Chapter 202

Moonlight Town.

Outside the town, in the fields, there is a large manor called 'Finette Garden'; the front of the manor faces endless fields, while its back leans against a vast stretch of steep forest.

The garden contains a large courtyard covering over thirty mu, with walls five to six meters high surrounding it, forming an almost completely isolated independent compound.

In the courtyard, solemn, upright people come and go; occasionally someone rides in from the northern path on horseback, and occasionally someone rides out of the courtyard on horseback.

Occasionally someone speaks, but hardly anyone utters nonsense.

The manor's main building has a stone circular tower; inside the tower are installed various strangely shaped magical devices, and the inner walls are painted with many unknown materials depicting numerous strange runes of unknown function.

Perhaps to ensure secrecy, even the windows were sealed shut, and any light-transmitting gaps were carefully plugged.

Even in broad daylight, lamps are lit inside the house.

But they are not magical lamps; they are the sheep-oil lamps most commonly used by the Levinde folk.

In the center of the room sits a desk, piled haphazardly with all kinds of documents.

A man dressed as a clerk, with messy bird-nest-like hair, sits at the desk writing furiously.

Another tall woman wearing brown leather armor stands beside the desk, her face showing deep anxiety.

We have clearly discovered the demons' traces, even clashed multiple times with their minions in the mortal realm; their power shows some similarity to the data, but also many differences.

Their minions are extremely sensitive to magical auras; even the faintest Spiritual Whisper, even from hundreds of meters away, can be detected by them.

The minions possess strong resistance to spells, especially being nearly immune to Spiritual magic. A demon minion with Three-ring power can easily break through a Six Rings Spiritual illusion, greatly increasing the difficulty of combat.

In combat, the demons' minions always seize the initiative for ambush, silently triggering various deadly curses, causing many unexpected casualties to the unit.

We have also faced the demons' incarnations head-on; although we ultimately succeeded in defeating them, Colonels Visser, Attru, and Gott fell as a result.

The loss of these three strong colonels not only dealt a heavy blow to the unit's morale, but also substantially reduced its combat effectiveness.

Having said that, the woman drew a deep breath, her face full of weariness, while the depths of her brown-black eyes revealed a barely concealed tremor.

We dare not rest, for the demons seem not to need rest, and they never spare a thought for their minions' lives; they can launch ambushes at any time of the day.

We even dare not lightly use the Linking Magic Ring to replenish expended power, for the demons can see a cultivator's soul directly through the ring, and will tempt you, causing unpredictable traitors from within.

After being long separated from the magic ring, each warrior's power is nearly exhausted, and their will is on the brink of collapse.

The woman drew another deep breath.

The Empire's developed demon-detection formation is effective, but not always; occasionally it produces fatal errors.

Various weapons are also effective, among which the repeater firearm works best.

But we don't know how much longer we can hold out. As we spoke, the man with bird-nest-like hair suddenly stopped writing.

He suddenly shouted loudly, his mouth issuing a frantic yell: 'It's all your fault! It's all your fault!'

The man's gaze was scattered, devoid of focus.

He leapt up, taking the pen in his hand as a weapon, and thrust it hard at the woman's neck.

He failed to stab her, because the woman was taller than him and her arms longer; she grabbed his neck with one hand, lifted him like a chick, and gave him a light shake.

Gada~

A bone-cracking sound came from the man's neck, and his body instantly went limp and fell to the ground.

Ah~ Another one has gone mad.

The woman took the pen from the man's hand, tossed the corpse carelessly to her feet, then sat back at the desk, dipped her pen in ink, and continued writing.

Your Majesty, this demon is extremely skilled at temptation and commands many Spiritual temptation arts; warriors below Five Rings hardly have any power to resist.

For those above Five Rings, like me who has reached Seven Rings, I can normally resist the whispers that echo in my heart, but during cultivation I feel intense fear.

I often see a pair of vague silver eyes hidden behind black mist, and hear that round, smooth, gender‑less eerie voice. That voice often unintentionally sounds in my heart, saying some nonsensical words.

I know that must be a demon in the void, and I know it cannot truly enter the magic ring to harm me, but it greatly interferes with my cultivation.

Even with my will, I sometimes suffer auditory hallucinations, let alone ordinary soldiers.

