Rei continued his unrestrained rampage through the Subjugation Army's Rear Unit while his Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor remained active, dealing devastating damage to their back ranks.
In terms of raw casualties, the toll of the dead and wounded wasn't particularly catastrophic, but the psychological impact was absolute. Witnessing Rei's "battle"—which was less a fight and more unilateral devastation—filled the soldiers with such terror and awe that they began to desert in droves.
Of course, the Subjugation Army did possess its share of nobles and soldiers whose loyalty was unshakable. However, for a force exceeding 40,000, it was impossible to fill the ranks with such men alone. Most of the army consisted of mercenaries, adventurers, and conscripts drafted from the various nobles' private territories.
When such men saw an outlier like Rei, the result was inevitable.
And when word spread that this same Rei had just fought and defeated Noise, their resolve shattered completely.
This sparked a wave of countless deserters, and even those who remained found their morale so depleted they no longer had the spirit to fight. Naturally, the knights and unit captains leading them screamed orders to engage, but their words fell on deaf ears.
"Fight! If we don't win here, there is no future for His Highness Schuls! You’ll all be branded as remnants of a failed army! I’m not asking you to kill him! Just stall him for even a—"
"Eek! He’s coming!"
The soldiers surrounding the captain, who was desperately trying to rally them, saw Rei—shrouded in Crimson's Magic Power—charging straight for them and immediately scattered in all directions.
The captain realized the danger and tried to spur his terrified horse away from the spot, but it was too late. Sensing a sudden, searing surge of heat, he looked back from his saddle only to see Rei closing in, already in the midst of swinging his Death Scythe.
"Gah!"
Leaping into the air to match the height of the mounted officer, Rei unleashed a Horizontal Slash with the Death Scythe that severed the captain’s torso cleanly in two.
Neither the officer's plate mail nor his sturdy frame could offer any resistance against a strike powered by the mana-infused Death Scythe and the physical ability enhanced by the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor. The strike was so sharp that the captain’s horse carried him forward dozens of meters before his upper half finally slid from the saddle and hit the earth.
Rei continued in this fashion, prioritizing the elimination of commanding officers to further destabilize the Subjugation Army. Many of these targets were nobles of the Bestia Empire, but Rei viewed them only as enemies of the Mercurio Army.
Even when they begged for their lives, he had no means of escorting prisoners in his current state. Ultimately, he silenced them with a Death Scythe's Strike or incinerated them in a Pillar of Flame by firing bolts of Deep Flame.
As he cut a path through the Subjugation Army toward the Mercurio Army’s position, he eventually pierced through the rear ranks and reached the edge of the front lines. Spotting a familiar figure ahead, a smile finally tugged at Rei’s lips.
The person was casually dispatching any enemy that drew near. That they were merely knocking them unconscious rather than killing them was a testament to their transcendent skill. However, the expression on their face was not one of combat-induced joy.
Judging that the enemies were simply too weak for her, Rei put strength into his legs and kicked off the ground. Shrouded in his Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, he broke through the remaining enemy line, blowing them aside like leaves in a gale.
In that instant, Vihera turned her gaze toward him, her face breaking into a radiant smile that made her previous boredom seem like a distant memory. Given her flamboyant beauty, it felt as though flowers had suddenly blossomed across the battlefield.
"Did I keep you waiting?"
"Yes... but could you move back just a little? I can manage to endure it, but no one else can get near you as you are now, Rei."
As Vihera’s joyful smile shifted into a wry one, Rei remembered the intense heat the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor radiated.
When fighting solo, the ability had no drawbacks—if anything, the heat was so intense it made enemies hesitate to even attempt a melee attack. However, when operating in a group with allies, it was a difficult skill to manage.
"Ah, my bad."
Rei stepped away from Vihera.
(It’s a bit late to realize this, but this really is a solo-specialized type of ability. If I could just do something about this heat... there!)
Sensing a spear slicing through the air toward his back, Rei manipulated the mana of the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor to form a tentacle that batted the weapon aside. The wooden shaft ignited instantly upon contact. Rei then manifested another tentacle and fired a bolt of Deep Flame toward the source of the attack.
The fist-sized Deep Flame struck the adventurer who had thrown the spear, erupting into a massive Pillar of Flame that swallowed him whole.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
The adventurer’s screams echoed across the field, but only briefly. He likely couldn't withstand the heat of the Deep Flame for more than a second before he collapsed, his very life burned away along with his body.
"...You really have acquired quite an amusing ability."
Though the exchange had surprised her, a smile returned to Vihera's lips. She could tell he was strong just from that single sequence of movements. Rei, however, only gave a silent shake of his head.
From his perspective, despite having mastered this power—a skill that was essentially a superior version of the Overlord's Armor—he had still let Noise escape. On paper, he had secured a victory, but Rei knew it was merely a conceded victory. No matter how powerful the skill, whether or not he had truly mastered its application was a different matter entirely.
Having been shown that gap in the most profound way possible, Rei couldn't bring himself to honestly celebrate her praise.
"Yeah. It's powerful, but it has plenty of flaws. The magic power consumption, for one."
The effect of the Bracelet of Magic Absorption had helped suppress the drain during his charge to reach her, but a battle of this scale was a rarity to begin with.
"Hmm. Well, you can tell me the details slowly after this is over. For now, we have to finish off the Subjugation Army... right!"
An arrow hissed toward her, but Vihera casually sliced it in two with the claws extending from her gauntlets. Watching her, Rei created another tentacle and fired more Deep Flame. With a thunderous roar, a Pillar of Flame erupted, incinerating an archer.
