Release that Witch

Just as Nightingale had suggested, Camilla collapsed mainly because of the mental strain rather than frailty and fatigue.

She completely recovered after two days, as though all that she had experienced was just a dream.

Roland was hugely relieved.

Camilla was the key to their ambush operation.

Although Camilla distanced herself from him immediately, becoming wary and alarmed again, Roland was glad to see her come back to normal.

He knew Camilla was still worried about Joan.

However, she managed to suppress her anguish, as she had something more important to worry about.

Roland decided to keep the news of Joan’s disappearance from the other witches, particularly from Lightning, and only disclosed it to a very few selected witches, including Tilly, Anna and Nightingale.

He knew Joan was a member of the Neverwinter Exploration Group, of which Lightning was the leader. Currently, as the two main figures responsible for the outer defense of the First Army, Lighting and Maggie had been staying on the frontier for several months under exceptional pressure. Plus, Lightning had been hurt by the Magic Slayer, so Roland would not allow any news to disturb her state of mind.

The following week, he traveled back and forth between the Third Border City, the weapon test site and the castle boardroom, aiming to finalize their ambush plan. Since their biggest threat at the moment was the Magic Slayer much faster and also more nimble than regular Devilbeasts, it was very hard for him to develop a perfect plan to kill him.

He had thought that the plan would only take him two or three days, but he had encounter some major difficulties during mock operations. Fortunately, with the help of various parties, he had finally drafted a feasible operation plan.

The pre-operation meeting was held in the underground hall at the Third Border City a week later.

Alethea spoke first.

She turned on the magic core and projected the image of the rear of the Taquila ruins on a screen that ran across the wall for several meters, looking exactly like a window that had been opened in midair.

Nevertheless, this was not a real window where one could poke his head out of, so there was literally not much to be seen. As Alethea could not adjust the angle of the projector after the Five-Colored Stone was broken, they could not see the surroundings of the ruin. However, the ”window” was facing the demons’ Red Mist supply line directly, which provided them with a fairly good reference as to where to set up the ambush.

”This Red Mist supply line stretched away on the continent to the northeast and southwest, and there’s a group of demons supplying the Red Mist pretty much every day on this route. Ten months ago when Lorgar found the demons and when Ashes went to locate them, this number increased to three. Using the information, we can determine how many troops our enemy has lost and how many are left. Since they only have one supply line, the Senior Demons would not deviate from this line too much when they retreat.”

”Can’t they build a fake Red Mist supply line?” Wendy asked apprehensively.

”As long as the demons still rely on the Red Mist to sustain themselves, this information should be reliable,” Alethea explained patiently, though she had answered the same questions several times. ”They did transport a large amount of the Red Mist to mislead us once, and also used the Red Mist to attack us from a long distance. However, they’ve never reduced the Red Mist to deceive us, because that would be suicidal.”

”It’s very easy to understand,” Agatha put in. ”If the demons really had alternative supplies, they would have invaded the interior of Graycastle directly from the Misty Forest or the Hermes Plateau, which would definitely cause more damage than attacking from the frontier. If they have something else other than the Red Mist, they would no longer need to hold on to the Obelisk made of God’s Stones.”

Seeing no more objections, Alethea continued, ”The demons’ supply team is mainly made up of transformed Siege Beasts and several Mad Demons, which would not pose any threats to our Special Unit and the ’Seagull’. With this taken into consideration, our main target will be the Devilbeasts in the sky.”

”As for the location,” Alethea said as she pointed to Edith, ”I agree with this mortal’s judgement. She’ll take over from here.”

”This is a joint effort of the General Staff and the witches,” the Pearl of the Northern Region said while smiling gracefully. ”Also, special thanks to Miss Lightning and Miss Maggie for supplying us the map. Please take a look at the report you have. The land to the east of the Red Mist supply line is as flat as a pancake with hardly any trees, so it’s not ideal for an ambush. Nonetheless, the ’Seagull’ could see everything from above. The landscape to the west is much more rugged, and there’s a small mountain there.”

Roland flipped open the report on his desk and found the map. Compared to the high definition map drawn by Soraya, this map was apparently much simpler. Roland gathered that it was probably Lightning’s work when she rode on Maggie in the sky. Although it was not accurate enough to serve as a guide for the troops and the artillery, it provided them with basic information on the rear of Taquila.

”We can more or less see the landscape on this side through the phantom instrument, so we need a map to supply the part not shown on the screen. There are three locations where Miss Andrea could shoot. One is the crest of the mountain in the north, another in the jungles in between, and the other the protruded area at the foot of the mountain in the south.”

”The best location would be the crest,” Roland cut in.

The so-called ”mountain” was actually no more than 100 meters high, and it looked like a huge mound of earth in the distance, but this was the highest point in this area. Nothing could be more important for a sniper than a clear view. From a high point, a sniper could not only hit his target from a distance but could also spy on the enemy on the ground.

”Yes, Miss Andrea said so too,” Edith agreed with a nod. ”That mountain is relatively far from the Red Mist supply line. If the ’Seagull’ catches up with the Magic Slayer, the Special Unit would have to travel a long way to provide supports. Also, there’s no place to hide on the top of the mountain, so we’ll be pretty much exposed to the Devilbeasts in the sky. If anything happens, the ’Seagull’ would not be able to come to rescue at a moment’s notice. The most important reason is — we can’t see it through the phantom instrument.”

Roland said thoughtfully, ” So, do you fear... that the demons would come?”

”This is the highest point of this area. I would be extremely careful if it were me. Although Lightning says the demons haven’t done any war preparation, it doesn’t hurt to be cautious, since this is, after all, a war of magic. Like the way we use the Sigil of Screaming your Majesty had put at the headstream of the Redwater River, we don’t necessarily need a garrison. We simply need an alert. Remember, the biggest priority for the Special Unit is to maintain its secrecy. If they’re exposed, there will be no point whatsoever in setting up an ambush.”

”To be honest, back in the Union age, the most difficult part was to make mortals understand magic power.” Just then, Alethea’s voice came to Roland’s mind. From the reactions of the people on the floor, it appeared that the message was exclusive for Roland. ”Mortals rarely take magic power into account and act as if they’re living in a different dimension from us, but this mortal is different... Your subordinates do have quite interesting personalities.”

”That’s because you guys have never really taught them. Not everyone is a genius. Education is the most effective way to elevate a civilization,” Roland replied casually and then turned to Edith. ”So, which location did you pick?”

”In the jungle,” she replied quickly. ”The sniper team will have a narrow view and could hide in there easily. They could monitor the sky while at the same time supporting Princess Tilly if necessary from the jungle. Of course, they could also hide at the foot of the mountain but it’s too close to the Taquila ruin. If the enemy retreats, they’ll be spotted very quickly. So overall, the jungle isn’t the best option but —”

”The most thoughtful one,” Roland supplied Edith’s answer.

Edith agreed with a smile while placing her hand on her chest, ”Exactly. Two units would round on the Magic Slayer. Miss Andrea could shoot him if he isn’t aware of the ambush. If he is, the God’s Punishment Witches will be stopping him. Nevertheless, the whole ambush plan relies on the new weapon made by Queen Anna.”