Duanmu Huai had to admit that this was indeed an unexpected delight for him. But upon further thought, it also felt perfectly reasonable… Tokai Teio's [Superior Charm] was already extremely powerful, and she followed the "cute" style. That was more of a spiritual form of delight rather than mere visual stimulation.
Moreover, Tokai Teio's "cuteness" was filled with positive energy.
Duanmu Huai had once watched her self-introduction PV. In it, she explained to all viewers what "cuteness" meant to her.
"Cuteness is—something that exists deep within everyone's heart!"
"Cuteness is—a radiant light of happiness that anyone can obtain!"
"Cuteness is—a dream that is forever pursued!"
"Cuteness is—the love I deliver to everyone!"
"I hope your life can be filled with 'cuteness.' That's why Tokai Teio is here!"
Honestly, compared to those streamers who flirted and acted provocatively for attention, Tokai Teio's level was on an entirely different plane. And her streams truly made everyone happy… suitable for all ages.
Mm. Thinking about it carefully, this[God of Joy]authority was probably granted because the system detected Tokai Teio.
After all, Tokai Teio was his familiar. In the system display she counted as his pet, so the joy brought by a pet naturally belonged to the owner… what's yours is mine, and what's mine is still mine…
"What's wrong, big brother?"
"Nothing. Just keep doing what you like."
Duanmu Huai chuckled and patted her head. For a brief moment, he had considered whether to expand things further—but after thinking it over, he dismissed the idea. It reminded him of many content creators he had seen online. In the beginning their work was interesting, but once commercialization and responsibility weighed them down, it lost its original flavor.
At present, Tokai Teio's streams were fine. As long as she maintained her current style, it was good enough. If he interfered too much, it might backfire. Forcing growth too early would only ruin it.
So Duanmu Huai said nothing more. Tokai Teio tilted her head, smiled, nodded at him, and left humming a tune.
After discovering the source of the experience gain, Duanmu Huai felt relieved. At least wherever Tokai Teio's streams reached, the joy generated by humans there would no longer feed the Prince of Excess, but him instead. Of course, strictly speaking, the Prince of Excess was still stronger. After all, it absorbed joy from the entire galaxy, while Duanmu Huai could only absorb it from humans.
But was that a problem?
Of course not.
The solution was simple—just wipe out all the alien species in the galaxy. Wouldn't that leave only humans?
At that point, wouldn't the Prince of Excess lose its source of power entirely?
What's the big deal?
Meanwhile, the coalition army led by the Inquisition began assembling.
This was very different from Herman's civil war. Back then, Sest and Lisas had merely sent representatives with a small contingent—essentially a group fight.
But now humanity was launching a counteroffensive against the demon race. This required a full-scale mobilization of armies.
Lisas was the first to respond. Though it was the farthest from the Demon Realm, Lia was utterly devoted to Duanmu Huai. She directly dispatched Lisas's strongest force, the Red Army. Moreover, if Lisas could secure an enclave in the Demon Realm, that would be an excellent outcome for her.
Sest, by contrast, was reluctant. They had suffered heavy losses during the demon invasion and were still rebuilding. But Lisas's stance put immense pressure on them. Queen Lia was ruthless and cunning. If the demons were defeated and she chose land beside Sest, Sest would be surrounded.
That was unacceptable.
So for survival, Sest had no choice but to send troops.
Herman, however, was highly enthusiastic.
The reason was simple—their homeland was barren and harsh, barely fit for crops, practically a giant Siberia. Across the border lay the Demon Realm's vast fertile lands. Herman had long drooled over them.
Before, they knew they couldn't win. But now that the Inquisition was organizing a coalition, how could Herman miss this chance?
If they truly captured those lands, wouldn't they belong to Herman? Then their people would no longer suffer hunger and cold.
Fortunately, though Herman had endured civil war, most of the First, Fourth, and Fifth Armies had surrendered intact. The Second Army on the Demon Realm border remained largely whole. Only the Third Army stationed in the capital had been annihilated by Stesser's grotesque flesh puppet army.
