After being forced to step down, the once-annoying nun eloped with me.

"How many years has it been now?"

A magical doll that had just come off the production line patted its drowsy head and then rushed to the weapon rack, inserting the ever-growing magical weapons into the slots in its limbs.

"I thought we'd never have a chance to appear in reality again... but now not only can we reappear, we've even sounded the horn for a counterattack? This is fucking great news!"

The magical dolls, fresh off the production line, muttered amongst themselves. After completing all the basic preparations, they disassembled their bodies and materials on the spot. Then, with the help of the Magic Network, they downloaded their bodies to the location closest to the front lines.

This is the Eden Kingdom's [Magic Network Upload and Download] technology—when the Magic Network is running normally and there is sufficient magic power, all Edenites can upload their current structure and consciousness to the network, and then download the decomposed material elements to another area at any time.

Even if you don't have a physical body, as long as you're within the magic network's range, there are virtually no restrictions on downloading it—but in most cases, Edenians will first determine which type of body they need to handle different situations before downloading it to the battlefield. This way, they won't find themselves in unfamiliar places, fighting the enemy with an unsuitable body.

It's like the difference between fighting the enemy with pre-set equipment and fighting the enemy with unpredictable weapons—magical dolls would much rather have the former than the latter. In fact, it's something all armies would desire.

With ample preparation, the magical puppets appeared behind the third line of the United Nations. Before the soldiers struggling to hold back the demon army could react, these magical puppets had already breached the defenses and were charging straight at the demon army!

"Are they out of their minds?!" an elf exclaimed, eyes wide. "We can't stop firing at all! Wait... are they telling us to shoot indiscriminately? To shoot them and the demons along with them?!"

"It seems so... never mind! Open fire! This is our ally's request, so we can't refuse!"

The United Nations' firepower network did not break despite the Edenians' charge. The soldiers of the United Nations might find it difficult to understand the Edenians' current tactics, but if they knew that the Edenians were truly indestructible within the [Magic Network], then perhaps they could understand the origin of the Edenians' current self-destructive tactics?

In short, under the cover of a barrage of fire from behind, the Edenians charged to the forefront of the demon army. After easily melting the barbed wire with the magical blades of their magical weapons, the Edenians plunged into the demon horde, carving a bloody path through the waves of demon larvae with their superb combat skills and powerful weapons.

Each attack by the Edenians could inflict casualties on dozens of demon larvae. However, due to the close-quarters combat, their bodies would inevitably suffer severe injuries from time to time.

However, before their bodies are completely damaged and immobilized, the magical puppets can use their advantage of being within the magic network to forcibly "disassemble" their bodies back together. Then, while waiting for their fragmented bodies to be repaired, they can reappear in the place where they "died" using another body...

Even worse, some simply didn't care whether their bodies were still worth preserving. Before they were completely destroyed, they rushed into the demon horde and detonated their cores with artificial magic. With one burst of azure explosion after another, even the soldiers of the United Nations who were cowering in the rear and firing defensively almost couldn't contain their burning passion and roared, ready to rush forward and fight the demons to the death.

Fortunately, someone pulled them back at the critical moment. The person who pulled them back was Yang Hao and others who had arrived at some unknown time.

“Even if the Edens die, they can be resurrected, so you don’t need to worry about them. Just shoot at will after they hold the front line.” Yang Hao gave the order to the soldiers. “Now, everyone advance forward at least 100 meters away from the Edens—it’s time for our counterattack.”

Under the orders of their respective commanders, the soldiers of the United Nations orderly left their hiding places. They were mostly a hundred or two meters away from the Edenians ahead, and they tried their best to help the Edenians with their guns. But they soon discovered that the Edenians, with their abundant magic power, seemed to be able to wreak havoc among the demon hordes.

