"Is anyone there?" Norva called out as he searched. Suddenly, a black dragon swooped down from the trees, attacking him. "Tch!" Norva dodged while countering with his sword. A figure flashed by, swiftly decapitating the dragon. Norva focused and saw it was General Leizhao. "Thank you for saving my life, General!" Norva said gratefully. "This place is full of dangers; stay vigilant," the general replied, remaining on guard. Other warriors gradually approached, and Norva joined them to search for the main group.I groped my way slowly through the forest, finding no one. The only comrade I saw died before my eyes. Sighing, I didn't know what to do next. I dared not call out recklessly, fearing it would attract demonic beasts.Feigo and Na'an reunited with the hero's team, and the main group continued searching for other missing members. Nobuo and a few others stuck together, navigating the forest to find the main force.In the Demon Palace, "Your Majesty, we've infiltrated the mage corps of Tianlai Holy and used disruption magic to sabotage the teleportation gate. The human expeditionary force has likely been scattered to the corners of the Demon Realm," Advisor Mino reported. "Well done. Find their location as soon as possible," Emperor Ba commanded. "Understood!" Mino retreated. Ding'er hurried in: "Your Majesty, I heard the hero has revived and entered the Demon Realm. I request permission to confront him. This time, I'll take his head for you!" "No need to rush. Wait until we confirm their position," Ba replied calmly.The Demon Realm was indeed teeming with powerful beasts. Though the expeditionary force consisted of human elites, they struggled against the relentless onslaught of demonic creatures, even suffering minor casualties. "This won't do. We'll be depleted before we reach the Demon King's palace," Kaiya said. "Yes, the Demon Realm is tougher than we imagined," General Arnold added, his outlook grim. Out of over 800 soldiers, more than 30 were injured, and 12 had died in just over two hours since arriving. The Demon King's palace was still far off. As the troops advanced, they heard combat noises to the right. Kaiya and the others rushed to assist. Crossing a thicket, they saw General Leizhao's group battling a massive fire dragon, larger than the black dragon from before. Juda and Sisi charged forward, engaging the dragon, while Qiao and Kaiya teleported behind it, combining their strikes to slay it. After the battle, the groups united. "General Leizhao, thank goodness you're safe!" Kaiya said. "Finally, we've found you. It's good to regroup. I'm leading 96 warriors. What's your situation?" Leizhao reported. "I've gathered 871 so far, but 12 have fallen," Kaiya replied. "We're still missing some. Let's keep searching." In various corners of the forest lay the bodies of fallen warriors. Except for Nobuo's squad, those who hadn't regrouped had met grim fates.Kaiya led the group onward, arriving at a small clearing where trees had been toppled. They spotted a slain giant beast and General Koma lying against a tree. Kaiya and the others rushed to his side. "General Koma! General Koma! It's me, Kaiya!" Koma slowly opened his eyes, glanced at them, pointed to a path, and then passed away. "General Koma!" Kaiya called out in sorrow. He gently laid the general down, observed a moment of silence, and then led the group along the path Koma had indicated.
