Chapter 407 Gourd Brothers Saving Grandpa - Socially Anxious Witch in the Apocalypse

In the realm of the starry illusion, the mecha cluster and the demon army erupted into battle once more. Previously, 1,000 mechas had left the 8 million-strong demon army trembling in fear. This time, 3,000 mechas stormed forward together, crushing the morale of the demon army to its lowest point. These mechas possessed unparalleled combat power, exhibiting a disregard for death and exhibiting terrifying destructive capabilities. Initially, the demons could rely on battleships and their numerical advantage, but as time went on, no matter how many mechas were destroyed, an equal number would be replenished in the starry sky. In contrast, the demon warships destroyed and demon soldiers killed on their side had no possibility of revival. Realizing this, the once-mighty 8 million demon king army found itself gradually cornered. What? The 8 million demon king army? Now less than 3 million remain... "The witch, she's not a witch at all—she's a demon!" "Why? Why can't she kill us as she did the demon king? All it takes is a single spell." "I don't want to die, I still don't want to die." "Fight to the end!" "Is there any point in fighting? Every time we destroy a mecha, a new one immediately takes its place. We don't even know if the humans inside these mechas are real." "This witch is tormenting us; she wants us to die in despair." "…" The remaining demon king army fell into complete despair, each voicing their own fears and doubts. Even the mighty demon lords had fallen in battle; what hope could remain for them? They yearned for death to come quickly. Waiting for death in despair was too agonizing. But these demon soldiers seemed to have forgotten that not long ago, when they invaded other alternate worlds, they treated the natives there in exactly the same manner. When it was their turn to experience this feeling, they conveniently forgot their past actions. As for Su Miao, she never even glanced over at them during this whole episode. She let the combat mechas have their fun. Consideration was only given to certain areas within the magical town realm that needed testing and improvement; some demon soldiers might be sent over to partake in related projects. Such as watching concerts, role-playing minions in simulation scenarios, or having their brains extracted for examinations. Su Miao was busy recording the battle data from earlier. These would greatly aid in her optimization of magic. During the recent battles, she'd come up with numerous new magical inspirations, all of which needed documentation. There was another matter to consider. Before his death, the Demon King Raka called her a "forbidden witch." Was this "forbidden witch" term specifically referring to her, or was it a category of witches? And who were the ones said to be capable of finding her? Regardless of whether it was merely bluff, documenting it was certainly prudent. After completing her records, Su Miao retrieved a slice of chilled watermelon from her magical space. She watched while cross-checking her notes, ensuring no errors were made. After consecutively deploying her 'Starlight Blossom' magic, killing two inner-world demon lords, the starry illusion realm had grown increasingly stable. Although blood rain still fell outside the magical town after the demon lords’ demise, the external impact was limited to just that. This indicated that the loopholes in the magical town realm post-battle were now minimal. Currently, Su Miao had identified these vulnerabilities, and could repair them with ease. Additionally, Su Miao had developed a curiosity toward the inner-world demon lords. The physical form of the Demon Lord Hei Ti was a black bull. Demon Lord Raka’s true form was a gorilla. For the other ordinary demon lords, some had humanoid forms, while others appeared as animals. As for those in animal form—if slain, was it possible to consume them? Su Miao quickly dismissed this idea. Recalling the pollution caused by their attacks during battle, she lost any appetite. It wouldn't be surprising if each cell within their bodies was polluted. However, using them as magical experiment materials should be fine. But then, another problem arose. To kill these demon lords and demon kings, Su Miao had consistently used her 'Starlight Blossom' magic. After the death of a demon lord, even retaining the hardest demon core could be problematic, let alone other materials from the demon corpse. Furthermore, when these demon kings died, all their accompanied materials disappeared, seemingly vaporized by the starlight. Calculating this loss, Su Miao realized hers were substantial. "By the way, if it were possible to locate the lairs of these demon lords, could their inheritances be reclaimed post-mortem?" She noted down her hypothesis. The next time she