"Inazuma's a cursed place. Stay sharp—don't end up like the last troops sent here, dead without a trace," a Khaenri'ahn knight, the camp commander, warned his men in a Watatsumi camp.
His knights and soldiers scanned the surroundings warily.
"But we're on Watatsumi, so don't be too on edge," he added.
The soldiers exhaled in relief.
"Still, Watatsumi's people can't be trusted. Keep your guard up," he cautioned.
Their hearts sank again.
"…"
"Yuenjou, is Blue Jay Knight always this long-winded?" an accountant asked, exasperated by the knight's endless speech atop the platform.
"No clue. I'm just passing through. My mentor's making me haul a Learning Device back—ridiculous," said Yuenjou, a young scholar.
Yuenjou paused as Blue Jay droned on. He whispered to his peers, "Don't spread this, but my mentor always says to skip the gossip."
"Your mentor's probably already in Enkanomiya," a soldier teased.
"I've heard about Blue Jay," Yuenjou said, excited. "He's got known knight strength (LV40+), but his big mouth pissed off the Court Sorcerer leading this op. That's why he's stuck in this dead-end transit camp."
"Think about it: if we succeed, the main force gets the glory. If we fail but retreat, the logistics camp gets credit. This transit camp? Nothing but grunt work, if that."
The crowd ate it up—way more interesting than Blue Jay's ramblings.
By noon, Blue Jay finally wrapped up, looking worried but unsatisfied. Everyone bolted, except the camp's own crew. Transients fled, ignoring the scorching sun.
Compared to enduring Blue Jay's chatter, the heat was nothing.
"Yuenjou, we left a mech behind," a supply clerk said en route. "Can you grab it? Your work's not urgent."
"No way. Forgetting stuff there is normal—I left my pen! I'm not going back," Yuenjou shot back.
"You're right. The captain can handle one less mech," the clerk nodded, reporting it.
No punishment came.
…
Reisen Riou and Banjiao Nisei, dressed as Sangonomiya soldiers, attended the Enkanomiya passage unsealing ceremony.
Three keys imbued with Orobashi's power were ready.
Sangonomiya Eigetsu led the ritual.
"Khaenri'ah's gone all-in," Reisen muttered, eyeing the orderly ranks of Khaenri'ahn war machines marching into Enkanomiya. Flattening Inazuma was unlikely, but without top-tier fighters, Inazuma would suffer heavy losses to stop them.
Pre-enhanced Inazuma would've paid a brutal price, even if victorious.
Curiously, Reisen spotted a dozen Landroamer Dragonbeasts among the machines.
"Khaenri'ah's tougher than I thought," he mused inwardly.
Their tech breakthroughs and research speed made sense. They'd had his Learning Device for years. Though outdated compared to the One System, Ten Thousand Minds Machine, even old versions scaled massively, reshaping society.
With the Device, Khaenri'ah's factions—Rhinedottir's bio-alchemy, traditional mech-alchemy, even minor schools—had robust reserves.
Take Yuenjou, a minor faction heir. Khaenri'ahn scholars pegged him for ancient texts and civilizations, so he was slotted there. His faction, though small compared to bio- and mech-alchemy giants, ranked fourth in Khaenri'ah, thanks to their grand archaeology. Only the Court Sorcerers, serving the royal family, outranked them.
Per Eigetsu, Enkanomiya's opening lasted three months max. Khaenri'ah sent elite fighters and heaps of mechs that day to pave the way.
They quickly set up a mid-sized forward camp.
Reisen and Nisei, posing as Izumi Yansa's guards, entered Enkanomiya.
A Khaenri'ahn envoy briefed Izumi on the situation, doubling as a warning to Sangonomiya not to pull anything.
Too bad for them—this was a trap from the start.
"Those deep-sea dragon-lizards are tough. Our camp took losses to set up in B-1," the envoy said.
"It's called Serpent's Bowels," Izumi corrected.
The envoy blinked, nodded. "If you wish, I'll pass that to the commander."