Chapter 988: The First Victory on the Plain
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
The No. 6 Longsong Cannon was the one Van'er inspected prior to the attack. It was located at the far end of the battlement. Although it had received two rounds of spears, it was practically unscathed compared to the cannons the Devilbeasts tipped over. Once the soldiers were back in action, it could resume its function.
A minute after Van'er received the parameters, the Longsong Cannon ejected flames in the given direction!
As the target was two kilometers away, the trajectory of the shell was quite low. Both the soldiers and demons had heard the bullet's whooshing as it whistled pass.
The only difference was that the demons heard an earsplitting thunder right after!
The formidable lord of war had been revived!
Due to the short distance between the large-caliber cannon and the enemy, its firing accuracy had significantly improved. The first shell had landed right beside the crawling monster. It generated a shockwave which flipped the monster's colossal body over, blowing away its shell and exposing the flesh underneath.
The group of Mad Demons which happened to be beside the crawling monster were killed along with it.
From the Mad Demons' positions, one could tell that they were deployed at that location to prevent a raid from the witches. Unfortunately though, they were deterred by the mortars. Left with no choice, they hid beneath the "giant spider", taking refuge from the flying shells behind its stone limbs.
Nonetheless, this act was pointless. They had still suffered from blast waves which transmitted through the crawling monster.
The shockwaves completely crushed the Mad Demons' inner organs and bones as it rippled through their bodies. By the time the scene became tranquil, the explosions were replaced with littered demon bodies.
"We made it!" Sylvie exclaimed as she swung her fist. "The next target is... 12' 6'', 2,480 meters from here!"
"No problem. Will be ready in a minute!"
Meanwhile, the demons who endured the pain of constantly being blasted by the mortars were finally within one kilometer of the battlement.
Just when everyone thought it was time to battle, the enemies had suddenly stopped.
The whole process was less than 10 minutes.
The Mad Demon at the very front had approached within 500 meters of the Northbound Slope where the first line of barbed wire stood.
But he moved no further.
Without the interference of the Devilbeasts, all the machine gun squads, including the anti-aircraft machine gun squad, aimed at the enemies who swarmed in.
The whole battlefield stirred up.
The First Army's equipment was currently much better than when they had fought at Coldwind Ridge. Back then, HMGs were deployed in the blockhouse with great caution due to its limited number. They were used exclusively for attacking targets that posed the biggest threat. Now, the First Army no longer had any restrictions on their access to firearms and were allowed to shoot enemies at any distance. However, such an "unscrupulous" usage of ammunition was very likely to be a one time offer only.
The area within 500 meters of the trench became the hunting ground of the sniper team.
Usually, the demons would not have any difficulties getting through the barbed wire as they could easily jump over the fence or uproot the wooden poles.
But since their opponents were a group of top-notch snipers, these actions would be very bold and stupid to do.
When the demons found out that they could not close-in to the spearing range, they went wild. This action was not a form of military discipline or a display of soldiers' morale, it was more like the desperate struggle cornered beasts.
After thousands of demons died around the defensive line, the enemies started receding quickly. During the whole process, the First Army's machine guns had never stopped firing. The barrels had turned completely red hot.
Compared to the intense fight at the rear, the front seemed to be relatively placid.
Sylvie finally felt relieved. She was perhaps the only person who understood the graveness of the situation when the "duel" between the two parties started. The last two crawling monsters had their magic spirals filled with magic power and were just about to strike. At the same time, the No. 1 and No. 3 Longsong Cannons were just fixed and had thus saved everybody.
Had it been two or three seconds later, the stone pillar would have caused more substantial injuries to the First Army.
Nevertheless, human beings had won the battle. Mankind were once again setting foot on this long-forgotten land. They had finally defeated the demons for the first time in 400 years.
...
Roland received the detailed report four days later.
Due to the large number of the dead bodies, it took the First Army a considerable amount of time to clean the battlefield. Based on the instructions from the Taquila witches, they had to first burn the demons' bodies before taking away their magic stones.
Collecting magic stones was particularly important. The battle did not technically end until they had stripped the demons of the magic stones. If demons, by some means or another, retrieved these magic stones, they would soon recycle it by using it on new demons.
The final result was astonishing. There were around 6,000 demons killed in action, more than the total number of the First Army who had participated in the war.
Less than half of the demons were directly killed by machine guns or cannons. Most of them had died on their way as they ran out of Red Mist.
However, this did not mean that the demons were not fully prepared for this war. During the post-war clean-up, the First Army had found dozens of Siege Beasts that had been transformed into transportation tools. This number had not even included those blasted to pieces. The demons could have slowly recharged the mist tanks if the human beings had been in a disadvantageous position. However, their swift defeat had completely sabotaged this plan. It was impossible for the demons to retreat to the Taquila ruins from their outpost by relying on the meager amount of Red Mist they carried on hand.
"If I remember correctly, witches can also control those Siege Beasts, right?" Roland asked through the Sigil of Listening.
"That's right. Those beasts are essentially magic stones. With just a little bit of training, witches can also handle them." Zooey cut in. "Although they're a bit slow, they can carry lots of things. The Union used to use them for long-distance transportation instead of regular mules and horses."
Roland thought it would be a good idea to have them managed by the Ministry of Construction as the construction team was currently in need of some transportation tools. For city transportation, the slow speed was actually preferred.
Although there were tons of Magic Stones of Tossing, it was a shame they were of little use. These stones were exclusive to demons because they could only exert their power when connected to a magic being. Thus, the First Army could only collect these stones together and destroy them.
"By the way, how did the enemies escape Sylvie's surveillance?"
"Let me answer that for you," said Agatha as she cleared her throat. "After the battle ended, we searched the entire outpost and found an underground tunnel connecting to a cave two kilometers away. In the cave, we discovered an underground campsite built by the demons where not only was there a mist storage tower but also a God's Stone of Retaliation Pillar. The campsite was even larger than the outpost itself. This was their real stronghold. We were indeed all deceived."
Roland drew his brows together and asked, "A God's Stone of Retaliation that covers the whole campsite?"
"Correct," Agatha said slowly. "It's nearly five meters in diameter and 10 meters high. The surface is as smooth as a clean-cut icicle. I've never seen something like that before, not even back in the Union age. If I didn't see it myself, I would have never believed it."