Even a blind man could tell that Crewe was carefully marshalling his forces the whole next day. But the jinn didn’t take the opportunity to make the first move. It was like the two armies were perfectly content to stare at each other while preparing for what was to come, though some of the maneuvers were far more blatant than others.

Ordering those poor mages who had blazed our path to blast all the sand around our camp with their flames, turning it into glass? Not subtle.

Carving a billion small runes into that same glass? Admittedly more subtle, though I had no idea how far the perception of our enemies stretched.

My personal theory was that extreme alteration of the sand grains could break the hold of the golems, or whatever else the jinn were using to run their souls over the entire planet’s worth of sand. That appeared to be the case with the scorpion monsters. Crewe seemed inclined to test the theory, so maybe it held some weight.

The most blatant preparation was, of course, the massing of the armies.

I was convinced we would get shuffled to the frontlines. That seemed in line with my luck so far. Considering how insistent demons tended to be about proving their might and superiority, I couldn’t even complain if my unit was given such a chance at glory.

So, imagine my surprise when the good lieutenant general ordered us to one of the wings. And not even the first wave of advancing demons, nor the second. No, we were the third line of flanking infantry, meant to engulf the enemy soldiers if they tried to employ wave tactics against us or made a run for it.

Glaustro was clearly excited by the arrangement. He would never admit it, but I could tell that he, too, was worried about the potential of our unit being placed in a position of ‘prominence.’ This was just close enough to the main action of battle to taste the delicious flow of souls, while still keeping a distance from extreme danger.

“We haven’t had much of a chance to practice complex maneuvers,” the sergeant confided in us, eyes stern but determined. “Which means we don’t have any unique formations or arrays. We’re also missing over two hundred of our number. However! We will not let that stop us from making the most of this opportunity!”

Glaustro’s words were a roar, and the response of his unit was just as loud. Even I was swept up in the wave of emotions the commander was releasing, yelling right alongside everyone else.

“We will claim the souls we are due! We will supplant the jinn! We will break their hold on this world, and claim it for ourselves!”

There was no promise of righteousness here. No call to arms over protecting the weak or respecting the locals. He simply stated our goals, and exactly what we stood to gain.

It didn’t make the message any less inspiring. For a demon, there were few things as beautiful as the guarantee of profit, even long-term. If the campaign could ultimately benefit them beyond the cost of a single death, they would all dedicate themselves to it gladly.

I noticed various other commanders addressing their troops, too. There were even majors out and about, convening with their sergeants. I heard whispers about a colonel, but we never laid eyes on the esteemed personnel just a step under lieutenant generals.

What we did get to see were the preparations of our enemies. Our position at the flank, with only a sparse few other rows of soldiers ahead of us, granted us a perfect view of the enemy line.

The jinn were massing above their army, all either hovering or outright flying. Below them, the first two defending lines consisted entirely of different constructs. Hornets buzzed around. Magitech hounds mingled in groups. The same kind of burrowers who had attacked our snake transport were scuttling in and out of the ground. And over all, of course, loomed the golem blockade.

Behind these first defenders stood row upon row of locals. A single glance at them confirmed the merit of Mia’s idea about materials. All the local defenders had weapons and armor crafted out of what was undoubtedly the unique sand of Lagyel, making the army glitter with a unique crystalline sheen.

I resolved to snatch whatever I could when the chance presented itself. I still didn’t have a good offhand weapon, so a temporary solution would be welcome. Besides, I needed some samples for Yules, to demonstrate a few possible uses for all the materials we were going to give her.

In comparison to their armies, the jinn seemed almost… lackluster.

Sure, they were all dressed in extravagant silks. They certainly looked exotic. Each was also unique, their elemental power of choice showing plainly on their skin. I saw charcoal jinn like the one that had attacked our city, presumably wielding the same power over sand and fire. There were also aquamarine jinn, jinn that appeared to be made of living storms, jinn that resembled walking crystals, jinn whose very skin was pure flames, and so many, many more.

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Yet, they all looked spoiled.

Most were reclining as they hovered, like they were taking a nap in the air. Some chatted casually with each other as they flew around on floating pieces of furniture. If I didn’t know any better, I would say they were prepping for an afternoon tea party or some high society event, rather than a bloody battle of epic proportions.

Was this a side effect of semi-immortality? Sure, jinn were not outright immune to death outside their homeworld, but they didn’t have the limited lifespan of mortal races.

Glaustro told us to treat them like very, very weak elementals. Those were primordial beings of incredible might, the true rulers of natural forces. As far as anyone knew, you couldn’t kill an elemental. Even if you shred its mind and soul into the tiniest of pieces, they would eventually regenerate. Maybe in ten years, maybe a hundred, or maybe so many that the terror of the being’s existence wouldn’t even be remembered by anyone by the time it appeared.

But it would appear.

