Back on Earth, it felt… weird, somehow. Everyone had their gains, but Cohen and I hit the jackpot. Cohen found metals on that planet crucial for building spaceships, while I scored a few forbidden spell magic books. After reading the magic theory basics from Shasha, I finally got a clear grip on magic. It's divided into wind, lightning, fire, water, earth, light, and dark. If my power is inner energy, theirs is mental energy. Spells are like moves, forming a special magnetic field to gather the needed elemental energy from the air. Mental energy acts like glue, binding it together. It's a different kind of power, kind of like Chinese Daoist theory.
So, every day, I stood on the island's reefs practicing magic. It didn't feel hard to pick up. (Only later did I learn my Lustful Intent Divine Technique boosts mental energy. Surrounded by beauties, I reaped massive benefits.) But casting forbidden spells was tough—after four, I was beat. (Damn, you're already a freak. Most people can't cast one, and you're whining about four?) The book said you can't learn opposing magics, but I studied fire and water with no issues. In a month, I mastered forbidden spells and basic magic for wind, lightning, fire, and water, plus one advanced spell per element. That's all the book had, alright?
"Brothers, you ready?" I stood on a high platform, gazing at the fifty thousand troops ready to march. "Ready!" their booming voices echoed across the sky.
"Know where we're going?"
"No idea!"
"Let me tell you—we're headed to an unknown, fantastical planet with magic straight out of novels. But its people are suffering under the alien demon race's oppression. Our mission: conquer the alien world, save the beauties, crush the demons!"
"Conquer the alien world, save the beauties, crush the demons!" "Conquer the alien world, save the beauties, crush the demons!"
"Move out!" I waved my hand. The Yellow Dragon Legion entered the portal first, followed by me and the Dragon Iron Guards, then the White Dragon Legion, the tech and medical teams, and finally a hundred mech warriors. Our soldiers wore custom soft armor sets: leg guards, waist guards, wrist guards, shoulder guards, and chest plates, all connected, fastened with special clasps. Topped with a masked helmet, custom-fitted, the visor shaped like a dragon's head. The gear looked like something from an anime Saint Seiya, but way cooler and more practical, made with special materials and nanotechnology—waterproof, lightning-proof, fireproof, sweat-wicking. It's basically anti-magic god-tier gear for a magic world. Yellow Dragon Legion wore yellow; White Dragon wore silver-white.
Leading each legion were their commanders: A-Long and his three brothers, plus my three main wives. I wore armor made from dragon hide, with top-tier anti-magic properties. Only nine sets were made from dragon hide. Cohen somehow turned mine golden yellow. Damn it, doesn't that scream, "I'm the boss, attack me!"? My wives insisted it looked cool and commanding. By majority rule and my new "Four Good Husband" code, I wore the golden gear. My soft armor was dragon hide too.
"Mech warriors, patrol the perimeter. Other legions, set up camp. Tech team, check all equipment to guard against sudden attacks," I ordered, looking at the knights filling the clearing.
"Young Master, Princess Yero Shasha requests an audience," a messenger reported. "Bring her in quick!"
"Feitian, you're finally here! I thought you lied. We can't hold out much longer. The demon race's two hundred thousand troops are tearing into us. We've got over two million people, but eighty percent are women and kids. Our army's only forty thousand," Shasha said, rushing in anxiously.
"Don't worry. Where are you now?" I soothed.
"We're trapped in Wudu. If we don't break out, we'll starve."
"Messenger!"
"Here!"
"All forces, move out now. Mech Teams 1 and 2, deploy!" I ordered. "Will we make it? We can only hold for three days," Shasha asked.
"Trust me." I took her to the rally point, and she froze. The killing intent was heavy, faces hidden behind masks. How'd so many people appear? I didn't care if she agreed, just pulled her onto my horse and ordered, "Teleport to six kilometers outside Wudu." Thanks to satellites, we had Wudu's situation crystal clear.
