Greycastle, Neverwinter City.

Roland finished reading the reports sent back from the front line and couldn't help but clench his fist.

"What's wrong, Your Majesty?" Nightingale, who was beside him, noticed his unusual behavior.

"No... it's nothing," he leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath. "Everyone's performance has exceeded my expectations. I'm just happy."

"Is that so?" Nightingale paused, then smiled. "It seems they've all been working hard."

"That's right," Roland got up, poured two glasses of Chaos Drinks, and handed one to Nightingale. "They really have been working hard..."

This wasn't just a perfunctory response, but his true feelings at the moment. If he hadn't personally walked this path, he would have found it hard to connect the current First Army with the border defense team armed with wooden spears from back then.

Eight days of high-intensity combat, the ability to maintain unit integrity during strategic retreats, the coordinated cover of air-ground operations, and the will to actively seek out key factors for victory on the battlefield all proved how astonishingly this army had grown. In addition, the Dawn's strong cooperation and the migrants' initiative to stay and assist with the army's logistics also showed him the overall transformation of humanity.

But what surprised Roland the most was Edith.

Although her previous actions had already demonstrated that she was no ordinary person, this unexpected surprise could be said to be even greater than all the previous ones combined.

Utilizing the powerful carrying capacity of steam trucks to conduct mobile warfare in the territory of Wolfheart, and fully exploiting the long range and great power of the fortress guns, it already had a hint of blitzkrieg tactics.

Not to mention actively evacuating the city, causing the enemy's extended defense line to be full of loopholes, and then using highly mobile units to attack their weaknesses.

The fact that the First Army was able to eliminate a large amount of the demons' active force with such a small price and halt their advance two to three hundred kilometers outside the Red Mist Zone, the Chief of Staff's contribution was undoubtedly the most significant.

Although Roland had talked with the Pearl of the Northern Lands about his views on the future forms of warfare and the evolution of the war situation due to mechanical equipment, he had not touched upon the specific types of equipment – the "armored vehicles" he had high hopes for were still in the form of tractors in the factory. The fact that Edith could think of using trucks for transportation showed that her vision was truly ahead of its time.

The combination of individual and collective strength had led to this hard-won victory.

The demons' actions were now firmly contained, and newly enlisted soldiers and supplies for the First Army were being continuously transported to the front line through the main artery, and the strength of the two sides had become a matter of give and take.

When the accumulation reaches its peak, the real counterattack will begin.

Roland and Nightingale gently clinked their glasses.

The power of humanity shone brightly at that moment.

……

After finishing his drink, he returned to his desk.

As was customary for the First Army's reports, good news was followed by various problems that had been exposed.

And these problems could often only be solved by him.

For example, the high-intensity mobility came with heart-wrenching losses.

The report placed this at the forefront - due to the uncertainty on the battlefield, the longer the crew members stayed around a malfunctioning vehicle, the greater the risk. In the absence of tools and a repair environment, two people could only handle simple faults such as punctures and water leaks, and they were almost helpless when faced with suspension and transmission systems, which were relatively easy to break down. Therefore, most steam trucks could only unload the Magic Cube and leave after breaking down, and the vehicle bodies were abandoned on the battlefield.

Since the demons launched a full-scale offensive, the front line had lost as many as fifteen trucks. If it weren't for the need to maintain the operation of the north-south arteries, Roland suspected that Edith would have transferred all the vehicles to Wolfheart.

To improve this situation, the First Army not only needed a dedicated support unit, but also had to establish related repair and maintenance sites, just like the Air Knights. Battlefield repair vehicles and trailers were undoubtedly also a necessity that had to be included in the production schedule.

He once again clearly felt that simply building these large machines was not enough to deploy them on the battlefield. The resources and money they consumed were simply not something that a feudal kingdom could afford.

In addition to applying for more steam trucks, the army's high command also expressed a strong desire for 75mm field guns and general-purpose machine guns. Various statistics showed that their addition greatly increased the First Army's firepower projection level, and if it weren't for the need to consume a large amount of ammunition, they would be almost perfect weapons.

Roland was deeply moved by this "seemingly flattering, but actually asking for money" summary, and then approved the army's application.

Turning to the last page of the report material was a letter written by Tilly herself.

He guessed that the content inside was probably much the same as the military's, either urging the production of a dedicated aircraft or requesting the production of more Skyfires.

"Brother, long time no see."

"You shouldn't have forgotten what you promised me, right?"

"Now that the demons' offensive has gradually weakened, this year's Evil Moon can basically be passed safely. I will take the time to return to Neverwinter City. I hope to see its true appearance at that time."

Sure enough, Roland couldn't help but hold his forehead. He knew it would be like this.

Fortunately, the overall structure of the dedicated aircraft had already taken shape, and he did need Tilly to verify the feasibility of the new aircraft.

However, what she said next was very different from what he thought.

Tilly used a lot of space to describe in detail the shortcomings of the Skyfire in actual combat, and even believed that the production of the Skyfire should be temporarily stopped until improvements were completed before production could begin. The biggest problem was the two-seater design.

After summarizing all the Air Knights' summaries and battle results, she found that of the sixty-five demonic beasts whose killers could be confirmed, only one came from the rear gunner.

The reason was also very obvious, that was, in close-quarters combat, the enemy did not need to conduct a long-term tail chase like biplanes. The Mad Demon's javelin was equivalent to a crossbow cannon with an elevation angle from -90 to 90 degrees, covering 270 degrees in front. As long as the distance was sufficient, they could launch attacks on the top and abdomen of the Skyfire, and in fact, they often drilled into these blind spots, making the rear gunner helpless.

Even if the enemy was within the machine gun's firing range, it was difficult for the gunner to determine the target's relative distance in the air without a reference object. In addition, they could not predict the plane's flight path, and the hit rate at 100 meters was pitifully low. They often returned after firing all their bullets without hitting a single enemy.

Similarly, when the Skyfire strafed ground targets, the rear seat only had a brief shooting opportunity during the pull-up.

However, the weight of the crew, weapons, ammunition, and cockpit protection was substantial. At the same time, in order to adapt to flight, both people needed to complete a full set of flight training, which made the rear machine gun a very cost-effective decoration. Tilly bluntly mentioned in the letter that it was more like a design flaw. If the rear cockpit was removed, not only could the number of Air Knights be doubled immediately, but the weight saved could also be applied to other areas.

Such as more fuel.

Such as a small bomb.

In short, even if it was impossible to immediately produce an improved Skyfire, at least the rear seat had to be covered with skin.

Roland closed the letter and couldn't help but smile bitterly. He could completely imagine Tilly's eloquent appearance when she complained. Although he was quite helpless that his design was heavily criticized, the former's combat summary was obviously more worthy of priority than the reference materials in the Dream World.

Just as he was about to pull out the previous Skyfire blueprints for modification, the phone with the Administrative Hall label rang.

Roland picked up the receiver, and Barov's excited voice soon came from the other end.

"Your Majesty, Princess Anna has asked me to inform you that your Iron Tower project has been completed."