The day of the Jade Occupation Operation, in the city of bitter cold.
In the early morning, with fine powder snow drifting down, the Hidden Insect Corps and the elite forces of the Northeastern Branch began their march.
Roughly a hundred warriors in total—eighty percent insect-people, the rest ordinary humans—advanced toward the city of Jade, accompanied by Joanne, Stella, and Celestia.
Moving among them, I traded a glance with Alex, who was acting as our pack mule, and gave him a small nod.
Hidden among the baggage he carried was the secret weapon I’d prepared specifically for this day.
In answer to his look, I lifted my sword’s scabbard slightly. Alex pulled his hood further down over his face and slowly slipped toward the back of the column.
Thanks to Celestia’s weather manipulation, the area around Jade was, quite unusually for this season, completely free of snow. The light flakes coming down now were just camouflage, an illusion to deceive the enemy’s eyes. In the forest, Whip led the vanguard. When she raised a hand, the line came subtly to attention.
At the foot of the low, oppressive clouds, a sheer cliff came into view.
Beyond a snowbound landscape wrapped in what looked like a thin silken cocoon, we could see the city of Jade, pressed against the face of the cliff as if leaning on it.
I tilted my head back to take in the full view, and a blade of cold air slid in against my throat, making me tuck my chin down. The cold and the white were so extreme that my eyes ached, my conjunctiva stinging as though they were being crushed by the glare.
The chill felt like it could freeze me to the core, but I’d tucked stones heated by the campfire into my inner pockets, so my body temperature wasn’t completely leached away.
I’m going to be moving more than anyone once things start. I made sure my preparations were thorough.
Jade should have that installed, I reminded myself. If I can get my hands on it, dealing with the Hidden Insect Corps and the Raid Unit will become a lot easier.
At Whip’s hand signals, the believers around me began to draw their swords one after another.
In contrast, I did not draw mine.
I held my breath, careful not to reveal the little trick I’d already arranged.
Karatena spotted my non-movement immediately and shot me a sharp look. I glared right back, and she surprisingly backed off without pushing it.
Ever since she’d started spreading rumors, she seemed to have pulled most of the men of the Northeastern Branch onto her side. There were always a few of them hovering around her.
By contrast, there was no one near me. It was like everyone had agreed to leave exactly one person’s worth of empty space around where I walked.
That obnoxious woman’s obsessive needling hadn’t let up in the slightest.
Just the other day, one of the believers, overheated from all the whisper campaigns, had finally laid hands on me.
Some guy whose name I didn’t even know had grabbed me by the collar, eyes wild, and shouted, “You killed Fuankilo-sama, didn’t you!?”
Whether Karatena had egged him on directly or he’d just cornered himself in his own narrow worldview, I didn’t know. I’d only brushed his hand away with a little laugh at the time, but honestly, the way they were working themselves up had already crossed into a dangerous zone.
No one said it out loud, but it was obvious: everyone here saw me as the enemy. I half expected to get stabbed in the back at some point during the operation.
Feels like my space to exist is being squeezed from every direction, I thought, flicking the dusting of snow off the bridge of my nose with a fingertip. It’s about to start.
When I turned my gaze forward, Whip was calling Celestia over. After a brief exchange, Celestia, draped in black robes, lifted her clouded eyes to the sky.
She thrust her hand upward, then slowly closed it into a fist.
The fine, driving powder snow swirled and thickened, transforming into heavy, clumping flakes like peonies falling from the clouds.
They meant to use the reduced visibility to give us the upper hand in occupying Jade.
Even in the roaring wind, Celestia’s voice rang out clear and dignified as she addressed us.
“Once we link up with the Raid Unit, we will begin the Jade Occupation Operation,” she declared.
At her words, strong, confident smiles spread across the soldiers’ faces. It wasn’t carelessness or arrogance. This was the expression of people utterly certain of victory, the easy atmosphere of a battle they already considered won.
“There are two troublesome mechanisms in cities of the Kenneth Orthodoxy,” Celestia continued. “First, the Fixed-Line Communicators. These devices transmit information to surrounding cities. Second, the Anti-Magic Flower-Stems. These nullify a fixed number of attacks directed at the city’s skies and outer walls.”
Stella and Joanne stood on either side of Celestia. Neither of them looked the least bit tense. Their shoulders hung loose, like they were just heading out for a casual walk.
“As far as I know, the city of Jade has not yet been equipped with these devices,” Celestia said coolly. “However, there is no harm in assuming the worst. Destroy them on sight if found.”
