Day six of the march brought them to the edge of what had once been heavily contested territory.

The border between the Demon Empire and the no-man's land that separated civilizations was marked not by walls or formal boundaries, but by absence.

Villages stopped. Infrastructure ended.

The landscape transformed from managed demon territories into wild expanses that neither empire claimed but both had fought over for decades.

Four hundred miles of this stretched before them.

Empty lands scarred by warfare, dotted with abandoned Radiant Empire outposts from their occupation months prior, still patrolled but no longer fortified to the extent they'd once been.

Liam's victory at Ashard had caused their withdrawal. Now his army would march through the vacuum that withdrawal had created.

"We need to increase pace," Zara reported during morning command briefing.

Her analytical mind had been calculating logistics for days. "Forty miles per day through this stretch. It's aggressive but achievable for demon physiology. Gets us through no-man's land in ten days instead of fourteen."

"Forty miles daily is forced march pace," Commander Torven noted. "Sustainable for demons, yes, but it'll exhaust troops. We'll arrive at Radiant Empire border with army that's physically depleted."

"We'll arrive at Radiant Empire border four days faster with minimal additional casualties," Liam countered. "Four days the Radiant Empire can't use to prepare defenses or reposition forces. Four days we're not exposed in territory where we're vulnerable to harassment."

"The no-man's land isn't empty," Lilith interjected, studying intelligence reports. "Fourth Order scouts confirm abandoned Radiant outposts that still have patrol presence. Not major garrisons, but enough to harass supply lines if we're not careful. Faster pace limits their ability to coordinate attacks."

The tactical logic was sound. Move fast through contested territory, minimize exposure to harassment, arrive at actual Radiant Empire border before enemies could prepare elaborate defense.

"Forty miles daily starting today," Liam decided. "Legion commanders adjust formation for sustained movement. Fourth Order ranges ahead eliminating patrol presence before main army encounters resistance. We treat this as sprint through hostile territory rather than cautious advance."

Orders were distributed, and within two hours the army had restructured for accelerated march. Tighter formations. Reduced rest intervals. Supply wagons repositioned for maximum efficiency.

Two hundred thousand demons moving at pace that would have killed human army through exhaustion alone.

---

The first day at accelerated pace covered forty-two miles—slightly exceeding target as demons proved capable of sustained movement that conventional forces couldn't match.

The landscape they traversed was haunting.

Abandoned Radiant Empire fortifications dotted the terrain—watchtowers that had once housed observers, supply depots now looted and empty, fortified positions that spoke to years of occupation before strategic withdrawal.

"They held this territory for years," Lilith observed as they passed particularly impressive abandoned fortress. "Then your victories at Ashard made them pull back. This entire stretch was theirs until you proved demons could win."

"This entire stretch is scarred by warfare neither side won." Liam studied the abandoned fortress, seeing evidence of multiple assaults.

Demon forces had tried to retake it. Radiant Empire had defended it. Both sides had bled here without decisive outcome.

Until the strategic situation changed and holding these positions became untenable.

"The Fourth Order eliminated three Radiant patrols today," Kael'thra reported during evening briefing. "Small groups, five to ten soldiers each. They were observing our advance but hadn't yet reported our exact position. We've maintained operational security."

"How many more patrols in our projected path?"

"Intelligence suggests approximately thirty patrol groups scattered across next two hundred miles. Most are five to fifteen soldiers—reconnaissance rather than combat strength." Her scarred face showed satisfaction with accomplished mission.

"The Fourth Order can eliminate them systematically as we advance. Radiant Empire won't know our precise position until we're much closer to their actual border."

It was ruthlessly efficient. And slightly concerning how easily Kael'thra discussed systematic elimination of small patrol groups.

"Continue eliminating isolated patrols. But if you encounter concentration of forces—anything over fifty soldiers—report before engaging." Liam's caution was born from not wanting Fourth Order to trigger engagement the main army wasn't prepared for. "We're moving fast through this territory. I don't want to slow for fights we could have avoided."

The days began to blur together. March at dawn. Forty miles of sustained movement. Brief rest intervals. Evening encampment. Strategic briefings. Sleep. Repeat.

Day seven: forty-one miles covered. Twelve Radiant patrols eliminated by Fourth Order. No combat casualties for main army.

Day eight: forty miles exactly. Evidence of larger Radiant Empire presence ahead, but Fourth Order scouts confirmed forces were withdrawing rather than preparing defensive positions.

Apparently someone in Radiant command had decided not to contest no-man's land.

Day nine: thirty-eight miles due to difficult terrain. Morale remained high despite aggressive pace. Soldiers were adapting to sustained march with efficiency that spoke to demon endurance.

By day ten, they'd covered nearly four hundred miles total and were approaching the end of no-man's land.

The abandoned Radiant positions were becoming more recent—outposts evacuated weeks rather than months ago, supply caches that hadn't been fully looted, evidence of hasty withdrawal.

"They're consolidating behind their actual border," Zara analyzed during briefing. "Abandoning forward positions to concentrate forces at defensible locations. Smart strategy—don't bleed forces defending territory they evacuated already."

"Which means when we reach their border, we'll face concentrated defense rather than scattered resistance," Torven concluded. "They're trading space for preparation time."

"And we're trading exhaustion for speed." Liam studied projections. "Six more days at forty miles daily gets us to Radiant border. Then we face whatever defense they've prepared."

"The question," Lilith said carefully, "is whether arriving four days earlier than slower pace would have achieved is worth arriving with army that's been force-marching for two weeks."

"The question is whether slow march through no-man's land being harassed by patrol groups is better than fast march that avoids most harassment." Liam's correction was pointed.

"We've lost minimal forces to patrol encounters because we're moving too fast to be systematically targeted. Slower pace means more opportunities for them to inflict casualties before we reach their border."

The logic was sound but the exhaustion was real.

Even demon physiology had limits, and two weeks of forty-mile daily marches was pushing those limits.

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