Chapter 1 Gregory's Troubles

Gregory, one of the Supreme Commanders of the Allied Forces of the Holy See, had been in low spirits recently. Too many vexing things had been keeping him busy, and it all started with the theft of the Demon Crystal not long ago—a group of people of unknown origin, mostly likely planned by some cunning demon, had raided the camp that night, snatched the crystal containing the dying words of the Mad Demon King, and even, incredibly, stole his house. This not only infuriated Gregory but also filled him with confusion.

The crucial crystal had gone missing precisely after it passed into his hands, which almost led to a major incident that would shake the unity of the Allied Forces. But ultimately, the great heroes regained their composure under the Pope's mediation and suppressed the entire affair. Afterwards, Gregory had been investigating the secret behind the crystal's theft. Years of wartime instinct told him there were deeper issues at play. But before he could find any clues, news came of the Demon King's army reappearing in the world.

Gregory immediately felt a vague connection between the crystal's disappearance and the reappearance of the Demon King's city, but now was not the time to investigate such things. He quickly put aside everything else and personally led his troops to this scorching, desolate Second Demonic Plane.

During the forced march a few days ago, he had clearly seen the Demon King's city appear in the sky. The dark and terrifying shadow had once suffocated the Allied Forces' soldiers. There was no mistaking that familiar and chilling aura. Although the Demon King's city disappeared strangely in an instant, Gregory still had his men set up camp on the southern side of the Shattered Plains, facing the demon legions of Ceratos and Banukrak, while also keeping a close watch on the rocky mountains where the Demon King's city had vanished.

At this moment, Gregory stood before his army, gazing at the black rocky mountains in the distance, pondering everything that had happened in the past decade of war. Unlike ordinary people who harbored only fear or hatred towards the Demon King's army, Gregory was very curious about the Mad Demon King himself. He often contemplated the patterns behind the Mad Demon King's actions and seriously pondered the Mad Demon King's impact on the world—whether good or bad, he would study it. This peculiar curiosity was not unique to Gregory; the other six great heroes and the Pope also often discussed these issues with him. In any case, the Mad Demon King was a powerful and mysterious opponent, and even after his defeat and death, there were countless secrets to be discovered.

Just then, Gregory's personal adjutant suddenly ran up from behind, "General, magical communication from the rear."

Gregory was startled from his thoughts and turned his head, "What's the situation?"

"A group of strange... silver metal monsters appeared from nowhere, rampaging through the sky and breaking through twenty-three planes. They appear to be an army with a clear objective, and their direction of advance may be the Demonic Plane."

Gregory frowned, "What kind of intelligence is this? Strange silver metal monsters? Have the sentries at the teleportation gates become illiterate to this extent?"

"That's the content of the communication," the adjutant spread his hands helplessly, "Those things appeared quite suddenly, and they're so bizarre that no one recognizes them. General, you..."

Before the adjutant could finish speaking, a strange rumbling suddenly came from the distant sky!

Gregory looked up sharply in the direction of the sound, only to see a huge black curtain being drawn open in the sky. The black city that had terrified the entire world for hundreds of years was slowly emerging from the curtain!

The army's camp suddenly fell into a huge commotion. Although the commotion was quickly suppressed by the veterans, a series of panicked shouts still spread uncontrollably throughout the entire camp. Countless soldiers pointed tremblingly at the sky, "The Demon King's city! The Demon King's city has appeared!"

At the same moment, the situation of the demon legions on the other side of the Shattered Plains was no better than that of the Allied Forces of the Holy See. The demons, known for their ferocity, had also been unlucky children who had been ruthlessly beaten by the Demon King's army for the past few hundred years. Gregory could even hear the sound of those demons suddenly clamoring from this far away: Even after the Demon King's defeat and death, his remaining power was still present!

"Form up! Prepare for battle!" Gregory drew his Paladin longsword, and with the blessing of magical power, a loud roar instantly spread throughout the entire position, "Paladins, summon the holy light! Magic cannons, prepare to bombard the Demon King's city!"

On the other side of the Shattered Plains, Ceratos's rough and unpleasant roar also resounded through the demon camp, "Grip your weapons! You trash! Demonic energy cannons, Dreadlords, Gargoyles! Gather all of them! Blast that city down for me!"

