Greycastle, Neverwinter City.

Roland received Iron Axe, the Chief Commander of the First Army, and Edith Kant, the Minister of the General Staff Department, who had come to report for duty.

"How was it? How did you feel on your first ride on the Seagull?" He looked at his two subordinates with interest.

"Your... Your Majesty, although it flies very fast, for me... the stimulation might be a bit too strong." A rare look of fear appeared on Iron Axe's face. "I didn't feel it when watching from the side before, but when I actually sat in it, I realized it was shaking a bit too much, especially when descending. It always felt like there was nothing under my butt, and I had no confidence at all." He straightened up and saluted, gritting his teeth and saying loudly, "Of course, I will try my best to overcome this, please rest assured, Your Majesty!"

So... this battle-hardened Mojin warrior has a slight fear of heights? Roland raised his eyebrows, "How do you plan to overcome it?"

"When the war is over, I just need to watch the magic movies when I have time, until I get used to it!"

Truly the style of the Sandpeople. He twitched his lips and turned to Edith, "What about you?"

The Pearl of the North licked her lips, and after a moment, uttered a single word, "Great."

Then... nothing else?

Roland waited for a long time and didn't hear anything else. He looked at her suspiciously, only to find her cheeks flushed and her eyes twinkling with an unspeakable color.

Okay, he sighed. His subordinates, in some ways, were a bit extraordinary. He originally thought he would see shocked or emotional expressions on their faces, and then they would praise him for creating such an extraordinary thing, but it seemed he had thought too much.

"Now that you're back, let's go to the conference room," Roland stood up. "It's time to make the final preparations for this war."

...

After nearly six months of construction and advancement, the first railway line on the Fertile Plains was less than sixty kilometers away from the ruins of Taqila. Once Station Ten was completed, the First Army would be able to launch a direct strike against the enemies entrenched there. The manpower and resources invested in Project Torch far exceeded any military operation in the past four years. The steel produced in the kiln area was almost entirely turned into rails. The strategic purpose of this was solely to cut off the possibility of demons erecting obelisks before the Red Moon descended.

Once the Fertile Plains were covered by the Red Mist, it would mean that demons could cross the Impassable Mountain Range and invade the inland at any time. Not only would the battle lines be greatly lengthened, but the First Army would also face enemies no longer restricted by distance. For humans, who were at a numerical disadvantage, this was by no means an ideal start.

Conversely, if Taqila could be captured first, the demons would only be able to choose the godstone veins in the other two holy cities to grow obelisks. And Fallen Star City and Anrita were both closer to the northern end of the plains. Even if strongholds were built there, they would not be able to directly threaten the Four Kingdoms. In this way, even if victory in the Divine Will War was not guaranteed, at least another four hundred years could be bought for humanity.

And what level of development could Greycastle, which had entered the industrial age, reach in four hundred years? How many changes could humans, no longer constrained by food, undergo in four hundred years? The answer was self-evident. Therefore, the vast plains were both a strategic buffer zone and a reserve of land needed for future development.

Mortals will eventually defeat demons.

But it does not mean that their generation will be able to witness that day.

This was also the deeper reason that Roland did not tell everyone.

Unfortunately, things did not always go as planned. According to the original idea, as long as the demons entrenched in Taqila were cleared, and the ruins were rebuilt into a fortress, it would be considered a great success. If this was the goal, the current First Army was only one step away from complete victory.

However, the appearance of the Demon Slayer forced the plan to change - the power of the curse rendered all healing methods ineffective, so that even a small wound could lead to death. Lightning was fine, as her self-healing ability was basically equal to the speed of infection, but Leaf was not so lucky.

According to Ashes's secret observation and reports, Leaf's condition was deteriorating.

Although she didn't say anything, her complexion and spirit could not hide from Ashes, who was always by her side. Deterioration meant that the rate of decay of the wound exceeded the healing limit, like a lesion spreading bit by bit. It seemed harmless at first, but in the later stages, it would eventually drag down the entire body. Whether this process took a year or ten years, as the most important part of population expansion, this was an unacceptable loss.

The matter with the Demon Slayer must be settled in Taqila.

In the conference room, witches and army representatives gathered, and the "light curtain" from the Third Border City was also unfolded. The only topic of discussion was how to ensure the death of the high-ranking demon with the power of the curse in the final battle.

"First of all, it should be noted that according to the General Staff's deduction, when it is confirmed that the battle situation cannot be reversed, the probability of the Demon Slayer retreating is as high as ninety percent." Edith was the first to speak, "This conclusion does not have much solid basis, but more of a behavioral expectation. Judging from the fact that the other party is still maintaining a considerable distance from the position, it should be the opposite of Kabradah."

"I agree with this conclusion," said Elhia, who had the most dealings with demons. "Not being afraid of death does not mean dying in vain. In this respect, they are not much different from us. The role of a high-ranking commander is far greater than that of an ordinary Mad Demon. It is unlikely that they will be buried with their subordinates."

"So we must take the initiative to attack and intercept it on its retreat route." Edith nodded, "Fortunately, we know the enemy's whereabouts very well, and we have had experience with similar things before." She looked at Andrea Quinn, "If the Demon Slayer is unaware of the existence of this long-range attack weapon, long-range sniping is undoubtedly the safest and most reliable choice."

The latter gracefully smoothed her hair.

"I have a question," Tilly said.

"Please speak, Your Highness," the Pearl of the North said with her hand on her chest.

"First, it is still unknown whether a single bullet can kill the Demon Slayer. What if it only injures the other party? We don't have a second chance. Second, what if the opponent has already discovered the existence of this long-range attack weapon and deliberately avoids it when retreating? Judging from previous battles, this possibility not only exists, but is also not small - after all, the enemy's understanding of firearms is already exceeding our expectations."

"We have also considered these two questions," Edith replied, "Regarding the first point, the General Staff's conclusion is to use God's Punishment Stone to make the warhead."

"Godstone bullet?"

"That's right. Even if it doesn't kill with one hit, the enemy will lose the ability to fly. Of course, I know that the smaller the godstone, the lower the hardness. Godstones cut to the size of ordinary bullets can be directly smashed with a hammer, and cannot withstand the pressure of firing at all. But the caliber of the weapon used by Andrea Miss is different, so maybe we can try it." She paused, "In addition, regarding this point, I also confirmed with Agatha that the strength of the godstone melted directly from demonic blood will be much higher - she brought back two bottles of fresh blood collected from demons this time, and should be conducting relevant experiments now."

"Using the blood of demons to create weapons to kill them? I like this idea," Elhia laughed, "Not bad, you are the second mortal who has made me feel interesting."

The Pearl of the North returned a smile without taking it to heart, "As for the second point... we need a reserve of pursuers to fill this loophole."

"Currently, only Lightning's speed is faster than the Demon Slayer," Wendy said worriedly, "But she... cannot stop the enemy."

"No," she shook her head, "There is something that flies faster than the Demon Slayer..."

"Something?" Tilly seemed to realize something.

"That's right, that is the Seagull diving." Edith said word by word.