Two days later.

The Grey Keep, Winterless.

"That's pretty much what happened...... "Ash recounts the battle in detail, "and when the fire was extinguished, the lightning searched a hundred kilometers or so to the north, and found some traces left by the enemy. According to on-site analysis, it should have been caused by the spider demon passing through the forest, and the number was not much, probably about three or four. ”

Due to the loss of communication in the forest, Roland did not learn of the attack on the leaves until the next evening, and the next morning he immediately asked Tilly and Wendy to drive the Seagull to the terminal and take the person back to Winterless.

The ashes were fine, and they looked almost unharmed, but the leaves were being carried off the plane.

Fortunately, Sunset had planted the seed of symbiosis in her body, and although Leaf had been unconscious, judging from the expression of the symbiote, it did not show much pain, which also meant that Leaf's mental consumption was far greater than the physical damage.

Roland suppressed his thoughts and shifted his gaze to the large map on his desk.

The whole attack had a clear picture in his mind.

The Devil Commander did notice the strangeness of the Hidden Forest—after all, it was here that the railway line turned a bend and headed for Tachira. But instead of storming the trenches and barbed wire fences at the terminal, it took aim at the witch.

A small group of men and horses traveled a distance of nearly five hundred kilometers from the ruins of Taqira to the northern end of the forest - such a long march was not destined to support the battle of a large army, and the spider demons must have carried a large number of red mist canisters in addition to the arson mission. In a sense, this can be regarded as a mobile operation of the enemy.

Setting fire to the forest was just a cover to attract the attention of the witches, and now that I think about it, whether or not there is a contingency strategy for the fire attack, it is very likely that the controller of the forest will stay where it is, watching the situation further develop, and the enemy will seize this moment.

Probably in the eyes of the devil, it was the leaves that supported the logistics of the First Army.

Killing the Forest Controller will resolve the crisis on the front line and make humanity retreat without a fight.

Although the intention is a little off, being able to calculate this step already shows how well the devil understands magic - accurately guessing the ability form of the leaves, and making targeted decapitation attacks, relying on individual strength to run long distances, calculating the required advance and retreat time, it can be said that each step is interlocking. This would not have been possible without a deep understanding of the use of magic.

He even suspected that the devil had ever seen a similar ability to the leaves.

Although it would take at least a week for the enemy's surprise team to return the way it came, and it would not be difficult to catch up with the Spider Demon's distinct tracks, it would not make much sense. Demon slayers who can fly autonomously can leave their squads and flee at any time, and the pursuers are easy to be bitten back if they are few, and they can only kill a few spider demons and some low-level devils if they are too many.

Similarly, there is no good countermeasure for the stealth operations of the enemy's elite squad, most of the important witches are protected by the Divine Punishment Witch, and the erratic ones like Leaf, Maisie, and Lightning, no matter how they arrange protection, it is impossible to be leaky. Fortunately, there are not many high-level devils with such abilities, and when they run at full speed, they will emit obvious signs of magic power, as long as retreat is put first, the enemy will not be so easy to succeed.

Another thing that is of concern is the conversation between the Demon Slayer and the Ashes.

Devil...... Is it true that he can speak human language?

Also as a high-level devil, the captured Kabradabi does not have this ability, and without a psychic connection through Camilla, he can't even do basic communication.

"Learning is the foundation of evolution. 」

"There are so many things that can change in hundreds of years, but you are still living as if you were yesterday. 」

"It is rumored that before the first battle of divine will began, someone came into contact with the devil...... It was a human who imparted knowledge to them. 」

The words of Ash's retelling and the rumors that Pasha had mentioned alternated in Roland's mind.

For some reason, he felt that the demon slayer had a sense of pride when it spoke of hundreds of years, as if it had witnessed countless changes.

Hard, it is from the era of the Federation...... The devil who lived even earlier to the present day?

That's why it learned human language?

But...... It's also incredible.

Just as Roland was pondering, Wendy's voice suddenly came from outside the office.

"Your Majesty," she pushed open the door, "the leaves are awake." ”

"I'm coming," Roland struck to his feet, looking at the ashes, "do you want to go with you?"

The Transcendent nodded.

"By the way," he stopped as he walked past him, "I forgot to say thank you." ”

It seems that he is unharmed, but it does not mean that he is really unharmed, and only when he gets close will he notice that there are several shallow scars left on the face and finger joints of the ashes.

The whirlwind that blows leaves away is naturally not as gentle as a spring breeze, and it does not stay on the transcendent for more than a day, but it still hasn't healed.

In other words, if you make a mistake, you can be fatally damaged and irreparable.

The intensity of this battle is obviously not as simple as she said.

Ash accepted this thank you calmly, she just lowered her eyelids slightly, and glanced at Roland with golden eyes, "Treat Tilly well." ”

"Of course, even if you don't say it—" Roland pursed his lips, understanding what the other man meant. This in itself is a matter of course, just like when she saved the leaves. It turned out that the transcendent who seemed to be a rectum would also have such thoughts, and he couldn't help but smile, "Let's go." ”

......

Walking into Yezi's bedroom, the room was already full of people.

Anna, Nightingale, Tilly, Scroll, Mystery Moon...... Almost all of the first witches to join the alliance gathered here, and when they saw Roland's arrival, everyone gave way to an aisle.

In the crowd, he saw the leaves that had already sat up.

Her long, emerald green hair was a little messy, and her complexion was slightly pale, but she didn't feel too haggard.

Her eyes were still bright.

"Your Majesty," Ye Zi whispered, "I'm worried about you." ”

"You're fine......" Roland breathed a sigh of relief, the previous coma was indeed caused by mental exhaustion. But he also knew that the phrase "it's okay" was really a bit reluctant, and Ye Zi was also "cursed" similar to lightning, and the internal trauma caused by forcibly interrupting the heart state of the jungle still existed, at most it could only be said that it would not be life-threatening. "I've already heard the details of the ashes, so you can rest and don't worry about the forest for the time being. As for your injuries, I'll find a way—"

She shook her head, "No, Your Majesty, please let me go back to the front." ”

"Leaves!" the nightingale couldn't help but exclaim.

"I know what everyone thinks, but lying in bed won't help the situation in the slightest, will I?" Leaf said slowly, but in a clear tone, "Whether it's in the Hidden Forest or in Neverwinter, the curse won't go away, and in that case, there's no point in resting." ”

"But ......," Wendy muttered.

"As long as I am in the forest for a day, the communication between the two places can be maintained, the test field will not be abandoned, and I can also help transfer the materials needed on the front line, which can help more or less help the goal of defeating the devil. Compared to the two, which is the better choice, it can be said that it is clear at a glance, isn't it?" she took a slight breath and smiled hard, "Don't worry, this time I see something wrong, and I will definitely choose to retreat first." ”

Everyone was speechless for a moment.

Roland took a deep breath and was ...... He should have guessed it a long time ago. If this wasn't the case, how could it be possible to walk barefoot from the Desperate Mountains all the way to the border town and bring all the surviving sisters back here?

She is like a forest, with a tough heart hidden under her soft exterior.

"I see," he nodded after a moment of silence, "but you have to promise me that you can't act alone until the cursed slayer is killed." ”

After speaking, he looked at the ashes, "During this time, can I ask you to take care of her?"

Ash and Tilly looked at each other, then replied, "Leave it to me." ”8)