Girl in the Box: Please tell me why I was reincarnated as a mimic monster!

Both Li Ning and Xuan Ze knew very little about the true situation in the Demon Realm. Since Xuan Ze had already said so, and even displayed that expression, he probably wasn't lying. Even the demons couldn't survive in those places, so even if the teleportation portals they set up there worked, no one could use them…

“Speaking of which…” Ning thought of a question, “Li hadn’t finished speaking yet, why did you interrupt him? Isn’t there a Demon King’s Castle at the very front? Don’t you live there? You can’t set up a teleportation portal there?”

“As for the Demon King’s Castle, there’s a barrier that’s too troublesome to break. It’s basically a situation where you can get in but can’t get out,” Xuanze said. “This barrier is probably similar to a teleportation portal, but its state is not very stable. Sometimes it’s strong and sometimes it’s weak. It’s probably because the magic power supply is unstable. Even if the teleportation portal is set up there, it would probably have to compete with this barrier for magic power.”

If that really happens, then the teleportation portals in the Demon Realm will become very unstable, at least not like the teleportation portals on the ground that have a stable operating cycle. That would be quite a headache. Besides, neither of them has actually seen what that barrier is like... Xuanze said that it would be very troublesome to break it, and they don't have the time.

“Alright…” Xuanze changed his mind, “It was wrong of me to interrupt you, but I hope you won’t read out those place names that just sound unreliable. It’s a waste of time. By the way, most places in the Demon Realm are not suitable for setting up teleportation portals.”

"You're just making things difficult for me!!!"

Just as Xuanze said, most places in the Demon Realm are not suitable for setting up teleportation portals. Considering various factors, it would be better to set up the teleportation portals on the ground so that others would know how to get to the Demon Realm... No, that would mean that ordinary people might not be able to pass through those dangerous areas to reach the safe areas of the Demon Realm.

This stumped Li. The Demon Eye listed all the place names where the dragon veins were abundant. Li looked for the most likely candidates, but most of them could be eliminated at a glance. In the end, the Demon Eye could even help her filter out the possible candidates. Finally, she noticed a place.

"Hey..." Li asked, "Xuanze... I mean, is Crimson Castle okay?"

"Crimson Castle—?"

Xuanze paused for a moment, then stroked his chin and thought for a while...

“If it’s there… it might actually work…” Xuanze muttered to himself for a while, then clapped his hands. “Isn’t this a pretty good job? Let’s go to Crimson Castle and take a look.”

"Huh? Wait...aren't you going to explain what's going on?"

Before the two of them could figure out what was going on, Xuanze made a decision on his own.

“Crimson Castle? Explain?” Xuanze turned around and mocked them. “Isn’t it obvious enough? That’s Aye’s hometown, the vampire’s castle.”

Chapter 26 Crimson Castle

"Waaaah...it's so dangerous everywhere..."

Li leaned wearily against the tree trunk, while Ning and Xuanze stood comfortably, looking around to avoid a sudden attack. To be honest, it was impossible to explore the entire Demon Realm in a day; getting from one place to another was already the limit. Although the three of them were constantly moving forward, they probably hadn't even covered half the distance.

Why is it all because of the various dangers in the demon realm?

Li then understood what Xuanze meant. It was truly disgusting. Although these traps were of little use to the three of them, the problem was that there were so many of them! So many!! Almost as soon as they stepped out of one trap, they stepped into another. It was absolutely unbelievable!

The series of traps left Ri exhausted, and because of her, the group's pace slowed considerably. Xuanze suggested they rest in a relatively safe place for a while. Meanwhile, the true "Demon King" was watching Ri, exhausted and unable to move, with obvious pleasure at the success of his scheme—a malicious kind of pleasure, of course.

At this moment, Xuanze acted like a child. Although he didn't deliberately cause this situation, he still couldn't help but laugh when he actually saw it. He wasn't like Aiye. If it were her, she would probably say something encouraging at this time, even though this vampire didn't seem to be such a warm-hearted person.

"..."

Thinking of that person, Xuanze's smile faded a bit. If only Aiye were still here, he wouldn't have so many things to do.

"Why are you being so sentimental?" Ning noticed his unusual behavior. "How disgusting..."

