"Regardless, as long as you can get me in front of the Demon King, I have a way to kill it," Noah said in a low, steady voice.

The others didn’t argue.

Now that they had entered the white mist, retreat was no longer an option. The only path forward was to keep advancing. Only by killing the Demon King could they hope to survive.

The white mist wasn’t just disorienting, it also absorbed most of the residual energy from their attacks.

Although their battle inside felt earth-shattering, with the mist churning violently like boiling water, the actual damage to the surroundings was minimal.

Otherwise, given the power of Fourth Order fighters, this entire hundred-mile region would have long been reduced to ruins.

After the Monster Puppets retreated, the pressure vanished.

The group continued forward for another hour.

Then, suddenly the white mist ahead parted.

The endless fog that had surrounded them disappeared.

And before them stood a massive city.

"That’s Varkesh City," Ronan said in shock.

After passing through the white mist, they had actually arrived at the long-lost city.

Noah looked ahead.

This city, occupied by the Tree Demon and shrouded in white mist for a hundred years, had long since fallen into ruin. It was no different from a wasteland. Thick, dark brown roots spread through every street and alley, covering the entire city like a web.

All of those roots converged at the center.

There stood a colossal tree that blotted out the sky.

Its trunk was hundreds of meters wide, and countless branches stretched outward, holding up the heavens like pillars.

Above the canopy, the sky churned with endless white mist.

From the branches hung countless figures.

They were packed so densely that it made one’s scalp tingle just looking at them.

"Demon Tree... Demon Tree..." Tobias murmured, his heart pounding uncontrollably.

"It seems everyone who entered this place has become a Monster Puppet," Ronan said grimly. "Varkesh City sits on a spiritual vein. A hundred years ago, it was the territory of the Varkesh Sect. After the Tree Demon appeared, the sect was wiped out. Only a few disciples who were away at the time managed to survive."

"That Old Ancestor of the Varkesh Sect was at our level... and there was also that Heavenly Rank Demon Executioner who got trapped here..."

Ronan didn’t continue.

Just those two alone were already far beyond what they could handle, let alone the countless Monster Puppets hanging from the tree.

Even if Kael hadn’t been "injured," the three of them entering this place together would most likely end the same way, turned into puppets and reduced to tools of the Demon King.

The three exchanged glances.

Then, almost instinctively, they all looked toward Noah.

A Demon King of this level was not something they could deal with.

Their only hope... was him.

"Our current strength isn’t enough. Let’s wait a bit longer, until the Demon Suppression Division sends more reinforcements," Noah said in a low voice. "There are too many Monster Puppets. I need to get within a certain range of the Demon King."

"Alright." The three agreed without hesitation.

They had already entered the white mist. There was no retreat, only battle.

Noah had no intention of acting yet. The final Demon King still hadn’t revealed itself, and this was not the right moment.

They stayed outside the city.

The Demon King didn’t take the initiative to attack either.

For a time, both sides remained locked in a silent standoff.

A day later, reinforcements arrived.

Dozens of figures appeared, all at the Fourth Order. Although most were only at the Ordinary and Elite levels, they still formed a formidable force.

These reinforcements came from both the Demon Suppression Division and civilian forces. Leading them was another Heavenly Rank Demon Executioner.

They approached from a different direction of Varkesh City.

When they first saw the city, they were equally shocked and didn’t dare to attack recklessly. Instead, they circled along the outskirts before finally meeting up with Noah and the others.

"This is already the strongest force we can mobilize without throwing the Velmora Dynasty into chaos," the newly arrived Heavenly Rank Demon Executioner, Aerin Sol, explained.

Ronan and the others nodded in understanding.

The dynasty couldn’t commit all its strength. There were still demons scattered across the land, and leaving those areas unguarded would be disastrous.

Noah also understood.

No more reinforcements would be coming.

"Insight."

His gaze swept across the entire group.

Sure enough, he detected several demons hidden among them, but they were only mid-level demons. The third Demon King still hadn’t revealed itself.

Of course, that didn’t mean it wasn’t here.

More likely, it was hiding somewhere nearby, watching everything unfold. The Jade-Faced Demon Fox and the others were simply its eyes and ears.

"It’s really cautious," Noah thought, feeling a bit speechless.

This was the first time he had encountered such a careful boss.

No wonder neither the Demon Suppression Division nor the civilian forces had ever discovered its existence.

Noah could only proceed step by step. He refused to believe that the Demon King could remain hidden forever.

"Let’s begin the attack."

With that command, everyone stepped into Varkesh City.

The moment they crossed the boundary, it was as if something had been triggered.

Countless Monster Puppets dropped from the branches above, rushing toward them in a frenzy. At the same time, the tree roots spread across the city began to writhe like giant pythons, surging forward to bind and crush them.

The battle erupted instantly.

It was far more brutal than expected.

The number of Monster Puppets was overwhelming, and they showed no fear of death. Worse still, within Varkesh City, they seemed to be strengthened by some unseen force, their power noticeably amplified.

Under such relentless assault, every step forward became incredibly difficult.

And yet no matter how fierce the resistance, the group continued to push ahead, advancing bit by bit.

The Demon King’s ability wasn’t without limits. It could elevate a First Order Yellow Ox into a Tier 2 Monster Puppet, but it couldn’t push a Third Order puppet into the Fourth Order.

No matter how strong the Monster Puppets in Varkesh City were, they were still confined to a single city.

Noah’s side, on the other hand, had gathered more than half of the Velmora Dynasty’s top-tier combat power. Every one of them was Fourth Order, with more than half at the Elite level. The Demon Suppression Division and allied experts were highly skilled in coordination, and when several of them combined their strength, they could even briefly contend with a Heavenly Rank Demon Executioner.

Step by step, they pushed forward.

Slowly, steadily, they closed the distance to the Demon King.

When they were only ten kilometers away, the Monster Puppets became even more frenzied. The pressure surged, and many in the group began to suffer injuries.

"That’s enough."

Just as Ronan and the others were struggling to hold their ground, a calm voice rang out.

Noah stepped forward from the crowd.

Along the way, he had barely made a move, yet no one questioned it.

Because they all understood one thing clearly.

Without Noah, they had no chance of killing the Demon King.