For hundreds of years, humanity has defended itself from the attacks of the demons, but that is all they have done - defend. It was about time for that to change. When the Bloody Moon comes, the demons would be able to launch their full attacks and begin to create more Red Mist producing towers where they have taken land. The further back humanity could push the demons now, the more room they would have to weather the coming assault.
To this end, Roland planned to take the fight to the demons by reclaiming the ruins of Taquila to deprive the demons of their forward base from which they could send attacks. However, Taquila was a significant distance away from them and it was a stronghold for the demons. If the army were to attack, it would be the demons having the defensive advantage rather than the humans. The demons would no longer be encumbered by their logistics and instead the humans would be. So, Roland came up with a plan to correct these deficiencies, by expanding their logistic capacities while retaining a defensive advantage.
The plan was created which would take place over several months. They would utilize a leapfrogging technique, building successively further outposts connected to each other by rail. Each outpost would be a hardpoint that could hold off a demon assault while reinforcements arrived.
Each outpost would have an armored underground barracks to house the garrison. There would be several concrete bunkers protecting the outpost which were to be constantly manned, even at night. Anti-aircraft emplacements would be present to deter an aerial attack. There would also be a few cannons at each outpost. The most critical part of this plan was the new weapon system called the Blackriver.
The Blackriver is a large train that can travel on the tracks between the outposts. The train would be equipped with numerous cannons, much like the railroad guns used on Earth during the world wars. In addition to being artillery, they would also be heavily armored in order to survive a demon attack. They would also contain numerous machine guns to fend off close enemies and blades were affixed to the sides of the train so that it could mow down enemies when the train moves. The train could provide long range support, close range damage and was armored. It could serve as a mobile fortress essentially.
Not only would they defend the area between the outposts, they would also be able to quickly respond to an attack on an outpost. The Blackrivers were mobile and thus could be used to reinforce wherever the demons were attacking. The speed advantage given the railroads would be an important factor for humans to defeat the demons.
The construction over the defensive line has been ongoing and Neverwinter has already constructed several outposts to extend the reach of their military. On the other end, the church is building their set of outposts heading to Taquila from the opposite direction. It was hoped that eventually the two lines would meet and then they would encircle Taquila with their combined forces.
Once their armies were in position, they would be able to be supplied easily through the railway. Furthermore, their logistics line would remain protected because of the systems of outposts. So, not only would the building of outposts help move the army forward, it would also help keep it there. Finally, it was hoped that in the future, the whole thing could be upgraded into a complete defensive line to hold off demon attacks once the Bloody Moon arrives.
The construction of the outposts have been proceeding smoothly. The first thing they did was to recruit workers. By offering a higher wage, the construction crews were able to fill their requirements by attracting vast amounts of workers. Many of these workers were immigrants from the other regions of Graycastle. Roland was promoting a centralization program to concentrate the population into the cities. This has lead to many people moving out of the countryside and into Neverwinter. Many of these people were desperate to obtain permanent residency so they eagerly took on the job which promised to give them a place in Neverwinter once they were done.
Having the migrants was quite helpful. Without the increase in the labor pool, Roland would have to shift people away from existing jobs in the factories in order to do construction. This would hamper the industrial development of Neverwinter. Furthermore, it would be a huge waste because the educated people should be working in the factories where their knowledge was useful rather than construction which consists mostly of menial labor. It was very fortunate that Roland had access to a vast pool of immigrants.
The demons have not been completely idle while the construction was ongoing. The demons have kept themselves informed of developments by using the Devilbeasts to scout out the progress of the outpost construction. Initially, they even launched raids from the air by sending down Devilbeasts to start killing workers. The raids managed to kill a few workers but the anti-aircraft guns managed to kill all of the Devilbeasts. The demons quickly stopped the raids since trading valuable air forces to kill untrained mundane workers was not in their favor. Once Andrea started using her sniper rifle to pick off Devilbeasts that got too close, even scouting was beginning to be problematic.
While the demons didn't manage to do much physical damage, the attacks did cause quite the panic among the construction crew. Initially, many of them were spooked by the danger and wished to stop working. The demons had almost dealt a crippling blow without even being aware of it. Fortunately, Roland managed to convince the workers to stay by introducing what amounted to a life insurance policy that promised that in the case that a worker died from a demon attack, their family would be paid money in compensation. Most of the workers were satisfied with such an arrangement and the workers without families that also felt the work was too dangerous and quit were replaced by new recruits. Since there have been no more demon attacks, Roland hadn't needed to pay out any money at all.
The air was safe, no new demon aerial attacks have been launched since the first couple of attacks. The demons couldn't afford to advance along the ground either, the machine guns and cannons would tear them apart like they did in the past. On the surface, it would seem like that was all the defenders needed. However, there was one more area of attack - underground. Fortunately, Roland was made aware of such a threat and as a result, adequate measures were taken in order to defend against underground attacks.