"Well, now that we've found each other on the battlefield, shall we end this fight?"
"I'd like to say yes... but the fact that we can't act alongside you is a problem, Rei. Even if we strike at the main camp, you couldn’t be more conspicuous if you tried."
"I suppose so. I understand that."
The Overlord's Armor and its white-glowing mana had been prominent, but the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor was shrouded in deep red mana, as if to manifest Rei's alias. In terms of visibility, it was far more striking than the Overlord's Armor. If he charged the Enemy Main Camp in such a state, the Subjugation Army would naturally focus all their strength on stopping him, which would only drive up the casualty count.
"But Lady Vihera," Tilleul interjected, "to demonstrate our overwhelming victory, wouldn't it be better to advance boldly from the front? It would be the most effective way to proclaim our triumph."
"...Perhaps. I wouldn't mind it myself, but in that case, it won't just be soldiers dying. More nobles and senior officers will fall as well. Many of the nobles are currently allied with Big Brother Cabajid and Big Brother Schuls. If they die, there's a high chance of an Internal Strife occurring after the civil strife ends. If that happens, the Bestia Empire will fall into turmoil again just as we’ve finished settling things. If dozens of noble houses fall into succession wars simultaneously, schemes will breed more schemes, and we’ll be stuck in a quagmire. We would needlessly drain the nation’s strength after all this effort."
"I see. So your intention was to keep the opposing nobles alive where possible. I had assumed all who resisted us were to be executed... or at least purged."
Tilleul muttered that it was a pity. Rei, watching from the side, couldn't quite tell if the man was being serious.
"It’s only natural," Vihera said. "I’m the one who started this civil strife, so I’m hardly one to talk, but the surrounding countries are watching us very closely. Fortunately, the National Army is currently holding the borders, and the Noble's Faction and Neutral Faction are keeping things under control in the Kingdom of Mireana, but if this chaos is prolonged, there’s no telling what they might try..."
"The Kingdom of Mireana seems fine, more or less," Rei noted. "Anyway, back to the point. What do you want me to do? I’m a bit late, but I’ve fulfilled my original goal of attacking the Subjugation Army's Rear Unit and throwing it into chaos. I don't really have a secondary objective."
"...'Already fulfilled,' he says..."
Tilleul stared at Rei in a daze, his expression completely flat. Beside him, Vihera also let out a wry smile in agreement.
"Chaos in the rear unit."
In a literal sense, Rei was right. But in reality, the Subjugation Army was in a state of disorder that defied description. No one expected a single person to charge from their own rear, scattering such devastation in his wake.
The Central Unit of the Subjugation Army was currently experiencing something that transcended simple confusion; even "great chaos" was an understatement. It would be more accurate to call it a rout.
And in the midst of that...
"GURULULULULULULUUU!"
Seto was soaring through the sky, unleashing Fire Breath.
Soldiers were firing arrows, casting magic, and some had even brought up catapults to launch stone projectiles. However, every attack was either evaded or struck down. In the case of the catapults, Seto’s evasions meant the stones fell directly onto the heads of their own allies, only adding to the pointless carnage.
It was obvious to anyone who stopped to think, but Seto—who was using Fire Breath, Water Balls, Wind Arrows, and Ice Arrows, all of which were impossible for a normal gryphon—was attacking from directly above the Subjugation Army. If they fired at him in such a chaotic environment, any shot that didn't hit its mark would fall back to earth and strike their own men.
These self-inflicted casualties only fueled the panic. The few senior officers who hadn't been targeted by Rei or Seto were too few to bring the situation under control. It was a vicious cycle of confusion breeding further chaos.
Furthermore, the front lines were pressing the attack, showing no concern for the state of their enemy—or rather, they were taking full advantage of the disorder. While Rei and Vihera had paused to discuss their next move, the other soldiers of the Mercurio Army were striking with everything they had, recognizing the perfect opportunity.
Given the current state of the field, another push or two would likely cause the morale of the Subjugation Army in the center to collapse entirely.
"The Center is on the verge of a total breakdown because of your actions, Rei. So, I’d like to ask you and Seto to target the Right Wing and Left Wing. What do you think?"
At Vihera's request, Rei temporarily deactivated the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor and hopped onto the back of a nearby horse to get a better look at the wings.
Though they were quite a distance from the center, Rei's eyesight was more than sufficient to grasp the situation. On the Right Wing, the White Rose Knight Order was still locked in a fierce engagement with the enemy cavalry. On the Left Wing, the Beast Soldiers were struggling.
Originally, the unit led by Vihera had been assigned to the Left Wing, but she had left her post to fight Digma of the Water Dragon. In her absence, the unit led by Gurgast had fought as they pleased, eventually pushing through the center and even joining the cavalry battle on the Right Wing.
Currently, however, both Gurgast and Tilleul had returned to the center. Consequently, the Beast Soldiers on the Left Wing were left to face the Subjugation Army led by Pelfeel, and they were losing ground.
The Right Wing was a clash of cavalry. They had struggled for a time when the enemy infantry tried to overwhelm them with numbers, but Gurgast’s charge had inflicted enough damage to stabilize the line. At the moment, the Right Wing was roughly even—though as the chaos from the center began to spread, the tide was tilting in favor of the Mercurio Army.
Rei dismounted and made his decision.
"Got it. I'll head to the Left Wing. We’ll send Seto to the Right Wing."
The Beast Soldiers were being pushed back, so they needed the most support. As for the White Rose Knight Order on the Right Wing, many of them had complicated feelings regarding Rei personally, even if they were fond of Seto.
Taking all these factors into account, Rei spoke his final decision.