The next day.
The Northern Border front line.
This was the Empire's northernmost defensive line. A hundred miles farther north lay the vast Siberian grasslands.
The bitter wind swept fine snow into their faces.
The temperature was thirty degrees below zero.
But colder than the weather was the bloodshed that hung in the air.
Qi Wu stood with the three girls atop a watchtower on the defensive line, overlooking this thousand-mile wall of steel.
"This... this is..."
Lilith's eyes widened, her little mouth forming an O.
Everything before her overturned her expectations.
This was a true fortress of war!
The towering alloy walls gleamed with a cold metallic sheen in the sunlight.
A gun emplacement stood every hundred meters along the walls, its massive barrel pointing north.
Those were spiritual energy cannons, heavy weapons designed specifically to fight Demons.
Inside the walls, barracks, warehouses, repair shops, and hospitals stood in orderly rows.
Everything they needed was there, sensibly arranged.
Farther away, they could see dozens of attack helicopters on the landing pads, along with large transport aircraft taking off and landing.
A railway stretched in from the rear, reaching deep into the fortress-clearly its supply lifeline.
And above the fortress-
A visible spiritual energy barrier enveloped the entire area, keeping out the bitter wind and scattered groups of Demons trying to break in.
"So this is... the Northern Border defensive line..."
Gale murmured.
She had seen plenty of the world, but the sheer scale of the fortress still stunned her.
Jiang Qingyue drew a deep breath.
"My father told me the Empire spent a hundred years and countless resources building this defensive line."
"They call it a defensive line, but it's really a chain of steel fortresses."
"It can house five million troops and remain self-sufficient for three months."
Qi