This wasn't a wild guess; the history of human civilization is excellent proof.

It took humanity nearly a million years to progress from the Stone Age to the Iron Age, but the transition from the Iron Age to the Steam Age was rapidly shortened to three thousand two hundred years. Subsequently, it only took one hundred and fifty years to advance from the Steam Age to the Electric Age, and fifty years later, the Information Age was directly ushered in.

From the information revealed by Agatha, it is clear that the devils are not an unchanging group. A hundred years ago, their combat methods were similar to those of humans, engaging in close combat with swords and shields made of bronze and wrought iron. To combat the witches, some high-ranking devils would also wear God's Punishment Stones. During siege warfare, facing the crossbows and catapults on the city walls, the devils basically had no effective means of response, often having to pay a heavy toll to conquer a fortified city. If it weren't for their innate monstrous strength, perhaps humanity would have been the ultimate victor in the First Battle of Divine Will.

But during the Second Battle of Divine Will, the enemy had already developed magic stones that could be mass-produced, and the group had also become differentiated, with different forms of devils undertaking different combat tasks. Even the numerous Fiends possessed long-range attack methods. According to Agatha, they even created transportation and construction equipment driven by magic stones! Now, more than four hundred years have passed, what have they evolved into?

Roland originally thought that Agatha could bring him the magic stone technology of the Taquila Exploration Society, thereby opening up a new path for industrial development, but he didn't expect that this technology actually came from the enemy. In this way, the competition with the devils is likely to evolve into a war between industrial technology and magic stone technology.

Whoever develops faster will win the ultimate victory.

Thinking of this, Roland couldn't help but sigh. It seemed necessary to have a good talk with Tilly.

...

After dinner, Roland waited for Tilly. Wimbledon in his office.

Seeing her come alone, he was quite gratified—at least in terms of trust, there had been significant progress between the two places.

"Nightingale told me you wanted to discuss something with me," she said straight to the point after sitting down.

"That's right," Roland personally poured a cup of tea and handed it to her, "mainly about how to deal with the Third Battle of Divine Will, and our future."

Tilly took the teacup, blinked, and seemed to be waiting for him to continue.

"From Agatha's words, we can know that the Four Kingdoms are just a corner of the Dawn territory, and even the Barren Lands were once a prosperous fertile plain. Humans have been defeated by the devils twice, and had no choice but to retreat to this place. According to the time the Stone Gate opens, the Third Battle of Divine Will is not far from us." Roland hesitated for a moment and said bluntly, "I hope you can stay."

Tilly was slightly startled, and then couldn't help but chuckle, "I didn't expect you to say that."

"The strength of the devils is difficult to predict. We must gather all the forces we can gather to have a chance to win the war. Although Agatha claimed that the First Battle of Divine Will was a collaboration between mortals and witches, it was likely just a superficial joint operation, and there was no essential difference from the Second Battle of Divine Will." He said in a sincere tone, "You have also seen that this part of the memory that I have gained holds weapons that are enough to defeat the devils. Once the things inside are transformed into reality, mortals can also unleash unimaginable power. Witches are responsible for operating the war machines, and ordinary people should be involved in the war. With the war approaching, every additional person is equal to an additional force."

"..." Tilly took a sip of tea and did not answer for a long time, which made Roland's heart hang.

But there was no use in being anxious at this time. He pretended to be calm on the surface and waited quietly for her to speak.

After about a quarter of an hour, Tilly sighed and broke the silence, "If I stay, what will happen to the witches of Sleeping Island?"

Does this mean...she agreed? Roland suppressed his excitement, "Let them all come to Border Town, which can fully accommodate them. I will specially designate a territory for your witches to live in, and everyone will receive the same treatment as the Witch Union—ah, I don't mean to include them all in the Witch Union. They are still led by you, equivalent to establishing an autonomous special zone in the Western Region. This will facilitate cooperation and enhance mutual understanding."

"The treatment is all the same?" She couldn't help but chuckle, "You don't dislike their abilities. You should know that most people can't fight for you."

"No, no," Roland waved his hand repeatedly, "In the cooperation model I envision, auxiliary witches can play a greater role than combat witches, because what they strengthen is not themselves, but thousands of ordinary people—there is no lack of power in nature, only people who discover and use power. In this regard, the ability of auxiliary witches is better than too many."

"So, this is your real purpose?" she asked mischievously.

"Uh—"

"It is indeed a generous condition," Tilly shook her head with a smile, "Officially, I cannot refuse to fight against the invasion of the devils with you. Personally, I also hope to stay here and learn those interesting knowledge... But I can't promise you now."

Roland was stunned and subconsciously asked, "Why?"

"Since I am the leader elected by the witches of Sleeping Island, I cannot decide their future based on personal preferences. Once they migrate to the Western Region, the organization will inevitably lose its independence. If something happens again at that time, they will not be able to resist. If we have a conflict one day in the future, can all the witches pack their luggage and return to Sleeping Island again?"

"No, how could I—"

"I can't entrust their future to verbal guarantees," Tilly interrupted, "If you were me, would you simply hand over everything to the other party for disposal because of the alliance relationship?"

Roland suddenly choked. The answer almost didn't need to be thought about. If he encountered such a choice, he would never easily agree to others. Most of the time, the closer you get, the easier it is to have conflicts. The so-called distant friendship and close attack comes from this. It is the same between forces, and even between lovers.

"See, your concerns are the same as mine."

"But... you are my sister, I would never harm you." Roland had to make his last effort.

"Is that so... But I still find it difficult to believe those reasons you said," Tilly closed her eyes with some sadness, "Perhaps this is also why I can't agree to you immediately." She paused, seemingly wanting to put these thoughts aside, "For now, let's get along as allies—I will fully support the construction of Border Town. If you need any witches, I will try my best to meet your requirements first... If it is really difficult to resist the attack of the devils, you can still return to Sleeping Island and spend this life in peace. This is what I can do at the moment."
.(。)