Chapter 1432: Hunter-Killer Fire Control
“All of you know our city is under siege.” Isabella clapped once to collect the room. “But the enemy isn’t simply a demonic beast horde — behind these mutated animals stands something not inferior to the demons themselves. By reliable accounts, their assaults will only grow fiercer, and larger, until we are annihilated.”
She let that settle for a breath.
“Neverwinter and the First Army will not allow them to overrun what remains of human territory. But I must stress: visible enemies are manageable. It’s the invisible ones that kill you. That isn’t exaggeration.” She nodded at two soldiers near the far wall, who gripped a large gray tarpaulin and pulled it clear.
The sound from the room was a single collective exhale.
Balshan wasn’t an exception. She had been so fixed on the metal war machine since she’d walked in that she had missed the tarpaulin entirely.
Beneath it stood something that was not quite standing. Its body half-erect, close to two meters tall, with scythe-blades suspended in the air as though the instant of lunging had been frozen in time. But a second look revealed the wounds — a gash the width of a thumb running from chest to abdomen, held together only by whatever held a dead thing in shape.
It was already dead. It just didn’t look it.
“What you see before you is what I call the invisible enemy,” Isabella said. “In motion, it blends perfectly with its surroundings — it simply disappears from sight. Killing this one cost the First Army thirty lives, and that was in broad daylight. If more are deployed in darkness, the consequences would be unthinkable.”
“We are calling them blade beasts. Five confirmed sightings on the developing grounds, with casualties after every one. This specimen was reassembled by Summer after being killed by fragmentation. It is, without question, our most critical target.”
Amy raised her hand. “What can we do about them?”
“Good question.” Isabella produced two metal plates that caught the light from across the room. “Although blade beasts aren’t demons or hybrids, they share one thing — magic power. They’re invisible to ordinary eyes, but not to a trained Witch. What you need to learn is how to use these. Magic Stone sigils.”
After the full explanation, the system clarified itself in Balshan’s mind.
Two sigils: the Sigil of Screaming and the Sigil of Resonance. The Screaming had originally been a defense against demons; the Resonance, mostly used to locate remains. After modification, the two worked in concert against blade beasts. The Screaming projected a detection field two to three kilometers out and sounded an alarm when it sensed magic power. The Witches then had to identify whether the alarm was a blade beast. If confirmed, the Resonance locked onto the target, drawing a visible thread of light between itself and the enemy. The guns followed the thread.
Simple in principle. Brutal in practice.
The Screaming reacted to hybrids as well, so the Witches had to distinguish by sound alone — and during a large demonic horde assault, picking a single signature out of the noise was its own skill. Beyond that, the sigil’s sensitivity was degraded by terrain and material. Hills, rocks, trees all dampened it. Metal paneling could reduce its range by a hundred meters with a single sheet, which meant placing it in open ground, exposed, at the front.
The Resonance thread, for its part, passed through any obstacle without difficulty — but only Witches could see it. And if they mistakenly tagged a hybrid instead of a blade beast, the thread gave no indication of the error.
“I can teach you the sigils,” Isabella said. “I cannot teach you to keep yourselves alive. For that, His Majesty has given you a position that handles that problem.” She paused. “You are going to be tank captains.”
Tank.
“This machine behind me is the Ministry of Industry’s latest creation. It can attack, defend, and withdraw through a combined siege with relative ease. The cannon on top can break a formation of enemies. As captain, you won’t personally operate the engine or the gun — you direct the driver and the gunner. You read the sigils. You make the call.” She let the weight of that settle. “Of course, if the situation demands it, you may take the cannon yourself. His Majesty has named this system Hunter-Killer Fire Control. All of you are the core of it.”
To direct and commandeer this thing.
The image assembled itself in Balshan’s head: the great iron machine rolling forward, the sigils humming, a line of light pulling taut between her hand and something that was nowhere — and then the thunder of the gun following. Something in her chest lifted.
“In the days ahead, you’ll train alongside the First Army’s tankers and learn the machine’s basic functions. But your primary task is to master the sigils and develop the instinct to distinguish enemies.” Isabella surveyed the room. “Time is short. I expect your full effort from everyone. Pass the selection, and you will become members of Graycastle’s First Armor Unit.”
In the northern reaches of the Kingdom of Dawn, Roland stepped clear of Fran’s body and the General Staff allowed themselves, as a group, to breathe again. Their expressions were those of people relieved of something they hadn’t been permitted to show they were carrying.
The Pearl of the Northern Region was the exception. She had stood through the whole operation wearing the same face she wore at every briefing.
“How did it go?”
