Chapter 404 The Devil's Council will not let you go! - Socially Anxious Witch in the Apocalypse

The Great Demon King Raka entered the world channel, making a powerful descent into World No. 16. A few minutes later, a Demon King swiftly arrived on Mist Island, inquiring of a stationed demon general nearby, "Where is Lord Raka?" The battle general hurriedly replied, "Lord Raka has already descended into World No. 16." The arriving Demon King was startled, his face turning ashen. It's over. Just moments ago, the Mist Island Demon King Council received news that the Great Demon King Black Hoof had fallen in another world. The mere presence of the Great Demon King Raka descending into World No. 16 suggests potentially grave events. World No. 16 harbors formidable enemies. This is troublesome. He glanced at the space channel and hastily retreated. Losing an army of eight million demons is of little consequence. Given a bit of time, they could amass as many demon armies as needed. However, losing two Great Demon Kings in succession is pressure even Mist Island can hardly bear. One must remember that they are not invincible in the inner worlds. Otherwise, there would be no need for a Demon King Council, nor any semblance of Mist Island. Should the enemy learn of such a loss and seize the chance to launch an attack on Mist Island, the island would suffer even greater losses. Upon returning to Mist Island, he immediately reported the situation to Great Demon King Kento. Great Demon King Kento, recognizing the gravity of the situation, relayed the news to any available Great Demon Kings: "Gentlemen, this is urgent. Who can spare time to assist in World No. 16, just in case?" Great Demon King Collet responded, "I'll go." He had already planned to head to World No. 16, only delayed by a minor issue, and certainly didn’t expect Great Demon King Black Hoof to respond to a summons and fall in the alternate world. Per his previous plan, he intended to sneak over there; now, going openly seemed just as good. In a flash, Great Demon King Collet left Mist Island and appeared before the space channel. Hopefully, this endeavor proves rewarding. ... In the domain of the magic town. One demon warship after another flew out from the inner world channel. Su Miao was unsure of the situation but was deeply awed. Seeing more demon warships approaching, Su Miao promptly used the starry sky illusion she had just repaired to cover the area. In an instant, all invading demon warships were sent into the starry sky illusion smoothly; the demons inside the ships felt no discomfort, only the ones who arrived earlier were bewildered. "Who sped things up? How did we end up in the starry sky?" "Did I see something just now?" "I just blinked, did the pilot push the warship that hard?" "Damn! Weren't we arriving at precision? I even saw the human town, with so many fresh humans!" "What good are fresh humans? Don't forget our ultimate goal here, to conquer, destroy, and plunder this world!" "Move over, I'll steer this ship myself, you useless lot!" "No, we didn't accelerate." "Look, aren't those our allies? They're here too?" "........" Seeing ship after ship appearing in the starry sky, the spectacle was both grand and breathtaking. Yet beneath this grandeur, everyone was growing increasingly confused. What exactly happened? "Wasn’t the intelligence saying this channel leads directly to the alternate world? Why are we ending up in the starry sky?" "Don't know, the transmission from the warship went without a hitch." "We've been played!" "........" "Look, what's that?" "Mechs? Hahaha, World No. 16 is a technology-based world, this round is secure." "Indeed, these things are just heaps of scrap metal; the tech worlds we've conquered before were filled with such junk that couldn't even bring out fighting strength." "Contact the other warships, scan around, World No. 16 must be in this patch of starry sky." "Damn, those mechs opened fire!" "Defend! Counterattack!" ... In an instant, demon warships unfurled their shields to block the attacks from the mech battle groups. However, some of the front-line warships failed to defend and were blasted apart, the demons within perishing in the resulting explosions. The shocking combat prowess of the mech cluster left the demon king’s army inside the warships stunned. Fearing that they, too, might be obliterated, and in hopes of quickly destroying the mechs, many demons voluntarily flew out of the warships. Some boarded aircraft to launch attacks at the mechs. Others dispersed, attempting to encircle the mech clusters and simultaneously avoid being hit by the aftermath of warship explosions. At the same time, the warships in the rear of the legion locked onto the mechs, unleashing saturation fire assaults at them. Su Miao hung in the void, sipping on strawberry juice, watching the battle unravel below. The scene before her eyes was far more exciting than any movie or AI-created scene. From her magical space, Su Miao found a few high-end cameras, using her mage hand to record the cosmic battle from multiple angles, snapping a few photos along the way. So far, she hadn't noticed any