An Expedition of roughly one hundred members.
Whether that number was considered small or large likely depended on the person.
For Rei, though, the fact that they had ultimately gathered over a hundred Centaurs was remarkable enough.
That said, among those hundred were some who specialized in cooking and others who handled miscellaneous duties.
In the beginning, when their numbers were still small, everyone had mostly taken care of their own chores. But they were about to get busy with reconnaissance work.
Recognizing this, Zai had decided it would be better to have dedicated specialists for such tasks. As he visited various settlements, he had brought along those types of individuals as well.
Naturally, he hadn't brought them by force.
Those individuals had volunteered of their own accord.
For the Centaurs living on these plains, destroying the Dragonias headquarters was absolutely necessary for their own survival.
And more than anything, even without actually participating in reconnaissance, simply joining the Reconnaissance Unit allowed them to earn the honor of having taken part.
For the proud Centaurs, honor held tremendous significance.
What's more, joining the Reconnaissance Unit tasked with finding the headquarters of the Dragonias—the very creatures whose momentum and strength had driven out the Centaurs once known as Rulers of the Plains—was more than enough honor.
At the very least, it was certain to be passed down for generations to come, assuming they survived this struggle for existence.
The members of the Reconnaissance Unit were currently running across the plains.
Leading the way was Zai.
Rei felt that the person commanding the unit running at the very front was questionable, but this was likely just a characteristic nature of the Centaurs.
Right behind Zai ran Set, carrying Rei and Vihera on his back.
The other Centaurs continued running across the plains while keeping watch on their surroundings. Eventually, Zai slowed his pace.
Given the speed at which Centaurs ran, slowing down could easily cause a rear-end collision with those ahead. Fortunately, Centaurs were not the type to crash into the ones in front over something so minor.
"Alright, we'll have lunch. In the meantime, I'll decide how we'll split up for reconnaissance from here, so I want one representative from each settlement to gather where I am and eat with me."
At those words, everyone began preparing their meal.
That said, they weren't making camp—they were simply having lunch.
When Rei took out food from his Misty Ring, those in charge of cooking grabbed the provisions and quickly prepared the meal.
While the food was being cooked, some gathered firewood while others conversed with Centaurs from different settlements.
Even among fellow Centaurs, there were some meeting members from settlements they had never interacted with for the first time on this trip.
Deepening mutual understanding through conversation with such individuals was naturally necessary for conducting this reconnaissance.
Reconnaissance was basically conducted with each settlement forming a single unit. But due to numbers and capabilities, there were inevitably cases where they had to operate alongside members from other settlements.
That was precisely why they needed to talk with members of other settlements like this and establish solid mutual understanding.
However, with different settlements came inevitably different values...
"Quit screwing around! Why the hell would it come to that!"
"You're the one screwing around!"
Naturally, disagreements sometimes escalated into arguments like this.
That said, not many were visibly confused by such quarrels.
This was likely because similar things had happened many times before.
However, those from the settlements that had joined toward the end did show bewilderment.
"Hey. Shouldn't we stop them?"
"Leave them. They'll probably stop eventually... and if they don't..."
The Centaurs who had joined the Reconnaissance Unit later found those ominous words puzzling.
But before they could ask what that meant, events moved.
"Enough. If you're going to make a foolish fuss near the meal preparation, go do it somewhere further away. Otherwise... I might need to punish you, you know?"
The one who said that was one of only two bipedal figures in this group—Vihera.
At Vihera's appearance, most of the onlookers figured that settled the disturbance.
A small number looked puzzled as to why the surrounding crowd was taking such an attitude...
"Quit screwing around! What's a two-legged thing like you trying to say to me!"
"Back off, you two-legged woman!"
The two arguing individuals were both part of that minority, and they shouted at Vihera.
At those shouts, the many who had been thoroughly reminded of Vihera's strength in mock battles held their faces in exasperation.
They understood that this was nothing short of suicidal.
But the two arguing were too worked up to notice the surrounding atmosphere at all.
"Is that so."
Muttering that single brief phrase, Vihera approached the arguing men.
Naturally, they saw Vihera closing in and likely understood that she intended to harm them.
As if their argument from seconds ago had been a lie, they stood side by side and braced themselves against her.
They should have just done that from the start.
Though exasperated, Vihera decided this was a good opportunity to make an example of them for the Centaurs who still underestimated her and Rei.
With that in mind, Vihera's feet showed no sign of stopping as she approached the two Centaurs.
One of them sensed an unfathomable intensity from Vihera as she closed in and half-reflexively raised his fist.
Being selected for the Reconnaissance Unit, his ability was by no means low.
Unfortunately, perhaps due to being agitated, he was in no state to sense Vihera's true strength.
"Nuo!"
Along with that shout, a fist swung.
The punch, thrown straight, was aimed right at Vihera's face.
Several people—especially many of those who did not yet know Vihera's strength—let out involuntary screams at the sight.
