Just as Chen Shouyi returned to the hotel not long ago,

five "Void Demon" corpses were transported to the warehouse. A group of military intelligence personnel gathered around the bodies, marveling with a mix of amazement and awe on their faces.

The corpses were still "alive," continuously convulsing and twitching, their bodies shifting between being tangible and intangible, exuding an extraordinarily mysterious and terrifying aura.

Even more mysterious and terrifying was the fact that no visible injuries were present on their bodies.

But they were indeed dead, or as good as dead.

The Deputy Commander of the Joint Operations Command, Flore, stood with his hands behind his back, looking both tense and lively, gloomy and curious.

He certainly wasn't unfamiliar with "Void Demons." In fact, over a hundred of them had been reported killed from various places recently. However, it's the first time the corpses remained so intact, even able to exhibit abilities.

Once a Void Demon dies, its abilities vanish, making its body tangible and no different from any ordinary creature—just a bit stronger. This left them with little opportunity to understand these monsters.

Without understanding, targeted killing becomes impossible. Their strategy mainly relied on dense ammunition or using flamethrowers.

But such a body, one that allows an intuitive study of their abilities, was a first.

"Don't waste time, proceed quickly with the experiments. We need to know their weaknesses."

"Yes, General."

Flore did not leave, standing with curiosity while the intelligence personnel conducted their experiments.

The army was presently in a short respite period, without any combat missions. Even during combat periods, as a Deputy Commander of the multinational forces from the European Union, there wasn't much for him to deal with—mostly just coordinating friction with foreign troops and... lodging protests.

In international affairs, strength speaks volumes.

Even among United Nations members, wealthy and powerful countries have more say and influence, while some small, unheard-of poor countries go unnoticed even if they shout themselves hoarse at the UN headquarters during protests.

Particularly in joint operations like this.

The Great Xia Country's army not only occupied the majority but their soldiers were also more elite. Under such circumstances, how could there be much room for influence?

It's barely better than just cheering from the sidelines.

Fortunately, the European Union had gotten used to this; it was always like this when the original leader was still around.

Now it's just a different person in charge, not much difference.

It's just that Lucy Country still found it somewhat hard to adapt.

"The body resembles a viscous jelly. After a dagger is stabbed and withdrawn, it heals rapidly. Initial assessment suggests immunity to physical attacks, but the entity does not heal when stabbed while being tangible."

"High temperature can inflict effective damage, similar to an evaporation effect."

"Acids or alkalis are ineffective."

"As per collected intel, they are weaker while in the intangible state, not even as strong as ordinary humans. They probably need to shift to tangible form while attacking to deliver effective strikes."

...

Evening, inside the Command Center's internal canteen.

"Try this. Although there's not much to offer here, wild game is not scarce." Zhang Huaihe enthusiastically picked up a piece of black marinated meat with his chopsticks and placed it in a bowl, smiling so broadly that wrinkles appeared like radiating lines.

"General Manager Chen, can you guess what kind of meat this is?"

"Elephant meat?" Chen Shouyi ventured a guess.

"Elephants are protected animals; how could we hunt them?" Zhang Huaihe hastily corrected, "This is lion meat."

"Aren't lions protected animals too?" Chen Shouyi asked, momentarily puzzled.

"How could lions be protected animals?" Zhang Huaihe replied.

"Ahem..." An officer nearby coughed repeatedly upon hearing this.

Zhang Huaihe promptly corrected himself, "Uh, this lion attempted to attack soldiers and was killed."

"It wasn't a good lion."

"According to wartime military regulations, soldiers have the right to kill after failing to issue effective warnings."

"In fact, no warning is necessary; as long as it shows hostility and attack signs, it can be preemptively killed."

"Besides, with its sharp claws and teeth, it posed a significant threat."

The accompanying officer immediately agreed, appearing sincere yet awkward.

"Is that so?" Chen Shouyi asked.

"Indeed, indeed."

Speaking of which, he hadn't tried lion meat before. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Curious, Chen Shouyi picked up a piece of lion meat and took a bite.

So pungent!

The taste wasn't even as good as pork.

"Try this; it's wild... beef, not a protected animal, quite chewy."

Chen Shouyi: ...

It seemed like a plan for self-sufficiency here; he reckoned quite a few wild animals in Yan State would become extinct post-war, Chen Shouyi thought to himself, but he didn't refuse, trying a little of everything.

Each dish left its own unique taste.

Zhang Huaihe broached the critical topic: "General Manager Chen, what do you think is the likelihood of the Lord of Lightning making a return within half a year?"

Void Demons were originally thought to be creatures invading from another world. He wasn't too concerned, but the slew of signs and evidence clearly indicated these "Void Demons" were the doing of the Lord of Lightning, leaving him quite pensive.

To humanity, the Lord of Lightning represents a complete apocalypse-level Great Demon King.

The atmosphere at the dining table instantly turned oppressive.

Chen Shouyi pondered for a moment and said solemnly, "The possibility is significant. It's best to reclaim Yan State within half a year to halt its power recovery. Of course, it's just my speculation."

He wasn't sure how fast the Barbarian God's recovery was, but the immense Power of Faith undoubtedly expedited its recuperation greatly.

Though his strength had drastically improved since before, he was still far from confident against the God of Lightning. The previous time, leveraging the disparity between two worlds' powers, a bit of luck, and catching the opponent off guard led to a successful sneak attack by chance.

But luck couldn't always be on his side; the God of Lightning, having been fooled once, wouldn't fall for the same trick again.

The next time it returns, it would be more cautious and even more terrifying.

Zhang Huaihe nodded solemnly.

...

The sky gradually darkened.

After dinner, Chen Shouyi headed towards the hotel.

The small town was under lockdown, with no idle pedestrians on the streets except for soldiers.

Diesel generators roared, creating a sharp noise.

The town wasn't supplied with electricity, but power wasn't lacking in some key areas, with bright searchlights outside the city sweeping around, adding a touch of wartime solemnity to the night sky.

He silently opened his attribute panel.

Strength: 24.7

Agility: 24.7

Constitution: 24.7

Intelligence: 24.7

Perception: 23.3

Will: 23.4

Energy Accumulation: 7.01

Faith Value: 16002.6

Innate Abilities: Self-Healing (Super): 30.01%; Giant Battle Body (Super): 60.01%; Atmosphere Control: 40.01%.

Glancing at his accumulated 16002.6 points of Faith Value.

He allocated five thousand Faith points to Self-Healing and another ten thousand to the Giant Battle Body.

His body rapidly "ignites," exuding high temperatures, as he breathed a faint flame, walking briskly towards the hotel.