While the camp was in chaos, the two leaders of the punitive force, Bratta and Sobble, were running with the map and weapons they had received from Kabajid in hand.

They had instinctively sensed danger when they heard the shout of fire before the fire whirl had fully formed and had managed to distance themselves. However, they were still barely equipped with nothing but weapons and maps.

Before their eyes was a gigantic fire whirl so large that you couldn’t see the whole thing if you looked up, moving back and forth through the camp as it pleased.

「Damn it, why is it moving around randomly but never leaving the camp!?」

The confused voices of the soldiers, knights, adventurers, and nobles could be heard all around as Bratta shouted out in frustration.

He gave a hateful glare towards the fire whirl.

There was no doubt that the punitive force would suffer great losses tonight.

No, to be precise, it would be more than great losses. The damage was so severe that it could be called total annihilation.

They could no longer fight the rebel army. They could no longer do anything……their defeat was decided before they could even face their enemy.

(Damn it, damn it, damn it! Even the useless expendables arranged by Prince Shurus were able to fight the rebels. And yet we……I, can’t even fight!)

The frustration in his heart had already reached its peak

However, the usually impulsive Bratta didn’t show it in his attitude, probably because his top priority right now was survival.

「What-!」

Suddenly, Bratta heard the shocked voice of his partner, Sobble.

It was a voice he didn’t expect to hear from Sobble, who always seemed to embodied the words ‘calm and collected’. But, as Bratta stopped in his tracks and followed Sobble’s gaze, he understood the reason why.

The fire whirl was heading towards the Wyverns ridden by the few Dragon Knights in the punitive force.

Naturally, the Wyverns realised that the fire whirl was heading towards them.

However, they were also not allowed to move freely.

To avoid accidents, their reins had been tied to the ground.

Originally, this had been a measure to prevent Wyverns from flying away freely or escaping.

But, it also meant that they were unable to escape if someone were to attempt to harm them.

For that reason, there had been several discussions about whether the rules should be changed to avoid danger to the Wyvern’s lives. That said, Wyverns were powerful monsters to begin with and weren’t easy to injure even if someone were to attack them.

Even when using a bow or fireballs from a distance.

As a result, the Wyverns were kept in the same conditions as before……but this time, it proved to be fatal.

『GAAAAAAaaaaah-!』

A cry could be heard from the direction of the Wyverns.

Bratta and Sobble immediately realised that the cry wasn’t one of rage or battle, but a death cry of some kind.

This meant that a Wyvern, one of the few possessed by the First Prince’s faction, had died.

Of course, not all the Dragon Knights from the First Prince’s faction had participated in the punitive force.

But even so, the Dragon Knights present accounted for more than half of the ones on the First Prince’s side.

「Damn it, how can I face His Highness Kabajid? The punitive force that we put together with so much effort is already half destroyed, and our trump card, the Dragon Knights, couldn’t even do anything before their Wyverns were killed……」

Bratta gritted his teeth as he growled.

Sobble’s earlier agitation seemed to have subsided as he placed his hand on Bratta’s shoulder.

「Calm down. It’s true that the punitive force has suffered fatal damage. But……in return, we were able to obtain very important information.」

What are you talking about? Bratta turned to Sobble with such an expression on his face.

What information had they obtained? They were still within their sphere of influence……and they had let their guard down because they had been so close the Imperial Capital, resulting in significant losses.

However, Sobble just repeated the same words.

「Calm down.」

The reason why those words calmed Bratta down, was probably because he had known Sobble for so long.

As far as Bratta knew, whenever Sobble had such an expression, it meant something.

Remembering that, Bratta finally calmed down.

Seeing Bratta’s reaction, Sobble judged that he had calmed down enough. As they ran through the camp, he spoke again. ……Information that couldn’t be overlooked.

「Listen, what destroyed the camp was a fire whirl moving around as it pleases. ……A fire whirl. Does that remind you of anything?」

「……Hah? Fire whirl? What do you mean……wait. Fire whirl……fire whirl? A fire whirl?!」

As he spoke, Bratta seemed to have come to the same conclusion as Sobble and his expression tightened.

A fire whirl. It was one of the symbols of a certian person that those from the Bestia Empire could never forget.

That person wielded a scythe larger than himself and had a Griffon as a familiar.

The B rank adventurer who carried the title of Crimson, Rei.

「That’s ridiculous……so does that mean it was him, Crimson, who did this!?」

「Do you know anyone else who could do something like this? Well, there are a few people with titles who could do it, but Crimson just happens to have come to the Bestia Empire at this time for the fighting tournament, and by coincidence, there is also someone here who can create a fire tornado, which he is also known for.」

Even as they ran, the fire tornado raging in all directions throughout the camp, Sooble remained unfazed.

「If it happened once or twice, it might still be a coincidence. But if something happens three times in a row, it’s impossible to dismiss it as a coincidence……right?」

「That’s true. Damn it, but Crimson was really cooperating with the rebels. He hadn’t shown himself at all until now, I’d never thought they’d play their cards here.」

「No, it’s probably for that reason. Since we’re still in our sphere of influence, the members of the punitive force were caught completely off guard. There are also protective fences around, so there are few exits to leave through. It’s also night, so most people are asleep and the enemy has a Griffin.」

「Normally, even if someone tries very hard, the damage they could do on their own is limited.」

Seeing the burnt tent fabric flying towards him, Bratta spat in digust while slashing it away with his sword.

