Chapter 1461: Before Dawn

As their distance from the demon’s King City narrowed, the floating island encountered even fiercer attacks.

From having one attack a day, it increased to once every few hours. More often than not, the floating island would catch sight of the second wave in the horizon even before completely dealing with the prior wave.

It was only during the night did the floating island have peace.

All the incomplete projects and ground facilities were basically halted, and the construction team had already focused all their manpower on repairing the runways. But against the attacks of the enemy which was akin to a tidal wave, Roland did not dare allow the Aerial Knights chase too far out as it only placed all the burden onto Eleanor.

Another change was the rapid increase in the number of senior demons appearing, some of which were physically stronger, or had strange abilities and were unpredictable. Following the increasing losses of unmanned machine gun turrets, the pressure placed on the defenses magnified.

The first wave of enemies broke into the floating island’s interior on the second afternoon. When a few senior demons used magic blades and sliced open the sealed sluice gates, Eleanor immediately sounded the invasion alarm. God’s Punishment Witches armed to the teeth formed the second line of defense as melee combat occurred across the narrow passages. The scene resembled the battlefield set up by the Union several centuries ago; just that this time, the roles of both parties were exchanged.

In Alice’s plans, God’s Punishment Witches were the spears to penetrate the demon’s formation and destroy anything in relation to the obelisk and Mother of Soul. Only by using their weak offense to break apart the enemy’s defenses did humanity have a shot at winning. But on this island, the demons became the attackers, while the God’s Punishment Witches only had to impede their advancements.

However, their strength did not drop as a result. In a particular way, God’s Punishment Witches were the bane of senior demons. Having their abilities sealed, it was difficult for them to gain the upper hand when facing a crowd of Extraordinaries or ancient witches who did not fear pain. What’s more, they held guns in their hands.

As a result, despite the disadvantage in numbers, the God’s Punishment Witches were still able to keep the enemy out from the inner region.

At the same time, traces of demon troops appeared on the ground, the majority of which were Spider Monstrous Beasts. They appeared in sparse numbers in the beginning, and later formed small patches of “black puddles.”

“Truly like ants waiting for corpses.” Agatha glanced down at the scene beneath the floating island.” If we were to descend, they will definitely surge forward and rip us all to shreds.”

“There are even more demons en route; it seems like the demons’ plan is to surround us.” Phyllis’s expression turned serious. “The Union used to believe that a Transcendent force was enough to obliterate the demons. Now, it appears like we were too naive.”

“Yes, even without Mask or his Symbiotic Demon army, this number isn’t something the Union can ever contend with…” The Ice Witch closed her eyes. “We have underestimated the Battle of Divine Will far too greatly.”

“At least you guys kept your hope,” Roland consoled her and patted her on her shoulders. Regardless of the end of the Witch Kingdom and the two experiences of utter defeat for humanity, they kept the flames of resistance going and never gave up. That alone was no easy feat.

“Your Majesty!” At that moment, Ferlin walked over with a new report. “The trajectory of the demons’ floating island has changed, it seems to be coming towards us!”

“Who was the person who reported this?”

“Miss Lightning from the Exploration Group. She even said that the enemy has expanded their patrolling radius of the Devilbeasts, so she and Maggie are no longer able to observe them from a distance. Miss Lightning also added that a large amount of magic power has appeared at the bottom of King’s City. She claimed that even her weak sensitivity to magic power was enough to sense the stifling aura.”

Roland looked at Agatha.

“What do you think that is?”

“I don’t know…” The latter shook her head. “But since they are converging their magic power to this extent, it’s definitely not something trivial.”

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“I agree,” Roland replied.

Wasn’t it surprising?

Symbiotic Demons, mass production of Senior Demons, Deity of Gods… the number of new advancements the demons had succeeded in could be said to be innumerable. Compared to the bone spears used in the beginning of the Battle of Divine Will, they were now equipped with improved spears capable of explosion, even though not every Mad Demon had one. Although the demons had not used the gunpowder of humans, they were bound to receive relevant inspirations.

In the past, people often said that war was the best catalyst for improving civilization, and from the looks of it, there’s some truth to the matter. Roland looked into the projection towards the dusky sky. God… is this what you want to see?

Without question, if they continued their advancement, there was no chance of winning if they only continued resisting the incoming attacks. At the moment, the floating island was going against the current, which was the black tides of tens of millions of demons. If the numbers increased by a few folds, the casualties within the island would only increase exponentially.

And for a strong magic power disturbance to occur at the demons’ King’s City meant that they had more than a single trump card.

But… he never had the idea of fighting the enemy to the death.

The symbol that marked the final location for the floating island was very close, but since the demons were willing to initiate the bridging of the distance, he saved on the effort required.

“Inform everyone to head to the meeting room.” Roland ordered Ferlin. “It’s time.”

Everyone in the command center stopped everything they were doing and moved over.

The room instantly became extremely serious.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” The knight puffed up his chest and bowed.

…

A few minutes later, the higher-ups gathered at the top of the bridge.

The sun was setting behind the horizon, dying the horizon blood red. With the entire field filled with demon corpses, it increased the desolation of twilight.

“Tonight, our enemy will enter our final attack radius.”

Roland looked at each and everyone. They were gathered around the table in two rows, with the Witches on one side—Anna, Wendy, Agatha, Phyllis, etc—and on the other side were the army commanders—Iron Axe, Edith, Brian, Ferlin… All of their eyes brimmed with unspeakable confidence. Even though the enemy numbers were enough to blot out the sky, no one revealed any intent of retreat or unease.

“There’s no need for me to repeat this plan again. Since its inception, everyone played a part in it and witnessed the entire process,” Roland said unhurriedly. “Although I was the one who suggested the plan, it would never have come to fruition without everyone’s hard work.”

The prototype bombs, the calculation of the parameters, the choice of the configuration, and air drop tests—even with the support of the Design Bureau of Graycastle, he had steadily taken a step at a time, completing a full set of tests as it went from something experimental to an actual weapon. It was just so that no accidents would occur on the real battlefield.

“To ensure a low possibility of detection and to prevent any unnecessary waste en route, the fleet will move out at around five in the early morning. Navigating in the night is extremely dangerous, but I believe that Tilly will be able to lead the Aerial Knights to success. If everything goes smoothly, a new ‘sun’ will appear tomorrow morning.”

Seeing that no one objected at the meeting, Roland stood up and said, “Then, let me announce the official commissioning of the Glory of the Sun!” He paused for a moment. “—Remember, the darkest period is precisely right before dawn.”