The defeat of Ark pushed the final piece into place for sealing this war's outcome.
The Metal Slimes rode Beetle mounts and led the charge, weaving between the hooves of human knights, brandishing their slightly dulled short swords and hacking at the demon soldiers who still clung to resistance.
"Waah waah waah! Cut you! Cut you!!"
When they got carried away, the Metal Slimes simply discarded their dulled short swords. Sharp metal spikes instantly sprouted across their bodies, then they transformed into spinning meteor hammers that slammed into the demons.
They even managed to push into the shrinking Abyss fissure, slamming back demons that tried to counterattack.
Seeing even the mighty Iron Cavalry Demon Ark captured, the demons finally lost all will to fight. They retreated in fear, scrambling back toward the ever-narrowing Abyss fissure.
The rift into the Abyss, no longer sustained by demonic power, slowly closed. Ultimately, with a faint hum of space, it sealed completely.
In the end, the Slime Kingdom had won this war.
However, the Gray Mist in the sky remained thick, and the roars of distant magical creatures rose intermittently. The summer Magical Tides were far from over; at least three or four more days would pass.
With Storm Fortress as a stable bridgehead, the Magical Creature Legion could at any time enter the interior of the Golden Tassel Plain, intervene in internal kingdom disputes, and influence the direction of affairs.
Holding this place meant the Slime Kingdom’s territory in the Dark Realm would be truly consolidated, able to press the attack or fall back defensively.
"Still... what do we do with this guy?"
Chen Yu stared at Ark before him, his round body sinking into thought.
This one served the Greater Demon Casaric and should know a lot about the demons of the Burning Capital. He might be forced to reveal plenty of useful information.
Casaric’s crown, required to complete the Trial of Kingship, had been swallowed by him. Casaric would never let that go easily.
Simo and Ellen were one thing, but Ark was an eleventh-level high demon whom only they could handle. Capturing him seemed risky. What if he recovered and escaped...
Or just swallow him? Could also increase my Health Points limit.
As Chen Yu pondered "reusing trash," Celeste flew down from the sky. After setting Louisa and Count Bran down, she reverted to her graceful humanoid form.
She shook a pitch-black book exuding an ominous aura in her hands.
"Yoxsa’s Book of Souls," Celeste explained. "A magical implement demons use to enslave and trade souls. Found beside Vincent’s corpse. It should keep this demon subdued for a while."
"Not to mention, he really is well-versed in demonic language and rituals, even able to produce such a high-grade Book of Souls."
After saying that, she tossed the pitch-black soul book to Chen Yu.
Chen Yu’s small eyes brightened. He took it with his spirit sense, letting the chill-emitting book hover before him.
"How does this thing work?" he asked curiously.
"Simple," Celeste said, pointing at Ark. "Open the book, point it at him. The book will automatically draw out and bind his soul."
"You... want to—!"
Upon hearing that his soul would be enslaved, Ark struggled desperately, even ignoring the Stone Sword still pressed against his neck. The sharp stone blade carved several deep wounds into his neck, and demonic blood flowed out.
Chen Yu controlled the Book of Souls to float in front of Ark and pried open its dark cover.
"Hum..."
The pages turned by themselves without wind. On the black paper, a pair of eyes suddenly flared to life, burning with a ghostly green flame. An invisible suction force issued from the book, locking onto Ark’s soul.
"No!"
Ark’s face contorted as he writhed in agony. A blurred demonic apparition could be clearly seen being forcibly pulled from his body by the suction.
He tried to resist, but the Stone Sword had pierced his iron hoof, chest, and neck, as if a shackle had pinned him fast. Every movement caused torrents of fresh blood to spill.
Helplessly, he watched his soul tear away like shredded silk, drawn into the Book of Souls.
The pages closed on their own with a soft snap. The green eyes on the cover slowly dimmed and the book regained its calm.
Chen Yu retrieved the Book of Souls. A swell of control rose in his chest, as if with a mere thought he could sense Ark’s condition at any time, even hold his life and death in his hands and torment his soul.
Hmm... this thing is good, better than swallowing him, Chen Yu thought with satisfaction.
