The wooden platters were masterpieces of culinary art.

The incredibly thick cuts of Tier 3 Ursine meat had been slow-braised to perfection, glazed in a rich,shimmering crimson reduction that pulsed with beautifully contained magical energy.

The meat looked so tender it threatened to fall apart under its own weight.

Stacked neatly beside the steaming meat were massive, golden-brown rolls of freshly baked Aether-Wheat, their crusts radiating a comforting, deeply satisfying warmth that combated the freezing rain.

The Vanguard eagerly gathered around the long, hastily assembled wooden tables situated directly under the protective green canopy.

They stared at the food with rabid intensity but standard military protocol remained strictly enforced; no one, not even Brida, touched a single crumb of their food until the Sovereign tasted his first.

Silas sat at the head of the heavy table.

He grabbed a forged iron fork, effortlessly sliced a thick piece of the crimson-glazed Ursine meat, and took a bite.

ZZT!

His highly analytical brain completely short-circuited for a fraction of a second.

The flavor was entirely unprecedented... an incredibly rich, fiery, deeply savory profile that instantly melted on his tongue like butter.

The deep earthiness of the monster meat was perfectly balanced by the magical acidity of the Spirit-Fruits but the exquisite taste was only a secondary benefit.

The exact moment the highly processed food slid down his throat, a staggering, explosive rush of raw energy violently flooded his entire biological system.

It was a perfectly smooth tidal wave of pure vitality that instantly, flawlessly synchronized with his spiritual pathways.

The golden core in his chest flared brightly, actively devouring the dense nutrition.

"Eat..." Silas commanded quickly with his deep voice slightly breathless from the sudden overwhelming rush of pure power.

The Vanguard descended on the massive platters like a pack of starved, rabid wolves.

The reaction within the ranks was instantaneous and utterly explosive.

Because Kaelia had flawlessly processed the heavy, dormant EXP trapped within the Boss meat and the magical flora using her S-Rank alchemy, the nutritional value of the meal acted as a massive system-wide multiplier.

The Vanguard had spent the previous day slaughtering dozens of monsters, accumulating a massive amount of raw experience that their mortal bodies hadn’t been able to fully digest or assimilate while resting.

Now, the floodgates violently, completely opened...

[System Notification: S-Rank Meal Consumed. 300% EXP Absorption Rate Applied to Vanguard.]

A cascading waterfall of pristine blue holographic tabs violently erupted across Silas’s vision, completely obscuring the rain-soaked courtyard and the faces of his soldiers.

[Vassal Tamsin has leveled up!]

[Vassal Tamsin has leveled up!]

[Vassal Tamsin has reached Level 10!]

[Vassal Brida has leveled up!]

[Vassal Brida has reached Level 11!]

[Vassal Gunnhild has reached Level 3!]

[Vassal Freya has reached Level 3!]

Around the long wooden tables, the girls dropped their iron utensils onto the wood, gasping loudly as explosive ripples of highly condensed mana rolled violently off their bodies.

Brida’s physical frame violently evolved right before their eyes.

Her already imposing musculature tightened and hardened into unyielding, dense coils of overwhelming power.

Her presence suddenly projected the suffocating pressure of a warlord who could tear a man in half with her bare hands as the scars on her face seemed to pale slightly, overshadowed by the intense vitality flooding her veins.

Tamsin gripped the edge of the heavy wooden table tightly, her knuckles turning white.

Her sharp eyes darted rapidly around the courtyard as her newly refined Level 10 sensory perception aggressively sharpened.

She realized, with a shock of adrenaline, that she could actively track the trajectory of individual raindrops falling from the canopy leaves before they hit the ground.

The world had slowed down for the Huntress, opening up entirely new avenues of lethal precision.

Even the ten shivering, terrified newbies from the pull gasped in shock.

Their frail, underfed bodies instantly fortified, their muscle density skyrocketing as they jumped straight to Level 3 without ever swinging a sword, purely benefiting from the radiant nutrition of the S-Rank cuisine.