ventured into the inner world, she could inquire about the routes from local demon lords. Nonetheless, strategizing was essential for future demon lord battles. Ideally, she would coax them into surrendering any materials before a clash, thus minimizing her losses. Additionally, she could find out from the demon lords the whereabouts of specific magic potions. Particularly since crafting a healing magic potion for Xia Xiao An was urgently required; otherwise, if too much time passed and Xia Xiao An became irreparably damaged, it would become quite troublesome. While engrossed in these thoughts, a powerful energy fluctuation erupted from the position of the platform. The fluctuation appeared quickly and vanished rapidly. Yet, it was captured by Su Miao. Another demon king had entered the realm of the magical town... Su Miao's expression turned peculiar, pondering how to assess these demon lords from the inner world. Were they arriving one by one, like the gourd brothers saving their grandfather? Up till now, the experiments she planned had all been completed in excess. The new phase of experimentation required further optimization of the magical town realm. It was akin to preparing several tables of dishes; after the original diners had left, unexpectedly, another group arrived just moments later. She wasn't even left with scraps to offer; with everything gone, yet new guests appeared... Tch! What next? Su Miao's gaze rested on the newly arrived demon lord attempting to hide. Unlike Demon Lords Hei Ti and Raka, Demon King Collete preferred discretion and concealment. Thus, he traversed the inner-world passage at incredible speed to the alternate world, promptly cloaking his presence to assess the situation. According to intelligence, this 16th alternate world hosted powerful adversaries. Ideally, Demon King Raka would engage the enemy first, resulting in mutual destruction, allowing him to step in and claim victory. Yet why did the landscape here resemble a starry expanse, and what was happening with the distant battle? Where was Demon King Raka? Where were the Chi Zhu Demon King, the Yin Ying Demon King, and the An Du Demon King? Demon King Collete sensed something amiss and turned his attention to the battlefield involving mechas and the demon army. Within it were over 2 million demon soldiers and numerous formidable warships. However, such a mighty force, when faced with 3,000 mechas, exhibited severely diminished morale, suffering loss after loss, teetering on the brink of rout. Something was definitely off. Immediately, Demon King Collete transformed into a cheetah, attempting to blend into the shadows of the starry sky, preferentially observing the scenario. Little did he know, from the moment of his entrance, Su Miao had him in her sights. Bind! Multiple magical threads shot toward Demon King Collete. Alerted, Demon King Collete instinctively sensed the assault aimed at him, instantaneously flashing tens of thousands of meters away with a shimmer of black light. Fear gripped his soul. Experience told him that had he been ensnared, escaping would have been exceedingly difficult. Su Miao, observing the scene with her alloy staff, was taken aback. Such speed—it was formidable. Had she confronted him head-on, she might have been caught off-guard by a sudden strike. Narrowly evading the binding magic, Demon King Collete was caught in fear. The close call made one thing clear. This was no mere 16th alternate world; it was evidently an immensely terrifying divine realm. Knowing this was a divine realm, he would never have dared to enter so carelessly. If the divine realm's master were weak, he could readily dispatch them and dismantle the realm, resolving his troubles. But if the realm's master were strong, his voluntary entry was akin to a lamb entering a tiger's lair. With some luck, he might escape after a mutually destructive battle. Without luck, giving it his all would still lead to certain death. Evidently, he had encountered the latter scenario. Here, Demon King Collete detected the lingering aura of Demon King Hei Ti and Demon King Raka. They no longer existed. Simultaneously, Demon King Collete realized: Summoning Demon King Hei Ti here, this alternate world was indeed a divine realm, or its aura wouldn't bear the traces left by Demon King Hei Ti's fall. With two demon kings consecutively vanquished, the master of this divine realm must be terrifyingly powerful. Now marked as a target, his chance of survival seemed grim. Fighting head-on was inconceivable. From the current situation, it appears the master of this divine realm is an exceptionally ruthless entity. Demon lords and kings are slain at will. Of the remaining 8 million-strong demon king army, "Your Excellency, I am willing to pledge allegiance to you; please spare my life!" Demon King Collete proclaimed loudly, hoping