Thus forming a coalition force was feasible.
After some delay, the coalition was finally assembled.
Lisas sent the Black Legion and the Red Legion under Marshal Bares Provence.
Sest once again sent Ulzer to lead the Eastern Guerrilla Legion, the Ice Legion, and the Western Defense Legion, the Light Legion.
Herman was led by General Kriorev with the First and Fifth Armies.
The AL Church also dispatched its Holy Knights.
This was Duanmu Huai's order. The current Supreme Pontiff of AL was Kuruku. She had entered the divine domain with Duanmu Huai and witnessed the true nature of the gods—and seen him personally kill Goddess Alice and the Creator God white whale. So if he gave an order, she wouldn't dare refuse.
Additionally, Guleya brought Regnis's dragonkin army. Previously many dragonkin had been unwilling to assist. But once they learned they could obtain land and establish their own nation, they accepted her call.
If they could build a dragonkin homeland, wasn't that ideal?
So this time Guleya brought many dragonkin—and even dragged Filene along.
Honestly, Filene did not want to come. Staying home and browsing the internet was far better than wasting time on this nonsense.
But… she was the last dragon princess, and Guleya was stubborn beyond reason. It wasn't just three visits—it was nearly thirty. Eventually, exasperated, Filene surrendered and agreed to help.
Anne, on the other hand, did not bring Manaria's army. This was war. People would die. As Manaria's princess, Anne understood that. During Herman's civil war, bringing a few friends was fine. But this was a grand war against the demon race. Manaria had no stake in it—unlike Lisas, Sest, and Herman with their grudges, or the dragonkin seeking land.
Under such circumstances, Anne could not send her people to die for interests that weren't theirs. So she only brought Hannah and a few others to support Duanmu Huai.
Of course, none of them were the main force.
The true core was the Inquisition.
This time, Duanmu Huai deployed not only Emperor-class Titans and armored divisions led by Venomblade heavy tanks and Leman Russ tanks, but also 1,500 Night Guards.
Compared to the tens or hundreds of thousands fielded by nations, 1,500 Night Guards seemed small. But when he fought Herman, Duanmu Huai had only brought ten.
Did people really think the Night Guards were weak?
Each Night Guard was a spirit possessing armor. They did not fear death—or damage. Combined with Space Marine-level firepower, even 1,500 were enough to sweep the entire Demon Realm.
After all, Herman had been human infighting. The Demon Realm involved aliens and demons. Not comparable.
And Duanmu Huai had more than that.
Three months later, the coalition of Lisas, Sest, Herman, the Free Cities Alliance, and the AL Church gathered at Herman's western border—nearly 300,000 strong.
Lisas: 100,000.
Sest: 50,000.
Herman: 80,000.
AL Church: 5,300.
Free Cities Alliance: 32,000.
They chose to invade from Herman's border because Sest's frontier was protected by a magical barrier. The demon race couldn't breach it—and neither could they easily pass through it. Herman relied on manpower alone.
So they would march from Herman's border, strike straight into the Demon Realm's core, kill the demon commander Kayblis, and destroy the demon army.
With the sea behind them, the demons would have nowhere to retreat. Their only option would be to crash against Sest's magical barrier—but as long as enough magic was supplied, it would not fall.
And Duanmu Huai brought another piece of good news.
The demon lords no longer had invincible barriers.
After killing the white whale and Goddess Alice, Duanmu Huai abolished that disgusting mechanic. Demon lords were still powerful—but no longer immune to all attacks.
Morale soared.
No one doubted him. Such a thing would be proven on the battlefield. If the invincible barrier was truly gone—then the demon lords could be fought.
"Inquisitor, when do we depart?"
Ulzer asked.
"Soon. Once my reinforcements arrive… oh. They're here."
"Huh?"
Ulzer blinked.
Suddenly, a shadow covered the land. She instinctively looked up.
The clouds split apart.
And before their eyes appeared a magnificent golden cathedral-battleship, floating in the sky.
(End of Chapter)