Chapter 1186: Reconstructing the Final Battle
The other team did not appear until the battle was over.
Roland smeared his face with mud, tore a few cuts in his clothes, and lay in a heap with the rest — waiting for the Martialist Association’s rescue like any other casualty.
Ling had pressed the walkie-talkie’s transmit button by accident, but the channel wasn’t open to all teams. Only Fei Yuhan had heard. And Fei Yuhan had lost consciousness. Roland could lay that strange transmission on the confusion of injury, talk her into believing it was a hallucination — the fever dream of a woman half-dead in the dark. As for why the monster had vanished without a trace, he could simply claim he’d blacked out before that part. The cost: he’d have to surrender all credit to Fei Yuhan and wash his hands of it entirely.
It went as expected. The liaison officer barely glanced at Roland’s statement. The Association’s eyes were fixed on the corruption — on the discovery that someone had made it. That revelation eclipsed everything, even the six deaths out of twelve martialists who’d entered the mine.
One thing did catch Roland off guard: Garcia was first into the hole when her team arrived. He watched her drop through the gap before anyone else, heard her calling his name as she moved among the casualties — urgent, unguarded. When she found him alive, she smiled. A real one. It lasted only a moment before her face closed back into its usual wall of indifference. She threw him into the ambulance with a mutter: “Wow, you’re still alive. Good for you.”
That was how the alliance mission ended.
Back at the apartment, Phyllis regarded the magic creature’s warning with unease. It had noticed Roland was different from ordinary martialists — which meant what it said might not be empty threat.
A year ago, such a warning would have stopped him. The Dream World had felt strange then, slipping free of his grip, becoming something he no longer quite controlled.
But that was a year ago.
The Dream World was more than a source of knowledge — it was the one place the God’s Punishment Witches could live something resembling a human life. It might not endure forever. Before the day it ended, he wanted these women to have as many good memories as they could carry.
That was one reason he dismissed the warning. The other was simpler: he trusted what his instincts told him.
Whatever change had taken root in the Dream World, it had started the moment he released the first cyclone. He didn’t yet understand the mechanism — didn’t know what thread connected those releases to the subtle shifting of the world around him — but when he’d defeated the magic monster by wrenching out its astrolabe, he’d felt something right about it. A bone-deep satisfaction. The sense that he was moving in a correct direction, even without a map.
As long as he kept fighting the Fallen Evils, the answer would come.
There was also the unfinished business of the battle itself. The man-made corruption would send shockwaves through the Association, ignite fury across the martialist community. Once the survivors woke and gave their accounts, the investigation would reconstruct everything — and modern martialists would have new reason to distrust him, even resent him.
He decided not to borrow that trouble yet.
Three days later, the Detective Group returned to Neverwinter.
Summer had not only reconstructed the final battle but captured several key moments with the Sigil of Recording. Roland convened a meeting in the hall of the Third Border City immediately — all the executives, gathered to watch.
When Ashes summoned the divine power and died alongside Ursrook, Roland felt a hand close on his arm. Trembling. He held it without looking, and kept holding it until the magic movie ended. When he finally turned, Tilly’s eyes were red at the rims. She had watched every second of it. He said nothing. There was nothing adequate to say.
Now they had the full picture.
“This is my first time seeing a hybrid of an Eye Demon and a regular demon,” Pasha said at last, her voice low and careful. “How did they manage it?”
What had confounded Roland most — watching the movie — was how the demons had arrived so precisely, the moment the Special Unit reached their ambush position. He hadn’t credited an Eye Demon with that kind of strategic intelligence. Then he saw the answer.
Ursrook had cut open a Mad Demon’s face and packed a box of frozen eyeballs into the wound. The eyeballs, scenting blood, burst alive and drove their roots into the Mad Demon’s flesh. The Mad Demon screamed. For nearly a week, the Eye Demon completed its possession. Beyond that, the Mad Demon carried not a God’s Stone of Toss but a Stone of Flight — a rare resource no ordinary demon was normally entitled to carry.
Ursrook had been preparing this for at least half a year.
The moment the transformed Mad Demon left Taquila, Sylvie had been watched by the Magic Slayer. To buy time for the army, Ursrook had flown toward the First Army and then feigned retreat halfway — drawing the Special Unit’s full attention onto a decoy while the demons set their ambush behind them. Unless the Special Unit had abandoned the mission and retreated west, they had no way out.
“From what I can see, this is manipulation rather than hybridization,” Agatha said, turning it over slowly. “The transformed Mad Demon was the host. The decoy wasn’t the Mad Demon itself — it was the tiny Eye Demon mounted on its head.”
“Why do you think so?” Roland asked.
“If the demons could produce a hybrid that powerful, they would have used it in the second Battle of Divine Will. A few hybrids monitoring and harassing the army while Devilbeasts attack from above — the Union would have fallen in under five years.” She paused. “This is a technology, not an innate ability. Like the Spider Demons.”
Chapter 1186: Reconstructing the Final Battle
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
The other team did not appear until the battle was over.
Roland smeared his face with mud, made a few cuts in his clothes, and lay on a heap on the ground as if he was injured like everyone else, waiting for the rescue from the Martialist Association.
