The explosion in question had happened in a place a short distance away from where the scouts had been destroyed. The enemy was getting closer to where Elfaria and Harumi were hiding. It had been caused by a trap that had been placed beforehand.
“...As expected, it seems they can't detect these traps. But it seems they're aware that Elfaria-dono is hiding in this region... I can't make light of my foes”
Kiriha was using explosives as traps.
Due to Forthorthe's sensors, simple bombs would be detected. And after some consideration, Kiriha decided to use talismans with explosion magic cast on them as a trigger for the main explosive, dynamite. It was a completely non-metallic bomb. As the enemy approached, the explosion magic would go off, which in turn set off the dynamite. It was a highly efficient and powerful bomb that couldn't be detected by Forthorthe's sensors.
On top of that, the bombs served as indicators of where the enemy was located. Thanks to these bombs, Kiriha was able to tell that the enemy was getting closer. So Kiriha and the others hurried in the direction of the explosion and set up a defensive formation.
“I can't make anyone out yet...”
Shizuka was staring into the forest, squinting with her eyes. Shizuka had the best eyesight out of anyone here, but with it being night, Shizuka couldn't spot any approaching enemies.
“That's right, won't you be able to see them now, Sanae-chan?”
“No, they're still too far off to see clearly, but I can feel a cloud of hostility”
Sanae could see the auras of the enemies on the other side of the forest. Though because the forest itself had a thick aura to it, Sanae couldn't clearly see through it. But she could feel hostility coming from many people, moving together as a group.
“How does it look?”
“There's one big cloud in the front. And to its right, there's a small cloud. There might be more, but I can't tell from this distance”
“Which means that at a minimum there's a main force and a detachment... Sanae, continue looking and let me know if there's a change”
“Okay”
Based on all the information she had gotten, Kiriha made adjustments to her plan. Knowing that the enemy had split up into at least two groups, Kiriha couldn't just leave it be.
“Yurika”
“What is it?”
“Take three of my subordinates with you and stop the detachment of forces moving to our right. I don't want to let them do as they please”
”Me?!”
Yurika's eyes shot wide open. She had just assumed that she would be following someone's orders, so being given soldiers and told to go fight separate from the rest was completely unexpected.