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

Faced with his comrade's request, the Edenian on the [Clock Tower] simply shrugged, and after controlling the aiming prism at the top of the clock tower with the magic network to align with the general direction of the target's advance, he pressed the authorization button.

As the crystal at the top of the clock tower was charged, a ball of orange-red light suddenly appeared in the sky in the last darkness of dawn.

Then, the orange-red light transformed into a fleeting spear of light, which, under the watchful eyes of the ground troops, fell directly from the sky and struck the distant blizzard, after which the tremors on the ground ceased.

"Did you hit him?"

"Probably not, right? Have you ever seen a bear with a javelin in its rear end remain silent?"

The soldiers chattered amongst themselves, while the elves climbed the trees with tense expressions. They tried to observe the movements of a hazy figure in the blizzard, but just as they could make out everything in the light of the rising sun in the east, the ground began to tremble again.

"He's going to run away."

In the Magic Network communications, the Edenian's helpless words reached everyone's ears.

"Our shot just now seemed to shatter the ice on its body, and then its skin completely made it immune. The demon's evolutionary ability is fucking monstrous... Even if it were a black dragon, we'd be confident we could just blow it to shreds, but now it's been swallowed up? Who can we complain to?!"

The Colossus Weapon successfully pierced through the Ice Calamity's permafrost domain, blasting a hole in the ice on the Ice Calamity's body. Then, all its remaining power was completely absorbed by the opponent's skin.

The Edenites were frustrated and furious, but for the Ice Calamity, it was a thorny problem.

Those clock towers were indeed capable of attacking – what was worse, it seemed impossible for me to force my way forward while enduring the fire from the clock towers.

Alternatively, if the opponent only has the Clock Tower and magic attacks, Ice Calamity is confident that it can overcome the difficulties on its own.

The problem is that the opponent has more than just magical attacks.

Through observation, the Ice Calamity can clearly see that in the Monster Forest, there are weapons similar to ballistae placed on various high grounds or wooden towers.

Although it may not look as grand as the clock tower, it is enough to force the Ice Calamity to temporarily retreat.

We can't force our way forward under enemy fire, but if we do that, the only direction left for us to advance... is the forest to the east, where there are no man-made structures?

The terrain there is complex and varied, and those clock towers shouldn't have any range to attack me... Moreover, it's easy to replenish food in the forest, and I can find ways to hide myself.

With this thought in mind, the Ice Calamity crawled underground and left the dangerous grassland at top speed.

And that was when the Ice Calamity was moving eastward.

The soldiers on the position breathed a sigh of relief. After the on-site commander sent a series of messages and verifications to his superiors via the magic network, he spoke into the communicator:

"Your Majesty, we have successfully forced the Ice Calamity toward the predetermined trap point—now, it depends on the power of the ambush and the new weapons."

Sparse voices came through the magic network communication. The on-site commander nodded in response, then sighed to his subordinates:

"Yes, I understand... I'll have my young man prepare to handle the permafrost. Please be extremely careful on site... Yes, yes."

He hung up the call.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the communication line, Yang Hao and his team prepared to conduct observations from the mountains about five kilometers away from the ambush point.

Of those present, all the important figures from the Purple Palace were present, except for Natalia and Anna, who were unable to attend due to personal reasons.

Meanwhile, the black dragon of Isgard arrived excitedly, keeping Yang Hao's promise—only to discover upon arrival that the dragon's near-magic immunity still caused her considerable trouble...

"Even the [Magic Network] can barely connect... Miss Nia? It seems you can only hear our voices and communications at most. For the rest, you'll still have to use a telescope."

The elf spoke gleefully, and although Theresa didn't show it directly, she also looked like she wanted to laugh but couldn't.

Nia was furious: her racial characteristics had already caused her too much trouble, but what could she do?

Under Lalumia's watchful gaze, the black dragon grumbled and complained for a while before finally, with Elena's help, connecting to the magic network's... communication channel.

