Chapter 987: A Duel
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
Watching its master prostrate to the ground, the giant Devilbeast flapped its wings, attempting to escape. It had realized that the circumstances have changed in a direction it did not foresee.
There were few Devilbeasts left on the battlement that it could use as a diversion to help it escape. As the Devilbeast climbed up, its gigantic body had weighed it down, slowing its ascent. Its decision to take flight was actually incorrect because if it continued to remain on the ground, the machine gun squad would hesitate to fire, fearing they would hit their peers by mistake. However, if it rose to the air, they would not have such scruples.
For a second, most of the anti-aircraft machine guns on the campground were aimed at the giant creature.
Bullets lashed at the Devilbeast, submerging it. The sparks flickered off its armor, its flesh was exposed and torn to pieces. It plunged to the ground and gave a desperate screech. Putrid blood streamed from the numerous bullet holes and pooled under its body.
Pasha let out a long sigh.
Zooey was right. The God's Punishment Witches were truly a great threat to Senior Demons. No wonder so many people in the Union had taken the side of the Queen of Starfall City.
A God's Punishment Witch could block magic power and reduce the strength of enemies who carried multiple magic stones to their level. At the same time, their power rivaled an Extraordinary's. Thus, the creation of God's Punishment Witches could not only steady the fluctuating magic power within a witch but could also make them unrivaled when outnumbered by demons. Back then, this strategy was undoubtedly a ray of hope to the routed Union.
Based on Lady Alice's initial plan, thousands of witches would have become first-class warriors if half of the non-combat witches were converted to God's Punishment Witches. The overall tactic of the Empire's final battle was to allow the combat witches to deal with the Army of Demons, the God's Punishment Witches to deal with the Senior Demons, and the Transcendents were left with the most difficult enemies.
Since the God's Punishment Witches were primarily designed to exterminate demons, it was not surprising that they could kill a Senior Demon in such a swift manner. In other words, if God's Punishment Witches were so weak that it cost 10 of them to take out one Senior Demon, the Queen of Starfall City would have never bet on this plan.
However, everything was just a little too late.
Glancing at Zooey who looked content and delighted, Agatha had mixed feelings.
Had the Union implemented that plan at the very beginning, the outcome of the second Battle of Divine Will would probably have been very different. Although the humans had been forced to retreat to the Land of Dawn, there were thousands of cities and towns still erected on the Fertile Plains with a total of nearly 10 million people living. The Union could have definitely built an army as powerful as the demons' from this huge population.
But when they lost the Battle of Divine Will, the Queen of Starfall City had barely held any lands. All she had left was less than a million barbarians. This plan was thus considered her last attempt to survive the war.
"Did you kill it?" asked Agatha as she walked up to Zooey.
The seriously injured Senior Demon was not completely dead yet. These grisly enemies were sometimes even more resilient than Transcendents. Even without a Stone of Measuring, Agatha could still observe the little remains of magic power in the demon run wild. Apparently, the latter was trying to fix its deteriorating body.
Nonetheless, this did not mean that demons were immortal. They had a self-repairing limit. Even if Zooey did not give it a final blow, the demon would eventually die when it exhausted its magic power.
It would also die when the Red Mist ran out.
Perhaps Zooey preferred to give her enemy an excruciatingly painful death rather than a quick one.
"I want to let him live for a bit longer." Zooey's answer surprised Agatha. "There are many demons this time. We should be able to obtain a lot of mist storage tanks from them. Treat his wounds and provide him with some Red Mist. He should be able to live for another few days."
"What are you going to do?" asked the Ice Witch with as she scowled.
"Rest assured. Although I really do want him to suffer eternal torment, I'm aware that this isn't the time to take personal revenge," said Zooey solemnly. "If I remember correctly, there's a witch in another unit who can link two individuals?"
"Do you want her to link the demon?" asked Agatha in surprise.
Zooey nodded. "I know its certainly risky, but if we succeed, we'll have an opportunity to confront the demons directly. Since he's a commander, it's worth taking a little bit of risk to pry into his mind!"
If it were in the age of the Union, the executives would have found it hard to resist such a tempting suggestion. However, the Union had fallen apart a long time ago. She believed neither Roland nor Tilly Wimbledon would agree to force a witch to venture for something so dangerous.
Unless Camilla Dary volunteered herself.
While Agatha was hesitating, she heard several loud bangs at the other end of the battlement.
From where she stood, Agatha could see clouds of ashes spring up in from the northern front. It was as if something had just swept over the field.
But she did not hear any intense gunshots.
"Is there another group of Devilbeasts? Or has the demons broken through the defensive line?" Agatha wondered.
She immediately activated the Sigil of Listening and inquired about the situation. "What's going on at the front line Sylvie?"
"A monster we've never seen is attacking us." Sylvie's voice from the other end of the line sounded pretty anxious. "We require the assistance of the Longsong Cannons!"
...
The moment the cylinder blasted, shells from the mortars landed among the Army of Demons.
Since the Mad Demons were all wearing animal bones and leather jackets, both the mortars and the 152-caliber howitzers could seriously injure them. In fact, the mortars were more lethal as they were faster and greater in number.
Flying bullets and shells streaked across the air on the battlefield, killing the demons as they sprinted without cover. The explosions created blood mist clouds, as the soldiers continuously fired. Finally, the enemies stopped their advance.
Sylvie did not really pay attention to the outcome of the battle.
Apart from occasionally monitoring the enemies in the air, her full attention was mainly on the four sinister crawling monsters.
Unfortunately, the mortars were not much of help against these monsters made of black stones and metals.
Bullets could barely penetrate their shells unless they were hit directly in the face.
Suddenly, the crawling monsters ejected a black stone pillar. To her dismay, Sylvie noticed that the pillar was actually a part of these monsters. The stones and its veins gradually peeled off and combined, forming a new cylinder.
Sylvie knew that they had to eliminate these enemies who were capable of launching long-distance attacks as soon as possible.
Its first attack had caught everyone off guard, resulting in a significant loss among the First Army. More than 100 people at the front were injured. Furthermore, some of the soldiers in the trench were shot in their shoulders and chests. More importantly, the failure to develop any effective countermeasures to this unheard-of attack had greatly impacted the morale of the soldiers.
Luckily, the monster "grew" much slower than soldiers loading their cannons.
"The Artillery Battalion are currently trying their best to re-set the Longsong Cannons." Agatha's voice calmed Sylvie down. "I'll connect you to the battalion commander."
"H-hello... Miss Sylvie." The commander sounded a bit nervous. "I'm Van'er, the commander... It'll take a while for us to fully restore the operation of the Longsong Cannons. Fortunately, one cannon wasn't affected. If you could tell me the shooting parameters, I can arrange people to support you right away."
Sylvie clenched her fist, trying to suppress her excitement. She cast a glance at the compass in front of her and slowly pronounced her position. "10' 17'' to the north, 2,310 meters away, please fire!"
"Copy that. 10' 17'' to the north, 2,310 meters away." Van'er repeated. "Sixth squad, fire!"