66 The Battle of Taquila

As the planes returned to base, they left behind a flaming ruin. The bombs had devastated the demon base, and the resulting conflagration only made things worse. The massive pillar of flame was visible from the human lines. The soldiers watched as the city burned in the distance.

When the planes returned, they were given a heroes welcome. Then the God's Punishment Witches disembarked the planes and returned to their positions. The pilots didn't get to rest either. The planes were refueled and were kept on standby in case they were needed for air support.

The bombing had dealt a serious blow to the demon army. Most of the demon forces had been stationed in the city, and the bombing had killed most of them. Only the ones on the fringes had made it out in time. This wasn't the worst part either. With their base gone, the demons had lost their stockpile of Red Mist. It was clear that most of them would end up dying soon.

The demons had only one option. They gathered everyone to launch an all out attack against the humans. The best they could hope for is to destroy the human army while dying in the process. Unfortunately, the demon army had been unable to finish its preparations as they were not expecting to have to strike at this moment. Most of the trump cards they prepared were only directed toward when the humans advanced on their base.

The remainder of the battered demon army quickly began charging toward the human lines. The humans were well aware of the demon attack and the already ready soldiers were waiting for the demons to arrive. The most powerful human army ever assembled in history would make their stand.

As the demon horde approached the maximum range of the cannons, the order was given to fire. The cannons boomed as they began shooting. The rhythmic sound of the cannon fire almost sounded like a symphony as if the cannons themselves were singing.

The cannon shells landed amongst the approaching demons. The cannons were not very accurate at this range, but it didn't matter. Wherever the shot landed it was able to hit dozens of demons. The cannons fired at the fastest rate possible. There were no concerns of conserving ammunition as this was going to be the final battle of the conflict.

Even under the intense cannon fire, the demons continued to progress onwards. Their ranks were thinning as the constant barrage of cannon fire reduced their numbers. At this point, the attackers consisted of mainly low ranked demons. Any Spider Demon or Senior Demon that appeared was instantly targeted by the cannons. They were destroyed before getting anywhere close to the humans.

The demons had far too few Devilbeasts left. The bulk of their forces had been killed trying to fight against the planes and many of the remainder had been taken out in the bombing. With their numbers so few, they couldn't do anything. Any attempt to raid the encampment would lead to them being obliterated before getting anywhere close.

By the time the demons got within range of the machine guns and rifles, there were hardly many of them left. The ordinary soldiers had been waiting for this time as they began firing with earnest.

The demons died in droves. They had no huge armored beasts to support them, no fearsome Senior Demons. There were no Devilbeasts to run interference. With their preparations moot and the majority of their forces shattered, there was hardly anything they could do.

Soon, the dust settled. The demon army was no more. Humanity had won a great victory. With this, their survival was secured.

By the next day, the ruins of Taquila had cooled down enough that it was safe to enter. The final task would be to enter the city and officially claim it.

It was possible that there might be a few demons still lingering inside who had managed to survive or had fled there afterwards. Clearing out the ruins was a task that was not without risk.

It was obvious who to send for this mission. The God's Punishment Witches would easily be able to deal with any possible demon threat that remained. Furthermore, Taquila was their old home. It was only natural that they be the first to return.

The Taquila witches all assembled. As a group, they began heading toward the ruins of the city.

As they approached, a heavy feeling sank into their hearts. They remember how desperately they had fought all those years ago. How despite their best efforts, Taquila had fallen to the demons. It was an eternal shame for them, one that they sought to correct through their work for the past 400 years. Now, they were finally returning.

It still seemed astounding to them how this had all came to be. At first they had thought Roland was an arrogant human with delusions of grandeur. Yet, he had managed to do so much. It was only because of him that they were here today. For this, they were thankful.

As they stepped into Taquila, they couldn't help but sigh. This was their home, now nothing but ruins. They could still remember the splendor of the city 400 years ago. It was the shining jewel of humanity. The loss of the city was a great tragedy. Yet they all held out hope that one day they could come back and rebuild. To return the city to its former glory - no, to make it something even greater.

The witches walked through the rubble, gazing upon the devastation that had been wrought. There were a few wandering demons who were quickly killed. As they walked, they stayed silent. Each of them were ruminating upon their entire life. They thought of the hundreds of years they had to toil for and how it had finally come to a conclusion here. Everyone had seen some of their friends die during the war and now all of those memories flooded to the surface.

After walking through the entire city, the group stopped. It was time to move on from the past. Humanity would now enter into a new age.