The infiltration plan began from Eastern Ridge.
Unlike the layout of the Demon King’s Castle, Eastern Ridge was a desolate city built into the mountainside.
The reason it felt desolate was that most of the houses were perched on steep slopes.
Though wide, flat bridges connected every cluster of buildings, compared to the towering structures of the Demon King’s Castle, this place felt more like a small demon town.
The team of over a dozen moved with astonishing speed, following the route Gabriella had planned, passing through without the slightest resistance.
They slipped through narrow streets and alleys, disguised as ordinary travelers.
Every checkpoint that should have been heavily guarded was mysteriously empty, because Gabriella had already arranged for the guards to be transferred away~
To Tina and the other knights, Gabriella was nothing less than a powerful and wise heroine.
Forget coming to Eastern Ridge.
Most of them had never even crossed the Black Stone Mountains or set foot in the Demon Domain before.
Just avoiding demon patrols would already have been the stuff of fantasy novels to them.
Thanks to Gabriella’s arrangements, in only three hours they went from the gates of Eastern Ridge straight to the “shortcut” that led into the Demon King’s Castle.
This so-called shortcut was nothing more than a lift platform Gabriella had prepared in advance.
And so, without a single battle, the entire group of knights rode the platform and ascended to the sky island where the Demon King’s Castle floated.
It was a forest of black trees.
Compared to the scorching, desert-like surface below, the sky island was an oasis in the wilderness.
The air was cool and pleasant, and a magical barrier shimmered like a translucent soap bubble, beautiful and dreamlike beneath the colorful, chaotic skies of the Demon Domain.
After passing through the forest, the towering black walls of the Demon King’s Castle came into view, supporting a flourishing yet eerie fortress that enclosed the bustling, bizarre demon capital.
From afar, the knights let out gasps of awe one after another.
“So this is the Demon King’s Castle…”
“All thanks to Lady Gabriella.”
“By the Holy King… Lady Elsa is actually imprisoned in a place like this?”
Tina followed closely behind Gabriella, cautiously observing her.
A look of expectant joy hung on her face, as if simply acting alongside Gabriella was the greatest honor.
“As expected of Lady Gabriella… Lady Elsa, she’ll be safe now, right?”
“This time we will definitely rescue her,” Gabriella said with feigned seriousness.
After the group emerged from the forest, they encountered something strange on the downward-sloping terrain that led inevitably to the Demon King’s Castle.
On the flat grassy field, hundreds of rusted suits of armor were neatly arranged on the ground, as though laid out as offerings for some ritual.
Suddenly, the armor began to emit CREAK… CREAK… teeth-grinding noises.
They stood up as if alive, drew severely rusted swords, and marched toward the knights with unnervingly nimble steps.
“Enemies!”
The knights instantly drew their weapons, ready for combat.
Through the gaps in the armor, one could see that where a human body should have been was only a mass of black substance, as though dark magic was puppeteering the empty shells.
The combat strength of these armored suits hovered around Marquis-tier.
The well-trained knight captains and King-tier elites tore them apart and shattered them into pieces with ease.
Yet the fragments suddenly flew back together as if drawn by gravity, reassembling into complete sets of armor and resuming the fight.
They charged forward like zombies from a movie, wave after endless wave.
“They’re coming back to life. This is annoying.”
“It must be a demon puppeteer!”
“We need a plan.”
Gabriella’s figure blurred like an afterimage as she darted across the battlefield.
With casual swings of her sword, she cleaved through dozens of demonic armors as easily as slicing tofu.
The knights barely had time to marvel at her strength before the armors “revived” once more.
Tina knew dragging this out wasn’t an option.
She stepped in front of Gabriella.
“Leave them to me!”
She began chanting, “In the name of the Ice Saint, O winter, seal them.”
Frost spread across the ground, white mist and snowflakes rising as every suit of demonic armor was frozen solid inside blocks of ice.
But only a few seconds later, the black magic within the armors pierced through both metal and ice, breaking free from the inside!
And that wasn’t all.
The hundred-plus suits of armor began pressing together, crushing, shattering, and reforming, until they fused into a titan over a dozen meters tall.
Chaotic dark energy poured continuously from the gaps in its armor like roaring black flames, driving this colossal beast.
The aura it radiated turned every knight’s face pale, because this was no longer something a “Saint-tier” could contend with!
The mood plummeted to freezing point.
Everyone gripped their weapons tighter; some even trembled and took steps backward.
Yet far from feeling troubled, Gabriella was extremely satisfied with the knights’ reactions~
These demonic armors were “summoned creatures” crafted by the head maid Liya.
Gabriella had asked her for this favor before they set out.
And Liya had cheerfully agreed.
The armors would obey Gabriella’s every command and “perform” alongside her.
She wanted the knights to understand just how foolish it was to oppose the demons.
Just now, Tina had destroyed the armors.
Yet Gabriella had immediately fed them ten percent of her own magic power, strengthening them to a level Tina could no longer handle.
All Gabriella had to do was keep fighting and stalling until the Demon King’s army arrived to capture these humans, mission accomplished.
Weakened by the armors, they would be taken without resistance.
Isabella wouldn’t even need to lift a finger or lose a single soldier.
If they had been on the ground, the humans might still have had a chance to flee.
But now, stranded on the sky island, escape was impossible.
They could only obediently become demon captives.
They’ve come all the way to the Demon King’s Castle.
Why not stay for tea before leaving~?
That had been the original plan.
But then the unexpected happened.
CRACK… CRACK… CRACK…
The armored titan suddenly shuddered and cracked. Its outer shell shattered completely.
The black energy inside boiled like overheated water, becoming wildly unstable and uncontrollable!
Did I feed it too much power?
Or is it because my power isn’t pure dark magic, causing the summons to malfunction?
The black energy completely ignored Gabriella’s control.
Instead, it began rhythmically gathering and dispersing, reshaping itself into a humanoid form, as though it had truly come alive.
But these summoned creatures were strictly inanimate objects!
They weren’t supposed to develop consciousness!
The black shell of the humanoid cracked and fell away, revealing pale white skin beneath.
Then, she took the form of a young girl.
Black magic coalesced around her body into a gothic lolita dress, perfectly outlining her flawless curves.
Silver hair cascaded down to her waist, and a pitch-black crown rested atop her head.
Her existence seemed unstable; her entire right arm was still a mass of black mist, as though it might dissipate at any moment.
Half her face was shrouded in black energy, making it impossible to see clearly.
Only a sapphire-blue vertical demon eye and tender cherry lips were visible.
But that wasn’t what shocked Gabriella the most.
The girl exuded a familiar yet terrifying power!
On the girl’s remaining arm, pitch-black ribbons coiled like living serpents.
That was no ordinary dark magic; it was the power known as 【Shadow】.
“…Lord Evil God… awakens…”
Her voice was three parts hoarse and seven parts icy, quiet yet piercing, winding around Gabriella’s ears like vines.
Liya, what in the actual hell kind of ancestor did you summon?!