Chapter 620: Is This Another Challenge? Hahaha!!

Inside the manor.

A great many "human flowers" are cultivated—literally as the name suggests; the demons dismember humanoid beings, then reassemble the parts according to the shape of a flower, writhing in grotesque, twisted forms while emitting mournful wails.

Moreover, the manor houses countless "insects" and "animals", the most representative of which is the "human centipede"…

Just looking at them makes ordinary people feel a nauseating, helpless sensation as if their mouths and ** doors were stapled together or sewn with needle and thread, trying to break free yet being tugged and twisted, sending a shiver up the scalp.

Yet these visually and sensorially disturbing twists are delightful to the demons, especially as they greatly please the lord of this realm.

However, the tormentors—the demons—are forced to become the "victims" at this moment.

Their skin turns pale‑purple, their bodies adorned with metal ornaments driven into flesh, and hordes of demon maidens, lust demons, and succubi rush northward…

If one can still tell east from west here, they are frantically fleeing north.

As for the ones who can swagger recklessly within the demons' "home" pocket dimension, they are…

"Twang! Twang! Twang!!" the heavy explosive arrows fire in unison.

"Buzz! Sizzle! Buzz!" the energy blades slice bodies with the sound of chopping vegetables.

They don the Holy Shield Terminator, a 1.0 caliber storm explosive arrow mounted on the left, a Vengeance Goddess lightning spear gripped in the right, and some even wield a paper copy of "Human Truth" as a weapon—the Gray Knights.

After donning armor, these gray hulks each stand three to three‑and‑a‑half meters tall, capable of slaying demons with demons and gods with gods; they operate in three‑person squads, scattering across the manor for rapid thrusts.

"Puff! Puff!" the sound of bodies exploding.

"No!! Ah!!" and the demons' resentful rage as they are erased and plundered echo repeatedly.

The Gray Knights, an Empire secret unit operating independently of the legion, naturally have permission to select any ammunition type, yet the gray hulks' standard explosive arrow is not the seemingly most destructive antimatter arrow but a Moonlight Explosive Arrow.

Hearing that familiar name reveals its connection to the Moonlight Goddess Artemis.

A century ago, Gray Knights loaded water from the Full‑Moon Lake into explosive arrowheads, banishing invading corporeal‑universe demons back to the pocket dimension; however, once Artemis's divine power (Spiritual Energy) returned, the Full‑Moon water could do far more than mere banishment.

After all, the Moonlight Goddess's divine power had once been stripped by the Human Emperor, and even after its restoration, its Spiritual Energy remains linked to the Human Emperor.

Thus, once struck by an upgraded Moonlight Explosive Arrow, a demon not only endures excruciating pain, but its Spiritual Energy and soul (origin) are automatically plundered by the Emperor.

Over time, the story spread rapidly through demon circles; many demons find the sight of Gray Knights in their own territories far more terrifying than a human seeing a ghost.

Moreover, the Gray Knights are equipped not only with Moonlight Explosive Arrows, such as grenades containing Full‑Moon water, or specialized fire…

More precisely, a high‑pressure water‑spray gun that directly cleanses the manor's filthy "plants" and "animals".

Hoo!!

Scorching flames.

Among the hulking pursuers of demons, a "green guy" wearing exclusive power armor stands just over two meters tall.

Its power armor's paint scheme differs from Sparta's, favoring a muted teal base with deep‑brown accents at the joints.

Most importantly, the green guy wields a double‑barrel shotgun—a vintage piece that requires reloading after two shots.

Bang! Bang! Two specialty slugs fire instantly.

Puff! Puff! Two demon maidens explode on cue, plasma spraying outward, some splattering onto nearby demons.

!!!! Seeing their comrades meet such a grim fate, the other demons emit explosive shrieks, panic‑driven scrambling, only to be swept away in a wave by the swift Gray Knights.

And this "person"—considerably shorter than Astate yet charging ahead with a cracked shotgun—is the Empire‑designated "Destruction Warrior" D-1999.

A tough guy's stature matters little; it's his presence and power. Moreover, if D-1999 fails to meet his quota each year, he takes a trip to the pocket dimension to hustle orders, making him a regular here.

