Silence reigned over the Demon Domain.
Scattered wooden structures lay around, as they could collapse at any moment. The sky was dim, and occasional gusts of cold wind carried swirling dark dust across the land.
The town the Vichy tribe had built within the Demon Domain reflected their usual "rough and crude" style.
"The Demon Domain's uprisings typically occur once every ten years," Lilimond explained, his expression serious as he walked. "Normally, our tribe would only send a small number of people here to monitor the situation, with regular reports and rotations. But this time, for some unknown reason, the uprising came early."
Ur couldn't help but notice an odd contrast. While Taka and the priestess could not speak the common tongue, this burly man spoke it fluently.
The environment of the Demon Domain was bleak and quiet. The Snow Goddess created this alternate space to imprison the Demon God. Aside from the dim sky and dark earth, nearly nothing existed here. Even the materials for the town were brought in by the Vichy tribe from the outside world.
As they walked, Ur and the others did not see a single Vichy tribesman. A bad feeling began to stir in everyone's hearts. Sensing this, Lilimond did not pause. He led the group to the edge of the town, and when he saw that the wooden city gate remained intact, he let out a relieved breath.
"This wall has been blessed by the priestesses of our tribe for generations. It holds tremendous power against monsters. The gate and the wall are completely fused—unless the monsters can destroy the entire town at once, they cannot break through." Lilimond said proudly, anticipating their questions.
This wall was vital to the Vichy tribe. For centuries, it had been crucial in repelling the Demon God's uprisings.
Ur looked at the wooden wall in front of him. From a purely architectural standpoint, it looked nothing more than a pile of wood. Even by the standards of this world, the construction was crude. The logs were roughly hewn; some still had bark, dried and cracked. The framework had deep fissures and a faint scent of decay.
Under ordinary circumstances, even regular soldiers could demolish it with a few cavalry charges, let alone monsters.
Yet centuries later, the wall still stood.
It wasn't due to superior craftsmanship or rare materials. It was the special magic woven into the wood. This power kept the wall standing, resistant to the ravages of time and weather.
"I'll show you up there," Lilimond said, calming slightly after confirming the wall was secure.
Although the situation within the Demon Domain remained unclear, as long as the wall stood, the Vichy tribe still had hope.
Ten meters high wasn't particularly tall.
But just as Lilimond stepped onto it, a rock spear whistled straight toward his head.
His pupils contracted. At the last moment, he twisted sharply, the spear grazing his nose as it flew past.
The near-death experience ignited a flash of fury in him, especially when he realized the spear came from one of his own, a tribesman. "Zaki! What are you doing?" he roared.
His roar, like a lion's, froze Zaki in place. The young warrior then broke down in tears. "Mond, you, you're finally here… finally here!" Zaki, a two-meter-tall scarred man, cried like a child, the sound overwhelming and shocking even to Ur.
Lilimond was momentarily stunned, but his expression quickly hardened. He strode to Zaki and demanded urgently, "Zaki, what happened? Lichi? Dada?"
"They're dead… All of them!"
"How is that possible?" Lilimond turned pale. "Weren't they inside the walls? How could they all die?"
"I don't know. Just the night before last, a batch of monsters appeared inside the wall. They attacked while Lichi and the others were resting. They didn't have time to react and were possessed. I was the only one awake, so I barely escaped." Zaki trembled violently.
The sudden calamity had nearly pushed him to the brink of collapse. If Lilimond hadn't arrived, he might have already gone mad.
Lilimond's expression darkened.
Although he had suspected something had gone wrong, the reality was worse than he had expected. Worse still, Zaki's words revealed a terrifying fact: the monsters could bypass the wall and enter the town.
This was not a minor problem.
For centuries, the Vichy tribe had relied on this wall for both offense and defense. If monsters could suddenly slip past it during a major battle, the consequences would be catastrophic.
Worrying about these possibilities, Lilimond grew increasingly anxious.
After comforting Zaki, he began inspecting the wall at a brisk pace, hoping to find clues. Pasfield and Delina followed closely.
