Chapter 509: An Unsolvable Problem

Sophie felt as if she was back on that suffocating battlefield.

High-powered magic spells crisscrossed like artillery fire, bombarding the enemy forces.

Human warriors charged, roaring.

Demon assassins slaughtered madly.

Goddesses of the Divine Race appeared in every corner, like commanders dominating the battlefield.

The sky, the earth, the oceans…

Everything seemed to be facing the end of the world, bathed in blood and fear, as if on the verge of destruction.

She, the Elven Queen, was at the very center of this battlefield.

Beside her, besides her two trusted elven confidantes, were the Hero’s companions and other human heroes.

The thirteen of them were considered the stars of this battlefield, having nearly reached the limits of life, stepping into the legendary realm.

They even had the power to change the tide of battle, carrying the hopes of the human race, and even the Divine Race.

However, reality dealt them a harsh blow.

Even now, Sophie still remembered the despair she felt when “that” appeared.

“——!!!”

It was a roar that shook the heavens and the earth.

It was a horn announcing death.

The roar echoed through the air.

Tremors came from beneath their feet.

“It” appeared like a world-ending natural disaster.

A gigantic body that blotted out the sky.

A loud roar that awakened fear.

A ferocious appearance.

A terrifying aura.

The greatest “beast” of this world appeared on the battlefield, its limbs like mountains, its body like a continent, the entire battlefield beneath its feet. ṝ𝐀ƝòʙЁS̈

They watched as it kicked over mountains.

They witnessed it scattering the clouds.

Fear.

Despair.

Insignificance.

Powerlessness.

These were the emotions in the hearts of everyone on the battlefield.

Sophie could even clearly see her confidantes and the other ten human heroes trembling beside her.

Instinctive fear arose uncontrollably from everyone’s hearts.

Even those called heroes couldn’t avoid it.

Because they were still mortals.

Because they were still flesh and blood.

It was no longer a question of whether they could win, but whether they were even on the same level.

Sophie was certain that if it weren’t for the cries and the fallen companions around them, the thirteen of them wouldn’t have been able to muster the courage to challenge that world-destroying beast.

And after their reckless challenge, more than half of the thirteen died on the spot.

Sophie was lucky.

No, not just Sophie, but Leia and Nia were also lucky.

Because they weren’t warriors charging at the forefront, but magicians providing support from behind. The world-destroying beast never even looked at them, only attacking the “flies” that harassed it.

Therefore, the three of them survived.

However, everything that happened in that battle was etched deeply in their hearts, unforgettable.

The world called it trauma.

Sophie wouldn’t deny it.

Those who experienced that, if they didn’t have any trauma, were just fools who forgot the pain after their wounds healed.

In that battle, they, the Thirteen Heroes, only managed to slightly hinder the world-destroying beast, at the cost of more than half their number.

Sophie couldn’t imagine what would have happened if Mitra, with the help of Omniis, the Supreme God, hadn’t successfully defeated the Demon King, making the Demon Race give up.

Would they have been burned to ashes by the flames of that monstrous beast?

Or crushed into meat paste under its mountain-like limbs?

Sophie couldn’t imagine any other outcome.

Now, that world-destroying beast that brought despair and fear to everyone on the battlefield, the Beast Demon among the Six Demon Lords, had appeared in the Elven Homeland, before Sophie.

Not in its gigantic, world-obscuring form, nor with its deadly roar, but like a small pet, a fluffy little beast, standing there.

“You haven’t changed at all.” Lid looked at Sophie and said casually, “Still so beautiful, so high and mighty, just like back then. It’s quite nostalgic.”

“Your Highness is joking.” Sophie smiled wryly. “It’s you, Your Highness Liddoma, who’s still as powerful as ever.”

“Really?” Lid raised an eyebrow and smiled. “It seems your words are still as sweet as ever. Even though I’m in this form, you still say I’m powerful. That’s too much flattery.”

“It’s not flattery.” Sophie shook her head. “I will never forget Your Highness’s true form. That scene is deeply etched in my heart. Even though you’ve changed your form for convenience, from your aura and magic power, I can still sense that unrivaled power.”

This was the truth.

Even though Lid’s current size and aura were vastly different from before, Sophie wouldn’t be so naive as to think this fluffy little beast was easy to bully.

Sophie knew very well that if it wanted to, it could return to its former form at any time.

At that time, in all of Omnipotence, besides the strongest of the Divine Race, who could truly threaten it?

“You’re good in every way, except you’re too uptight.” Lid chuckled and shook her head, then said nonchalantly, “Don’t put so much pressure on yourself, relax. I haven’t returned to that form in a thousand years, and I probably won’t have the chance to do so again in the future, right?”

“Really?” Sophie was slightly stunned.

“At least, I hope so.” Lid looked at Sophie, her smile fading, and said seriously, “As long as there’s no more war, I won’t need to return to that form, just like these past thousand years, right?”

These words made Sophie silent for a moment, then she smiled, as if relieved.

“Your Highness is right.” Sophie said sincerely, “Now we all understand that whether it’s the human race, the Divine Race, or the Demon Race, none of us want war.”

This was also the reason why Lid, Sophie, and the others could put aside their past grudges and coexist peacefully.

The pursuit of peace was the most fundamental desire in everyone’s hearts.

Thanks to this, the three races had achieved a thousand years of peace, and the Elven Race, moved by this, established the Peace Festival, leading to today.

Unfortunately…

“There are always some who can’t stand the sight of peace, unwilling to live a stable life, trying to destroy the peace we’ve built over a thousand years for some unfounded reasons.”

Lid’s voice turned cold.

Leia and Nia held their breath, not even daring to breathe too loudly.

Sophie’s expression also turned serious.