Clearly, however, the demons here fear the Gray Knights even more than D-1999.

It seems the demons' information network is poor; they know little of D-1999 and the Gray Knights, and they flee simply because they truly cannot win.

Of course, mid‑ and high‑rank demons, or even arch‑demons, cannot be taken away by a mere Moonlight Explosive Arrow and Full‑Moon water.

"Roar~——!!!!"

As every demon sinks into despair, a thunderous roar reverberates across the realm, earth and sky trembling, and a burst of violet light flashes.

A twenty‑meter‑tall, powerfully built demon descends from the sky, its back bearing three pairs of wings whose feathers glitter in dazzling, iridescent glassy hues under the light.

Had one not known this was a pocket dimension, the demon's appearance alone could lead some pre‑interstellar civilizations to call it a "god".

After all, this being truly matches the aesthetic of most intelligent life: clad in splendid armor, wielding exquisite swords, its face so handsome and androgynous that gender is indiscernible, as are its bodily traits.

"Qu‑Qu‑Mortal‑, Boast‑to‑this‑?!"

Accompanied by an echoing roar, the demon also unleashes visibly potent Spiritual Energy, surging toward D-1999 and the Gray Knights like a mountain‑crushing tide.

Seeing this.

The gray hulks, without further discussion, immediately deploy miniature terminals from their shoulder plates, resembling tiny flagpoles.

Swoosh~——!! Then the terminals emit golden light that links together; in the blink of an eye, a golden‑glowing Spiritual Energy barrier forms.

Boom…

Not as impenetrable as imagined, the "Purple Tsunami" collides with the "Golden Iron Curtain" like a muffled fart, deflating and dissipating.

???!!! Seeing its proud attack blocked by a swarm of "elite" cannon fodder, the demon is first stunned.

But it quickly recovers, sensing that the Spiritual Energy emanating from the golden iron curtain seems to be…

…likely from the Human Emperor!

It is the Emperor, feared even by the legion of evil gods! This mid‑rank demon, even with its gear that barely reaches high‑rank thresholds, could never match the Emperor's offspring. Crossing the Emperor—or anything linked to him—means certain death, true death! Run! Run quickly!!! The mid‑rank demon, now fully aware, loses its earlier bravado and frantically flaps its wings to flee.

Nonetheless, D-1999 seizes the moment, bursting through the golden iron curtain, then bends a knee to gather force and leaps fiercely.

Swish! D-1999 carves a conspicuously impossible trajectory.

But this is a pocket dimension; physical laws simply do not apply here.

Before the mid‑rank demon can get far, D-1999 kicks it down from the air. Boom! The massive body is suppressed by a "normal"-height human, its face smashed down, crashing heavily onto the manor already awash with a sea of fire.

Immediately, the demon feels as if squid strings were laid on a scorching iron plate and then hammered down, sizzling.

"Ah!!! Ah!! Spare me! Spare me! I beg you! Killing me won't benefit you!"

Pain searing to its core, and terror of death and total dissolution strip away its former arrogance.

It regrets, why did it flee the moment it sensed an intruder? What could be more important than being alive, more than freedom?

"No benefit?"

At this moment, D-1999 also leapt back to the ground, attaching its double-barreled shotgun to its back, then walked slowly to the right side of the demon's head, raised its right hand, and slapped it.

Boom! That strike generated a gust of wind.

"." The demon was stunned by the slap.

It had long been heard from other demons that the Emperor and the Emperor's offspring often liked to slap faces, but who would have thought that now even humans liked to slap.

As for D-1999, which had seemed mute before, since it left (destroyed) Hell and returned to its family, it has become noticeably more talkative and no longer constantly seething with anger, so it calmly explained to the demon:

"You, when I need a year-end bonus, are very useful."

?? The demon, whose right cheek throbbed, didn't understand what that meant.

"Dong, dong."

Suddenly, the gunfire and shouting ceased, but the unique hum of the magnetic boots resonated throughout the entire demon realm.

Hearing this unsettling sound, it wanted to struggle to its feet and look toward the source, but restrained by D-1999's deterrence, it could only wait as the source gradually approached.