Although Ling had pressed the “speaking” button on the walkie talkie by accident, fortunately, the communication was not open to all the teams. Therefore, only Fei Yuhan had heard their conversation. As she had lost her consciousness, Roland could totally attribute this bizarre communication to Fei Yuhan’s perturbed mind and convince her that it was simply her illusion due to her injuries.
As to why the monster vanished in thin air without leaving the slightest trace behind, Roland could simply claim that he had well passed out before this incident had occurred. But by doing so, he could only ascribe the victory entirely to the genius girl, Fei Yuhan, and washed his hands off the whole matter.
As he expected, the liaison officer did not take his statement very seriously considering that he had not witnessed the entire battle. Instead, the Association paid close attention to the corruption. The discovery of the new, man-made corruption obviously overshadowed the six deaths, including the death of two celebrated martialists, out of the twelve martialists who participated in the mission.
The only thing that astonished Roland was that Garcia jumped into the hole before anyone else when her team arrived at the scene. Roland felt a warmth flooded over him when he saw Garcia tried to search for him among the casualties frantically while calling out his name, and when her smile showed after she found out that Roland was alive. However, Garcia’s expression had returned to her normal state of indifference quickly. She mumbled, “Wow, you’re still alive. Good for you.” as she threw Roland into the ambulance.
That was how this alliance mission ended.
After Roland returned to the apartment, Phyllis regarded the warning of the magic creature with apprehension. The monster had apparently noticed that Roland was different from all the other martialists, which meant that there was a possibility that what it said was true.
Roland would have contemplated the warning if this incident had occurred a year ago when he had been resisting the Dream World. At that time, the world had become increasingly complicated and foreign to him, as though it was gradually getting out of his control.
But now, he had made his decision.
The Dream World was not only a world where he obtained knowledge, but more importantly, a place that afforded the God’s Punishment Witches mundane pleasures. This virtual world might not necessarily remain in existence forever. However, before that day came, he would like these witches to have as many happy memories as possible.
Another reason that he dismissed the warning was that Roland trusted his own instincts.
The change of the Dream World might start from the moment he had released the first cyclone.
Despite that Roland had yet to understand the exact relationship between the release of cyclones and the subtle change of the surroundings, he did feel satisfaction when he had defeated the magic monster by pulling out its astrolabe.
He had a vague feeling that as long as he kept fighting the Fallen Evils, the answer would come up to him.
Furthermore, the whole event had not completely come to an end yet. Roland could imagine that the man-made corruption would spark panic among the Association and outrage in the martialist community. Once the other martialists regained their consciousness, the Association would definitely further investigate this matter and uncover the whole story of the battle. Accordingly, modern martialists would continue to criticize him and even feel animosity toward him.
Yet anyhow, Roland decided not to worry about them too much at this moment.
Three days later, the Detective Group returned to Neverwinter.
Summer had not only reconstructed the final battle but also recorded several important scenes with the Sigil of Recording. Roland thus immediately called a meeting in the hall of the Third Border City to invite all the executives to watch the show.
When they saw Ashes summon the divine power and die together with Ursrook, Roland felt a tremulous hand clasp on his arm. Roland held that hand until the magic movie ended. When he turned around, he noticed Tilly’s red-rimmed eyes. Despite being distraught, Tilly managed to finish the whole movie.
Now, they had the full picture of what had happened.
“This is my first time seeing a hybrid of an Eye Demon and a regular demon,” Pasha sighed at long last. “How did they do that?”
The most confusing part was how the demons had managed to arrive at the scene right after the Special Unit had reached their designated ambush area, for Roland did not believe an Eye Demon had the intelligence to develop such a clever strategy. After he watched the movie, however, he found the answer. Usrook had cut open a Mad Demon’s face and deposit a box of frozen eyeballs into its wound. The eyeballs that smelled the blood instantly
burst into life and anchored its roots to the Mad Demon, who screamed in great agony. It took nearly a week for the Eye Demon to completely possess the Mad Demon.
Moreover, instead of a God’s Stone of Toss, the Mad Demon had carried a very rare Stone of Flight that a regular demon was not normally entitled to.
This meant that Ursrook had prepared resources for his plan at least half a year ago.
The moment the transformed Mad Demon had left Taquila, Sylvie had been under the scrutiny of the Magic Slayer. To earn more time for his army, the Magic Slayer first flew toward the First Army and then turned around halfway to feign his defeat. While the Special Unit’s attention were drawn entirely on the decoy, the demons took this opening to set up their ambush. Therefore, unless they abandoned their mission and retreated to the west, by no means could the Special Unit escape from the awaiting demons.
“As far as I can tell, this is more like a type of manipulation than a hybrid. The transformed Mad Demon works like a host,” Agatha said thoughtfully. “The decoy was not the Mad Demon but the miniscule Eye Demon that mounted on its head.”
“Why do you think so?” Roland asked.
“If the demons could create such a powerful hybrid, they should have used this technology in the second Battle of Divine Will. They could send a few hybrids to monitor and harass the army while dispatching a pack of Devilbeasts to attack us. If they did that, the Union would have been finished in less than five years,” Agatha explained slowly. “I think it’s not an ability but a technology, just like those newly-developed Spider Demons.”