She could only hear Yang Hao and the others giving commands and answering calls remotely through the magic network, but unlike Yang Hao and the others, she couldn't directly see the situation on the scene through the Golem's eyes.

Naruja thoughtfully wanted to prepare a magic mirror for her that could broadcast the live scene, but after Miss Nia's eyes darted around several times, she shamelessly walked up to Yang Hao and asked if she could share the same magic mirror with him.

The gloating elf choked on her own saliva. Her eyes shifted from mockery to murderous coldness—but she ultimately gave up on thinking after Theresa's pout.

Yang Hao knew what Nia was really thinking, but what could he do in the face of this helplessness?

He had no choice but to agree to Nia's request. After Miss Black Dragon sat down excitedly to the side—considering that she was smart enough to know that they couldn't sit on the same bench—Yang Hao could only sigh.

“Miss Nia... I—never mind. Do whatever you want.”

He stopped talking.

Nia, meanwhile, listened with a half-smile as she experienced the various magical functions of the magic network, and then fell silent.

They waited in the safest place for the Ice Calamity to step into the trap, while at the ambush point not far away, technicians were adjusting the firing parameters of the combined missiles, and the Listeners were adjusting the various structures of the Titanogrem.

Their division of labor is clear—after the Ice Calamity steps into the trap, the two joint missiles will be launched in two separate launches to try to destroy the [Permafrost Zone] around the Ice Calamity as much as possible, while also attempting to directly damage the Ice Calamity itself.

After the [Eternal Frozen Realm] is destroyed, the children of the Listener will control the Titan Golems to rise from the ground and then launch an attack on the Ice Calamity.

As a Titanogrim equipped with a secret weapon, while its operational flexibility remains a problem, it at least has a completely new and improved set of attack methods. It is no longer limited to fighting enemies with bare hands and feet; it finally possesses its own secret weapon.

"...I never imagined that the clan leader would design such a huge thing as a giant club..."

A huge stick—a rough stick made of hard, frost-resistant ore.

The surface was not polished, it was not treated in any way, and in many places the reflection of the exposed rock layer could still be seen.

Titangolem's weapons are indeed crude. But this is also related to Titangolem's agility.

If Titan Golem could perform actions as detailed as pulling the trigger, perhaps Yang Hao and his team would simply prepare a gun that fits its size for Titan Golem to use.

The problem is, Titan Golems can't move nimbly. Forget pulling the trigger; even a simple action like clenching a fist, which is effortless for a smaller golem, is an incredibly difficult and delicate maneuver for a Titan Golem.

After research, Naruja said that this might be related to the fact that the materials that make up Titanoglem are too coarse—in a sense, it's like comparing mochi to a baguette. The former is incredibly sticky and soft due to the softness of its ingredients, while the latter is so hard that it can be pierced through wooden boards.

No matter how you look at it, these material problems meant that Yang Hao and his team, with their tight deadlines, had absolutely no room to improve the Titan Golem—but on the other hand, if it was just about making a [weapon] that the Titan Golem could easily use, it would be a relatively easy task.

Driven by this idea, the stick came into being.

"Swinging and smashing it could send several pieces of Constantinople's walls flying... In a way, that does fit that older brother's aesthetic... But, does the chieftain really think that's enough?"

"Idiot! How could that be! But no one would dare say that to the clan leader directly online these days... Otherwise, why would we try to communicate offline as much as possible?"

"Ugh..."

The children of the Listening Clan chattered as they filled Titan Gorem's body with whatever stones and soil they could find, and their words were carried to Naruja's ears through the magic network channel.

Naruja blushed instantly. Yang Hao, rubbing his nose, chuckled awkwardly to his two wives who had somehow ended up sitting beside him, saying, "It seems they need to find some time to make the Ling tribe children realize the importance of [silencing the microphone]..."

Otherwise, if someone accidentally reveals their innermost thoughts in the public chat like this... it's not good news for the person at the center of the conversation.

"Waaah..."

