The weapons I forge are absolutely flawless.

But when it can not only simulate architectural forms, but even mimic some of the characteristics of the Demon of the Army, it means that the situation has completely spiraled out of control.

No one can guarantee whether it can mimic the abilities of other demons besides the Demon of the Army.

In this respect alone, he is an extremely difficult opponent.

Jessica glanced at the demon soldiers who had already formed ranks and were ready to launch an attack, and calmly said, "Let's go first."

"Uh, we've finally reached the enemy, why do we have to leave?" Felix asked, puzzled.

“You don’t really think that just the few of us can deal with the Demon God, do you?” Vena shook his head helplessly. “This Crystal City alone is not easy to break through.”

They were the first team to arrive at the foot of the demon god, but that doesn't mean they should blindly launch an attack.

The task that Vena and her group should do is to clarify the current situation, convey the intelligence to the reinforcements, and work together to defeat the demon god.

Fighting a war of attrition against these mimic armies that can be resuming at any time is clearly not a wise move.

"If you use all your magic power to deal with this mimicry army, will you still have the energy to deal with the slime demons and demon gods behind it?" Jessica asked the most direct question.

“That seems to be the case.” Felix admitted that he hadn’t thought that much about it.

“Let’s retreat a bit and see if these demon soldiers will chase after us.” Jessica quickly devised a strategy. “If they do chase after us, the few of us can easily wipe them out. Although we won’t fundamentally damage them, we can at least weaken them a bit.”

"I'm afraid they won't be easily fooled."

As she spoke, Lisette began to gather magic to cast a Swiftness spell on everyone's mounts. As the spell was cast, the horses' speed suddenly increased several times over.

But that wasn't all. As everyone turned around, Lisette once again swung her Dream Staff, unleashing an ice storm.

The biting cold swept away, and although its power was largely neutralized by the combined forces of the demon soldiers, it still served as a slight obstacle.

However, this action clearly angered these low-intelligence mimics.

They brandished their weapons and charged towards the crowd like a tidal wave.

"go!"

Vina spurred his horse forward decisively, with the others following closely behind. Using the speed advantage provided by the Swiftness spell, they quickly widened the distance between themselves and the others.

When they had run a few kilometers away, the shouts of battle behind them suddenly disappeared.

Looking back, the demon soldiers had regrouped into a slime-like ball, bouncing like a water balloon, and slowly returned along the same path.

Felix immediately unleashed a sword aura, leaving a ravine in front of the spot where the monsters had turned back.

“They really didn’t pursue us any further,” Felix said, looking at the marks he had left behind.

Anna drew her bow and shot an arrow at the sphere.

However, the other party would rather have an arrow of wind stuck in their head than bother to look back at the crowd.

That's what makes it troublesome.

Vina pulled on the reins and shook his head helplessly.

Judging from their behavioral logic, protecting Crystal City is a clear priority over eliminating the enemy.

The only target worthy of such protection is clearly the Demon God.

“Even if the Dean dispatches troops immediately upon discovering the academy’s anomaly, it will still take some time for them to arrive,” Anna said. “Until reinforcements arrive, we will have to hold this place.”

Wiener pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "We can't just wait like this."

As he spoke, he turned to Lisette and said, "You and Rikka go together to check out the surrounding area and find a few suitable places to set up bases. Not only for our own use, but also to consider reinforcements later."

"no problem."

Lisette nodded in agreement, then activated a magic circle and began to sense the surrounding terrain.

"Is there a way to stabilize the surrounding space?" Wiener asked.

Without the mobility of spatial teleportation, it would be wishful thinking for reinforcements to arrive in a short time.

“It’s obviously impossible to completely stabilize this space. However, I will set up anchor points and try to solidify a spatial passage. If I can’t do it alone, I will ask Lisette for help,” Jessica replied.

“Then it’s up to you.” Viner nodded, then turned to Felix. “The two of us will be in charge of gathering intelligence.”

“I’ll do whatever Wiener says,” Felix replied without hesitation.

"First of all..."

With a swift movement, Vena pulled the Tensei Zangetsu directly from Felix's waist. The next moment, the aura emanating from him changed abruptly, becoming completely different from before.

Although the aura was subtle, it carried a sharp and oppressive feeling. Others might not be able to recognize it, but Felix was very familiar with it—it was the aura of the Sword Demon.

"What's going on?" Felix couldn't help but ask curiously.

"We first need to figure out the identification mechanism of this Crystal City. If it's just about judging friend from foe based on aura, that would be easy."

As soon as Vena finished speaking, she stepped across the dividing line that Felix had drawn with his sword aura.

"Wait for me!"

Felix hurriedly caught up, and the two auras merged perfectly the instant he got close, as if they had become one.

The two moved at an extremely fast pace and caught up with the fleeing Slime Gang in the blink of an eye.

These slimes, which had once split into a demon army and relentlessly pursued them, now ignored the two people in front of them as if they were harmless.

"At least we shouldn't have any problem keeping it from these guys."

Viner raised his head and gazed intently at the distant Crystal City.

"I just don't know how far they can keep up this charade."

Chapter 698 Blood of the Demon God

Because Rhea was stationed in the kingdom, only a small number of faculty members remained at the academy to look after it.

Now it seems that these people are probably in grave danger.

"Are we really going in?" Felix hesitated as Crystal City drew closer.

Even though he looked incredibly sturdy, he kept thinking about the time he was trapped in the stomach of the Glutton.