I am also certain that the demon can locate our position through the magic ring; our every move cannot escape its eyes, rendering most tactics meaningless.

Against a non‑human monster, a temporary victory is meaningless.

The ink ran out; the woman shook the pen hard, trying to keep writing, but still could not produce any.

The woman grew frantic, simply drew her dagger, stabbed the corpse at her feet several times, then dipped the pen in the fresh blood and continued writing.

Your Majesty, the experience of the Nawarat Republic is correct; under the present circumstances, only a legendary mage can truly oppose the demon.

We can defeat the demons' minions time and again, yet we can never truly harm the demon itself!

Under the demon's repeated temptations and ambushes, we are destined to collapse.

Perhaps, if that thing is successfully developed, we could drive away or even slay the demon, but I doubt whether it can truly succeed, given that we have already endured such prolonged failure.

While she was writing, someone knocked on the door, and at the same time an excited voice came through.

General, someone is looking for you.

It was her aide, Major Glen.

Who?!

The woman instantly became alert; her pair of weary brown‑black eyes instantly gathered intense killing intent, fixed tightly on the door.

I don't know; the visitor calls himself Mr. Luobin, saying he has a good method to counter the demon.

He's lying!

He must be a demon minion in disguise! Don't listen to anything he says—just kill him outright!

General, you should still open the door and take a look.

Glen, don't come in! No one is allowed to enter!

Get out at once! If you don't leave, I won't be polite!

Crack!

The female general picked up the Empire's newly developed demon‑bane firearm and aimed its muzzle at the door.

She roared fiercely.

"Get out! All of you, get out!"

At that moment, she heard a gentle voice from outside the door: "Lieutenant Green, your general has been badly frightened."

The voice was too gentle, clashing with the garden's tense atmosphere, instantly reminding the female general of the soft, rounded, neither-male-nor-female eerie tone she had heard in the Linking Magic Ring.

She pulled the trigger on the door without hesitation.

"Bang bang bang bang bang~~~"

"Die~~ demon! Die!" The exorcist firearm equipped for the general can fire nine consecutive shots, each with power up to nine rings.

She emptied the magazine in one breath, blasting a huge hole in the door's direction, even shattering the walls on both sides into countless holes.

After firing, she didn't pause, immediately taking out the ammo box and, with trembling hands, loading new ammunition into the exorcist firearm.

At that moment, an old man in a plain gray robe appeared at the doorway.

The old man had white hair and beard, was tall, his eyes bright, and wore a kind smile.

"General Jia Di Ya, demons won't reason with you like I do."

The visitor was naturally Luosen, more precisely, Luosen disguised using the Legendary Transformation Technique.

He could see clearly.

Because she had been unable to cultivate properly for a long time and kept using her power, this general, originally at the peak of seven-ring mana, saw her soul strength nearly drop a ring.

A muscular man who doesn't train will quickly lose muscle; likewise, a mage who cannot long-term link the Linking Magic Ring will naturally lose strength.

The difference is, losing muscle feels nothing to a muscular man, but if the soul loses strength, the whole person becomes engulfed in a great sense of despair.

If at this point one encounters a demon skilled in mind corruption, lightly it will torment them into madness, heavily it will reduce them to a puppet.

From the opponent's previous actions, this person is already on the brink of madness.

Jia Di Ya's arms trembled as she desperately tried to load bullets into the barrel, but her fingers shook badly, and she had to constantly guard against Luosen's moves; after struggling for a while, she didn't manage to load a single bullet.

Deputy Lieutenant Green stepped out from hiding: "General, Mr. Luobin is a legendary mage, he is not a demon's accomplice!"

Jia Di Ya's heart jolted: "A legendary mage?!"

She immediately denied: "Impossible! There are no legendary mages on the White Continent."

Even the Lord of Radiance couldn't ascend to legendary status—how could this person do so?

If he had ascended, what would qualify him to bear such an ordinary name as Luobin?

He should be famous across the continent! Yet the term "legendary mage" still had some effect, easing her tense nerves a little, and she stopped trying to attack.

Luosen, seeing this, smiled: "Indeed, I haven't found any peers in this plane. I forgot to introduce myself—I am still a planar traveler from the Nawat Republic."

Whether being a planar traveler or the Nawat Republic, these are not things ordinary mages would know; yet this old mage before her certainly bore the aura of an ultimate expert, instantly making Jia Di Ya believe him seventy to eighty percent.

