Girl in the Box: Please tell me why I was reincarnated as a mimic monster!

Unexpectedly, the Dragon King worked so hard. With just these few people, he managed to shoot down four airships and even restrain the two fake "heroes" wielding the holy sword. This was already the biggest gain.

"Give it your all! Don't embarrass me! If you can't even take down one ship, you're all going back to the Demon King's territory tonight!"

Yes, if we don't produce some results, the Demon King won't have the face to stand in front of those people.

After watching Aiye escort the two girls away, Xuanze muttered "Thank you for your hard work" to himself. He then landed on the dilapidated airship that had been damaged by the Dragon King and the Holy Sword. Looking at the young man holding a giant axe and carrying the girl, he smiled maliciously.

"You should know who I am, right?" Xuanze's coat billowed in the wind high above. "'Ghost'."

"You—! You're still alive!?" Chaoyang stared at him in astonishment. "Impossible?! That was Hao'er's doing! How could you still be alive!?"

“What’s impossible? I’m standing right here, aren’t I?” Xuanze raised his hand as if to show off. “However, in a sense, I’ve died once. The heroes of today are no longer on the side of humanity.”

Hey!

Xuanze took a step forward and rushed directly to the astonished Chaoyang. In fact, Xuanze did not know them, but most of the Ghosts and the others probably did and had the same opinion of him.

The distance was instantly closed, and Chaoyang reacted immediately, then jumped back and swung his giant axe at Xuanze. Because the previous battle had already exhausted a lot of his energy and strength, this axe strike became very casual, giving Xuanze an opportunity.

Ding--!

The Divine Weapon Register emitted a golden light, and something flew out at high speed, crashing into the black and white giant axe. Xuanze didn't even glance at it, but simply gathered magic power in his palm and then punched Chaoyang hard in the face. The magic power reacted and exploded, creating a chasing attack that knocked him back.

"Tch... You didn't kill him, huh?" Xuanze looked at Chaoyang, whom he had just knocked away.

The attack didn't kill him outright because Chaoyang's retreat earlier had mitigated some of the force, and with the unconditional protection of the Idiot Holy Sword, Xuanze was now furious. Who came up with this troublesome setting?

"Cough cough cough..."

Although the punch wasn't fatal, it was enough to cause a severe concussion.

Chaoyang coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood, then reached out and grabbed the giant axe. He shakily stood up, using the axe for support, and then swung it down with all his might. The giant axe, responding to its wielder's will, once again erupted with black and white light, clearing away enemies for its master.

"Do you think an attack from an imposter like you can hurt me?"

Xuanze sneered and stomped his foot on the ground. A beam of light flashed from his waist, and a massive shield appeared before him, neutralizing the black and white light. As he neutralized it, Xuanze charged out from the aftershocks to give chase, only to find that his opponent was no longer there.

"Tsk... You're planning to run away as soon as things turn bad?" Xuanze gritted his teeth resentfully. "That won't do. You may not care about your reputation, but I do."

Xuanze immediately unleashed his magic and flew into the sky. Sure enough, the warships had begun to prepare for retreat. Those two guys with the holy sword must be on one of the ships. If they were to escape under these circumstances, the demons would lose face.

"Hey! Listen up, all you demons!" Xuanze shouted, completely disregarding the battle situation. "Don't let them escape! Use whatever means necessary to take down a few of them! Black Feather, tell me where those guys are."

"Tsk...all you do is order me around. Let me make this clear, I don't accept that kind of rough treatment."

Kuroba complained a couple of times before starting work on the contract details. Appearing in the form of the "Grimoire of All Principles," she was now connected to Xuanze's consciousness, essentially acting as the Mystic Eye of Reason. It could convey what Xuanze wanted to know, but it wasn't as convenient as the Mystic Eye and required Kuroba's cooperation to use.

"found it."

Xuanze immediately flew to the group of guys who were having a big fight on a warship, used a spell to clear out all the soldiers on the deck, and then slowly stood up. The guys just stared at him in disbelief.

"Xuanze! You're too late!" Saiwei said, leaning closer. "Ah, we can't blame you. We were both at fault. Thank you for coming to help us at a time like this."

