The other three demons responded immediately. They controlled the Devilbeasts and scattered in all directions. They then zigzagged in a direction where they came from and soon disappeared into the distance.
While retreating, a demon even turned back to toss its spear toward the head of the Devilbeast which had a broken wing and was spiraling down.
Although Andrea concentrated on the target, the second standing coin never appeared.
"They escaped?" Shavi asked in surprise, "What did they come for?"
For the first time, the demons escaped before a direct confrontation. In previous cases, the brutal demons would not give up until they attacked their targets severely. It was indeed surprising that they just hovered rather than attacking or spying.
"I don't know..." Andrea released the trigger, "They seem to have figured out how to dodge the sniper. The enemies learn very quickly, don't they, little Molly?" She laughed, looking at Molly who was rubbing her ears.
"You should remind me earlier next time," Molly complained. The sound of this weapon was not lower than that of a cannon. She hardly had time to cover her ears. Even so, she still felt dizzy due to the thunder-like bang.
"I'm sorry. I didn't expect the 'guiding lines' to appear so fast. Probably my ability has improved again." Andrea blinked her eyes, "I'll give you a special compensation to apologize."
"You didn't do it on purpose. You don't have to apologize, " Molly scratched her head. "After all, defeating the enemy is more important."
"But I'll feel sorry for it."
"Well..." She had to agree in face of the earnest stare of Andrea, "What's the compensation?"
"Chaos Drinks," Andrea said, covering her mouth.
"Are you... sure?" Molly asked in surprise. When they were on the Sleeping Island, she only knew that Andrea was born in a prominent family and was one of the most powerful combat witches, so she was nearly as important as Ashes. In addition, Andrea used to stay with Lady Tilly, so Molly had few opportunities to communicate with Andrea in the past. After coming to Neverwinter, the gap between combat witches and non-combat witches completely disappeared. It was then she found out that Andrea was not as cold as she imagined, but elegant and friendly.
However, she had not expected Andrea to be so generous!
"Yeah, the general rule is a cup for each round. My special compensation is that if you lose, you don't need to give me a cup. If I lose, I'll give it to you. How is this? It's a once-in-lifetime opportunity."
"I see. If I don't have to lose, it's indeed... Wait, it's not!" Molly suddenly understood, "Doesn't it mean that I'm going to play cards? I won't join—"
"But you've promised it, just now," Andrea revealed a "too late" expression. "Stay here and don't leave. I'll go to the command post and come back soon!"
Before Molly had time to explain, Andrea had already jumped down from the brick pile and rushed to the end of the dump site.
She turned to Margie who obviously had the similar feeling and finally knew what she meant by saying "I was forced by them to come here".
Frontline command post.
Within half an hour, all the information about this "accidental encounter" had been gathered and placed on Iron Axe's desk.
Lightning and Maggie who had been wandering around the watch circle were the first ones to discover the enemy's trail.
At that time, they were flying through the clouds one after another and happened to had been out of the sight of the enemy. After that, they followed the demons at the six o'clock direction and sent warnings to Sylvie through the Sigil of Listening.
According to Lightning's description, the demons' flight route was a straight line on the map which linked the railway front and the Taquila ruins. In other words, they were not patrolling but they came after the First Army from the very beginning.
The entire encounter lasted for about a quarter of an hour. Miss Andrea was the only one to achieve the victory, as the anti-Devilbeast sniper rifle was the only effective weapon which could hit the target at this distance. After one demon was shot, the rest of them immediately chose to retreat and zigzagged to avoid Andrea's further shooting. It was proved to be effective and Andrea failed to shoot them again.
Sylvie monitored their process of leaving the watch circle.
Lightning and Maggie did not take any further action, either.
Fifteen minutes later, the alarm was lifted.
Iron Axe laid down his report and took a deep breath.
This was the integrated war intelligence system designed by His Majesty. Each unit would report their actions level by level. The General Staff department would then collect all information, sort out and refine it in order to review the whole combat process. With the assistance of a map and a sand table, the military commanders could have the most direct understanding of the front battle.
Though having operated the system several times before the expedition, Iron Axe was still shocked by the initial practical use of the system. For the first time, he felt that the war was so clear that it felt like he was standing on a cloud that overlooked the entire combat.
In Iron Sand City, even the battle of hundreds of people between the clans could be chaotic. If he wanted to sort out the result of the battle, he could only get a rough conclusion even if he devoted a lot of time and energy to it. Yet, it was different now. Both the enemy's action and First Army's response were clearly presented in his mind. The feeling of being on top of it made him realize that the battles between the Mojin clans were merely street fights.
Of course, it was far from being sufficient enough to know the overall situation. The most important task was to figure out the demons' intentions.
Iron Axe looked at Edith, who was carefully staring at the map. She was the only one not to discuss with other Staff members.
He had previously reported to King Roland his private contact with her, but Iron Axe had no regrets. He had pledged allegiance to the king. Even if he felt sorry for her, he would not make a second choice. Nevertheless, he felt guilty toward her and was prepared to be ridiculed or ignored by her. What she did was out of his expectation. She acted as if it had not happened, and still invited him to participate in the gatherings of the General Staff Department. However, she did not have any private discussions with him anymore.
He realized that he indeed did not understand this woman's thoughts—since they were in the Southernmost Region.
"Did you find something?" Iron Axe walked behind her.
"No," Edith shrugged. "I'm not a demon and I just met them once. How can I know what they think?"
"You didn't discuss with them. I thought you had some idea."
"Discussion without clues is meaningless. You can neither prove it nor deny it. It contributes nothing but anxiety."
"In that case, I'll take it as the final decision of the General Staff and report to His Majesty," Iron Axe nodded. If even Pearl of the Northern Region could not figure it out, there was no need for them to continue the discussion.
"Well, go," Edith paused, "but..."
"But what...?"
"I don't think it'll end so easily. If the enemy really came for us, they'd definitely take actions again in the near future."
What happened later proved Edith's guess.
Just two days later, the demons once again appeared in the northeast.
Four Mad Demons again.
They were farther away from the front this time. Only four black spots could be barely observed by the naked eye.