Aziz looked up as the livestream by Minister Eventide cut off, leaving behind a vast swath of darkness. The canteen, which was empty save for him and Marie, seemed to echo the immense sense of defeat reverberating in his heart.

Somehow, despite knowing that the expedition had been thoroughly defeated with just a speech alone, the colonel couldn’t feel any emotion other than the hollowness of defeat. Yet, there was something inside him, something that said, “Yeah, I kinda expected it.”

Perhaps, deep inside, he had never stopped believing in the little kid he met all so many years ago, after witnessing and hearing about the miracles he had created. Even now, when that little kid had grown up to be the greatest foe Orb would ever face, Aziz couldn’t bring himself to raise any hostility to the little guy.

“Well,” muttered Marie, who had recovered a few days ago, “colour me surprised. A second speech, and over two-thirds of our overall force evaporated. I thought we would have had some resistance after the first one.”

“The Abyss Sovereign showed up in person, with overwhelming force to boot. There had to be doubt and fear in the resolves of these soldiers. Gaius just exploited those openings to its fullest, linking their impending death to the orders of their far mightier rulers,” Aziz replied. “And besides, did you not feel it? The kid’s words probably carried some insane power too. Might have forced everyone to relive their memories.”

“Won’t put it past him,” Marie replied. “We don’t know his limits, so it’s best not to assume anything.”

“Won’t need to, with our utter defeat,” Aziz pointed out. “Now what?”

“We wait for orders,” Marie replied, before getting up. Her face twisted a moment later, and a hiss of air escaped her lips.

Aziz glided over to her right side and supported her shoulder. “What was the medic’s diagnosis?”

“Internal injury. According to the medic, the blood vessels on the right side of my body were damaged due to an overload in qi, which had rushed towards the Lance of Light when I executed its Zeroth Release,” Marie replied. “Don’t worry, colonel. I’m still very much alive and kicking. It’ll heal in a few days.”

“I don’t think we have a few days, though,” Aziz pointed out. “The expedition is under pursuit; unless the Abyss Sovereign has water in his brain, he’s definitely going to order an attack on Camp Starfall.”

“That’s probably the best decision, no?” Marie let out a long breath. “What will do if we come under attack?”

“Me?” Aziz glanced at Marie, curious. “There’s no point in asking me, though. We’re soldiers. We follow orders.”

“And I’m ordering you to tell me your response if the camp comes under attack,” Marie replied. “And besides, in this camp, right now, the two of us are the ones issuing orders. It’s about time that you stopped sticking to that old ‘following orders’ schtick whenever I ask you hard questions.”

“I’m just an old, battered scout that just got a bit lucky, ma’am,” Aziz replied. “But well, I would hurry and make a more solid — albeit smaller — defensive perimeter while the barrier lasts, a perimeter around the teleportation formation out. We’ll guard as long as possible until the retreating expedition arrives. If we’re on the verge of being overrun before that happens, we’ll use the teleportation formation ourselves and leave the Central Circle.”

Marie pondered for a moment. “How many people are in Camp Starfall now?”

“Slightly above two thousand. Each of them has experience in at least using the Straight Shots, and it’s not like the other emplacements require higher education to man them either,” Aziz replied. “What are your orders?”

“I’d say that we carry out your suggestions, but are you capable of rallying the other people in the camp?” Marie asked.

“I’m pretty confident.”

“Very well.”

The two went through the details of their upcoming defence plan. Neither of them knew if the Abyss Sovereign intended on finishing the job or not, but since they still had some free time, it would be a grave sin to not prepare for the worst. With that in mind, any argument to not prepare would just be an outward emanation of laziness, not to mention the innumerable lives that would be lost if the spectres really attacked and preparations were not complete.

After finalising a few more details, Aziz saluted Marie and left the canteen. He could see the marshal get up a few seconds later, hobbling slowly towards the vast teleportation formations that were capable of sending mind-boggling amounts of food and supplies.

By now, the Five Lands had to be aware that the expedition force had been utterly crushed, and judging from how the staff manning Camp Starfall were in the middle of an emergency assembly. Most of the staff left behind were junior officers, but the fact that they were already tallying numbers were proof of their crisis-handing abilities.

Aziz flew over to the person directing the entire assembly, a lieutenant from the Southern Assembly. Half of her left leg was gone, which was probably why she had been excluded from the advance earlier. “Lieutenant.”

“C-colonel.” The junior officer glanced at Aziz’s rank, and then saluted, emanating an air of relief. “Orders?”

“Place Camp Starfall on red alert. Make sure we have eyes on the sky at all times. We need to prepare a way out for everyone — not just us, but also for the expedition,” said Aziz. “For our soldiers here, tell them that they are to prepare for a fight anytime. Distribute supplies and equipment accordingly. After that, gather the officers around here, as soon as possible.”

“Yes, sir.” The tension in the lieutenant drained away. “We’ll see it done.”

“Good.”

Aziz watched on in silence as the lieutenant passed down his orders. He could have done it himself, but since she was the one who had showed proactiveness, the colonel didn’t mind lending a helping hand in getting her more acquainted with the soldiers from the other nations. Furthermore, the fact that she was able to assemble the motley crew here spoke volumes about her ability to interact with other people; having her issue instructions would be more useful.

Before long, fifteen officers had returned, each of them bearing an expression that mixed both relief and fear.

Returning their salute, Aziz said, “We’re preparing for the worst, so I’ll skip the pleasantries. This is what we’re going to do…”