Ermu
Chapter 1154: The Cycle of Fate
To meet the dual needs of firepower strikes and material transportation, the double-track railway here turned into four branch lines advancing together, with identical configurations and station areas. Although the increased workload slowed down the progress considerably, the command understood that Station No. 10, the terminus of the Torch Plan, might not appear in the final battle.
If they truly waited for the fortress-like station to be completed, nothing the devils could do would change their defeat. The commander of the opposing side should be well aware of this—the Black River made of steel was extremely difficult to destroy. Even if transportation was cut off for two or three days, humans could resupply through the stations until the lines were repaired, rendering the usual rearguard tactics ineffective. And charging the well-defended stations under fire was undoubtedly suicide. The devils' only chance was to stop the First Army's advance before Station No. 10 was established.
In other words, the final battle would not have a clear time node—it could break out at any time.
Therefore, the shelters, trenches, and bunkers on both sides of the railway were fully arranged according to the battlefield environment.
Agatha also noticed that the track originally facing the Holy City had been deflected at a slight angle, causing one side of the train to tend towards being parallel with Taqila. In His Majesty's words, this was the "line of battle" arrangement most suitable for the power of vehicle-mounted artillery.
Standing at the end of the track were two Black River armored trains.
They served as mobile fortresses. The four sets of rotatable machine gun turrets could fire at the devils trying to approach the position at any time, and the mobile version of the 152mm fortress gun it carried pointed directly at the sky, always aiming at the direction of Taqila City.
Stepping step by step towards the central watchtower of the camp, the ruins of the ruins covered by lush vegetation gradually appeared in the field of vision of the Ice Witch.
Although she had known this ending for a long time, she still felt an indescribable impact and sorrow when she saw the homeland that only had a piece of broken walls left.
Even after more than four hundred years, she could still find the shadow of the Holy City in the broken outline.
"Were you born in that place?" Edith asked.
Agatha nodded, and the memories of the past flooded into her mind again.
"Congratulations, from today onwards, you are a member of the Association."
"As the youngest high-level Awakened in history, the Mystery Society welcomes you to join."
"Sister, you are so amazing!"
……
"Do you know what you are doing! They are all warriors who have dedicated everything to the Association, and now they are just unconscious. But you want to turn them into experimental materials?"
"You don't know how low the probability of recovery from a serious head injury is. Rather than dying in such a muddled way, they would definitely hope to make a greater contribution to the experiment."
"I can't accept it."
"This is an order personally signed by Akalis. If you can't accept it, then quit."
……
"Master, the city wall has been breached, and the Allied Forces may not be able to hold on for long! Let's go!"
"But my sister hasn't come back yet."
"She is a warrior of the Garrison and cannot leave the defense line without authorization. If you die here, wouldn't you be letting down her wishes!"
……
"Take this opportunity, you guys run away!"
"But... Lord, if we leave Taqila, where can we go?"
"Don't give up, we still have hope! Cross the mountains, cross the rivers, go to that barren land... to recast order!"
……
"Why do you have to hold on to the end? If you escape now, you might be able to survive."
"Although I don't have magic, I understand many principles—protecting you is my duty."
……
"Your Majesty, she's awake."
The pictures flashed by, like a cycle of reincarnation.
In the eyes of most Association witches, she was an anomaly. Although she bore the name of genius, she was controversial because of her attitude towards mortals. Later, she was squeezed out of the Mystery Society because of the God's Punishment Army plan, and had no choice but to continue her research in the private experimental tower in the Misty Forest.
But even so, Agatha still retained an indelible affection for Taqila.
This city was once regarded as the last fortress of mankind, and countless heroic deeds were born here. Thousands of witches and hundreds of thousands of ordinary people fell on the battlefield against the devils. Her sister was also one of them, and she still doesn't know where she is sleeping under a collapsed city wall.
Escaping from danger did not bring a sense of relief, but instead became a heavy responsibility in her heart.
As soon as she closed her eyes, the cries for help from countless fallen comrades would appear in her ears.
She was not a deserter—every time she had a nightmare, Agatha would repeatedly tell herself that she was alive to be able to take revenge, to be able to regain this land that belonged to mankind one day.
She believed that those God's Punishment Witches also held this belief, and that was why they had persisted until today.
Their lives no longer belonged to themselves alone.
On the horizon of the ruins, the two towering giant skeletons were faintly visible. They were the new type of war weapons of the devils, and also represented the source of nightmares.
She looked at Iron Axe, "I have a request."
"Please speak." The Mojin nodded.
"If the First Army can successfully advance the front line to within ten kilometers, I hope that the first round of shells fired at Taqila City can be fired by me and the God's Punishment Witches."
Only thunder and fire can end this nightmare—the roar of artillery will surely raze the ruins of the Holy City to the ground, and the few remaining city ruins will turn into ashes along with the bones of fallen comrades, becoming part of the Fertile Plains.
But Taqila will usher in a new life in destruction.
……
Three days later, as the engineering team worked overtime to lay the rails to a position about twelve kilometers away from Taqila, Sylvie was the first to notice the devil's movements.
A large number of Greater Devils crawled out of the land corroded by the red mist at the foot of the giant skeleton and poured into the trenches. Then, two huge "shadows" appeared in front of the broken city wall and slowly advanced towards the direction of the position.
She immediately realized that they were two incredibly large God's Punishment Stones—like the God's Punishment Pillars found in the Northern Slope Mountain battle, their size was probably comparable to some small native ore bodies in the mine. The coverage area of the shadows was nearly 150 meters, and more importantly, it completely obscured the sight of the devil eyes, making the scenery behind all disappear into the darkness.
Two blind spots appeared in the perfect reconnaissance circle.
No matter what the other party wanted to do with the God's Punishment Stone, mobilizing a thousand Greater Devils at once was a desperate move for the devils of Taqila, whose momentum was waning.
This was undoubtedly a sign that a great war was about to break out.
Sylvie immediately picked up the phone leading to the underground command post.
A few seconds later, an ear-piercing siren sounded throughout the camp!