What Does It Mean for the Flame Demon Royal Court to Return?

Glug... Glug...

The air was thick with the smell of sulfur, dark red floor tiles covered the entire area, and molten lava oozed from them.

This is a desperate situation where ordinary people cannot survive.

Volcano.

A flash of light appeared, and four figures materialized.

"Cough cough! What's that smell!"

Vane covered his nose, feeling extremely uncomfortable. After activating his Immortal Body, he looked at the two people beside him.

"Boss, why are you taking so long? Third Brother and I will finish this quickly."

"..."

"Guess what we ran into? Ta-da!"

Vane drew the Dark Grand Knight's Sword, Gregor finally turned his head to look at the weapon quietly.

Did you also encounter a knight...?

"Also?"

After a brief exchange, Vane and the other man stared silently at the shield in Greg's hand.

What was originally a toy-like cross shield has now transformed into a full-body steel shield for the knight.

But that was clearly not their focus.

"Why is the teaching so gentle where you are!"

Vane grinned, jabbing his black sword at the shield.

(Its full name is The Dark Grand Knight's Sword, but for brevity, we'll just call it the Black Sword.)

"We almost died right at the start!"

The black sword gleamed faintly, and the Holy Shield hummed in response.

Why don't you take a look at the prefix "Grand Knight"?

Vera gave a dismissive look, Vane quickly accepted it.

"That's true, after all, he looks like a berserker, he doesn't seem very smart..."

Buzz--!

The black sword roared violently, and the Holy Shield emitted a soft glow.

"Oh, sorry, sorry, I forgot you were still here."

After calming the weapons down, Vane looked at the Holy Shield.

"Isn't this shield just a different design? Why didn't you choose the sword, boss?"

"Because the sword is in my hand."

Vane turned to Vera, who had spoken, and looked bewildered when he saw the longsword in her hand.

"What kind of weapon is this? I've unlocked the entire collection and I don't even know it?"

Vera held a one-handed black longsword, its black blade covered with lightning-shaped patterns, and a dark red light flickered like breathing.

The gauntlets were shaped like outstretched wings, and in their very center, a black demonic eye turned and looked toward Vane.

"It looks like curry sticks..."

Vera was a little unsure.

"The attack method is exactly the same, maybe it's a new skin?"

Why does the Grand Knight explode with curry sticks?

Vane scratched his head and guessed:

"Did ChillyRoom release new skins after we time-traveled? What are these called?"

Vera looked at the longsword in her hand, the demonic eye in its center meeting her gaze.

"The Demon King's Oath..."

"Huh? What did you say, second brother?"

Vera woke up with a start and shook her head in confusion.

Vane ignored it, took the weapon and tried to attack, a huge sword aura, red and purple, swept across.

"It really is a curry stick..."

After returning the weapon to Vera, Vane looked at Gregor.

"Even the second brother has changed, what about you, eldest brother? You didn't just change your skin, did you?"

[Unknown, still under investigation.]

Gorth tentatively tapped the shield, but it didn't react. Gorth then looked at the black sword that was still trembling in Vane's hand.

Do these weapons possess their own consciousness?

[Perhaps...]

Gregor walked towards the passage, and Vera rode on the Shadow Wolf as they left together.

In this scorching environment, she was definitely the one who was least able to adapt.

Upon entering the new room, they were greeted by an overwhelming rain of fire.

Giant trees emerged from the shadows, intertwining to form a canopy— the Fire Shield talent was remarkably effective, steadily blocking all attacks.

Just as Gorth was about to clean the room, Vane's excited voice interrupted him:

"Boss! Look at that monster, it looks just like you!"

The group looked in the direction Vane pointed.

As the lava churned, a tall, human-shaped silhouette emerged from the heatwave.

Its exposed head had twisted horns, its body was wreathed in blazing flames, and it wore heavy black metal armor.

"The Fire Grand Knight..."

Gorth compared the other person to Gregor, then nodded.

"They really do look alike."

"Right!"

Vane was even more excited by the approval. He pried open the gaps in the barrier made of giant trees, signaling to Gorth to let him out.

