“How ugly.” Tilly curled her lip.

Roland gave a smile that was both awkward and polite—if the characters of the Four Kingdoms were as twisted as earthworms, then the devils' were even more complex, to the point where they looked like witchcraft symbols. Plus, he had copied them entirely from memory, and wasn't very skilled in writing each stroke, which made the overall impression even more chaotic. God knows if Hackzord could understand what these words meant.

He had also questioned Vakiris about this, but was met with a firm rebuttal.

She believed that it was more feasible for humans to imitate her handwriting, which would both prove that she had not yet lost herself in the realm of consciousness and demonstrate her own predicament, as she could only convey the message in this way. If she directly replicated her own handwriting, it would be easier for the cautious Hackzord to suspect a trick—after all, if she could send handwritten letters, why not just leave the realm of consciousness?

"Then what is the content of the letter?"

"To have the Lord of the Celestial Vault avoid the upcoming frontal battlefield as much as possible, so this letter needs the General Staff to find a way to deliver it to the devils."

"Brother, are you alright?" Tilly asked, looking shocked, "How could the enemy's Overlord possibly listen to you?"

"Well, it doesn't take much effort to try anyway..." Roland feigned indifference, "What if it works?"

In fact, he had also asked Nightmare this question, and the other party's reply was that the lifespan of high-level devils often reached hundreds of years, during which their habits and culture would undergo significant changes. Therefore, the writing would leave a distinct personal imprint, which was more reliable than any coat of arms or emblem.

In Roland's understanding, it was roughly the same as associating the post-90s generation with Martian language.

"Alright," Tilly reluctantly put away the letter, "Since you've asked."

Just as she was about to say goodbye, the North Slope Laboratory phone on the desk suddenly rang.

Roland picked up the receiver, and the caller was Anna.

After listening to what the other party said, he slightly raised the corner of his mouth and gestured to Tilly, "Don't rush to leave today, rest in the castle for one night. I happen to have something new I want to give you."

...

In the laboratory, Tilly saw the "revolutionary" new product that Roland had mentioned—two small square wooden boxes.

It was not an exaggeration to call them boxes, as there were obvious gaps and hinges on the sides, and the overall size was about thirty centimeters, which seemed to be able to be carried directly in the hand. This size was vastly different from those amazing mechanical creations before, and it lacked some momentum as a result.

The only difference between the two and other ordinary boxes was probably that they were covered with a shiny metal plate on the front, with some knobs and buttons arranged on it.

"This is..."

"A mobile radio station." Anna took the initiative to explain, "It's equivalent to a scaled-down telegraph tower, with the advantage that it can transmit sound directly, but the distance is much shorter."

"I see... Wait," Tilly was stunned, and looked at Roland, "Is this the new communication tool you mentioned before?"

Although the other party had drawn a big picture for her a long time ago, she did not expect the final product to be so delicate! Even if it could be installed on an aircraft, it should take up most of the fuselage. After all, the volume of the tower project was there, and it was already incredible to shrink it down to the size of the Skyfire.

Roland seemed to see her doubts, and reached out to open the top cover of the wooden box.

A cluster of interlaced circuits and components was immediately presented before her eyes. Although she did not understand the principle, Tilly realized that this thing was fundamentally different from past mechanical devices.

"It can be regarded as the world's first real electronic device. Although electric motors, electric lights, telephones, and telegraphs also use electricity, they are essentially just simple transformations of electrical energy into other forms for release." Roland said, "And it has an independent circuit system that can use electricity to control electricity—which is equivalent to replacing gears, screws, and bearings with electronic signals themselves. The current volume is already quite large."

"Are you blaming my craftsmanship for not being good enough?" Anna glanced at him sideways.

"Cough... Of course not," Roland quickly coughed twice, "It's the design bureau's drawings that aren't exquisite enough."

"Thanks to Anna working late into the night every day, the test samples were able to succeed so quickly," Lucia, as an assistant, added, "Mainly because the vacuum tubes need to maintain a vacuum and also insert many devices, it would be difficult to ensure the success rate without Blackfire."

The core of the radio station lies in the vacuum tube that integrates amplification, detection, and oscillation. It is also a symbol of mankind's entry into the electronic age. Roland naturally knows how high the threshold is—the pile of shiny scrapped products outside the North Slope Laboratory is proof. What's more, in terms of electricity, it is difficult for him to give guidance as he did before, and most of the content can only be explored by Anna herself.

The facts have also proved that his previous idea of shortwave radios being distributed to the platoons was just a beautiful fantasy. Afterwards, Anna's work focus will inevitably be on large bombers, and the vacuum tubes manufactured in her spare time will be good enough to meet the needs of the air knights.

"Can I try it?" Tilly asked impatiently.

"Of course." Anna nodded with a smile.

Before long, the three were talking to each other across the laboratory, and the room was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Thanks to the extremely clean electromagnetic background of this era, the ground communication range of the prototype radio could easily reach more than two kilometers, and it would undoubtedly be even further in the air. Although the radio station would be significantly interfered with when the spark transmitter was communicating, except for extremely urgent messages, the telegraph operator could completely choose to send telegrams at fixed times to stagger the air knights' actions, and there was not much conflict between the two.

In Roland's eyes, the successful development of the radio station was even more important to the air knights than the newly developed twenty-millimeter cannon—real-time communication would greatly broaden the range of activities of the flight formations, giving room for various aerial combat tactics to be used. With close and precise cooperation, the combat strength of the team would be greatly improved as a whole. It can be said that the air knights who can do this can be regarded as a real air force.

Tilly obviously saw this too. After ending the experience with reluctance, the urging on her lips changed from dedicated aircraft to more radio stations.

The next morning, she boarded the Phoenix with two prototypes.

As the orange-red figure disappeared into the whitening sky, the dawn's morning light suddenly broke through the clouds and scattered thousands of soft ribbons of light.

The Demon Month, which had lasted for nearly four months, finally came to an end.

At the same time, the red moon hanging high overhead instantly disappeared without a trace, as if it had never existed.

However, Roland knew that this did not mean the end of the Battle of Divine Will.

Hundreds of years ago, devils would take advantage of the red moon shining on the earth to erect obelisks, quietly waiting for them to grow into towering pillars. Only after gaining a firm foothold would they launch a formal attack.

The Battle of Destiny often reveals its true face at this moment.

Now, mankind stands at the same juncture again.

But this time, their appearance is completely different from the past.

He believed that history would not repeat itself.