While it may be tempting to just use Sylvie to scout for enemies, events have shown that they can't be too reliant on her. That is why they have taken other measures to eliminate demons buried underground. Since demons cannot bury very far underground, an artillery barrage would be able to clear them out. Thus, sustained artillery bombardment is used to "clean" an area. After cleaning out an area with artillery, it would then be safe to send in men to build a new outpost. It was through this slow leapfrogging that the control of the army would continue to extend. The method showed results. Several times, the demons attempted to bury Spider Demons in the ground, but the artillery bombardment killed them. After the loss of several Spider Demons, the demon forces decided to cut their losses and stopped hiding underground troops in the path of the outpost's advancement.
Roland looked over the reports once more. Their progress, while slow, was consistent and safe. For now, nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Things were going very well and Roland thought that all their vulnerabilities were covered. Hopefully, they could continue on to reach Taquila without any demon opposition.
For many months, Merem had spent his time training to be an Aerial Knight. He had initially joined because he wanted money. However, once he learned that he would be able to fly in the sky like a bird, he was ecstatic. He would be able to do something amazing; flying must be so awesome, he thought.
Then came the training. The physical training was rather easy, he was quite fit and the workouts they made him do weren't that tough. The other training wasn't so easy. He had to endure hours of being spun around while having images projected in his head of being thrown through the air. It was quite the torturous experience. In the beginning, he couldn't help but vomit. However, now he was quite used to it and the experience, though unpleasant, was no longer able to cause such severe reactions in him.
He had also spent much of his time studying the flight manual. He learned everything there was to know about flight. He almost felt like he knew too much. After all, he didn't need to know Bernoulli's principle to know that when a plane moves forward, it will rise. Who was this Bernoulli person anyways he wondered. The manual had detailed what the controls would look like on a plane. He spent time imagining flying a plane, since he couldn't actually do it, and he often pulled and pushed at imaginary levers while imagining himself flying.
Today, something out of the ordinary happened. He was called to the field. The last time this happened, he witnessed her Highness Tilly flying with the glider. Perhaps now it would be something just as momentous.
When he got to the field, he saw three large metal constructs sitting on runways. They looked like larger versions of the glider. After they all gathered, Tilly came up to them and started speaking.
"Listen up trainees." Tilly got the attention of everyone there. "The planes have been finished. I have determined that you are now ready enough to begin using them. I have already tested and helped improve them and can guarantee that these planes are flyable. Now, it is up to you all to learn to fly. You will take turns in the planes. There are only three of them right now, so most of you will have to wait. Make sure to watch the others fly so you can learn from them. If you screw up and the plane is about to crash, eject and Lightning will catch you."
"That doesn't mean that crashing a plane is okay. These planes are very valuable." Tilly glared at all of the trainee pilots. "Even though Lightning will save you from the crash, she won't save you from me. So you better not crash the plane."
Merem felt a shiver run through his spine. He definitely wasn't going to crash a plane.
"Alright, it is time for the first group to try." Tilly pointed at three people. "You three will be first."
Merem noticed that one of the people selected was him. After he got out of his shock, he began walked toward the planes. He was very nervous. It was going to be his first time flying a plane.
After Merem arrived in his assigned plane, he started taking deep breaths to calm himself. "I've got this", he thought to himself.
"Runways clear", the ground crew shouted. Merem started up his engine. The plane began rumbling as the fuel was ignited and the engine began to turn. He saw the men waving green flags. "Go!" Merem stepped on the pedal and the plane started moving forward.
As the plane started speeding up, it lifted off the ground. Soon, the plane began rising into the sky. Merem was almost overcome with excitement. The plane rose higher and higher. As Merem looked down, he noted that the people seemed rather tiny to him. He adjusted the plane so that it stopped rising.
Merem began cruising along at a stable height. Then, he decided to do some maneuvers. He adjusted a lever and the plane started turning to the left. The plane made a wide arc as it turned. Eventually, it was facing in the opposite direction and the plane started heading back. He saw the other two planes flying in the air. They were quite far away from him and there wasn't any danger of them crashing into him.
Merem made the plane take a dive. The plane's head tilted downward slightly and it picked up speed. He also had the plane tilt to the side as it traced out a curved path to the ground. Then, he changed course and the plane began gaining altitude again. He took the plane through several more turns before the timer attached to the plane rang. It was time to head back down.
He took the plane into a gradual descent. It glided toward the ground and its wheels touched the surface of the runway. He applied the brakes and the plane began to slow down as it slid to a stop. He saw the other two planes land on the runways to his side.
As he got out of the plane, the adrenaline rush wore off. What he did just hit him. He just flew in the sky! Merem could barely contain his excitement as he walked toward the rest of the group. Once he got there, Tilly instructed him and the other two to start sharing their experiences.
Merem began describing his feelings while flying. He talked about what he did and how he did it. He made sure to emphasize important details like how the plane was quite sensitive to altitude change so they shouldn't push the levers too far too quickly. After giving his tips on flying, the other two shared. During this time, everyone paid close attention to what was said. Even Merem listened to the other two pilots. Flying was dangerous and one could never be too prepared for it.
By the end of the day, everyone had been able to fly a plane once. This was to be their new schedule. Every morning they would show up for practice and they would take turns flying around the planes. Merem went to sleep full of anticipation for the future.
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