The enemy camp was significantly smaller than the Rebel Army's encampment. The rebel camp had grown into something resembling a small town, filled with merchants, blacksmiths, prostitutes, and stalls. By contrast, the camp below was a purely military installation built for a single night's stay. Even with a larger number of soldiers, its physical footprint was relatively compact.
They had surrounded themselves with prefabricated protective fences to keep out monsters and thieves, but such things were useless against an attack from the sky.
"Well... I’d hoped to loot their supplies, but I suppose that’s asking for too much if I’m leveling the place. I'll just grab what I can."
"Guruuu..." Seto gave a regretful trill.
It was likely remembering the high-quality ingredients they had scavenged from the previous army. However, this Subjugation Army was led by professionals, not incompetent fops. They wouldn't have brought unnecessary luxuries. Even if Rei seized their stores, there wouldn't be any grand banquets this time.
Rei lightly stroked Seto's neck, then pulled the Death Scythe from his Misty Ring. His expression sharpened.
"Ready, Seto? Let's give these sleeping beauties a wake-up call they’ll never forget."
"Gurururuuu!"
Seto’s focus narrowed. Instead of flapping its wings and risking detection, the griffon tucked them in and began a silent, high-speed glide toward the camp.
What was about to follow was a Great Overrun—a force of nature that would more rightly be called a disaster.
A Crimson-like Embrace of Death was about to descend upon the sleeping soldiers. For Blatta and Sobul, the fatal blow was coming from a direction they had never even considered.