Staying wary of strangers is the general's instinct, especially since Jia Di Ya is still battling demons full of tricks.

"Mr. Luobin, you claim to be a legendary mage—how do you prove it?"

Luosen gave a slight smile: "General, you look exhausted; likely because you haven't been able to properly link the Linking Magic Ring for a long time. If you don't mind, may I help you?"

Jia Di Ya was somewhat puzzled: "How would you help?"

Luosen smiled faintly and walked forward slowly.

After just one step, Jia Di Ya became alert: "What are you intending to do?"

Luosen softly sighed: "General, relax; I harbor no ill intent."

As he spoke, he continued forward, stopping half a meter before the female general, then slowly extended his hand, which glowed with a faint golden light.

"Don't move; it's just a minor strength-restoring technique, and it won't cause any negative effect on your soul."

Jia Di Ya remained tense, instinctively wanting to resist, but ultimately she decided to take the chance and try it.

She had been driven by demons to a point of no return.

Thus, that hand, faintly glowing gold, lightly touched her forehead with its fingertips.

Then she felt a warm power surge into her heart.

At that moment, it was like a desert traveler drinking sweet spring water, or a refugee starving for three days and nights biting into a juicy, oily chicken leg; that spiritual satisfaction made Jia Di Ya involuntarily let out a contented sigh.

Anxiety, fear, confusion, despair and other negative emotions swiftly melted away like snow under a blazing sun, and her scarred, withered soul once again became radiant.

After several minutes, that warm hand, as if extended from heaven, slowly withdrew, and Jia Di Ya felt an urge to kneel and worship.

She couldn't help thinking that if there were a true god in the world, this white-haired old man before her would surely be among them! But this impulse lasted only a moment before being overridden by reason.

"'It is said that the legendary mages of the Nawat Republic have a means to imbue power.' Now it seems this rumor is true."

She couldn't help thinking again: "Legendary mages are truly powerful—no wonder they can oppose demons!"

She no longer doubted the old man's identity.

At that moment, the gentle words reached her ears again.

"General, the struggle between mortals and demons is arduous and extraordinary; that you have held out until now is truly remarkable."

After her strength was restored, Jia Di Ya clearly sensed the difference between this voice and the demon's voice.

The voice before her, while gentle, also carried a sympathetic emotion—it was a human voice.

Whereas that rounded, soft, neither-male-nor-female voice sounded pleasant, it contained no emotional fluctuation whatsoever—it was utterly a non-human monster.

The content of the words also struck Jia Di Ya's spirit directly, making her feel her eye sockets grow warm.

The general cannot shed tears, so she hastily drew a deep breath, suppressing the urge to cry.

Then she straightened her body and performed a solemn military salute of the Radiant Empire toward the old man before her.

"I apologize for my previous rudeness, Legendary Mage Mr. Luobin."

Luosen smiled: "Compared to the title of legendary mage, I prefer being called a traveler, or a demon hunter."

"Because I love traveling, and I have always been hunting demons."

"Of course, the demons of Bai Jin Cheng are extremely powerful, highly skilled at corrupting hearts; they have not only developed many strong minions but also controlled a kingdom's royal family."

Even I do not dare to lightly speak of victory.

He paused, then looked at the heroic female general: "So, I also need the general's help."

Diya, who had regained her strength, naturally also regained her fighting spirit.

She again gave a military salute to Luosen: "Mr. Luobin, Glory—cough cough~~~"

She wanted to state her position, but immediately realized this was Levinde, which seemed inappropriate.

Luosen smiled: "General, don't underestimate the insight of a legendary mage, nor the knowledge of a traveling mage. I know your origins."

"But to me, these worldly distinctions are irrelevant, for we share a common enemy."

Diya thought it made sense; the other party was a legendary mage, the wisest and most powerful mortal closest to the gods—who would care about such trivial worldly matters? She then immediately said: "The power of the Radiant Empire's Royal Shadow Guard, Sixth Special Operations Unit, is at your command."

After speaking, her face again showed a hint of difficulty: "However, the warriors' morale is terrible, and their numbers are insufficient; I fear it will be hard to oppose the Levinde Royal Family."

Luosen gave a slight smile: "Rest assured, I already have a detailed plan."

(End of chapter)