Atlantis War Chronicles Episode 16 (Martial Arts Science Fiction Adult Novel)

Episode 16 Demon Territory

Contents:

Cover: Donna Linobili

Rig, who was avoiding his debt to a woman under the banner of "investigating news about the fallen northern Saint Hualon Empire", entered the demon-occupied area with trepidation, but what he saw before his eyes was - the real version of "Age of Gods and Demons"?

Rig, who must obtain "resident status" to share information on the magic network, is actually widely respected by the demons? How can Rig prove his innocence? What news will the female knight who suffered a magical transformation but still rushed to the south bank, her life in danger, reveal?

Donna Zenobla: Her real name is Donna King. She is a female knight of the Royal Knights of the Holy Hualon Empire. After being demonized, she became a god. She was the first brave woman to rush out of the demon realm and report the news to humans after the transformation.

Hecate: A mysterious existence in the demon realm, with hundreds of different types of clones, sometimes mechanical puppets, sometimes humanoid puppets, and her true identity is puzzling.

Reg Ampa: A small-time rogue magician blessed by the devil's core device, and a quasi-celestial rank that is being snatched away by international forces, he unknowingly falls into a complex vortex of war.

Divilach: A dark-skinned, tall bard who has always been by Rig's side recording his heroic deeds.

Chapter 1 Entering the Demon Realm

A large number of Mao people live on the southwestern plateau of the Shenghualong Empire. They worship snow-capped mountains and lakes, calling the largest snow-capped mountain the "Holy Mountain" and building majestic temples at the foot of the holy mountain, called "Holy Temples." The vast river formed by the melted snow on the holy mountain is called the "Holy River" by them.

The Holy River has a long history, flowing through vast lands and mountains, across the entire territory of Saint Hualon, dividing this huge country into two, and finally merging into the easternmost sea of ​​the empire. There are countless legends and stories about this great river on the Donglai continent.

The most glorious legend is that Shengjiang is the birthplace of mankind. Before the establishment of the Dahua Empire, humans lived in the Jianghu area south of the Holy River. The area north of the Holy River was the territory of orcs and aliens, the Scorpion Tail area in the southwest was the Elf Forest, and the mountains in the southeast were the Dwarf Empire.

About a thousand years ago, Sheng Huarong led his human army and officially crossed the river, starting the holy war for the rise of the human empire. He drove out the orcs and foreigners, occupied the fertile northern plains, and seized the richest pastures and grasslands. After the invention of war horses, the knight system was established and has been passed down for thousands of years. Thanks to countless brave human knights, the orcs and alien races were defeated step by step, and finally took refuge in the Beiche continent, which is covered with ice and snow all year round.

The history of the Dahua Empire, and even the history of the entire human domination of Atlantis, began from that moment. Today, a thousand years later, countless human armies have once again gathered on the riverbank south of the Shengjiang River. Dense military camps stretch to the foot of the mountains, and the crowds of people are so dense that there is no end in sight. Caravans of civilians carrying food and fodder gathered here from all directions, and blacksmiths set up furnaces and forged weapons day and night.

It is once again a life-and-death moment for humanity. All the lands north of the Holy River were occupied by the demons. This earth-shattering news made every human in Atlantis feel a chill of panic from the bottom of their hearts.

The demon clan! The evil race that is praised in the Bible as having the power to destroy the world. The evil race that was said to have been imprisoned in hell by the gods unexpectedly reappeared in Atlantis a thousand years later. Moreover, it seemed that overnight, the six northern provinces of such a huge empire as Saint Valon fell and the two million human army was completely destroyed. It really made people feel like they were dreaming.

All humans know that the desires and ambitions of the demons are endless. Everyone believed that the only goal of the demons was to occupy the entire Atlantis and turn all humans into their slaves.

The church said so, the empire said so, the government and officials said so, and even the artists and bards roaming among the people said so. Of course, except for that fake guy Divirachi.

"I think the situation on the South Bank right now is a bit exaggerated, isn't it? Where are the demons? I haven't seen any, okay?"

Divilachi lay in the grass, looking as far as he could towards the other side of the broad river through a pile of weeds. He looked until his eyes ached, but he didn't see a single hair of the demon. The black-haired man was greatly disappointed.

"Forty-eight scouts! Forty-eight scouts have been sent to the north bank in recent days. They are all elite soldiers in the army, including mid-level and even high-level magicians, but not a single one has returned. As long as they cross the river, they are all gone and never come back."

Rig sat on the grass, looking thoughtfully at the empty river bank opposite. The south bank of the Holy River is now crowded with hundreds of thousands of Holy Hualon troops, tens of thousands of coalition forces from various small countries, and millions of civilians and craftsmen. This famous river bank, which is most suitable for the landing of the army, has basically become a military city.

