"I know you're not soldiers, and I also know that there are some people in the First Army Reserve and the Second Army who are undergoing steam truck driving training, but time waits for no one." Tie Axe's steady gaze swept across everyone. "Since you are the first batch of drivers to pass the assessment and achieve excellent results, it shows that you are good enough, and you should be more than capable of taking on this task."

"The task is very simple," he walked to the map spread out on the table and moved a chess piece from Dawn to a black line in the eastern territory of Wolfheart. "This is about one hundred and fifty kilometers away from the central checkpoint. You only need to transport the personnel and supplies on the truck to this location, and then bring them back after they complete the attack. The stay time is about half an hour. If you're lucky, you won't even encounter the enemy."

Speaking of which, Tie Axe paused.

And a commotion arose in the crowd.

After all, another meaning of this sentence is that they will encounter devils if they are unlucky.

After waiting for a moment, the commander-in-chief continued, "Of course, the First Army will still be responsible for the combat mission. You only need to focus on driving. A total of ten truck crews will arrive at Cage Mountain, and according to the plan, four to five trucks will be able to achieve the combat goal. Therefore, according to the usual practice of the Administrative Office, we will use a recruitment method to select the departing personnel."

"For each round trip front-line transport mission completed, the truck crew will receive an extra reward three times the salary. This bonus will be paid by the First Army and is not related to the salary offered by the Administrative Office. So... those willing to apply, please step forward now."

Farina stepped forward without hesitation.

To her slight surprise, all the truck crews chose to apply. The only difference was the speed at which they made the decision.

She herself had the purpose of seeing devils on the front line. She had also served in the Judgment Army, so she was used to stepping onto the battlefield. But others were different—apart from being drivers, most of them were just freemen of Neverwinter.

What made them make this decision was undoubtedly their full trust in the First Army.

Tie Axe quickly selected five truck crews in order of priority, and Farina's second truck crew was among them.

"They are entrusted to you," the commander-in-chief looked at Vanna. "The operation will officially begin at dawn tomorrow!"

…

"I always feel a little uneasy." After all the drivers left the command hall, Agatha said in a low voice, "The number of people mobilized is small, but it requires close cooperation from the entire army, and there are also ordinary townspeople involved. The practice time is less than a day. This arrangement is too tight."

She now understood what the Northern Pearl meant by "lightning speed." From the plan alone, the plan did have a high degree of feasibility.

The simple hardened road previously repaired for the migration has now become the basis for the counterattack. Even if its width, thickness, and construction quality are not as good as the main artery project, it is still much better than a gravel road or a dirt road. With further restrictions on the load, the vehicles can still run.

And on the two-hundred-kilometer round trip, the average speed of the Magic Cube steam truck is much higher than that of any cavalry—even if the latter spared no effort and switched horses twice, it would still take two days. Converted to a truck, it would basically take six to eight hours to complete the entire journey, not to mention the heavy equipment that this counterattack squad could carry.

The only problem is that it not only covers all the arms of the First Army, but also introduces non-combat personnel. It is really impossible to predict what kind of emergencies will be encountered at that time.

"This operation does have some unexpected factors, but they are almost negligible compared to the benefits." Edith said frankly, "Devils may redeploy fortress-type twisted beasts at any time. Instead of continuing to wait for the opportunity, it is better to seize the present."

"I don't think the enemy would expect that humans would launch a counterattack against them less than a day after losing the Silent Pond Bay. The most likely result of failure is that it will be fruitless, while success can frustrate the devil's next actions step by step. The choice is self-evident. Moreover, war itself is full of surprises. Sometimes, a seemingly meticulous plan will be ruined by a small coincidence." Speaking of this, she smiled. "So... let's pray that the goddess of luck will stand on our side."

…

Seven o'clock the next morning, light breeze, light snow.

Under the gray sky, five steam trucks lined up in a long line and slowly drove out of the quiet camp, heading east.

Unlike when transporting goods, the rear of the carriages were covered with gray and white tarpaulins, looking like small moving snow piles from a distance. The rear of three of the trucks also towed 152mm fortress guns. The long black gun barrels were integrated with the wheel tracks. Only when you got closer could you notice the faint cold light refracted from the hydraulic recoil device.

Two hours later, twenty-five fully fueled and armed biplanes took off from the Thorns Town airfield and rushed to the predetermined battlefield under the leadership of the Seagull. Unlike usual combat, the Sky Knight Corps did not choose the lower altitude, which was easier to identify directions, but went straight into the clouds from the beginning, flying in the gaps of the clouds.

This meant that they would lose most of their vision. Apart from the compass, the only thing that could guide them was the Seagull's looming figure. Once they fell behind, it would be almost impossible to find the aircraft group again. In order to avoid getting lost, everyone was highly concentrated. There was no conversation in the cockpit except for the roar of the engine.

At the same time, Lightning and Maggie appeared in the battlefield airspace and separately investigated the possible existence of reconnaissance eye demons.

Two hours and fifteen minutes into the operation, the first accident occurred in the convoy. Due to road quality problems, the No. 4 truck crew broke down while passing a pit. After a simple transfer, the convoy resumed its journey, leaving only the faulty truck crew to carry out repairs themselves.

Half an hour later, an accident also occurred with the Sky Knight Corps. Two planes lost the lead plane when flying over overlapping clouds and could only turn around and return on their own according to the regulations before departure. During the return journey, they were not allowed to leave the clouds.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly after that.

Three hours and six minutes, the steam truck squad took the lead in arriving at its destination.

"Oh my god, Farina..." Qiao Xiangqian leaned slightly and murmured in a low voice.

"Ah, I see it." Farina steadily stopped the car, staring at the side of the cab with a grim face—through the windshield, she saw a white bone-like frame standing on a mountain in the distance. At first glance, it was only one-third the size of a fingertip, but considering its distance, she could fully imagine what an amazing behemoth it was.

And around the white bones, there was a thick red mist, which almost covered the entire mountain, forming a sharp contrast with the surrounding snow scene.

That was definitely not a human creation.

Just by looking at it, one could feel the cold chill rising from the bottom of their heart.

Farina couldn't help but tighten her grip on the steering wheel.

Undoubtedly, devils had come into the world.