"Leave these monsters to me! Don't worry, not a single one will be left!"

The others did not object, assuming that Vane simply wanted to test the power of his new weapon.

The next moment, a crimson shadow raced through the scorching room.

Dark red bullets rained down, a blood-red storm raged, and occasionally a huge sword shadow crashed down, quickly annihilating and clearing out the monsters.

"So you're called the Fire Grand Knight?!"

With his Immortal Body activated, Vane charged straight at the figure wreathed in flames.

He wielded his twin swords with ruthless moves, aiming precisely for the opponent's face.

[...]

Gregor stared at Vane's retreating figure, then suddenly spoke:

Are you clicking on me?

Vane froze abruptly, then with a backhand thrust, he precisely pierced the opponent's bra, turned around, and gave the group a thumbs-up.

"No way! Boss, you're overthinking it."

Seeing the disbelief on their faces, Vane quickly changed the subject:

"Hey! Third brother, quickly collect these remains! These are all excellent summoning materials!" He pointed to the pile of monster remains on the ground.

"The monsters on the volcano map are all incredibly horrific; they're perfect for the second brother!"

"Actually, it's not very useful," Vera complained, crossing her arms.

"I've tried resurrecting other types of monsters, even the humanoid ones, but they basically lack independent intelligence. Controlling them requires giving detailed instructions, which is inefficient."

She recalled those Berserk Boars, adding...

"However, it would be much better if it were a monster with a sense of community; all that would be needed is to command the tribe leader."

"That's true, but the monsters on this floor are definitely unique," Vane tried to retort.

"Volcano Turtle that can summon meteorites, Coal Bug that fires penetrating lasers, a mummy that can heal monsters..."

He patted Vera on the shoulder, speaking earnestly.

"Although they may not look the best, we should value their inner strength and beauty!"

"So I'm not lacking in strength." Vera sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"Why summon them when I can use the energy I invested to revive them and finish the battle with a single meteor? Are we going to play Pokémon battles?"

"Hmm... it's not entirely impossible?"

While the two were discussing, Gorth had already skillfully begun cleaning up the battlefield.

Gregor glanced at the Fire Grand Knight's armor out of the corner of his eye and suddenly spoke:

[What's this?]

Looking over, they saw a round ball resembling black coal amidst the ashes.

Vane picked one up and weighed it in his hand:

"The core of a monster? After all, it's a formless fire energy entity; it's normal for some residue to remain?"

"How can such a small core power such a large body?" Gorth took the other core and examined it closely.

Vera also picked one up and tried to infuse it with energy, but there was no reaction.

"Without energy resonance, perhaps it's just insignificant organ remains?"

"What organ? A gallstone?" Vane scoffed, casually handing the stone in his hand to Gregor.

"Why don't you give it a try, boss? It seems to match your style better."

Are you very free?

Gregor was speechless, but he took it anyway and tried to infuse it with energy.

Buzz...

On the surface of the black "coal lump," dark red cracks suddenly lit up.

[Um?]

"That really works!" Vane exclaimed, perking up.

"Boss, how about we try to recharge it and revive it?"

[...]

Gregor continued to inject energy. The core grew brighter and brighter until it reached a critical point—

Flames ignited from the core, rapidly expanding and shaping to form a human silhouette. Flowing lava condensed and solidified within the flames, transforming into heavy black armor...

In the blink of an eye, the Fire Grand Knight stood there.

Strangely, the resurrected monster did not attack anyone.

It faced Gregor silently, as if awaiting a command.

Several people curiously gathered around, Gregor tried giving a few simple instructions:

Move, stop, or attack a designated location.

The Fire Grand Knight executed the order meticulously, reacting swiftly and accurately.

Vera was a little confused, and tried to revive the remains of a Fire Grand Knight.

The contrast was immediately apparent: the one she summoned was much slower to respond to commands, far less agile than Gregor's.

"Huh?" Vane's eyes lit up. "Could it be that this thing... mistakenly thinks the boss is some kind of tribal leader?"

"Maybe they are your parents?"

