A Psychiatrist's Bizarre Game Journey / Dream of the Mist

"Help me spread a message."

Loyer glanced at Zhou Ke'er, hesitated slightly, but still reached out and lifted the hood he had been wearing, revealing his face, and said directly: "The former Demon King's daughter, who should have been assassinated, did not actually die, but escaped to the land of exile, and has real information about the Demon King's castle incident. I hope that there are still loyal demons who support the former Demon King to come and lend a helping hand."

A red glint flashed in the black-robed man's eyes. The instant he saw Loyer's face, he reacted, and his entire demon vanished from its spot, reappearing before Loyer. He knelt on one knee and said, "Greetings, Your Highness! Your subordinate, Oz Scott, has been waiting here!"

Beneath the black robe was a burly male Crimson Demon.

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593. Revealing one's identity is also a strategy.

Loyer nodded reservedly, gesturing for Oz to stand up.

Oz stood up, not immediately offering any further explanation, but instead looking directly at Zhou Ke'er without any attempt to conceal his intentions, and asked, "Excuse my intrusion, but may I ask who this lady is...?"

Loyer glanced at Zhou Ke'er, frowned, hesitated for a moment, and was about to ask Zhou Ke'er something when he saw Zhou Ke'er blink her eyes seriously, looking innocent: "Hello, I am an envoy sent by the Human Alliance."

Oz's eyes widened upon hearing this, and he almost drew his sword, but thankfully he managed to restrain himself. He looked at Loyal in shock: "Your...Your Highness, you intend to...join forces with humans?! This...this...while somewhat unorthodox, it's quite a clever move..."

But he didn't continue speaking because he noticed that even Loyer looked utterly shocked.

"You...you're human?!"

Luo Ye'er rushed forward, grabbed Zhou Ke'er by the collar, and felt betrayed: "You lied to me?!"

Zhou Ke'er looked aggrieved, as if she had been slandered, and quickly defended herself, "I didn't lie to you! I never said I was a demon from the beginning! Besides, I didn't hide the fact that I know absolutely nothing about the demon realm—I only trusted you because we're friends, how could you say such a thing about me?"

Oz placed his right hand on the hilt of the knife, unsure whether to pull it out or not, and didn't know what to do for a moment—although Loyer seemed surprised and annoyed, he didn't seem to really want to attack this guy who claimed to be human.

"You rascal..."

Loyer glared at Zhou Ke'er with a hint of annoyance, but seeing her innocent expression, he couldn't bring himself to say anything harsh. He simply asked stiffly, "You...you said you're human, so how did you end up in this land of exile? And why would the human alliance need to send envoys to our demon realm?"

Zhou Ke'er's lips curled up almost imperceptibly. Sure enough, Luo Ye'er's reaction was completely under his control. Even if he revealed his identity directly here, she wouldn't actually do anything to harm Zhou Ke'er.

Knowing Loyer's true identity, revealing her own at this point is the optimal strategy. If she chooses to continue concealing it now, and later... even more powerful demons, or former subordinates of the Demon King flock to her side, Zhou Ke'er's disguise will eventually be exposed. At that time, the outcome of actively revealing her identity versus being passively exposed will be completely different.

"Because the human alliance wants to form an alliance with the Demon King's army."

Zhou Ke'er said with a serious expression, her words half-truth and half-joking: "I was sent here with this mission in mind, but unfortunately I was stopped and chased all the way before I even got to the higher-ups of the Demon King's City. If I hadn't escaped here by chance, I might have died in the Demon Realm."

"Humans want to ally with us demons?! That's utterly absurd!"

Before Loyer could even speak, Oz blurted out somewhat presumptuously, "That's simply impossible! Not to mention that humans and demons have been enemies for generations... what's more, aren't we currently at war? What compelling reason could possibly lead us to unite?"

Loyer had initially looked incredulous, but upon hearing Oz's last words, his expression froze slightly, and his eyebrows furrowed unconsciously, as if he had thought of something.

Zhou Ke'er sighed, put on a sad expression, and explained, "You may not know because you've been staying in the Land of Exile... Not long ago, one of the countries in the Human Alliance, the Duchy of Dragon, suffered a devastating annihilation. Not only the humans in that country, but also the magical beasts and demons within its borders were all wiped out."

What destroyed that country was a strange energy that did not belong to this world, but came from outside of it. This energy could erode magical energy, causing the eroded beings to lose their minds and become monsters that could only devour and destroy.

Before any other nations could react, this energy had already begun to spread, plunging most human nations into crises of varying degrees. Therefore, if the war against the Demon King's army continues, the entire continent will face annihilation!