“I understand the situation. Before that, we should give chase.” Xuanze pressed on, “They’re about to run, including those two guys with the holy sword. You’re all coming with me.”

"Ah."

"Wait, something's wrong! Get on board quickly!"

Salid called out to Xuanze and Savi, who were about to leave. He immediately transformed into a dragon, grabbed Xiao beside him, and then quickly took Xuanze and Savi away from the warship. They had only taken off a short distance when the nearby warships all self-destructed.

Damn it, why are there so many things happening?!

Asahi sat in his cabin, pounding his fist against the wall in anger, then gazing sadly at the sleeping Asahi on the bed. Though Asahi didn't want to admit it, they had failed, utterly and completely failed.

Not only did they fail to complete the main mission of this expedition, but they also lost a large amount of combat power, and even paralyzed one of the holy swords.

After fighting the remaining people, they realized that the duchy was well prepared, and that even without the country's power, they had an unprecedentedly strong force resisting the kingdom's attack.

The fact that such a victory could be achieved with just a few people is enough to show that the duchy still has the strength to fight. What was most unexpected was the mid-battle intervention of the demons, and even the hero who should have been dead reappeared. The battle was instantly reversed; their advantage was gone, and by the time they realized this, the enemy had already begun their counterattack.

In the end, he had to make the decision to retreat.

In the middle of the battle with the Demon King, he used his last bit of magic to make the almost collapsing Holy Sword deliver a final blow to restrain the Demon King. He then immediately escaped into a small room inside the ship's cabin and escaped from there to another warship.

They sacrificed several airships to detonate and slow down the enemy's advance, using this opportunity to retreat with the remaining warships. The self-destruction of these warships didn't matter much; as long as Ailan still possessed the Holy Sword, they could rebuild them. It was just a loss of face for him and Chaoyin.

However, given the current situation, he must prioritize Chaoyin. If something happens to Chaoyin, he will lose his current status and the Holy Sword, which is the outcome he most wants to avoid.

He secretly vowed that he would come back to pay this debt sooner or later.

Chapter 24 After the War

"Tsk!" Xuanze clicked his tongue in annoyance. "They're really going this far? Damn it... Hey! You over there, hurry up and bring the wounded into the city. The rest of you, deal with the corpses here."

Just now, several airships detonated themselves. Many of the demons pursuing them were caught in the explosions, but the overall damage was not significant. The remaining, relatively intact warships retreated during the blast.

You could say they won... but...

"This is terrible..." Serena murmured as she took her things out of her pocket.

Nearly 90% of the principality's forces perished here, burned to death. Some fought desperately to survive, but others could not rise again; they fell onto the blackened, charred ground, becoming carbonized figures.

After calming down, Saiwei also busied himself with the work, as did the survivors, all doing their part to help their compatriots find peace. Xuanze, realizing he couldn't catch up, began arranging the post-war recovery efforts.

Xuanze bore some responsibility for the deaths and injuries of these people. He joined the effort to deal with them, carrying the corpses alongside the other demons. No one spoke, they simply went about their tasks in silence, and a tacit understanding was reached between the demons and humans at this moment.

"7642 dead, 967 missing..." Sevi looked at the report in his hand with a sigh. "Let's go back, take the wounded with us. Demon King, thank you for your help. Demons, come along too. The Duchy welcomes you today."

8609 people died under the kingdom's incendiary bombs. When they later learned of this number, they were filled with remorse. It was all because they were too confident and underestimated the enemy's strength, which led to this outcome.

This battle has come to an end, and the kingdom will surely return soon. They are currently invading other countries as well. However, the duchy needs a temporary respite.

Xuanze and Saiwei finally decided to use magic to dissolve the dead into nutrients to return to the earth. No one knows when the scorched earth will return to its original state.

The city gates opened, and demons and humans entered the main city together. Some people had already left their shelters and were watching this scene. The gazes directed at the demons still carried some wariness and hostility, but compared to before, they were much better.