Gorth offered another perspective.

"If its body is entirely composed of energy infused by the boss, then in a sense, it is indeed the boss who 'created' it."

"Moreover..." Gorth compared Vera's and Gregor's two Fire Grand Knights,

"Is the boss's one a whole size bigger?"

Indeed, Vera's summoned creature was about three meters tall, while Gregor's appeared to be over four meters tall, and its flames were more solid.

[Perhaps due to a difference in total energy... this one consumed about one-sixth of my energy.]

One-sixth?!

Vane paused, then stroked his chin, his eyes starting to wander.

Seeing his expression, the other three men's eyebrows twitched simultaneously.

"[What new ideas do you have?]" Gregor asked directly.

"If, I mean if," Vane carefully chose his words.

"This core isn't very big, and your body is in energy form... so why don't you prepare a few more empty ones to store inside your body?"

"Aren't you prone to energy overload and going berserk? Injecting excess energy into these empty cores is like having a controllable battery, isn't it?"

The group was taken aback by this outlandish yet strangely feasible idea.

Gorth found several cores, which Gregor took and tried to store into his body.

The lava writhed and slowly engulfed the core.

[That's definitely possible...]

"Looking at it this way..." Vane circled Gregor, his eyes shining.

"Boss, you're becoming more and more like a game boss. First stage: ordinary Flame Demon form; second stage: Apotheosis form; third stage: energy rampage transforming you into a lava Behemoth..."

"Now, when I take a certain amount of damage, a bunch of Fire Grand Knight minions can burst out of my body!"

"This kind of game is bound to fail..." Gorth blurted out instinctively, "What ultimate scumbag?"

Gregor ignored the two and looked at the other cores in Gorth's hand.

[Let's collect more and test how many cores it can hold.]

[Exactly 100...]

Upon receiving confirmation, Vera immediately asked a question:

"With 100 cores, at your rate of consumption during full-power combat, how long can that last?"

Gregor made a rough estimate:

[If energy output is unrestricted... approximately 5 minutes.]

"It's too short!" Vane immediately shouted.

"Boss, you're not Ultraman, don't come up with this tragic setting where you can only fight for a few minutes!"

"That's different," Gorth shook his head, getting straight to the point.

"If the boss really 'flashes the red light,' then it's the other side that'll be running away."

Vane was speechless and unable to refute.

"In that case, we can't wait until the limit is reached to use it," Vera said decisively.

"Once the energy reserves are depleted below the safety threshold, we will proactively release energy to create a batch of Fire Grand Knights."

"Otherwise, if hundreds of monsters spawn at once, the situation will be very difficult to manage."

Vane imagined it based on her description:

A colossal lava Behemoth, its body riddled with fiery magma and intense heat, blotted out the sky with every step, causing the earth to tremble. Behind it followed hundreds of silent, massive fire knights, like a moving army of Catastrophe, traversing the wilderness...

He suddenly blurted out:

"The Flame Demon Royal Court has returned?"

[What?]

"Ah, it's nothing, it's nothing!"

Vane quickly waved his hand, trying to shake off the overly dramatic image in his mind.

Thinking about it carefully, let alone how many people in Terra could force the leader to the point where he needs to use this kind of "backup hidden energy".

I hope no one will see this.

Have we lost them?

[Impossible, they're definitely here.]

[Then why is this city still safe and sound?]

At the entrance to the Grand Knight Territory, an "ordinary person" who appeared flawless passed through a screening process and entered the city.

The Shapeshifters discussed among themselves and eventually concluded that the target was probably tired from fighting and wanted to rest.

As they continue along the street, the Shapeshifters observe people's lives.

Observe them, get to know them, understand them.

This is a hobby that Shapeshifters have pursued for thousands of years.

However, a single figure silenced the discussion within the Shapeshifters.

"So your hot dogs aren't authentic Columbia style at all; at least they don't add sugar there."

"Can't I do it because I want to!?"

Seemingly noticing the gaze, the Tin Man, who was arguing heatedly with the owner next to the hot dog stand, turned around.

"Um... hello?"