The exhaustion and fear washed out of their systems, replaced by the burning heat of magic.

Silas clenched his heavily armored fists, feeling his own internal foundation violently roar to life.

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

His Mythic Gold Core acted like a black hole within his chest, aggressively devouring the refined energy from the meal.

He felt his bone density radically increase, his muscle fibers weaving tighter together beneath his skin, and his total mana capacity massively expanding in a matter of seconds.

The physical limits of his human body were being rewritten with every bite.

"Incredible," Rowena whispered in pure awe.

The Arcanist’s blue eyes were glowing brightly with raw arcane intensity as her Level 8 mana pool swelled further, pushing heavily against the limits of her physical vessel.

Silas wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as he fed Eluned.

He looked down the table at the Maestro, who was beaming with pride with her hands resting confidently on her hips.

Kaelia had just permanently secured her place as one of the most vital indispensable tactical assets in his entire territory.

"Clear the tables..." Silas ordered with his voice changing smoothly from awe back into the commanding one of a warlord preparing for a brutal campaign.

The girls, invigorated with massive amounts of new stamina and brimming with the chaotic energy of their sudden level-ups, quickly moved the empty wooden platters aside.

They wiped the table clean and Silas reached inside the deep pockets of his black combat robes and pulled out a rolled piece of thick, slightly weathered paper.

He unfurled it rapidly across the damp wood, placing four heavy iron daggers on the corners to keep it from violently rolling back up in the wind.

It was a crude, hastily hand-drawn map of the immediate ten-mile radius surrounding the Blessed Land.

"Gather around," Silas commanded softly wih the gravity in his voice pulling them in.

Brida, Tamsin, Fenna, Rowena, and Aeliana immediately stepped up to the edge of the table, leaning their heads over the parchment while Eluned leaned close to him.

The rain continued to drum relentlessly against the canopy above them in a constant reminder of the hostile world waiting outside their walls.

"We compiled this layout late last night in the Keep," Silas explained, tapping his calloused finger directly against the center of the map, where a heavily shaded black square represented their steel-walled territory. "Tamsin provided the immediate, mud-stained scouting reports detailing the exact locations of the local scavenger nests, the ravines, and the high-traffic predator paths but Aeliana..."

Silas nodded respectfully toward the Royal Elf standing beside him.

"...provided the overarching topography of the entire region. She knows the deep, permanent geographical scars of this specific area from a century ago, detailing the impassable mountains, the deep miasma sinkholes so together, we have successfully drafted a functional, highly actionable layout of the enemy’s terrain."

Aeliana stared down at the map, her green eyes turning highly focused and alert.

’I think he’s forgiven me now.’ Aeliana thought.

She was visibly eager to prove her tactical worth to her new Lord without stepping out of line.

She pointed a slender finger toward a jagged cluster of rocks drawn to the east.

"The gorge where we fought the bats is a dead end," Aeliana murmured professionally. "But beyond the eastern ridge lies a subterranean aquifer. It draws larger beasts like corrupted drakes and heavily armored scavengers."

"Our primary objective today is massive rapid expansion," Silas declared, looking deliberately around the tight circle of his commanding officers, ensuring they understood the stakes. "The Armored Barracks is currently sitting at critical capacity... The severe overcrowding is a logistical nightmare that will inevitably compromise your combat readiness and unit cohesion... We need exactly two hundred Upgrade Points before nightfall to force a major structural evolution on the housing facilities..."

"Two hundred UP?" Brida grunted, her heavy brow furrowing as she calculated the math in her head. "That requires a massive, relentless slaughter, my Lord. We would need to eradicate entire colonies. We would be wading in blood until sunset."