The clan chieftain wailed, but couldn't very well punish the children right now. Nia, pushed aside, nodded thoughtfully, wondering if this network built on [magical technology] could also be replicated in [physical] form through scientific and industrial methods.

"If only I could know the principle behind it..." Black Dragon muttered to herself, but she also knew that such core secrets were not something she could easily obtain...

unless...

(...Upon closer inspection, it seems that Her Majesty Elena is not on the same side as the two empresses.)

Or perhaps we could try to extract some information from Her Majesty Elena? Then, I could find an excuse to get Her Majesty Elena to attend an event in Isgard, and then another excuse to get her to share a room with His Majesty Yang Hao... That should be a significant enough deal for her, right?

Nia was plotting an extremely dirty deal—if Theresa knew what she was thinking, she would probably curse her out on the spot.

But on second thought, it's not impossible.

Ultimately, that's how transactions work...

The essence of trading lies in catering to the other party's preferences.

Nia has now firmly grasped Elena's desire... but it remains to be seen whether the little synthetic doll will be willing to accept it.

Nia looked at Elena, and Elena looked at Nia.

At last.

The synthetic doll turned its head to the side in a panic.

Because she admitted that she was attracted to him.

And it was at this moment.

The sound of an earthquake in the distance also reached everyone's ears.

The calamity of ice... has arrived.

Chapter Seven: The Death of the Ice Calamity - 8K

On the morning of June 23, when Ice Calamity was forced by the pressure of the Clock Tower's firepower to seek another way through the gap in the Monster Forest, what appeared before him was a quiet, eerily quiet forest.

Although the frozen domain had seeped into the forest, the Ice Calamity ultimately did not sense the presence of the [enemy]...or rather, it could sense that there were many [life forms] active in the forest...but those life forms mostly resembled ordinary wild animals.

Of course, he could also sense that there were strange man-made structures appearing in the forest... but those statues made of stone and earth shouldn't suddenly move like war machines, right?

It doesn't even have gears inside! It's impossible for it to move!

The Ice Calamity was extremely confident in its judgment.

But he still instinctively sensed a terrifying threat lurking in the forest ahead.

An unknown threat forced the Ice Calamity to halt its advance. But on the other hand, news of the decline of its own kind from the Demon Realm compelled it to move forward.

The Calamity of Ice might be something he can wait for. He can wait a year or two, or even ten or fifty years—but his kin in the Roman Demon Realm cannot wait that long.

His kin were far too weak. He had to reach the Demon Realm before his kin were completely wiped out, and inherit their knowledge and abilities through the transmission of their life force... Only in this way could they provide a better foundation and cradle for the upcoming demonic calamity.

but--

Does he really have to walk through this unusually quiet forest?

Bathed in the morning sunlight, the Ice Calamity and the blizzard surrounding him were tinged with a white light. The demon hesitated, but the warriors lying in ambush in the forest were ready to launch the first attack.

For Sirencino and the others who were dragged here to join in the fun—at least for her, they were indeed dragged here to join in the fun—their goal was to try to break through the permafrost of the Ice Calamity through physical contact with the help of the elven mage when the [Joint Missiles] in front of them failed, or at least find a way to create an opening in it.

But if you ask her, it's meaningless—after all, if the Ice Calamity really blocked both missiles, then going there would just be a pointless suicide mission... It's like, how should I put it?

It's like a young father taking his son, who's not even ten, to a hair salon for at least three hours—your dad's been arrested, do you really think you can escape unscathed? Impossible...

"So we probably won't be playing...right?"

Kino muttered to himself as he and the other Sirens hid in the safe bunker, curiously observing the scene within the distant blizzard through the magical screen provided by the United Nations.

Things from the United Nations are truly amazing.

Whether it's the alchemical golems they call golems, or those convenient spells, they're not only magical but also easy to use... but these things should only be useful in places with abundant magic power, right? And for ordinary civilians, they're probably pretty meaningless...

Compared to high-tech products that anyone in China can use, it is indeed much more advanced... but our domestic products are developing in the direction of being "usable by everyone," you know?

so...