—And so, the Rakian invasion finally began.
"Here they come."
Tsuna was currently hiding in the location Finn had assigned him, alongside Lefiya, Tione, and several other Loki Familia members. Through the trees, they spotted a massive battalion of heavily armored cavalry charging directly toward their position.
"Alright then…"
Confirming the enemy's approach, Tsuna switched his flames from Sky to Mist, instantly generating a thick smokescreen. He then pressed both palms firmly against the ground.
This is my first time trying this in a real battle, but…
Tsuna flooded the ground with a massive surge of Mist Flames. The flames rapidly condensed, weaving together to form a colossal, terrifying shape.
『—OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!』
""Eh…!?""
A deafening, earth-shaking roar tore through the battlefield. Lefiya and Tione froze in absolute terror. Because the illusion Tsuna had constructed was none other than Goliath—the monstrous Floor Boss of the 17th Floor, an entity that had absolutely no business being on the surface.
"E-EKKKKKK!!"
"W-What the hell is that thing!?"
"R-RUN FOR YOUR LIVESSSSSS!!"
Faced with a colossal, unknown monster suddenly emerging from the smokescreen, the Rakian soldiers were instantly consumed by primal terror. They broke formation and fled in a blind panic, completely abandoning their advance.
"Phew…"
Confirming the enemy had completely retreated, Tsuna dispelled the Goliath illusion and switched his flames back to Sky.
"To think you'd actually create an illusion of Goliath…" Lefiya muttered, still trembling slightly.
"T-That's just nasty…" Tione added, sweating.
Even though he was an ally, Lefiya and Tione were slightly appalled by Tsuna's ruthless tactic of conjuring an unknown, terrifying monster to plunge the enemy into the depths of despair.
"No, this isn't going to work…" Tsuna sighed, shaking his head.
"Eh!? Why not!?" Lefiya asked in surprise.
"I knew constructing an illusion that massive would require a lot of flames, but… the consumption rate was way higher than I calculated. At this rate, it's just a waste of energy."
Even so, wasn't that more than enough…?
Tione couldn't believe he was actually dissatisfied with the result, considering he had single-handedly routed hundreds of soldiers in an instant without shedding a single drop of blood.
"As expected, at my current level, I really can't master true illusions…"
"What do you mean, 'at your current level'? You completely toyed with the Apollo Familia during the War Game, didn't you?" Tione pointed out.
"No, I didn't actually do anything that impressive. My illusions don't work in normal combat situations."
"What does that mean?" Lefiya asked.
"Right now, the Rakian soldiers are undertaking a completely reckless war against Orario's elite Familias. They're already terrified because they know they're facing opponents whose Levels are leagues above theirs. If a terrifying, unknown monster suddenly appears while they have absolutely zero mental composure, what do you think happens?"
"…They lose all will to fight," Lefiya answered.
"Exactly. During the War Game, the Apollo Familia didn't believe for a second that they could lose to us. But when I destroyed their walls with Crozzo's Magic Swords, revealed a traitor in their ranks, and caused an 'irregular' situation where all their weapons and potions vanished, they completely lost their composure. Once they were panicking, I provided them with physical evidence that the Apollo they were looking at was a fake, which successfully tricked them into believing their Captain had been kidnapped."
"So what you're saying is, your illusions only work if you heavily manipulate the environment and the enemy's psychological state first," Tione summarized.
"Right. I'm not a natural illusionist. If I try to use a standard illusion in a straight fight, it won't work against Familias with strong bonds like yours, fighters with sharp instincts, seasoned veterans, or true illusionists. That is the fundamental weakness of my illusions."
Does a weakness like that even matter…?
Lefiya and Tione both thought the exact same thing. Even without his illusions, Tsuna possessed overwhelming combat sense, terrifying mobility, and an arsenal of devastating techniques. They honestly felt his inability to "master" illusions wasn't a problem in the slightest.
"Anyway, let's head back to Finn and get our next orders."
With the enemy routed, there was no point in staying. Tsuna had Lefiya and Tione grab onto his legs, ignited his flames, and flew them straight back to Finn's command post.