significant threats among these demons. On the contrary, with each demon vanquished, the power of the domain of the magic town increased just a bit. Every smidgen of energy counts. Even if it’s just mosquito meat, it’s still meat, Su Miao wouldn’t disregard the energy offered by weaker demons when the Great Demon King Black Hoof had willingly bestowed his upon the magic town. As she pondered this, she noticed a Demon King walking out from the inner world’s space channel. The Red Candle Demon King! His entire form wreathed in flames, he caused a massive explosion the moment he appeared in the starry sky, roaring flames spread a thousand meters before abruptly extinguishing. "What’s going on?" The Red Candle Demon King surveyed the starry sky before him, mystified. As he was about to exit the space channel, he distinctly saw a bustling town teeming with vibrant residents, only to step out into vast starry skies instead. The grand fire and explosion he unleashed were meant for the town. He sought to see flames engulf the human town, to hear human cries of despair, to harvest exquisite souls. So how did it all turn into mere starry skies? Just as he was about to ask a soldier, three mechs ambushed, spotting him, and opened fire immediately. Boom! The Red Candle Demon King fumed with rage, “What insect dares to assault me?” Fiery infernos enveloped nearby asteroids, turning into flaming meteors, smashing the three mechs to pieces. “Could someone step forward and explain this?” The Red Candle Demon King gestured to the distance, intending to call a demon soldier over. Suddenly, the Red Candle Demon King sensed a shift in the surrounding scenery. He had inadvertently been transported out of the battlefield. Viewing the cosmic battlefield from the outside provided a clearer perspective. The unidentified mechs and the demon warships were locked in a ferocious, intense war. No matter how many mechs were destroyed in the void, regardless of the demon army's strength, not a single mech retreated. These damned humans, these damned insects! But now wasn't the time to focus on the battlefield. Before him, a pink-haired magic maiden descended slowly, perched sideways on an alloy staff. "Magical girl? Witch?!" The Red Candle Demon King glared at Su Miao, who appeared before him, "All of this is your doing." Su Miao declared, "There's no place for you here." Though unsure of the specifics, Su Miao could speculate broadly. Some time ago, three Demon Kings from the inner world came to Earth, and she had slain them, transforming them into energy for the magic town. Now, such a vast demon king army had arrived, likely to retrieve those three Demon Kings. However, the blast-resistance testing for the town was completed. Even greater foes, like the Great Demon King, yielded crucial explosion tests. The likes of weaker Demon Kings are no longer needed here. No… The prior tests relied on stellar blossoms. With demon kings visiting, they must be utilized effectively. Such as exploiting their demon king cores, amidst some recent magical trials. Especially as her proficiency in applying rule-based attacks wasn’t fully mature, otherwise, she wouldn't have suffered the disdain of the Great Demon King Black Hoof. Su Miao grasped her alloy staff and swung it, conjuring numerous magical tendrils emerging in the void. The Red Candle Demon King hesitated briefly, skeptically eyeing Su Miao, confirming she was indeed a witch. However, the ancient, ineffable, absurd-style attack baffled him. Boom! Flames erupted, incinerating the tendrils before they could strike. Such feeble attacks only left the Demon King disheartened. He had thought this witch might be formidable. Something was amiss. This space was not quite right. Abruptly, the Red Candle Demon King realized something. From this space, he sensed the aura of the Great Demon King Black Hoof. How could this be?! Wasn't the Great Demon King Black Hoof responding to a summons, heading to another world? Could it be that this World No. 16 summoned the Great Demon King Black Hoof? If so, why hadn't the Great Demon King Black Hoof reached out to them? There were too many suspicious aspects here. Su Miao watched as the Red Candle Demon King appeared lost in thought during the battle, finding it rather amusing. She swung her alloy staff once more, and threads of law appeared in the void, reaching out to bind the Red Candle Demon King. At this moment, something absurd happened. By the time the Red Candle Demon King reacted, he was already ensnared by these law threads. "Witch, what have you done to me?" The Red Candle Demon King attempted to struggle but found he couldn't move a muscle. He couldn't even muster his strength. A nameless panic welled up within him. This witch was playing the fool, a devious fox in sheep's clothing! Su Miao was equally surprised. How could this Demon King, with such formidable power, be captured so easily? Was this a trap? Out of caution, Su Miao remained at a distance, launching a variety of magical attacks at the Red Candle Demon King. "Witch, just let me go! Ah..." "Damn witch, you can't treat me this way, you'll regret it." "You're dooming