"Could you go any faster?" Lightning flew alongside the cockpit, wishing she could push the train herself—though she knew that even if Macy were to push this massive mountain of metal, it wouldn't make any difference. "How about adding more coal to the furnace?"

"Hoh-hoh, little girl, if the pressure gets too high, the boiler will explode!" The one operating the Black River was an old man with graying hair, looking more like a kind neighbor than a soldier. He shouted back, "Don't worry, the First Army isn't so easily defeated, even if the opponent is a devil from hell!"

Lightning pursed her lips, not replying.

Although she knew that getting the train to this speed was already beyond expectations, it didn't lessen the anxiety in her heart—following the railway to find the Black River hadn't taken much effort. After all, such a conspicuous large machine was hard to miss. Aside from startling the people on the train when she got close, the rest of the process was smooth. By virtue of her identity as a member of the Witch Union, the train captain quickly believed her words and issued a turnaround order.

However, Lightning couldn't relax at all.

After the train turned towards Tower One Station, she finally contacted Sylvie, whose message made her heart sink: the devils had not only accurately grasped the gap in the First Army's advance, launching a surprise attack when the defenses were not yet formed, but the main force of the attack was also rapidly approaching the camp from two directions. Without the support of artillery, the already compromised position would be even harder to exert its strength, and the situation would undoubtedly worsen.

After hearing this, she couldn't be as confident as the old man.

The only good news was that Macy had successfully found the injured Rogar, and with Nana Wawa's treatment, the wolf girl's life was safe.

"It's noisy and windy outside, why don't you come in and sit for a while? It's not easy to shout every word." The old man took a puff of his pipe and leaned against the window. "Don't mind that it's a bit bumpy inside, at least it's quite warm—this furnace is much better than a fireplace!"

"No... thank you," Lightning glanced at the shaking dashboard, shaking her head. "I'll pass."

Sure enough, this was already the limit of the Black River.

If it continued to accelerate at this shaking frequency, even if the boiler could hold on, the train would fall apart.

"I can see that you're still worried about the situation over there... Do you have relatives or friends in the camp?"

"Yeah," Lightning replied with concern.

"I do too," he stroked his beard, "and two of them!"

"Eh?" Lightning couldn't help but be slightly stunned. She had thought the old man's composure was due to his lack of attachments.

"I used to be a miner, and I had a total of four children in my life. Except for the eldest who died of a cold, everyone else lived until the arrival of Wimbledon. The old man smiled. "Before, they lived like rats, both thin and cowardly, but since joining the army, they've changed inside and out, which is why I have so much confidence in the First Army—a team composed of such people cannot be easily defeated."

Is... that so? Lightning couldn't help but ask, "What about the other one?"

"On this train," he tapped his pipe, "the first lookout to spot you approaching was him."

The old man paused for a moment, his tone quite proud, "Because these changes were all brought about by Wimbledon, I also wanted to do something for him. Besides, it's very boring to stay in the mine alone, it's better to walk around. Later, when His Majesty selected train crews from people familiar with steam engine operation, I signed up, and I didn't expect to be selected."

So the other party wasn't like she had thought... Lightning murmured, just about to say something when the telephone on the console suddenly rang loudly.

"Father, I saw Tower One Station! It really looks like there's a battle over there, I can see flashes and flames!" The excited voice in the microphone could be heard even by Lightning outside the window.

"How many times have I told you, this is the army, don't call me father!" The old man shouted into the microphone. "Keep an eye on the front, I'm going to sound the whistle to tell them the reinforcements are here!"

Then he raised his eyebrows at Lightning, "How about it, I told you they wouldn't be so easily defeated, right?" Then he turned around, pulled down the rope behind him with force, and shouted with great energy, "Give it to me, boys!"

"Woo——————————"

Half a quarter of an hour later, in the deep, long鳴声of the whistle, the Black River, accompanied by the huge roar emitted during deceleration, plunged headlong into the heart of the melee.

Every stone needle stuck in the rails was smashed to pieces, the collision of black stone and steel shooting out a series of dazzling sparks at the dark locomotive.

Perhaps the train's deceleration gave the enemies the illusion that they could block the opponent, several devils approached the rails, trying to stop the advance of the steel behemoth, but they were all swept under the wheels and crushed into minced meat.

No matter how slow it was, it was not something that biological power could contend with.

At the same time, the machine gun turrets set up in front and behind the armored train also began to sweep around, the devils that had invaded the camp were immediately attacked from both sides, and under the double attack, they were swept down one by one with almost no chance to hide. And bone spears and other attack methods were like scratching an itch for the Black River.

At this moment, Lightning had already flown into the turret cabin.

"Sylvie, what's the target?"

"Directly in front of you, about three thousand three hundred meters," Sylvie had obviously noticed the arrival of the train and reported the artillery data as soon as possible. "An open space, no obstructions!"

No need to repeat, the gunners immediately busied themselves the moment the train came to a complete stop.

…

In Sylvie's vision, the enemy's main force had now approached within range of the camp's defenses.

Their numbers were not as many as in the Battle of the Second Hope North Slope, about five thousand or so, but they were scattered very sparsely, almost like unconstrained bandits. Because of this, the entire plain seemed to be filled with their men, making it look creepy.

And in the more distant places, the magic eye's reconnaissance was distorted.

The earth surged with an opaque black curtain, and even the magic eye that could penetrate any dead angle could not completely see what was behind the black curtain. It didn't seem like the interference caused by the God's Stone—the no-magic field gave people the feeling of a silent wasteland, either there or not, with clear boundaries and no waves. It was more like something else... something alive.

And before going to sleep, there was clearly nothing there.

The long needles and stone pillars that attacked the camp were launched from that black curtain.

This was the most depressing battle that Sylvie had felt. From the ambush to the attack, it was full of weirdness, and her vision was restricted everywhere. Every step of the devils seemed to be aimed at her.

She didn't bother to think about how the enemy had quietly approached to this distance, but instead focused all her attention on the Black River.

Since she couldn't see the specific location of the target, she only made adjustments based on the results of the shelling.

In this anxious wait, the Black River finally let out its first roar, and the scorching flames instantly illuminated its long body, and also lit up the night sky of the camp!

Even faster than the sound was the cannonball.

It penetrated layers of air blocking its path, dragging a string of shockwaves towards the black curtain.