The words hung in the air. Many officers in the command center, still unaware of what had transpired, stared in shock—but none dared to voice any objections.

Their surprise stemmed mainly from Irus’s identity.

After all, there were only a handful of people in the entire Himril World who qualified for the application of this regulation.

The tradition of the Allied Forces of the Four Races had taken shape gradually since the Demon Lord’s army first invaded this world, and had been refined over time into a series of established rules and conventions.

One of the most critical rules concerned the allocation of wartime command authority.

Given the complex composition of the Allied Forces, command could never be fully coordinated if it remained in the hands of kings and nobles as before. Thus, the rule that S-Rank powerhouses held full command authority was enacted.

S-Rank powerhouses possessed unmatched strength and an exalted status; they could turn the tide of battle with their own hands. Most importantly, they had sufficient self-preservation capabilities, making them nearly immune to decapitation tactics. For these reasons, they were the most suitable candidates to lead the entire Allied Forces.

Under normal circumstances, the Indam Federation troops would have prioritized following the command of an S-Rank powerhouse from the Beastman Race. But with no Beastman S-Rank present, Irus had every right to take over command of their forces.

Sylvia transferred the supreme command authority to Irus, who did not decline. Taking charge, she immediately opened the meeting.

“Sylvia, brief me on the current situation in Ravenrim first.”

“Yes, Your Ladyship.”

Sylvia nodded, stepping forward to the sand table and channeling her mana into it.

The scene on the sand table shifted and reconfigured in an instant.

“Look here, Lady Irus,”

Sylvia said, pointing to the sand table as she began her explanation.

“This is the overall battlefield situation I’ve compiled. Ilz, the elven royal capital beneath the World Tree, is currently under siege by Gulos forces from multiple directions. Gulos has launched several offensive campaigns during this time, including one personally led by their S-Rank leader, Darius. Yet all their attacks have been repelled in the end.”

“Now look over here——”

Sylvia gestured to another location on the sand table, a raised area resembling a mountain range.

“This is the position of the Lidoria Kingdom army in the north. They’ve been intercepted by Gulos at the Somodo Mountains—a critical passage leading to Ravenrim. The enemy has exploited the natural barriers to set up layer upon layer of defenses, and the Lidoria dwarven legions are currently struggling to advance……”

“Last but not least—our position here——”

Sylvia pointed to an area on the sand table marked as a vast forest.

“Gulos has stationed a monster horde here, holding the road to Ravenrim. We’ve attempted to break through their blockade multiple times, but each attempt has ended in failure……”

As Sylvia finished her overview of the battlefield situation, silence descended once more on the command center.

Everyone turned their gaze to Irus silently, awaiting her orders. Irus stared down at the sand table, her brow furrowed in deep thought.

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……Something’s not right.

What exactly is Gulos trying to accomplish?

Their sudden attack, the staggering casualties in the southwest region—there must be a deeper motive behind all this.

If their goal was to destroy Ilz, they had prepared so thoroughly that they’d cut off all reinforcements from every direction. There was no logical reason they would be held back outside the city walls now.

Even if Ilz could harness the power of the World Tree to erect a formidable barrier, someone with Darius’s temperament would never have failed to account for that……

Irus’s frown deepened. She felt as if she was missing a crucial piece of the puzzle, as if an invisible trap was being laid somewhere just beyond her sight.

“……There’s no other choice.”

Even though she knew the enemy was plotting something sinister, Ilz could not be abandoned. No matter what, reinforcements had to reach Ilz to lift the siege. As for what Darius was planning—they would simply have to adapt to the situation as it unfolded.

Irus lifted her head, her gaze falling on Sylvia.

“Sylvia, I’ve heard you’re one of the most brilliant strategists in the Indam Federation. I refuse to believe you’ve been completely helpless against this blockade. Tell me—what is your plan?”

“……”

Sylvia fell silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

“As expected—I knew I couldn’t hide anything from you, Your Ladyship. In fact, I was planning to present this plan even if you hadn’t asked.”

Sylvia channeled her mana into the sand table once again.

The scene on the sand table shifted, quickly displaying a detailed map of the Druid’s Forest, with the entire forest divided into distinct zones.

She pointed to the map and explained,

“This is our camp. Directly ahead of us is the road to Ravenrim, where a portion of the monster horde is stationed. Even more of them are hidden deep within the forest.”

“Over these past few days, I haven’t been ordering our troops to launch blind assaults on the monster horde in a futile attempt to break through. Frankly, breaking through alone would solve nothing. As long as the monster horde remains entrenched here, they will maintain control over this route—effectively cutting off our retreat. In the future, they could even coordinate with monster forces from other directions to encircle us and the other reinforcements entirely.”

“So from the very beginning, my goal was never to break through their lines. It was to annihilate them completely right here. All those assault missions were nothing more than a smokescreen—designed to help us map out the enemy’s movement patterns and gather intelligence.”

With that, Sylvia pointed to a specific zone within the Druid’s Forest on the map.

“Based on my analysis, the commander of the monster horde is hiding in this area.”

“What?!”

Sandor suddenly roared in outrage,

“You already knew where the enemy commander was hiding?! Then why did you lie to me earlier?!”

Sylvia shot Sandor a disdainful glance, her voice cold and dismissive.

“Tell you? So that you, a reckless fool who never follows orders, could charge headfirst into the fray in a fit of rage? Do you honestly think you could have captured him?”

“I……”

“Shut your mouth. I don’t recall giving you permission to speak.”

“……”

After dressing down Sandor, Sylvia bowed her head slightly to Irus, her tone returning to one of respect.

“My apologies for the disruption, Your Ladyship. As you can see, I’ve already pinpointed the general area where the monster horde’s commander is hiding. However, this zone is still quite large. Originally, with our current strength, we would have needed to narrow down the search area further before we could launch a successful operation. But now—things have changed.”

“With your arrival, and with the dragon’s assistance, we will undoubtedly be able to capture the enemy commander—even with the search area as it is now.”

“I understand.”

Irus nodded firmly.

“When do you plan to launch the operation?”

“As soon as possible, Your Ladyship. Your actions alongside Hulim earlier may have already put the enemy on high alert. They might attempt to relocate at any moment.”

……

Somewhere within the Druid’s Forest.

Hidden deep within the dense jungle stood a secret outpost.

At that moment, several Gulos members stumbled into the outpost in a state of panic.

“It’s a disaster, Lord Bodis! A catastrophe!”

One of them burst directly into the commander’s tent, dropping to his knees in a frenzy.

Bodis, who had been reviewing intelligence reports inside the tent, frowned and snapped at him sharply.

“What’s all this commotion about?!”

“Lord Bodis, a dra—dra—dragon! There’s a dragon!”

The man who’d rushed into the tent pointed tremblingly at the outside, gasping for breath as he spoke.

Bodis scowled in irritation.

“Calm yourself and speak clearly.”

“……”

The man took several deep breaths to steady his racing heart, then blurted out his report in a frantic rush.

“Lord Bodis, a dragon has appeared! That dragon is incredibly powerful—it can cast multiple high-level spells simultaneously! The brothers we had ambushed along the road were almost completely wiped out! Only a handful of us managed to escape with our lives!”

“What?!”

Bodis’s eyes widened in shock, and he shot to his feet abruptly.

But then, a look of confusion crossed his face.

“No…… That’s impossible. There isn’t a dragon that powerful left in the world today……”

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