"Ha, it's my honor to disgust you." Xuanze was as sarcastic as ever. "Shouldn't you be more concerned about that guy over there who looks like he's lost his soul?"

"...Her...sigh...she'll probably be fine in a little while..."

Their gazes simultaneously drifted towards Li, who was sitting with her legs together, leaning against a tree trunk. Because her head was bowed, her expression couldn't be seen, but the atmosphere around her spoke volumes. Just by looking at the parallel black lines on her forehead, they knew that she must be feeling extremely frustrated.

“Hey…” At this moment, Li suddenly raised her head, “I said… Xuanze, isn’t there a safer route?”

"No," Xuanze said calmly. "There is no safe place in the Demon Realm. No matter where you go, you must be on guard at all times. Natural disasters and man-made calamities are endless. Just give up."

“Haa…” Li sighed deeply.

She couldn't take any more of this torture. It was far worse than the series of traps Rielfa had set up in the labyrinth back then. She didn't want to take a single step now, because there were traps and other dangers everywhere, impossible to avoid. Now she could understand the hero's feelings when they were transferred from the human world to the demon world to prepare to defeat the final boss, the Demon King.

Not only has the difficulty increased dramatically, but there are also so many disgusting things to deal with!

Who made this garbage game?! Have some decency, please?! Why not just call the Demon Realm the Trap Realm?!

She kept all her complaints to herself because the other two hadn't commented on them yet. If she complained now, wouldn't she seem childish? So she absolutely wouldn't say anything.

"Get up quickly," Xuanze urged. "We've only gone halfway. How long are you planning to stay here? By the way, the Demon Realm is even more dangerous after nightfall."

"Eh~~~~" the li let out a mournful cry in a falling tone.

“In that case,” Ning said helplessly, “it’s better to get it over with quickly than to suffer for a long time. Let’s just charge straight in.”

They had been resting here for a while, and dawdling wasn't going to solve anything. If they stayed here any longer, the Crimson Castle wouldn't come to them on its own, so they simply gave up and stood up.

"I understand, I understand, let's go then?" Li's tone was full of impatience. "Demon King, I have a question for you. Once we get to Crimson Castle, will we be safe?"

Since vampires live there, it proves that it's an environment where vampires can stay and live for extended periods. And since it's a place inhabited by humans, it should be relatively safe, right? However, that's not the case…

"You're overthinking it," Xuanze said. "All the demon settlements are basically located in relatively safe places, at least for them. If you gave them to switch places with any two races, they wouldn't be able to stand it."

“Waaah…” Li gave up.

“So,” Xuanze unleashed his divine weapon, “the Demon Realm has always been such a place—!”

Without the slightest hesitation, he slashed fiercely at Li, twisting the space around Li so that the sword energy released by the slash passed through his body and struck behind him. The mournful cry coming from behind confirmed to everyone that the tree Li was leaning against was actually a demon, and Xuanze's slash was aimed at it. This sudden attack caught the demon off guard, and it was cut in two by the blade.

Having only been in the Demon Realm for a short time, Li had already gotten used to this feeling and was able to coordinate perfectly with Xuanze. Xuanze was surprised for a moment, then dispersed the divine weapon.

“I’m really surprised,” Xuanze said. “You didn’t panic and dodge away... I thought you would scream and run away like a little girl, and then complain endlessly afterward.”

"I've gotten used to it..." Li said with mixed feelings.

When she saw Xuanze make that unusual move, she knew that the attack was not aimed at her. Ning also understood this, which is why she did not intervene. If she had not been used to the Demon Realm, she would have indeed done the actions Xuanze described, and might even have retaliated.

“Since you’re already used to it,” Xuanze said, “let’s not waste time here. Let’s go. Once we get there, you can do whatever you want.”

Ning noticed a hint of anxiety in Xuanze's tone. She wasn't sure where this anxiety came from; neither she nor Li had done anything to make him anxious. She couldn't figure out what he was so worried about. But Ning and he shared the same thought: to get there as soon as possible and set up the teleportation portal.

"Hmm..." Li patted the dust off his clothes. "Let's go."

Xuanze and Ning went out first, and Li looked back at the fallen demonic beast. This tree was the one they had just defeated. The wound from the sword energy was oozing poisonous liquid, and then something in the soil quickly grew out, and several tree-men suddenly appeared there.

