Volume 4 Chapter 184: The Night Before The War Of The Harvey Plains
Translator: The Light
Edits by Kenny
The strange snowfall over the Beastmen continent was most likely the work of the demons. Bella looked up at the sky. The dark clouds seemed to be living creatures floating strangely in the sky.
At the highest point of Herman City, on top of the city bell tower, there was a light beam rising. The beam of light shot straight into the sky and pierced a big hole in the dark clouds in the sky. Inside the hole was the usual blue sky.
The light beam split into countless rays of light in the sky, dispersing the dark clouds. Before long, the abnormal snowy weather was dispelled by Holy Light. Under the sunlight, the snow on the ground dissolved rapidly, and large areas of green gradually returned to the gra.s.slands.
“Thank goodness I brought the precious...o...b.. given by Vianne. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to see the sun. How many torches will we waste in the march?!”
Bella’s army was carrying the orbs from Vianne, the Creator of Light, which were perfect to use now. The evil attempt by the enemy demons was declared a failure.
Bella’s close friends were still in the hall. When Bella entered, they were having their breakfast. Although most of the girls had been corrupted, some habits of the Human Race couldn’t be changed, such as eating.
“Older sister Bella, why are you so late? Today’s breakfast is a chocolate cream cake. You’re too late. It’s almost finished!”
“Um, Lisha... I have eaten, you... Aren’t you Alisha! Why are you imitating Lisha’s tone?”
“Bella, can’t you pretend to be stupid! It’s not so often I try to imitate her!”
Alisha returned to her seat, being a little depressed. The other girls were eating chocolate cream cake and didn’t care about the incident. When Bella saw the chocolate cream cake, she remembered this morning’s special “breakfast” and immediately lost her appet.i.te.
According to the intelligence obtained by the flying demons, the four Beastmen clans – Weretigers, Wolfmen, Werelions, and Wereleopards were concentrating their forces. The army of orcs attacking the southern border of Gabriel Empire is retreating. The Werelion king finally found out that his homeland had been captured by demons so he couldn’t continue attacking the Human Race and quickly withdrew his troops to support the troops back home.
Now, the Lion King’s million-odd troops were stuck between Nolan City and Sarni City, and the Departed Spirits disguised as Beastmen troops in Nolan City had already revealed their true colors. The supply route of the Beastmen army was cut off by the Demon Army. It was most likely that few among them would be able to return to the gra.s.slands alive.
Gabriel Empire didn’t send troops to chase the fleeing Beastmen Army. There were few cavalry units in the empire and not enough knights capable of pursuing them. Moreover, the humans had also received a lot of news regarding the disaster about the Departed Spirits. The empire was currently discussing strategies on whether they should inform the other empires and the Radiant Church.
The night after the Demon Army set off again. This time, they were header to the Harvey Plains, where the Beastmen allied forces were located. According to their intelligence, the four Beastmen clans had gathered nearly five million troops there and intended to fight the demon invasion.
Bella had more than six million troops engaged in the battle and three million logistic support troops in the rear. Bella planned to battle against the allied forces of the four Beastmen clans in the Harvey Plains under the a.s.sumption of having higher numbers meant greater strength.
The biggest battle to determine the owners.h.i.+p of the northern region of the Beastmen continent, the battle of the Harvey Plains, was about to begin. Riding in a horse carriage, Bella had been examining the map of the Harvey Plains throughout the night. White Wolf Princess Tania and Silver Fox Princess Vanessa were also in the carriage with her. They were helping to label whatever was missing on the map of the Harvey Plains.
“Demon King sister... you’re going to start a war again. Stop now! I can’t take over so many Departed Spirits on my own. I’ll be exhausted!”
Death G.o.d Maureen allowed Bella to use her as a pillow and placed her in her arms. Bella occasionally stretched out her hand and groped her delicate body, angering Maureen. This Demon King was abominable, even more hateful than the twelve Demon Kings of ten thousand years ago. The Twelve Demon Kings of back then didn’t have Bella’s wicked interests and would immediately kill.
“I don’t care if you can’t a.s.sume control. Who asked you to be so inept at calling your subordinates!”
“That’s because... because...”
Maureen was speechless at once. In the other world, the Death G.o.d didn’t work alone. If the Death G.o.d were required to take away all the Departed Spirits in person, there were so many of them that she wouldn’t even have any time to sleep. Hence, many Death G.o.ds would recruit some Death Messengers, and the elves from the G.o.d World were usually chosen for the task.
The problem was that the G.o.d World had been destroyed ten thousand years ago. Few of the Holy Beasts and Elves living in the G.o.d World survived, not to mention the G.o.ds. Maureen also wanted to recruit a Death Messengers to help her, but there weren’t any suitable elves.
