Chapter 27 - The peace before the expedition

Two or three days later, the armies of the Ifor Kingdom and the Rand Kingdom arrived, making the camp even livelier. However, the Hero was still nowhere to be seen—probably waiting until the day of departure to show up. Today, we continued practicing martial arts as usual, with warriors from the four kingdoms facing off in one-on-one matches. My opponent was Ao Hui from Rand. Judging by his robust physique, he seemed like a formidable foe. Since magic was forbidden in the sparring, we fought with spears. I gripped my weapon nervously, wary of a sneak attack, and decided that offense was the best defense. I charged forward with a fierce thrust, but Ao Hui dodged it effortlessly. He struck the back of my hand with the butt of his spear, causing me to drop my weapon in pain. I quickly picked it up and attacked again, only for him to block me. "Reckless attacks like that won't work," Ao Hui said while parrying. Then, with a sudden sweep of his spear, he knocked me to the ground. I tumbled a few times—ugh, as expected of a professional soldier, he was tough to beat. I tried attacking a few more times but was defeated each time. It was clear I couldn't best him in physical combat, so I had to surrender. "Your spearwork is quite amateurish. Have you only just started learning?" Ao Hui asked. "Yeah, I only began training after arriving at the camp. I'm clearly no match for you, big brother," I admitted helplessly. "No worries, I can teach you. You can surrender in the training field, but never on the battlefield," Ao Hui said. And so, he personally taught me spear techniques. We practiced and sparred, and by dusk, training was over. "Thanks for the guidance, big brother. See you tomorrow!" "See you tomorrow," Ao Hui replied, waving as I left. I returned to the dormitory, realizing that some skills can't be mastered alone. With time still left, I needed to keep training harder.Today, the commander announced that the king had set the expedition to begin in three days at dawn, urging us to prepare thoroughly. The crowd buzzed with discussion—some, like me, were nervous, while others cheered with excitement. The day was finally coming. I came to this world for this very moment.Inside the Tianlai Holy Palace, "Kaia, Kaia, where did that guy run off to?" Emily muttered as she searched. In the back garden, she spotted Kaia and Joe practicing. "So you're here," Emily said, walking over. Judo and Sisi were also watching. Both Joe and Kaia were swordsmen, sparring with wooden swords. "Ha!" they exchanged blows, evenly matched until Kaia knocked Joe's sword away, claiming victory. "Training so early in the morning?" Emily remarked. "As a Hero, I can't afford to slack off. I must always be in peak condition," Kaia said, sheathing his wooden sword. Emily asked, "The king says the expedition starts in three days. How confident are you?" Kaia replied, "We've suffered losses before due to carelessness, so we must assume the Demon Realm has even stronger enemies waiting. We can't be too confident." Joe added, "Even with our full strength, we only defeated one of the three Demon Generals. Two remain, plus an even stronger Demon King." Sisi asked, "Do we have any intel on the other two generals?" Emily responded, "Not much. Besides Ding'er, who visited the human world, the other two haven't appeared here in centuries. They're likely similar to Ding'er, but according to ancient texts, one of them is said to rival the Demon King in strength." Judo said, "That makes our situation even graver. We'd have to face two Demon King-level enemies at once." "Let's not overthink it. Strengthening ourselves is the top priority," Kaia stated. "Agreed," everyone nodded.In the Demon Realm's Hall of Ten Thousand Demons, "Your Majesty, according to reports, the Hero, after perishing alongside Ding'er, was revived. They're now gathering forces to attack the Demon Realm," Gahu reported. "Then adjust the plan. Once they depart, you invade the human world. Without the Heroes' protection, it'll fall quickly. As for the invaders, I'm bored here and could use some entertainment, heh heh," the Tyrant Emperor laughed eerily. "Also, Your Majesty, some human kingdoms are willing to submit to us. How should we proceed?" Gahu asked. "Send reliable agents to make contact. Our goal is to rule the human world. If they surrender willingly, all the better," the Tyrant Emperor replied. "Yes, Your Majesty!" Gahu withdrew.