Night Knight.

"Your camp will be set up here. The staff will later send personnel to assist with construction."

After roughly two hours of travel by truck, the Eleventh Company finally arrived at a location close to the frontline. In the midst of dense forest, a clearing had already been opened up. A few tents were erected, but the site was far from complete; people were still busy inside the camp. After all, the Night Knight was not part of the regular military structure. Many aspects of field operations could not be handled by the Night Knight units alone, and thus, once the Night Knight engaged in combat, the army group would normally establish a dedicated department responsible for coordinating with them. All logistics and administrative issues were handled by this department.

"Thank you very much, Colonel Frupve."

"It's my duty."

After a few brief exchanges, Andrea took his leave from Frupve and, together with the rest of the company, began arranging the next steps in the camp. Communications came first, then the kitchen. Andrea had intended to visit the military doctor, Marcia, but she approached him ahead of time.

"Alice wants to serve as a nurse under me. I came to ask your opinion."

Marcia got straight to the point.

"I've no objections. What do you think?"

Andrea was not a specialist in the matter and knew little about the training of field nurses, so he handed the decision back to Marcia.

"Then let's do it. I've got plenty of free time anyway. Teaching her the necessary knowledge will be more than enough."

"All right."

After leaving a few instructions with his adjutant, Andrea had essentially completed the rear arrangements. He then sought out Frupve once more. In addition to guiding the Eleventh Company, Frupve had also brought with him an order from the General Staff. The two had already discussed the matter earlier: according to Frupve, the frontline was in urgent need of Night Knight support, hence why the order had been waiting for the Eleventh Company at the airfield.

"Here is the current situation."

Standing before the gathered officers, Frupve began explaining. Four platoon leaders and several squad leaders listened intently. Hielaina and Shatiel had also been allowed to attend, Andrea's reasoning being that both were capable of thought as "normal people" and would perform their tasks better by understanding the details of the situation.

"The forces of the Holy State of Davole may have learned some spells from the Church. Our artillery cannot break through their magical barriers, which means in most cases we are forced into close combat with them—a situation extremely unfavorable to us. What we can do is construct defensive positions. When the infantry phalanxes of Davole advance and briefly step outside the range of their barriers, our forces have only a short window of opportunity to inflict casualties with firearms. At the start of the war, we were able to achieve several successful defensive counterattacks this way. But Davole has since adapted: they now dispatch elite combat units to break through our strongpoints, after which their infantry follows to engage in advantageous melee. At present, we have not found an effective response."

As he spoke, Frupve sketched a rough diagram on scrap paper, showing what contact at the front looked like. He tried to make himself as clear as possible, since none of the officers present had ever fought in a large-scale battle involving something like magic. If not for witnessing it firsthand, Frupve himself might have considered his words absurd.

"I heard the Rendstein was transferred here. Shouldn't such breakthrough tasks be left to her?"

Rogm's question received an immediate reply.

"Then you must also have heard that the Heidrig has never once been deployed to the front. The General Staff has no intention of using our space-faring warships, and there's nothing we can do. The Rendstein did participate in several important battles at the very start, but most of the areas we've now lost were taken by her in those early days."

From his tone, it was clear Frupve himself disagreed with the General Staff's stance. Indeed, many others shared his frustration. After witnessing the power of the space warships, people found it difficult to accept that such weapons were being kept in reserve.

"These matters involve politics, so I won't speak further."

Noticing that Rogm wished to ask more, Frupve promptly cut the subject short.

"In summary, the General Staff wishes you to advance tomorrow to the Birkhah sector of the Tisser–Ajiti line. That sector is currently defended by the 136th, 242nd, and 124th Divisions. According to aerial reconnaissance, the enemy is already concentrating forces nearby, and it is highly likely they will launch an offensive soon."

Using a thin wooden pointer, Frupve indicated the divisions' positions on the map behind him, then stepped aside to await questions.

"Besides us, are there any other Night Knight units?"

The question came from Otto. Like the others, he was keenly aware that this battle with Davole's army would be unlike any before, and so he needed to know the strength on their side.

"The Thirty-Second Company will be fighting alongside you. You two will be the only special operations forces in that sector."

"And what else do you know about Davole's magic?"

"Based on reports compiled from multiple frontline units, we can confirm that Davole's armies still rely primarily on cold weapons for killing power. The large-scale spells they've employed are only defensive or tactical in nature—such as the barriers I mentioned, or smoke screens created by magic. Only a small number of elite units can wield multiple spells effectively in combat. But that is enough to pressure certain points in our defenses, and those units will be your main opponents."

This time, when Frupve finished, no one else spoke.

None of them had experience with large-scale battles involving magic, but they had fought hard battles against the Church's elite in the Luvina warzone. Judging from the current intelligence, the Church had not actually taught many advanced spells to their puppet state, so Davole's elite fighters should not be more troublesome than the judgment cells.

"Do any of you have further questions?"

Seeing the Night Knights remain silent, Frupve prepared to close the briefing. But Otto spoke up again:

"Have the Church's forces themselves appeared here yet?"

His question at once reminded the others of those grueling battles. Everyone recognized the seriousness of the issue.

"Thus far, there have been no reports like those in the Luvina warzone."

Frupve was clearly aware of the judgment cells.

Once the Church's armies began to move more actively, the General Staff immediately compiled the intelligence into dossiers for senior commanders, and also began planning handbooks for lower-ranking officers and soldiers—introducing the judgment cells, magic, and methods of combating them. Whether or not such a clash was inevitable, the Dazilet Empire had to prepare for war with the Church. Only by knowing the enemy could they seize advantage on the battlefield.

"Understood."

At last, the platoon leaders exchanged glances, then turned their attention back to Frupve. Realizing their tacit signal, he continued:

"Finally, let me formally read the order."

Unlike Andrea's usual casual style, Frupve lifted the document with utmost seriousness and read it aloud. It contained the standard structure: enemy situation, our situation, our intentions, and our mission—along with the Emperor's personal signature and the date of issue. The "mission" specified that the Eleventh Company of the Night Knight was to arrive at Birkhah before 10 a.m. tomorrow, to cooperate with the garrison in its defense until further orders arrived.

With that, the briefing drew to a close. Frupve then took his leave of the Eleventh Company and returned to his duties, while the others began preparing all the equipment needed for the upcoming march and battle.