Chapter 966 (1/2)

Chapter 966: Operation Summit

Translator: TransN Editor: TransN

Two weeks after the counterattack plan, named “Operation Summit”, was launched Roland received a report from Lightning, who was scouting on the front line. The battalions of the First Army had successfully completed the first step of the program and joined forces at “Forest No. 2+1.76” of the Misty Forest.

He borrowed the naming system of the turning points from the railway mileage identification method. The first half was the planned sectional station and the second half was the revised distance. That was to say, the turning point was located 1.76 kilometers ahead of Station No. 2 of the Forest Railway. The advantage of this method was that Roland could accurately see the military’s route on the big map.

It was also the end of the current tracks. From here, the First Army would begin the second step of the plan—to leave the Misty Forest and march toward the northeastern direction of the Barbarian Lands without cover from Leaf.

Whether they could destroy the demons’ outpost depended on this step.

As long as the Longsong Cannons and machine guns were set up, they could return to their tried and tested battle tactics from their training and previous encounters.

“I got it,” Roland said, making a mark on the map. “How about the demons? Is there any sign of a response from them?”

Lightning’s reply rustled through the Sigil of Listening, “Sylvie said that they haven’t made any kind of response. They’re still concentrating on building their own outposts, and have set up several black stone pillars. In addition, the red mist supply line has appeared behind the outposts. The Adviser Department’s judgment is that the number of those long-legged monsters is limited.”

This was good news, as Agatha had once stated that the only thing that limited the demons from overthrowing the humans was the Red Mist. If they had found a way around this restriction by the third Battle of Divine Will, it would spell bad news for everyone. For example, the mobility of the flying Devilbeasts and the horrifying fighting capacity of the Senior Demons would make the long border of the four kingdoms impossible to defend.

Roland now knew that the stone pillars at the outpost were different from the legendary Blackstone Pagoda, though they had much in common. The former could only store Red Mist and slowly release it to form a special mist environment for the demons to absorb. Within this environment, the demons’ strength and self-healing abilities would be enhanced. In other words, it assisted the demons in battle.

The stone pillar could double the effect of the Red Mist; however, it could only consume reserves of it. On the other hand, the original Blackstone Pagoda could generate the Red Mist and also had much broader coverage, so it basically formed the core of the demons’ main cities.

In addition, the stone pillar could not begin working as soon as it was planted. It had to be cultivated for about a month after being planted before it could release Red Mist. Until then it could only be used as an enlarged Red Mist can.

Sylvie’s observations made him more confident about his judgment. No one wanted to see their enemies come back again after being driven away for a few days. It would be worse if they could recover and bring a bunch of reinforcements. At the current rate of railway construction, the First Army should be able to launch an attack on any new outpost before the stone pillars begin functioning at full capacity.

“In that case, keep up the scouting and let me know if you find something new. Remember that safety should always be the first priority.”

“Roger that. Lightning out.”

Then the light of the Sigil of Listening went out.

Roland picked up a ruler and measured the distance on the map. The First Army was supposed to enter the demons’ reconnaissance perimeter in six days, by the beginning of late autumn.

Even for the army that was accustomed to fighting on the ground, this would be a tough challenge.

“Why are you worried?” Nightingale put away the Sigil and asked, “Weren’t the results of the new weapon’s tests pretty good?”

“In the end, that was just a test. No one can know what will happen in a war before it has even begun,” Roland shrugged and said, “Not to mention that Sylvie will be occupied with the fight in the air, so the First Army has to depend on themselves to set up and maintain the defensive line.”

“It’s already pretty incredible that Andrea could consistently hit a balloon five kilometers away. She won’t let us down as long as she has that weapon,” Nightingale smiled and said, “Though Sylvie won’t be available to keep a lookout for the army, Lightning and Maggie are still there. Hasn’t the First Army experienced a scenario like this before?”

Roland raised his eyebrows in surprise and asked, “When did you learn to comfort others?”