The Five Lands marched onwards, on ground that had been scoured clean of enemies. Aziz, who had a bird’s eye view from the safety of a hospital ward thanks to Minister Eventide, yawned once and kept his gaze on his display. He had been sitting on a bed next to Marie’s, making use of this chance to rest and nap under the pretext of looking after his boss and her Zeroth Armament.

Besides, it’s not like there’s anything for me to do in this deserted camp…Smirking, the colonel loosened his shoulders and looked up at the drab grey ceiling. Camp Starfall, which was currently manned by a division of elite guards, now played a logistical role in supplying the war effort at the front. Most of the logistics and support crew had gone along with the main body, and…

Well, in summary, there really wasn’t much to do here. Even the bigshots had gone along, and there was, for the first time in a few months, no guard duty or paperwork to do.

“Move, move! Hurry up!”

There was a small commotion as a bunch of medics lugged an unconscious person inside. Aziz glanced at them once, and then did a double take as another twenty such groups flooded into the tent, each of them bearing a stretcher and moving equipment along. Before he knew it, the quiet ward had been swept up in a storm of activity.

He looked around, perplexed, and then locked onto a young woman with blue hair. She was the only one who was sitting on a bed; unlike the rest of her unconscious fellows, and Aziz made a beeline for her.

“Colonel Aziz, Republic of Francois,” Aziz said, showing her his identity card. “What’s going on here? Why are there so many injured people?”

“I’m Reinford, from the Western Holdings,” the woman replied. “We were attacked by a whole host of spectres just now.”

“I don’t believe you and your people are the guards stationed here. The main body has already begun their advance.” Aziz narrowed his eyes. “Other than those who were injured in the attack two hours ago, three shouldn’t be anyone here. In that case, what are you doing here?”

She rubbed her nose. “We’re…we were attacked when travelling to the Central Circle.”

“Travelling?” Aziz repeated her words. “There’s a teleportation formation that leads to Camp Starfall.”

“We were flying there.”

“That does not make any sense,” the colonel replied sternly. “And you know it. If not for the fact that traitors and spies just don’t exist in a war like this, I would have arrested you by now. And well, because there’s no one here either, and my arrest of you and your buddies will likely lead to a diplomatic rift.”

He closed his eyes and felt the wheels in his head spin. The colonel already had a rough idea of just what was going — clearly, this bunch of youths were probably barred from joining the battle here. However, they probably decided to defy their parents or guardians, and snuck out of their nation to fly here to avoid being stopped and caught at the teleportation formations.

“A bunch of what, Knights, and you think you guys are going to turn the tide,” Aziz muttered. “Wow. How…arrogant.”

Her face flushed. “That’s none of your business.”

“True,” Aziz conceded. “So, how did you get attacked?”

Her pale face blanched at those words. “The entire Central Circle has been surrounded by a huge host of spectres. We were drawing close to the continent when they suddenly appeared behind us, hundreds and thousands of them. Over a hundred chased us, only stopping when we drew close to the camp.”

“Hundreds and thousands around the continent?” A chill ran down Aziz’s spine. “How many, exactly?”

“I’m not sure, but there has to be at least that much,” she replied.

“And they stopped chasing you…” The colonel frowned. As expected, the Abyss Sovereign definitely had something up his sleeves. He couldn’t guess why there were so many spectres guarding the perimeter of the Central Circle, and…

“Oh. Maybe he’s trying to cut off any approaching logistics,” Aziz mused, feeling a bit clever. “I’m a genius.”

It took three for Aziz to realise that he had praised himself out loud, and he cleared his throat. “Don’t mind me. Sometimes, I act up and praise myself. It’s something I picked from work.”

Reinford eyed him, and then looked at her companions, worry written all over her face. Her face twisted a moment later, a hiss of air escaping her lips. “I’m going to lie down for a moment.”

“You do that,” said Aziz. “And if I were you, I won’t step out of the camp with your buddies unless you intend to get killed with your buddies. There are Demigod-rank spectres prowling the area. Over…six hundred people killed by one in an instant.”

He got up. “Well, I won’t bother you. I have to make a report.”

Bidding goodbye with a wave of his hands, Aziz returned to his original spot, before reaching out to unfasten the Radio on Marie’s shoulders. The Radio spat out little crackles, popping to life a moment later as Minister Pauline answered on her end.

“What’s going on, colonel?”

“I was at the ward with Marie, when a bunch of injured youngsters came in, claiming that they had been attacked when flying towards the Central Circle. From the testimony I got from the only conscious youngster, it would seem that the entire continent has been surrounded by spectres.”

“Surrounded?”

“Yes, ma’am. This is, of course, the worst-case scenario I can offer, since the witness wasn’t very sure. The main point, however, is that they’re also capable of turning invisible for some reason. Do be careful, ma’am.”

“…Noted. Thank you, Aziz. I’ll relay your words to the War Council as a whole.”

The line fell silent. Aziz tucked the Radio back onto Marie’s shoulder, and then walked over to one of the panel-less windows.

He had a feeling that there was something nasty waiting for them.