Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
As the alarm went off, the soldiers at the frontier immediately entered the state of high alert according to their contingency plan.
Hurry up! Drop what you’re working on and go to the exit closest to you!
The soldiers responsible for evacuating the encampment yelled as they directed the construction team to the shelters.
Don’t push and don’t look around! Remember, no matter what happens outside, don’t leave the shelter!
Shelter No. 6 is full!
Same here in Shelter No. 7!
Get going. Go to the next shelter. Don’t block the passage. All of you, move!
This was not the first time that they had to evacuate the railway stations. Although the air was filled with the exasperated, short-tempered hollers of the soldiers, nobody was panicking.
Around 2,000 workers ebbed away into the underground bunkers through the exit passages. These bunkers at the rear of the encampment, all built by Lotus, were plastered with steel plates. They could not only provide the soldiers accommodation but could also shield them from spears and machine guns. Even if the outer ring of the defensive line was broken through, the shelters would still remain safe.
After the tidal waves of people receded, darkness soon closed in upon the construction site which had been alive with flickers of light just a moment ago.
The evacuation is completed. Lights are all off. The First Army is now filing into the encampment,
Sylvie informed the other units while casting a quick glance at the surroundings. The observation room above the headquarters was currently the busiest place of the frontier. A dozen telephones lining the table rang continuously. As there were so many messages, the staff only forwarded the most important ones to Sylvie.
Meanwhile, the officers collected information and translated it onto the map to provide references for the headquarters staff.
Sylvie, as the
eye
of the army, had now become the central information hub of the observation room that facilitated the efficient operation of the First Army.
OK, I see. Miss Sylvie, this is Van’er from the artillery battalion. I hope you could provide us with the demons’ location and firing parameters.
Same request from the ‘Blackriver I’ and ‘Blackriver II’!
Hold on a second,
said Sylvie as she swept a glance to the front. The
shadows
, which were slowly edging toward the army, had just entered the shooting range of 10 miles away from the encampment. Based on their current rate, it might be another five to six hours before they reached their final destination. Therefore, the most pressing issue at present was to learn the operation intention of the demons. What were they plotting and why did they create the blind zones with the God’s Stones of Retaliation?
When magic power ceased to work, they had to resort to human eyes for observation.
She picked up the Sigil of Listening and asked,
Lightning, Maggie, can you hear me? Where are you?
We just took off. Maggie is above me.
Soon, a voice came from the other end of the line, mingled with the shrill alarm.
What happened? Did the demons attack us?
It looks like it, but the demons obscured the majority of my vision. I reckon they’ve used giant God’s Stones of Retaliation again.
Noted. I’ll go take a look.
Leave it to us, coo!
Compared to what Sylvie saw in the observation room, Lightning viewed the battlefield as something completely different.
She saw firelights gradually shrink as the night pressed on. The distant land was engulfed by a velvety darkness and looked both serene and unfathomable.
The Fertile Plains was still deep in its slumber, without noticing, in the slightest, the upcoming war.
It was almost unbelievable that the demons had already taken actions had Sylvie not warned them.
Maggie, turn on night mode!
Coo, coo, coo!
The white pigeon immediately expanded, and her body turned into a furry ball. A massive head poked out of the gigantic sphere with two large, glassy eyes that were about to burst out from their sockets.
Transformation complete. I’m now in the form of an owl, coo!
Then, let’s go —
Lightning steadied the
giant owl
perched on her head and flew toward the northeast.
However, Sylvie’s voice came out of the Sigil of Listening in a rush as they neared Taquila.
Come back, you guys! The Magic Slayer is coming!
Lightning shuddered as terror paralyzed her limbs. She managed to suppress her fear before replying with gritted teeth,
Even if he’s coming for us, he won’t find us that fast. Plus… if we go back now, we won’t be able to know what the demons are hiding behind the God’s Stones, right?
But…
Don’t worry. He can’t get me with just a Stone of Flight. As long as I avoid the anti-magic area, I’ll be safe.
Lightning clenched her fists. Her hands started to sweat, but she knew she could not run away from the battle anymore. Over the past half a year, she had slowly come to realize that she would never become a brave person like the God’s Punishment Witches. Even that train conductor had more guts than she did.
Nevertheless, she was not fighting the enemy all alone. She knew Maggie, Lorgar, Joan, and many other friends had her back. They had helped her to overcome her fear and start all over again.
Gradually, she had recovered her power. After what seemed to be a long and arduous journey, she had finally returned where she had fallen half a year ago.
Now, she only needed to overcome two more obstacles.
One was to fly past the Magic Slayer, and the other was to…
Strike back as a retaliation!
Maggie, I’ll leave him to you,
Lightning unbuttoned her flight suit, stuffed the owl down the front, only leaving its head poking out of the collar, and then accelerated. She could definitely manage to fly at the speed of sound for ten kilometers.
Be… be careful, the Magic Slayer… s-saw you…
Sylvie’s voice came out from the sigil inarticulately as the reception went in and out because of the synchronization of magic power.
Lightning knew that she had exposed her trait. The Magic Slayer could definitely hear the popping and crackling sounds of her passing through the sound barrier.
But she was faster than sound, which meant by the time the Magic Slayer heard her, she was already way ahead of him.
A few seconds later, Maggie spied the Magic Slayer.
That monster is at your front right, coo!
Before Lightning could see the Magic Slayer in the dismal moonlight, a haze of black light suddenly overcast the sky!
Without a doubt, the Magic Slayer could see better in the darkness than Maggie. He had not only spotted her but also tried to cut her off. Upon realizing Lightning was way faster than him, he generated the anti-magic area.
Lightning instantly raised her speed to its maximum and started to dive.
For a split second, Lightning felt the grimy and chilly black haze brush past her ankles. The next moment, she had shaken the Magic Slayer off. As she was no longer threatened by the anti-magic area, she straightened up and zoomed across the demons’ encampment. The whole encampment then slid into her view.
At the moonlit encampment, Lightning saw the demons were pushing two large God’s stone cylinders forward. Like two gigantic bell towers on their sides, the pillars were at least 20 meters long and three meters tall. Behind each pillar were seven or eight neatly lined Spider Demons which were hobbling slowly in the direction of the First Army.
Right behind the Spider Demons were tons of Mad Demons, which were apparently using the pillars as some sort of mobile bunkers.
