As the Devil's Royal City drew closer, the attacks on the floating island became increasingly fierce.

From once a day at the beginning, to once every few hours now, often the previous wave of attacks had not yet ended when the second wave appeared on the horizon.

Only after nightfall would the floating island enjoy a moment of peace.

All unfinished projects and ground facilities had basically been shut down. The construction team had put all manpower and energy into repairing the runway. However, facing the tide-like offensive of the enemy, Roland did not dare to let the air knights pursue too much, which put all the pressure on Eleanor.

Another change was that the number of high-ranking devils was also increasing rapidly, including those known for their own strength and those with strange and unpredictable abilities. Unmanned gun turrets suffered losses, which further amplified the defense pressure.

By the afternoon of the second day, the enemy broke into the interior of the floating island for the first time—after several high-ranking devils used magic blades to cut open the sealed gate, Eleanor immediately issued an invasion alert. Armed to the teeth, the God's Punishment Witches formed the second line of defense. The two sides engaged in a fierce battle in the narrow passage. This scene was like the battlefield preset by the Association hundreds of years ago, except that the positions of the two sides were completely reversed.

In Akalys's vision, the God's Punishment Witches were the spearhead inserted into the devil's陣地, the key to destroying the obelisk and the Mother. Only by smashing through the resisting enemies in a destructive manner could humans have the hope of winning. But in the floating island, the devils became the attacking side, and the God's Punishment Witches only needed to block their advance.

However, their strength standards had not been lowered as a result—in a sense, the God's Punishment Witches were originally cultivated to be the nemesis of high-ranking enemies. Devils with their abilities sealed found it difficult to gain any advantage in front of a group of ancient witches who were similar to extraordinary individuals and not afraid of pain, especially since they were holding guns.

Therefore, despite being at an absolute disadvantage in number, they still blocked the enemy outside the core area.

At the same time, traces of devil troops also appeared on the ground, most of which were spider-like deformed beasts. First, there were a few scattered ones, but now they had formed small patches of "black puddles."

"It's like ants waiting for a corpse," Agatha murmured, looking at the scene below the floating island. "If we fall down, they will definitely swarm up and tear everyone to pieces."

"More devils are on the way. It seems the enemy wants to surround us." Phyllis's expression was also quite solemn. "In the past, the Association wanted to completely defeat the devils with an extraordinary force. Now it seems that this idea was a bit naive."

"Yes, even without Mask and its Symbiotic Army, the Association couldn't have swallowed this number..." The Icewitch closed her eyes. "We underestimated the War of Divine Will."

"But you at least preserved hope." Roland patted her shoulder in comfort. Regardless of the ending of the Witch Empire, after humans had experienced two complete defeats, they still preserved the spark of resistance instead of giving up completely, which was very commendable.

"Your Majesty!" At this moment, Feilin walked over with the latest intelligence. "The devil's floating city's flight path has changed. It seems to be turning towards us!"

"Who is the reporter?"

"It's Miss Lightning from the Exploration Team. She also said that the other side has expanded the patrol range of the Terrorbeasts at the same time, and she and Maisie can no longer stay nearby to monitor. Finally, Miss Lightning mentioned that there was an extremely amazing magic reaction overflowing below the Royal City. Even she, who is not good at sensing magic, noticed that burning aura."

Roland couldn't help but exchange glances with Agatha.

"What do you think it is?"

"I don't know..." The latter shook her head. "But since the magic is condensed to this extent, it definitely won't be anything simple."

"That's what I thought." Roland agreed.

Isn't it amazing?

Symbiotes, mass-produced high-level evolutions, God-made gods... The new things that have emerged from the devils in the past century can really be described as emerging one after another. Even when the War of Divine Will had just begun, they were still using ordinary bone spears, but now they had been replaced with improved explosive products—although not every Mad Devil could have them. Even if they were not using human gunpowder, they must have been inspired accordingly.

In the past, people often said that war is the best catalyst for civilization. It seems that there is some truth to it. Roland looked up at the dim sky above the projection, God... Is this the scene you wanted to see?

There was no doubt that if they continued to advance under attack, they would have no chance of winning. At this time, the floating island was like sailing against the current, and the turbulent black current was thousands of devils. If the number of enemies doubled again, there would inevitably be a large number of casualties on the island.

Moreover, judging from the powerful magic emerging from the Devil's Royal City and its active approach, they should still be hiding more than one trump card for the final battle.

However... he never thought of fighting the other side face to face.

On the map, the position of the floating island was still a little short of the end of the marked red line, but since the devils were willing to actively shorten the distance, he could save some effort.

"Notify everyone to gather in the conference room." Roland instructed Feilin. "It's time."

Everyone in the command post put down their work and looked over here.

The room suddenly became extremely quiet.

"Yes, Your Majesty." The knight straightened his chest and raised his hand in salute.

...

A few minutes later, the high-level officials gathered on the top floor of the bridge.

The setting sun was gradually falling into the earth, and the horizon presented a blood-red color. The many devil corpses lying horizontally on the landing field added a touch of desolation to this afterglow.

"Tonight, the enemy will enter our final strike range."

Roland looked at each participant. They were divided into two rows around the long table, one side was the witches—Anna, Wendy, Agatha, Phyllis... the other side was the military command—Iron Axe, Edith, Brian, Feilin... Every pair of eyes was filled with unspoken trust. Even though the enemy was overwhelming like dark clouds, no one showed any sign of retreat or uneasiness.

"I think this plan no longer needs to be repeated. From the moment it was born, everyone has been involved in it and witnessed the entire process from scratch." Roland said slowly, "Although I am the one who proposed the plan, without everyone's joint efforts, it would not become a reality."

Prototype production, parameter calculation, configuration selection, air-drop experiments—even with the assistance of Graycastle Design Bureau, he followed the process step by step to complete the entire set of inspections from experimental product to commissioned weapon, in order to avoid any accidents in actual combat.

"In order to minimize the chances of being discovered and avoid unnecessary losses on the way, the squadron will depart around five in the morning. Night navigation is full of risks, but I believe Tilly can lead the air knights to do it. If everything goes well, a new 'sun' will appear on the horizon tomorrow morning."

Seeing that no one in the conference room had any objections, Roland stood up and said, "Then, I announce that Project Solar Flare is officially launched!" He paused. "Remember, the darkest hour is just before dawn."