Oz frowned, glancing at Zhou Ke'er, who spoke with such certainty, and then at Loyer. Although he didn't believe Zhou Ke'er's so-called alarmist words at all, he would temporarily accept that what Zhou Ke'er said was true for Loyer's sake, and said in a deep voice: "But even so, is this only a reason for you humans to stop the war and unite with us demons? We demons don't seem to have this need—we can even take advantage of your human internal strife to achieve greater results."

Zhou Ke'er chuckled inwardly. This guy really hadn't grasped the situation. They were already like remnants of the previous dynasty, traitors and rebels, and now he, as an envoy of the Human Alliance, was extending an olive branch—though not explicitly stated, it was obvious to anyone with eyes—and instead of immediately joining forces with the Human Alliance for a restoration, his first reaction was to raise questions and insinuations, his words carrying an air of "this and that about us demons..."

It's important to understand that they're not the ones representing the "demon" camp right now. Even if the demons really take this opportunity to severely damage humanity, what does that have to do with them? On the contrary, they might gain extra troops and manpower from the war there to wipe out these guys.

Just then, Loyer said in a deep voice, "I have heard about this matter. Oz, you are wrong. This is not an opportunity for us demons to gain the upper hand... You probably don't know the truth about the Demon King's Castle incident..."

Many of you are surely wondering why my father, having already ascended to the throne, would suddenly and without warning launch a rebellion against his father within seven days of assuming the Demon King's position. You certainly can't understand this inexplicable action—but now I'm going to tell you the truth.”

Loyer's eyes revealed fear and anger: "Because the Demon King's authority was long ago stolen by some immortal monster! Sometime ago, it killed the previous Demon King and took his body to become the Lord of Demons! Since then, every Demon King has encountered the same evil hand within a month of taking office—and my father discovered this by chance, which is why he hastily launched a rebellion!"

Zhou Ke'er clicked her tongue. Goodness, this situation sounds so familiar! Isn't this exactly the same as what happened on the human side? I didn't expect that the demons had also been infiltrated so quietly.

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594. The Night Without Light

There is never night in the land of exile.

The blood-red sun and the dark red moon forever hang high in the sky, radiating a hollow light devoid of warmth.

Loyal stood on a desolate wasteland, looking up at the dark, unblemished sky, as if lost in thought.

Zhou Ke'er stood beside Luo Ye'er, gazing into the distance at the city of exile, which was billowing with smoke and flames.

Even he couldn't help but be secretly surprised. He thought that he would have to follow Loyal all the way to find companions, go through all kinds of hardships to escape from the land of exile, and then raise the banner in the demon realm to recruit his old followers. He never expected that such an elite demon army would be hidden in the land of exile.

It has to be said that this is a bit outrageous—Loyer previously said that her father's rebellion was carried out in a hurry, but now it seems that it wasn't so hasty—he even had time to set up such a hidden move in the land of exile, which means that he had already considered the outcome of his failure, so he left such a contingency plan.

Moreover, to actually get so many demons—including some high-ranking demons—to willingly wait in the Land of Exile, just to await a descendant whose existence is unknown, and an order whose future is uncertain... Wow, this former Demon King was quite something. He was clearly a person with an off-the-charts personality. It's just a pity he died too early. Otherwise, if this guy had helped, this module would have been much easier.

However... this situation isn't without its advantages; at least Loyer is much easier to control than her father.

"Ever since the day I barely escaped from the Demon King's castle, I've been dreaming of this day."

Loyer didn't look at Zhou Ke'er, but looked up at the sky, as if talking to himself: "I will tell all the demons that my father is not a crazy madman—the real rebel is hiding in the Demon King's Palace!"

"To restore the Demon Realm, this military force alone is not enough. As long as you are willing to ally with us, the human coalition will lend you a hand."

Zhou Ke'er stood beside her, but instead of continuing along with Luo Ye'er's words, she poured cold water on the conversation and said seriously, "After all, we now have a common enemy."

"Of course. But even if I accept your invitation to form an alliance here, it won't do any good—we can't go directly back to the Middle Continent from the Land of Exile."

Loyer turned to look at Zhou Ke'er, a smile gradually appearing in his usually cold eyes: "We still need to rely on this little bit of military force to fight our way back to the Demon Realm from the Land of Exile, and then conquer the spatial rift leading to the Central Continent. Besides... the Demon King's main camp on the Central Continent, on the other side of the spatial rift, is the most troublesome."

