Chapter 957: Zero Casualties

Isabelle, meanwhile, was experiencing something entirely different. She had spent her entire life in peaceful surroundings.

She had never seen war. Never witnessed battle.

So, the sight of so much violence happening simultaneously in every direction made her heart clench with instinctive fear.

"We should help them!" She exclaimed, turning to Cassius with panicked eyes. "Everyone is fighting—shouldn’t we go down there?!"

But one of the ogres simply clicked her tongue and shook her head. "No need to worry, Lady Isabelle. Everything you’re seeing—it’s all under control."

Isabelle stared at her in disbelief. "Controlled? But there are battles everywhere—"

"Deliberately so." A human mage interjected calmly. "I understand how it looks from up here. Chaos. Disorder. But every single engagement you’re seeing is being managed. Every squad has been assigned a specific task."

"The command center is monitoring everything and directing the troops accordingly."

"For example, you see that Gravemaw over there?"

She pointed toward one of the massive beast-battles occurring in the valley below.

"The enormous one with the scarred shell? That’s a monster renowned for its physical strength and durability."

"A specialized squad was assigned to deal with it specifically because their formation and weapons are suited to countering physically powerful creatures."

Isabelle watched as the Gravemaw was repeatedly forced backward by a team of warriors who seemed to anticipate its every movement.

"And those?" Another soldier pointed toward the sky. "Those are Stormtalons. Flying beasts. Ordinary swordsmen would never reach them at that altitude."

"So the command center assigned mages, archers, and spear-throwers to handle that sectors."

Isabelle’s eyes tracked the distant shapes wheeling through the clouds, periodically diving toward the ground only to be repelled by bursts of magic and volleys of arrows.

They continued pointing out different sections of the sprawling battlefield.

"Stonehide Ravagers over there—they’re being confronted by heavily armored warriors because their hides are too thick for ordinary attacks to penetrate."

"Fast-moving Manafangs are being contained by shield formations supported by area-control mages. If we let them use their speed, they’d overwhelm us with numbers. So we don’t let them move."

"Mist Crawlers are emerging from the mountain valleys. But the detection mages are tracking them, and small groups of close-combat specialists are eliminating them before they can use the mountains for ambushes."

Even the terrain itself was being factored into the tactical calculations.

"In the narrow mountain passes, we keep our squads small. Larger formations can’t maneuver effectively in tight spaces. But in the open valleys—"

A mage gestured toward a sprawling engagement on the low ground.

"—we deploy larger formations where we can make full use of our numbers."

Isabelle’s initial panic was slowly transforming into something else. Amazement. Wonder. Awe.

None of this was accidental.

The so called Command Center knew when particular mana beasts emerged, where they appeared, and what kind of threat they represented.

Scouts and watchtowers constantly reported changes on the battlefield.

Magical communication allowed those reports to reach the commanders almost immediately.

If one squad became exhausted, another was already prepared to replace it.

If a monster changed direction, nearby units were warned.

If an enemy became too powerful, the troops were ordered to retreat rather than throw their lives away.

Hearing all of this, Isabelle stared across the battlefield with new eyes.

From where she stood, everything still looked like pandemonium.

Yet somehow, every single part of it was connected.

Every monster had a counter. Every squad had a purpose. Every battlefield had its own strategy.

And behind all of it, the command center was constantly watching, communicating, and adjusting the entire operation.

—

Cassius, who had been absorbing everything in thoughtful silence, finally spoke.

"Is it always like this?"

He swept his arm across the panorama of conflict.

"It seems so...chaotic."

"Of course, Sir! That’s just how things are around here."

One of the nearby ogres chuckled, puffing out her chest with unmistakable pride.

"This is why the Holyfield Mine is known as one of the most chaotic and wildest territories on the entire continent. It’s practically a never-ending battle for survival!"

She gestured toward the surrounding mountains.

"Not only do we have to deal with the monsters that constantly emerge from within the mines because of the unstable mana around here."

