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

Although it did not cause any actual casualties, or even inflict the slightest psychological trauma on the resurrected Edenites, the demon's unique nature still left a deep impression on Theresa and the others.

Of course, the more important reason is that the larval demon protected by this demon has relics of the Roman royal family.

"Hmm... if there are no unforeseen circumstances, this must be... the last member of the Roman royal family, Garsen Roman, right?"

While Teresa strangely compared the relics she had retrieved from the demon's corpse, she whispered to Lalumia that they seemed to have accidentally killed Yang Hao's enemy...

He seemed to have intended to kill Prince Garsen himself on the throne. But now that the human—no, the demon—is dead, they can't just find another one to pretend to be the one to kill him, can they?

"That's fine. You can go and inform him later—after all, you are his beloved wife, and it's only natural for a wife to avenge him."

"I still feel embarrassed to say this... By the way, that high-ranking demon was Prince Garsen's head lady-in-waiting?... I can only say that his loyalty is unlike that of most people in the Roman court. I thought Prince Garsen was surrounded by opportunists and that they had all run away long ago."

"People have many facets. Perhaps the person you think is the most despicable, Teresa, actually had the most tender side towards someone else—but that has nothing to do with us now. They are our enemies, just accept that fact."

The last demon in Roman's Demon Realm has been defeated. Dealing with the remaining Demon Realm Hearts is not difficult.

However, the magical dolls hoped to keep a part of the Demon Realm's heart for live research—after all, if the plan went smoothly, the world would never see demons again.

Therefore, everything left behind by the demon is extremely precious. After much consideration, Theresa readily agreed to their plan.

After leaving all the work to Lalumia, Theresa decided to go back and rest for a while before heading to Isugard to meet up with Yang Hao.

"I feel like if you take a break, you might not make it?"

Lalumia sighed helplessly.

Yang Hao's position has changed.

Before Theresa could even register her surprise, Lalumia delivered another piece of bad news—

In a flash, they moved a long distance, and it seemed that Naruja and Fen were also among them.

It seems that Allandis has risen to the surface.

Chapter 20: The Encirclement of Arlandis

Just as Theresa and Lalumia resolved the Roman Demon Realm, Arlandis also rose completely to the surface of the sea.

The United Nations and Ysgard's well-prepared armies swiftly occupied the sand-covered land where the ironclad warship had run aground. However, operating on the virtually exposed ground was a challenge for anyone.

Demons, due to their ability to evolve rapidly, can gradually adapt to unfamiliar land environments, while humans must forcibly create cover using magic in open spaces with no cover at all—this is hardly fair, but at least the efforts of the elven mages and the Edenites have indeed gradually stabilized the situation.

The only problem is the efficiency of logistical support.

The army's ammunition supplies needed to be transported from the rear, and the wounded also needed to be sent to West City for treatment.

Furthermore, the artificial magic reactors used to expand the occupied territory also need to be transported there from time to time.

This tests not only the size of the portal, but also the logistics capabilities within Isogai, and even more so, the frontline troops' management and distribution of supplies.

Fortunately, the occupied areas at the front are still expanding steadily, so Yang Hao and Margarita shouldn't have to worry... right?

"...I think we still need to be a little worried. So good luck to you guys—but then again, will this portal really let me through?"

Nia rubbed her hands together and grinned at the teleportation portal in the distance that was constantly transporting supplies.

As a black dragon with extremely high magic resistance, Nia may not be able to pass through this portal to Arlandis and join the battle.

Even if she could teleport there, it would likely cause irreversible damage to the ever-expanding portal—so logically and emotionally, Nia could only sit anxiously in West City.

Yang Hao and Margarita were ready to travel to the continent of Allandis, but there was one more thing they needed to take care of before they went.

"The guards...the equipment...is ready. Everything is prepared."

"Don't stray too far from me when the time comes. Understand?"

With Naruja's help, Yang Hao made preparations for the trip, while Margarita reminded him not to stray too far from her.

