"Fire! Fire! Don't let them get any closer! His Highness Mercurio is in this camp! It must not fall!"
Following their commander’s shout, the archers loosed a heavy volley of arrows.
Since they were fighting from behind fortifications, their supply of arrows was finite. However, if they slackened now, Mercurio—the figurehead of the rebellion—might lose his life. Considering the stakes, holding back was not an option; it would have been the height of folly.
Furthermore, the Rebel Army’s primary forces had been deployed to break the highway blockade, leaving the camp’s defenses dangerously thin. They simply did not have the luxury of conservation.
The Subjugation Army was equally pressed. While the rebel elites, including Vihera, were currently away, there was no telling when they might return. To capitalize on their numerical superiority, the imperial forces pressed forward with reckless abandon, prepared to accept heavy losses if it meant overwhelming the camp by sheer force.
"To be honest, I have little taste for this style of warfare," Pelfeel murmured, watching the Subjugation Army soldiers surge toward the rebel lines.
Her voice carried only a dry sense of duty. Personally, she despised attritional combat. She preferred to face her enemies head-on, breaking them through superior strength in a fair fight. Yet, it was her ability to suppress her own preferences and execute orders to the letter that had earned her Cabajid’s absolute trust.
Between her personal inclinations and her assigned mission, Pelfeel chose the latter without a moment's hesitation. She threw herself into the task with everything she had, loathing the idea of half-measures—a testament to her rigorous discipline toward others and, even more so, herself.
The Rebel Army had fewer than three thousand combatants—soldiers and Adventurers alike—remaining in the camp. With the rest of their strength following Vihera, they were vastly outnumbered by the Subjugation Army's mobilization of nearly 20,000 people.
And yet, the imperial forces had not yet secured victory.
"They're out! It's that small unit! On the Right Wing of the Encampment!"
"Damn it! Those pests again!"
"Deploy the Cavalry Unit! Don't let them slip away this time! And what about the other problem?"
"Not yet... wait, there! Beyond the camp! High-mobility Beast Soldiers, including the Beast Soldier with a horse's lower body!"
"Cursing the timing! They’ve appeared simultaneously! Lady Pelfeel!"
"I see them," Pelfeel replied. "Rescind the order to pursue the small unit. The First Unit and Second Unit will intercept them. As for the Beast Soldiers, have the cavalry use their speed and impact for hit-and-run strikes. Archers and mages, maintain covering fire."
The battle remained a stalemate because these two units were causing utter havoc.
Early in the engagement, the small unit—the Mobile Unit Rei was supposed to lead—had sallied out to harass the Subjugation Army. The imperial forces were not in peak condition themselves; their numbers had been thinned in previous clashes, and they had diverted troops to maintain the blockade and obstruct the Frizion Army.
Even so, they might have eventually ground down the Mobile Unit through attrition. However, Mercurio and Theoreme, realizing that their scouts would eventually be overwhelmed by numbers, had made the decision to play their trump card: the Beast Soldiers.
When the chimeras first appeared, their monstrous, inhuman forms nearly caused the Rebel Army to panic and attack them. However, Mercurio, the symbol of their cause, and Theoreme, the rebellion’s strategist, had issued strict orders: the Beast Soldiers were allies, and any friendly fire was strictly forbidden.
The sight of the monsters tearing exclusively into the Subjugation Army eventually allowed the rebels to breathe a sigh of relief.
For the Subjugation Army, however, it was a descent into chaos.
A few veterans of the Spring War might have recognized the Beast Soldiers, but they were in the minority. For the rest of the imperial soldiers, the sight of these man-made abominations and the horrific power they displayed sent them spiraling into a state of pure panic.
No matter how much the commanders tried to restore order, the terror was too deep. Moreover, despite their monstrous appearances, the Beast Soldiers retained human intelligence—or at least, the judgment of the experimental subjects they once were.
They were smart enough to recognize that a commander shouting orders was the most valuable target.
The Beast Soldiers set about their work with savage efficiency, slaughtering the officers through various horrific means: piercing them with tentacles, decapitating them with pincers, gouging out throats with claws, strangling them with vines, or using poison spores to force them to cough up their own lungs.
Had the poison been long-lasting, the Rebel Army might have been caught in the fallout, but it dissipated quickly enough to keep the defenders safe.
Under this relentless assault, the Subjugation Army suffered staggering casualties.
And yet, the pressure remained.
"Damn it, this is bad! We can't hold them off if their numbers keep growing! Send reinforcements!"
"Don't talk nonsense! Every sector is under pressure! We don't have a single man to spare!"
"Argh, enough! How do they have so much strength!? We're running out of hands! Arrows! Bring more arrows!"
"Deal with it! Our main force is hitting the blockade! The only reason we're still standing is that we have enough supplies for now!"
