The treatment of the wounded continued until nearly noon, and the Seventh Expeditionary Force's field encampment was also fully set up.
Rin, covered in blood from the wounded, directly ordered the entire army, except for the sentries on watch, to eat their fill, drink, and then sleep. The operational meeting would be held after nightfall. She then returned to her private tent with the children.
"Thump!"
After nightfall, in the Seventh Expeditionary Force's central command tent, Rin placed her spoils of war from today, the Teigu: All-Crushing mjolnir, on the low table in front of her. Although she placed it down gently, it made a loud noise, as if the sturdy table could not bear the weight of the hammer.
"According to Imperial regulations, Teigu acquired on the battlefield can be prioritized for distribution within our own legion. If no one can use it, it can only be submitted to the Teigu National Treasury for safekeeping."
Rin sat back in her Legion Commander's seat, looking at the nearly one hundred officers, major-ranked and above, under her command, and said calmly.
"The Teigu I possess are already sufficient. Taking others would be a waste of resources, as I don't have that many hands. Whoever among you can lift this hammer may take it."
The nearly one hundred officers of the Seventh Expeditionary Force present, men on the left and women on the right, were all intensely interested in this "mjolnir." Disregarding its appearance, they were all soldiers, approaching everything from a practical perspective. Earlier, in front of everyone in the entire legion, Rin's divine strike with it had stunned them all. Now that the opportunity was before them, anyone would want to try.
mjolnir was a one-handed war hammer. Its head was a human-head-sized black-blue rectangular metal body, with engraved patterns on both ends of the head. The handle, however, was a wooden grip only fifteen centimeters long. The length of the handle dictated that the user could only wield it with one hand. Yet, the weight of this war hammer Teigu was as high as—
"Five hundred kilograms. Anyone confident enough to wield a five-hundred-kilogram object freely with one hand in combat may step forward and try. This is also a compatibility issue that this Teigu demands of its Teigu User. The person who can use it freely can pick it up."
At this moment, all the officers present collectively turned their gazes to Suzaku, who stood to Rin's left and slightly behind her. Suzaku was recognized in the Seventh Expeditionary Force as the foremost person among Rin's bloodline. Moreover, countless individuals coveted the position of Rin's Vice Commander (deputy commander). Statistics showed that Suzaku had received the most challenges among all officers in the four years since the Seventh Expeditionary Force was formed, even more than the combined challenges received by the second and third most challenged individuals. Yet, no one had ever been able to snatch this position from her, not even for a day.
Rin was the only Teigu User in the Seventh Expeditionary Force, and now that a Teigu acquired on the battlefield was before them, the officers of the Seventh Expeditionary Force, whose core philosophy was reverence for strength, naturally thought of the legion's second-in-command first.
"Everyone, please don't be polite. The compatibility between the weapons I use and this Teigu is too poor; it's completely unsuitable for me."
To the inquiring gazes of her colleagues, Suzaku immediately smiled and proactively declined the use of this Teigu. Whether due to personal feelings or individual factors, her compatibility with this Teigu was extremely poor. As someone who used two-handed long weapons, if it were a spear, she might consider it, but a one-handed war hammer... even if she could wield it, ninety-five percent of her combat effectiveness would be lost.
Not everyone could be like Rin, using any weapon that came into her hands with perfect mastery, as if it were an extension of her arm. That wasn't called genius; that was called a freak!
Fortunately, the Seventh Expeditionary Force, which was completely open to the principle of strength, had many talented generals. At least in terms of combat power, they were absolutely unmatched among the Empire's sixteen legions. This war hammer ultimately did not end up being unusable and submitted to the Empire.
"Darkness..."
Rin looked at the final owner of the hammer with a somewhat embarrassed and speechless expression. This guy was probably one of Rin's most unique officers. If the soldiers of the Seventh Expeditionary Force were all as strong as Danger Beasts, this guy... was probably a Danger Beast that happened to look somewhat like a human.
He was the only person in the entire legion approved by Rin to not wear armor, and even to not wear a shirt. With a height of nearly four meters, he exposed granite-like powerful muscles all year round. His face, full of rough features, could easily lead people to mistake him for an ape-like Danger Beast. The countless scars etched on his bronzed muscles easily suggested a history of terrifying training and battle achievements. He clearly belonged to the type of person who thought with his biceps. Rin had a strong impression of this guy; he always tore Danger Beasts apart with his bare hands when hunting in the Forest of Dangerous Species, making him hard to forget.
"Hee hee hee hee! General, then this treasure belongs to me, right? No problem?"
"Ah, take it. Just don't hurt our own people when you use it."
Fortunately, this guy, who appeared to be all brawn and no brains, the type with muscles in his skull, actually had no problem with his intelligence. Moreover, he was a firm believer and worshipper of the principle of strength. His loyalty to Rin was absolute and unwavering; there was no need to worry about anything.
With the acquired Teigu dealt with, Rin turned to the main topic, her expression solemn:
"Now that the main forces of the Northern Nomads have been annihilated by us, the remaining garrison forces in the various Northern Region settlements are completely negligible. What we need to do next is to sweep across the entire Northern Region!"
At this moment, Rin's ruthless and chilling aura was fully displayed! The overwhelming presence brought a strong scent of blood to the Seventh Expeditionary Force officers standing there!
"According to the Wind God Winged Dragon's aerial reconnaissance, not a single Northern Region Outsider escaped this battle. Therefore, the news of their main force's annihilation will not spread within the Northern Region for a short time. While they have not yet reacted to this, tomorrow morning, ten cavalry detachments will act separately."
Rin then stood up and, on the large Northern Region map in the center of the central command post, placed military pieces to designate specific locations.
"These are the current locations of 142 Northern Region Outsider settlements: 25 large settlements, 54 medium settlements, and the rest are small settlements with fewer than ten thousand people. Tomorrow morning, I will give you detailed maps with the locations marked, and your task is to annihilate them all!"
All… annihilated! A people… "General, General… completely annihilated?"
A female officer couldn't help but ask in disbelief, and Rin answered her directly and concisely:
"It means exactly what it says. Annihilate everyone and everything you see, encounter, and come across, whether human or Danger Beast, regardless of gender, age, or youth. As long as it's alive, it must be completely eliminated without exception."
At this moment, Rin, with his overwhelming killing intent, waved his hand and said coldly, his voice like ice:
"We don't need prisoners, nor do we need to sell them as slaves. Under the sword, all beings are equal. Grant them, as the weak, an equal death. This snowy plain of the Northern Region is destined to be dyed a blood-red plain by us. Besides our Seventh Expeditionary Force, there is no need for another living creature here!"
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