After all, one of the main reasons why the Edenians were suppressed in the past was that their single magical weapons were resisted or even made immune by the demons. But with the support of allies who project physical weapons on the ground, the demons either choose to evolve their anti-magic abilities and be killed by the United Nations, or they choose to evolve their armor and be easily killed by the Edenians.

No matter which one they choose, they cannot avoid their own death. While some demons have attempted to have it all, having everything also means being unskilled in everything and exhausted in everything—in this situation, the demons inevitably succumb.

The newly evolved Projector Demons, due to their slow movement, were the easiest to pinpoint and kill. The Wheel Demons, with their thick frontal armor but incredibly vulnerable rear, were inexplicably hacked to pieces by the Edenians during their charge.

The high-ranking demons were able to barely cover the retreat of the larvae thanks to their thick skin and tough flesh, but in the end, when they had to face attacks from two different attributes at the same time, their proud evolutionary abilities were mercilessly crushed due to the population limit.

In less than ten minutes, the Edenians led the people of the United Nations to cleanse the city ruins of the demons. Then, accompanied by surging blue lines on the ground, and witnessed by Yang Hao and the others who had climbed back onto the black dragon's back, the most powerful form of the Edenians' [Download] technology was revealed before them.

The Edenians are directly using man-made magic to rebuild the city's walls and defenses.

"...directly synthesizing artificial magic into building materials, and then rebuilding bit by bit within the range of the magic network..." The little elf, curled up in Yang Hao's arms, swallowed hard as she watched the rapidly rebuilding city defense system below. "At this reconstruction speed, it would only take two hours at most to completely restore the entire city to its original state, and the Edenians' cost in rebuilding the entire city is probably just a large amount of artificial magic created from seawater... A terrifying ability. If Theresa were here, she'd probably be cursing her out..."

“But conversely, the Edenians can only do this within their own land.” Yang Hao’s expression was equally grim. He held Fen’s lower abdomen with one hand to prevent her from falling, while also gripping Naruja’s hands, which were somehow wrapped around his stomach, behind him. He then turned to Elena, who was standing on the black dragon’s back: “Miss Elena—have your colossus weapons been fully charged yet? If possible, please fire one at the demon’s lair immediately!”

In response to Yang Hao's question, Elena simply shook her head amidst the howling wind, then pointed to the obelisk-like structure atop the Great Library, which was radiating a deep blue light:

"Unfortunately, the obelisk's restart requires repairs. It will probably take another twenty minutes," she stated. "Therefore, we need to rebuild the city's defense system, letting the automated golems and automatic defense mechanisms take the pressure for us, and then free up soldiers to launch an attack on the demon mother's nest—currently, the number of magical puppets has risen to 1300, but the speed at which the magic network spreads cannot keep up with the speed at which the magical puppets advance. So we must stop temporarily."

"Where has the Magic Network spread to now?"

“There it is.”

Yang Hao looked in the direction Elena was pointing with her other finger and found that it was pointing to a place about two kilometers away outside the city wall.

After the Magic Network was restarted there, all progress slowed down. It seemed to be due to damage, or perhaps it was only built up to that point before; in any case, the Magic Network's progress was visibly much slower than the Edenians' breakthrough of the demon defenses.

The Magic Network is the lifeline of the Edenians, and they cannot fight without it—Yang Hao had already made up his mind at this moment, so what he did was simple: to have all his troops follow the Edenians and advance until they reached the Magic Network's critical point.

Afterwards, he ordered the Eagle Knights, who had finished their rest, to go to the skies above the Demon Mother's Nest again for reconnaissance. Yang Hao's command was now in a state of solitude.

The demons outside the city ruins were driven back in disarray. After the city's defenses were rebuilt, the demons, now armored, were completely outmatched by the beams of magic that relentlessly consumed their power.

Some demons planned to evolve magic-resistant skin to withstand the Edenians' attack before making further plans, but these demons who evolved magic-resistant skin were shot dead by the machine gun in the hands of the machine gun Golem in the next instant. In a sense, they died even faster than they were killed by the Edenians' weapons.

