August 14, Year 1 of the New Calendar
After only a few months of rest and recovery, a new expedition began with great fanfare.
This expedition aimed to delve deep underground and conquer every territory along the way.
Gron and Mortas remained the mainstays of the entire expedition.
One would lead frontal assaults, while the other would strike from the flanks.
The Ashen Clan and the Hunter Clan had long since grown restless, eager to claim new glory.
Isara was responsible for managing logistics and planning the development of conquered territories.
With her devout heart, the Pontiff would spread the Sunfire God's radiance to every corner.
As director of the Great Library, Aemon also carried out his duties diligently, assigning many of his clan's finest Fireflies to every squad.
They would compile and transcribe the army's history, battle reports, and new discoveries.
Meanwhile, unlike the previous Sunrise Expedition, this Emberfall Expedition had a new participant.
----[Gear Clan]----
These strange bugs, their missing limbs replaced with metal components, made the expedition's other members uncomfortable.
Although the Gear Clan had received the Sunfire God's recognition, they were simply too peculiar.
Even one seasoned warrior, a veteran of countless battles, began trembling under the gaze of a bug so heavily mechanized that almost its entire body was metal-something the warrior had never experienced even in combat.
Much like the uncanny valley effect, this was the problem the Gear Clan currently faced.
They struggled to fit in. On the one hand, they were bugs, but on the other, they seemed so unlike bugs.
After considering all the factors, they could ultimately only be assigned the role of ranged support troops.
The spearhead of this expedition remained the Ashen Clan, led by Gron.
Raily had little to say about this. She knew the warmaster had