Third Border City, core hall.
Roland and his party had just emerged from the narrow underground passage when they heard a burst of hysterical screams.
“What’s this…” Wendy asked in surprise.
“Kabradah’s wail,” Phyllis, who was leading the way, replied, “He completely broke down after learning of Ursrook’s defeat. Not only did he reverse his previous silence, but he also repeatedly tried to commit suicide. It took us some effort to stop him.”
“Suddenly, I think letting him live isn't so bad,” Tilly added expressionlessly.
“The situation now is that he must live,” Phyllis nodded without concealing her intentions, “The discovery of this secret letter is an excellent opportunity to allow us to understand the enemy more deeply, even to master their language and script—this is something the Union has always craved but never been able to obtain.”
“I didn’t expect Kabradah to cooperate with you,” Nightingale exclaimed.
“No, he didn’t. The process is a bit complicated…you’ll understand when you see it.”
The group walked to the interrogation table and saw the God's Punishment Warrior's body, occupied by a High-Rank Devil, firmly tied to an upright metal support, with tubes inserted into his abdomen. His eyelids were forcibly propped open, and a stack of papers filled with bizarre characters was placed in front of him.
“Is this…the secret letter reproduced by Aisha?” Wendy asked.
“That’s right. The discovery location was in mid-air. If it hadn't been for Maisie’s sharp eyes, we would have almost missed this crucial scene.” The speaker was Agatha. Her face looked pale, and the bags under her eyes were slightly dark, indicating that she had been working for a long time without rest to decipher the information in the letter.
After learning of the battle's end, Roland immediately dispatched the Neverwinter Detective Team to the front lines to help the army collect information that would be difficult to obtain through conventional means. Compared to the words openly revealed to humans, the clues left unintentionally were undoubtedly more reliable.
Due to Aisha's limited magical power, the initial backtracking was mainly focused on the battle between the sniper team and the enemy, how the Demon Slayer set up the ambush, and how they deceived Sylvie's observation.
However, the feedback from this move far exceeded his expectations.
He didn't expect that on the evening of the day before the decisive battle, Ursrook would sit on the giant skeleton and write this personal letter to the setting sun.
And this scene was accurately recorded by the scene backtracking.
“Ah ho ho ka wu——————!” Kabradah howled again, twisting his body desperately, struggling as if trying to turn his head away.
Agatha nodded to Hefe next to her. The latter stomped her foot, and the High-Rank Devil immediately shut his mouth.
“I see, you used Hefe to control his movements, forcing him to watch the secret letter?” Nightingale realized.
“Then, with the help of Ms. Camilla’s mind connection, we repeatedly feel his first reaction to seeing the words,” Celine added, “Although this guy is deliberately confusing his consciousness, as long as we change the content of the words and compare them multiple times, we can determine which thoughts are real and which are fictional. Honestly, I have to thank Your Majesty for thinking of this method."
“Me?” Roland was taken aback.
“You wrote in the advanced biology textbook that as long as a dog sees a piece of meat, it will secrete a large amount of gastric juice, regardless of whether it eats the meat. This type of conditional response is a common characteristic of living things—and now it seems that devils are no exception.”
“It is through this method that we were able to piece together the content of the letter from the High-Rank Devil’s mind, who was completely uncooperative, and thus understand their words. Without Ms. Camilla's assistance, I fear this process would still be far off.” After saying this, she shook her main tentacle at the chief butler of Sleeping Island to show her gratitude.
“I just…hoped I could help Tilly,” the latter bit her lip.
This is a witch, with diverse abilities but full of limitations… Roland thought. Their unique characteristics made each of them irreplaceable. If a certain key ability was missing, it might take centuries to find another. Perhaps witches similar to Camilla Dary had appeared in the past two Wars of Divine Will, but they were likely born at the wrong time. By the time they awakened, the entire situation had already become unfavorable, and humans were no longer able to capture living High-Rank Devils.
Perhaps Ursrook was based on this point that he placed the strategic focus on eliminating witches. But…the value of Ashes, Sylvie, and the others, can it really be compared to Taqila in the eyes of the devils? Obelisks need God's Stone veins to be built. Once Taqila is occupied, the constantly produced red mist can cover the entrance to the Impassable Mountain Range. At that time, Terror Beasts can easily cross the high mountains and invade the heartland of the Four Kingdoms, making it hundreds of times more difficult for humans to drive the devils out of the Fertile Plains.
This is also the consensus of the General Staff and the ancient witches of Taqila.
Why is there such a big difference in the judgments of the two sides? Perhaps the clue is in the letter.
“Then, explain in detail the content you deciphered,” Roland said slowly.
……
Since the sentences were disassembled, interpreted, and then pieced back together, the content of the letter was not complete and seemed somewhat fragmented, but this was enough for everyone to understand its meaning. As Celine directly imprinted the restored sentences into their minds, Roland couldn't help but feel as if the other party was whispering in his ear.
“Lord of the Sky, the decisive battle is coming soon…I have made full preparations, both for the enemy and for myself.”
“In the past month, I have heard the calling of… more than once. The omen is so clear, perhaps I will be promoted in this battle…”
“I know this move will bring controversy to you, but it will not affect your Western Front plan.”
“If successful, the enemy will lose the means they rely on…and we will regain an advantage in the war.”
“...Increase the troops tenfold, and humans will definitely have no chance of winning…”
“But this battle is not without suspense. If I fail…”
“Please treat humans as opponents equal to our race, and annihilate them with all your strength, even if it means giving up the Bottomless Abyss.”
“...As long as we can obtain their legacy fragments, we still have hope of defeating the Skysea Realm.”
“Finally, please convey my regards to the King and Lord Nightmare.”
After Ursrook’s entire personal letter was displayed, Roland felt a layer of cold sweat on his back.
He finally understood why Phyllis was so anxious.
From the results, the other party undoubtedly failed—not only did he fail to annihilate the sniper team, but he also lost his life in Ashes' hands.
But this also meant that the situation had been guided to the second hypothesis.
Although there were still some unresolved points, the meaning of the whole sentence connected together seemed to be advising the clan to give up the battle with the Skysea Realm, treat humans as the number one enemy, and attack and destroy them with all their strength?
Damn it…what a joke!
Roland immediately felt a lot of pressure—this was probably the worst news since the start of the war.
“The development plan for the Fertile Plains, I’m afraid we have to abandon it,” Wendy murmured.
“If the enemy presses with all their strength regardless of the cost, it would indeed be too risky to set up residential areas outside the Impassable Defense Line.”
“But how will they solve their red mist needs?”
“The devils can build obelisks in Falling Star City to alleviate the pressure on the front lines.”
“But that way, the red mist won’t be able to cover the Fertile Plains, so we can still drag it out until the next War of Divine Will. Isn’t that no different from the previous plan?”
“The difference is that we’ll be facing the full strength of the devils afterwards.”
“Wait…” While everyone was discussing countermeasures with a solemn expression, Edith suddenly spoke, “There’s something wrong with the content of this letter.”