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

Every surviving Bayezid was preparing for the final battle, arming themselves—women, the elderly, children, and warriors alike. They armed themselves with everything they could find, making shields from rotten doors and digging up the few remaining bricks and stones to make projectiles. They began to gather in waves outside the city, but fortunately, the archmage persuaded the elderly, weak, and young who were unable to fight to stay inside.

After all, the elderly are unable to fight, the women are the backbone of the country's restoration, and the children are their hope—they have already squandered the hopes of those over ten years old in the upcoming decisive battle, and now they cannot squander the hopes of those under ten years old in the war as well.

These people must remain in the city. However, for the Archmage and his allies, their current high morale does not guarantee Bayrzan's victory.

Bayern still needed to plan for the upcoming decisive battle, and their efficiency was on full display before Naruja and her group. While they were arriving, the Bayern had already dispatched a reconnaissance vanguard composed of veterans and young soldiers to scout the route to the final battle and eliminate any demonic threats along the way.

The demons never expected that the elves would descend from the earth to fight alongside the Bayerjas, so this time, the Bayerjas could catch them off guard.

But the most crucial part of this battle is that the Bayrzans need to capture the area surrounding the elevator platform descending from the Demon Lands. They must protect the elven troops that will descend, lest these few elves, as recorded, be annihilated by being surrounded from all sides.

"At that time, all our Eagle Flag Battalions and Hunters will need to launch a fierce attack on the high-level demons, but the positions can only be defended by the young and middle-aged soldiers with their lives... They must maintain the line and cannot retreat a single step, otherwise they will either be crushed to death by the elevator platform above, or their comrades will be killed because they are out of formation."

"The key to victory depends half on how fast the elves can provide support, and the other half on how long we can hold out."

"The longer the better—but we must also objectively understand that faith and fanaticism cannot gain the upper hand against demons, because they too will be driven to desperation and fight us to the death... How many of our [war machines] are still usable?"

"Five. The last five, and they're all relatively low-level prefabricated strafing machines."

"That's enough. The demons' Titans and the [Noble Ones] are all dead anyway—enough. When do we launch our attack?"

"It'll be tomorrow."

The archmage of Bayez was discussing tactics for the final battle with the surviving generals and nobles when Naruja bravely stepped forward and said that she could also help.

Under their watchful eyes, Naruja used stones from the courtyard of the Purple Palace to create a small golem. After explaining to the Bayrjans the limits of her golem creation and control, the skeletal archmage Archimedes shook his head and said that these stone golems could only be used on the front lines against infants, and that they must be used in concentrated numbers.

“This… Miss Naruja, right? I can sense the divine magic left behind by the Purple-Clad Princess from you, so I’ll tell you the truth: Golems made of stone are almost useless against high-ranking demons.”

The special ability of a high-ranking demon is a concept. In this concept, even if you are made of stone, you will be petrified and subject to the rules of immobility and breathlessness—similarly, high-ranking demons generally possess both powerful abilities and robust physiques. Your stone golem cannot physically gain an advantage over a high-ranking demon; on the contrary, it will hinder our hunters' actions.

“I can control them like this.” Naruja controlled Rem to dance a ballet, or skillfully used his pointed hands to perform rough sword fighting techniques. “Can’t this help?”

"No. Demons aren't mindless barbarians. They're very clever. They can tell at a glance that a cute girl with horns is the controller of those stone golems. In order to see the demons' actions clearly, you'll definitely appear in their line of sight. You'll then be completely exposed to the threat of high-ranking demons, and you'll die at their hands like a pig."

I'm not insulting you, but it's the truth—too many Bayer Zans have died pointlessly in their momentary bravado. I hope you understand this: professional problems should be solved by those who truly understand problem-solving, not by a barber performing surgery, much less by a fool deciding the course of a war.

Since the Archmage had brought this up, Naruja showed no sign of discouragement.

She pondered for a moment. If her golem stood in front of the defensive line, it could actually draw the fire of the larvae to the vulnerable ranged units—after all, ordinary fireballs could only scorch the surface of the stone, and ordinary acid could not quickly corrode the golem's body. Even if it could, in that situation, Naruja could use the superhuman magic efficiency brought by her antlers to create golems on the spot using demonic magic.

She was confident in this because she had done it countless times. But she also knew she absolutely could not die, because if she died, not only would she not be able to leave a place in his heart, but the very collapse of the front line would make her ashamed to face anyone.

So after thinking for a long time, Naruja said: In that case, let's put her in the safest place with the most stones.

"This way I can easily recreate Golems on the spot if they are damaged in battle... If I absolutely cannot die, I need someone to cover me."

“A squad of able-bodied men will cover you then, Miss Naruja. But that’s all we can do. We all need to do our duty in the final battle, and it’s inevitable that many of us will leave behind a mess—we have far too few experienced warriors here.”

"But Lucas said—"

“Commander Lucas has been away from Constantinople for too long. He is not unaware that the troops currently using the flag of the 25th Eagle Banner Battalion are not the new recruits of the 25th Eagle Banner Battalion. Those lads were wiped out six days ago. The current 25th Eagle Banner Battalion should actually be called the 26th Eagle Banner Battalion.”