"Pull out all bombs and guns. Full assault. Mech Team 1 leads, Team 2 covers the rear. Yellow and White Legions, flank from both sides. Don't worry about ammo," I commanded. Shasha's brain short-circuited. One minute we're in the Beast Forest, now outside Wudu? Even teleportation magic doesn't have arrays this big. And those iron tubes they pulled out—what were they? She'd find out soon.
Bombs flew, machine guns roared, legs soared, brains splattered. An unfair fight—the demons became ghosts before they knew what hit them. When some realized magic barriers could block bullets, it was too late. "Holster guns, draw sabers, charge!" Over forty thousand troops rushed forward with death's aura. "Kill! Kill!"
"Check my Whirlwind Slash!" Damn, these punks treating the battlefield like a game? Shasha hunched over the horse, vomiting. It was her first time seeing such brutality, beyond her understanding of war. "It's nothing. War's like this—no process, just results. You'll get used to it," I said, patting her back.
"Thanks, I'm fine. Just my first time seeing such a gruesome war. As a princess of a fallen nation, I'll face it," Shasha said, patting her chest. "Good mindset. Otherwise, if you saw this handsome guy as a murder king, my reputation's toast," I teased.
"I get it. But what were those things you used? Stronger than our explosive flame bombs," she asked.
"Oh, bombs and guns—weapons we invented," I explained.
"Someone, come!"
"Here!"
"Order Yellow and White Legions to haul the bodies far off and burn them." These little bastards love killing—didn't leave me a single prisoner. Wudu's wall guards, seeing us wipe out a powerful enemy instantly, cheered and spread the news.
"Feitian, let our people handle that," Shasha suggested.
"No need. They've got energy. We'll wait," I said. The guys were already cleaning up.
"Young Master, aside from over two thousand injured, no one's seriously hurt or dead," A-Long reported. "Good. Send the injured to the medics. Don't ignore minor wounds."
"Understood."
We're the new-age mafia: charge forward, favor overwhelming odds, post-battle three sweeps (kill, burn, loot), and live by the Four Loves.
"Princess, you really brought reinforcements! I'd have failed my duty otherwise," an old man said, supported by two soldiers, kneeling to Shasha. "Greetings, Your Highness!" The soldiers behind knelt on one knee. "Rise."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
"Everyone, meet Makino Feitian, chief of the Huaxia tribe from the Beast Forest," Shasha told her ministers. "I, Finland Lei, Prime Minister of the Saint Demon Empire, greet Chief Makino," the old man said, merely bowing. He thought, Just a tribal chief, and I, the empire's prime minister, should bow? The princess needs him, sure, but his army's only sixty thousand against the demons' million-plus. These backward tribes know nothing of war. If the princess wasn't by his side, he'd charge brainlessly like other natives.
From the old man's expression, I could guess his thoughts. He'd regret it later. "Prime Minister, my respects." Still on my horse, I pissed off Finland Lei even more. He turned to Shasha. "Princess, everyone's waiting."
"Assemble, we're entering the city!" I ordered. The Yellow and White Legions quickly formed ranks, legs astride horses, one hand on shield, one on saber, maintaining combat formation. It's our basic rule—stay vigilant. The intense killing intent made Shasha's battle-hardened soldiers pale. What's most mysterious, most terrifying? The unknown. Our masks never came off, and our strange gear screamed explosive impact.
Finland Lei watched us, slightly shocked. He hadn't expected a tribal army to outshine the Royal Guard. Shasha was unfazed. "Let's go." The Yellow Dragon Legion led, followed by the blue-armored Dragon Iron Guards (all legion commanders wore blue) protecting me and Shasha, with the White Dragon Legion at the rear. The procession was orderly, silent, and majestic.
At the city gate, the welcoming crowd—old, young, men, women—looked gaunt and weak. "Shasha, how'd it get this bad?" I asked.
"What do you expect? Not starving to death is already a win. Most food goes to the army. Civilians get porridge to avoid starving. The city's got three days of grain left. If you hadn't come, we'd have died without the demons lifting a finger."
