Chapter 931: Seizing the Emperor’s Teleportation Network!

Less than an hour later, several hundred Valkyries gathered inside the underground training chambers beneath the Imperial Demon Palace and awaited orders.

Unlike their usual training sessions, the women wore their complete battle armour, with their weapons fully prepared and an assortment of magical supplies and potions distributed amongst them.

Serena stood before the gathered warriors, her long tails swaying gently behind her.

"Listen carefully. From this moment onwards, anyone belonging to the Human Empire's military or intelligence network operating within our territory is considered an enemy."

The enormous chamber became silent.

"However, do not mistake merchants, ordinary travellers or innocent civilians for our enemies. I want the people responsible for these operations captured or killed, understood?"

"YES, YOUR MAJESTY!"

Their voices thundered through the chamber.

Serena nodded.

"Good. You have your assignments. Move out!"

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Hundreds of armoured footsteps echoed through the chamber as the Valkyries began departing.

Watching from beside his wife, Asmodeus couldn't help smiling.

'Haha... Serena really has turned these girls into a proper army.'

Their earlier strength had already been impressive, but now their movements and discipline had improved considerably and more importantly, they didn't hesitate. Each woman knew exactly where she needed to go.

"Husband?"

"Mhm?"

Serena approached, carrying a small map with several locations marked in red.

"The first three groups have departed. The others will secure the merchants' warehouses and the roads leading towards the southern coast."

"That's good, keep going."

"But what about you?"

Asmodeus glanced towards Velvet.

"I'm taking her with me."

"...Again?"

"Oi! What's with that reaction?"

Serena narrowed her eyes.

"You've only just brought Velvet back after she was kidnapped!"

"Hahaha! Which is precisely why I'm taking her. Those bastards prepared their equipment specifically for her, so it will react to her and she'll recognise anything we find."

Velvet nodded enthusiastically.

"...but I've been missing you so much~ baby."

Asmodeus swallowed his breath before sighing. "Next time, I promise." There wasn't anything else he could do, everyone had their own roles, and he couldn't keep adjusting because he wanted to please Serena.

"..."

Serena stared at the pair for several seconds before groaning.

"Haa... Fine. But don't forget that we're supposed to capture those teleportation formations, not destroy them."

"I know, I know."

"Asmodeus, I'm serious!"

Asmodeus chuckled.

"Alright. You have my word."

Serena didn't seem particularly reassured, but she eventually stepped aside.

"Then hurry. The first squad should already be approaching the location."

***

Southern Lumeria.

Beneath an abandoned trading warehouse, several men hurried through a narrow underground passage.

"Move faster!"

A middle-aged man wearing a dark uniform shouted towards his subordinates.

"Destroy the remaining documents! We cannot allow the Lumerians to discover anything!"

"Commander, what about the formation?"

"Leave it! We don't have enough time to dismantle something that complicated!"

"But the orders specifically said—"

"I know what the fucking orders said!"

The commander struck the nearby wall.

Bang!

"Do you have any idea how long it took our mages to construct that thing?! We'd need several days to remove everything without damaging it!"

The soldier lowered his head.

"...Understood."

Beyond the passage, a large underground chamber housed an enormous circular formation.

Golden inscriptions covered its surface, surrounding six crystals embedded within the floor.

Several Imperial mages worked around the edges, desperately attempting to erase the more important symbols. However, their efforts were interrupted when a tremendous explosion shook the warehouse above them.

BOOOOM!

Dust scattered from the ceiling.

"What was that?!"

Before anyone could answer, another explosion echoed through the passage.

CRASH!

The iron door collapsed.

Several armoured women entered through the smoke, their silver weapons gleaming beneath the magical lights.

"Imperial soldiers!"

"Valkyries?!"

"Kill them! We cannot let them capture us!"

The commander's shout was immediately followed by dozens of magical attacks. Fireballs and blades of compressed wind rushed towards the entrance.

Yet the Valkyries didn't retreat.

A dozen women raised their shields.

BOOM! BOOM!

The attacks exploded against their defences, scattering flames across the passageway.

Then the first Valkyrie rushed forward.

Slash!

Her sword tore through the nearest soldier's armour, sending him crashing against the wall.

"Argh!"

Another woman followed, striking an Imperial mage across the shoulder before driving him to the ground.

"Drop your weapons!"

"Surrender immediately!"

"Fuck!" the commander cursed.

'These disgusting fucking monstrous whores!'

He'd expected ordinary Lumerian soldiers, or the demon knights, whom their troops could at least escape using their talismans and tools.

However, the Valkyries were another story.

"Retreat towards the formation!"

Several surviving soldiers immediately turned around.

However, before they could reach the chamber...

BOOOOOOM!

The entire ceiling trembled as a tremendous pressure descended upon the underground facility, causing the commander to stumble.

"W-What?!"

From somewhere above, a familiar male voice echoed through the stone.

"Oi! Serena told me not to destroy the damned formation, so why don't you idiots surrender already?!"

The commander's expression became pale.

"...Demon Emperor?"

CRAAAAACK!