"rua—!"

These treants attacked Li without hesitation, which was not uncommon, she thought, releasing her power. A transparent spatial wall separated them; the treants' hands slammed into the incredibly hard spatial wall, and then they discovered they were trapped by something unseen, and their space was constantly shrinking.

"Space compression."

Li snapped his fingers, activating the full effect of his power. The spatial walls continuously compressed and shrank, and the treants' living space became smaller and smaller. The cracking sounds of tree trunks and branches breaking echoed incessantly. In the end, these treants were forcibly compressed into a small block the size of one cubic meter. In the eyes of the demon, their HP bars had been emptied.

After dealing with those tree-men, Li ruthlessly abandoned this small piece and left.

After meeting up with the two who had left earlier, Ning asked, "What were you doing just now?"

“It’s nothing,” Li said. “It was just to wrap things up.”

"Oh...you mean that monster..." Ning nodded in understanding. "Has something troublesome happened again?"

"Hmm, it seems to be growing rapidly," Li said. "Anyway, it's disgusting."

"You didn't finish me off again, did you?" Xuanze asked.

"I already replaced it... What's wrong?"

Halfway through the conversation, Li noticed that Xuanze's expression suddenly turned very unpleasant, so she tilted her head, because something seemed off...

"You'll know once you look back."

Xuanze pointed behind her.

Li listened to him obediently, turning her head slightly to take a look. Then, she saw a large army of tree people charging towards them.

What's going on?

These tree-men fearlessly crashed through the surrounding trees, charging forward with an aggressive intent to kill them all. Xuanze ran off without even offering an explanation, and Ning quickly pulled Li Shanren, who was frozen in fear, along with him. The tree-men relentlessly pursued the three of them, showing no intention of letting them go.

"Demon King!" Ning shouted after catching up with Xuanze, "What's going on?!"

"What else could it be?" Xuanze replied with a headache. "This is a kind of demon unique to the Demon Realm called the Laurel Tree People. Their reproductive capacity is so strong that killing one will instantly cause it to grow into two or even more. It is almost impossible to kill them, which is why I urged you to leave just now."

"Why didn't you say so earlier!?"

"Who knows about you! Aren't you supposed to know everything?! Doesn't that stupid box have a magic eye?!"

"You should have said something sooner! Besides, didn't you also get slashed with a sword?!"

"That's because there wasn't enough time to explain, okay!?"

"Alright! You two, stop arguing! Let's run first!!"

Because of their argument, Li snapped out of her daze and immediately stopped them, urging them to leave as soon as possible. Li sped away, trying to think of a solution. The treants relentlessly pursued them, even using magic to intercept them as they flew through the air. Because of the laurel treants' unique characteristics, they couldn't attack them, as that would only make things worse and cause the treants to multiply.

"Hey, what exactly did you just do?" Xuanze used magic to blast away the branches blocking his path. "How come there are so many tree people?"

"Uh..." Li gave an awkward laugh, "It's like... using my power to crush them into small cubes... pulverizing them to pieces..."

"Tsk...no wonder there are so many..." Xuanze rubbed his head, feeling a headache coming on. "You really are a genius..."

Unbeknownst to them, perhaps because they were being chased by the treants, the three of them were moving at their maximum speed. Don't be fooled by how tall those laurel treants look; they actually move just as fast as ordinary humans, the kind of speed that's impossible to shake off.

The group and the treants destroyed everything in their path, one trying to escape while the other chased after them. They had no time to think, simply destroying everything in their way. Their experience points skyrocketed, and their levels jumped exponentially; both sides were completely engrossed. They maintained this high-speed advance until they were near Crimson Castle, but the chase was far from over.

"This is so troublesome!!! A royal flush!!!"

Xuanze, in a fit of rage, suddenly unleashed a high-level spell. Li and Ning instinctively assumed he was finally going to attack the laurel tree spirit and were about to intervene when he turned and redirected the spell in the direction they were fleeing. Several playing cards made of magic passed through the sword in Xuanze's hand, their power amplified until they formed a straight flush. At its peak, Xuanze unleashed a powerful strike, golden lightning transforming into sword energy that swept across empty space.

Seeing the magic spell hit empty space, the two breathed a sigh of relief; its powerful force had blasted an entire mountain into the air.

