It was approaching the evening of the second day.

Din, still wrapped in bandages, was stained red with blood. He looked as though he had walked out of a lake of blood.

All around him were corpses upon corpses.

Another thing he noticed was that the clustered formation of the humans had suddenly expanded.

Now, one had to look two or three meters away just to see another human.

It seemed the rush of adrenaline from today’s battle had made the humans bolder.

But who wouldn’t be?

Seeing that there were martial warriors among them.

Even more so, seeing that these martial warriors were actually fighting for them.

It made the humans go all out.

And of course, their sacrifices weren’t in vain.

The demon corpses were proof of that.

Looking down at the beheaded demon beside him, Din took a deep breath.

Fighting against the demon race was far from easy.

They had tails.

They had claws.

They came in strange, grotesque forms.

But that wasn’t even the worst part.

They were strong.

Very strong.

Unless someone was a realm above them, facing one usually meant death.

At the same realm, they were nearly invincible.

Not to mention their regeneration.

The only reliable ways to kill them were by beheading them, destroying their brains, or crushing their hearts.

"Today’s war... is over," Din said as he looked at the setting sun.

As if on cue, the sound barrier shattered.

A weapon flew across the battlefield and landed in the center of the war zone.

BOOM!

A massive crater spread outward as the battle gradually came to a halt.

A giant arrow nearly ten meters long stood embedded in the ground.

It was the signal that today’s battle was over.

The demons growled in frustration, but the aura emanating from the arrow served as a warning.

So, despite their unwillingness, they stopped and began retreating.

As for the humans, seeing the monsters withdraw, they breathed sighs of relief.

They returned to their temporary camps.

Among them was Din, wearing a calm expression.

"How was it, kid? Being a martial warrior?" Just as Din sat down to rest, a voice rang inside his head.

"It feels good," Din replied slowly as Void’s chuckle echoed through his mind.

"Yes. Now that is power."

"And that’s why people go to any lengths to obtain it."

Void’s words caused Din to take a sharp breath.

He couldn’t help but remember his betrayal.

Wasn’t it all for power?

For fame?

He had seen just how far the desire for power could push someone.

Din took a deep breath, his eyes slowly closing as he rested.

"Major Din... do you miss home?"

A few seconds later, Void’s voice sounded again.

Din sighed.

"Who wouldn’t?" Din replied with his eyes still closed.

"But home is here now."

"I can’t go back to the past."

"I have to live here."

"Good."

"Acceptance makes everything easier."

Void paused.

"But what if I told you..."

"Maybe everything is fake?"

"Or planned out?"

"What would you do?"

Din’s eyes snapped open.

His expression changed instantly.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

He was met only by Void’s chuckle.

"Hey."

"Hey! What the fuck do you mean?" Din shouted.

But no answer came.

He gritted his teeth.

His heartbeat became restless as he stood up abruptly.

Sleep was completely wiped from his face.

His body trembled.

He couldn’t understand what Void meant.

But whatever it was, it left him unable to relax.

His heart raced wildly.

And so the night passed with Din barely able to sleep.

The sun rose once more.

Everyone took deep breaths.

But this time, there were new changes on the battlefield.

First and foremost, the Super City army had finally joined the war.

They wore standardized armor and carried swords, spears, axes, blades, and every other weapon suited for warfare.

Their auras were leagues above those of ordinary humans.

Even if they weren’t martial warriors, each of them could be called a superhuman.

The armor they wore weighed several hundred kilograms.

Their weapons, which looked light in their hands, weighed several tons.

But even more shocking was the fact that males below eighteen had been drafted into the war.

Even females could now be seen among the ranks.

The men felt distressed.

It wasn’t that they hadn’t given their all.

But they were fighting a race whose scales were nearly impenetrable to ordinary weapons.

A race that could regenerate from wounds.

A race of gigantic monsters.

Ten humans often couldn’t kill a single demon.

