At the same time, the demons started to charge both flanks of First Army.

Within two minutes, they were 500 meters closer, darting from somewhere 1,500 meters away to somewhere less than 1,000 meters from the encampment. If this had happened in broad daylight, the First Army would have been able to see the enemy clearly at this distance. However, the poor visibility at night significantly impacted their vision. Although Sylvie had notified the liason officer about the demons' movement immediatley, the First Army had failed to react fast enough.

What was more astonis.h.i.+ng was that the demons actually dropped p.r.o.ne on their stomaches when artillery sh.e.l.ls landed near them. With their strong limbs, they crawled pretty fast. As the demons were spread out, the machine guns were much less effective.

Sylvie remembered that the machine gun squad used to be invincible. They could block attacks in any forms and annihilate every single enemy within their shooting range as fast as farmers reaped their crops. Within a second, they could cause considerable damage to their enemy. The unification war of Graycastle and the defeat of the church had provided perfect examples.

However, this time, bullets kept missing the demons. With them crawling forward in the dark, it was hard to kill the demons.

Sylvie warned the front at once. However, since the soldiers could not see where the bullets were hitting, they weren't able to correct their aim.

Fortunately, the attack on the other side was effective. As the black mantle could only block the Magic Eye but not artillery sh.e.l.ls, the sh.e.l.ls streaked across the battlefield from 3,000 meters away. Firelight lit up the inky sky. Broken limbs and chipped black stones were thrown out from the black shroud as the sh.e.l.ls exploded.

Based on the area she was blind to and the rate at which the demons' projectiles were fired, Sylvie believed that the Spider Demons had formed columns. It was the only way could they fill such a small s.p.a.ce with as many Spider Demons as possible.

"Keep firing! March forward in 20 meters increments!" Sylvie shouted over the Sigil of Listening.

"Got it!"

The most important thing at the moment was to stop the enemy from launching any more long-distance strikes. As long as the defensive line was still there, the demons could not easily break through. The closer they were from the encampment, the easier it would be for the soldiers to see them. Additionally, First Army had other weapons besides machine guns.

If the defensive line was broken, the whole army could face annihilation.

Fish Ball was praying at the front that no stone needles would land on his head. He came to a shooting position while clenching his teeth.

In fact, he was quite surprised that he had the courage to dash out of the trench. If this had happened in the past, he would have probably wetted himself already while imploring the commander to spare his life.

Perhaps the comment "you aren't a craven" or the roar of the artillery behind him made him bold. In the end, he managed to remain at his post, thus avoiding the fate of being the first military officer executed for desertion. Although he was just a unit leader, he still needed to set a good example for his team. Yet Fish Ball knew that he would normally never agree to take such a risky a.s.signment, as he treasured his life more than money.

Fish Ball had to admit that the army was an incredible place. Once the first soldier darted out of the trench against hailing gunfires, the rest would automatically follow. When the intense atmosphere reached a certain point, his brain simply stopped functioning properly and all he could do was to follow the procedure mechanically.

"Captain, the cartridge has been loaded!" his men yelled.

Fish Ball took a deep breath and lowered the muzzle of the Mark I. Although he was a member of the anti-aircraft machine gun squad, the gun he was using was still equipped with a rear sight and an optical sight, which let him aim at the demons on the ground. The two baffle plates on either side of his machine gun were mainly to protect him from the spears pelting down from the sky. Once he lowered the plates, his back would be unprotected. Therefore, apart from praying, he could only draw himself as close to the plates as possible to avoid being hit.

As long as he did not die on the spot, Miss Nana would be able to heal him.

In order for Miss Nana to do so, the field medics needed to rescue the wounded as fast as possible.

Trying to overcome his fear, Fish Ball growled as he pulled the triggered. The thick night air was soon filled with bullets.

As the battlefield was permeated with loud blasts, Fish Ball could hardly tell the attack of the Longsong Cannons from that of the Spider Demons.

Occasionally, black stone needles brushed past his ear or hit the baffle plates. Being so close to death, Fish Ball was numbed to everything and could only think of continuing to shoot.

"Ammo out! Reload!"

"C-coming!"

"Where's the cartridge?"

"Here!"

When he finally saw the sihoulette of the demons, Fish Ball heard the bolt click. He had just exhausted the third cartridge of bullets.

"Reload!"

"Didn't anyone hear me?"

"Hey, what are you guys doing?"

Fish Ball wheeled around abruptly and found the other two soldiers lying on the ground with crimson-stained stone needles piercing their bodies.

Fish Ball stiffened for a second before he realized what had happened. He yelled at the top of his lungs, "Field medics, somebody needs help here!"

Nothing but thunderous roars answered him.

At that moment, the mortars finally started firing. Hundreds of sh.e.l.ls rose into the air and rained down, carpeting the area between 400 and 800 meters away from the defensive perimeter.

For a split second, flames blossomed above the ground, lighting up on both the demons and the blood stains on the baffle plates of his machine gun.

This was the moment Sylvie had been waiting for.

The 'Blackriver" had weakened the Spider Demons' attack, but didn't fully stop them. Every now and then, they threw another stone pillar at the soldiers, causing more and more injuries to the First Army. Even though Agatha, Shavi and Molly were now fully supporting the army, it was impossible for them to monitor the entire 200-meter defensive line.

The only thing Sylvie could do was to let the front know who needed help when she was not giving firing instructions.

Then she heard Maggie's voice coming from the Sigil of Listening.

"This is the artillery, coo! The Taquila Witches have killed all the demons that invaded the encampment, coo. Commander Van'er says he's ready to fire and hopes that you could give him instructions, coo!"

Sylvie balled her hand into a fist.

"Stay there. It will be faster for me to communicate via the sigil than by phone!"

"Noted, coo."

Just when the artillery was about to use the four Longsong Cannons to strike back, the demons' attack suddenly dropped off. It seemed that they knew that this would happen.

A loud, piercing whistle cracked through the air, and the Army of the Demons immediately ebbed away, leaving behind those at the front line.