yourself, witch. The Great Demon King Raka is about to descend, and that will be your end." "..." Su Miao narrowed her eyes; invoking the Great Demon King dispelled any notion of this being a trap. Additionally, the Red Candle Demon King's arms and legs had already been blasted apart. Su Miao almost exhausted the spells she wanted to test. Oh, there's the starlight explosion spell, too. Starlight Explosion is an advanced version of the magic beam, developed based on a study of starlight blossoms. Fully unleashing it might directly obliterate the Red Candle Demon King, which would make retrieving the demon core impossible. Therefore, Su Miao opted for a different approach. She put away her alloy staff and switched to the reforged silver sword. The moment the reforged silver sword appeared, an unsettling aura seized the Red Candle Demon King. In a split second, with a single slash, she cleaved the Red Candle Demon King in two. For a Demon King, such injuries were not dire. During intense battles, having one's body blown apart was not uncommon. At such times, they would rely on their blood rebirth abilities to ensure survival. At worst, a portion of their body could be sacrificed to empower another part to escape crisis. However, the damage inflicted by the reforged silver sword was irreparable for the Red Candle Demon King, as the extinguishing sword energy rapidly spread, wreaking havoc on his body. Death's threat loomed over the Red Candle Demon King. He resolved to abandon his body and use the remaining power to snatch the demon core and flee. But before he could utilize his demon core, Su Miao adeptly extracted it using the reforged silver sword. The sweeps from the sword's annihilating aura severed the connection between the demon core and the Red Candle Demon King entirely. On closer inspection, it became clear that Su Miao holding the sword to extract the core was just a duplicate. Her true form had never even gotten within a meter of the Demon King. Deprived of his demon core, the remnants of the Red Candle Demon King's body bled, trembled, and contorted. As violet flames descended, the Red Candle Demon King's life ended amidst anguished wails. "Witch, the Great Demon King Raka won't spare you, the Demon King Council won't spare you..." "......" Hearing remnants of the soul screeching from the ashes, Su Miao casually tossed a Starlight Blossom, cleansing the area. As for the newly acquired demon core, Su Miao nonchalantly tossed it into the town's central system as a backup energy source. It's worth mentioning that this demon core was exceptionally intact, brimming with an enormous reservoir of energy—slightly more than the two demon cores currently powering the town's central system. This success owed to the Red Candle Demon King’s inaction, allowing Su Miao such an easy triumph. It would be ideal if every Demon King was this foolish. With the death of the Red Candle Demon King, once again, a blood rain fell over the magic town. On the battlefield, the Demon King's army was astounded by the sight of blood rain in the void, all wearing expressions of disbelief. "How can there be blood rain in space?" "This blood rain... it carries the aura of the Red Candle Demon King. Could he be dead?" "The Red Candle Demon King was just here; how did he die?" "There's something wrong with this world, I'm heading back." "..." With the death of the Red Candle Demon King, a wave of terror swept through the army of eight million. Meanwhile, undaunted, the mech battle group launched attacks, obliterating several warships and slaughtering over a hundred thousand demon soldiers and officers. The war reached a fever pitch again as the dark starry sky turned blood-red—an alarming sight. Su Miao pulled out her magic notebook to document the recent magic experiments. Particularly the spell used to bind the Red Candle Demon King. If one could bind a Demon King from the start, wouldn't that leave them at her mercy? Future magic experiments, regardless of type, would proceed much more smoothly. However, her opportunity arose only because the Demon King was in a daze; doing this while they were alert would be more challenging. How should this be solved? Increase the number of law threads? Yes, add dark law threads to enhance concealment, making the spell harder to detect. Law can be integrated into nature; finding a way to make the binding spell more natural—such that the Demon King falls into the trap unknowingly—would be ideal. Ideas kept sparking, and Su Miao documented them swiftly, crafting an optimization plan within seconds. "The Daoist myth's Immortal Binding Rope—might it be based on a similar principle?" Su Miao noted down the question. The Immortal Binding Rope forcibly restrains its target. While hiding a binding spell is certainly inadequate, it must at least possess a similar function to the rope. Forcibly restrain and bind a Demon King? This sounds a bit odd... No matter, as long as it’s practical. The research plan was set, now for the testing targets? As Su Miao pondered this, she noticed yet another two Demon Kings arriving from the inner world at the Sichen platform. (End of the Chapter)