No one made a peep at Marie’s words, and the marshal smiled. “Don’t look so down, ladies and gentlemen. Stardust is still under my command, after all. Competition is a given, but I expect cooperation on all levels too. I’ve already addressed Colonels Titania and Oberon about this, and they’ve recommended that they bring their living quarters closer.”

“Their barracks, ma’am?” Aziz asked. He hadn’t heard anything about this, but the marshal had just returned, after all.

“They’ve been using a standard barracks for the past few months, but the two trainers think that Stardust should be recognised for their improvement,” Marie said. “And personally, I think watching each other’s training is a very good idea. But that’s a decision that belongs to me, Aziz and the State Council, so pay it no heed.”

Aziz looked at the company commanders, who clearly weren’t able to obey Marie’s words, and then stifled a grin. After making a mental note to refuse all visitors until Marie finalised her proposal to the State Council, the colonel focused on Marie once again.

“The Conference of the Five — now Four — is a really big event. It is a conference between the nations of Orb, in particular their leaders. The Mortal Light Dynasty called for it, even inviting the great gods to discuss about the impending demon invasion,” said Marie. “Naturally, as crack troops with utmost discipline and ability, Thunderbolt and Stardust will be escorting the State Council to the Central Circle.”

“The Mortal Light Dynasty, who has been historically aligned against the great gods, called for it?” Captain Cecilia raised her hand. She was someone quite like the marshal; just that she preferred politics over history.

“Unbelievable, I know.” Marie patted the table. “But reality can be rather weird at times, no? After all, our escort was requested by not just the State Council, but the Southern Assembly as well.”

Hisses ran around the room.

“In that case,” Cecilia pressed on, “will the South be represented by the Assembly or the Republic?”

“It should be a mix,” Marie replied. “We may be at an uneasy peace with each other, but the Southern Continent cannot afford to seem divided to the others.”

The captain mulled over her words for a moment. She was probably coming up with conclusions that Aziz and the other buffoons wouldn’t even understand, but unlike the latter, the colonel had no intentions of letting his ignorance continue past a week.

“At any rate,” said Marie, “compete all you like, but I expect my aerial division to be a united bunch in the end. Anyway, there’s a second part for this mission. It came to the State Council’s attention that the Central Circle, which had been left in ruins, was flattened when the last Constellation was killed a few days ago.”

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The last Constellation was killed? Aziz sucked in a breath. “What happened?”

“The same group that killed the Lifespring, who saved the Eastern Territories…they descended upon Taurus and Cancer.” Marie closed her eyes for a moment. “A Demigod showed up, wiped the floor with both of them, and crushed whatever surface structures remained.”

“A Demigod…these beings don’t even show up more than a few times every millennium, but now they’re slightly more common than a head of state now.” Hans rolled his eyes. “Are they going to make it public?”

“Maybe, but that’s not the main point,” Marie replied. “After the assassins left, the North discovered something in the Central Circle. An underground world, something very much like the place some of you might know of — the Intersection and Heritage. This underground world, however, lacks the restraints the Intersection and Heritage has, which means that anyone can explore it.”

Her smile was empty. “And we, Thunderbolt and Stardust, will be acting alongside the other nations and whatever troops they’re bringing along to check out the place. I expect a more thorough briefing from the North when that time comes, but it is a good place to warm-up while waiting for the demon invasion. Initial reports tell us that the place is full of monsters known as snowpyres.”

“Snowpyres?” Augustus asked.

“Yeap. It’s a monster native to Heritage,” Marie replied. Aziz could recall those monsters too — they had been briefed on the secrets that the Republic inherited before their departure to the East. These briefings were centred around whatever information that were salvaged from the beastfolk’s exploration of Heritage and the Intersection.

He couldn’t quite recall what those snowpyres were, though. He would have to ask Marie about it later…

The others, however, were more fired up at the prospect of fighting. Hans. Augustus and Schnee were already pooling together some cheap wines that they could put up as a bet, while Cecilia was writing things down busily. Aziz and Marie exchanged a few glances, and then looked away, trying to hide their smiles.

It was in their nature to be competitive, apparently.

After giving them a few minutes or so to have their fun, Aziz cleared his throat. “Again, remember: safety first. Those snowpyres are not to be taken lightly. If I find anyone here encouraging their troops to do that, you will not enjoy the experience. Treat this as how you guys treated your journey to the East.”

“Yes, sir.”

He glanced at Marie, who nodded and said, “Anyone who endangers others, especially during the mission, will be dealt with severely and with all the legal strength my position can muster. At the least, you can expect to be discharged with dishonour. I do not want to do that, but I think it’s a good idea to remind everyone what I’m actually able to do.”

“Now, with that out of the way…” She took out another document. “The Republic wants another aerial battalion. With its creation, we will have an understrength division, so this will be an equally important job we have to complete in the next few months. I know you guys have been hard at work in preparing doctrines, so I have one last request for everyone present.

“Consolidate the gains you’ve made and collate them into a single file. We will give these plans to the incoming commanders of Avalanche Battalion.” She smiled. “Will there be any issues?”

“No, ma’am!”

“Excellent. This briefing ends here, then.” Marie stretched. “Ladies, gentlemen. It’s been some time, but I’m back.”