Zhou Ke'er narrowed her eyes slightly, a glint of unfathomable light in them, but a smile suddenly appeared on her lips: "There's no need to worry too much about that. In half a month, the human alliance will launch a surprise attack on the Demon King's army camp stationed in the Central Continent. At that time, they will be too busy to take care of themselves, and you can take the opportunity to attack from both sides—things will become very simple."

"A raid on the camp?"

Loyer raised an eyebrow in slight surprise and looked at Zhou Ke'er: "Didn't you come to negotiate peace on behalf of the human alliance and want to form an alliance? They didn't know that there was another me in the Demon Realm who would rebel, so why did they decide to launch a surprise attack on the Demon King's army in advance?"

"It's quite obvious—that's how the high command of the human alliance sees my lifespan as an envoy. If I fail to send back news of the alliance's agreement within half a month, it means I've already died in the demon realm, and the alliance's intentions will naturally have to be terminated."

Zhou Ke'er winked at Luo Ye'er and replied in a very calm manner, "Although neither the Alliance nor I myself ever thought I would be able to go back alive."

Luo Ye'er was speechless for a moment, staring at Zhou Ke'er in silence for a long time.

Soon, a demon broke the silence.

Oz flew in from afar, landing in front of Loyal. He knelt on one knee, placed his right hand on his chest, and respectfully said, "The garrison of the city of exile has been defeated, with only the gatekeepers still putting up a last-ditch resistance. Your Highness is requested to personally come to the battlefield to boost morale and secure victory."

Loyer waved his hand and nodded, saying, "Understood. You go back and continue to oversee the battle. I'll make some preparations and head over right away."

Oz nodded and flew back toward the city of exile.

Luo Ye'er was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly revealed a helpless smile, looked at Zhou Ke'er and sighed, "No matter how I think about it, I feel like I'm being outdone by you."

Zhou Ke'er tilted his head in confusion, revealing an innocent expression—this time he wasn't pretending; he genuinely didn't understand what Luo Ye'er was talking about, and this thought process was truly beyond his expectations.

Suddenly, two purplish-black wings appeared on Loyer's back, and with a powerful flap, he soared into the sky.

Zhou Ke'er quickly flapped her wings and followed suit.

"Actually, they didn't need me at all, did they? Rather, they were afraid that the war they started in the city of exile would harm me, so they sent me to this far place to observe. Now that the war is basically over, they're sending me back to 'secure the victory'..."

When Luo Ye'er saw Zhou Ke'er follow, he didn't wait for him to ask anything and said to himself, "Among the commanders who are in charge of the battle, there are many demons. Even any position that an army needs has already been filled by the most suitable demons - they don't lack commanders at all, they just lack a title and an order."

Rather than saying I exist in this team as Loyer, it would be more accurate to say I exist as 'Your Highness'.

Looking further back, even my escape from the Demon King's castle wasn't solely due to my own efforts. My father had secretly arranged for demons to help me, even those who would sacrifice themselves for me, and he had even prepared legendary items to salvage the situation should the plan go wrong...

After saying such a long string of words, Loyer let out a long sigh of relief, paused, and continued in a somewhat low voice: "Originally, I was only thinking about avenging my father and getting rid of that damned monster, so I never thought about these things. My mind was only focused on one thing—but now, when I see a glimmer of victory, and I no longer need to think about anything else, and it is enough for me to exist as a banner... I have started to think about these meaningless things in a somewhat confused way."

"No, that's not true. However, there is one thing that wasn't arranged by your father; it was your own choice."

Zhou Ke'er narrowed her eyes, a smile on her face, looking at Luo Ye'er's puzzled and curious expression, and said softly, "So you chose to let me be your friend. Even if in their eyes it's enough for you to be 'Your Highness,' in my eyes you are you, you are Luo Ye'er."

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595. The Final Descent to the Demon Realm

There's not much to say about the battle that erupted in the City of Exile, because it was destined from the start that the gatekeepers would lose.

Because, apart from the gatekeeper, he had no other help on his side—what demon would want to spend his whole life in such a desolate place? Even if he helped the gatekeeper quell the rebellion and became the demon of demons in exile, what would be the point? Even the gatekeeper would have to eat sand in this godforsaken place with them.

At first, the gatekeeper used his accumulated power to coerce some demons into resisting him, but gradually all the demons realized that the gatekeeper's defeat was irreversible, so they all defected.

As the situation developed, it turned into a one-sided attack. Even the gatekeepers could not withstand such an attack, not to mention that the rebel generals and vanguards were former subordinates of the Demon King, and were no weaker than the gatekeepers.

What followed was unremarkable. After eliminating the gatekeeper, the demons in the exile did not celebrate or hold a banquet. Instead, they rested briefly before passing through the spatial rift to the demon realm.