However, facing such a large-scale concentration of human troops, the demons occupying the six northern provinces of the Saint Hualon Empire always seemed to be shrouded in clouds. None of the reconnaissance teams sent out from the south bank have returned, and no information about the north bank can be found using any large-scale detection magic.

Faced with the large army assembled on the south bank, the demons not only did not send troops to the north bank of the Holy River to defend, they did not even send a single spy.

Are these demons really as arrogant and domineering as described in the Bible, and do not take the million-strong army seriously at all?

Come to think of it, two million troops were wiped out in their attack. How could the demons take seriously the one million troops on the south bank whose combat effectiveness was far inferior to that of the northern army?

"They are not demons, absolutely not!"

The gloomy voice of Master Zhuzi echoed in Rig's mind. The little rascal rubbed his forehead painfully and sighed in his heart: "Saler, it's useless for you to tell me whether they are demons or not! Although there are few refugees who escaped, there are some after all. They all confirmed that they are demons, exactly the same as the demons described in the Bible. Well, even Ye Su, who compiled the Bible, has never seen demons, but he must have seen the devil core No. 36, right? Besides, you didn't say that the image of the demons in the magic mirror game "Age of Gods and Demons" doesn't look like demons!"

"If it's really a demon, I can sense it, no matter which continent of Atlantis he is in!" Lord Zhuzi repeated the old words.

The little rascal felt his head hurt even more, and groaned, "Saler, I hope they are not demons more than you do. But thousands of years have passed, and the demons have reappeared in Atlantis. Can't you allow them to make some progress?

Are you still looking at them with the eyes of thousands of years ago? Logically speaking, if the demons have mastered such difficult magic as time travel, then it is natural for them to change or evolve the demon aura in your body so that you can't feel it! Even the group of super-class and divine realm people were unable to detect any situation on the north bank, and every scout and reconnaissance team sent out was in vain. Lord Sale, you are the great and wise devil's core, but don't be such a stubborn old man, okay? ”

Yes, Rigg had long accepted the fact that the demons suddenly invaded or returned to Atlantis, and he even speculated with the imaginative bard Black Charcoal Head that these demons were exiled to a different world during the war between gods and demons due to some spell of the gods that caused mutual destruction. After thousands of years of research, the demons finally found a way to return to Atlantis, so these second armies can't wait to fight back and start over, to seize the position of the boss of Atlantis.

Collective time travel! The bard who had always been longing for the time-travel legend once complained in frustration, asking why he couldn't travel alone! According to Heitantou, the sales of group time travel novels are generally very poor because readers cannot feel involved!

The argument deduced by Rig and Divilach was also the most accepted by the army on the south coast. After all, this is the only explanation for why these demons suddenly descended from the sky and why all the scouts who went to conduct reconnaissance were annihilated.

So these days, those super-class, divine realm, kings, nobles, generals and so on, looked at Plato the magical little wizard with more kindness and flattery, which satisfied the little hooligan's superficial vanity.

Divilach pulled out a raft made of branches from behind him and pushed it into the river, saying worriedly, "Rig, are we really the only two going to float over there to scout out the enemy? Why not call one or two of Kona Mi, Audrey, or Vice Dean Susan? Aren't they much stronger than us?"

"I want to, too! But with such great achievements, when you record history in the future, and write about how the most outstanding heroes and geniuses of Atlantis sneaked into the demon territory and spied on the military intelligence, and also brought their wives with them, wouldn't it be easy for people to misunderstand this as a novel about a stud? So I decided to give it up reluctantly and become self-reliant!" the little hooligan answered with a righteous look on his face.

Divilach immediately looked up at the gray sky, and said as if he had suddenly realized something: "So that's how it is! I thought he was some amorous man, and he was almost driven crazy by being caught in the middle of a bunch of women he had flirted with during this period! That's why he volunteered to accept the task of finding out the truth about the demons and came out to find some peace and quiet! It turns out that I was wrong!"

"Of course you saw it wrong! The food has been bad recently, just steamed buns without meat. You are seriously malnourished, so it's understandable that you have auditory and visual hallucinations!" said the little gangster righteously.

Black Charcoal Head had already pushed the raft with dense branches and leaves into the river, then jumped on it, hid himself among the large branches, and waved to Rig.

The little gangster jumped onto the raft, then looked back with lingering fear, and without waiting for the black-haired man to say anything, he took the initiative to pick up a branch and started paddling.

Although he was holding on tough in front of the charcoal-headed guy, the little gangster himself was actually feeling very nervous. Last night was really thrilling! He sneaked into the tent of Grand Duchess Taqis, but was discovered by the hateful Audrey. The blue-haired female magician even gathered Susan and Kona Mi to catch him in the act.