(It seems that the damage caused by the Edenians' magic emitters doesn't strictly have any "aftereffects.")

Yang Hao was deep in thought as he looked at the battle below, unaware that Elena had somehow moved very close to him and was being "taken care of" by the two girls.

(While their weapons do possess strong penetrating power against units without magic resistance, ultimately, these magic emitters are merely [piercing a hole and then adding magical elemental effects to the passage]... It's nothing compared to the chaotic fragmentation that occurs when a bullet hits a body.)

(No wonder the demons were able to hold out for so long... Even for humans, as long as a high-penetration weapon doesn't directly pierce a vital spot, then even a few more holes are fine, as long as the bleeding is stopped, life can be guaranteed... Under such circumstances, the thick-skinned demons can naturally hold out for even longer.)

In other words, does this mean that future weapons we research must possess both high penetration power and sufficient post-penetration lethality?

Yang Hao pondered the insights this war had given him. He watched as the demons below fell one after another, and as the Edenians used the [Magic Network] to quickly and effectively construct fortifications at the front, even directly [downloading] automated defensive structures to the rear of the demon army to intercept their retreat routes.

He became even more determined: the United Nations must obtain this magic network technology!

After all, this magic network technology is really too convenient.

On a smaller scale, the country's logistics industry will become extremely efficient after the Magic Network is fully implemented. To use an example from Earth, it means that express delivery from Northeast China can be delivered directly to the South China Sea on the same day, or even appear directly on your desk. Not only will residents' lives become more convenient, but more importantly, in the military field, this means that when carrying out homeland defense, the country's military logistics will be completely without weaknesses.

On a grander scale, the industrial value of the Magic Network technology is unparalleled. While the original industrial system of the Edenians is unclear, Yang Hao can currently envision hundreds of industries utilizing the Magic Network technology. Even in national infrastructure, with the Magic Network, providing roads, electricity, and internet access to every village and household would be a simple matter of a single thought.

Although there don't seem to be any truly suitable self-produced products for [electricity] and [the internet] on the continent of Elusia, frankly speaking, Yang Hao certainly can't give up these good things that can provide benefits to the United Nations for thousands of years to come.

not to mention...

(If we can acquire the magic network technology, in a sense, the artificial magic reactor will also become ours... At that time, our United Nation and the Kingdom of Eden will become the most powerful magic-dominated nation in the world... Or rather, we will become the most powerful nation in the world in the true sense—aside from how powerful the Sirens' technology really is, the only weakness of our United Nation is its population...)

However, the population problem was no longer an issue after the Kingdom of Eden joined the country.

Because Elena herself wasn't born through a normal union of man and woman—she was a mechanical life form! And Yang Hao didn't mind that she was a mechanical life form!

Even if it's just to fill the current population shortage in the United Nations with a large number of mechanical lifeforms... as long as the population can be increased in a relatively normal way, then I'll let him do anything!

Of course, we shouldn't rush anything.

Yang Hao shook his head slightly, and under the girls' strange gazes, he sighed, "There's still a long way to go." Then he turned his attention back to the battle on the ground.

Without a doubt, the current one-sided battle has pushed the front line to its maximum extent on the Magic Network.

This location does not support the use of grenade launchers to bombard the distant demon lair, so the on-site commander ordered the soldiers to rest and recuperate for the upcoming attack.

The Edenians downloaded all sorts of bunkers and defensive structures to ensure the safety of their rest area, while the soldiers of the United Nations sat on mountains of demon corpses and seas of blood, replenishing their strength with things like cookies and wine while leaning against the demon corpses.

Looking down from the heights, aided by Fen's magic, Yang Hao suddenly realized that although he had been constantly strengthening the development of military weapons and optimizing tactics, he had never been able to provide his soldiers with better food on the battlefield.