Although Zhou Ke'er hadn't memorized the names of most of the demons under the former Demon King, the demon who was probably a military strategist had predicted before leaving the place of exile that they would be attacked immediately upon returning to the Demon Realm, so he had the entire army on high alert.

Sure enough, before their entire army could pass through the spatial rift, the demons ahead saw a small group of demons being led by a handsome vampire, leisurely waiting for their arrival.

The vampire, riding a skeletal horse, had a haughty air about him. He swung his sword at the demons who hadn't yet all passed through the spatial rift, the blood-forged tip pointing at them: "All troops, listen to my command—attack!"

Oz reacted just as quickly, immediately ordering: "The vanguard shall engage immediately! The guards shall cover His Highness's retreat! The rear guard shall adjust their formation and prepare to meet the enemy!"

Under Oz's command, the demons at the front instantly split into several small teams, charging forward fearlessly to hold off the oncoming enemy forces, while the rear troops quickly adjusted their formation until the entire army had passed through the spatial rift intact. The few people who were originally protecting Loyer also reacted instantly, immediately tightening their formation and protecting Loyer as they retreated.

After Oz handed over command of the team to the original commander, he and several other demons flapped their wings and charged forward to meet the vampire.

Because this situation was within their expectations, they were not panicked even when they were caught off guard.

Zhou Ke'er stayed beside Luo Ye'er, yawning listlessly. He didn't understand anything about military campaigns and warfare. Besides, even though it was called an army, it was really just a force of no more than a thousand demons, not even as many as a regiment. The fighting was only slightly more exciting than a village brawl.

But to everyone's surprise, the vampire himself did not choose to fight Oz the Demon who charged towards him directly. Instead, he stuck out his scarlet tongue and licked the corner of his mouth, revealing a wicked smile: "Oh, let me see... They are all the confidants of the rebels - Oz, Fabrice, Clement... It is an honor that so many famous high-ranking demons have come to besiege a mere vampire viscount like me."

But...don't you want to know why I only brought so few demons with me to intercept you?"

Upon hearing the vampire's words, Zhou Ke'er immediately perked up—based on the apparent disparity in troop strength, the outcome was already predetermined. Although the vampires had launched a surprise attack, they were not only outnumbered, but their top-tier combatants were also far inferior, posing no threat whatsoever—but since this guy had said such things...

Shouldn't we practice our escape strategy with Loyal beforehand? It's a shame that this large group of allies is about to disappear before we've even had a chance to warm up our hands.

Zhou Ke'er scratched her head and thought to herself.

After all, in this situation, the team itself is not important; Loyer's name is what matters. As long as not all the demons in the demon realm are evil, Loyer can always rally some allies with a single call to arms. If he promises some exchanges of benefits, perhaps the demon lords who agree to provide funding or assistance will be quite wicked.

Upon hearing the vampire's words, Oz and the other demons who had rushed forward exchanged glances and then nodded in unison. Oz immediately stopped and sped back along the same route, shouting to the commander, "Divide the army immediately, using the central camp as the boundary! The rear guard, follow me and cover His Highness's retreat from here!"

For him, whether the vampire's words were alarmist or not, he'd better believe them rather than dismiss them. After all, they couldn't afford to gamble. Victory or defeat here was insignificant; Loyer's safety was paramount. Even if they were merely intimidated by the vampire, as long as Loyer was safe and sound, that was a victory.

"Trying to escape? Too late... Let me show you the power His Majesty the Demon King has bestowed upon us!"

The vampire sneered, and then his once handsome face instantly twisted—no, it wasn't twisted, but rather something seemed to be writhing beneath his skin, which quickly spread throughout his body. With a few soft "pop" sounds, countless strips of flesh made of blood and flesh emerged from his face and waved around him.

Seeing this scene, Zhou Ke'er's initial enthusiasm waned—Seriously? All you think of when you mention the supernatural are tentacles? What happened to the promised mental attacks? What happened to the chaos, hallucinations, fear, and ignorance? It's all tentacles here? This is so boring!

But then I thought about it again and it made sense. If even a lowly nobody could master such a metaphysical ability, then the difficulty would be far too high. This kind of mini-boss, who is similar to the one you encounter when you leave the beginner village, has the ability to corrupt and infect with evil, which should be considered pretty much enough.

While Zhou Ke'er benefited from Luo Ye'er's help and retreated under the cover of a group of demons, she secretly cursed the strength of the vampire opposite her as too weak, truly a piece of trash among people.

But at that moment, the demons escorting them suddenly stopped, as if they were suffocating. They all reached out and grabbed their own necks, their faces ashen, and they whimpered.