"Shraa—" Flying Swords popped out en masse, spraying sprays of blood.
Deprived of the Book of Souls’ pull and without the Flying Swords anchored, Ark collapsed to the ground and fell into a deep faint.
Roughly hauled away by the Gargoyles to be detained back at a rear outpost fortress, Chen Yu swallowed the Book of Souls to store it in his belly, then turned his attention back to the surroundings.
He saw Yano clutching his chest as he staggered over, grinning widely.
"Boss, I’m not dead yet."
"But that demon was really tough, almost stomped me flat."
On the other side, Arthur helped the seriously injured Raven walk back.
Alice immediately rushed over. She said nothing, but her tightly furrowed brows and slightly trembling hands revealed her inner worry.
"Your Highness the Princess, are you all right?" Glenn, who had been hiding behind the Magical Creature Legion, stepped forward awkwardly and bowed his head.
Following him were Galvin and Anna.
Galvin walked straight up to Chen Yu and performed a Knight's Salute, his voice steady. "All hail His Majesty, we have returned."
Anna looked a bit bewildered. Aside from Galvin and the others, she didn’t recognize anyone present. Seeing Galvin salute, she hurriedly imitated him and timidly stammered, "M-My...my liege, Your Majesty?"
Chen Yu bounced with curiosity and looked at Anna. "Why’s there a little tagalong behind you?"
Galvin cleared his throat and briefly explained, "Just an old friend’s pupil, nothing of importance. But please rest assured, Your Majesty. Arthur and I have seen her; she poses no threat."
Chen Yu only gave an "oh" and didn’t pay much heed.
His head was full of plans to occupy the fortress and subsequent arrangements, so he treated it as the Kingdom Knights having gained another young knight.
The Border Corps had paid a devastating price in this war. The once over ten-thousand-strong army now had barely over two thousand knights and soldiers remaining, most wounded and morale low.
The surviving knights were mostly from the Arevalo Family. As for the Second Legion, Fourth Legion, and Sixth Legion, after Dominic and others were killed or defected, they were nearly annihilated.
Those who fell to the Magical Creature Legion were only part of the losses. Many had been overwhelmed by the Magical Tides or had died in the final charge against the demons.
The Magical Creature Legion also suffered its largest casualties ever. Nearly half of the Blood Poison Wasps were lost; the sky seemed noticeably emptier.
Ten Arcane Ancient Trees had stood; four had died outright during the knights’ charge, turning into charred wrecks.
The Metal Slimes, however, proved astonishingly sturdy. In such brutal fighting, they were only lightly wounded—good news.
All these sacrifices and battles were not just to rescue Arthur and the others, but also to take Storm Fortress, a site of immense strategic importance.
"Yano, let’s go." Chen Yu jumped onto a Stone Flying Sword and flew toward the Magical Creature Legion re-forming in the rear.
"Okay, Boss." Yano unfolded bat-like wings from his back, cloaked himself in a solid Gargoyle shadow, and followed.
When Chen Yu landed back on Peachy’s back, Little Ka greeted him, nuzzling Chen Yu’s round body with its small head and producing a satisfied rumble in its throat, just like a little dog being affectionate with its owner.
Chen Yu extended a gel hand and patted Little Ka’s head. His soft yet authoritative voice echoed clearly through the Gel Network covering the entire legion, reaching every magical creature unit.
"All units, advance."
"Objective: Storm Fortress. Seize it completely."
Yano flew above, raising his pitch-black greatsword with its tip pointed at the towering, battered fortress wall ahead.
The remaining Gargoyles roared, beating bat wings like a black, looming storm cloud, and charged the fortress first.
"Rumble..."
The Magical Creature Legion launched again. Metal Slimes rode Beetles to clear the way, Poison-stinger Wasp swarms ascended to provide cover, Little Earth Elementals ran gleefully.... The entire legion, like a war machine rebooted, ground toward Storm Fortress.
The commotion immediately drew attention from others.
After discussing with Arthur for a few words, Raven decided to command the reassembled two thousand-plus knights to keep a certain distance and follow behind the Magical Creature Legion.