Thankfully, the jinn weren’t that. Jinn were rumored to be distant, bastard offspring of those primordial giants. They had been granted incredible gifts, yes, but they were hardly unkillable.

They were, however, still powerful enough to prepare the massive sandstorm lashing above their army. The storm was currently compacted into a tight ball, spinning and shivering while groups of jinn worked to keep it contained.

That was the jinn’s big answer to our posturing. A massive ‘get lost’ ritual that threatened to consume their own casters if they mishandled it. To my great disappointment, that didn’t happen.

What did happen was Crewe finally giving the order to move out.

The first to make their move were the drummers. They had fallen silent the day before, gradually petering off at the lieutenant general’s command. Now they took up their craft once more, and their song caused the savagery in my blood to erupt.

I felt like one of my ancient ancestors, gathered around the fire before a hunt, liquid flames surging through my veins at the thought of the action to come. I wanted to chase my prey down. I wanted to force them into a corner. To watch them flag, and rip them apart.

But unlike my first invasion back on Berlis, this newfound bloodlust was not accompanied by a loss of control. If anything, my mind sharpened, focusing wholly on the best ways to hurt my enemies.

The full mental capacity of all the demonic troops, bent towards nothing but the destruction of our foes. Chilling, but strangely reassuring.

The line advanced, and the spatial barrier over us advanced with it. Countless demons prepared to wet their blades with jinn blood.

In response, the golems finally started to move. They raised their arms in unison, and countless sand whips struck out towards us with deadly intent. A ripple passed through our kaleidoscopic shield, but that was it.

The barrier held.

Unease surged through the enemy ranks.

Again and again, the golems attacked, moving in mechanical lockstep. Lash out, step forward, lash out, step forward. The longer they went without producing any results, the more panicked the jinn got. Oh, they had probably accounted for demons having a decent weapon against their blasted sand, but the sheer effectiveness of it was throwing them off.

Some of the jinn mages were ordered to the front. I could tell they weren’t happy about it, but they brought their giant sandstorm forward, guiding it between themselves before finally pointing it at us and letting it rip across the battleground.

Literally.

The storm ripped up all the sand it could get its magical avaricious hands on, building into a funnel that poured directly into our advancing troops. It reminded me more of a railgun than anything else: the grains of sand were sucked in, accelerated to truly ridiculous degrees, and then spat out against the demonic army.

Again, the spatial magic did not care.

Our troops had already crossed a quarter of the engagement field at that point, and the enemy army was still paralyzed. The golems hadn’t covered even half the same amount of ground. The jinn were beginning to panic in earnest.

As we drew closer, I was able to read some of their expressions. A portion seemed to be arguing in favor of a speedy retreat, their eyes darting repeatedly towards our troops. A portion seemed annoyed that their comrades would be such cowards.

The smallest and most alarming faction looked indifferent.

These were the few jinn dressed in practical outfits. In fact, as a notable exception to the apparent cultural norm, they were wearing armor.

I still didn’t know why a whole civilization would glorify a refusal to wear armor. I did know that it was stupid. But these few jinn were clearly not stupid. They also didn’t appear to be concerned, which was… concerning.

Then the first sign of demonic weakness showed itself, and the mood of the battlefield shifted.

Like a signal from some unrelenting deity, a spray of sand cut through our spatial barrier and landed on the first line of marching demons. They froze for a second, no doubt uncomfortable amidst the anti-mana menace, but then they quickly shrugged it all off.

Unfortunately, it was just the first sign of the deluge to come. With the barrier’s integrity breached, it was only a matter of time.

It didn’t take me long to figure out how.

In order to stay up, the barrier probably deployed the same trick as the city’s barrier: expanded spatial layers. With so much space between the outer edge of the barrier and the inner core, what did it matter how close the enemy armies were, or what weapon they used? The only way to bridge the ward’s defenses would be to fill up all of that empty space. The barrier couldn’t be threatened.

Of course, that was only under ideal circumstances. In order to make the thing portable, I was willing to bet the size of that empty space had been considerably constrained. Otherwise, it would be far too likely for the ward to destabilize, or even implode.

The jinn’s sand-funnel thing wasn’t a very lethal weapon when compared to the spatial barrier’s defenses. However, it was funneling tons of sand every few seconds. Eventually, all that sand would pile up in our barrier’s empty space.

It was stupid. It shouldn’t have worked. Judging by the delighted looks on some of the jinn’s faces, I wasn’t even sure they were pulling off this bit of tactical genius on purpose.

But they were doing it. And if the barrier fell, we would get decimated in a matter of seconds.

A single golem had nearly wiped out Glaustro’s troop. A whole group of them? Our glorious army didn’t stand a snowflake’s chance in a fiery hell.

Your move, Crewe, I thought bitterly, eying the place within our ranks where I knew the lieutenant general lurked.

If he waited too long, we wouldn’t have much of an army left.