"Are you scared?" Wiener teased.

"No, it's not! It's just that the thought of going into the demon's belly again is a bit disgusting." Felix took a deep breath. "Let's go, I'm ready."

Viner simply smiled and led the way into the eerie amethyst barrier.

So far, Crystal City has not reacted to the two of them, and he guesses that the demon Rimuru is focusing most of his energy on devouring and transferring magic essence.

Both maintaining this massive Crystal City and helping the Demon God regain his full power require a large amount of magic essence.

What Rimuru is currently digesting is the entire St. Freya Academy.

After the two entered Crystal City, the surrounding scenery suddenly changed.

The interior of Crystal City seemed to be woven from countless tiny pipes, each flowing with a magic essence so thick it was practically liquid.

The liquids emitted a dark purple glow, enveloping the entire space in an eerie atmosphere.

"It's a good thing we didn't come in at night, or it would have been quite scary," Felix murmured.

His gaze swept over the flowing magical energy, and he could clearly feel the violent power contained within it.

“This seems to be the blood of a demon god,” Escudo’s voice suddenly rang out. “It would be best to take some out to confirm.”

"The blood of a demon god, huh? That's interesting."

Upon hearing this, Venerer drew his Zenith Sword and slashed a hole in a pipe by the wall.

Suddenly, a stream of purple liquid gushed out and splashed into the air, but it did not have any special smell.

Vena extended his Escudo and collected the liquid. Just as he finished, the rift he had created closed up at a speed visible to the naked eye.

“That’s right, that’s it,” Escudo confirmed. “The Demon God is using this Crystal City to restore its power. As long as we follow the flow of this blood, we can find its location.”

"I'm afraid it's not that simple."

Wiener looked up into the depths, where a low rumble came from afar, as if some enormous creature was awakening.

The pipes flowing with magical liquid began to tremble slightly, and a faint rhythm, like a heartbeat, could be heard coming from deep within.

“Get ready to run, Felix,” Viner reminded him, her tone urgency palpable.

"Uh, are we not going to delve any deeper?"

Felix was puzzled by the decision to retreat so quickly.

"They have discovered that someone has broken in."

As soon as Viner finished speaking, a deep rumble came from the end of the passage.

Immediately afterwards, a massive, round boulder that occupied the entire passage rolled toward the two of them at an astonishing speed, like a street sweeper.

"Watch me cut it—hey hey hey!"

Just as Felix was about to draw his sword, Vena grabbed his wrist and forcibly dragged him backward.

"It has only just discovered that something has entered Crystal City and is not paying much attention yet. If you destroy this boulder, a demon god will come instead."

There are still many unique aspects of this Crystal City that have not yet been discovered, and Viña does not intend to play on the opponent's home turf.

"Tsk, I'll let you off this time then!"

Felix clicked his tongue. Although he was somewhat unwilling, he still chose to trust Wiener's judgment and followed him as they fled.

It was unclear where the round stone got its power, but it kept getting faster and faster, and its huge shadow almost covered the entire passage.

Even though the two were moving at full speed, they still saw the distance between them constantly shrinking.

Knowing that this couldn't go on, Wiener quickly glanced at the location of the exit, estimated the distance, and then pulled Felix into his arms.

"Hurry up!"

With a loud shout, the Phoenix Cloth instantly covered his entire body, and the surging aura could no longer be concealed.

With the power of the Saint Cloth, even carrying someone on his back, his speed was nearly twice as fast as before.

The footsteps beneath their feet flew like phantoms, even stirring the air in the passageway into a whooshing sound.

After being briefly left behind, the boulder behind them accelerated again, approaching the two like a predatory beast.

Just as the boulder was about to catch up, Venus suddenly leaped up and carried Felix out of Crystal City.

Their feet touched the ground again, but they had no time to catch their breath, because the boulder showed no signs of stopping and was being launched from the city like a cannonball.

"This is never going to end!"

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Felix drew his sword, the Sword King's Sword from his waist, and unleashed a sharp sword aura that struck the giant boulder.

With a loud bang, the giant boulder was instantly split in two.

What was unexpected was that the remaining half of the boulder did not stop moving, but instead began to rotate around the two of them.

Felix frowned slightly, because the changes before him were not what he had expected.

That previous sword strike was intended to completely destroy the boulder.

One half of the boulder suddenly released a tremendous gravitational force, seemingly trying to snatch the Sword King's Sword from his hand.

"Don't even think about it!"

Felix, of course, refused, gripping the sword hilt tightly with both hands and wrestling against the suction force.

The veins on his arms were bulging, and even his face was flushed red from the exertion.

The other half of the boulder, however, released a powerful repulsive force as Felix struggled with all his might, suddenly pushing him away.

With a pull and a tug, the Sword King's Sword could no longer remain firmly in his hand and slipped out with a "whoosh".

"My sword!"

Felix ignored the turmoil within his body; his eyes were fixed on his beloved sword that had been taken from him.

Just as the boulder thought it was about to succeed, another hand suddenly reached out and firmly grasped the hilt of the Heavenly Lock Moon Slayer Sword.

“I never agreed to let you touch the weapons I forged.”

Wiener's voice carried a hint of warning.

The immense force that even Felix could hardly resist was nothing to him, who was blessed with the Emblem of Wealth. He simply pulled the sword back as if ignoring the terrifying suction force.

"Snapped!"