"...I see."

Naruja remained silent.

Now she understood Bayer Nils' predicament, but she never imagined things could be this dire.

It seemed that Naruja had no further reason to elaborate. She simply said she needed to communicate with the elves to use magic to notify the surface troops to await a signal, and then departed.

Meanwhile, in the elves' corner, the elves were maintaining their Japa 1404 rifles while discussing the Bayer Zans' overwhelming fighting spirit.

"How did we manage to ally with a country like that back then?"

"My grandfather told me that when magic was more abundant, we elves could unleash elven magic freely across the continent without having to wait for magic to replenish... Perhaps when magic was more abundant, Gaparia truly deserved to be a brotherhood with Bayrjans, but now... sigh. The magic here doesn't allow me to cast barriers or invisibility; at most, I can use elven spells for long-distance communication..."

"Things should be much better after that elevator comes down, right? Then the magic in the Monster Forest will subside, and we can..."

"But have you forgotten that demons can also use magic? We might not be able to catch a single trace of magic then..."

The elves were having a lively discussion, but after Naruja arrived, they temporarily stopped their previous topic and asked Naruja if she needed to send a signal.

Naruja nodded, but she added that she should also report the special features of the demon's abilities—she was not smart enough to understand what the archmage meant by the "concept," so all she could do was give this important information to Yang Hao and the others on the surface so they could make their own judgments.

as well as..

"The Bayer Zans seem prepared for total annihilation... but I think it would be better if we could reduce their casualties, so... please make Yang Hao realize this. We can't let the Bayer Zans lose too many people in the final battle, otherwise, Theresa, you will be receiving a city where only women and children remain."

Naruja's words left the elves silent for a long time.

After a moment, the elf in charge of the transmission nodded and said:

"We have far more women than men on our side, and we can't stand to watch Bayer Nuggets get any worse."

"His Majesty the Regent and Finn will figure something out. So let's just send it over like this."

The elves transmitted crucial intelligence to the surface, to Gaparia, to the headquarters of the elven alliance who were clearing the platform with their warriors on that plain, preparing to sink at any moment, and it reached Yang Hao, Theresa in her purple robes, and Finn.

Meanwhile, on the only road leading to the land of demons outside Constantinople.

Bayer's reconnaissance vanguard encountered a small group of demon larvae and larvae, as well as two high-ranking demon units.

After a brief moment of surprise, Melist, the commander of the youth army, and Sarkozy, the commander of the veterans, ordered their troops to launch an attack, while on the demon side, the demon army, mainly composed of petrifying demons and fire-breathing demons, also charged towards the Bayrzans.

......

After the entire youth army was petrified and burned, the remaining half of the veterans killed two high-ranking demons by stepping on the [staircase] formed by the corpses of their comrades.

Chapter Nine: The Bridge of Life, The Final Battle Against the Demon 8K - 2

That happened half an hour ago. While the Bayern were preparing for the upcoming decisive battle, a youth army and a veteran regiment of about 400 men, led by two commanders, advanced towards the only road leading to the Demon Land. They were scouting enemy positions for the main force behind them, and also building a temporary base on the edge of the Demon Land suitable for the main force to enter.

Unfortunately, on their march, they encountered the devils preparing an ambush in a narrow passage that could only support a maximum of one thousand men.

Those were two high-ranking demons.

Some are over 10 meters tall and are common among high-ranking demons: the Fire-Breathing Demon. It has a charred, melted human face, and its breath carries flammable gases; even its walk generates countless sparks.

This demon possesses bull hooves, a snake's head and tail that oozes scalding black pus, and two pairs of forelimbs that, by normal biological standards, resemble fleshy hammers. It is a tank among ordinary high-ranking demons; by the standards of the Bayrzans Empire, it is a high-ranking demon that can be killed by piling up human lives.

After all, this is an easily angered demon.

According to the records of the Bayrzans Empire, the standard size of the fire-breathing demon should be over twenty meters; now, it is less than ten meters. It is an opponent that the current vanguard can easily defeat after losing a third of its members.

But the other kind of demon is a completely different matter.

The Petrifying Demon is the most troublesome opponent among all the high-ranking demons the Bayrjan Empire has faced.

If meteorites falling from the sky can be countered with magic.

If you can leap over flaming lava with agility.

If those venoms and concentrated acids can still be isolated by equipment.

If the will to dominate can also end directly through self-destruction.

Therefore, the concept of "petrification" itself is something that cannot be stopped.

Anything that is gazed upon by the eyes of the Petrifying Demon will begin to petrify in its conceptual form.

Even if it was originally stone or inorganic matter, it doesn't matter. Hard steel becomes ordinary rock, human bodies and blood turn into different kinds of stone according to their level, and even demons other than high-level demons can be harmed by petrifying demons and eventually become part of the stone.

This slow-moving, dinosaur-like giant lizard is truly despicable. Its weakness is its eyes, but the problem is that anything it sees turns to stone instantly, making plans to damage its eyes with javelins or arrows impractical.

The Bayrgans Empire has yet to find a way to counter the Petrifying Demon with the highest efficiency and least losses, but they have at least discovered another weakness of the Petrifying Demon.

