When Duanmu Huai returned to the battleship, behind him marched a ghostly army of Night Guards numbering in the tens of thousands.
But at the moment, this was not what concerned him. According to the Night Guards, the demons had already gone to attack another planet. What he had to do now was to take his battleship to that world and completely annihilate the demons and the Mech race. Duanmu Huai only hoped that planet could hold out a bit longer. If it collapsed like Nur's Ring, then that really would be hopeless. Still, considering that the strength of these warp demons was not very high— even in the Empire they'd be manageable— hmm, it shouldn't fall that quickly, right?
Right now, Duanmu Huai stood before the control panel, inputting coordinates and preparing once again for [warp travel].
Behind him…
"Hurry up, hurry up, Mr. Knight, isn't it ready yet?"
Ann hopped around impatiently, while beside her, Guleya sighed quietly. She had not expected that when Duanmu Huai summoned them, the very first words out of his mouth would be: "Do you want to save the world?"
Ann of course was thrilled, practically raising both hands to the sky. Guleya was uneasy but nodded in agreement. Along with her, Felin and Lorena naturally joined as well. After Duanmu Huai briefly explained the situation, no one objected. After all, Lorena was a missionary priest; protecting and aiding humanity was her duty. Felin, being a dragonkin, had nowhere else to go. Duanmu Huai had told her before: if she didn't know what to do, she could just adventure with him until she found her own path. And from the look of it, the dragonkin girl still hadn't found her goal.
"So you mean, demons invaded that world, and we're going to help drive them back?"
"Something like that, yes."
Having left hell, Duanmu Huai could once again summon [soul cards], so he had called Ann and the others. On one hand, their strength was formidable enough to easily deal with most demons here. On the other hand, he also wanted them to gain more experience— after all, there would be plenty more of such situations in the future.
Only Felin hesitated a moment, then looked at Duanmu Huai with doubt.
"How many… demons?"
"You'll see when we get there."
He knew there was no point explaining. They had no real concept of "planets." Even if he told them a whole planet was under invasion, these girls would not understand what that meant.
Better to let them see with their own eyes.
Soon, the destination was locked. Duanmu Huai pressed a finger against the console.
The battleship accelerated instantly, vanishing into the depths of space.
Moments later, the darkness peeled away, and a blue planet appeared before them.
Bathed in starlight, the planet shone beautifully azure. But the crimson scars etched across its surface testified to the unimaginable suffering it endured.
"Miya, open communications. Let's see the situation on this planet."
"Understood, Master, just a moment~"
As always, Miya answered in her lazy, sing-song tone, tapping across the keyboard at the console. Soon, screams began to echo from the comms.
"We can't hold them back!!"
"I can hear them… no… NOOO!!"
"Fall back immediately!!"
"They're slaughtering everyone!!"
"These monsters are everywhere!!"
"...…"
Hearing these cries, the girls' faces turned uneasy. Though they didn't understand the language, the despair and wails needed no translation. Only Duanmu Huai remained calm, fixing his gaze on the planet as he issued his command.
"Scan the planet. Locate the source of the transmission."
"On it~"
Miya obeyed, entering commands. Soon, images filled the screen.
Cities aflame.
Once prosperous, they were now playgrounds of slaughter. Countless demons swarmed through the ruins. Everywhere lay torn corpses and shattered remains. Seeing this, everyone's expressions darkened. Even Ann and Guleya, normally fearless, looked grim and unsettled.
"Wh-what do we do now?"
Ann's earlier excitement vanished, replaced with panic.
"Should I call Father? Get Manaria's army to mobilize—oh, and Regnis too—"
"Ann, calm down first."
Guleya quickly grabbed her hand, then looked again at Duanmu Huai.
"Mr. Knight… there are so many demons here… can we really… destroy them?"
Even during the fight with the evil dragon, they had never faced such overwhelming numbers. A few hundred dragons were terrifying, yes—but this vast army of demons blanketing an entire world was on a completely different scale.
"There are many. But there are ways to destroy them."
Duanmu Huai had come with a plan. From the Night Guards, he had already learned that three sorcerers of the [Diashu Sect], once servants of the Yajin, were sustaining the warp rift that allowed demons to pour through. Destroy the sorcerers, and the portal would collapse. Most demons would then be forced back into hell.
