“How are the kids doing?” Aziz asked, his voice quiet.

“Still grieving,” Marie replied.

The colonel stared at his boss. He knew that this dispassionate tone of hers was just a mask to hide her true feelings; he had seen something like this before, back when one-third of the First Aerial had been annihilated in the demons’ invasion.

“I did not expect things to…take such a turn.”

A month had passed ever since the Five Lands made landfall on the Central Circle. Their base was now fully fortified, and teleportation formations were now bringing the main force of the Five Lands over slowly. Given that their final approach towards the Central Circle had seen very low casualties, the War Council had seen it fit to expedite their advance in the past few days.

With the Locomotives providing heavy fire support, the allied expedition continued to push back the enemy steadily, but it wasn’t just the Five Lands that were changing and adapting. The spectres, which had been a mob of predators that sought out weak points, had abruptly placed more emphasis on teamwork and survival.

“Nor did I,” said Marie. “But if you look at it from another angle, that kid was someone who witnessed the growth of the First Aerial first-hand. And these spectres were also capable of flight and small-arm tactics. We should have seen this development coming.”

“But we didn’t,” Aziz replied. “How could a mob of monsters, who ran solely off emotions, be able to group and fight as a single entity? Their basic desire is wholehearted slaughter; no one could have expected them to have the discipline of soldiers.”

Marie got up from her wooden chair and looked around the little cabin. This cabin was the temporary home of both Aziz and his boss, although the colonel preferred sleeping on the roof. Unlike the stifling small space inside, the top of the cabin was open-air, and more importantly, a gentle chill had enveloped Orb.

The seasons had been out of whack ever since the Lifespring passed away, which duly accounted for why snow was falling on July. As a by-product, however, Aziz now found this particular month of July the best to sleep outside on.

“If we had delayed our attack by another month, would we have made it to the Central Circle?” Marie abruptly asked.

“Yes, but with a lot more casualties,” Aziz replied. “Icebreaker-equipped ships need to distance themselves from another ships, remember? Our fleet would have been more dispersed.”

“True.” She walked over to the door. “Let’s check on the kids.”

It was an order, so Aziz promptly got up from his seat. Following Marie out, the two of them weaved through the gigantic camp, which was bustling with activity. Camp Starfall — the official name for this incredibly fortified fortress — was now home to over eight hundred thousand personnel. Half a million were the elite troops and fliers of the Five Lands, whose main job was to protect Camp Starfall while it carried out its job as a relay station.

The other three hundred thousand were logistics and command staff, who would dispatch the new arrivals to build up smaller camps and defences in other areas. Supplies and items would be stockpiled at these areas; ideally, by the time the enormous army arrived at the periphery of the enemy stronghold, a robust supply chain to feed the soldiers there would be established.

It was easier said than done, though. The enemy had been striking at the logistics and at the flanks of their troops; it was on one such attack that Stardust had been completely eradicated.

After all, the attack had comprised of a single Demigod-rank spectre, who was not just smart and tough, but was even using artefacts to boot. The spectre was killed later by three familiar spirits, but the damage had been done.

“There’s more tents than ever.”

“More elite troops are arriving here, so it can’t be helped,” Marie replied slowly. “We need to protect this camp, after all.”

“Mm.” Aziz assessed the long line of tents in silence. Each of these tents could house two hundred people. As for how this was possible, one just needed to look inside; double-decker beds were the norm in those tents. One’s equipment would be tucked inside their bed, and…

He shook his head. An unpleasant thought about the belongings of Stardust, as well as their three tents, had just struck him.

“I wonder what happened to their belongings,” Aziz muttered.

Marie jolted slightly, but her gait remained unchanged. “I’ve already gotten some clerks to help. We’ll be sending their…personal effects back home.”

“…You should have gotten me to help,” said Aziz. “Don’t do everything yourself. You have me and the…”

Aziz cut his sentence off, before taking a deep breath. “You have me.”

“Maybe.” Marie glanced at him once. “Come on, let’s go. The kids are having their lunch outside, and—”

A low drone, unpleasant and painful to the ears, ran through the camp. A shiver rippled through everyone present a second later, and bedlam followed. On instinct, Aziz took to the skies, his Exo-Skeleton now protecting him.

Marie was close behind.

“An enemy attack…”

“Maybe,” said Marie. “Or it’s just another of those pesky feints. It is lunchtime, after all. It’s an easy way to dispel our morale.”

It was hard to tell whether the enemy was really attacking or feinting. Over the past few days, attacks had commenced at the most inconvenient of times, including in the dead of night and in the middle of eating. They would cause some fuss, and then retreat in good order, leaving behind a whole bunch of angry soldiers that were ordered to not chase. After a while, everyone had switched to a shift system, but the enemy clearly didn’t care about that.

Taking a deep breath, the two of them joined up the Knights that were already forming up at the northern side of Camp Starfall. Aziz felt his heart skip a beat as he caught sight of a huge black cloud that was already attacking the Locomotives defending the area.

It would seem that this was one of the rarer events — a real battle.