“Better than I expected.” The decision had been made that same day, after talking with Valkries in the Dream World. The risks of using conventional means to enter had been high for both sides and the uncertainty too wide, so Roland had taken the most direct route: pull the other party in without warning. The thick rock strata hadn’t impeded the pillar of light at all, and with their eyes closed, the Eye Demons had detected nothing. Several God’s Punishment Witches had been at his side throughout, which meant even if Hackzord had sensed his location, there would have been no danger.
Still, the method couldn’t be used frequently. Once the demons returned, they would quickly recognize the hillside as a recurring location. Any advance preparations on their part would raise the probability of detection regardless of how deep underground Roland went.
“If there are new developments, the demons will contact us by letter.” Roland turned to Iron Axe. “Maintain a permanent team here. Report any movement immediately. Beyond that, they remain our enemies — especially the Monstrous Beast. If they cross the line, show no mercy.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The next direct communication with a senior demon lord will be a long time coming, Roland thought. In the Dream World he had sensed that the relationship between Valkries and the one called Serakkas was not ordinary. He’d felt a measure of disappointment that the demon who retrieved the letter hadn’t been Hackzord himself — but as things had developed, it was turning out better than expected.
Trust, in the end, was the whole operation’s load-bearing beam.
He had not yet managed to move from the northern region back toward the City of Glow when two pieces of news found him within two hours of each other.
The first: anomalies had been spotted on the Deity of Gods. It was ascending — already past three hundred meters, a rate that contradicted everything the General Staff had theorized about altitude versus magic power consumption.
The second: Fishball’s team had spotted senior demon lords again on the slope. This time there were two of them.
Chapter 1432 - Hunter-Killer Fire Control
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“All of you should be aware that our city is being under siege!” Isabella clapped her hands to gather everyone’s attention. “But the enemy isn’t comprised of mere demonic beasts for behind these mutated animals lies an enemy not inferior to the demons. According to reliable sources, their assault on us will only grow fiercer and fiercer, at an ever-increasing scale, until they completely annihilate us!”
“Of course, Neverwinter and the First Army will never allow them to recklessly intrude on the last bastion of human territory. But I have to stress that taking down visible enemies is easy, but the invisible ones are truly dangerous ones. This isn’t some exaggeration, but the truth—” At this point, she indicated to a few soldiers that lifted apart a large sackcloth.
“Awh——”
Everyone instantly inhaled in surprise.
Balshan was not an exception.
She was captivated by the metal monstrosity the instant she entered the factory, and completely missed the large, gray sackcloth in front of her.
Underneath the cloth was a strange monster!
Its body was partially erect, its height already close to two meters tall. It had a pair of scythe-like blades that remained suspended in air, as though they were about to pounce at them at any moment.
But after a careful examination, they discovered many wounds on its body, with a cut the width of a thumb that extended from its chest to its abdomen, a
marvel that it had not fallen apart.
Balshan realized that the monster was already dead.
“The monster before you is what I call the ‘invisible enemy,’” Isabella introduced. “While in motion, its entire body would blend into its surrounding, and will look as though it has disappeared. To kill it, the First Army had to sacrifice over 30 lives, and this happened in broad daylight. If the enemy sends out more of these and if the battle occurs in the night, the consequences will be unthinkable!”
“At present, we are calling them blade beasts and have made confirmed sightings of five blade beasts on the developing grounds, with a large number of casualties recorded after every sighting. This one right here was a blade beast that was killed by splitting it into many pieces, and is a specimen reassembled by Summer. It is without a doubt the most important target we have to be wary about.”
“Then what can we do?” Amy raised her hand and asked.
“Good question.” Isabella nodded. “Although the blade beast isn’t a demon or a hybrid, it still possesses similarities—magic power. These monsters might be difficult to trace with the ordinary human eye, but to a witch that has gone through some training, they won’t be able to hide. So the only thing you need to take away from here is how to use this—” She retrieved two dazzling metal plates. “Magic Stone sigils.”
After listening to the detailed explanation, Balshan understood the goal of building this unique team.
Between the two sigils, one was termed as ‘Sigil of Screaming’ and the other as ‘Sigil of Resonance.’ The former was used as a defensive measure against the demons, while the latter was mostly used for finding remains. But after being improved, they were the crux to defeating the blade beasts.
The Sigil of Screaming had an effect that extended out two to three kilometers, mainly to let out an alarm upon detection of beings with magic power. Upon hearing the alarm, the Witches had to distinguish if it a result of
blade beasts. Upon confirmation, they would use the Sigil of Resonance to lock onto the target. At this time, a ‘line’ would form between the target and the sigil which outlined the enemy. The humans would then direct their firepower according to the line and effectively suppress the enemy’s movements.