Because it would cause indiscriminate killing, the petrifying demon will never open its eyes unless in the most urgent situation, as long as there are low- to mid-level demons around it.

In other words, the petrifying demon is extremely protective of its own kind. Ordinary demon larvae will turn to stone with just a glance from it, let alone the much weaker larvae the size of a hound.

Therefore, in the war manual of the Bayrgans Empire, how to kill as many ordinary demons as possible while posing a fatal threat to them during the petrified demon's closed-eye phase is a very good theoretical solution.

Just like now. The young commander intends to act according to the canon.

"Don't kill those larvae! We must kill the petrifying demon before it opens its eyes!"

Melist shouted, ordering the poorly trained young soldiers to form a square formation in front of the veterans according to his instructions.

"Attack only the larvae! Set up shield walls! Avoid the fire-breathing demons' attacks as much as possible! Give the veterans time to prepare their javelins! Hurry!"

He ordered the youth army to create a temporary safe wall in front of the veterans, in the form of a shield wall. But the demon's larvae and larvae were not to be trifled with.

They tried to break the shields in the hands of the youth army with acid, fireballs, and ice spikes. Fireballs exploded, ice spikes pierced, and acid corroded. The release of magic caused the underground passage to be filled with excessive magical elements, which were gradually transformed into filth, eventually becoming residue that almost no one could use.

Under the devil's hail of bullets, the youth soldiers frantically raised their shields high according to the scriptures.

Their shields could absorb some of the magic released by the larval demons, but some would inevitably fall due to the overwhelming power of the magic. The young soldiers, screaming in agony after being struck by the magic, charged out of formation before dying, fighting the surrounding demons like madmen. Their short swords easily pierced the fragile, white skin of the demon larvae, but soon these doomed young soldiers would also fall due to the magical damage they sustained, or be killed by the demon larvae before being killed by the magic themselves.

Under the fierce cover of the youth army, the veterans in the rear calmly made throwing motions. Their first priority was naturally the two high-level demons slowly approaching from the middle, but since they couldn't reach them, they had no choice but to temporarily throw at the demon larvae and insectoid forces.

Swish, swish, swish—the heavy javelins commonly used by the Bayerzans Empire became deadly scythes in the hands of the veterans. With just one volley of javelins, the number of demonic larvae and maggots charging towards the youth army's shield wall was reduced by a full half!

Weak demons hit by javelins are basically killed instantly, but these weak demons are hardly capable of deciding the outcome of the battle. Under the solemn gaze of the veteran, the fire-breathing demon finally covered the petrified demon with its eyes closed and came to a distance of less than eighty meters from the shield wall.

The fire-breathing demon raised its two fleshy, hammer-like forelimbs toward the youth army's shield wall. It opened its mouth, and the veterans seized the opportunity to throw another round of javelins. However, before the javelins even reached the demon's face, they were burned into molten iron in mid-air by the demon's protruding flames.

Molten iron splashed onto the fire-breathing demon, causing it to let out a scream filled with pain and rage. Then, driven into a frenzy, the fire-breathing demon disregarded the presence of its larvae and larvae and launched a charge towards the Bayrzans' phalanx.

Wherever it went, flames and lava erupted. It trampled the bodies of its own kind, and its volatile nature alone inflicted more devastating casualties on the demons than a veteran's javelin.

This did not bring the slightest joy to the veteran commander Sarkozy; on the contrary, the old general, who had fought for over forty years, simply shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Everyone! Back off! Back off—!! The petrifying demon is about to open its eyes! Quickly cover yourselves with your shields, hurry!"

The petrifying demon will not open its eyes when there are low- to mid-level demons around.

However, fire-breathing demons may accidentally injure lower-level demons due to their anger.

Adding to the half of the demons that the veterans had previously killed, the remaining low- to mid-level demons on the field are now practically nonexistent!

In this situation, if the petrifying demon were to open its eyes, the consequences would be unimaginable!

But neither the veterans nor the young soldiers could stop the fire-breathing demons from trampling on low- to mid-level demons.

Under everyone's horrified gaze, with a single charge from the fire-breathing demon, more than ten young soldiers in the front row were reduced to charred remains in mid-air amidst the flames. In that instant, the fire-breathing demon also eliminated the last surviving demon larva on the field.

In that instant, the petrifying demon opened its eyes. The veterans had already concealed themselves behind their shields and were slowly retreating, but the young soldiers who were fighting the fire-breathing demon were not so lucky.

A young soldier who had thrust his sword at the lower limbs of the fire-breathing demon had not yet had time to withdraw his short sword when he saw his sword and shield gradually turn to stone.

Before they could even scream or cry out in confusion, petrification rapidly spread from the sword and shield to the young soldier's body. He turned into a stone statue, and not only this young soldier, but the young soldier who had just fought the fire-breathing demon was also turned to stone along with the raging flames on his body.

This casualty occurred while the petrified demon was looking down at the larvae and their corpses.

With a roar from the petrifying demon, the slow-moving demon lizard began to twitch its limbs as it slowly advanced toward the retreating Bayern vanguard.