The maid squad is too strong, what use is there for me, the Demon King?

A breeze seemed to blow by, but it wasn't a gentle breeze that made you feel cool; instead, it was a chilling wind that sent shivers down your spine!

"who?"

The mage gave a delicate shout and raised her staff, ready to chant a spell.

As the mage finished speaking, soft footsteps sounded, and several figures dressed in gray robes silently appeared in the forest. Their robes blended seamlessly with the surrounding environment; were it not for the occasional reflection of light, their presence would have been almost unnoticed.

The faces of these grey-robed figures were hidden in the shadows of their hat brims. As they walked, the hems of their robes brushed lightly against the fallen leaves on the ground without making a sound. The animals in the forest seemed to sense something unusual, and they all hid in the bushes, falling silent. The light filtering through the trees danced on the grey-robed figures, but it could never illuminate their true faces.

Upon seeing these grey-robed men appear, the warriors in the group immediately drew their swords and stood at the front of the formation, while the archers also drew their bows and prepared to fire.

“We are servants of the Lord of Truth, and we have come by His command to send your souls back to prison.”

The deep voices came from several gray-robed figures. The three-person team had long been prepared for battle, and upon hearing this, they understood that the other party had ill intentions, and a battle was about to break out.

Instantly, several ice spikes and arrows shot towards the gray-robed man.

This was an attack launched jointly by mages and archers. The warriors standing in front, not knowing the enemy's strength, dared not approach rashly and chose to act as shields to protect their teammates.

To the three's surprise, the gray-robed men remained unmoved by the impending attack, showing no intention of dodging whatsoever.

The observant young female magician noticed subtle movements in the mouths of several people in gray robes.

Is this... chanting some kind of incantation? Trying to use magic to neutralize the attack?

Immediately afterwards, a strange scene appeared.

The ice spikes and arrows that should have hit their mark vanished without a trace in an instant, and the mage also felt the projected magic power disconnect from her.

"what's the situation?"

Undeterred, the two continued to relentlessly hurl various spells and a barrage of arrows at the grey-robed figures.

However, all of these attacks disappeared without exception, just like before.

The three-person team stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what they were seeing. They had never witnessed anything so bizarre since they started their adventure.

Suddenly, the figures in black robes moved.

Alarm bells rang in the hearts of all three. The two ranged attackers quickly increased their attack frequency and the amount of magic power they poured in, but to no avail.

If we absolutely have to say what impact these actions had...

It seems that the speed at which the attack disappeared slowed down before and after reaching the gray-robed figure?

Archers and mages only need to launch ranged attacks, but warriors tasked with intercepting the gray-robed men have much more to consider when facing them head-on.

As the gray-robed man approached, a warrior in the group roared and swung his sword at one of the gray-robed men.

Similarly, the longsword that was slashing down stopped in front of the gray-robed man. No matter how hard the warrior tried, he could not advance an inch. Instead, it kept vibrating.

The warrior who directly slashed at the gray-robed man with his sword had a lot to say about this strange phenomenon; he only felt that the slashing sensation was very strange and even abstract.

It didn't feel like being blocked by anything hard; instead, it felt soft and yielding, like hitting cotton... or like gently rippling water.

Draw the sword to cut the water and the water will flow even more.

The warrior's pupils suddenly contracted as he realized that the sword he had carried for so long was actually shrinking in size.

It's like being gradually devoured by something unseen.

The warrior immediately realized something was wrong. He tried to pull out the sword but failed. He then added a large amount of magic power and tried again.

The result was the same. He had no choice but to give up the sword that had been with him for many years and break free, only to find himself being pulled in by a force that seemed to come from nowhere.

Before long, excruciating pain struck, and the warrior roared frantically as he struggled, channeling all his magic power.

"Boss!" the mage exclaimed, unleashing her full magical power as spells were cast upon the object that was holding the warrior captive.

However, this only slowed down the speed at which the longsword and the warrior's figure disappeared.

Amidst the warrior's cries of pain and the mage's overdrawn magic, the warrior and his sword vanished together, and the mage, having exhausted her magic, fainted.

Seeing the situation was dire, and with no time to grieve for the vanished warriors, the archer immediately picked up the unconscious mage and ran back, simultaneously crushing the magic stone tablet to announce the end of his holy light pilgrimage.

Boss, I'm sorry!

He fought back his tears.

As the warrior's figure began to dissipate, he continued to pull the bowstring, trying to help the warrior escape. However, he was not as desperate as the magician. He should have saved some of his strength and magic to help the magician escape.

Their pointless interference prolonged the time it took for the warrior to disappear, thus extending the time the warrior suffered.

Seeing that he was trying to escape, the gray-robed men chased after him at a leisurely pace.

What is that? What is it?

The archer fled with all his might; he had never felt such a life-threatening crisis, and the potential of the human body had never been developed to such an extreme.

The archer breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the gray-robed man behind him had disappeared.

He thought that carrying the unconscious female magician would greatly reduce his running speed, and that he might have to abandon his teammates and run away alone to avoid being caught.

This team wasn't a hastily assembled motley crew for the Holy Light Pilgrimage; it was a well-trained, cooperative, and camaraderie team that had been through several adventures together. He simply couldn't bring himself to abandon his surviving teammates and run away.

As for the vanished warriors, he felt a sharp pain in his heart, and tears streamed down his face uncontrollably, carried by the wind generated by his high-speed run.

Although he understood that the leader's death was irreversible, rationally speaking, he should have taken the first step without hesitation to save the lives of those who were still alive.

But they were, after all, companions who had adventured together for a long time, and the archer's pain at this moment was no less than that of the mage.

The original intention of participating in the Holy Light Pilgrimage was to see if they could achieve a certain ranking, which would not only bring them rewards but also increase their team's visibility, making it a win-win situation.

But what is this? What are these gray-robed figures? What is this strange situation? What is the Church of Holy Light doing right now? Why haven't rescuers arrived yet?

What is the Holy Light Church doing?!

Suddenly, he stopped, a look of utter despair on his face.

Besides the three sides behind him, gray-robed men were flanking him, and there were also gray-robed men chasing him from behind. When he turned his head, he could vaguely see gray-robed figures appearing.

"Damn it! I'll fight you to the death!" He put down the mage and nocked another arrow for a final stand.

But this resistance was destined to be meaningless. He could only watch helplessly as the gray-robed man got closer and closer, completely surrounding the two of them. His despair grew, but it was all in vain.

As the gray-robed man approached, he also experienced the warrior's pain, and his figure gradually dissipated.

Before long, their figures vanished completely, and everything about them disappeared from the world.

Such scenes are playing out all over the secret realm.

“Your sacrifices were not in vain; they were only to bring you closer to the truth.”

The gray-robed man murmured, his figure gradually disappearing into the darkness.