Zoe stood by the railing of the bridge, overlooking the noisy crowd on the deck. The Roland itself wasn't large, and trying to fit nearly a thousand people into it meant packing them in tightly. As a result, every available spot was occupied, leaving no space to even sit down.

Most of the refugees were setting sail for the first time, and the turbulent sea conditions quickly made them feel unwell. Dizziness and vomiting were common, and the dense crowd only exacerbated the reaction. Even those with relatively good physical condition would probably not last long after being vomited on.

She couldn't help but feel fortunate that her God's Punishment body couldn't smell odors.

"Mortals are so fragile..." Carol's voice suddenly came from behind her. "It's hard to believe we used to do the same."

"Indeed," Zoe agreed, nodding in understanding.

She knew exactly what the other woman was referring to.

When the captain received the distress call, he immediately sought them out. Since the Roland's main mission was to determine the approximate location of the Godstone vein, Zoe was in charge of all actions. At the time, the ship carried the magic core of the underground civilization, and any accidents should be avoided as much as possible. Moreover, the massive core frame occupied almost the entire aft deck, so even if they went, they couldn't transport many people. Faced with such a request, she should have refused outright.

In the era of the Association, the magic core, extremely limited in number and impossible to replicate, would never have been compared to mortals. She wouldn't have hesitated even for a moment if she had to choose between a town and the core instrument. But now, she hesitated.

After consulting with her companions for a while, Zoe made a decision that even she found incredible.

She unloaded the magic core at another temporary port town and entrusted it to the local First Army detachment for safekeeping. Then, she and the Roland returned to the Far North Harbor. She even instructed the garrison that if the ship did not return on time, they must send the instrument back to Neverwinter City.

"But this doesn't feel so bad either," Carol said with a smile, shrugging. "Honestly, I was quite worried that you might refuse."

"Hopefully, they will live up to His Majesty's expectations," Zoe said, deliberately keeping her face cold.

What was gradually changing her companions' minds? Numerous fragments flashed through her mind: the First Army fighting bloody battles with demons in the ruins of the Holy City, the nurses in the Medical Department caring for her, the ordinary people in the Dream World who were no different from witches, and Roland Wimbledon...

"Yes, it wasn't in vain that we risked so much to return to the Red Mist region," Carol said, patting her shoulder and turning towards the bridge. "Anyway, this mission is finally completed smoothly. I really want to go back to Neverwinter City as soon as possible. Just thinking about the Sichuan hotpot in the Dream World is making my mouth water..."

"Glug."

Zoe couldn't help but swallow. Fortunately, Carol had already closed the channel gate and didn't hear the slight sound.

She put aside her distracting thoughts and looked towards the faint red mist visible on the distant horizon.

More than four hundred years ago, the Divine Will War that brought endless nightmares to the Association had finally come once again. Although the time was much earlier and the strength of the demons had changed significantly, her mood was calmer than she had expected.

This time, they were no longer fighting alone.

*******************

Hequozod floated above a newly occupied city.

There was no billowing smoke, no bloody battlefield. Most of the buildings were intact, not at all like they had gone through a dangerous siege.

Human resistance was minimal, even less than four hundred years ago. If it weren't for his trust in Ursrook, he would almost have thought that the ones occupying this southwestern part of the continent were not humans, but the Sky Sea Realm.

In just one week, the clan's army had expanded the front line to hundreds of miles away and established outposts in places not yet covered by Life Swarms. This process was completed so quickly thanks to the help of humans. According to his subordinates, they only slightly threatened the lords and nobles, such as cutting off a few hundred heads, and the other side was so frightened that they turned around and began transporting supplies for the clan.

And this situation was exactly the same as during the First Divine Will War.

It seemed that the news of his capture of the first city, Snow Reflection Fortress, and its subsequent arson had already spread. The other side undoubtedly deeply understood the consequences of opposing the clan.

As the offensive expanded, Hequozod also gradually obtained a lot of intelligence from the humans. He didn't understand why this race, which had been united as a whole during the Association era, had now become a pile of loose sand again. A mere corner of land was actually divided into four kingdoms, with orders not communicated between them, and the Association that originally ruled the humans had disappeared without a trace.

What exactly did they spend their time on in these four hundred years?

To say that they lacked powerful kingdoms, it didn't seem to be the case. After all, even his most valued genius general had fallen into the hands of humans.

Did they not understand the power of unity at all?

But no matter what, Hequozod finally felt relieved.

Although there were many accidents in the Western Front offensive, it was still successfully implemented according to the planned schedule. The Tower of Genesis had now been successfully activated, and he had not failed the King's trust.

At least unlike the loudmouthed Bloody Mess and the Mask who could only be trusted half the time, he had at least fulfilled his promise.

Through a series of Distortion Gates, Hequozod returned to the collapsed mouth of the Rift Mountains.

As the stronghold for annexing the last piece of the Dawn Realm puzzle, he had decided to name the city that was about to be built "Firmament," just like his title. This place would surely be remembered by the clan.

At about the same time, the adjutant also sent in the progress reports from other directions.

The Lord of Firmament quickly read through the battle results submitted by each unit. One detail caught his attention. Large-scale escapes had occurred everywhere in the Eternal Winter Kingdom. If it were just that, it wouldn't be a problem, because most of the fragile refugees would die on the road if they were left alone.

But this escape seemed to be organized and premeditated, with the destination being Wolfheart to the south, and proceeding by both land and water. Not only did the teams that tried to stop them fail, but they also encountered fierce resistance. Their performance was very similar to the enemy that Ursrook had mentioned.

Although several troops led by Ascended Ones had achieved victories, it was still not enough to completely stop them with the existing manpower. This was also the drawback of choosing to erect the Tower of Genesis in the high mountains. Without the assistance of Distortion Gates, Natives and Novitiates could not enter human territory on their own.

He couldn't help but frown. "Where is the Nightmare Lord?"

"His Excellency is still immersed in the Pool of Ephemera and has not shown any signs of waking up recently."

Damn it, it's been more than ten days, has this guy gotten too deep and been swallowed by the realm of consciousness?

Hequozod summoned a Distortion Gate and stepped into the bottom of the Rift Valley.

Valkyris was in the same quiet pose as before, sitting cross-legged in the shimmering pool of water. The expression on her face was natural, with no signs of struggle from being swallowed. Aside from being connected for too long, there was nothing unusual about her.

This meant that she was still maintaining her sanity and swimming in the Sea of Consciousness.

If it were Bloody Mess, the Lord of Firmament would have slapped her away long ago. Forcibly leaving the realm of consciousness would damage memories, which was dispensable for the former, but he wouldn't dare to be so rash when it came to Nightmare.

Why did she have to become addicted now of all times!

The human withdrawal was too deliberate, which made him feel uneasy, but this problem couldn't be explained to the King. After all, two Grand Lords were already stationed on the Western Front, and it was unlikely that another Grand Lord would be transferred to hunt down those insect-like mortals. Just saying this at the Holy Seat would invite ridicule. However, the fact was that he had exhausted all his efforts to transport troops, while the other one acted according to his own ideas and was of no help to the war situation, which meant that there was not a single Grand Lord available on the Western Front. This greatly weakened the long-range pursuit capabilities of the troops.

If Nightmare could assist him in eliminating those escapees, how could he be in such an embarrassing situation?

After glaring at the other one for a while, Hequozod helplessly left the Pool of Ephemera.

It seemed that he could only rely on himself on the Western Front.