Early the next morning, Roland received Maggie's report as soon as he arrived at the command post with breakfast in his hands.
"The church has made a move, coo!" Her excited voice came from the other end of the Magic Stone. "A team has left Coldwind Ridge and is advancing to the defensive line, coo!"
"How many?"
"One, two, three... five in total!"
Roland, who was about to convene a frontline operational meeting, sat back down. "What? Five? "
"And they're dressed in shiny gold and holding the flag of the Holy City. They're very ostentatious, coo! Do I need to report the artillery markings? "
"Uh... no need. Just keep watching Coldwind Ridge." He stuffed the bread into his mouth. "What is the church trying to do?"
"They're probably here to beg for mercy?" Nightingale curled her lips.
"If that's the case, the Holy City shouldn't have sent troops to invade Coldwind Ridge." Roland frowned.
A day and a half later, the team arrived at the front of the defensive line. The leading priest claimed that they were the emissary group sent by the church and wanted to see His Majesty. At the same time, he also wanted to give a letter personally written by His Holiness to the young King of Graycastle.
"What do you think?" Roland gathered the General Staff and the witches and asked, "Is this a trick of the pure witches?"
"Before that, I want to ask your opinion." Edith was the first to speak. "If the church wants to surrender, will you accept their peace talks?"
Roland rejected this possibility without hesitation. "Unless they disband the God's Punishment Army and hand over all the senior leaders and those who have innocent blood for trial. But I don't think the church will accept such conditions."
"Indeed," Edith replied immediately. "Then you shouldn't meet the emissary group. Let's not talk about whether they have a conspiracy. The negotiation process may also shake your determination."
"I agree." Agatha nodded. "Although these five people don't have any magic reaction, the witches have all kinds of strange abilities. No one can guarantee what will happen in the next moment."
"Or we can just capture them and interrogate them. Once we know their intentions, we can kill them in secret." Iron Axe made a throat-cutting gesture.
"Your Majesty, Graycastle is not Iron Sand City," Sir Schilt hurriedly advised. "It's better not to do this kind of thing. It will damage your reputation if it gets out."
"I know," Roland thought for a moment and then looked at Iron Axe. "Let them leave the letter and drive them away."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
He couldn't help but be curious. What would the supreme ruler of Hermes say to him at this time?
Was it advice or inducement?
After multiple checks by Sylvie and Agatha, the letter written by the Pope of the Holy City was delivered to him.
Opening the exquisite cover, the handwriting on the letter was unexpectedly graceful.
The contents of the letter shocked Roland.
It described the origin and purpose of the Church in a frank tone, and revealed the existence of the great enemy of mankind — the Devil.
If he hadn't known the secret of 400 years ago in advance, the content would have been enough to confuse him and make him feel incredulous.
Was this the strategy that the enemy came up with?
Using the dust-covered true history to confuse the enemy and treat it as the sincerity of the peace talks?
As a result, when the first team returned, Coldwind Ridge sent another team of five people.
Naturally, Roland didn't receive them but just kept the letter.
This time, the content of the letter was more in-depth. In addition to a brief introduction of the predecessor of the Church, the Union, it even mentioned the Battle of Divine Will. The Pope believed that this alien war, which lasted for 400 years, was a test from God to the world.
Roland sneered at this view, but he inexplicably felt a trace of uneasiness in his heart.
In the following week, Coldwind Ridge sent several emissary groups to deliver the Pope's handwritten letter to the frontline camp. These letters didn't reveal much new information, and the content became shorter and shorter. As for the suggestion on the back of the letter that both sides should cooperate to fight against the Devil, Roland just ignored it.
The Holy City didn't send any new emissaries until the scorching summer arrived.
This time, the enemy sent all their troops.
*****
"This is Lightning. The enemy has entered the ninth zone! I repeat, the enemy has entered the ninth zone! "
Hearing the voice from the Sigil, Cat's Claw nervously flipped through the book in his hand. "Uh … number nine, number nine …"
"Hurry up!" Rodney roared. "The cannonball is ready!"
"This is the fastest speed!" Cat's Claw shouted. "Ah … here, angle 26, pitch 15!"
Narson quickly turned the handle. "26 … 15, complete!"
"Ready to shoot!"
Hearing the command, Cat's Claw quickly covered his ears.
"Fire!"
Jop pulled the line of fire fiercely, and the 152mm Longsong Cannon instantly let out a shocking roar. The sound wave mixed with the airflow hit Cat's Claw's chest like a hammer, making his blood boil. Under the huge recoil, he felt the ground under his feet tremble.
"This is power," Cat's Claw thought. Compared to the short 12-pound iron tube, the Longsong Cannon was a more suitable weapon for men to operate.
His only regret was that he couldn't see the scene when the cannonball landed.
Mustering up his courage, Cat's Claw moved closer to the Magic Stone in Sylvie's hand. "Uh … Miss Lightning, did we hit?"
"Aha … we hit the target," the little girl replied.
…
Compared to the gunners in the rear, Lightning and Maggie could observe the enemy's movements and attacks more directly.
She floated at an absolutely safe height and looked down with the telescope in her hand. The howitzer just now landed on the west side of the ninth zone, which was almost four meters off the expected landing point. It was probably due to the change in the wind. But the actual effect was not bad at all. The church's mighty army occupied the entire mountain path, and as long as the cannonball hit the troops, it would immediately bloom like a scarlet flower.
That was the case with the attack just now.
She couldn't see the process of the cannonball's flight and landing. The first thing she saw was a dark red light, followed by smoke and gravel rising high into the air. A fleeting ripple spread from the light, and wherever it passed, the dust would fly. The sound of the explosion could only be heard after a while, as if the two did not happen at the same time.
When the smoke was blown away, the center of the landing point was only a scorched black, and the surrounding area was a mess of corpses. Broken limbs were everywhere, and the sticky organs and blood had dyed the shiny armor bright red. The Judgement Warriors a little further away were in a different state. They didn't seem to have any obvious wounds, but they still fell to the ground, vomiting blood. Some of them could still persist for a few meters before falling down, and their crooked steps made them look like they were drunk.
Just one cannon attack had caused the Church to lose close to fifty people.
Lightning waved its fist in a carefree manner. You guys deserve this!
Then she shifted her gaze to the next artillery area.
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