And the demon army numbered at least tens of millions.

They were at a massive disadvantage.

Still, with these new reinforcements, the empty spaces in the ranks were filled once again.

Yet Din could clearly see the fear on those young faces.

Their legs trembled.

But they neither backed away nor ran.

Din wouldn’t be a hypocrite and tell them to leave.

After all, they were needed.

This was simply what war was.

At the same time, however, saving their lives whenever possible was something he wouldn’t hesitate to do, even if it meant risking his own.

With that thought in mind, Din positioned himself at the front.

His fists were raised.

His body was covered in dried demon blood, much like many of the survivors around him.

It didn’t take long before the demon army appeared on the horizon.

To Din, they seemed even more numerous than on the first day.

It looked like a losing battle.

Yet none of them were willing to give up.

Nor did they want to.

Taking a deep breath, Din calmed his heart.

Still, he couldn’t help but remember Void’s words from the previous night.

But he couldn’t allow that distraction to affect him today.

Doing so would be far too dangerous.

Today was the third day of the war.

And Din had grown even more accustomed to being a martial warrior.

His realm should now be at the High-Level Martial Warrior stage.

Why?

Din couldn’t quite pinpoint the reason.

But he knew it was related to Void, who was bound within his consciousness.

And also to the "gods," a term he had added to the list of things he needed to understand in the future.

With that thought, the humans braced themselves for impact as the soldiers of the Super City stood beside them, ready to fight.

*********

At the demon camp, a few hours earlier...

Just as Nuk expected, he was summoned by the Peak Rank 0 demons.

Sitting among them made the tension rise. Every Peak Rank 0 demon present wore a frown.

"So, how did you do it?" Selene began.

The moment she asked, Nuk’s heartbeat spiked, but he kept his expression neutral.

Of course, everyone could hear his pounding heart, but Nuk didn’t care.

It could simply be excitement, right?

"Do what?" Nuk asked.

Selene chuckled.

"Oh, perhaps I’m being too direct..."

She paused before speaking again.

"Congratulations on your breakthrough to Peak Rank 0," Selene said.

Nuk grinned.

"Oh, why thank you."

Malthor immediately stood up.

"Quit this bullshit. You were just a High-Level demon, and when you signed the contract, you weren’t entitled to any souls. So how the hell did you break through?" Malthor growled, his body trembling with agitation.

Nuk narrowed his eyes.

"You should relax, you hoof-brained demon," Selene said, rolling her eyes before giving Nuk a charming smile.

"We all have our secrets," Selene began.

"That, I agree with. But yours is just too strange. It has not only attracted our interest, but Lord Vakim’s as well," Selene said.

"Then I would gladly explain everything to Lord Vakim," Nuk cut her off.

"I should take my leave now. I still need to get used to my new body."

With that, Nuk stood up and left under their watchful, wary gazes.

"How dare he?" Malthor growled.

"May I remind you that he is now a Peak Rank 0 demon, just like you? Mind your manner of speech," Varkhan interrupted as he looked around at the others.

"The most logical answer is that he found a loophole in the contract," Varkhan said before continuing.

"I am fully aware that none of you are here for the great cause of Lord Vakim."

"And I am especially certain of that when it comes to you two."

His gaze briefly landed on Selene and Malthor.

The rest of the Peak Rank 0 demons lowered their heads.

"Basically, we all questioned him because we wanted to know the loophole so we could take advantage of it ourselves. After all, the amount of souls we receive is far too little."

Varkhan voiced what everyone had been thinking before taking a deep breath.

"We can’t force the answer out of him. And if he doesn’t want to tell us, then so be it."

"We can only blame ourselves for not being cunning enough."

The Peak Rank 0 demons fell silent.

Outside, Nuk stood atop a hill overlooking the night sky.

He couldn’t help but think about the future.

The creature he intended to release...

Would it bring chaos upon the world?

Or would it come after him instead?