Whether it was the Allied Forces of the Holy See or the demon legions, after confirming the existence of the Demon King's city, they no longer considered any other options. They had long resolved that if the Demon King's city ever reappeared, they would fire their cannons and shoot it down immediately!

Don't confirm the situation, don't investigate the truth, don't do any unnecessary reconnaissance or negotiation—the enemy is the Mad Demon King, the ultimate natural disaster that has loomed over this world for hundreds of years. Any hesitation now could lead to greater disasters, so the soldiers only needed to load their cannons and unleash a volley as soon as they saw the enemy!

From the very beginning, there was no possibility of negotiation between the two sides.

Glorious holy light instantly rose above the Allied Forces of the Holy See. The powerful pale-gold halo even completely dispelled the murky clouds above them. Huge conical magic cannons were pushed to their firing positions by adamantine golems. The heavy barrels slowly rotated, locking onto the Demon King's city in the sky. Blue magical power gradually gathered on the barrels, emitting a series of ear-piercing air shrieks. The demon legions were also rapidly changing formations. Demonic energy cannons covered with evil runes were also slowly turning their muzzles, aiming at the aerial city. The Dreadlords flying in the air commanded the Gargoyle legions to form a charging formation, waiting only for the siege cannons to break through the Demon King's city's shields before launching a suicide rush.

Izhaks and his last group of warriors stood on the city walls. After coming out of the alternate dimension, they saw the patches of light suddenly lighting up on the plains, but his face was expressionless in the face of this scene—of course, even if he had an expression, no one would be able to see it.

"We've spotted the last portal," the data terminal's voice sounded in Hao Ren's mind, "Arriving in five minutes."

"Five more minutes," Hao Ren turned his head and nodded to Izhaks, "Maintain that gate behind us."

The reason why the Demon King's city left the alternate dimension and exposed itself to the enemy before the arrival of the Aerym Elves was precisely to provide spatial traction, in order to ensure that the Elven fleet could enter that alternate dimension later and drag out the wreckage of the spaceship. Before that, the Demon King's city would undoubtedly be attacked by those united legions.

"Maintain the gate!" Izhaks raised the black demon sword in his hand high, and the green demonic energy runes shone simultaneously, "Load the cannons, fight!"

The demonic energy obelisks above the Demon King's city suddenly erupted with a burst of light. Under the illumination of the light, the black curtain behind the city instantly stabilized. At the same time, countless dazzling lights were also released from the positions of the Allied Forces of the Holy See and the demon legions!

The charging magic cannons and demonic energy cannons simultaneously emitted ear-piercing shrieks. These war weapons, dedicated to destroying fortresses and fortifications, roared as they poured out their power. Gold and white arcane light bullets and turbid green corrosive demonic energy drew a rain-like barrage in the air, and the Demon King's city was the common target of this barrage.

At the same moment, the spires on the outer walls of the Demon King's city also lit up. Countless green rune arrays floated above the towers, and a dense anti-aircraft barrage began to intercept those devastating light bullets.

"Boom boom boom"—deafening air explosions erupted around the city. Most of the magic light bullets failed to touch the city's shields and were annihilated by the intercepting fire from the six hundred and sixty-six defensive towers of the Demon King's city, but a small number of energy clusters still hit the energy shield. Hot and unstable arcane and demonic energy sparked ripples on the energy shield, and the entire city was shrouded in a brilliant light, as if the end of the world was coming.

In this earth-shattering explosion, the black curtain behind the Demon King's city remained unmoved.

Ceratos waved the war blade in his hand forcefully, "Dreadlords, attack!"

"Push out the city defense cannons!" Izhaks roared angrily. This roar even caused some of the Dreadlords to turn into coal fragments and fall to the ground in mid-air, and the hundred-zhang-high walls of the Demon King's city cracked a row of gaps in the middle, and hundreds of red-glowing muzzles revealed their ferocious faces from the gaps: all fully charged.

A mere Demon King's city was facing two huge legions. The apparent comparison of military strength was even laughable, but when the first round of artillery fire burst out in front of the two legions' positions, Izhaks's laughter suddenly resounded throughout the battlefield:

"You little bastards! Do you believe that my brother can call a million elves with just one phone call to blast your asses!"

Hao Ren was very glad that Elizabeth had been forcibly sent back to the palace...