A few days later in Babig, Kaeya trained diligently every day. Since his last defeat, Kaeya had been feeling downcast, frustrated by his own weakness and unable to find a way to improve. Clutching the holy sword in his hand, he questioned whether he was worthy of wielding it. Emily and the others watched Kaeya but didn't know what to say. "How can I become stronger?" Kaeya muttered to himself, gazing at the sky. At that moment, Sisi received an alert from the magic circle—the enemy was on the move. "Everyone, get ready! The enemy is heading toward us!" Sisi shouted. "All troops, return to your positions and prepare to engage!" General Bos also issued his orders. About an hour later, the enemy army came into view in the distance. Various demon soldiers and magical beasts formed square formations, gradually approaching. Leading them were the Fourth Commander Jinuode and Ding'er. "Here they come—everyone, prepare for battle!" General Bos yelled. Kaeya and the others joined the frontline, ready to fight.The battle began as their side took the initiative, firing arrows and crossbow bolts from the top of the city walls. Ding'er instantly flew up to the wall. "I'm here to make you pay for last time's injury!" he declared. The five heroes launched their attacks simultaneously. Perhaps due to their numbers this time, Ding'er wasn't as composed as before, constantly dodging various assaults. "Not bad, kids. Guess I'll have to get serious," Ding'er said. His body suddenly radiated battle aura, and a demonic sword materialized in his hand. With a horizontal slash, a sharp wave of sword energy shot toward the heroes. Kaeya, Qiao, and Qiuduo combined their strength to barely block it. In an instant, Ding'er teleported in front of them, kicking Kaeya off the wall and stabbing Qiao in the chest with a single thrust, sending him flying. As he prepared to strike Qiuduo, "You bastard!" Qiuduo shouted, parrying the attack. With a sneer, Ding'er delivered a kick that sent Qiuduo flying as well. "Anyone else want to step up?" Ding'er taunted, looking down at the others below."Take this!" Sisi charged at Ding'er with her dual short blades. Ding'er dodged and slashed at her back. "Ah!" Sisi collapsed. General Bos, busy commanding the other soldiers against the enemy, couldn't offer support. Only Emily remained standing. As she prepared to cast a spell, Ding'er teleported in front of her. "You think I'd fall for the same trick twice?" he sneered, raising his weapon. At that moment, a shockwave struck, forcing Ding'er to dodge. "Stay away from Emily!" Kaeya shouted, positioning himself in front of her. "What do you think you're doing? Do you really think you can beat me?" Ding'er mocked. "Even so, I'll stop you. To protect the peace of this world, we must drive you demons out!" Kaeya declared. Enraged, Ding'er snapped, "Shut up! What do you know? Thousands of years ago, we lived on this land too. It was you despicable humans who hunted us down and drove us to the edges of the world. We suffered endlessly to survive there. Don't preach to me with your sanctimonious nonsense!" With a deafening roar, the city wall was breached, and demon soldiers poured in."Looks like your luck's run out. Today, it ends here," Ding'er gloated. Emily rushed to the group, using healing magic to tend to their wounds. Qiuduo and Kaeya stood up again to face Ding'er. General Bos arrived at that moment. "We can't hold this position. Everyone, retreat! My soldiers and I will cover you!" "No, we can't sacrifice everyone!" Qiuduo protested, wanting to stay. "If you want to escape, you'll have to get past me first," Ding'er sneered dismissively. Kaeya and Qiuduo continued their assault on Ding'er. Meanwhile, Qiao and Sisi were slowly recovering. The city was overrun with demon soldiers, and the defenders suffered heavy casualties. General Bos pulled out his last resort—magic explosives. "There are carriages at the west gate. Get on them and leave now—no more delays!" he urged, throwing one of the bombs at Ding'er. A massive explosion erupted, filling the air with sparks and smoke. "Go now! Do you want our sacrifices to be in vain? The hope of the world rests on you—you can't fall here!" "General Bos…" Kaeya choked back tears as he helped Qiao and the others retreat.The carriages rolled away from the city. Behind them, explosions echoed relentlessly, flames illuminated the sky, and the defending soldiers perished heroically, one after another.