After making all the necessary preparations, they arrived at the portal site of Arlandis through a portal with Nia's blessing. Here, greeted by a storm of white sea sand, they saw five ironclad warships stranded on the land, and a legion fighting against demons on the mountains surrounding the warships.

Isgard's weapons are not very effective against demons, so their greatest purpose on this mission is to create a "breakthrough" for the demons with their weak weapons, luring them one by one into the trap.

As a result, the casualties among the Issugard troops were far greater than those of other units—but both Margarita and Yang Hao knew that these were necessary sacrifices.

Led by their guards, they arrived at the ironclad ship's bridge observation post. From there, they could have a clearer overview of the entire situation; Finn and Elena were also there.

They seemed completely unprepared for Yang Hao's arrival; both the elves and the synthetic dolls looked utterly bewildered. However, due to the urgency of the situation, no one said a word, and they simply began their respective plans to exterminate the demons.

"...Now that you're here, stay in a safe place. Bat, Elena, and Naruja—protect him."

Before leaving, the elf hugged Yang Hao, then resolutely took the scepter and left the bridge under the protection of the elves.

Yang Hao nodded to Elena and then checked the situation on the scene.

Overall, the armies of the United Nations and Ysgard are located in the southeastern part of the continent of Arlandis. This is an open plain, and although they occupy several hilltops, they are generally surrounded by demons.

The number of demons is unknown, but it is certain that those grotesque creatures that have adapted to the deep-sea environment possess special abilities that are unimaginable to humans—at least according to Elena's observations, she has already seen some special abilities, including rapidly digging tunnels and creating alluring lanterns.

The demon's carapace has evolved to be extremely strong to withstand water pressure. Fortunately, there is a large amount of magic power provided by the artificial magic reactor here. Although the demon can also use it, the elves' magic can kill the demon before they can react.

The biggest problem is that there seems to be a leader among the demons—the strange messages previously transmitted from the continent of Elusia seem to have forced the demon hordes to undergo a series of directed evolutions. Until they find these evolved demons, their own army can only wage a war of attrition against the demons on the barren surface.

besides...

"Confused: And Kino seems to want to go to the top of the mountain... She says there are relics of the Sirens in a cave at the top, and with those relics, she can use flesh magic to help us."

At this point, Elena pointed to the map on the magical screen. It could be seen that, within the encircled lines of fire, the number of demons encountered heading towards the summit of Mount Arlandis was far greater than those on the other lines.

Is that also Kino's goal...?

Yang Hao frowned.

The plan was to use himself as bait, forcing the demons to commit a large number of troops to his side so that he could be surrounded and wiped out in one fell swoop... but if the demons' target was something on the mountain, then things would be in trouble.

He and Margarita exchanged a glance, then said in unison:

“We’ll send the magical puppets up the mountain to investigate – at least we need to figure out why there are so many demons along this route.”

"Definitely: It's already being done."

... .....

At the highest peak of Arlandis, a demon is commanding his kin to launch an attack on human positions.

Although the life force and knowledge transmitted from another continent are so vast that it cannot digest and evolve quickly enough, based on the limited information it has already digested, the most urgent task now is to stop humanity's progress while finding a way to give Allandis a rift of demonic calamity.

There were originally four rifts of demonic calamity in this world.

The rift in the southern continent disappeared into the sky with a roar, and the rift between the continents of Orros and Elusia was also in imminent danger of being closed by humans at any moment.

Currently, only the Demonic Rift of Arlandis remains dormant—if a way can be found to open it, or even enlarge its size, then it is feasible to have our fellow races from our home world come to our aid.

To open the rift, the demons need an ancient Siren relic: a scepter composed of pure magic. But to find this scepter, they must first locate the ancient Siren city of Arlandis, find the underground palace that dwells alongside the sea, and then find the secret chamber.

But they have already reached the mountaintop of their memories, so where exactly is the city of the sirens?

