While the order was issued two days prior to the storm's complete sweep across the human continent, Lightning and Maggie returned to Neverwinter.

Roland couldn't help but be taken aback when the two walked into his office.

Maggie hadn't changed much, only growing a bit sturdier than she had been half a year ago. Perched atop her partner's head, she looked less like a dove and more like a goose.

What surprised him was Lightning.

Her hair had grown longer, reaching her shoulders from her ears. Likely due to her long-term reconnaissance missions, she barely had time to groom it, making it look somewhat disheveled. Her face was also smudged, and her flight suit had several patches. Crude, unsightly pockets were added to the sides of her legs, chest, and arms, as if she had sewn them herself. Although the current appearance was much more cumbersome than the original, beautiful, and novel coat, it looked more like an explorer.

But the biggest change was in her eyes and her expression.

As if overnight, she had transformed from his memory's image and was no longer the little girl she used to be.

"Your Majesty, do you need me for something?"

Lightning asked after saluting.

Roland suppressed the emotions in his heart and roughly recounted the deciphered intelligence and Edith's speculation, "If the demons truly have such a plan, the consequences will be unimaginable. So, I hope the two of you can go to Eternal Winter and scout the mountain area north of there, which no one has ever set foot in. Demons cannot leave the red mist's supply. If they want to enter the mountains, they will inevitably leave traces."

"To think there would be such a thing..." Lightning couldn't help but frown, "Fortunately, Maggie found the letter. But Your Majesty, what if the enemy travels underground? My abilities are limited, and it's difficult to spot deliberately hidden targets from the air."

"That's the worst-case scenario." Judging from the Torch operation, the demons' digging ability was far inferior to humans with Devouring Worms. But looking at the overall situation, the possibility that demons, who occupied half of the Dawn territory and had a deeper understanding of magic, couldn't find a single underground civilization ruin was unlikely. Since the Association could obtain Worm carriers through exploring ruins, the enemy must also have this possibility. The absence of carrier traces at the Tachira decisive battle did not mean that there were none in the Spinal Mountains. "God's Punishment Witches will set off from Shallow Beach Port with a magic core. If you don't find the enemy, that will be the final means of elimination."

"I see, I'll do my best," Lightning nodded.

"However, it will take at least a month to travel from the southern end of Graycastle to the northern border of Eternal Winter. During this time, you may not be able to get timely support and supplies. Also, the residents there probably still have prejudice against witches. Even staying in cities may not be safe, so you must be careful."

"Wilderness survival is an explorer's specialty, Your Majesty," she said without hesitation, "Not to mention a month, even a year and a half is no problem."

"Coo!" Maggie flapped her wings in agreement.

"I'm sorry," Roland sighed, "You just got back, and I'm already sending you to a more distant place..."

"Your Majesty, you are being too serious..." Lightning turned her head away, her voice becoming a little low, "Compared to those who sacrificed themselves to fight the demons, compared to Ash sis… this is nothing." But she quickly regained her spirits, "Since this is another new expedition, then as usual, can you..."

Roland was slightly stunned, then realized what she meant, "Of course." He stood up and walked out from behind his desk.

Lightning raised her hand, but then suddenly retracted it after seeing the stains on her sleeves, "Ah, no, never mind… I forgot to change my clothes first. The smell on me is also quite unpleasant, so let's just –"

However, before she could finish, Roland had already reached out and hugged her.

"Thank you for your hard work. I'll have the tailor make you a few more flight coats in the current style, so you can change them while you're in the wild."

Lightning immediately quieted down. After a long time, she made a low nasal sound, "Mmm."

"Me too, coo." Maggie stretched out her head.

"You've worked hard too." Roland stroked her full neck and smooth wings back and forth.

Nightingale then walked forward and hugged the two of them, "Be sure to be safe."

"We will."

After they left the office, Nightingale said with some emotion, "Lightning never used to say that her 'abilities are limited'."

Roland nodded in agreement. If it were the little girl of the past, she would have patted her chest after he finished explaining Edith's speculation and said, "Leave everything to me!"

He heard Leaf mention that after Ash perished together with Ursrook, Lightning cried uncontrollably and couldn't recover for several days. But looking at her now, there wasn't a trace of being immersed in grief. Even when she mentioned Ash, she would still be sad, but that sadness would no longer hinder her from moving forward, but would instead be transformed into her motivation.

"She has grown up," Roland sighed softly.

……

Although the immigration process should be as fast as possible, the journey from Graycastle to Wolfheart and Eternal Winter needed to be calculated in months. No matter how hard the Administrative Office and the First Army worked, Neverwinter's population problem could not be improved in a short time.

This not only made it difficult to launch many long-planned new projects in a short time but also restricted the further expansion of the existing industrial scale. Coupled with the fact that the demon threat did not dissipate as expected with the victory of Tachira, the accumulation of various problems put a lot of pressure on Roland.

Fortunately, the successful imitation of the Magical Cube provided him with a means of displaying his abilities. As long as there were no plans that needed his confirmation, he would stay in Anna's North Slope Laboratory and try to create a new generation of power sources with the cube as the core. After sending off Lightning and Maggie, as well as the "Roland" carrying the magic core, he devoted most of his time to this aspect.

After all, once the magic-powered steam engine made a breakthrough, the benefits it brought would be much greater than any other project.

In addition to Anna, Celine also volunteered to join this epoch-making research. Since the laboratory was located in a remote area and heavily guarded, there was no need to worry about being accidentally seen by the citizens. And her assembly ability shown in the research was truly amazing. Dozens of auxiliary tentacles not only had great strength but also cooperated with each other more flexibly than fingers. Installing large components such as flywheels and pistons was effortless, greatly reducing Anna's burden.

For a while, the scene of a man, a woman, and a tentacle monster tinkering around a machine became the norm here.

Soon, the first strangely shaped prototype appeared in the laboratory.