Grendel longed to share these situations with Lance, in fact, to alleviate the pressure in her heart.

But taking out the [Messenger] made her seem somewhat hesitant, because the current situation was neither too big nor too small.

The fleet coming in had long been contacted through Amanda's channels, otherwise, she wouldn't have been kept behind. Currently, whether it be those spies disguised as merchants, the Association of Healers, or the Church's people, the situation is at least under her control.

As for the frontline action that has been planned for so long, Lance even transferred nearly all the troops for this, which shows the importance attached to it.

I'm afraid that unless victory is achieved at the front, they won't give up easily. Informing Lance of these matters won't bring more help and would instead distract him. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

After hesitating, Grendel still chose not to disturb Lance, just hoping the war at the front ends soon.

...

The first turning point in the changing situation in the wilderness was when Hamlet's army occupied the outpost, using it as a barrier to keep the Heretics out.

The initial skirmishes in the wilderness honed the soldiers' strength, and the widespread use of armor and new weapons led the Heretics to defeat in large-scale battles.

Moreover, these battles would usually summon Lance to sacrifice all the corpses.

Thus, death could no longer provide meals for the ancestors, rendering it meaningless.

The Heretics are madmen, not fools; thus, under these circumstances, the Ascension Sect resorted to scattered harassment tactics after assessing the situation—endlessly irking you.

Once you dispatch troops to wipe them out, they relocate through the complex terrain of the Underground Beast Lair, sometimes even suddenly appearing behind you or launching surprise attacks from somewhere.

No matter if you kill these scattered Heretics, what of it? Just like the Barbarian Tribes treating Knights entering the Mountains, they only need to keep harassing to wear you down; after all, they won't get tired.

But the era has changed, indeed.

Now the second turning point, this very operation, will herald the complete expulsion of the Ascension Sect from the wilderness.

Explosions and smoke rising, the movements of large troops entering the wilderness have already alerted them.

Teams spread out, each ten-man squad not too far from the other, like a stretched out net.

Soon, squads began spotting exposed Heretics, typically numbering around three to four.

Before, they would ambush the troops, but now, being ambushed themselves left them in chaos.

But these soldiers, who have suffered much at the hands of the Heretics, will not wait for them to react.

"Shoot!"

The captain roared, and then a barrage of gunfire erupted across the wilderness; lead bullets tore through the flesh of the Heretics, most of them falling to the ground in just one salvo.

"Fix bayonets!"

With only a few Heretics here, there's no need to waste ammunition. Bayonets were fixed and charged straight at the Heretics, stabbing toward their heads.

"Kill!"

Thrusting knives towards the Heretics' faces, some rookies underestimated the bone toughness of the strengthened Heretics, whom many deaths elevated, and the knives rebounded.

More terrifying was seeing injuries that would be fatal to humans heal visibly.

Moreover, the pain brought pleasure that awakened them, eliciting manic laughter instead of howls.

This eerie sight shook the recruits, causing a momentary daze.

The Heretics seized this rare opportunity, disregarding their injuries and stumbling forth with sharp claws.

The recruit simply needed to use the long gun's range advantage, thrusting the bayonet forward to intercept before the enemy could fully act.

How could a recruit face such a scenario? Panicking, they blanked out, forgetting their training, instinctively thinking only to retreat.

Luckily, in the next second, a veteran's nearby rifle blocked the Heretic, immediately followed by another squad leader who rushed over, thrusting his gun into the ear, stirring it. When pulled out, it's a burst of shattered brains along with blood.

But it wasn't over; withdrawing the bayonet, he thrust it into the neck, at which point the Heretic could no longer scream.

With the momentum of just killing a Heretic, he turned to angrily shout at the recruit.

"You can't even hold your gun steady, how did you pass the assessment?"

"If you don't have the guts, why not go home and have milk?"

"My Lord would be better served raising pigs than feeding you lot…"

Awakened by these rebukes, the recruit finally snapped out of the life-and-death distraction, still somewhat dazed.

"Damn it, why are you still stunned? Pick up your weapon and thrust it at the enemy's head until I say stop."

At these words, he reacted, the harsh command echoing in his mind, like being activated, the soul trained, finally reclaiming his body.

The shame from the veteran's scolding dispersed the fear; he gripped his bayonet, thrusting it at the enemy's face.

Once... twice... until the Heretic's brutal face became a puddle of mess, something not even Lance could recover.

"Why are you watching? Hurry up and cut off these Heretics' heads."

The captain's shout sounded, naturally assigning the task to the recruits; without shedding blood, they'd never grow up.

And while the veterans in the team didn't share the captain's fury, their expressions were instead relaxed.

In their recruit years most made all sorts of mistakes, got scolded often, and now, seeing others getting berated was amusing.