Chapter 1138: Interception
Trantor: Transn Editor: Transn
In Neverwinter, Graycastle.
Rnd received Iron Axe, the Commander-in-Chief of the First Army, and Edith Kant, the Chief of General Staff.
"How did it go? Do you like riding on the ’Seagull’?" Rnd asked as he looked at the pair with some interest.
"Your, your Majesty, it’s fast, but it’s... a little too fast for me," Iron Axe answered with a look of terror. "I didn’t feel that way before. However, when I actually sat in there, I noticed that it wobbled pretty badly. I was very scared when the craft went up and down and thought I was going to fall." He then administered a military salute and eximed through his teeth, "Of course, I promise that I’ll do my best to ovee my fear, Your Majesty!"
It appeared that this seasoned Mojin warrior feared heights. Rnd asked, his brows raised, "So, how are you going to ovee the fear?"
"I’ll watch more magic movies once this war is over until I’m no longer afraid of it!"
"That’s really like what a Sand National would say," Rnd thought in amusement, a muscle flinching in his face. He turned to Edith and asked, "What about you?"
The Pearl of the Northern Region moisted her lips and answered quietly after a moment of silence, "Fantastic."
"That’s it?"
Rnd waited for Edith to borate but thetter did not say anything further. Then he noticed a rosy flush fluttered over her cheeks, her eyes glistening.
Rnd heaved a sigh. He had to admit that his subordinates all had some unusual personalities. He expected to see them heap praises on his new invention, impressed and shocked. Now it appeared he had overestimated the psychological impact of the aircraft.
Rnd rose to his feet and said, "Since you’re already here, let’s start the meeting. We have to get prepared for the final battle."
...
After six months of construction work, the first main railway was only 60 kilometers away from the Taqu ruin. Once the construction of Tower Station No. 10 waspleted, the First Army would be able to directly attack the demons at Taqu. The "Torch" n had cost much greater manpower and supplies than any of the military operations they had carried out in the past four years. 80% of the iron produced by the Furnace Area were used to build the railway. The sole purpose for this n was to stop the demons from erecting the Obelisk before the arrival of the Bloody Moon.
Once the Fertile ins was enveloped by the Red Mist, the demons would be able to invade the interior from the Impassable Mountain Range anytime. By then, not only would the First Army face a bitter battle but the demons would no longer be bounded by distance. Rnd definitely did not want to see the battle unfold in this way, considering that human beings were already outnumbered by the demons.
However, if they managed to seize Taqu before the final battle, the demons would have to erect their Obelisk in the other two Holy Cities, the Starfall City and Arrieta. Both two cities were more on the northern end of the in. Even if the demons built their outposts there, they could not directly threaten the Four Kingdoms. In that case, they would not only have a bigger chance to win the Battle of Divine Will but would also earn another 400 years for human beings to convalesce.
As Graycastle had already entered an Age of Industrialization, Rnd was positive that human beings would have much greater achievement in the next 400 years when the survival of the mankind no longer depended on food and basic life necessities. Therefore, the vast in, in a sense, became their strategic buffing zone as well as their prospective territory for further development.
Men would eventually defeat demons.
Though perhaps this generation might not witness their eventual victory.
This was also why Rnd did not exin the reason for this n in detail.
Unfortunately, the n did not go as well as he had anticipated. They had nned to exterminate all the demons at Taqu and convert the ruin into their own stronghold. However, the First Army was now only one step away from sess.
The appearance of the Magic yer had forced them to adjust their initial n. The power of the curse inflicted by the Magic yer appeared to be incurable. Even very minor wounds could lead to morality. Lightning could more or less cure herself, but Leaf’s condition was much worse.
Based on Ashes’ report, Leaf’s health was deteriorating.
Although Leaf did not say anything about her injuries, Ashes could still tell that her health was declining. This indicated that the deterioration of her wound was beyond her self-repairing ability. Like a lesion, the infected area gradually expanded and would finally kill the patient. No matter how long this process might take, Rnd could not let Leaf die. He could not ept any loss of the poption.
It was time to make a final settlement with the Magic yer and Taqu.
The representatives of the witches and the army all gathered in the meeting room to discuss the uing battle. A screen spread across the wall and presented the image of the Third Border City. Their sole topic of discussion was how to kill the Magic yer that could inflict fatal curses on people.
Edith broke the silence as usual. "First of all, from what the General Staff can tell, when the Magic yer see a defeat is inevitable, he would very likely retreat. This is just an assumption. We haven’t had much solid evidence to support this theory yet. Judging from the fact that he’s still keeping a distance from the encampment, we believe he’s exactly the opposite of Kabradhabi."
"I agree," Alethea, who had fought the demons more than anyone else, said. "Gantry doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be a suicidal moron. We agree with the demons on this term. A seniormander ys a far more important role than a Mad Demon. It isn’t likely that he would die meaninglessly like his subordinates."
"So, we must be proactive and intercept them when they retreat," Edith continued while nodding. "Fortunately, we know everything about our enemy and have experience in dealing with them." She then cast a look at Andrea Quinn and said, "If the Magic yer doesn’t notice our n, a long-distance shot would definitely be the safest and most effective way to kill him."
Andrea brushed her hair away from her face gracefully.
"I have a question," Tilly spoke.
"Please go ahead, Your Highness," the Pearl of the Northern Region said while cing her hand on her chest.
"First of all, we can’t guarantee that one bullet would be enough to kill the Magic yer. What if he’s still alive after the bullet hits him? We won’t have a second chance. Second, what if the Magic yer has noticed the presence of this weapon with a long shooting range and attempts to avoid a direct confrontation? From our past experience, it’s very likely that he’ll do so. It seems to me that the enemy learns firearms faster than we desire him to."
"I’ve thought about these two possibilies," Edith replied. "For the first one, the General Staff has decided to use a God’s Stone of Retaliation as the bullet."
"A God’s Stone bullet?"
"Correct. Even if we can’t kill the Magic yer at one shot, we can immoblize him. Of course, the smaller a God’s stone is, the softer it will be. A God’s stone as small as a bullet can be easily crushed by a hammer, so it’ll break before we fire. However, we can probably try Miss Andrea’s weapon, as her weapon has a muchrger caliber," Edith paused for a second and then went on, "Regarding this point, I’ve confirmed with Ms. Agatha. A God’s Stone made from magic blood will be a lot harder. We can first test that out using the two bottles of magic blood she collected from the demons."
"To use the demons’ blood to kill them? I like it," Alethea said smilingly. "You’re the second mortal I’m impressed with."
The Pearl of the Northern Region returned her a smile indifferently and said, "As for your second question, I’ll need a preserve unit."
"Only Lightning is faster than the Magic yer," Wendy answered apprehensively. "However, she can’t... stop him."
"No," Edith said while shaking her head. "There’s something faster than the Magic yer — "
"Something?" Tilly echoed with a look ofprehension.
"Right. That is — a diving ’Seagull’," Edith said slowly.