"But we also have to defend the mining grounds, maintain the walls, protect the workers, guard the tunnels, and keep enemy forces from getting anywhere near the inner facilities."

"There’s always something happening. Monster outbreaks, enemy raids, territorial disputes, mining accidents..." She grinned. "You name it."

"That’s why people say only the elite of the elite can survive here." Another warrior added with pride.

They had clearly heard that statement many times before and they never seemed to get tired of it with how they were all puffing out their chests.

Cassius couldn’t help but smile at their adorable boasting, as he understood their pride completely.

In a place where battles could erupt at any moment and monsters constantly emerged from the depths, surviving here wasn’t something an ordinary soldier could accomplish.

And yet.

He couldn’t bring himself to call it simple chaos.

It was controlled chaos.

Every battle had a purpose. Every soldier had a role.

Even the seemingly random explosions and clashes were pieces of a much larger living, breathing system that was constantly being monitored and adjusted.

"Who would have thought that something this chaotic could actually be this well organized?" He murmured.

---

A new curiosity kindled in his mind.

"This command headquarters you’ve mentioned—what exactly is it? Are they the ones regulating all these forces? Telling everyone where to go and what to do?"

"That’s the heart of the entire Holyfield mining operation!"

One of the mages nodded enthusiastically. "The central intelligence and strategic command."

"Every single one of us, constantly receives commands from them—where to go, what to do, what weapons to prepare, what enemy we’re facing. They manage our schedules, our patrol routes, our rest rotations. Everything!"

She extended her wrist, and Cassius noticed for the first time the metal band wrapped around it.

She flipped it over, revealing a small screen embedded in the metal.

Charts flickered across its surface, along with names. Maps with marked positions. Monster classifications and recommended tactics. Schedules written in elegant script.

"With this." The mage said smugly. "We maintain complete communication across the entire territory. We know where to go, when to go. Even if we’re in a desperate situation, we can call for reinforcements with a single command."

Cassius stared at the device, genuinely amazed.

He had assumed his aunt’s army relied purely on brute force and veteran instincts, but beneath the blood and steel lay a hyper-advanced, real-time tactical intelligence network.

"Is Commander Ragnora responsible for all of this?" He asked, already half-expecting the answer. "Did she create this system?"

But one of the beastkin shook her head.

"Not at all. Commander Ragnora has done incredible things for us—she built the Brigade into what it is today. But the intelligence operation? That’s not led by her."

A note of admiration crept into her voice.

"It’s her right-hand man. The one who deals with all of...this."

A mage nodded in agreement.

"He’s actually a relatively recent addition. Only joined about ten years ago. But in that time, he’s completely transformed everything."

"Before he arrived." A beastkin added. "Things were...messier. We won battles through strength and courage. But there were losses. Casualties. It was unavoidable."

She paused, thinking about the tragedies that occurred in the past.

"But since he took over the command center, the fatality rate in standard combat operations has been zero."

Isabelle’s head snapped around. "Zero?! Y-You’re joking right? That can’t be zero."

Even Cassius found himself skeptical.

"With this much combat happening constantly." He said, gesturing at the battle still raging around them. "There must be some casualties."

"It sounds insane, but it’s the absolute truth!"

A Ogre roared happily. "Unless a catastrophic, unpreventable natural disaster hits, no soldier dies on his watch!"

"His predictive routing is so precise that even if a warrior gets mortally wounded, a medical response team arrives on the scene within ninety seconds!"

A mage added before finally saying with a fire in his eyes,

"He manages every life on this battlefield like a grandmaster playing chess!"

Cassius felt a thrill of intense intrigue run down his spine.

To manage a chaotic, monster-infested warzone covering fifteen square miles with zero casualties was a feat of strategic genius that defied logic.

"Now I’m thoroughly fascinated." Cassius said, a sleek smirk gracing his lips. "What’s the name of this brilliant Right-Hand man?"

The squad members exchanged mischievous, knowing glances, chuckling softly.

"You’ll meet him soon enough, Sir Cassius." The female Ogre teased with a wink.

"We wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise since he’s quite an interesting character!"