"—So, we forced the enemy to retreat. What do you want us to do next?"
"I-I see…"
Hearing Tsuna casually report that he had instantly routed an entire battalion using an illusion of Goliath, Finn and the surrounding commanders all simultaneously twitched, their faces completely stiff.
"…For now, Tione, group up with Gareth. Lefiya, join Riveria."
""Yes, sir.""
Finn gave his orders, and the two girls immediately ran off to join their respective executives.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi, can you still use your illusions?"
"No problem."
"I'm going to assign you a rather tedious role, do you mind?"
"What is it?"
"I want you to fly across the various battlefields and construct illusions of us and Dungeon monsters to force the enemy into retreating."
"I get it. You want to throw them into chaos and force a retreat while completely masking our actual troop formations."
"It's a huge help that you catch on so quickly."
Hearing Finn's orders, Tsuna's Hyper Intuition instantly grasped the tactical brilliance behind the plan.
As a general rule, the Rakian soldiers would instantly panic and flee the moment Orario's adventurers displayed their overwhelming power. They were already completely helpless against a single elite adventurer. If Finn and the other executives suddenly began 'appearing' across multiple battlefronts simultaneously, the Rakian soldiers wouldn't just be terrified—the sheer volume of conflicting reports would cause massive information warfare. The enemy commanders wouldn't be able to tell who was actually where, making it impossible for them to formulate any cohesive strategy.
"Besides, if they retreat without engaging us in combat, we can prevent them from earning [Excelia]," Finn added smoothly.
"Oh right, I forgot about that…"
As long as an adventurer or soldier survived a battle, they earned [Excelia], even if they lost. Because killing was strictly prohibited in this war, the Rakian soldiers were guaranteed to earn a massive amount of [Excelia] just by fighting, even if they were completely slaughtered. When Finn heard that Tsuna had routed the enemy purely through intimidation, he immediately devised this strategy to completely deny Rakia any [Excelia] gains.
"However, do not use your illusions on the battlefields where the Freya Familia is stationed. If you do that, it will damage their pride by making it look like they were struggling against Rakia. If that happens, their hostility will undoubtedly shift toward you. Allen and the Gulliver Brothers have already suffered a defeat at your hands; I can guarantee you they will immediately attack you if you interfere."
"Even in the middle of a war, the Freya Familia prioritizes their personal grudges, huh…"
"That's just how they are. Every single member of the Freya Familia possesses immense pride. They are a faction where members will gladly backstab their own comrades just to earn the Goddess Freya's favor. Besides, they engage in deathmatches with each other every single day."
"Deathmatches…!?"
"Yes. To forge the ultimate warriors, they slaughter each other from morning until night."
"…Does the Goddess Freya not say anything about that?"
"It isn't an order from Goddess Freya; the dependents do it entirely on their own volition. But because of that brutal environment, they continuously produce incredibly resilient warriors."
"How does an organization like that even function…?"
"It's true they fight to the death, but there haven't actually been any casualties. The Freya Familia has Heith Velvet, a healer whose skills rival Airmid's. Airmid's healing magic is the most precise in the city, but Heith's healing magic boasts the widest area of effect."
"I guess they really aren't considered your equals for nothing…"
"In addition to that, their commander, Hedin, is an incredibly sharp tactician."
"Hedin… Right, the executive of the Freya Familia."
"Yes. Hedin's command abilities are among the absolute best in Orario."
"Is he better than you?"
"If Hedin and I were to compete purely in strategy, I would lose four times out of ten. The only reason I hold the winning record is because my thumb occasionally aches."
"He's that good…?"
Tsuna had sensed Hedin was powerful just from glancing at him in the Dungeon, but he hadn't expected the elf to possess a strategic mind equal to—or perhaps even greater than—Finn's. He couldn't help but be impressed.
"Anyway, I'll do as you asked and make the rounds."
"I'm counting on you."
Tsuna ignited his flames, blasting into the sky and flying off toward the other battlefields.
…It's aching.
The moment Tsuna disappeared into the sky, Finn's right thumb began to throb violently.
Just as Sawada Tsunayoshi warned… something is coming…
----
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