Empty Knights Academy, in the flying field.
The roar of the operating engines broke the silence of dawn, and ten biplanes, facing the morning light of the sunrise, taxied out of the hangar one after another. The slender wings were plated with a delicate gold edge under the soft light.
“Are you planning to take the reserve students as well?” Roland asked Tilly, standing next to the boarding gate of the Seagull.
Tilly nodded. “If all goes well, I can finish the last part of the flight manual in a month, but I don't want the students to waste a month either. Theory can be taught anywhere, and going to the front line might even offer a chance to test fly—after all, compared to the First Army's position, the airport is already considered the rear.”
That made sense… It seemed she hadn't forgotten her role as dean, Roland felt a little relieved. “Give the students more hands-on opportunities, don't hog the plane all day. Teaching everyone is the primary goal.”
What he really wanted to say was, don't get carried away.
There would be many opportunities for revenge, no need to rush.
“Oh?” Tilly glanced at him. “That's fine too, as long as you give me the promised dedicated aircraft, I guarantee I won't fight with the students for the Skyfire.”
Roland was speechless.
Seeing his defeated expression, Tilly chuckled. She tucked a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. “Don't worry, I know what you're thinking. How about making a deal? In a month, I'll bring out a team of Empty Knights capable of actual combat, and you'll build the dedicated aircraft—until then, I guarantee I won't engage the enemy head-on, how about it?”
It would be best if you never engaged them head-on—although that's what Roland thought, he also knew that war couldn't always be smooth sailing. Only an army that could win in adversity was qualified to win, so in the end he nodded. “Be careful.”
“Of course, I'm still waiting for you to bring back Ashes one day, brother,” Tilly smiled, her face radiant.
For a moment, her smile merged with the distant sunrise, deeply imprinted in Roland's mind.
“Your Majesty, it's time to take off,” the bodyguard reminded.
“Then I'm off.” Tilly turned and climbed the ramp, entering the cabin.
“Mm…” Roland turned his head three times as he walked away from the runway. Even though he had already held a farewell banquet last night, he was still reluctant to part. Through the porthole, he saw many witches waving goodbye to him from the window.
Wendy, Andrea, Sylvie, Echo, Leaf… just like the last expedition to Taquila, they were going to a new battlefield, except this time they would face a more difficult situation and a longer period of time.
“Everyone will come back safely,” Nightingale said softly. “I have a feeling.”
Roland nodded and didn't respond.
“Runway cleared, ready for takeoff!”
“Signal flag, all green!”
“Depart!”
As the ground crew waved their arms, Lightning was the first to take to the sky, followed by Maggie, transformed into a Terrorbeast—in the absence of navigation and for the first time heading to an unfamiliar place, the two would be responsible for the orientation and positioning of the entire fleet.
Roland also noticed that Thunder was waving goodbye to his daughter in the crowd, a pipe in his mouth, his face full of pride.
The Seagull followed closely behind.
Compared to those noisy biplanes, its figure was particularly light and agile.
The farewell cries from the crowd reached their peak.
Whether it was the Witch Union or Sleeping Spell, most people's hearts were tied to this aircraft.
Under the breeze of magic power, the Seagull only taxied a short distance before lifting off the runway, steadily climbing into the sky.
Finally, there were the Empty Knights.
The ten biplanes were now all of Neverwinter's aerial power, six of which were still "trainers" without weapon systems, but Roland knew that a new batch of aircraft was being assembled in the factory. Given time, these mass-produced man-made birds would surely deal a heavy blow to the devils, supporting a safe air defense barrier for the First Army.
One after another, the Skyfires swept past the runway, rising proudly at the end of the wall and disappearing into the skyline in a column.
In order to quickly deploy the Empty Knights into battle, Roland ordered the engineering team to open up a landing strip in Chishui City, Evernight City, and the neighboring countries of Glow City and Thorns Town while repairing roads. They would serve as stepping stones connecting north and south, providing fuel and landing places for transferring aircraft—for biplanes weighing less than one ton, a flat open space was enough to meet takeoff and landing needs.
When the pilots were skilled enough, the aircraft departing from Neverwinter in the morning could cross the Graycastle and Dawn countries before sunset, directly reaching the Wolfheart territory. In this era, it could definitely be called miraculous speed. This was also why Roland paid so much attention to the air force—once it reached a certain scale, human support and offensive efficiency would be improved to an unprecedented level.
Of course, as the first long-distance flight in history, Tilly reserved plenty of margin. According to her plan, the entire team would spend the night in Evernight City, and then rush to Cage Mountain early the next morning, so that even if there were accidents, the entire journey could be completed during the day.
Long after the flight team supporting the front line disappeared, everyone still stared at the northern sky, unwilling to leave for a long time.
Roland was the same.
He looked forward to this force opening up a new situation for the First Army.
……
They actually… flew!
Manfred stared blankly at those behemoths disappearing into the clouds one by one, his heart filled with excitement.
“Hey, what are you doing standing there? It's almost our class's turn to board the ship,” someone shouted from behind.
“I, I'm coming.” He shook his head vigorously to bring himself back from the shock, turned around and ran quickly to the team. Even at this moment, the roar of the iron bird passing in front of him still echoed in his mind.
Although Manfred had fully appreciated the wonders of Neverwinter in the past month, witnessing the entire process of the Skyfire taking off at close range for the first time still brought his emotions to a high point.
Only this time, in addition to simple shock, there were other emotions mixed in.
Like joy.
Almost at first sight, he fell in love with this job.
Just like Placement Officer Matt said, Manfred successfully passed the subsequent mind-interrogation review conducted by the Ministry of Personnel of the Administrative Office, and obtained a Neverwinter resident ID card and a house of his own. It could be said that he did not encounter any obstacles in the early stage of integration, and quickly gained a foothold in the new city. Next, whether it was looking for a job in the Administrative Office or becoming a police officer like Sharon to maintain justice, they were all very promising options.
But after much hesitation, he still submitted his application to the Empty Knights Academy.
Even though Manfred was told that qualified Empty Knights would be part of the army, not only would they be subject to more rigorous review, but they might also be sacrificed in the war, he did not change his mind.
Now, he was glad he made the right choice.
Being loyal to the Wise Lord, opposing the cruel and violent, and fighting to protect the weak—there was no doubt that nothing was more honorable than becoming an Empty Knight.
He couldn't wait for that day to come.
……
Besides Farina, Qiao, and Manfred, countless others embarked on this journey north.
They came from different kingdoms and territories, but now they were moving forward with the same goal.
Compared to the First and Second Battles of Divine Will, the human world had never been so closely connected.
Their fates were all linked together by the Battle of Divine Will.
And they would fight for the fate of humanity.