In the simulated world, time flowed by.
Under Aoki’s persistent and unyielding guidance, Yueqi’s mastery over her “Heroic Instinct” grew ever more refined.
She no longer regarded it as a curse that must be forcibly suppressed, but gradually learned to converse with it, to direct that yearning for battle toward a clear target.
Her gaze became increasingly clear and resolute, the trace of restlessness and exhaustion between her brows fading away, replaced by a deep and surging fighting spirit.
On this day, the atmosphere in the Windbell Family’s council hall was heavy.
Urgent military news had just arrived from Allied Headquarters—frequent large-scale movements from the Demon King Army’s main force, several border strongholds in distress, and the entire continent teetering on the brink of crisis.
Marquis Windbell looked grimly at Yueqi. “Qi’er, the Alliance urgently needs the true power of the Hero. The time has come.”
Yueqi took a deep breath. In her green eyes flashed a streak of golden light—not the berserk rampage of uncontrolled instinct, but a brilliance perfectly within her grasp.
She stood up, her voice steady and powerful. “Father, I am ready.”
Her gaze briefly met Aoki’s, who sat among the strategists. Mutual understanding and trust shone in both their eyes.
Years of preparation had all been for this moment.
Beneath the Demon King Castle—the place where it all began.
History’s course had already changed. Yueqi Windbell, who now possessed complete mastery over the Hero’s power and a mind as clear as crystal, stood at the vanguard of the Alliance Army. Her very presence was a banner, greatly boosting the army’s morale.
At her side stood Saintess Yuelan, radiant with pure holy light. The sisters were of one mind, with no longer any barriers between them.
Their unfathomable power had become one of the decisive forces against the Demon King Army.
As for Aoki, he served as the Alliance’s chief tactical advisor, stationed in the central command tent. He did not join the fighting on the front lines, but his will and strategies, transmitted through precise orders, shaped the entire course of the war.
The Alliance Army, like a massive war machine, began its steady advance toward the Demon King Castle. Along the way, demon strongholds and patrols crumbled one after another before the army’s might and the assaults of its top elites.
The “Dawn” vanguard corps led by Yueqi was unstoppable. She wielded the Hero’s power with mastery, able to smash enemy formations with unstoppable force or, with precise control, strike down key targets. There was none of the old, indiscriminate and frenzied outbursts.
Aoki sat in the central command, before a massive sand table. The markers for friend and foe shifted in real time as reports streamed in. His eyes were half-closed—not in rest, but as he ran the “Qi Art” to its limit. His vast soul sense stretched over the entire battlefield like an invisible web.
He “saw” where Yueqi’s sword flashed, demon commanders falling one after another. He also “sensed” Yuelan’s holy light, warm as a tide, healing wounded soldiers and purifying lands tainted by demonic energy.
“Left flank, third formation, advance three hundred paces, saturate area seventy-four with crossbow bolts.”
“Right-wing cavalry, feint to draw the enemy’s attention and create an opening for Captain Yueqi to break through.”
His orders were clear, calm, and precise—like a master chess player making moves with effortless poise.
Under his direction, the Alliance moved like a flexible and lethal scalpel, cutting deep into the Demon King Army’s defenses.
The Demon King Army clearly realized the threat—especially Yueqi, now a fully realized Hero, and the other extraordinary elites by her side.
Resistance grew ever fiercer. Monstrous demon war beasts, corrosive demon magic arrays, and elite assassins and curse-users emerged in waves.
The battlefield turned into a colossal meat grinder, each advance paid for with blood and sacrifice.
Yet under Aoki’s near-prophetic tactical command, and Yueqi and the others’ overwhelming strength, the Alliance swept forward with unstoppable force, finally encamping before the Demon King Castle.
That towering, fearsome city stood at the end of a desolate plain, pitch-black walls soaring into the clouds, their surface crawling with living demonic patterns, radiating a suffocating evil pressure.
Dense demon energy gathered into palpable black clouds above the ramparts, countless twisted demon shadows flickering along the walls.
The final battle was about to unfold before this lair of darkness.
“The Demon King Castle’s defenses are far beyond our expectations.” An experienced human general pointed grimly at the sand table. “The outer layer is the ‘Bone-Eroding Demon Mist,’ which continually saps our morale and life force. The middle layer is the ‘Thousand Souls Weeping Blood Array’; we must destroy all nine core nodes at once to break it. The inner walls are forged from ‘Living Demonsteel’—almost indestructible, and the walls are lined with demon-energy annihilation cannons and abyssal spellcasters.”
“The most important threat is the Demon King himself,” Yueqi interjected. She could faintly sense the terrifying will lurking within the castle, “His power… is unfathomable. And I can feel that he seems to be waiting for something.”
Aoki listened silently, his fingers tapping unconsciously at the sand table’s edge. His soul sense tried to penetrate the Demon King Castle’s defenses, but crashed against a viscous, malevolent barrier, unable to get through.
But he did not come away empty-handed. Deep within the dense demonic energy, he caught a faint trace—so subtle, yet sharing the same origin as his own Qi Art. That was most likely where the final volume of the Qi Art was hidden!
“A direct assault would cost us too dearly, and even then, we might fail.” Aoki finally spoke, his voice steady. “We need a plan—a plan to maximize our top elites’ strengths and strike directly at the core.”
He swept his gaze across the room. “The Demon King Castle’s defenses are strong, but not without weak points. The ‘Thousand Souls Weeping Blood Array’ requires massive energy to sustain; its nine nodes must be connected to the demon energy sources inside the city. If we destroy multiple critical nodes simultaneously, it will trigger a backlash, severely weakening or even paralyzing the outer and middle defenses.”
“Simultaneously?” A frowning elven commander spoke up. “The nine nodes are spread out and heavily guarded. How can we destroy them all at once?”
“We don’t need to destroy all nine at once.” Aoki pointed at several specially marked points on the sand table. “Just these three core nodes—if we destroy them simultaneously, it will trigger a chain collapse.”
“Yuelan, your holy light is the most effective force against demonic energy. You must stay with the central army, join forces with all the Alliance’s spellcasters, and construct a massive ‘Sanctuary’. At the moment the array is broken and the backlash erupts, you will shield the main army from uncontrolled demonic surges. At the same time, your holy light will steadily weaken the demon mist and create an opening for the assault.”
“As for the Demon King himself…” Aoki gazed at the pitch-black fortress. “Until he reveals himself, or we force him out, we hold our forces back. Yueqi, you must constantly sense his state. He is our final target, but never the first.”
With the plan set, the Alliance Army began intense preparations. Siege engines were rolled to the front, spellcasters gathered their energies, warriors sharpened their blades. The air was thick with tension for the coming great battle.
Aoki walked over to Yueqi and handed her a warm jade talisman. “This contains a strand of mind-guarding power I’ve condensed with Qi Art. In a crucial moment, it may help you steady your mind and resist demonic corrosion.”
The next morning, at dawn.
When the first ray of sunlight tried to pierce the demon clouds above the Demon King Castle, the Alliance sounded the horn for the final assault.
“For our homeland! For the light!” Amid thunderous roars, the Alliance surged toward the Demon King Castle like a tidal wave.
Demon mist churned, arrows fell like rain, the brilliance of magic and the edge of battle aura clashed fiercely on the field, turning this land in an instant into a blood-soaked purgatory.