Seeing that, Sobble sighed softly.

「Indeed, normally you’d be right. But, unfortunately, Crimson is a magic warrior and the magic he’s best at is wide area annihilation. ……Honestly, when Crimson is allowed to move freely, it’s the same as an army being on the move.」

He could travel through the air with his Griffin and, being and individual, he was difficult to spot out.

And yet, he could use powerful magic to destroy large areas.

Rei’s abilities were so great that he wanted to call it unfair.

「Damn it, if Rhodes or someone like that was here, they might be happy, but Crimson’s nothing but a plague to us!」

Seeing the corpses of soldiers who had been burned to death flying towards him, Bratta forcefully pulled Sobble along.

The next moment, Bratta forcefully pulled Sobble along.

The speed at which it flew towards them was far beyond what one would normally see a human body move. Rather than a corpse flying towards them, it would be more accurate to call them flesh bullets, which were being shot out by the fire tornado.

Those flesh bullets were even more dangerous as many of the corpses were wearing protective gear such as leather armour.

Thanks to Bratta, Sobble managed to avoid them, but within the camp, many soldiers had been engulfed by the fire tornadoes and even knights wearing metal armour were being shot out, causing significant damage.

If it had been the same tornado as had been previously used on the Selemus Plains, it would have mostly stayed in the same spot, reducing the damage caused.

However, this fire tornado was different. It was moving left and right through the camp, accelerating the damage caused.

The only consolation was that compared to the number of Bestir Empire soldiers who had participated in the Spring War, the number of soldiers in the punitive force was only 4,000……no, including the supply troops, there were about 6,000 soldiers, so the actual losses they suffered was less than the Spring War, but that didn’t make Sobble and Bratta feel any better.

「Damn it! If we had just fought fair and square, we might have been able to do something……」

Sobble grabbed Bratta’s shoulders again as he shouted in frustration.

「No. Listen, Bratta. What do you need to do now? It’s to get out of here at all costs and inform Prince Kabajid that Crimson has joined the rebel army. If we are all wiped out here, then Prince Kabajid will have to face the rebel army again without any proof that Crimson is with them. I don’t need to tell you how dangerous that is, right?」

His words were true.

While they had let their guard down because they thought the area was in their sphere of influence, the fact that they had no proof that Rei was with the rebels was a major reason why this had occurred.

That was why they couldn’t afford to be wiped out here.

Soble turned his gaze to Bratta, filled with the determination that they had to convey this information to their master at all costs……

「Bratta-sama! Are you safe? Sobble-sama as well!」

A voice was heard before Bratta could say anything and both of them turned to see who it was.

They were all on horseback, which was how they had managed to avoid the moving fire tornado.

They were the knights that the Second Prince, Shurus, had forced into the punitive force.

「Yeah, I guess we’re safe. I’m glad you are all safe as well.」

After speaking and confirming that the fire tornado was moving away from them, they stopped to talk.

They couldn’t afford to fight faction wars now. They needed to get out no matter what and return to the Imperial Capital to inform their masters of the matter.

They barely exchanged glances as they confirmed each others’ intentions.

「I’ll lend my horse. In return, I want you to help us get out of his hell.」

「Understood. That’s fine with me.」

There was no time for leisurely negotiations, so they just stated the main points and quickly prepared themselves.

Bratta immediately agreed with what the other party had to say. It didn’t mean he didn’t feel for the remaining members of the punitive force.

But even so……if they wasted time here, it could be fatal, not just for the punitive force, but also Kabajid. With that in mind, there was no need to hesitate.

「So, Bratta-sama, where do you plan to escape from? According to the information we’ve gathered, there are rebels hiding near each of the exits to the fence and they’re sniping at us with bows.」

Bratta clicked his tongue at the words of the knight captain and Sobble frowned in displeasure.

It was a very bad situation to be in, but that didn’t’ stop him from acknowledging their skill.

It was unfortunate that Bratta and his men didn’t realise that there were only 30 archers outside in total.

If they had known, they would have rushed straight out an exit regardless of the casualties.

However, since they had launched such a large scale surprise attack, it was natural to assume that they had deployed a corresponding number of soldiers.

Sobble was starting to wonder how they had been able to conduct a night attack so deep into their sphere of influence, but before he could say anything, Bratta spoke up.

「The enemy’s attacks are concentrated at the entrances, aren’t they?」

「Eh? Yes. That is right.」

What an obvious thing to say. The knight captain answered while questioning Bratta’s words.

However, upon hearing that, Bratta turned his gaze, along with a ferocious smile, not towards the entrances……but the protective fence.

「Then it’s simple. We don’t have to got to the effort of escaping from a place where the enemy is waiting for us, we can just take them by surprise.」

「……I see. That’s certainly something Bratta would do.」

Sobble muttered in agreement, understanding what Bratta wanted to do, while the knight captain was confused, unable to understand what the two were saying.

The tragic night was finally drawing to an end……

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