Some members of the Duchy's army also expressed their gratitude to the demons who came to their aid. Savi and Xuanze formally shared their thoughts at the makeshift funeral, apologized to everyone, and finally revealed their future plans, hoping to gain the Duchy's support.

The residents of the principality also witnessed the demons coming to their aid. It must be said that even if this was a staged performance, the demons did help humanity, and thus the alliance was formed somewhat reluctantly.

Savi decided to let the survivors rest for two days, and then gather other troops from the surrounding areas to return to the center before heading out to provide support around the world. This battle had dealt a heavy blow to the duchy, which Xuanze understood, and indicated that he would rest and camp outside the city.

There are still many things to deal with in the future... The current duchy still views the demons with prejudice, and Savi and Xuanze have begun their work to achieve an alliance between the duchy and the demons in the future.

The task of enabling demons and humans to coexist peacefully is arduous and long... May peace and love fill the world.

------

"I already said I'm fine, please don't do this, okay? It's so embarrassing..."

"The wounded should just accept the care they receive; this is an arbitrary punishment."

"...I know I was wrong."

That evening, accompanied by Li Zaining, they arrived at the funeral venue. This simple funeral was their way of remembering the deceased. They could only spare so much energy to hold the funeral; they still had to keep striving to live on.

Li was severely injured in this battle. She was the only one who was directly hit by the Holy Sword at full power, so much so that she was unable to take good care of herself for a short period of time.

The power of the holy sword seeped into her body, causing two forces completely different from her own magic to collide, resulting in impaired functions in some of her body, including her self-healing and mobility. The original body, having withstood the most damage, is now recuperating at home.

So now she's in a wheelchair, which Ning made herself, and Ning pushes her around.

Besides Ning, there were also Salid, Xiao, and Xia Ling. Each of them held a feather ornament, one of the ways Xia Ling had taught them to commemorate the dead.

Li and Ning were also holding feather ornaments.

The group arrived at the monument, which was already piled high with flowers and feathers donated by the residents in their memory. They laid down their own feathers as a sign of remembrance and then left, for they could not rest; they still had much to do.

"Ning, where are Saiwei and Xuanze?" Li asked.

“The two of them started preparing to recruit volunteers,” Ning told her about what happened during that time. “They told her everything at the funeral and apologized to everyone.”

“Is that so…” Li lowered her eyes, “And then what…”

"We got scolded. Of course," Ning said calmly. "Everyone is furious, saying things like how the deaths and injuries could have been avoided, but were ruined by this human traitor and the demons."

"It's too much..."

Li could only say this much, because she didn't know what else to say, since she was partly responsible for it.

“It’s not your fault,” Salid said. “It’s just that we lacked understanding of the enemy, which is why we paid such a price in this battle.”

Yes, the overwhelming lack of intelligence is one of the reasons.

They knew almost nothing about the kingdom's ten holy swords. Holy swords possessed extraordinary power, so who knew what kind of power they had? Fighting them under such circumstances would be utterly reckless.

But they have no choice but to fight. If they don't fight, everything they've done will be meaningless. She is now also feeling apprehensive about herself as she gradually gets used to it.

"However, there are still people who stand up for them." Ning changed the subject. "Overall, we have successfully achieved our expected goals. Now it's up to us."

The kingdom possesses ten holy swords, a power capable of nearly destroying the entire world. And the duchy? The duchy currently possesses the power of an era, and another power is stirring within it.

Defeating the kingdom is not impossible; the key lies in whether the power within the duchy can be awakened.

Chapter 25 The Genius Who Has Stopped Operating

It was already past midnight when Ri and Ning returned to Akihabara. They had just gone back to check on the condition of the 'Frost Dragon King' and then took some personal belongings back to Sanko Workshop.

The sleeping Dragon King still hadn't woken up, but according to Ning, he was fine now, and it was only a matter of time before he woke up. It wouldn't be a problem for her to come back and greet him after he woke up.

They hurried through the streets of Akihabara in the darkness and returned to Sanko Workshop, where these people remained on the front lines, immersed in their development work.

"Hey, 'Shi' and Ning are back." Negi smiled and came out to greet them.

