“Rocks, rocks, rocks, rocks…and more rocks.” Aziz observed the inside of the base camp, which was actually a fenced-off patch of land. He had heard rumours about it, from the other troops running logistics for the invasion, but this was legitimately his first time seeing a camp that was made up of fenced in rocks.

“This camp rocks, I know.” Major Xi cackled. “It’s good for the back, if you don’t mind waking up with some muscle pains.”

Major Hans waddled over, after examining a particularly smooth rock. “Major Xi, what’s with the pit?”

“Pit?” Major Xi tapped his feet. “Well, rock beats steel and fire, so we’re now using it store really important things like food.”

“That’s the most succinct explanation I’ve heard so far,” Marie muttered.

In front of them was a rather huge pit, at least the height of Aziz and Marie combined. It had been dug into a shape of a cylinder, and a ramp had been carved into the side, allowing people to descend or ascend as needed. At the very bottom of the not-so-deep pit, Aziz could barely see a tunnel carved into its side, and it was precisely that tunnel that people were walking in and out of.

Within minutes, the supplies that they had brought over had been brought into the pit, vanishing from sight.

“Doesn’t this make transporting supplies more troublesome?” Aziz asked. “You’ll have to bring them up too and everything.”

“No choice. Better that than have everything be burned to ash,” Major Xi replied. As he spoke, the soldiers surrounding the pit covered it up with a huge, brown coloured canopy and secured it with rocks. “Demons don’t fear death. They charge in, hands full of burning items, and torch everything in sight. If your camp is empty, the demons won’t come.”

“They’ve came before?” Aziz asked, curious.

“Fortunately, no. That is what we learned from the forward camps, who don’t even have any wooden fence left,” Major Xi replied.

“How are they marking out their camps, then?” Major Hans asked.

“Hastily-dug trenches,” Major Xi replied. “They’ve dug lots of trenches. Some for the demons to stumble into. Others to sleep in. And well, my men tell me that the best way to identify a forward camp is seeing flatland with lots of helmets popping out of it.”

“Like mushrooms?” Aziz asked.

“Like mushrooms.” Major Xi chuckled. “A vivid mental image, isn’t it? Just don’t go stepping on their helmets. Most of the time, however, the men spend their time lying in the sun, waiting for marching orders that will never come.”

Hans and Fang went off on a tangent from there on, prompting Marie to roll her eyes. None of them really minded all that much, though; the ability to make small talk was indicative of a healthy mental state. In particular was Major Xi, who was probably under more stress than he had let on. After all, he was setting a precedent for commanding officers — he was the first major to actually command an entire invasion effort, essentially answering to the State Council themselves. The knowledge that a whole bunch of lives rested on him was definitely not one they could bear.

After sympathising with Major Xi for a moment, Aziz began to examine the base camp proper. There weren’t any proper facilities here, just a vast patch of land fenced off, so he couldn’t quite tell at first glance just how many people were occupying this place.

From the looks of it, however, this camp housed an entire infantry division. However, the numbers were completely different. The ‘Division’ in Aziz’s First Aerial Division was something Minister Eventide had stuck on; its numbers were far smaller than that of a true infantry division.

Did they bring enough supplies? Definitely not. Each wagon could feed fifty people to satiety for two days, or one hundred people every day. Even with Gaius’ help, a total of one hundred and fifty-nine wagons had been brought over, which wasn’t enough to actually feed an infantry battalion.

Aziz rubbed his nose and observed the soldiers. They were on a one-third alert, but the one-third awake right now were the lucky ones, since everyone who had the fortune to help unload the wagons was now clutching onto a small tin of salted meat and a biscuity bar full of sugar. The rest would have to starve in their sleep, until their own rations were given out.

He had little doubt that those soldiers wouldn’t be so lucky, though. Food rationing here was in full effect, and their single trip here wouldn’t do much. A full logistics train was required to supply a true infantry division; the First Aerial could only transport a hundred wagons of food by themselves. Gaius’ sudden donation had forced everyone into a state of unprecedented strain and fatigue as they struggled to pull the new additions, while keeping a watchful eye out for demons and ambushers.

As he continued to think about the situation, a bunch of captains gathered around Major Xi. After a while, the major nodded to himself, his pockmarked face making the captains around him tremble, before heading over to Marie.

“Ma’am, my officers have gathered.”

Marie, who was staring at a rock with interest, looked up and nodded. “Good. Let’s go over to the briefing room…rock? Pit?”

“Rock, ma’am.”

“Right. The briefing rock.” Marie’s face had a really intriguing expression on it. “So, which rock’s the briefing rock?”

Aziz looked around the fenced-up area, where lots of people were sleeping on rocks. It didn’t take a genius to realise why she asked such a question; briefings were meant to be confidential, but if they were having briefings around rocks in the open…they should at least have a briefing at a more deserted rock.

His expectations were soon met, as Major Xi guided Marie and him over to a small rock that was out of the way. “This is the briefing rock for the day, then. Can I begin, ma’am?”

“Yes, please.” Marie paused. “In particular, I want your opinions and thoughts on continuing the offensive. The State Council wants to explore an expansion of our current efforts. Your words will be very instrumental to their decision, but they too have their own considerations.”

Major Xi nodded, a thoughtful light in his eyes. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll start on the casualty reports first.”

“Go ahead.”