Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

The battle indeed ended very quickly.

Even faster than anyone had imagined—it was over in less than ten minutes. The frenzied Demon Beasts reluctantly retreated—they were mad, but not about to throw their lives away for no reason. After confirming that the enemies they faced this time were not as easy to deal with as before, the Chaos Monsters promptly obeyed their instincts and rapidly evacuated the battlefield.

And the Demon Beast Lord, after taking a direct hit from Iona’s flagship’s full broadside, simply ran away... Honestly, the fact that it didn’t die on the spot was enough to surprise Fang Zheng. He had to admit, these troublesome creatures did seem quite resilient, although, if Fang Zheng had to say, perhaps their small size was also a factor.

After all, some always slip through the net when you’re clearing the ground.

By this time, reinforcements had finally arrived at the rear. They began to quickly take over duties from the guards on the walls. The warriors at the front had suffered severe losses in the previous battle against the Chaos Monsters, with many severely injured—surviving only by clutching to their last breaths. Now that the tide of battle had settled, many couldn’t relax fast enough before collapsing on the ground.

These injured were naturally taken to the back for treatment immediately, and the children led by Fang Zheng also joined in to help. What ensued was a somewhat comical scene on the battlefield, where small-framed girls were seen carrying soldiers taller than themselves back and forth between the front lines and the rear, some even finding it troublesome and activating their variable wing systems, flapping their wings to fly up and transport these men to the gathering points at the rear fortress.

”What on earth is this...”

When Knight Commander Wells arrived with his men, he witnessed this bewildering scene. As a veteran Old Paladin who had experienced various battlefields, Wells could swear on his honor that he had never seen so many children on any battlefield before.

At this moment, the children had already descended from the walls. They gathered in small groups, chatting excitably; some occasionally yelling loudly at someone nearby. Then he saw a few girls run over and start chattering about something, while the rest stood quietly beside with their strange weapons in hand, not speaking a word, occasionally casting curious glances at Wells and his men, yet no one approached to speak.

”Your Excellency Fang Zheng...”

”Ah, Lord Wells, hello,”

Seeing Wells’s arrival, Fang Zheng, who was talking with Midori, also stood up and gently ruffled Midori’s hair, before turning to face the serious-faced Old Paladin.

”Mission accomplished, although it was a bit dangerous. But it seems that my reinforcements arrived just in time,”

”Are these... the reinforcements you mentioned?”

Wells looked at the girl standing quietly behind Fang Zheng, his expression growing much more serious.

”Though it’s not my place to say, Your Excellency Fang Zheng, I hope you understand that we fight these detestable Chaos Monsters here to protect our homeland and our children. While these children indeed displayed formidable strength, the idea of sending a bunch of kids under ten to the battlefield...honestly, I personally can’t accept it. There are still enough of us old bones left; we can’t let children stand in front of us.”

”...I can understand your thoughts.”

Upon hearing Wells’s slightly disgruntled admonishment, Fang Zheng nodded. He could certainly understand Wells’s viewpoint. Truth be told, although the stern old Paladin’s tone was a bit off, his words were not wrong. Frankly speaking, if Fang Zheng hadn’t been so short on soldiers who could actually fight, he wouldn’t have wanted to put the Cursed Children at risk either.

Furthermore, this also proved that the Old Paladin before him was a righteous and conscientious man, making him evidently a good partner for Fang Zheng.

As for whether the warriors of the Sanctuary are willing to fight alongside the Zerg... Well, let’s talk about that later.

”However, I can assure you that their safety is guaranteed, and given the current critical period, plus...”

At this point, Fang Zheng paused.

”...it is also their duty.”

”That is easy to say...”

Knight Commander Wells had naturally also seen the girls with Light Wings flying about. Fang Zheng had not directly disclosed the identity of the Cursed Children to the knight commander, but obviously, the old Paladin had already figured out an answer on his own. Even so, he still seemed somewhat hesitant.

”Perhaps we can collaborate, as you’ve seen, my children mainly use weapons to launch long-range attacks, and the Holy Knights and Spellcasters might be able to coordinate with them in combat. This way, we can support each other and minimize the possibility of losses.”

”Hmm... that indeed sounds like a good plan.”

Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s proposal, Knight Commander Wells’s previously furrowed brow finally showed some signs of relaxation. His previous inability to accept these children fighting was partly because he believed that children are children, no matter what kind of power they possess, and should not be on the battlefield.

And as Knight Commander Wells mentioned, they are Holy Knights, they are warriors, they are men. No warrior would tolerate hiding behind a group of children, let alone these Holy Knights.

However, if, as Fang Zheng had suggested, the Sanctuary took charge of the vanguard and support, and these children were only responsible for long-range strikes, then it could somewhat be deemed acceptable. If any danger arose, at least they should be able to protect these children and evacuate them from the battlefield.

”Moreover, Knight Commander Wells, you may not be aware, but these children possess exceptionally refined equipment. Not only that, if they suffer severe injuries, they will automatically teleport back to our camp for recuperation, so you need not worry too much.”

Fang Zheng certainly did not want to see his own beloved children perish in battle. It was only because there were starships supporting the ground combat that he chose to bring out the Cursed Children. After all, in Fang Zheng’s heart, the children were positioned as ”Militia” who should normally live happily in the academy and Heavenly Dao Palace. They would only need to defend their homeland or, as it currently stood, Fang Zheng would not send these children out as expendable resources—such tasks were generally handled by the Zerg.

Indeed, this time aboard Iona’s flagship, Fang Zheng brought a good number of Aliens as a precaution. Although the Unicorn’s onboard planes and the Star Spirit’s detectors could carry out reconnaissance to a certain extent, in the case of probing into dark, pitch-black underground caverns, creatures like Aliens and Hydralisks are more suitable.

”Then, Lord Wells, I think we can talk about the next steps.”

Fang Zheng’s presence here was not merely to help the Northern Fortress fend off an attack by the Chaos Monsters; this unusual attack by the Chaos Monsters was not simple, and to resolve these issues, they would have to find the source and utterly destroy it.

Of course, had it been before, this might have been a very dangerous task, but now...

Fang Zheng silently glanced at the metal warships hovering in the sky. NovelFire.Côm-cσ๓

It seems, this mission should not have any problems.