"What are you doing?" Li couldn't help but ask. "You scared me to death! Didn't you say we shouldn't hit them?"

"Hmph," Xuanze snorted twice and said, "It's nothing, just sending a signal."

"Signal?"

"...? There's a sound...something is getting closer?"

puff puff...

Ning noticed the sound of flapping wings approaching from afar. The sound was very dense and kept getting louder, as if something was getting closer. After hearing Ning's words, Li also noticed a large amount of magical energy reacting on the minimap displayed by the Magic Eye. Finally, they saw a massive swarm of blood-red bats coming from all directions.

The bats regrouped, transforming into countless figures that occupied the other side of the sky. Each of them wore a solemn expression. I recognized them; they were the vampires who had fought alongside Aye in the war. Although they didn't seem to be very famous, they had been very active on the flank of the battle.

Xuanze just said... send a signal? Could it be... that he's planning to cause a commotion and attract the vampires?

Li looked at Xuanze with this question in mind. The latter, a sly smile of triumph on his face, thought, "Alright, confirmed, you're the culprit!"

Chapter 27 Grave Sweeping

Xuanze made such a big commotion because he wanted to gather the vampires active in the vicinity and then use their power to deal with these tree people.

But, faced with such a disgusting and almost invincible monster, do vampires really have a way to deal with it? Neither Li nor Ning knew, but judging from the vampires' expressions, they probably couldn't either.

"Hey, vampires, long time no see." Xuanze greeted the vampires casually.

"Excuse me, what is the purpose of the Demon King's sudden visit to the human realm?"

The lead vampire's expression twitched. Let alone him, if Li were in his shoes, she wouldn't be much better off. A straightforward person would definitely turn and leave. They were already being kind by staying; Li hoped Xuanze would at least act like he was asking for a favor. But that was clearly impossible… because that's just the kind of person he is.

I don't know whether to call him stubborn or arrogant...

“You see,” Xuanze pointed to the laurel tree people rushing towards them, “take care of these tree people for us.”

"My Lord Demon King... no matter how powerful we vampires are... we're helpless against this kind of monster..."

Although the leading vampire gentleman said this, he still gestured with his eyes for his companions to rush forward and intercept the laurel people. The vampires immediately used their signature curse magic and racial magic to control the laurel people's advance and prevent further damage. Just as the berserk laurel people's attacks were about to hit them, they would scatter into blood bats to mitigate the damage; their technique was clearly honed through years of fighting these troublesome monsters.

Xuanze, without a shred of shame, retreated to a place quite far away from the laurel tree spirit. Truly worthy of the title "Demon King," he didn't even blush after doing something he felt guilty about. Li glanced at the vampires fighting the laurel tree spirit in the distance, feeling a pang of conscience.

“Ning,” Li asked, “is there really no way? Those laurel tree people…”

"Do you want to help...?" Ning glanced at her.

“Hmm,” Li nodded, “There can’t possibly be invincible monsters in this kind of world. At most, they’re just disgusting and annoying. There must be a way to deal with them.”

"Why don't you try Baiyeku?" Ning suddenly said something that didn't exist in this world.

"Pennisetum??" A question mark appeared on Li's head.

“That’s it,” Ning said. “That kind of fast-acting, non-selective herbicide that has contact action and some systemic action. It can be quickly absorbed by the green tissues of plants, causing them to wither and die.”

“That thing…” After thinking for a moment, “I think it was discontinued a few years ago…”

“Stopping production doesn’t mean it’s gone,” Ning said calmly. “Take a good look at your treasure chest space to see if you have anything like this. If the methods in this world don’t work, try the methods in other worlds. Maybe they’ll be the magic bullet.”

"Hmm... I'll look for it..."

After thinking for a moment, she began to use her magic eye to search her treasure chest space for anything similar. Soon, she found the corresponding item: a whole chest full of the kind of dead leaves...

"Oh, there really is one..." Li took out a bottle.

"This stuff is highly poisonous to plants, and it's also highly poisonous to humans," Ning warned. "Don't drink it. Even if you have a high tolerance for poison, you'll still feel unwell."

"Only an idiot would drink this, okay?!" Li retorted, then looked at the pale blue liquid in his hand. "Does this stuff even work?"

"Theoretically, it should work."