For the soldiers, biscuits and alcohol could only restore less than half of the energy depleted during intense fighting. They were less about replenishing their strength and more about simply filling their stomachs to keep them from growling loudly.

On the battlefield, the availability of hot meals or nutritious portable rations is essential for soldiers—hot meals boost morale, while nutritious portable rations help them maintain their strength during intense combat. But the United Nations has neither of these.

Or rather, hot meals can only be eaten when the front lines are relatively stable. After all, cooking pots and pans can only be used when it is relatively safe, and cooking food with magic is too extravagant and may even consume the magic power necessary to cast key spells.

As for portable food... compared to the former [which is not allowed due to limited conditions], it really only consists of hard bread and biscuits - even elves haven't developed more or better dry food.

Perhaps when we get back, we'll need everyone to research something like self-heating food or energy bars for Earth—Yang Hao pondered. But just then, a strange red light flickered from the distant location of the Demon Mother's Nest...

what is that?

Before Yang Hao could come to a conclusion, Elena's expression changed drastically:

"Warning! Take evasive action immediately!"

Without hesitation, the black dragon flipped over to avoid the possible beam of red light. Yang Hao and the others, having enjoyed the thrill of falling and being caught by Elena and the black dragon, then saw a blindingly bright red light shoot out from the location of the demon's lair...

"What is that?!"

Everyone gasped and looked in the direction of the red light, only to find that the target of the red light was the Colossus Obelisk weapon charging on the top of the Great Library. Fortunately, due to the problem with the accuracy, the red light only grazed the perimeter of the obelisk before disappearing into the distant clouds.

Then, accompanied by a burst of red light in the clouds and a sudden, bright red sun that devoured the clouds, a deafening roar reached Yang Hao and the others' ears a dozen seconds after the flash.

"It's a [bomb]—a simple, compressed mass of magic launched directly?!" Finn's face paled; her body felt weak and unwell from the magical chaos emanating from afar. "And... it's demonic magic... have they still been holding back their trump card magic until now?!"

“…Denied.” Elena stood atop the black dragon’s head, her expression grave. “They…replicated our Colossus weapons…the source of their magic power, most likely, is the artificial magic reactor they created…”

"They can even evolve something like this?!"

The elves' astonishment and the astonished gazes of the Listening Clan forced Elena to nod in agreement.

Inside the demon's lair, after a round of firing, countless drops of purple blood gushed from the giant biological cannon formed by the fusion of numerous high-ranking demons.

The demon-fused and evolved Colossus Weapon successfully launched a magical cannonball made from a large amount of compressed magic power—but because the demon-fused and evolved Colossus Weapon is still made of flesh and blood, although it has the ability to launch cannonballs, it is not stable itself.

The moment it was fired, the bottom of the cannon barrel, unable to withstand the force of the magic launcher, began to crack. As a result, the four high-ranking demons that made up the bottom of the barrel died directly from the pressure of the firing.

Most of the other high-ranking demons that made up the various parts of the cannon barrel were also seriously injured. Even if they had evolved magic-resistant skin, the excessive compression of magic was an unbearable pressure for them—just like the most robust bulletproof vest on Earth facing a 381mm naval cannon shell. When the force exceeds the defensive limit by too many levels, all protection becomes meaningless.

Fortunately, the demons managed to fire their first shot in history. Encouraged, the Demon Mother Nest allowed other high-ranking demons responsible for guarding it to fill the gaps in the colossus cannon barrel, and then it calculated how long it would take for the entire barrel to be restored to a state where it could fire a second round of shots.

High-ranking demons possess the ability to self-repair. When food is plentiful, their self-healing speed is significantly faster than normal.

On the magically abundant floating continents, the Demon Mother's Nest had long since enabled all the demons on these continents to evolve organs that could absorb magical energy, using the artificial magic of the Edenians as their sustenance. Under these circumstances, high-ranking demons could heal their physical wounds in about ten minutes... But the problem is that the magical reserves around the Demon Mother's Nest are now severely depleted.