The demon looked down at the white sea sand beneath its feet. It waved its hand, sending the sand billowing into a sandstorm, then inhaled all the sand into its stomach, letting its evolved stomach analyze the information that the sand might contain.

The demon succeeded. Spurred by the continuous deaths of its kin below, it located the city—buried by the collapsed mountains when the continent sank. The only remaining passage to the city is now the underground caverns of the coastal Siren town ruins behind the human stronghold?

Should we seize the opportunity to attack and then secretly reposition ourselves? Or should we dig from top to bottom?

The demon fell into deep thought. It was at that moment that he caught a glimpse of the noteworthy figure mentioned by his kin in the transmitted memories.

The other party was hidden inside a human-made iron box, and seemed to be observing our actions as well.

Chapter Twenty-One: [Gathering Together]

Yang Hao and the others also discovered the location of the peculiar demon. However, after realizing that the demon seemed to be searching for something from Arlandis, they decided that they absolutely had to find that thing before the demon did—or eliminate them all before the demon found its target.

The latter was impractical, while the former was unattainable due to the unknown nature of the item. Therefore, Yang Hao and his group could only temporarily decide on a plan to deal with the demon while simultaneously sending out scouts to assess the situation in Arlandis.

But how could this possibly seem simple? That special demon is constantly evolving, and our side knows nothing about that item... Isn't this just a little easier than finding a needle in a haystack?

Especially considering the overall size of the continent of Allandis... Yang Hao and the others had even more of a headache. Even Elena couldn't provide an optimistic calculation.

But soon, Yang Hao realized what Kino was looking for. Since Kino had something to look for in this place... why not use it as a clue to search further?

Without saying a word, he immediately ordered someone to invite Qinuo over. Faced with Yang Hao's invitation, Qinuo was first surprised that Yang Hao knew about her plan to find something so quickly, and then she came over tremblingly and said that she did indeed have something to look for.

But that's the scepter of the Sirens, so it shouldn't overlap with the demon's target, right?

Faced with Kino's explanation, Yang Hao and the others were first taken aback, and then suddenly realized a problem:

"Kino, you said that the Sirens' scepter can enhance the effects of flesh magic, right?"

Margarita asked with a grim expression, and Kino nodded:

"Yes... no matter what, the Siren's scepter can still function like a regular staff, and it will definitely amplify magic..."

"So here's the question: since it's a scepter that can amplify magic, it must also contain magical power, right?"

"...It seems so..."

Kino, being a newly born Siren, only had a superficial understanding of the scepter her grandmother had mentioned. Margarita, though the president of Isgard, ultimately lived in a poor demon nation and didn't know much about the scepter either.

So when Yang Hao asked them, they all looked bewildered. Only Elena and Naruja suddenly realized and said: "Could it be that the staff was originally made of high-purity magic crystals?"

After all, Allandis has been submerged for thousands of years.

The scepter that survives from a thousand years ago and is still usable today is itself highly problematic.

Not to mention, it can also greatly enhance the Sirens' flesh magic, making it possible to block spaces that flesh magic could not originally seal.

In other words... that scepter is probably what the demon is looking for—and unfortunately, Kino is also looking for it.

Are they about to start a race...?

... .....

In order to find the crucial scepter before the demons arrive, Yang Hao dispatched elite troops to ensure Kino's safety while also hoping she could find clues about the scepter as soon as possible.

It was difficult, but Kino still managed to arrive at his own judgment based on his grandmother's explanation to him.

The scepter should be kept in a hidden cave in the capital of Arlandis, without any surprises.

But now, the capital is gone, and it is clearly buried—in other words, the cave they are looking for may also be buried.

Ultimately, if they want to find the scepter, they only have two paths: one, to find other shortcuts to the city. The question is, where exactly are these shortcuts?

Secondly, it involves digging from top to bottom in areas where the city might exist.

However, given the current situation, the battle between humans and demons is far too intense. Even if Yang Hao wanted to help Kino excavate the city, he currently lacks the resources to allocate enough manpower from his troops.