to elicit a response from the master of this realm. To demonstrate his sincerity, he spoke loud enough for the remaining demon king army to hear clearly. "Another demon king?" "It's Demon King Collete, and he's actually surrendering?" "No, this can't be real, it must be a trick. He's a demon king, he wouldn't..." "Why?" "If he's surrendering, why not include us? I want to survive too." "Collete, you coward! What a disgrace of a demon king!" "Don't insult dogs." "…" The remnants of the demon king army were a mix of tears, cursing, complete despair, and some even succumbed to suicide. Since arriving here, with the attacks of the mechas and witnessing the demise of their demon lords, their hope had long vanished. And now, they had to witness the surrender of another demon king. Ha ha ha... Floating in the void, Su Miao was quite surprised. The new demon king was certainly bold, surrendering without even engaging in direct combat. Su Miao observed, ensuring there was no hostility from him. However, even without apparent malicious intent, Su Miao was not quick to trust him. Given the new demon king's speed, it's possible he was attempting to lure her out for a surprise attack. Any malice could be cleverly concealed, given enough skill. Directly unleashing Starlight Blossom? That would kill him instantly. After some thought, Su Miao released a magical illusionary clone, gracefully descending from the void. Demon King Collete was taken aback seeing Su Miao’s clone. However, upon noticing the witch's robe she wore, he immediately emerged from the shadows, reverting from cheetah form to human, and respectfully bowed, "Collete of the Mist Island, at your service, Your Highness!" Whether he survived depended entirely on his current performance. As for the distant insults hurled by the demon king army, he chose to ignore them. Su Miao spoke, "You wish to live?" Demon King Collete replied, "Yes, Your Highness! I am willing to offer all my wealth to demonstrate my loyalty to you." As he spoke, he produced a box the size of a phone, respectfully presenting it. Su Miao took the box, peered inside. Inside were multicolored treasures, filled with unknown riches, especially a few glowing orbs that seemed to be primal substances. "Your Highness, these contain the essence of three worlds. Direct absorption of these essences aids in understanding laws, helping life ascend to higher levels." "They can rejuvenate dead planets, bestowing them with the potential for miraculous transformation in the future." "They are rumored to be used for planting a World Tree, though I’m not certain about that." "…" A World Tree? Su Miao’s gaze lingered on the three essences, unexpectedly intrigued. In the future, she intended to plant a genuine World Tree on Earth, and to think she’d already obtained the nourishment needed for this endeavor. However, as Collete wasn’t sure about the specifics, it made sense to keep them for now. Besides the three world essences, there were veins of minerals imbued with special laws, mysterious fruits carrying the breath of laws, weapons and equipment sufficient for a million-strong demon king army, over 2,000 battle warships, and countless other treasures. Judging by the quality, these appeared to be offerings from creatures of other worlds. Yet, most likely, they were spoils Collete had plundered. Demon King Collete felt the sting of loss. To save his life, he'd offered all he had accumulated over tens of thousands of years. But if he perished here, no amount of wealth would matter. Truthfully, his only real advantage was his speed. In terms of raw power, he was comparable to Demon Lords Hei Ti and Raka. Now, he could only hope these offerings swayed the witch before him, granting him the chance to live. Su Miao was quite pleased with Demon King Collete’s sincerity. Having slain several demon lords, none had offered more than Collete in terms of sincerity. Most importantly, Su Miao perceived no malice in Collete, allowing her to keep him alive for the time being. Whether she ultimately spared him was something Su Miao was still deliberating. After all, he was a demon king intent on invading Earth. Looking at the world essence he'd given her, who knows how many worlds Collete had destroyed to acquire them. However, beforehand, there were questions Su Miao could have Collete answer. "Collete, do you know about these magic potions?" Su Miao described several potions’ appearances. Considering the potions’ differing names among various races and civilizations, she also detailed their properties. Demon King Collete listened attentively to her inquiry and responded with ease, "Your Highness, I indeed know of these potions. They're all found within the inner world. The first few are fairly accessible, but the celestial herb you mentioned grows only in the Forbidden Abyssal Sea." (End of the chapter)