Following Rocky’s command, the ten skyships encircling the demons in the sky immediately started a barrage of indiscriminate bombardment!
Each skyship’s magic cannons numbered only two, and even with relentless firing, the destructive power was quite limited. However, twenty magic cannons from ten skyships firing continuously made for a vastly different effect and scene.
From the first boom of the cannon, the sounds of the magic cannons seamlessly merged into one relentless roar.
Under such intense bombardment, the ground below was instantly riddled with a succession of dense explosions, dealing a heavy blow to the clusters of demons.
In theory, the hit rate of magic cannons wasn’t very high, especially considering the older models on Rocky’s ships, which relied solely on sight for aiming. As a result, accuracy was as one might expect. However, due to the dense clustering of the demons, the gunners didn’t need to aim precisely; they simply had to fire within a general area.
Under this unrelenting onslaught, the grouped demons were initially roaring at the sky, but it didn’t take long before they started to scatter and flee.
Given the demons’ strong physiques, they fled quickly. From the first demon’s escape, in just a few minutes, the clustered demons scattered in all directions, vanishing without a trace.
“Cease fire.”
Seeing that the demons had mostly fled from the smoky aftermath of the artillery, Rocky ordered a cease-fire. After all, mana for the magic cannons wasn’t infinite and shouldn’t be wasted.
On his command, the ten skyships stopped shooting one after another. After some ten minutes had passed, the smoke from the gunfire finally began to settle, revealing a pockmarked terrain.
Standing at the bow of the ship, Rocky looked down to see not only the chaotic and blown-up terrain but also some demon corpses.
One, two, three… He counted roughly and saw that more than a dozen demons had been directly killed by this round of bombardment, a quite significant victory.
But such favorable results still failed to ease Rocky’s furrowed brow.
“Felly…”
Turning his gaze away, Rocky called over Felly, “I remember you saying that the last time we bombarded these demons, the armored bull demons seemed very agitated?”
“Yes.”
Not quite understanding why Rocky was asking this, but Felly still nodded and affirmatively said, “Sir, I clearly remember that during the last bombardment, an armored bull demon was howling at the skyship amidst the artillery fire, and they only reluctantly left after all the black-eyed demons had run away.”
“I see… How far are we from Backhill Village now?”
After hearing this reply, Rocky posed another question.
“Around eight kilometers.”
“Eight kilometers…”
Felly’s answer caused Rocky to nod continually while his brow furrowed even more deeply.
He was frowning for a simple reason: this time, while observing the bombardment, he noticed that the armored bull demons didn’t show any ‘bone essence’; not long after the bombardment started, they ran off following the black-eyed demons…
What did this imply?
Had the armored bull demons grown fearful?
Rocky was convinced that was definitely not the case—the bombardment from ten skyships had not left even a single body of an armored bull, proving this type of demon was very robust.
This could only mean that the armored bull demons had become smarter!
Or, in other words… they were following some sort of command, knowing they should immediately flee once the skyships commenced their assault! Explore more stories at empire
Also, the two occasions the demons had gathered were different locations—what did this suggest?
These questions left Rocky deep in thought for a long while before he issued a new order.
“Order all skyships to continue reconnaissance. If demons that have gathered together are found, notify the other skyships immediately, and carry out the bombardment once everyone is assembled,” he commanded.
After issuing the order, he had Felly steer their skyship back to Backhill Village.
This personal reconnaissance confirmed Rocky’s previous suspicions—the organized clustering of demons was definitely orchestrated, and the reason for their organization was to follow commands!
If this were true, it was incredibly frightening. Demons that previously acted on instinct alone were now organized and following orders, leading to unthinkable consequences. Therefore, he must inform everyone in Backhill Village, whether they believed it or not.
Thus, as dawn broke, Rocky returned to Backhill Village and immediately summoned Lin Feng, Liliya, Monte, and all others!
“Everyone, this is everything I discovered yesterday.”
Standing before a whiteboard, Rocky faced not only Lin Feng, Liliya, and Monte, but also Old Jack, the elder of Backhill Village, and the squad leaders of both troops who had also been called over.
Facing so many people, Rocky recounted the situation he had reconnoitered the day before, and when he finished speaking, everyone was stunned, as his point of view was somewhat difficult for the crowd to accept.
Demons being organized?
These monsters beginning to follow commands?
Was this some kind of fantasy tale?
No, even for a fantasy tale, it seemed too far-fetched!
“Commander Rocky, could everything you found…possibly, possibly just be a coincidence?”
The oldest among all present was Elder Old Jack, who although not versed in warfare, had the most extensive experience dealing with demons out of everyone there. Yet even he had never encountered such an occurrence.
“Elder Sir, I believe none of this is a coincidence.”
While speaking, Rocky drew a circle on the whiteboard behind him: “This location represents Backhill Village.”
He then drew a smaller circle in front of the one representing Backhill Village: “Here is the spot where the Felly demons first gathered, and this is the location of the demons’ second gathering.”
After drawing a third circle on the whiteboard, Rocky said, “As you can all see, the first gathering spot of the demons was about five kilometers from Backhill Village, but it was soon discovered by a skyship.”
“However, by the time the skyship discovered demons gathering for the second time, it was eight kilometers away from Backhill Village.”
“If demons gathering in one place could be considered a coincidence, that might be one thing, but what if it happens twice within a single day? And what if the second gathering consists of even more demons, of a greater variety? Could that still be a coincidence? I don’t think so.”
“And consider this; the first gathering spot was five kilometers from Backhill Village, but the second gathering was even farther away. What do you think that means?”
“Could it be… could it be that these gathered demons are hiding from us?”
As soon as Rocky finished speaking, Liliya spoke out in surprise.
“Not hiding from us, but from the skyship…”
As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Feng, whose brows were already knotted with concern, said that the demons weren’t hiding from Backhill Village, but rather from the skyship bombing them!
“Exactly, I believe the demons are indeed avoiding the skyship.”
At this moment, Rocky nodded and then proceeded to describe the different reactions of the armored bull demons during the two bombings.
And when he had finished explaining all of this, the more than ten people in the tent simultaneously let out a collective gasp of astonishment.
Demons…evolving?!
How could that be possible!
Despite being utterly incredulous about these events, everything Rocky had just described was logical and irrefutable, leaving everyone at a loss to rebut. Moreover, arguing about it was pointless because regardless of whether Rocky’s conjecture was true or false, one fact couldn’t be changed: Backhill Village was in danger!
In just one day, more than forty demons had gathered without any sign of stopping. So when these demons finally launch an assault on Backhill Village, just how numerous will they become?
That is the most pressing issue!
“What are we to do…”
Old Jack, who had been the village elder for decades, showed panic on his aged face. He was truly scared, and he had every reason to be.
“Elder Sir.”
Just when Old Jack seemed at a loss, Rocky addressed him: “Elder Sir, since we have taken on this mission, we will see it through to the end. Captain Lin Feng and I will coordinate on this matter.”
“So, Sir, please don’t worry about this aspect, but…”
After saying that, he paused before continuing, “Perhaps I am not the one who should say this, but as the village elder, I hope you will make plans for the future of Backhill Village. Demons have now changed from before, and if you and the villagers continue to stay here…”
After glancing at Old Jack, Rocky sighed deeply and did not continue.