Chapter 908: A Bloody Road
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
Back in the meeting room, Wendy read out the newly acquired intelligence from the beginning. However, El rudely interrupted her when she started to talk about the safety measures.
"There is no such thing as a safe distance when it comes to the demons—Taquila paid a heavy price before realizing this, and it would be extremely risky to use the Red Mist's consumption area to plan for the war zone. For instance, Devilbeasts are capable of carrying multiple gas tanks, thus extending their attack range, Or they could bury a batch of gas tanks in advance and then replace them as they marched. Naturally, the most direct measure would be to build outposts and use them as links to extend the attacking range. Fighting to gain control of these outposts will be crucial in the Battle of Divine Will. Unfortunately, it will be tough to find all the hidden sentry posts in the vast plains. Never forget that the demons are always more cunning than you can ever comprehend."
Wendy could not help but imagine the scene El had described: the overwhelming army of demons would be launching fierce head-on attacks while at the same time setting up outposts everywhere to store their Red mist. If they succeed, the whole area would be quickly overrun by an endless horde of demons. This would have had cut off the communication and transportation of resources within the old Union's territories, which in turn would also endanger the surrounding areas. It would be like a stone rolling down a slope; the more land they lose, the harder it would be to resist the demons. In the end, they would no longer be capable of fighting back.
"In your opinion, what are the chances of them attacking Neverwinter city?" Tilly asked calmly.
"I must say that you are fortunate—or rather we are all very fortunate," El said while stretching her tentacles. "even though we can't use the Red mist to determine the enemy's attacking range, at least we can determine their intentions through it. I don't think the demons are likely to launch a large-scale attack on Neverwinter city in the immediate future"
"Could you elaborate?"
"The Red mist." The ancient witch nodded its blob head, "Any movements the demons make are based on their supply of the Red Mist. The fact that they went underground and left only their patrol team above ground instead of building a camp means that there aren't enough resources for them to use. Even if there were attacks at the border, it would probably only consist of a few small skirmishes. Of course, whether or not this situation will change in the future will have to depend on whatever happens from now on."
Tilly shifted her gaze to Pasha.
"El's judgment is credible," said the latter while shaking her main tentacles. "during the days of the Union, she led a small platoon of the Blessed Army and successfully attacked the Devil's Town multiple times... but her temper is rather bad."
"My patience is only used on things that are worth worrying over," El said bluntly. "Compared to the Devilbeast's long-range sneak attacks, I'm more concerned about those new war machines."
"I would like to ask... how did the demons transport Red mist before?" Barov finally found a chance to talk.
"Pretty much in the same way we would transport our supplies," Pasha sighed, "with low-level demons, carts, enslaved demonic hybrids or transformed Siege Beasts. The time they require to prepare for war is also close to that of ours. Everytime a battle was about to start, one could see dozens of red mist supply lines running across the entire Fertile Plains."
"To stop the transportation of the Red mist, everyone including the Blessed Army, the combat witches, and the common troops would have to go all-out. When we had to face a well-guarded Red Mist transport platoon, the blood of our soldiers would dye the whole plains red. As a result, those red mist supply lines were both the demons' and our troops' line of life-or-death." El added.
Everyone in the room was a bit startled by those words.
Even though they have not officially fought against the Demon army yet, everyone could already feel the pressure that this fierce race had put on humanity 400 years ago.
Under the guidance of His Majesty Roland, even Wendy could understand the importance of logistics. Transportation of supplies was undoubtedly a measure of an army's capability in sustaining itself. Suppose the demons did have the ability to construct such a large vehicle to transport Red mist. This would mean that they would be able to provide large quantities of supplies for the front-lines without expanding too many forces. Fewer supply lines would mean that there would be a higher concentration of troops guarding the transport teams. Perhaps the scene that Lorgar saw would become standard for the demons' inevitable march.
If it weren't for Roland Wimbledon, she really would have no idea how the third Battle of Divine Will was to be fought. It was clear that the demons have changed dramatically. There are now Senior demons who can move around independently; not to mention the appearance of the gigantic skeleton monsters. Other than Neverwinter city, the rest of the human kingdoms' strength was probably even weaker than during the Union's time. She did not even dare to imagine a scene where those noble knights would charge into the sea of demons.