Ur glanced back at the town, observing the situation, and then at Zaki trailing behind Lilimond. After a brief pause, his eyes flickered, and he followed the group.
The Vichy town was neither large nor small. At least thirty warriors are needed to patrol the wall fully.
Lilimond's inspection was thorough. Ten-meter-high walls could not be scaled easily by monsters, but only if no one patrolled them. Blessed by generations of priestesses, the wall was naturally resistant to monsters and would sound an alarm if any attempted to breach it. A creature couldn't climb in unnoticed.
After a thorough inspection, Lilimond found no breaches.
He did, however, discover several bodies of fallen Vichy warriors inside the wall, mostly in corners, likely caught by monsters as they tried to escape. Seeing them, his fists trembled. He could imagine their desperation, just one step away from survival. Carefully collecting the bodies, he intended to return them to the tribe for proper burial.
Ur watched, curiosity flickering in his eyes. He stroked his chin, deep in thought.
Soon, Lilimond finished inspecting the entire wall and found no obvious issues, leading the group to rest. Although there was no day or night in the Demon Domain, time was divided into the Three Times.
According to the Vichy tribe, when the Snow Goddess first created the alternate space, she left a portion of her divine power there to weaken the Demon God, creating Cold Time. Later, the Demon God released part of its power to resist hers, forming Demon Time. The domain's inherent power was the Original Time. Over the centuries, these cycles evolved, resulting in the Three Times.
Each cycle lasted twelve hours.
Ur and the others had arrived during Original Time. Soon, Demon Time would begin.
During Demon Time, monsters were at their most active. While the wall outside had yet to show full signs of revival, the earlier infiltrating monsters had not yet been fully dealt with.
A black mist enveloped the sky.
The already gloomy sky of the Demon Domain darkened further.
Lilimond did not rest atop the walls. Instead, he sought out wooden houses inside the town. During Demon Time, monsters might hesitate to appear if the warriors were visible on the walls. But if they rested in houses, low-intelligence monsters would inevitably be drawn by Lilimond's presence.
Demon Time was not as dark as nighttime outside, but visibility was worse. The black mist pervaded the entire space. Even firelight could not disperse it; visibility rarely exceeded five meters.
The houses in the town were large, each capable of holding a dozen or more people. To ensure safety, Ur and the others crowded into one house.
The black mist thickened.
About six hours into Demon Time, roughly the equivalent of early morning outside, the sounds of movement came from outside.
Everyone immediately sensed something amiss. Even Pasfield and Delina, only slightly delayed, realized the scale: judging by the footsteps, there were at least several dozen creatures.
"Protect yourselves!" Lilimond barked, then strode out of the house.
Ur guessed the warning was meant for Zaki. For the rest, it was either unnecessary or ineffective.
Boom!
A thunderous vibration shook the house. The movement had Lilimond's unmistakable brutal signature—wild, unrestrained, merciless.
Ur stepped outside, Pasfield following closely.
Having witnessed so much at Ur's side recently, Pasfield felt his courage swelling. Though danger surrounded them, he felt no fear, only a strange anticipation.
Of course, his boldness depended entirely on Ur being nearby.
Swish!
Lilimond's four-meter-long ice spear danced like a tiger, Holy Power shimmering along its length. Every strike inflicted devastating damage on the monsters surrounding him.
The monsters fell into two categories. First, ordinary monsters like those they first encountered. Second, monsters born from the possession of Vichy warriors are much stronger and trickier to deal with.
This battle's main force was Lilimond. Ur, Anrika, and Haisha stayed put to ensure the safety of their charge.
Yet stray monsters inevitably headed their way.
"Hah!" Lilimond let out a deep shout. Electric sparks danced along his spear as his three-meter-tall frame leapt and slammed into the ground.
Boom!
The ground shattered. Electricity spread outward in a web, vaporizing most monsters instantly; even survivors were grievously wounded.
This single strike cleared a large area around him.
Ur could not help but be surprised. He had underestimated the "number one warrior" of the Vichy tribe.
But before he could think further. Something even more startling happened.
Delina disappeared.
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