At the word “destroy,” the soldiers howled as if they’d been waiting for exactly that cue.
In this wind and whirling snow, there was no way their roars would carry to the city.
The gale was strong enough that even if someone screamed at the top of their lungs, the sound wouldn’t travel far.
There’s one thing you haven’t noticed, Celestia. The cities of the Kenneth Orthodoxy have one more defensive mechanism. That thought ran through my mind as I tightened my grip around my sword’s scabbard.
From behind us, the harsh pounding of hooves began to slam against the earth. It wasn’t just one set but an entire wave, rumbling closer like a localized earthquake.
Out of the swirling snowstorm emerged riders on bridled warhorses: the elite of the Raid Unit.
They slowed, the ground trembling under their approach, then began to wheel in a broad circle.
The giant at their head dismounted in one smooth motion and spoke in a low, carrying voice.
“Gerugoroi Workforce. Reporting for duty.”
The deep, steady tone sent a shiver of tension through everyone who heard it, a cold bass brimming with ruthless intent.
Even through his winter gear, the steel-thick bulk of his body was obvious, his massive frame radiating oppressive pressure.
A well-kept beard framed his jaw, his scalp was shaved smooth, and his eyes were a murderer’s. Gerugoroi’s presence alone put his executive candidate title to shame.
And yet Whip, knowing no fear as usual, called out to him without a hint of hesitation.
“Heya, Gerugoroi-chan! Still as gorilla-like as ever, I see.”
“Hmph… and you are still as frivolous as ever,” Gerugoroi snorted, not missing a beat.
Leading his horse, he gave a brief bow to the assembled executives, including Stella, acknowledging them with minimal, disciplined courtesy.
Then he kept walking until he stopped right in front of me.
“At a glance, I could tell,” he said, extending a hand. “You must be Joanne-sama’s right arm, Oakley Mercury. I’ve heard plenty of rumors.”
His tone carried a faint edge of mockery, so I matched him, letting a wry smile tug at my lips.
“The Raid Unit’s Gerugoroi Workforce,” I replied. “I’d imagined nothing but muscle for brains, but you actually seem like a sharp one.”
“Funny,” he said, lips curling. “I’d expected you to be all brain and no body… but it seems I was mistaken.”
Under the gaze of the assembled troops, we clasped hands in a firm handshake.
What strength. It’s like shaking hands with a chunk of living bedrock.
Certain now that all that muscle was anything but for show, I felt a chill of sweat spread under my clothes.
This man was the leader of the high-mobility cavalry corps commanded by heretical executive rank three, Shadik Lane, and the shadow player who’d helped make the attack on Metasim possible.
Normally, the Raid Unit operated across the Holy Kingdom of Gerleid, carrying out reconnaissance and raids. On paper, that didn’t sound so different from any other mobile unit. But what set them apart was their blistering mobility on horseback and the individual combat strength of every rider.
For example, just before the attack on Metasim, the Raid Unit had launched a pillaging run on the other side of the country to draw attention away from the region.
Even if Orthodoxy soldiers responded immediately, the average rank-and-file couldn’t handle them. By the time reinforcements or one of the Orthodoxy executives arrived, the unit was already gone.
They targeted only lightly defended regions and villages, snatching headlines and pulling eyes away from the real operation. They were bait to drag attention off the main strike.
Leave them alone, though, and the damage only snowballed.
They were practically the embodiment of heretical cruelty.
After a brief glance at Gerugoroi and his men, the ones who had almost certainly been a distant cause of Alfie’s death, I let my eyes run slowly over their equipment, taking in every detail.
Truth was, this was my first time seeing the Raid Unit. I’d picked up some vague intel on them before, but nothing concrete.
Horse tack on everyone, and most of them are armed with lances. I see some crossbows in the mix, too. So their main style is mounted combat, overwhelming the enemy with reach and mobility, trampling them without ever letting them get close.
Even with that quick assessment, it was obvious: if they were just a regular cavalry unit, they wouldn’t be this infamous.
They were elites above even the Northeastern Branch regulars.
Still within expectations. With the third defensive system built into Orthodox cities, I can wipe them out in one sweep.
The Raid Unit remounted and took their positions.
I met Joanne’s eyes for a heartbeat, then looked ahead.
Confirming that all preparations were complete, Celestia lifted both hands and fired two dense spheres of compressed air at Jade’s outer wall.
Invisible rounds wrapped in white swirling wind shot forward and struck the city wall at a speed the eye couldn’t even track.
The Jade Occupation Operation had begun.