Their status was sensitive now. They needed the Magical Creature Legion’s power to clear any remaining enemies and Magical Tide remnants inside the fortress, while maintaining some independence and vigilance.
Louisa, meanwhile, rode with Glenn on the giant eagle Celeste had become and took to the sky.
She glanced down at Chen Yu deeply from above and left him with one sentence: "Lord Slime, we will meet at Storm Fortress tomorrow at noon."
Clearly, she had already tacitly accepted that Storm Fortress would fall to the Slime Kingdom.
Tomorrow’s meeting would be the formal negotiation.
If the talks failed, the relationship between the sides might no longer be that of allies.
The giant eagle bearing them vanished toward the horizon. The Magical Creature Legion had already reached the base of the fortress wall.
Compared to the fierce siege at the start, this time the Magical Creature Legion encountered almost no resistance.
They easily crossed the huge breach in the wall and, like a tide, surged into the interior of the fortress.
"Search!"
Metal Slimes immediately rode Beetles and, like well-trained scouts, spread out into the fortress’ alleys, towers, and barracks to search for any remaining pockets of resistance.
"Buzz buzz..." The Poison-stinger Wasp regiments and Gargoyles took to the air and quickly occupied various commanding heights on the walls, seizing intact ballistae and Magic Towers.
The legion’s main force camped among the ruins by the wall breach, blocking sporadic demons attempting to pour in while, under the Slime Engineers’ direction, rapidly beginning emergency repairs on the wall and defensive works.
Watching the round slimes bustling about—clearing rubble in an orderly way, hauling stone and timber, even using gel to bind cracks and repair damaged magic runes—the knights following Raven wore strange expressions.
These magical creatures can actually repair walls?
It shattered their perception that monsters only destroyed.
Of course, their current status was delicate: both "rebels" of the White Horse Kingdom and not formally integrated into the Slime Kingdom.
They dared not act rashly, fearful that any careless move would provoke unnecessary conflict. All they could do was silently observe the busy slimes at work.
After regaining their composure, most of the knights had dazed eyes, their hearts full of contradiction and inner struggle.
They told themselves they were on the righteous side, having eliminated traitors colluding with demons, defending the honor of knighthood and the kingdom’s safety.
Yet on the other hand, they were assisting—or at least watching—the Magical Creature Legion occupy Storm Fortress, one of the kingdom’s most important border fortresses.
They did not know whether this conflicted with the solemn oath they had sworn to guard every inch of the realm.
Chen Yu ignored their inner turmoil.
He knew the knights’ oaths, beliefs, and traditions ran deep; persuading them to join the Slime Kingdom outright was nearly impossible.
But he did have a better arrangement in mind for these knights, pending the result of tomorrow’s negotiations.
"Climb!"
Little Ka flapped its wings, carrying Chen Yu up nearly ninety degrees to scale the wall. Powerful air currents tilted Chen Yu’s gel body slightly backward.
Soon Little Ka passed the towering battlements and flew above the fortress.
Chen Yu looked down along the wall and saw the Border Corps mages and soldiers who had chosen to stay. Surrounded by Poison-stinger Wasps, they were crouching and laying down their weapons, surrendering.
Their faces bore a mixture of relief at having survived and bewilderment about their future.
Soon, Metal Slimes returning from scattered searches rose from various corners of the fortress and climbed the walls, waving short swords at Chen Yu in the sky.
They had searched the entire fortress and found no organized resistance force.
This indicated the Slimes had completely occupied Storm Fortress.
Chen Yu gazed toward the vast golden plain behind the fortress. An indescribable surge of accomplishment and pride welled in his chest.
He puffed out his round chest and, again through the Gel Network, announced to all magical creatures:
"We are victorious!"
"Wa!"
"Mm! We won! We won!"
In an instant, the entire Storm Fortress erupted.
On the walls, Metal Slimes excitedly jumped, colliding their hard metal bodies and producing crisp "clang clang" sounds.
Below the walls, the Arcane Ancient Trees around the breach hummed to celebrate the moment, and the Slime Engineers cheered with "pop pop" sounds.
This moment would be engraved in the heart of every magical creature.