At the front of Tower Station No. 9 on the Fertile Plains.
"The target is 6 degrees 4 minutes northeast from here, 6,500 meters away. This area, requesting for artillery coverage."
Lying on Maggie's back, Sylvie looked down at the ground not far away. The turf on the ground had been turned over and the soil was still fresh. It seemed that the turf had been turned over in the last two or three days.
"Yes," Shavi replied briefly through the Sigil of Listening. "We'll start the bombardment in five minutes." Then she added, "Please be careful."
Sylvie could not help looking in the direction of Taquila. At this height, she could already see the ruins of the Holy City with her naked eyes. Although it was still more than 50 kilometers away and looked smaller than a fingernail, it gave her a feeling that it was close at hand. The outline of the collapsed city blended with the woods like a forgotten miniature sculpture.
Although it was beyond the observation range of the Eye of Magic, she could still feel a shining red star flashing. As long as it did not move, they were still temporarily safe.
"Yes, I know."
She put away the Sigil and patted Maggie's broad back. "Let's fly higher."
"Ow!"
Maggie, who had transformed into a Devilbeast, let out a long howl and spread her giant wings that were nearly 10 meters long. She was now almost the size of two ordinary Devilbeasts, which made her a giant among the Devilbeasts. She was even comparable to the mutant Devilbeast ridden by Kabradhabi. But when she thought that Maggie was still a giant among pigeons, Sylvie felt relieved.
After climbing for about 100 meters, she faintly heard the dull sound of thunder behind her.
Then, several dust columns rose from the ground in front of her. She could clearly see the ripples around the columns. Wherever the dust column passed, grass was sent flying, as if the solid ground had turned into clear water. No matter how many times she watched this scene, it was always pleasing to the eye.
Then came the second and third round of thunder...
The Artillery Battalion was able to accurately shoot shells into the area she had marked. Since it was difficult to determine the specific area of the attack from the air, they usually used a rough estimate instead. This area was about the size of the Castle District of Neverwinter, which was about 16400 square meters. It was also one of the areas she was most familiar with.
Under the cover of the artillery fire, it did not take long for Sylvie to see severed limbs flying in the dust column.
A 152mm grenade was enough to create a one-meter-deep crater, but the demons could not hide deeper than 50cm, and that was on the ground that had been corroded by the Red Mist. If it was an ordinary ground, it would at most cover his head. If a shell happened to land on his head, not even a complete corpse would be left.
Of course, it wasn't necessary for a grenade to hit accurately to kill a demon. The shockwaves released by the grenade were the real killer, especially for targets buried underground. His body was tightly attached to the soil, which meant that there was no buffer. Any impact within 20 meters of the center of the explosion would be fatal.
His Majesty called this method of attacking, which did not care about the specific position of the enemy, but bombarded the entire area.
After five rounds of artillery fire, hundreds of demons crawled out of the soil and began to flee.
"The enemy has appeared. It's a Mad Demon. Please continue firing at the same angle," Sylvie reported.
"Roger."
All of a sudden, she seemed to have sensed something and raised her head to look at Taquila. The red starlight suddenly became much brighter, and it quickly flew towards the camp.
She immediately took out another Sigil of Listening and said, "Lightning, come back! The Magic Slayer is on the move! "
Maggie also turned around and quickly retreated from the airspace.
Seven minutes later, the three of them returned to the air defense circle of the First Army. The Magic Slayer was also within the range of the Magic Eye. Sylvie saw the blue-skinned demon, which resembled a human, hovering above the bombardment area twice. It then stared coldly at the three of them in the air with a murderous look on its face.
During this time, the Artillery Battalion did not stop firing.
Sylvie realized that the Magic Slayer could not do anything even though he was angry. Even the powerful Magic Slayer could not stop the whistling shells from killing his own kind.
In the end, the Magic Slayer could only abandon the fleeing Mad Demons and turn around to return.
Sylvie immediately felt a lot less pressured.
"It's gone. Shall we go and scout again?" Maggie shouted.
She glanced at Lightning, who was clenching her fists tightly, and finally shook her head. "Let's call it a day. I need to conserve some magic power for tonight. Besides, we've already swept the area within five to six kilometers. It's enough to ensure the safety of the engineering team for the next few days. "
...
After returning to the underground command center of Station No. 9, Sylvie painted a piece of land on the map green. It was the area that they had swept today.
Almost all the areas along the railway were green.
"Thank you." The Light Of Dawn came up to her with a cup of black tea. "It seems that Lady Edith's banishment plan worked."
Sylvie took the tea and said with a smile, "Yes, it seems so for now."
This was not the first time she had encountered such an encounter.
In fact, ever since they were within 100 kilometers of Taquila, the risk of scouting ahead had increased significantly. Using the Magic Eye to observe through the soil made it difficult for her to keep track of the enemy in the air. Within this distance, the demons could already stay in the air for a long time with a lot of gas tanks.
Therefore, the General Staff formulated a "banishment plan", dividing the reconnaissance area into several layers. The area within 0 to 2 kilometers was the absolute safety zone. Every corner of this area had been scanned by the Magic Eye, and the station would be on alert at all times. It was unlikely that they would be ambushed. Within this distance, the air defense team could leave the trenches and provide a wider protection circle.
The area within 2 to 10 kilometers was the screening area, which was within the attack range of the Longsong Cannons. It was also the main airspace for Sylvie and Maggie. After a clean sweep, the area would be considered relatively safe and marked in green on the map.
The area within 10 to 50 kilometers was the danger zone. Lightning was the only one there to scout. Her purpose was to find the enemies hiding in the clouds and warn them in advance. This was equivalent to buying time for Maggie and Sylvie to retreat. Only Lightning was capable of getting rid of the enemy at this distance. Even the Magic Slayer could not catch up with a witch who could reach the speed of sound.
The banishment plan had proved to be effective. The reconnaissance team could decide when to attack, and the enemy could only passively intercept them. Without the cooperation of the ground troops, the Devilbeasts alone could hardly cause any damage to the armored train at the frontline.
The core concept of the plan was to gradually turn the screening area into a safe zone, remove the demons' spies, and banish the most threatening Magic Slayer from the battlefield. This way, the Magic Slayer would not be able to catch the reconnaissance team despite his strength. It would be even better if they could make the Magic Slayer lose his mind and force him to charge at the frontline.
The only pity was that the Magic Slayer had not shown any signs of losing control.
"By the way," Sylvie said as she looked around. "Where's Miss Pearl of the Northern Region?"
"She received His Majesty's order and boarded the 'Seagull' with Iron Axe to return to Neverwinter," Filin replied with a smile. "I think it's about time."
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