Yes, pretty much the same as what Chaos cultists did in the Empire… actually, all Chaos cultists across the galaxy use this method— blur the barrier between reality and the Warp, summon demons to rampage, spread corruption, and eventually drag the whole planet into the Warp.
In the Empire, Chaos had gods and cults, but the Imperium and nations like Bretonnia and Cathay kept them locked at the poles. So over there it was endless small crises, but no collapse.
This planet was different. One look and Duanmu Huai guessed they followed pure materialist science, likely with no faith at all. Probably thought Chaos rituals were just "folk dances" or something. No wonder they sank this fast.
"There are two things we need to do."
He gave his answer.
"First, protect the remnants of this planet's resistance. Second, eliminate the three sorcerers to sever hell's assimilation."
"Then… where do we begin?"
Since Duanmu Huai had decided, the others had no objection. Ann in particular was eager, practically bouncing in place.
"Hmm…"
He scanned the map again, and his eyes fixed on a fortress of steel. It was under assault by demons. Its turrets were spitting fire, but clearly, the weapons of this world had never been designed with demons in mind.
At least from the look of it, this was likely a resistance stronghold.
"Here."
He pointed at the fortress on screen, then turned.
"Everyone, prepare for battle!!"
Meanwhile, down below in that fortress, the situation had reached its breaking point.
"Fire! Fire! Fire!!"
The commander shouted as soldiers squeezed their triggers. Bullets poured like rain, mowing down swaths of demons. But more surged from behind. Then, from beneath their feet, the ground trembled.
A scream came through the radio.
"Report! The enemy broke through the western defenses! The west has fallen!!"
"Damn it…"
"Commander, what now!?"
All eyes turned to him. He clenched his teeth, hesitated only a moment.
"Keep fighting! Detonate the minefield on the west line! No matter what, don't let them breach the fortress!!"
"Yes sir!!"
An explosion thundered in the distance, flames and smoke rising. The commander cast only a glance before snapping back.
"Keep fighting!!!"
For the people of this world, the battle was a nightmare.
The demons seemed endless. Human weapons barely harmed them. Yet humanity's will to resist had not broken. Even though sixty percent of the planet had already fallen, the survivors united into the [ARC – Armed Response Coalition]. They built underground cities and evacuated civilians into them.
This fortress was one such entrance. If it fell, demons would pour directly into the underground city and massacre every last civilian. That could not be allowed.
"BANG!!"
But just as the soldiers fought desperately, the wall beside them split apart. A massive demon burst through like a beast, crashing into the lines. They never expected the thick wall to be breached. Chaos ensued, and before they could respond, the demon was already among them.
The line collapsed instantly. Soldiers were thrown into the air, screaming, before smashing down. The demon roared and slashed, tearing through the ranks. In moments, dozens lay dead.
"You… damned monster!!"
The commander's eyes burned red as he grabbed a shotgun and fired.
"BANG! BANG! BANG!!"
The rounds slammed into the demon, but it didn't even flinch. Instead, it roared, swung its claw, and hurled the commander across the hall. He slammed into a wall, fell to the floor, body wracked with pain.
"D-damn it…"
Agony burned his back. He could barely move. Only the gunfire and dying screams reached his ears—until even those were drowned out by a crashing shadow from above.
"—————————!!!"
The thunderous impact deafened him. Slowly, he forced his eyes open.
Before him, in the ruined hall, stood a strange metal construct. Beneath it lay the mangled corpse of the demon.
What… what is that?
His mind went blank. Was it a missile?
"Hissssssss—!!"
The construct vented white smoke, opening up. From within strode a massive figure wielding a warhammer. At its appearance, the demons froze, staring warily. The commander swore he saw something impossible in their eyes— fear.
These demons… can they actually fear?
"WOOOOOOOM—!!"
Before he could process it, dozens of azure portals burst open in the air. From them marched armored ghostly knights, weapons in hand. They ignored the human soldiers completely, their eyes locked on the demons with murderous intent.
The black-armored giant raised his hand, slashed it forward.
"Attack!!!"
(End of Chapter)