The cannonball, which concentrated all the magic in the area, left the entire region without magic. Meanwhile, the demonic reactor that produced so much magic had already collapsed under the watchful eyes of the demonic lair.

Unable to learn the Edenians' technology to extract magic from seawater, and lacking the necessary resources, the Demon Mother Nest, after testing the only reactor structure that seemed capable of producing magic, began experimenting by placing magical substances into the reactor and even having a high-ranking demon enter it, successfully producing artificial magic belonging to demons.

But the poorly made imitation doomed the reactor to a disastrous failure—after providing some magical output, not only did the high-ranking demons inside die from the reactor's excessive magical energy, but even the demon larvae that made up the entire reactor turned into mummified corpses...

Rather than producing magic, it's more like exploiting magic—but right now, the Mother Nest can't care less about the difference.

It needs more magic, it needs to fire two more shots at the enemy army with the colossus weapon, to resolve the current danger. In order to survive the life-or-death crisis of their species and complete their final evolution, the demons have reached the point where they must sacrifice their own kind.

Under the control of the Brood, a new demonic reactor is under construction at an extremely rapid pace. There is approximately half an hour before the entire Brood region regains its magical power; during this time, the Brood may be subjected to a barrage of fire from Eden's colossus weapons...

But the Mother Nest was prepared. The only weapon capable of inflicting devastating long-range damage was Eden's Colossus Weapon! And Eden's Colossus Weapon was a magical weapon; in other words, if she evolved all her defenses to magic resistance, she could withstand this attack even at the cost of half her physical abilities...

All that's left is to ensure that the demons on the surface can stop the enemy's advance.

The Demon Mother let out a high-pitched howl.

Accompanied by its horn, all the motile demon larvae and high-ranking demons gathered on the path the enemy was bound to take. All the demon larvae evolved magic-resistant skin, using themselves as shields to crowd around the mother's body in layers, hoping to withstand the direct fire of the Edenian colossus's weapons.

Meanwhile, on the magic network that Eden was constantly repairing, Yang Hao and Elena finalized a tactic after a brief discussion.

“We must destroy their [giant cannons] and reactor-like [facilities] before the demons launch their second volley of fire,” Yang Hao stated, pointing to the two locations—the giant bio-cannon barrels and the reactor—observed from above by the Eagle Knights on the magical screen projected by Finn. “Our grenade launcher golems need to get close enough to begin firing, but if it's just the grenade launcher golems, given their thick hides, physical damage alone will be insufficient to eliminate these two key targets.”

"Question: So what do you plan to do, Mr. Yang Hao?"

“Elena, I need you to produce a cone-shaped bomb, weighing about 500 kilograms, for my Eagle Knights within the area covered by the magic network. It will explode upon impact with the ground from a height,” Yang Hao explained seriously. “My Eagle Knights will attempt to bombard two key targets above the Demon Mother Nest, but whether a single bombing run will inflict damage is still unknown—so our front lines must begin advancing during the bombing.”

"It dawned on me: We can produce bombs on the spot. If we can disassemble the structure of the howitzer golem, we can also produce similar golems. But they will fire magic orbs instead of the shells you mentioned. They will have a longer range, but they will also pose a threat to the United Nations' golem advantage in the future."

Elena gazed at Yang Hao with her sparkling red eyes.

She knew that her request would be something that most people would resist—but right now, if the Golem could be disassembled and reconstructed by her side, Eden could produce a large number of similar products and use them to launch sweeping attacks on the Mother Nest from a greater distance.

But this is like a stranger wanting to directly learn a master craftsman's most exquisite skill. For the master craftsman who makes a living from that skill, this is absolutely unacceptable... However, Elena still hopes Yang Hao will accept this condition. Because the demon is an enemy that's right at hand.

She was prepared to anger Yang Hao and the others.