Two days later.
Graycastle, City of Neverwinter.
"That's pretty much what happened at that time …" Ashes recounted the details of the battle. "After the fire was extinguished, Lightning searched about 100 kilometers to the north and found some traces left by the enemy. According to the scene analysis, the traces were left by the Spider Demons when they passed through the forest. There weren't many of them, about three or four. "
Due to the interruption of communication in the forest, Roland did not know that Leaf had been attacked until the next evening. The next morning, he immediately asked Tilly and Vendy to drive the "Seagull" to the terminal station and bring Leaf back to Neverwinter.
Ashes was fine and seemed to be unscathed, but Leaves was carried off the plane.
The silver lining was that Nightfall had planted the Seed of Symbiosis in her body. Even though Leaf was unconscious, the Symbiosis did not seem to be in much pain. This meant that Leaf's mental exhaustion was far greater than her physical injuries.
Roland suppressed his distracting thoughts and looked at the big map on his desk.
He had a clear picture of the whole attack in his mind.
The demon commander had indeed noticed the abnormality of the Misty Forest. After all, the railway line had taken a turn here and extended all the way to the Taquila Ruins. However, it did not choose to attack the trenches and barbed wire fences at the terminal station. Instead, it directly targeted the witches.
A small group of people traveled nearly 500 kilometers from the ruins of the Taquila Ruins to the northern end of the forest. Such a long march was destined to be impossible for a large army to fight. Presumably, the Spider Demons were not only responsible for the arson mission, but also carrying a large number of Red Mist cans. In a sense, this was also a tactical operation by the enemy.
Setting fire to the forest was just a pretense to attract the witches' attention. Now that he thought about it, whether or not there was an emergency strategy for the fire attack, the controller of the forest was very likely to stay in place and pay attention to the further development of the situation. This was the moment that the enemy seized.
Perhaps in the eyes of the demons, it was Leaf who supported the logistics of the First Army.
As long as they killed the forest controller, they would be able to resolve the crisis at the frontlines and force the humans to retreat without a fight.
Although there were some deviations in their intentions, the fact that they were able to come up with such a plan already showed the extent of the demon's understanding of magic. They accurately guessed the form of Leaf's ability and targeted her with a beheading attack. They relied on their individual strength to run a long distance and calculated the time needed to advance and retreat. It could be said that every step was closely linked. If one did not have a deep understanding of the use of magic power, it would be impossible to achieve this.
He even suspected that the demons had seen abilities similar to Leaf's.
Although it would take the enemy team at least 1 week to return by the original route, and it was not difficult to catch up with the Spider Demons by following their distinct tracks, it was meaningless for them to do so. The Magic Slayer, who could fly independently, could abandon the team and escape at any time. If they sent too few people to chase after the Spider Demons, they would be easily bitten, and if they sent too many people, they would only be able to kill a few Spider Demons and some low-level demons.
Similarly, the enemy did not have any good countermeasures against the secret movements of such an elite team. Most of the important witches were protected by God's Punishment Witches, but for Leaf, Maggie, and Lightning, who were erratic, it was impossible to arrange a perfect protection plan. Fortunately, there were not many Senior Demons who could do this. Moreover, when the Magic Slayer ran at full speed, there would be obvious signs of magic power. As long as the enemy prioritized retreat, it would not be easy for them to succeed.
Another thing that caught Roland's attention was the conversation between the Magic Slayer and Ashes.
"Demons... can speak human language?"
As a Senior Demon, Kabradhabi, who had been captured alive, did not have this ability. Without Camilla's Mind Connection, he could not even communicate with Kabradhabi.
[Learning is the foundation of evolution. ]
[Countless things can change in hundreds of years, but you still live as if it were yesterday. "
[Rumor has it that before the first Battle of Divine Will, someone had come into contact with the demons... It was a human who passed on his knowledge to them. "
The words Ashes repeated and the rumors Pasha mentioned alternated in Roland's mind.
For some reason, Roland felt that the Magic Slayer was proud when he talked about the past hundreds of years, as if he had witnessed countless vicissitudes of life.
Could it be that it was a devil from the Union era … or even earlier?
Is that why it learned the human language?
But … this was too inconceivable.
Just as Roland was deep in thought, Vendy's voice suddenly came from outside the office.
"Your Majesty." She pushed the door open and said, "Leaf is awake."
"I'm coming." Roland suddenly stood up and looked at Ashes. "Do you want to go with me?"
The transcendent nodded.
"By the way," Roland said as he walked past her, "I forgot to thank you."
Although Ashes looked unscathed, it did not mean that she was unscathed. Only when Roland got closer would he notice that there were several shallow wounds on her face and knuckles.
The whirlwind that could blow Leaf away was not as gentle as a spring breeze. Normally, such small wounds would not stay on an Extraordinary for more than a day, but they had not healed yet.
In other words, once she made a mistake, she could suffer a fatal injury that could not be recovered.
Obviously, the intensity of this battle was not as simple as she said.
Ashes calmly accepted Roland's gratitude. She just slightly lowered her head and glanced at Roland with her golden eyes. "Treat Tilly well."
"Of course, even if you didn't say it —" Roland pursed his lips and understood what Pasha meant. This was the right thing to do, just like how she saved Leaf. It turned out that a straightforward Extraordinary could also have such thoughts. He could not help but smile. "Let's go."
...
When Roland walked into Leaf's bedroom, the room was already full of people.
Anna, Nightingale, Tilly, Scroll, Mystery Moon... almost all the witches who joined the Union in the first batch had gathered here. When they saw Roland, they all made way for him.
In the crowd, he saw Leaf who had already sat up.
Her green hair was a little messy, and her face was a little pale, but she did not look too haggard.
Her eyes were still bright.
"Your Majesty," Leaf said in a low voice, "I've made you worry."
"It's good that you're fine..." Roland breathed a sigh of relief. Her previous coma was indeed caused by mental exhaustion. But he also knew that it was a little forced to say "it's good that you're fine". Leaf had also suffered from a "curse" similar to Lightning's. She still had internal injuries caused by the forcible interruption of the Heart of Forest state. At most, it was not life-threatening. "I've already heard about the specific situation from Ashes. You just have a good rest and don't worry about the forest for the time being. As for your injuries, I'll definitely find a way... "
She shook her head and said, "No, Your Majesty, please let me go back to the front."
"Leaf!" Nightingale could not help but cry out.
"I know what everyone is thinking, but me lying on the bed won't help the situation at all, right?" Leaf spoke very slowly, but her tone was very clear. "Whether in the Misty Forest or in Neverwinter, the curse won't disappear. In this case, there's no point in resting."
"But..." Vendy murmured.
"As long as I stay in the forest for a day, the communication between the two places can be maintained, and the experimental fields won't be abandoned. I can also help transport the supplies needed by the frontlines. This will more or less be of some help to the goal of defeating the demons. Comparing the two, it's clear which is the better choice, isn't it? " She slightly panted and tried to smile. "Don't worry. This time, if I see something wrong, I'll definitely retreat."
Everyone was speechless for a moment.
Roland took a deep breath. Well … he should have guessed it earlier. If Leaf had not been like this, how could she have walked all the way from the Impassable Mountain Range to Border Town barefoot and brought all her surviving sisters back here?
She was just like the forest. Beneath her soft appearance, there was a tough heart.
"I see." After a moment of silence, Roland nodded and said, "But you have to promise me that before the Magic Slayer with the power of the curse is killed, you can't act alone at any time."
Then he looked at Ashes and said, "Can you take care of her during this period?"
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