"Even so, we're not going to last forever!"
Screams and desperate shouts echoed throughout the Rebel Army's position. While their actual losses were still manageable, holding off an enemy six times their size was an agonizing task, even with the help of the Beast Soldiers and the Mobile Unit.
"Damn it... where is Crimson? He needs to get back here!"
Desperate pleas rose up, but they went unanswered. In many sectors, the enemy had already pushed through the long-range magic and arrow fire, engaging the defenders in bloody close combat.
For most, the only thought was survival. And yet, everyone shared the same unspoken hope: they were waiting for the return of Rei, the only man with the power to overturn the tide of battle in an instant.
The fight ground on—not at a stalemate, but at a rate of one step forward and two steps back. The defenders only managed to hold on at all thanks to the Mobile Unit, the Beast Soldiers, and the fact that many of the rebels had been hardened by Rei’s brutal training.
"The enemy has the numbers, we can't use signal fires to coordinate, and their patrols are preventing us from sending messengers. Is this checkmate?"
Inside the Magic Tent at The Center of the camp, Mercurio spoke quietly. Despite the imminent threat to his life, his voice lacked any hint of despair.
No, it's not that he isn't afraid.
Theoreme watched the prince from the Shadows, noticing the way Mercurio’s hands were clenched white.
Mercurio knew he was the symbol of the rebellion. If he wavered, the troops would falter, and that ripple of doubt would lead to their total destruction. Knowing this, the prince masked his terror with a facade of absolute calm.
To remain composed in the face of death... it is easy to say, yet few can truly master it. I suppose that is the burden shared by Prince Schuls and His Highness Cabajid.
Theoreme allowed a small, wry smile to touch his lips before shaking his head.
"The situation is undeniably grim, Your Highness. I did not expect them to take such drastic measures. I suspected the starvation tactics at the blockade were a feint, but this... Regardless, we still have a path to victory. We are losing ground, but we haven't been broken yet."
It was the truth, but a fragile one. Their defense relied entirely on the Mobile Unit and the Beast Soldiers, and they were few. A 'Small Elite Unit' was powerful, but they were prone to exhaustion. Not everyone possessed the bottomless stamina of Rei or Seto.
"We must endure and wait for our opening. Lady Vihera may realize the camp is shrouded in an illusion and send word. The Breath of Quantome... an imperial secret treasure. Lady Vihera will recognize its influence. Furthermore, Her Highness Frizion’s army is nearby."
A ripple of movement went through the other nobles in the tent. Hope flickered in their eyes.
Seizing the moment, Theoreme continued. "The moment the Subjugation Army struck, I dispatched messengers to Her Highness Frizion. By my calculations, they should have made contact with her army by now. While her ground forces are slow, she has Rei. She has Rei and his Gryphon Seto."
The mention of Rei and Seto acted as a powerful tonic. The desperation in the room was replaced by a surge of renewed hope.
Mercurio smiled at the sight. He realized that the Adventurer they had hired was sought after with far more fervor than he, the symbol of the entire cause.
I suppose there’s no point in feeling jealous of Rei. He’s too free for that.
Mercurio harbored no ill will toward Rei—leaving aside the matter of Vihera. He appreciated that Rei, possessing overwhelming power, felt no need to fawn over his royal status. In the Imperial Capital, Mercurio had been surrounded by vultures trying to use him for their own factions. Rei was different; he had his own strength and wanted nothing from the prince.
As for Big Sister, I still haven't officially given my blessing, mind you.
The image of his favorite sister flashed through Mercurio’s mind. She was currently fighting at the blockade, but he was certain she would realize something was wrong and turn back.
"The light of hope has appeared," Mercurio declared, his voice ringing with authority. "If we hold out until Rei returns, the victory is ours."
It wasn't quite that simple, but his words set the room ablaze with resolve.
"He's right! Once Rei is back, those numbers won't matter!"
"He has the track record. There's nothing to worry about."
"...Personally, I'm just hoping Seto stays safe while he's cleaning up."
"Good grief. I knew the soldiers were obsessed with that Gryphon, but we have one of them right here in the tent."
"What?"
When the noble muttered his concern for Seto, several others nearby spoke up in agreement. The noble who had teased them stared in stunned silence.
"...Seriously?"
"E-enough! Our only job is to stay alive until Rei and Seto get here!"
"Agreed. We shouldn't distract ourselves with trivialities."
"We need to shift men from the surplus sectors to the front lines immediately."
"Wait, if we pull them now, the enemy might shift their focus there..."
The nobles ignored the suspicious looks and threw themselves back into the tactical maps, arguing over troop placements. They fought for their lives, for their cause, and for the hope that Rei would soon arrive to deliver a lethal damage to the Subjugation Army.