“So the Demonic Refining Ritual has appeared in the Tegor Forest again?”

Sophie asked in a deep voice.

“That’s right.” Lid nodded. “Although the ritual has been disrupted by Millu and me, and most of the Demonized Beings born in the ritual were just eliminated by that interesting little guy we summoned, the mastermind behind the ritual might not have left yet and is still very likely lurking in the Tegor Forest.”

“The mastermind…” Sophie frowned and asked hurriedly, “Could it be someone from the [Original Demon]?”

“Who knows?” Lid said unhappily, “Perhaps, like the previous times, it’s a third party being used by the [Original Demon].”

“Is that so?” Sophie pondered for a moment, then said, “I understand. Your Highness wants our Elven Race to search the Tegor Forest, right?”

“Yes.” Lid said frankly, “In the past, we sent our demon subordinates to search the Tegor Forest, but found nothing. So, this time, I want to ask for your Elven Race’s help.”

After all, the elves were the locals. Although they didn’t control the entire Tegor Forest, their understanding and familiarity with it were definitely greater than the Demon Race’s.

Moreover, as nature’s favored children, elves were very sensitive to abnormal magic power. If they conducted the search, they might find something.

The reason why Lid wanted to drag Shien into this, besides wanting to see the abilities of the one who had charmed her younger sister, was also because the Demon Race’s previous attempts had been fruitless.

Therefore, this time, Lid wanted to borrow the power of another race and see if it could create a different outcome.

“This should have been our Demon Race’s own business, a problem caused by those troublemakers within our ranks, and we should be the ones to resolve it.” Lid said in a deep voice, “But the [Original Demon]’s recent activities have become increasingly reckless and frequent. The Demonic Refining Ritual, which used to only appear in the Demon Realm and the Tegor Forest, has even appeared in other places in the human world this year, in the Atlus Gorge of the Kingdom of Mitra. Even the Empire has shown some strange movements recently. All of this is making people uneasy.”

This was also a concern for the higher-ups of the three races recently.

Judging from the [Original Demon]’s movements, it was certain that their thousand-year-long plan to create the Seventh Demon Lord seemed to be nearing completion.

“If a Demon Lord-level being appears within the Old Demon Faction, it will definitely be a disaster for the three races.” Lid said to Sophie, “Therefore, I can only shamelessly mobilize all the forces I can.”

Hearing this, Sophie’s expression turned serious.

“Please rest assured, Your Highness.” Sophie promised, “This concerns the peace of the world. Our Elven Race will naturally do our part. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to face our Goddess of Nature.”

“Nadue?” Lid curled her lip. “If only that goddess were here. With her power, she should be able to find something, right?”

Lid still acknowledged the Goddess of Nature’s power.

Although that goddess’s strength might not be as great as a Demon Lord like her, she had still transcended the limits of life and could pose a threat to Demon Lords, not completely helpless against them.

And what made the Goddess of Nature truly troublesome was her ability to manipulate and even merge with nature.

Once she used this power, besides the Demon King and the Supreme God, no one could detect her presence or harm her, yet she could observe the entire world. Except for a few special circumstances, nothing could be hidden from her eyes when she was one with nature, making even Sara, the supreme ruler of the Demon Race, find her incredibly troublesome.

It was also this Goddess of Nature who discovered the existence of the Old Demon Faction, the [Original Demon], and the Demonic Refining Ritual.

This Goddess of Nature would sometimes descend to the human world, merging with nature and observing everything. It wasn’t strange for her to discover the [Original Demon]’s conspiracy.

If it weren’t for the fact that the members of the [Original Demon] were too cunning and secretive, active in both the human world and the Demon Realm, frequently changing their bases, and having developed methods to evade the Goddess of Nature’s prying eyes, they would have been found and eradicated by her long ago.

Lid believed that in the current era, the one who posed the greatest threat to the [Original Demon] was this Goddess of Nature.

Thinking of this, Lid couldn’t help but say,

“If the Hero were still in this world, dealing with the Old Demon Faction would be much easier, right?”

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Lid said with emotion.

“The Hero… huh?”

Sophie also murmured, and Leia and Nia beside her fell silent.

In the hearts of all races, the Hero was a special existence.

The Divine Race saw the Hero as their trump card.

The human race saw the Hero as their faith.

Even the Demon Race feared the Hero.

If there were a Hero in this era, would the Old Demon Faction still dare to be so rampant?

Would the Seventh Demon Lord and the new Demon King, so important to the [Original Demon], still be such a threat in the face of the legendary Hero?

These thoughts made Sophie feel a bit melancholic.

“Perhaps, a Hero might truly appear again.” Sophie said, “Mitra’s Holy Sword has been inherited by that Kingdom’s treasure. Given time, she will definitely become the Hero of this era.”

“Perhaps.” Lid seemed unconvinced, then a smile appeared on her lips as if remembering something. “Or maybe, in this era, besides the Hero, there’s another interesting little guy worth our attention.”

Sophie didn’t understand what she meant.

Lid didn’t explain either.

“Anyway, I’ll leave this matter to you.” Lid said to Sophie again, “We’ll be staying here for a while. If anything happens, you can inform me.”

“Yes.” Sophie nodded seriously. “If anything happens, I will inform Your Highness immediately.”

“Good.” A fierce glint flashed in Lid’s eyes. “This time, not only Millu and I are here, but also Airi and Lilith, the evil god. I don’t believe that with this force, those [Original Demon] bastards can still cause any trouble.”

Leaving these words behind, Lid vanished.

Only Sophie remained, looking in the direction where Lid disappeared. After a long while, she murmured,

“Can we… really still hope for the Hero to appear…?”

This was an unsolvable question.