The army marched straight to the palace. The city's size was like a mid-sized Earth city, its plaza as big as Tiananmen Square. "What a grand palace," I said, genuinely impressed. Finland Lei shot me a "you've seen nothing" sneer. I ignored him—I've seen more than you, old fossil.
"What's the use of grandeur? It couldn't stop the demons. The Saint Demon Empire's palace was just as grand, and it fell. Humanity's down to under ten million," Shasha said glumly. "It'll get better," I reassured. "Mei'er, clear a space in the plaza. Have everyone take out half their food for the city's people." Each soldier's storage ring was packed with food. Half could feed a hundred people for ten days. With forty thousand soldiers, that's enough for four million people for eight or nine days. I'd prepped this before coming.
"Thank you," Shasha said. "What's with the formalities between us?" I said, holding her hand. "Don't, people are watching," she said, blushing. "So, it's fine when no one's around?" I pressed. "You're awful!" Shasha raised her fist. I grabbed her hand. "Shasha, I like you."
"Mm," she said, shyly lowering her head. "Ahem!" Damn that old man Finland Lei, ruining Shasha's sweet moment. What a letdown.
"Shasha, where's the Saint Martial Empire's royal family?" I asked.
"Dead. All three human emperors are gone. The Saint Martial prince was killed by a stray arrow twenty days ago. The palace was taken by demons. We drove them out, but then got surrounded. Most people here are our citizens. The demons' real army hasn't arrived—these bull-headed freaks are just cannon fodder. True demons look like us, just with a small horn."
"Gotta check that out sometime."
"Sure, you just want to ogle demon girls," Shasha said, dripping with jealousy.
"You're not a mind reader, are you? Nailed it."
"Feitian, how could you call Shasha a bug?" Damn, beauties always weaponize their charm. "Fine, I'll only look at Shasha's beauty, okay?" I surrendered.
"Where'd these demons come from? Never seen them on the continent."
"They're from the Demon Realm. There's a passage between here and there, sealed long ago by humanity's six elemental archmages. It was reopened, and we can't reseal it, so they broke through. My father died in that battle."
"Don't be sad. I'll help you avenge him." If Shasha's right and the demons are from the Demon Realm, it's another planet, likely magic-based like this one, using magic portals to cross. "What's wrong?" she asked, concerned.
"Nothing, just thinking. Know much about the Demon Realm?"
"Not really. After the ancient God-Demon War, the Creator God saw the races suffering, so he banished demons to the Demon Realm and gods to the God Realm. Only high-level archmages or demon generals could cross the seal. Five hundred years ago, the seal loosened, but six top human archmages resealed it. Now it's open again. I think the demons want revenge—the Demon Realm's dark, sunless, and barren."
Holy crap, am I hearing myths? I thought it was just different development paths, but now there's a Creator God, plus gods? This Creator God sounds like China's Nüwa or the West's God. True or not, one thing's clear: gods exist, maybe on another planet. They're likely advanced. Unifying this world won't be easy. Know your enemy, know yourself—teaming up with Shasha is a must. We need their mage corps, or fighting demons will cost us. My head's spinning—a genius like me, dizzy?
I need Cohen to check the Demon and God Realms' locations. I only trust science. If science can't explain something, it's just not advanced enough yet. As for the Creator God's boundless power, I'd say it's just a more evolved lifeform. Earth's history shows prehistoric civilizations existed, and human evolution from apes proves it.
"Beep beep!" My pager went off. It was Cohen, his hologram beaming through. "Young Master, we've scouted this planet's system. It's got one star, one moon. Oddly, the moon rotates synchronously, always on the planet's far side. This system's twenty billion light-years from ours. Weirder still, three hundred million light-years out, it's all cosmic debris—like a flower in a junk heap."
Got it—the Demon Realm's likely that moon. But where's the God Realm? "Cohen, send a scout satellite to that moon and check for other life-bearing planets in this system."