Fortunately, he was alert and escaped from under the tent, but what he saw head-on was Ying Mulan holding a sword shining with cold light. It was really a life-and-death situation! Being chased by Ying Mulan with a sword in hand, the little gangster finally escaped back to his tent, only to find two blue goblins confronting the white Kana inside.

At that time, the little gangster had only one thought in his mind: I can't live like this anymore!

So at daybreak, the little rascal went straight to King Lear and Sifan, the two top super-class magicians on the south bank, and volunteered to go to the north bank for reconnaissance. He moved the two super-class magicians to tears, and by the way, he was cheated out of a large bag of top-quality magic crystals and magic scrolls.

As soon as he stepped onto the raft, Rig felt like he had escaped death. It is a terrible thing when women go crazy, especially when a group of strong women go crazy, it can be fatal!

Of course, the reason why the little gangster volunteered to cross the river for reconnaissance was not entirely to avoid a group of jealous females - not just because of the women, but mainly because the little gangster also wanted to confirm for Lord Zhuzi whether the people on the other side of the river were demons?

Because the demons are not only proficient in powerful magic, but can also fly, for safety reasons, Rig and Divilachi choose the most cautious way to cross the river, which is a raft.

At the same time, in order to confuse the enemy, the great magician Sifan also ordered that hundreds of rafts made of trees be launched into the Holy River at the same time to confuse the enemy.

Just like the empty and defenseless north shore, the raft formation carefully set up by the great magician Sifan did not cause any disturbance on the other side.

When Rig and Divilachi climbed up the north bank covered in water, they looked at each other and felt that they were making a big fuss out of nothing. If I had known this earlier, I would have rowed a small boat from the navy directly here, and I wouldn't have to get soaked all over.

After packing their clothes, Rig and the other man carefully crept forward. After walking for a long time, I found that there was no one around anywhere. The two men gradually gained courage and started walking normally.

"It's really not right! There's not a single person, not even a bird. The crops are ripe in the fields but no one is harvesting them, and the fallen fruits are not picked up. Could it be that after the demons came back from the other world, they no longer need to eat the food of Atlantis?"

Looking at the large tracts of mature rice fields and orchards on the roadside, Rig asked doubtfully, "The residents of the six northern provinces who escaped across the Holy River only account for a small portion. What about the others? Even if the demons don't need to eat, humans don't need to eat either? There must be at least tens of millions of humans stranded in the north, right? Did the demons kill them all?"

"The demons can't be this crazy, right? Even if all the residents here have fled, there are not even a single animal or bird left. Isn't this abnormal?" The charcoal-headed man also looked puzzled: "Why don't we go back?"

"Are you kidding? Keep going." Rig's eyes widened. The army on the south bank was eagerly waiting for the information he had gathered.

Just like this? If I go back, wouldn't it be so embarrassing?

Besides, those super-class people have invested a lot of money in this reconnaissance. They have several bundles of magic scrolls for instant teleportation for long-distance escape, not to mention other things. How can we make those old guys feel that it is worth it?

Rig and Divilachi walked carefully along the road, but when they arrived at the nearest town, they saw that it was also deserted and had no birds or animals. Apart from plants, there was no other living thing to be seen.

"Lord Sale, what do you think?" Seeing such a weird scene, the little gangster felt a little uneasy no matter how brave he was, and he asked softly in his heart.

Master Zhuzi was silent for a moment before answering, "I don't know. If you want to analyze it, you need to find at least a living subject."

"From the looks of it, this place doesn't look like it's been occupied, but rather it's been abandoned voluntarily, right?" Rigg said to himself.

"Insufficient data, unable to analyze!" Lord Zhuzi responded briefly and said no more.

However, the charcoal-headed man shook his head when he heard Rig's mumbling, saying, "It's not right to give up on your own initiative. Look at these houses, they don't even close their doors, and many people even have food on their tables that has been cooked but not eaten. The refugees wouldn't be so panicked that they don't even take their food and money with them, right? Then what are they going to eat on the South Bank?"

"Keep going until we see something alive!" The little gangster thought for a moment and finally made up his mind.

The matter was too abnormal, and it would be difficult to go back and explain to the super-class magicians he had blackmailed without a thorough investigation. Of course, the premise is safety first. The little gangster has no feelings of repaying the Saint Hualong Empire with his own life.

According to the strange scenes in the town, Rig and Divilachi even thought that they might not see a living animal for several days, but unexpectedly they saw the target half a day later.

It was also a small town, and equally deserted. But cruising on the streets of the town was a huge creature that was as tall as a person. It had four legs and two huge claws, and looked like a crab that had been magnified countless times.

"Mechanical puppet!" Even without Lord Zhuzi's reminder, Rig took a deep breath.

The monster's crude skin and exposed mechanical gears are even more crude and horrible than any prop in a magic show!

But this is undoubtedly a real mechanical puppet, not an illusion created by artistic magicians, nor a prop made during the filming of magic scenes and pulled by ropes to move.