Although the principle sounded simple, the practical usage of the sigils was much more complicated.
Firstly, the adjusted Sigil of Listening reacted to hybrids as well, leaving the Witches no choice but to rely on experience to distinguish between the sounds. Upon encountering a large demonic beast horde, the alarm would produce plenty of noise; therefore, the difficulty of detecting a single sound out of the mess was a feat itself.
Next, the Sigil of Listening’s senses would be impaired by various factors, including and not limited to hills, rocks, trees etc. Metals limited the Sigil greatly, with a single iron panel reducing its extent by a hundred meters. Therefore, the Sigil of Listening had to be placed in a spacious and empty position in the frontlines.
Although the line produced by the Sigil of Resonance would not be obstructed by any objects, its biggest problem laid in the fact that only Witches could see the thread formed by magic power. Apart from that, if the target was not within their vision, they had no other methods of verifying the locked target. In other words, if they made the mistake and treated the hybrids as the main target, the Sigil of Resonance would not appear abnormal at all.
“I can provide guidance in the manipulation of the sigils, but am unable to teach you on how to protect yourselves,” Isabella stated. “So His Majesty has arranged for an appropriate position for all of you, and that is to be tank captain!
“This metal war machine hailed as a tank is the latest invention of the Ministry of Industry. It boasts offensive and defensive capabilities, with the ability to retreat with relative ease if faced against the combined siege of hybrids, and the cannon on top is capable of destroying a group of enemies.
As the Captain of the tank, you do not need to personally control this complicated machine and only need to direct the driver and the gunner.
“Of course, if necessary, you can assume control of the cannon and manage the firing. His Majesty has named this system the term of Hunter-killer Fire Control, with all of you being core to the system!”
We are to direct and commandeer this behemoth…
Upon imagining the scene of how the machine would roll over the demonic beasts, an eagerness built up within Balshan’s heart.
“In the following days, all of you will engage in training with the tankers of the First Army and understand the basic functions of the tank. But the most important task is to grasp the usage of Sigils and the method to differentiating enemies,” Isabella concluded. “Time is of the essence and I hope that everyone of you will put in your greatest effort, eventually pass the selections, and become a member of Graycastle’s First Armor unit!”
…
In the northern region of the Kingdom of Dawn.
When Roland stepped out of Fran’s body, everyone heaved a sigh of relief, especially the General Staff members. The expressions they had looked as though they were relieved of a heavy burden. Although the plan was proposed by the King himself, the specific details and implementation were drawn up by the General Staff. If anything happened to the King, it was impossible to escape the blame.
The only exception was the Pearl of the Northern Region.
Despite being part of the General Staff, she was the only one capable of interacting with Roland while maintaining her calm expression.
“How did the discussions go?”
“Smoother than anticipated,” Roland replied calmly. He had made the decision after discussing with Valkries that very day. However, there was the
consideration of the high risks involved in entering the Dream World using conventional means, and the high uncertainty involved for both parties. Thus, he chose the most direct method to establish the meeting—to pull the other party into the Dream World without informing them.
The matter revealed that the thick stratum did not influence the pillar of light, and when both parties ‘closed their eyes,’ the Eye Demons were not engaged in the slightest. At that time, there were even a few God’s Punishment Witches alongside him, so even in the off chance that Hackzord discovered his whereabouts, there would be no threat posed to him.
But this method could not be used frequently, since once the demons returned, they would quickly realize that they were near the same hillside. If they made any preparations beforehand, the probability of getting caught would increase no matter how deep underground they were.
“If there are any new developments, the demons will contact us through letters.” Roland turned and informed Iron Axe. “Leave a permanent team here and immediately report to me if there are any movements from them. Aside from that, they are still our enemies, especially the Monstrous Beast. Once they overstep the line, do not show mercy.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” The commander-in-chief nodded.
It will take a long time before my next communication with the senior demon lord , Roland thought to himself. In the Dream World, he vaguely sensed that the relation between Valkries and the one named Serakkas was not ordinary. In the beginning, he felt rather regretful that the demon that retrieved the letter was not Hackzord. But now, from the looks of it, things had turned out better than expected.
After all, the most crucial factor in this entire operation was trust.
However, before Roland even managed to move from the northern region back to the City of Glow, he received two startling news in a mere two hours.
Abnormalities were spotted on the Deity of Gods. According to the report, it was gradually ascending in altitude, and had already exceeded 300 meters of height. This appeared to go against the theory proposed by the General Staff with regards to the relation between the Deity of Gods’s height and magic power consumption.
The second being the spotting of senior demon lords again along the slope by Fishball’s team. But this time, there were two.