"All in all, the current situation does not completely refute our previous assumptions—only the time was misjudged." Aware of the fact that overemphasizing the hardships of war was probably not good for morale, El coughed twice and changed the subject. "The BlackRock spire, which can produce Red mist, needs to be built on the God's Stone mineral veins. So it's not surprising that the enemy chose to capture the ruins of the Holy City. After all, Taquila is now the easternmost God's Stone mining place on the Fertile Plains. Once the demons construct the spire, the range of the Red mist will directly cover the Impassable Mountain Range. At that time, any resistance will be futile."
No one could object to the fact that if the demons were no longer restricted in their movements, they would be able to launch attacks from any direction. And their flying Devilbeasts were much more flexible than the hydrogen balloon. It would be highly possible to get attacked by them if one left the city area... In a situation like this, it would be unlikely for humans to be able to resist for more than a couple years and in the end, they would be annihilated.
Though Wendy was not very familiar with the intricacies of war, she still had participated in these kinds of meetings multiple times. She knew that both His Majesty Roland and the Church of Hermes were adamant in stopping the demons' plan to occupy the Taquila ruins.
It seems like the three parties were in agreement on this point.
"Fortunately, the demons have exposed their intentions prematurely, and considering how the Bloody Moon won't appear for another 3-5 years, we can still prepare ourselves to the fullest before launching a decisive attack." El continued. "Even if we fail, the nearest Blackrock spire to the demons is in the Fertile Plains, which is hundreds of miles north of the Dragonspine Mountains. So in terms of supply lines, they don't have any advantage over us. But anyways, one thing is certain. War is now upon us."
Wendy suddenly felt that her shoulders had become a lot heavier.
"Wait, wait..." Barov suddenly shouted. "How you decide to fight the demons does not concern me. However, we can't keep the gates closed forever, right? Since we now know that the Army of Demons is still far from Neverwinter city and that they won't attack us for the time being, shouldn't we call off the alert and get those farms back up and running?"
"I believe that Neverwinter requires a more reliable alarm system," the head of the garrison followed up, "His Majesty mentioned before that establishing a deeper defensive line would allow a higher margin of error when it came to the alarms. I was wondering if it's possible to ask Miss Lotus to construct a few Beacon Towers along the plains. Of course, it would be even better if we utilized what His Excellency Carter had mentioned: a communication tool that can connect dozens of miles instantaneously. This way, the City Hall's work wouldn't be delayed."
The first option was easy but the second required both Anna and Roland since nobody knew how to actualize it. Also, delivering news through beacons may not be necessarily faster than a Devilbeast ambush.
Wendy hesitated for a moment but before she could reply, Pasha's voice sounded in their heads.
"Leave this to us."
"Hmm? What do you plan to do?" Ashes raised her eyebrows.
"Since we already know the location of the demons' camp, it makes things a lot simpler," Pasha stretched out her tentacle and showed it in the light curtain, "through this, we can create a complete surveillance system to watch the demons, similar to a light curtain."
In her tentacle, there was a Five-Colored Stone.
Wendy immediately remembered what No. 76 Phyllis had done before. "Do you plan to use it to locate the phantom instrument?"
"Exactly, once shattered, the magic core will unfold the light curtain in the corresponding position. But the number of these magic stones are limited. Each time we use one of them their number will decrease. At the same time, they are also essential in finding the keys of the Chosen One. Therefore, I will only be able to use it in extremely important situations."
"But—" she instantly thought of another problem, "this requires someone to get close to the Taquila ruins, correct? But the demons have already..."
"Rest assured. There is no need for you to worry. Since it's our idea, we will be the ones executing it." El said. "Taquila would never do something as cowardly as proposing a plan only to have others execute it. This is but a small matter. All God's Punishment Witches are prepared to sacrifice themselves.—"
"But it's still the best if you do not have to sacrifice yourselves," Tilly interrupted the other side with a smile. "Leave the task of placing the Magic Stone to the Sleeping Spell. Though their fighting capacity is limited, they do possess a variety of skills. Also, being the newcomers in the Western Region, they must also contribute in order to gain everyone's approval, isn't that right?"