It walked freely on the streets of the town, as if on patrol. The sharp feet struck on the bluestone slabs, making bursts of crisp sounds.

"There is no magic circle in operation, and no magic crystals are being consumed!" Looking at the huge monster, Divilach asked in shock: "How did it move?"

Rig also looked at the monster carefully. Although the distance was far, he could still see with his eyesight that there was indeed no magic circle carved on the monster, and Lord Zhuzi said with certainty that there was no magical fluctuation on the monster.

An idea suddenly flashed in his mind, and Rig suddenly said, "Is it left by the goblins?"

"That's very possible, but looking at its skin and limbs, it should have been created not long ago, right? Could it be that goblins also traveled back from another world with the demons?" Divilach's face suddenly changed drastically: "If that's the case, it makes sense that several provinces in the north of Saint Hualon fell in the blink of an eye and millions of troops disappeared. No matter how powerful the flesh and blood body is, it can't defeat these puppet armies that are purely operated by machines!"

"Anyway, let's take a picture first and let them see it!" Rig took out a ghost crystal and prepared to perform magical recording on the monster.

Who knew that as soon as he activated the magic crystal, the crab-like monster immediately noticed it, turned around and let out a hissing sound towards where the two people were hiding, then knocked rapidly with its four sharp legs, and then seven or eight identical monsters jumped out from the houses on both sides of the town street and ran towards the two people.

"These guys have magic detection devices!"

Divilachi snatched the ghost crystal from Rig's hand and threw it far away. However, the monsters did not follow the magic crystal as expected, but still rushed towards the place where the two were hiding.

"Run!" The black-haired man said to Rig anxiously, but the little gangster shook his head and stood up.

Watching those huge mechanical monsters getting closer and closer, when they were only a dozen meters away, Rig waved his hand, and the bluestone road suddenly turned into a soft substance like quicksand.

The monsters were caught off guard, and their sharp feet all sank into the stone slab. Then the bluestone slab returned to normal in an instant, but the monsters were already embedded in the stone slab alive.

However, before the little rascals could feel proud, the monsters swung their giant pincer-like claws and smashed the bluestone slabs that trapped them into pieces. Amid the flying dust, several monsters climbed out from the rocks and rushed straight towards the little hooligan.

"Freezing magic!" Upon seeing this, Rig immediately broke off another magic scroll, but he felt really heartbroken. This is all money!

A large piece of blue light mist flashed by, and several monsters had been frozen into ice sculptures. Divilach couldn't help but exclaimed: "Rig, you are exaggerating, right? With just a few mechanical puppets, you actually used quicksand magic first and now freezing magic. This is the magic scroll that Vice Dean Susan gave you! The magic consumption in the magic scroll is three to five times that of normal magic use! You are such a spendthrift!"

The little gangster is already a magician. Although his enthusiasm for this identity is far less than that of being a gangster leader, but after hearing what Black Charcoal Head said, he always has to defend the dignity of the magician. He snorted and said, "This place is a bit weird. It seems to have some influence on magic."

He didn't say this nonsense. Lord Zhuzi reminded him just now that after leaving the river bank, there seemed to be some things around that interfered with the magical elements. Lord Zhuzi had not yet figured out what they were.

"Weird?" Divirachi was stunned for a moment, tilted his head slightly, and his expression became strange: "It is a bit weird, I didn't notice it if you didn't tell me!"

The little gangster glanced at the charcoal-haired guy and deliberately asked, "You also found it, what's so strange?"

"The magic element seems to be disturbed by something. No wonder all the animals ran away. It seems there is something scary nearby!" Divilachi muttered to himself.

"Have you ever seen anything like this before?" Rig asked curiously. This guy named Black Charcoal Head is a bard and has a wide range of knowledge. He might have seen all kinds of strange things!

Divilach curled his lips and said, "It's normal for magic to be affected by the environment. For example, water magic cannot be used in desert areas, and it is difficult to use fire magic in the sea. In the temple, dark magic will naturally be restricted. This is common sense, right? Oh, I forgot, you are not a formal magic apprentice."

"Why do you know so much? Are you a formal magic apprentice?" the little gangster asked with great interest, not minding the sarcasm in the charcoal-haired man's words at all.

It was rare to see this in a thousand years. Divilach's dark face actually turned red. Then he coughed and said, "Well... I am a bard! Although I didn't pass the exam to become a magic apprentice, I have seen pigs walk even if I haven't eaten pork, right? People who are knowledgeable and experienced will naturally understand more."

Rig didn't care about someone's boasting. Instead, he asked lazily, "You are well-informed, guess what the situation is here? Is it the same for all the six northern provinces that have fallen? Where did the forty-eight scouts go?"

The charcoal-haired man's eyes widened immediately: "I'm just a bard, do you think I'm a god?"