But for those who knew Vihera's ability, it was only natural to wonder what on earth such a paltry blow was supposed to accomplish.
If a strike of that level could actually land on Vihera, they would not have struggled so in their mock battles.
As a matter of course, Vihera dodged the strike and used her opponent's momentum to throw him.
Since the opponent was a Centaur with the lower body of a horse, it was more difficult than against a human. But with Vihera's combat sense, that level of adjustment was not challenging.
The Centaur, effortlessly slammed into the ground, had the wind knocked out of him by the impact.
"Geh, goh, what in the world..."
If he had been struck with a counter, he would have understood how he was taken down.
But Vihera had thrown him using his own force.
It was, in a way, similar to aikido or judo.
Having heard from Rei that such martial arts existed in Japan, she had decided this was a good opportunity to try them out. Unfortunately, Vihera had not yet completely mastered them.
"Now then, what will you do? If you're coming, the timing is perfect, so I'll oblige."
Those words carried an implicit meaning: You're actually a perfect training partner, so come at me.
The remaining Centaur must have sensed that as well.
Unconsciously, he took several steps back.
But even against an opponent who had instinctively acknowledged his disadvantage by stepping back, Vihera had no intention of letting him go. She needed to make an example.
"Not coming? If you're going to run away like that, I won't pursue you further, you know?"
Those were words that a proud Centaur could never tolerate.
Well, the threshold for such judgments varied from person to person, but for this Centaur, the option of fleeing simply did not exist.
If it had been someone like Zai, Asdena, or Dolf, they would have chosen to withdraw without hesitation.
"U... Uoooooooooooooooooh!"
Stepping back had been to build a running start.
As if to say exactly that, the Centaur built up momentum and threw a punch at Vihera.
Having watched the previous exchange, he carefully aimed his strike to avoid getting his arm caught.
Moreover, it was not a fist but a leg—a strike using his horse's leg.
It was generally said that leg strength was three to five times that of arm strength, but that applied only to ordinary humans.
For Centaurs, whose lower bodies were those of horses, the strength of their legs was incomparably greater than that of human legs.
An attack using those legs.
However, attacking with a horse's leg meant he could not perform a kick like a human would. What the man chose was a stomp.
"My."
Vihera let out a single brief word, but what appeared on the faces of those watching and listening around her was sheer astonishment.
After all, she had effortlessly caught the blow of a hoof coming down at her from above—"from the heavens" was a slight exaggeration—aimed right at her.
Of course, she hadn't caught it head-on with sheer strength alone.
By perfectly combining weight shifting and body movement, she had redirected nearly all of its force into the ground.
And then...
"Owaa!"
With just a light twist to the grasped leg, the Centaur lost his balance and crashed to the ground.
Unlike the first Centaur, who hadn't been slammed all that hard, this time it was with considerable force.
The sound that rang out across the area had more than enough impact to startle all who watched.
"Ga..."
From the impact of being slammed into the ground, the Centaur was unable to even make a sound.
"Now then, is there anyone else who has a complaint?"
Vihera announced, but naturally, no one made a move to interject.
It was obvious to everyone that if they voiced any complaint, they would undoubtedly be the next one slammed into the ground like that.
To live with the earth, to die with the earth.
That was the way of the Centaurs, but that didn't mean they had any desire to enjoy being slammed into it.
"I'm sorry, but could you let it go around here?"
Breaking the silence, the one who approached and said that was a single Centaur.
A man from the same settlement as the one whose leg had just been used to slam him into the ground.
Vihera and that man exchanged a silent gaze.
The Centaurs watching the situation unfold had been watching with tension, wondering what would happen...
"You know, I think that's enough for now."
Unexpectedly, those were the words that came from Vihera's mouth.
Having just witnessed her effortlessly take down two Centaurs in the blink of an eye, they never imagined she would lower her weapon so readily.
The surrounding Centaurs were surprised, but the most surprised of all was likely the man who had spoken to Vihera.
He had even thought that, in the worst case, he might have to fight Vihera himself.
That was why her words and actions were completely unexpected.
For Vihera, what was needed this time was simply to make an example.
Since the two who had been causing trouble had sufficiently served that purpose, she judged there was no need to do anything to the man who had approached her.
If the man who had spoken up had also been someone who looked down on her for being two-legged, he might have become the third example.
But fortunately, the man who approached had watched members of his own settlement and those of another become examples. On top of that, he had enough ability to sense the gap in strength between himself and Vihera, so he had spoken politely.
Thanks to that, Vihera let him off.
"I'll have a word with this idiot myself."
"Yes, please do. We've already gathered from all different settlements as it is, so if you go acting selfishly... you'll die, you know?"
That was no exaggeration.
The headquarters the Reconnaissance Unit was searching for would undoubtedly be home to a large number of Dragonias.
Dragonias were, fundamentally, stronger than Centaurs.
And what would happen if they lost to the Dragonias... there was no need to even think about it.
They would be eaten alive.