"Wah… Wah…"

Soon, it also heard the crisp, pleasant clatter of metal scales or ornaments striking each other as they moved, and at the same time, it saw another hulking figure...

A hulking figure clad in black-and-gold armor, with a black cape hanging behind embroidered with gold thread, standing about five meters seven or eight tall (after donning its exclusive powered armor).

The mid-level demon's mind was on the brink of collapse; it could not look directly at the golden hulking figure's face, only catching a vague outline, and if it looked higher, it seemed like a sun that could blind its eyes.

!!!

It was the Emperor?! A human Emperor???!!! Upon realizing the true identity of the golden hulking figure before it, the mid-level demon's sanity snapped, though its body continued to tremble uncontrollably.

As for the golden hulking figure, who was Sui Bian with a black slicked-back hairstyle, he narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at the mid-level demon at his feet.

He personally stepped into the alternate dimension to give other evil gods "maximum intensity," then used Spiritual Energy to search for demons that could be modified and tested, and proceeded to capture them.

Fortunately, he harbored no murderous intent and restrained his Spiritual Energy; otherwise, before he could get close, the demon and its realm would have vanished outright…

"Ah~!! What an excellent subject!"

Before Sui Bian could say anything, he heard and saw the plague doctor emit a unique intonation of sigh while hurrying to the left side of the mid-level demon's head.

Then, the plague doctor took a syringe as long as a forearm from his black pouch and, without a hint of hesitation, inserted it at the temple.

As the plague doctor pulled the booster outward with his right hand, the faintly purple liquid was successfully drawn out and retained in the syringe.

As for the mid-level demon afflicted by the "unforeseen disaster," it had actually awakened when the plague doctor began "moving hands and feet," yet it kept its eyes tightly shut, maintaining the appearance of a mind in collapse.

Demons fear death more than anyone or any creature, because before the Emperor appeared, they were like players sitting before a screen, controlling game characters with a controller or keyboard and mouse.

The "Give Him Love" series, which has swept the main universe for two centuries, features players who make their game characters go on reckless self‑destruction and then die—does that make the players feel fear?

But after the Emperor's arrival, and after the first demon truly vanished, the demon's identity shifted from being the player who tormented everything to a game character with only one life left.

It is precisely because demons know and understand death that they fear it immensely.

At this moment.

The Tenth Legion OriginalBody, a bit over a head shorter than Sui Bian, with its exclusive powered armor painted a pinkish red and short hair of dark brown‑red, Magnus approached Sui Bian.

After sizing him up, he said, "Father, this guy fits the plan the doctor and I had in mind."

"Then let's turn the plan into reality."

After Sui Bian finished speaking, he led Kang Sitan Ting and a contingent of black‑armored white‑sash Imperial Guard away, and casually released a Spiritual Energy teleport, causing all the "golden hulking figures" to vanish before everyone's eyes.

"Yes, Father."

Magnus first gave a slight nod toward the direction where Sui Bian disappeared, then turned to the plague doctor who was putting the syringe back into his black pouch, and asked with a hint of a smile, "Shall we begin, doctor?"

"Oh hehe~!" The plague doctor, knowing what was about to happen, couldn't contain his laughter, slipped on pristine white gloves, and said, "I've been waiting for you to say that, kid!"

"???"

The demon, whose eyes had been shut the whole time, sensed that the two humans' words were ill‑intent. Next…

"Ah-!!!!"

An echoing scream reverberated throughout the demon realm. —…

Sui Bian, on his side, remained within the alternate dimension.

But unlike the previous demon realm, the sky here burned with raging flames, and a choking scent of blood permeated everywhere.

The most eye‑catching sight was the structure of countless corpses, bones, and metal standing before Sui Bian, Kang Sitan Ting, and the Imperial Guard…

The brass throne.

Seated upon the brass throne was one wearing exquisite plate armor etched with crimson runes, a visor‑like helm shaped like a crown, the ruler of this realm—Kong Nu.

"Oh?"

Kong Nu deliberately restrained its seemingly endless agitation, then shrank itself and the brass throne to the scale of Sui Bian and his companions, and, in a hoarse voice, laughed as he asked:

"How—how did you find the time to come here—are you coming to fight me again, hahahaha!!"

(End of chapter)