"Exactly," Silas agreed grimly, his blue eyes entirely devoid of mercy for the creatures of the basin. "Which is precisely why we cannot march as a single, unified unit today. A forty-woman phalanx heavily marching through the mud is too loud, too slow, and severely limits our total area of coverage. It gives the smarter predators time to flee so to maximize our UP efficiency, we are dividing the Vanguard into highly coordinated strike forces to hit multiple sectors at once."

The commanders straightened up immediately, their expressions turning deadly serious as they waited for their specific deployments.

The warmth of the feast faded, replaced entirely by the cold reality of war.

"Kaelia," Silas looked toward the heavy double doors of the Haven, where the S-Rank Chef was watching nervously from the porch. "You stay safely behind the steel walls. Prep the remaining stores in the Vault and keep the hearths burning for when the hunters return. Your life is far too valuable to risk in the mud."

"Yes, my Lord!" Kaelia bowed deeply, immensely relieved that she would not be asked to swing a blade.

She turned and hurried back into the safety of her sweltering kitchen.

Silas turned his attention to his archery captain. "Fenna... You will take the entirety of the Bow-Splitter division and mount the Blood-Iron Watchtower. I need a rotating, 360-degree watch on the treeline. You are our eyes. If any of the ground teams trigger a horde they cannot handle, you provide overarching sniper fire and heavy artillery support using the Abyssal-Marrow ballistae."

"Yes, my Lord!" Fenna saluted sharply, eager to utilize the devastating siege weapons.

"Eluned," Silas looked at the Goddess standing nearby. "You will join Fenna on the Watchtower observation deck."

Eluned’s emerald eyes instantly widened. Her delicate brow furrowed, and a highly visible, deeply unhappy pout formed on her lips.

She stepped forward, her silver-green hair rustling.

"My Lord, I belong by your side," Eluned complained softly with the distress in her melodic voice painfully clear. "If you are marching into the mud and the rain, I should be there to shield you from the dark."

Silas didn’t snap at her for questioning his orders.

He knew the SSS-Rank entity operated entirely on a foundation of intense overwhelming devotion to his physical safety.

Silas smiled as he reached out, gently resting his hand on her shoulder.

"I am not leaving you behind, Eluned," Silas murmured. "I am placing you at the highest, most critical vantage point in the entire territory. Three separate teams are marching into the unknown today. I cannot be everywhere at once and I need your eyes on everyone so they don’t die. You are the overarching shield for the entire Territory."

Eluned stared into his blue eyes.

The jealousy and distress instantly melted away, replaced by a fierce wave of pride. He wasn’t dismissing her... he was entrusting her with the lives of his entire empire.

A heavy crimson blush dusted her pale cheeks.

She bowed her head deeply. "I understand, my Love. I will not let a single shadow touch them from above."

Aeliana quietly observed the interaction, once again stunned by his ability to seamlessly navigate the emotional complexities of his troops without sacrificing a single ounce of his authority.

’And making the Goddess blush like that... My love, are they perhaps official?’

"Strike Team Alpha," Silas continued, looking at his Huntress. "Tamsin, you are taking ten Shieldmaidens and five of the highly observant newbies. I want you sweeping the dense northern ridges. The terrain is highly uneven so rely on ambushes and trap-setting. Do not engage in prolonged brawls."

"Consider the north cleared, Lord Graves.." Tamsin grinned, her twin iron daggers already spinning eagerly in her hands.

"Strike Team Bravo," Silas turned to his heaviest hitter. "Brida. You will take the remaining phalanx trainees and the rest of the veteran infantry into the eastern thickets. The terrain there is flatter so lock your shields, form an unyielding wall, and grind down any packs you encounter."

"They will break against our iron..." Brida promised, slamming her gauntlet against her chest.

"Finally, Vanguard Command," Silas stated, rolling the map back up.

He looked at the Rune Weaver and the Royal Elf.

"Rowena. Aeliana. You two, along with a handful of fresh recruits to haul the materials, are marching with me. We are heading west, toward a flooded, highly dangerous quarry Aeliana identified from her memories. It’s a prime breeding ground for heavy mutations."