“Yes, thank you, we’re back.” Rie, sitting in her wheelchair, responded to Negi’s greeting. “Could you take us to the private studio? I’d like to hear about the progress while I was away.”

"No problem, let's go."

On her way to the studio, Neki mentioned the development progress. Actually, she hadn't expected much progress in just one day, but the results were excellent.

Most of the development progress is still at a standstill, but the most gratifying thing is that the 'Magic Furnace' has been successfully developed.

The "magic reactor" is a frequently appearing device in many isekai (another world) works. Although we don't know how it works, that doesn't affect what we want to do here.

The "magic furnace" in this world is a magic extraction and storage device developed based on an electrical box. Simply put, it uses magic to extract materials dropped by monsters and recycles the magic power in the materials as electricity.

Monsters are essentially a collection of magical energy. All monsters are born in environments rich in magical energy, and their organs and bodies contain a significant amount of magical energy, as do the materials they drop.

Under the guidance of Ning and Neki, the members of Sanko Workshop researched a magic extraction technique, which was then reproduced and maintained through a magic circle.

However, the problem is that it still requires magic or electricity to extract magic, and the extraction efficiency will vary depending on the quantity and type of materials.

So now we're trying to make this magic more efficient. You could say this is a big step forward, because Ning once mentioned that the current power box operates by absorbing magic energy from the air, and there's a problem with that, as it needs to be placed in a place with high levels of magic energy.

In this situation, the electrical boxes would have to be placed in a location with a high concentration of magical energy. This would cause a large amount of magical energy in the air to be absorbed and eventually disappear, rendering the electrical boxes unusable.

At the same time, with the magic power no longer being concentrated, the monster generation rate will decrease. As the number of monsters decreases, this world will undergo a significant change. Although it is unknown what will happen, this is something that must be avoided.

This is another world, another world! What's the point of another world if monsters don't spawn? That's what makes another world special.

In short, you just need to understand that this is a groundbreaking invention that can maintain a certain balance. In this way, there will be no shortage of magic, and you can proceed with the next step of the plan with peace of mind.

"So the electrical boxes will need some adjustments in the future... and other future inventions as well, the power is too great..." Ride rested his chin on his hand, thinking about future developments.

“That can be solved, but it seems you won’t let me do it, right?” Ning shook his head helplessly.

“How could that be…” Li replied immediately, “Wouldn’t it go against our principles to ask you to do it? It’s better to teach someone how to fish than to give them a fish.”

“Hmm, I’m starting to understand ‘Time’s’ ideas now.” Negi, who was walking ahead, nodded. “Teaching something like this and letting them figure it out on their own can lead to some really interesting things. To be honest, I’m getting a little addicted to it. It’s really satisfying to see new skills emerge like this.”

"See, Negi knows too!"

"Okay, okay, we're here."

Ning knew a little about the feeling of helping others achieve results, but she cared more about the person in front of her than about the world. No matter what the world was like, this person was someone she could not let go of or ignore.

Ning pushed Li into the studio. The enormous thing that had stood there was gone for some reason, and a lot of things were scattered on the floor, making it look like a garbage dump. This was very much in the style of the eccentric genius Kana... But Alice was also there, so this shouldn't have happened...

"What...what happened?" Li asked, pointing to the horrific scene.

"Hmm? It's probably because your battle was too intense that these two mechs crashed to the ground and broke into pieces."

"Was it so intense that it affected this place? By the way, where are those two?"

"It's there."

Kana collapsed to the ground as if the world had collapsed, staring at the pile of scrap metal. To Rin and Ning, it was indeed a pile of scrap metal. Alice would occasionally pick up a piece and then put it back.

"What are you doing?" Li used magic to create a spatial platform and pushed himself down.

“We’re considering whether to throw all this away and start from scratch.” Alice suddenly looked at Rin in surprise, “How come you…”

"It's nothing, just a minor issue." To reassure them, Li spun around twice. "See, it only slightly affects daily life; it'll be fine soon."

"Is that so...? Then I'll do as you say."

Alice had originally intended to persuade her to go back and rest for a while, but seeing how energetic she was, she gave up the idea. Now, every bit of strength increases the chance of victory, and manpower is never too much.