Volume 2 chapter 48
20,000 meters above the ground.
For the first time, Vivian flew as the Squadron Leader, leading over a thousand warplanes through the thin, icy air.
The last massive sortie had been to strike the Alliance Mage Legions clearing the flood mud. Back then, they had launched every available plane, but their numbers were still dangerously low.
Because their scale was insufficient, they were quickly scattered by the Alliance's aerial defense.
During that battle, an Eighth-Rank Knight had locked onto Vivian. It was Captain Clar who had rammed her own plane into the knight, buying Vivian the split second needed to escape.
Captain Clar never came back.
That serious, by-the-book Succubus... the one who nagged like a mother hen but genuinely cared for every pilot... was blown out of the sky by the knight's aura. Not even a whole corpse remained.
Now, Vivian had taken her place.
"Hoo... Captain Clar, this time... let me avenge you!"
The young Blood Demon's eyes were sharp, her crimson pupils flashing with cold, lethal light.
Behind her, a massive armada of 2,800 aircraft filled the sky.
1,500 Bombers flew in a dense box formation, resembling a gigantic, moving hive. Flanking them were 1,300 Fighters, swarming like bees guarding the nest, ready to deliver a fatal sting to any intruder.
As they approached the Dragonspine Mountains, the massive fleet split up in an orderly fashion. But their target wasn't the Alliance camps.
Bombing camps defended by multiple Ninth-Rank Knights was a fool's errand; the losses outweighed the gains. Their target lay further back.
The Supply Lines extending from the Magdeburg Line.
The Magdeburg Line was a thousand-kilometer-long fortification designed to stop traditional ground assaults. Within it were five mountain passes that the Alliance had converted into supply routes. Every day, oceans of supplies flowed through these arteries to feed the million-man army invading the Demon Realm.
Vivian's mission: Destroy these roads. Use heavy bombs to obliterate the supply lines and shatter the Magdeburg Line itself.
The previous weeks of harassment had been a feint to herd the Alliance forces away from these routes, ensuring that this strike would go undetected until the bombs started falling.
Soon, Vivian saw the winding dirt road in the valley below, dotted with long caravans of supply wagons.
"We're here..."
The corners of her mouth lifted in a cruel smile, reminiscent of the Reaper.
"All units! Commence Bombing!!"
At her command, the bombers broke formation and leveled out for their runs. The fighters peeled off in pairs, heading further out toward the defensive line perched on the peaks.
BOOM! BOOM!! BOOM!
1,000kg aerial bombs rained down. Every explosion shook the mountains. The narrow dirt roads were instantly severed in countless places.
Some sections carved into the cliffside collapsed entirely. The landslide swept the unlucky convoys off the precipice. Wagons tumbled and disintegrated against the rock face, spilling men and supplies into the abyss below.
Three hundred bombers turned over a hundred kilometers of road into a cratered wasteland. Countless tons of supplies were reduced to ash.
Further away, the fighters descended on the Magdeburg Line.
VRRRROOOOM...
A fighter shook off a pursuing Aerial Knight and dove full throttle toward the wall. The roar of its engine drowned out the screams below.
At five hundred meters, it released a 500kg bomb, then pulled up sharply, skimming over the battlements.
The bomb struck true. The section of the wall, whose defensive array hadn't been activated in time, was blasted open instantly.
This breach was like blood in the water. Over two hundred fighters swarmed the gap like sharks.
Bomb after bomb pounded the wall, collapsing nearly a kilometer of fortifications.
Not content with bombing, the fighters swung around for strafing runs.
DA-DA-DA-DA...
Quad-cannons tore up the ground. Lines of dust and blood erupted as soldiers were cut down. When the planes passed, the slipstream blew away the dust, revealing the gruesome remains of the defenders.
Of course, the defenders fought back. Five Eighth-Rank Knights and twelve Seventh-Rank Knights took to the sky to intercept the steel eagles.
But against two hundred planes, a dozen knights were a drop in the bucket. Fifty fighters tied them down in a chaotic dogfight, while the rest continued to slaughter the ground troops.
Even the High-Rank Knights dared not ignore the 40mm cannons. A direct hit could injure or even kill them.
In the end, the knights shot down over thirty planes. But aside from the Eighth-Rankers, every knight was wounded. They could only watch helplessly as the demon fleet withdrew, leaving behind a collapsed wall, thousands of corpses, a hundred kilometers of ruined road, and immeasurable loss of supplies.
_______________________
The bombing was a catastrophic success.
All five supply lines were severed. On average, 150 kilometers of road were destroyed per line. The Magdeburg Line suffered four major breaches, with casualties estimated at over five thousand.
The Alliance was furious but impotent. They launched probing attacks with two thousand troops from the southeast and southwest, but they couldn't even pass the first trench line. The rifle-equipped demons, supported by heavy artillery, crushed the probes effortlessly.
In the following days, the demon air force flew over 500 sorties daily, patrolling the ruined supply lines. Any repair crew or convoy attempting to pass was swooped upon and destroyed.
This stranglehold caused a supply crisis for the million-man Alliance army. They were forced to divert troops to protect the supply lines, which inevitably weakened the defenses of their main camps.
This was exactly the opportunity Clyris had been waiting for.
Talisk Fortress. Main Plaza.
Clyris stood on the platform, looking down at 100,000 Demon Soldiers. Her expression was solemn.
Banners snapped in the wind. Her black cape billowed, and her long dark hair danced across her polished black armor.
Below, the soldiers' silver armor glinted in the sun, runes shimmering. But on their backs hung weapons that looked humble compared to enchanted swords—tubes of steel and wood.
It was a strange juxtaposition: elite enchanted armor paired with industrial-age firearms.
But Clyris knew the truth. If an equal number of Alliance troops met this force, it would be a massacre.
"Brave warriors..." She steadied herself and spoke slowly.
"You have all felt it in previous battles. The overwhelming advantage the Alliance held over us!"
Hearing this, many soldiers' eyes reddened with the memory of lost comrades and helpless defeats.
"But from today on, in the low and mid-level ranks, they no longer hold that advantage—because of the guns in your hands!"
"Although most of you are only Second or Third Rank, you have undergone rigorous marksmanship training! You no longer need to fear the Alliance Knights!"
"From now on, on the battlefield, you only need to aim and pull the trigger—just like in training! You can kill a Fourth-Rank Knight from a thousand meters away! And they cannot even touch you!"
"Even if they wear heavy armor, let them come within five hundred meters, and you can still punch through their plate! And at that distance, they still cannot hit you!"
"Even in the worst-case scenario, it will be a one-for-one trade! Do you think that is a loss?!"
"NO!!!"
The soldiers roared, their voices shaking the sky.
"Good! Now, I want you to follow me and attack!" Clyris drew her sword and pointed it at the heavens.
"Are you afraid of death?!"
"NO!! WE WILL CHARGE WITH YOUR MAJESTY!!"
"Then let us march!!"
"OOOOHHHH!!!"
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