A section of the ceiling split apart.

Stone and dust scattered across the underground chamber as an enormous black claw tore through the rock, and several soldiers screamed. Then a figure covered in black scaled armour descended through the opening, his blood-red wings folding behind him.

Asmodeus glanced around the chamber, his lips curling upward into a demeaning smirk.

"Hoh... So this is the first one."

Velvet landed beside him a moment later, her black scales covering her arms and shoulders.

"Darling, the formation!"

"Mhm, I see it."

The commander immediately grabbed the nearest soldier.

"Activate the crystals!"

"B-But, Commander!"

"DO IT!"

Two mages rushed towards the golden formation.

However, before their hands could reach the crystals, several black tendrils erupted from Asmodeus's back.

Thud! Thud!

The men were slammed against the walls.

"Arghhhhh!"

Asmodeus shook his head and raised his hand. "Seriously... You people really don't listen." The next moment, all the humans floated in the air, as if held by countless invisible hands, squeezing their fleshy bodies tightly.

'The magic aura around this guy is different.'

He looked towards the commander, wearing expensive gear and armour. The magic items around his waist were of a far greater level.

"Are you in charge?"

"..."

"I'll take that as a yes."

A tendril wrapped around the man's waist and lifted him further into the air, while squeezing his limbs even tighter.

"Wait! I'm an officer of the Human Empire! You cannot treat me like—"

Bang!

Asmodeus slammed him against the floor.

"Don't care."

"Ngh...!"

"Now, how many more of these formations are hidden around Lumeria?"

The commander clenched his teeth.

"I won't betray His Majesty!"

"...Oh?"

Asmodeus smiled.

"Well, that's unfortunate."

He glanced towards the nearby Valkyries.

"Take him away. Serena wanted prisoners, so make sure this one survives."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Two women immediately stepped forward, binding the injured man with enchanted restraints.

Meanwhile, Velvet approached the enormous formation.

"Darling, come here!"

Asmodeus turned.

"What is it?"

"These crystals are still intact."

"Hoh..."

He examined the six golden crystals embedded within the floor. Unlike the damaged equipment from the previous chamber, these remained connected to their original destinations.

Several symbols glowed faintly beneath the surface.

'Hm... Coco couldn't warn everyone in time.'

The thought made him smile.

"Velvet, can you stop anyone from activating this?"

"Mhm. Give me a moment."

She knelt beside the nearest crystal and carefully gathered a small amount of mana around her fingers.

Several blue inscriptions appeared above her palm as she examined the enchantments.

"These are complicated, but they're still teleportation magic. The strange divine energy is mostly concentrated within the crystals themselves."

"Can you separate it?"

"...I can probably take over the connection..."

"Hahaha! Good girl."

PAH!

He raised his hand and quickly slapped her plump buttocks as she knelt to collect the crystals. "Nnnn...." Velvet rolled her eyes, glaring at him from the corner of her eye. "Darling, stop distracting me."

The biggest benefit was that her magic could now overwrite the magical bindings, making these expensive crystals theirs.

"Alright, alright."

Asmodeus stepped aside, raising both hands into the air as he squatted and watched her work. For several minutes, Velvet worked through the formation, gradually isolating the golden energy from the ordinary magical inscriptions.

Crack!

A small section of the outer formation shattered.

The golden lights immediately dimmed.

"...There!" Velvet smiled. "I've interrupted its connection to the other formations. They cannot activate it remotely anymore." Her eyes shone as she turned to face Asmodeus, her little cheeks slightly pink and glistening with sweat.

'Oh, she looks so cute when proud.'

He'd expected to spend considerably more time dealing with the strange divine enchantments.

However, Velvet's understanding of magic was proving more useful than simply overwhelming everything with his own power.

"Excellent."

He glanced towards the Valkyries.

"Secure this place. Nobody enters without Serena's permission."

"Understood!"

Asmodeus returned his attention towards the formation. Several remaining inscriptions displayed the last destinations used by its operators. There was one in Grigor's capital, then a dozen or so spread around the territory. Then it was the Elven Forest... well, they had a lot of work to do.

'I can't believe I almost chose to wait...'

He narrowed his eyes.

The third location wasn't particularly far away.

In fact, it was another facility hidden within Lumerian territory.

'Those bastards...'

He'd already discovered several locations, but this formation revealed something else.

The Eyes weren't simply moving agents through their network.

They'd been transporting supplies and soldiers.

He could see traces of different mana signatures passing through the formation over several weeks, with some appearing far more frequently than others.

"Velvet."

"Mhm?"

"How many people do you think can travel through this thing at once?"

She examined the size of the formation.

"With enough mana? Perhaps several dozen, but if they had larger crystals... it wouldn't be impossible for thousands..."

Asmodeus rubbed his chin while rolling the spare crystals in his palm.

'Then it'd be bad if one of those many places housed larger crystals... at that point it'd be armies, not just spies coming here.'

"Velvet, we need to get a move on, just in case."

If history taught Asmodeus anything, it was that there was nothing more dangerous than an army appearing within your castle walls.