Just as Su Nian stared at the red “World Quest” notification, her mind raced for a way to close that portal from which the Demon Army arrived.
They poured down like a black waterfall from the Nine Nether Abyss, carrying the pungent stench of sulfur and charcoal as they crashed heavily onto the deck of the shuddering Floating Fortress.
These newly appeared demons might not have surpassed the elite scouts previously slain by the [Starlight Ruling Sword] in terms of individual combat power, but they were far more diverse.
Among them were War Trolls, towering like small mountains.
Every step they took made the metal deck groan under their weight.
Covered in thick, bony armor, they swung massive stone pillars or metal maces.
There were Shadow Demon Assassins, moving as swiftly as ghosts.
Their forms flickered in and out of the shadows, clutching twin blades coated in sickly green poison, specifically targeting commanders and casters.
And there were Demon Warlocks levitating in midair.
Their withered claws gripped staves condensed from bone and resentful souls.
They chanted incantations as pale green Soulfire burned within their eye sockets, gathering destructive shadow magic.
This was a true, fully organized regular Demon Army!
Their actual combat effectiveness was far beyond that of the single-unit raiding parties from before.
The moment they arrived, they displayed a level of tactical discipline and coordination that far surpassed the previous stragglers.
A Demon Warlord, a sub-captain level officer with a single horn on his forehead, clad in even thicker and more hideous black full-plate armor and wielding a greataxe shimmering with dark red runes, had clearly received information from the previously self-detonated demon captain.
His crimson beastial eyes, burning with tyrannical fire, swept across the chaotic battlefield with precision, locking onto the star-blue figure that was constantly releasing holy radiance and destructive magic.
He let out a deafening roar and swung his thick arm, brandishing the greataxe.
In a raspy, murderous dialect of the Demon Common Tongue, he issued a cold command.
“Giri gulu… Guguwa!”
The sound was harsh and unpleasant, like metal scraping against rock.
Wrapped in a thick scent of blood, it reached Su Nian’s ears clearly.
‘I can’t understand him. What are these demons babbling about?’
Su Nian knit her brows tightly, and alarm bells rang in her heart.
On the battlefield, information was life.
Being unable to understand the enemy’s orders was like being a blindfolded target; she could only take the hits passively.
She had to know what they were saying immediately.
Her consciousness sank into the System Shop like a bolt of lightning.
In her field of vision, a dazzling array of items scrolled by rapidly.
She locked onto the language skills category.
Time was of the essence; she didn’t even have time to look closely and clicked an icon based on intuition.
[Advanced Demon Common Language], exchange!
Almost the instant her Humiliation Value was deducted, a complex and chaotic flow of information surged into her mind like a bursting dam.
Countless twisted syllables, savage grammar, and vocabulary filled with blood and fire rapidly reorganized and aligned within her consciousness, becoming thoroughly branded into her memory.
After a brief moment of dizziness, the world instantly became different.
The roars that had sounded like noise before were now crystal clear in her ears, every syllable carrying unmistakable malice.
“That human female! She has powerful healing abilities; she is our priority target!”
“All units, kill her at all costs!”
The one-horned warlord’s roar echoed.
Her azure eyes widened slightly.
‘Human… female?’
‘That title… is absolutely disgusting!’
An uncontrollable rage exploded from deep within her chest.
‘You’re asking for death! You are absolutely asking for death!’
Su Nian’s gaze locked onto the one-horned warlord who had issued the order.
That hideous horn inevitably reminded her of another bastard who also had horns.
Although the current Horned Demon’s appearance had changed drastically, the Horned Demon she first encountered had a horn on his head.
That perverted Horned Demon who had turned her life upside down, who made her endure humiliation night after night, and under whose control her body and soul were constantly falling into depravity…
‘That’s right!’
‘Horns! Another horned bastard!’
The hatred and feeling of powerlessness toward Chu Tian, which had been suppressed in her heart for so long, found a perfect outlet at this moment.
‘Fine I can’t do anything about that perverted Horned Demon for now. But you…’
‘I’m definitely snapping your horn today!’
The fury in Su Nian’s heart completely overwhelmed her fear of the desperate battle before her.
‘He might not be that Horned Demon Bastard… But he can serve as practice, and I can vent some steam while I’m at it!’
***
On the other side.
Facing this true Demon Army, the nobles on the deck, who had still been harboring a sliver of hope, finally lost all composure.
They let out heart-wrenching screams and wails, scurrying around like headless flies.
The last bit of order and dignity they had barely maintained vanished instantly in the face of absolute mortal terror.
The soldiers on the fortress, who were still struggling to resist, continued to fight a bloody battle.
However, against the absolute suppression of numbers, the defensive line they had managed to stabilize under the lead of Su Nian and Mo Yuan Sir was rapidly torn apart.
The casualty count climbed sharply at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Their firepower became weak and scattered.
A War Troll, as massive as a small mountain, roared and swung a giant stone pillar, sending three soldiers flying along with their raised tower shields.
Hot, thick blood splattered out, staining the beautiful white gown of a noble girl nearby.
She stared blankly at the filth on her chest, then let out a scream that didn’t sound human before her eyes rolled back and she fainted.
More demons descended from the sky, crashing heavily onto the deck.
Each impact made the entire Floating Fortress groan under the strain.
The human soldiers’ defensive line had completely collapsed.
***
Meanwhile, inside the Shadowmoon Manor.
Little Violet, the Ling Cat curled up on the velvet cushion in Su Nian’s bedroom and seemingly in a lazy slumber, suddenly snapped its vertical pupils open, which flickered with a mysterious purple light.
Little Violet’s pointed ears twitched alertly.
Its elegant head jerked toward the direction of the Floating Fortress.
Within its purple vertical pupils, an unprecedented solemnity and unease flickered.
An incredibly familiar yet powerful spatial fluctuation, one that made even the cat feel palpitations, was originating from that direction—the Floating Fortress!
Little Violet instantly recalled the previous night.
That spatial ripple, although faint, had made it restless and unable to fully settle down to cultivate.
It determined in an instant that it was the same ominous spatial energy it had felt last night.
In this moment, its power was fully activated.
A flash of realization crossed Little Violet’s wise purple eyes.
‘A portal!’
‘And it’s a portal… directly connected to another plane!’
That tyrannical, chaotic aura filled with a desire for destruction still made its fur stand on end even across the great distance.
‘This is bad. Master went to the Floating Fortress today.’
‘I don’t know if that green idiot who only knows how to chirp can protect Master Su Nian.’
Little Violet’s gaze became incredibly firm in an instant.
As a Contract Beast, protecting its Master was its duty.
It was an instinct branded into the depths of its soul.
The next moment Little Violet’s form turned into a bolt of purple lightning.
It flowed through the luxurious room without making a sound, and like a purple phantom, it rapidly raced out of the manor.