Chapter 220: What Did You Say?

"Wait a minute!" Feng Xue hadn't yet examined the map closely when he heard the Demon King say that, and immediately raised his hand to ask:

"This is too much… how many?"

"The exact number isn't clear—usually around a hundred thousand, up to a million at most?" Bone Ash crossed his arms, looking indifferent; Feng Xue's heart skipped a beat, and the dog that could sense emotions immediately added:

"We're all high-ranking officers; there are demon armies below us. Also, the Demon King's high command, including the Demon King himself, totals nine members—ten with you. Besides our five, the rest are currently in battle, so they can't spare the time."

"..." Feng Xue was momentarily at a loss for words, but staying silent now seemed unprofessional. After a moment's thought, he said thoughtfully:

"Forgive me for asking, my lord—are you preparing to invade the human world, triggering a full-scale counteroffensive?"

"No, I was just sleeping in the Demon Realm when I was inexplicably pulled here," Dobio spread his hands helplessly; with his innocent youth's face, he looked nothing like a demon.

"Then did you capture the Princess of the human kingdom?" Feng Xue's mind suddenly conjured images of a gluttonous princess, a sleepy princess, a greedy…

"No either. The succubus doesn't… never mind, it's not what you think. Actually, like you, I ended up here by accident." Dobio cut off the revelation of his preferences and explained:

"I arrived in this world about twelve years ago. With me came my Demon Castle, Bone Ash, Bone Powder—two undead servants—and the entire maid squad. Then, inexplicably, I gained the allegiance of countless demons. Roughly every three years, the Hero gains new power, and we receive two new companions."

"An adventure game?" Feng Xue had meant to say "online game," but Little Bell couldn't find any network to connect to, so he had to improvise.

Hearing this, Dobio nodded:

"Exactly. It's like an adventure game."

As he spoke, Dobio tapped the map. Two palaces—one white, one black—appeared at opposite ends, and between them lay numerous towers, ten of which stood out prominently.

"So another one's been added?" Looking at the tenth tower, the Demon King sighed:

"The victory condition is destroying the castle, but both sides have restrictions."

"Ten towers mean one per person? The Hero must pass through them one by one?" Feng Xue, having played MMORPGs before, instantly recognized the dungeon pattern: those small towers were side quests, the high towers were main quests—so…

"May I ask, when you say you're 'currently in battle,' you don't mean 'already dead,' do you?" Feng Xue stared at the empty seats, a chill creeping up his spine. Bone Ash immediately shook his head:

"No. Each tower is assigned to one of us, but when challenged, only a projection fights the Hero. Though its power is limited, even if it dies, the original body remains unharmed. We sometimes attach our consciousness to the projection to fight the Hero and assess his abilities. Outside the towers, our strength far exceeds the Hero's, so no one has ever died. We don't know if we'd revive like demons or Heroes after death."

"So the tower dungeons are basically for XP and gear, and the big map battles drive the main storyline?"

Feng Xue silently compared this to the games he'd played, then asked:

"You said both sides have restrictions—what kind?"

"The Hero side's restriction is that they must clear all towers before entering the labyrinth surrounding the Demon Castle. But each time a new tower is added, even Heroes who already qualified must obtain a new 'key.'"

"Our restrictions are even stricter: we can attack the human side only once a month, for one day. We can choose to strike alone or lead a full army. Going alone lets us ignore front lines and directly breach Wang Cheng, but we face simultaneous attacks from countless Heroes and risk injury. Leading an army lets us claim occupied territory as our own, turning it into a launch point for future attacks and squeezing the human side's living space. Also, as we occupy more territory, the complexity, depth, and demon capacity of the labyrinth outside the Demon Castle increase."

"Monster siege, huh?" Feng Xue mentally grumbled. But Bi Gelei, who had been held down by Mary, suddenly broke free and spoke:

"I think going alone is a scam. When I first arrived, I went to Wang Cheng once—it's impossible for a few people to destroy it in a single day. But outside battle time, you can disguise yourself as a human and enter human cities. By the way, newbie, what's your maximum size? If you can grow to two hundred meters, destroying Wang Cheng might actually be possible!"

"My transformation conditions are complicated—I can't do it yet," Feng Xue shook his head, then frowned:

"Wait a minute! According to you, two new companions arrive each time. I came with Yunxi—if we're counted as two individuals, shouldn't there be two extra towers?"

"We're not sure either. But maybe because this time the Hero only gained one new class?" Mary's emotionless voice carried a hint of uncertainty. At that moment, a furious female voice rang from outside the hall:

"Insane! Totally insane! This new class is insane! All they get is Falling Moon Arrow—how are you supposed to fight?! Ridiculous…"

The heavy door swung open, and a tanned elf girl stormed in, scowling. She paused, then blurted:

"Oh right! Newbies always correlate with the Hero's new abilities! You must know the weaknesses of these new things, right?"

"Evelyn!" The dog-headed werewolf growled her name. The dark-skinned elf froze, then said:

"Sorry—I'm just fed up with those Heroes. I'm Evelyn. Nice to meet you!"

"I'm Kitodra," Feng Xue replied politely, then asked:

"You mentioned a new class? What's that?"

Evelyn, eager to explain, said: "It's the Hero's new power this time—a type of person wearing clothes I've never seen. Looks like a spellcaster, but with high speed and strength, and uses a ranged weapon. Basically, it's annoyingly overpowered. From overhearing the Heroes, it's called… uh… 'Cultivator'?"

"What?"

(End of Chapter)