She could smell the lingering scent of battle in the distance. It was as if she could almost see the dead bodies strewn across a field of burnt wreckage, buried deep within blood-soaked dirt. The dreaded smell of fading life reminding her that war was a waste of life. She knew she never shied away from the killing of fellow men, so it was something beyond that made her believe so. She thought she was used to its stench, she even expected it, but it nonetheless remained nauseating.

The body of the enemy scout she examined earlier was without a head, slain without even displaying a hint of resistance. The mark on the scout’s arm already faded, but it was easy to see that she was of level one without any combat experience. It was very likely she was drafted the moment she became a marked one after acquiring an applicable talent.

Those with the Clairvoyance or Eagle Eye talent became scouts, those with the Unrest or Far Echo talent became messengers, and so on. Rana knew that amassing rookie marked ones for the sole purpose of utilizing their birth talents was something the Church disallowed. Ignoring the logistics of it, the idea of sending those without training to the battlefield was a waste of life and resources, something they were against. That was one of the reasons why Altar access was very strict. The plans for such were always quickly shot down, but it seemed that now with the Church losing their authority, every territory sovereign just wanted to amass as much power as quickly as possible.

When Rana examined the dead bodies of the patrol, she found wounds and damage on their armor not inflicted by either her or Alpheia. It was difficult to discern markings on charred and torn parts, but nonetheless she made out what she needed to know. She contemplated on whether to chastise the fiend’s tendency for overkill, but she decided to let it slide. She knew she was not good company, even without the history of an eternal war looming over them, and being cooped up with her for days meant the fiend most likely needed to release some pent up frustration. In the end, it worked out and lead to a swift victory.

The patrol was likely sent out by a nearby garrison chasing their enemy who fled the battlefield. That explained why they still had mana, as they were still in a state of combat. That was not good news. This meant that Aodh was in a state of war, and now with one of their patrols decimated, the cities would most definitely be on high alert. That was also discounting the possibility of splinter off forces from those that are marching onto Aodh. Getting in and getting out of the Dungeon just became even more difficult than anticipated.

“Nothing changed,” the fiend said after hearing Rana’s explanation. “If they come to stop me I destroy them.”

“Our goal remains unchanged, yes, but the situation has. Or perhaps you believe you can fight off an army and many seasoned marked ones?”

“I can,” Alpheia said after a long pause. It was softer than usual and Rana knew the moon-kin just didn’t want to say no.

Rana stifled a groan. There was a reason why she preferred working solo. However, the truth remained that she needed the fiend’s aid. She was too low level for prolonged Dungeon exploration, and if her deductions were correct, there would be a time where brute force is needed and no amount of planning would help her overcome the obstacle.

However, before the Dungeon, they needed a way to get there, and in order to do so, she needed to take stock of what options were available to them. It took quite some time to convince Alpheia of the need for caution and planning, but she eventually managed.

Alpheia was a fiend under the command of one of the fiend vanguard captains. They were in charge of leading monsters who were more brutish and had excellent staying power in the frontline. The monster army having a distinguished structure to its forces was a recent development. In the past, all they knew was to throw bodies at humans. Monsters were endless, after all. The monster army marched only because they hated humans. They had one goal but no leadership. That all changed when the current fiend leaders took charge. Now, they understood tactics, strategy, and above all else, the importance of victory conditions.

The moon-kin was the centerpiece of their strategy, and Rana would need to know how Alpheia would approach the situation so that she could come up with a plan that guaranteed their success. Although, if Alpheia were to say something along the lines of ‘smashing everything that comes’ without any other forethought, she also might need to find something to explode as well.

Luckily, Alpheia took Rana’s concerns seriously. Even if the moon-kin would not admit it her weakness, she was not an idiot.

The moon-kin was a vanguard, capable of breaking through enemy lines and establishing zone control on the battlefield. Her task usually involved bombarding enemy fortifications with her exploding plumes or assassinating unsuspecting enemy leaders. Why someone like her would venture into enemy territory and conduct what was essentially a search and rescue operation, she was not willing to tell. However, what mattered was that she had explosive breakthrough potential. If Rana were to direct it correctly, they would definitely be able to get across the garrisons ahead.

The two eventually reached a garrison. The soldiers held formation and the fortifications were well built, sturdy even, but Rana could tell it was a makeshift fort hastily constructed. The invasion against Aodh was no doubt one that they did not have time to plan. However, the fact the garrison still stood was a concerning point. It meant there was something more to it.

“How would you go about getting past this?” Rana asked, but before the moon-kin could respond, she added a very important reminder. “Please don’t say smash through it.”

“I wasn’t,” Alpheia said, but her shifty eyes said otherwise. “I wait until sundown, when the watcher switches over. I pick out the weak. They will scramble and take a position on the walls, but once I have enough mana, what they stand on will be their own grave.”

“The fort despite its weakness is still standing, which means there might either be a talented commander or strong marked ones guarding it.”

“Foes gifted with weak enemies are not to be afraid of,” Alpheia replied, but when Rana gave her a frown, she said something that might’ve been something close to her heart. “We vanguards are the first into battle and usually the last to leave. I do not fear the unknown.”

Rana pondered what the moon-kin said. The sentiment was not completely alien to her. In battle, not everyone would engage the enemy only when they understood every variable. She believed those people to be foolish, to let the unknown influence a life and death situation, but she was also not ignorant enough to believe that there does not exist circumstances where one is forced to act. That was why she would never be caught where she could not dictate where the variables lead to. She could always be prepared.

“Your tactic is fine, but I will make sure we have every risk factor mitigated. I’ll be going into a settlement to gather information and being the preparation for the attack,” Rana said. She then looked directly into the eye of the moon-kin. “Alone.”

“I do not trust you.”

“That would be an issue, yes. However, I did come up with a temporary solution,” Rana replied. The moon-kin raised an eyebrow, doubting her word. However, when Rana offered a proposal, Alpheia could do nothing but struggle to form words with her mouth. “Let me drink your blood.”