Chapter 1154: A Repeated Fate
Agatha, Iron Axe, and Edith departed for the front by train after they disclosed the operation plan finalized in Neverwinter.
The double-track railway had now forked out into four branches for both operation and transportation purposes, with exactly the same setting as the various stations. There would be much more work for the construction team, but headquarters understood that the terminus station, Tower Station No. 10, would probably not come into use for the final battle.
The commanders knew that once the contruction of all the stations were completed, there was nothing the demons could do to turn the table. First of all, it was extremely hard to destroy the "Blackriver" made of steel. Even in the event of a disruption of the transportation system, the army could still sustain themselves with the military supplies at each station while the railroad was amended. Given such circumstances, the demons could no longer defeat human beings by cutting off the supplies, and they certainly could not directly clash with the fortified stations and their firearms. The only way left for the demons was to stop the First Army before the completion of Tower Station No. 10.
In other words, the decisive battle would break out at any time rather than on a specific date.
The railway was now strictly protected by various bunkers, trenches, and fortresses.
Also, as Agatha had noticed, the railroad facing the Holy City had turned at a small angle, which enabled the train to parallel Taquila. Roland suggested that this was the optimal firing angle for the train-mounted guns.
The two armored trains, the "Blackrivers" were now standing magnificently at the end of the railway.
Like two moving fortresses, the armored trained were equipped with four revolving gun turrets that would instantly fire when the demons attempted to approach the railway. The 152mm-caliber Longsong Cannon mounted on the top was pointing at the sky in the direction of the Taquila city.
As Agatha ascended the lookout tower at the center of the encampment, she saw the city ruin half-buried in the thick, dense bushes around it.
Forlorn ran through her when she saw the dilapidated city lay woefully below her.
Even though it had been over 400 years, she could still make out the faint outline of the old Holy City from this desolate relic.
"Were you born there?" Edith asked.
Agatha nodded. The memories of the past flooded back to her.
"Congratulations. From today onwards, you're officially a member of the Union."
"You're really the youngest High Awakened in the history of time. Welcome to the Quest Society."
"Wow, you're so amazing!"
...
"Do you know what you're doing? They're all valiant soldiers who devoted everything to the Union. They're just in a coma, and you want to conduct tests on them?"
"You know how slim the chance is for them to wake up. They sustained head injuries! I'm sure they'll prefer offering their bodies to dying in their sleep."
"I can't accept it."
"This is an order signed by Lady Alice. If you can't accept it, then you're free to leave."
...
"Your ladyship, the city is breached. I'm afraid the allied forces couldn't hold up any longer! Let's get out of here!"
"But my sister hasn't come back yet."
"She's a member of the Defending Army and she'll never abandon her post. If you end up dying here, she sacrificed herself for nothing!"
...
"Now, run for your life!"
"But... your ladyship, where can we go? Taquila is gone."
"Never give up. There's still a hope! Climb over the mountain, cross the river, and head to the Barbarian Land... Go re-establish the order!"
...
"Why did you stay? You've still got a chance to live if you leave now."
"I don't have magic, but I know that it's my duty to protect you."
...
"Your Majesty, she's awake."
As the miserable past floated out of her memories, Agatha felt as though she had lived her old life once again.
Agatha had been an outcast in the Union. Although people called her a genius, she had been marginalized by the other witches in the Union due to her attitude toward common people. She had later been further renounced by the Quest Society because of her objection to the God's Punishment Army plan and forced to conduct experiments in secret in the Misty Forest.
Nevertheless, Agatha still deeply loved Taquila.
It was the last human city that had witnessed numerous heroic moments. Thousands of witches and common people had been killed during the battle against the demons, one of whom was her sister, who had taken her perpetual rest beneath one of the fallen city walls.
Agatha, however, did not feel much comfort in her survival. Instead, she felt a surge of heavy guilt weigh down upon her.
Every time she closed her eyes, she heard her dying companions call for help.
Agatha tried to convince herself that she was not a deserter. She survived to avenge her sisters and retrieve the land that had once belonged to the human race.
It was her relentless belief in the God's Punishment Witches that kept her moving forward.
She was living for them.
Two giant skeletons loomed through the ruin. They were the demons' new weapons and also the start of her nightmare.
Agatha looked toward Iron Axe and said, "I have a request."
"Yes," Iron Axe replied while nodding.
"If the First Army could move ten more kilometers toward Taquila, I hope the God's Punishment Witches and I could fire first."
Nothing but thunder and flame could end her nightmare. The roars of the cannons would raze the ruin of the Holy City to the ground, and the relic, along with the remains of her fellow witches, would once again return to the Fertile Plains.
But Taquila would be reborn from the ashes.
...
In the evening of the third day, Sylvie noticed the demons' movements when the construction team managed to extend the railway to around 12 kilometers from Taquila.
A large number of Mad Demons crept out of the Red-Mist-corrupted ground underneath the giant skeletons and swarmed toward their trenches. Then two enormous "shadows" materialized in front of the ramshackle city wall and ambled over to the encampment.
Sylvie immediately realized that they were two huge God's Stones of Retaliation very similar to the God's Stones of Punishment Pillar in the battle at the North Slope. These two humangous stones were as large as some raw ores in the mines and cast a 150-meter-long shadow on the ground, which completely blocked the vision of the Magic Eye.
Instantly, two blind zones in the scouting area were created.
No matter what the demons' intention was, Sylvie knew this must be a desperate struggle from the enemy, as they had dispatched over 1,000 Mad Demons at a time.
This was unquestionably a sign of the final battle.
Sylvie called the underground headquarters at once.
A few seconds later, a shrill, piercing alarm cracked like a whip through the air above the encampment!