Until Roland sat down, everyone bowed and took their seats.

From that remote town to the rapidly expanding core city of today, he had become a symbol in everyone's mind—Roland clearly felt this in the eyes of the attendees. Unlike speaking from the elementary school podium in the past, or explaining plans to clients, they were not just listening, but preparing.

—Preparing to execute his every intention and command.

This was precisely the foundation he had accumulated in the three years since he came to this world. The thought of the lonely figure in the castle at the beginning, and the ridicule and derision of the local nobles, filled him with a heartfelt sense of satisfaction.

Therefore, Roland directly entered the topic, "Neverwinter City must not allow the devils to take root in the Fertile Plains, especially so close to the border—although the enemy came a bit early, our pace has not been slow either. Graycastle has been basically pacified, and we can completely free up our hands to deal with them wholeheartedly." He paused, looked around, and said word by word, "Driving the devils out of the Taquila ruins is the next goal to strive for with all our might. Does anyone have any questions?"

"As you command, Your Majesty!"

Everyone said in unison.

Even Barov, who was most concerned about military action, did not raise any objections—the rapid development of Neverwinter City was built on stable order and the people's confidence. A city protected by a powerful king, a territory that had never been invaded by war, these were the main factors attracting refugees to join. If the devils used Taquila as a base, constantly harassing Neverwinter, causing panic among the people or even causing them to flee, there would be no way to talk about future development. The eastern and southern borders, which were ruined by continuous wars for the throne, were the best proof.

"Then let's talk about the specific plan. Departments can speak their minds."

"Your Majesty, I think the most important thing right now is to relocate the industries located in the north as soon as possible," Barov was the first to stand up and reply. "If the devils invade the Western Region, those who are not protected by the city walls will be the first to be affected. Even after the new city walls are completed, the grazing cattle and sheep will interfere with your army's deployment. The previous city-wide alert was an example." Speaking of this, he glanced at Wendy, "Because the city gates were closed, the transportation of wheat seeds and various forest resources was blocked. Fortunately, with the full operation of the City Hall, the impact was minimized."

Roland already knew about this from the letter. Seeing the old butler mention it again, he couldn't help but look at Wendy, and found that the latter's face was calm, with no intention of arguing, obviously that sentence "I take full responsibility" was not just a passing remark.

"Wheat seeds, mushrooms and other resources can be transported into the city from the west of the Chishui River by paddle steamers, but the North Slope Mine cannot be relocated, and the reconstruction cost of the Furnace District is too great, so it cannot be generalized." He pondered for a moment and decided, "These places will be strengthened with defenses, so they will have the power to resist when encountering Terror Beasts. In addition, I did not explain the alert in detail. Now, let me clarify again that the evacuation during the curfew is only for the masses who are still wandering in the streets, markets, and other places, not for all residents—from today onwards, I require that no matter what happens, the factories must not stop working until I issue a new order."

"Then... I will compile the industries that can be relocated and give them to you for review." Realizing that Roland did not want to pursue responsibility, Barov immediately changed his tone.

"By the way, plan the new land as well," Roland knocked on the map behind him, "The threat in the Great Snow Mountain has been eliminated, and this area to the west can be used—as long as Leaf is there, the Maze Forest is a natural barrier on the left flank."

On the map, the dense Maze Forest resembled an inverted triangle, occupying half of the Savage Lands. Its apex was located in the Western Region Snow Mountain, one side extending north along the foot of the mountain, pointing directly to the Dragon Spine Mountains, and the other side accompanying the Chishui River until the border of Neverwinter City—these two ends connected to form a huge buffer zone. Simply put, if the Savage Lands were cut into three parts, the leftmost part was the forest area, and the right two parts corresponded to the Neverwinter Grassland and the Desolate Mountains respectively.

The area controlled by Leaf now covers the entire western section of the Chishui River, so the safety of the cement boat fleet can be guaranteed whether it is transporting coal or forest resources.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Barov also knew this and quickly agreed.

"Your Majesty, I think the origin of the devils should be made public to the people as soon as possible," Wendy said, "Otherwise, it will easily cause panic when they suddenly appear in front of everyone. Moreover, you often say that publicity is the most important part of governance. If we don't control it, it is likely to be used by some people with ulterior motives."

"I also agree with this statement," El暇 echoed through the light screen, "Although the abilities of mortals are very limited, they are always a force when combined, at least better than nothing. Besides, fear is like a whip, often making people afraid, but when wielded properly, it can force people to move forward."

Originally, the propaganda work would be carried out after the unification of Graycastle and the king's enthronement, but the early appearance of the devils disrupted this plan. Roland also threw this task to Barov, "The content of the propaganda, how to publicize it, is up to you to formulate. Grasp the degree, so that the people understand that the devils are the mortal enemies of mankind, and we will never give up until we are wiped out; but also emphasize that they are the same as the Evil Beasts, seemingly ferocious and terrifying, but they are no different in front of guns."

"As for those who take the opportunity to spread rumors and cause chaos," Roland sneered twice and looked at the two heads of the police department—Wide and Lane Mede, "You don't need me to remind you how to deal with it, do you?"

The two hurriedly lowered their heads, "Of course, Your Majesty."

After confirming the wartime order of Neverwinter City and related contingency plans, Pasha mentioned the issue that everyone was most concerned about, "How do you plan to attack the devils near the Taquila ruins?"

"The safest way is to establish a shelling position and destroy their Red Mist supply device from a long distance," Roland roughly measured the map with his fingers, "The fortress guns currently produced have a range of ten kilometers or more. If slightly improved, they can shoot even further—without the Red Mist, the devils left behind will only have a dead end."

This was not him boasting. The first generation of fortress guns, considering the conditions of use and transportation, in addition to the glorious 152mm caliber, other standards were far from 152. Even if the barrel, gun架 and other parts are not modified, only the medicine chamber is enlarged, and the whole-loaded shells are replaced with separately-loaded shells, the range can be increased by another level immediately.

"So that's how it is. The witches of Taquila are willing to pioneer this position for you."

There was no doubt that the Taquila camp was the most active in the conference hall about the Battle of Divine Will. As long as they could defeat the devils, they didn't mind taking the lead.

"But to achieve this, we still need to solve a few key problems," Roland shook his head, "Without ample preparation, it will be difficult for us to gain a foothold under the devils' offensive." He retracted his hand and flicked lightly at the location of the North Slope Mine, "And the first thing to solve is the transportation problem."