Hajin left the western shelter after its final receipt, reaching the southern road while Dreth's infantry crossed the abandoned mill channel.
Eight surviving scouts rode behind the standards, bringing the active vanguard count to one hundred fifty-six after Juna's strike.
The remaining fighters advanced in separated files, keeping six paces between shields instead of presenting another formation-wide target.
Portable mantlets divided their routes across the orchard, quarry approach, and salt-road rise without linking any two groups.
Juna reached Hajin beside the first warning stake, studying the spaces Dreth had forced between every file.
"He spread them after the cavalry died," she said, following their scents across three roads, "one solar cut cannot reach every group."
"It does not need to," Hajin replied, watching the empty bridge, "we hold the roads where our people can retreat."