For the past ten thousand years, the reincarnation pa.s.sage, which was partly in a standstill, operated with much difficulty primarily mostly because Maureen, the loli Death G.o.d, had been quietly supporting it. Now that Bella was controlling Maureen, it was equivalent to the indirect control over the reincarnation pa.s.sage.
“Honorable Death G.o.d, why don’t you fall into corruption like me? I have many demonic spirits there who can be your death messenger.”
“No, Demon King sister. I have my own principles. Even if I die... I won’t... Hold on, let me think about it again!”
Maureen’s principles didn’t persist for long. Bella’s hostile gaze frightened her. Maureen hadn’t even found the Death G.o.d’s divine artifact, so she wasn’t even qualified to be called a Death G.o.d.
“Bella, are you free? There seems to be someone nearby summoning the Demon King. Do you feel the call?”
Eleanor’s sweet voice came from the communication crystal on the table. The call came just in time to relieve Maureen’s embarra.s.sment. Bella was just about to cover Death G.o.d Maureen with cream and lick her for dessert. When she received Eleanor’s call, Bella temporarily placed Maureen in her seat.
“Mmm... I feel it too. Eleanor, I’ll contact you in a bit. I’m going to have my supper now!”
“Alright, I’ll get in touch with older sister Dolores. Carry on then!”
Before Maureen could breathe a sigh of relief, she watched Bella hang up and walk in her direction with sinister intentions. Could this witch be thinking of doing bad things again?! Maureen tried to escape, but it was to no avail. When Bella reached out and absorbed dark energy, the loli was pulled to her hand.
“My honorable Death G.o.d, where are you going? I think your hands and feet should be... “
“Demon King sister, don’t... I was wrong. I won’t run away. Don’t cut off my hands and feet, I beg you. I still have a lot of work left unfinished...”
“Then obediently open your mouth. I’m going to...”
Vanessa and Tania bowed their heads so low their faces were almost stuck to the map in the middle of the table. Bella and Maureen were french-kissing. This scene of the Death G.o.d and the Demon King together was too shocking. It was better to look away.
Above the Harvey Plains, the allied forces of the four Beastmen clans were already stationed here. Except for the Werelion king, who was trapped at the frontlines and didn’t return. The Weretiger king, Wolfman king, and the Wereleopard king were all there. This time, the Beastmen Clan put together made up a total of more than five million people.
Out of the five million-odd Beastmen troops – Wolfmen, Werelions, and Wereleopards each accounted for more than one million, and the remaining two million soldiers were Weretigers. The Wolfmen couldn’t send more troops at this moment because of the heavy losses they had suffered. The elite troops of the Werelion were still at the frontlines and couldn’t contribute that many soldiers for the time being.
“I will be the Chief Commander. What do you two think?”
“t.i.tus, although you have contributed two million troops, you haven’t made up for half of the allied forces yet. I don’t think you can be the Chief Commander. I think I should!”
“Crofts, you ran away faster than everyone else. What qualifications do you have to be the Chief Commander?”
“Aren’t you embarra.s.sed to bring this up? At Hal Fortress, you had two million troops retreat without a fight and allowed Herman city to fall. I admire your courage, Tiger King!”
In the commanding general’s stronghold, Tiger King t.i.tus and Leopard King Crofts were arguing over who should be the Chief Commander. The two Beastmen Kings were so angry that they almost got violent. At the moment, Wolf King Springhall could only sit there and watch them competing with each other.
Wolf King Springhall lacked in troops. His one million Wolfman cavalry was the last of his soldiers. Even if he wanted to recruit more Wolfman knights, it was impossible to do so in such a short time. The weapons and equipment he had were only enough to equip around a million troops.
Tiger King t.i.tus had more than two million troops in his hands, so he had the most say, but the Werelions and Weretigers had always looked down on each other. If he were Chief Commander, whether the one million Werelion troops would listen to his orders or not was still a problem. Perhaps mutiny was possible before the war even started.
Leopard King Crofts had more than one million military forces in hand. The Wereleopards in the city abandoned the city and fled for their lives before the arrival of the main demon force. Conservative estimates showed that Leopard King Crofts had at least three million troops, but he only brought one million this time. G.o.d only knows what he was up to.
Wolf King Springhall couldn’t compete with them. Now, he could only pretend to listen to them. He would listen to whoever had the upper hand. The other four clans of the eight Beastmen clans – the Minotaurs, Werebears, Centaurs, and the Winged Men, pretended to be deaf and dumb after receiving the news of the Demon Army invasion. They all retreated across the Sacred River and left the four clans to fight on their own here.
Wolf King Springhall had long written to the Beastmen King for support, but the letter for help had elicited no response. The Beastmen King’s reply didn’t arrive. This time, Master Kenneth sent a million Dark Human troops to a.s.sist in the battle against the Demon forces.
Seeing that Kenneth had voluntarily lent his support, Wolf King Springhall and the other Beastmen Kings reluctantly agreed to form a coalition. They originally were to wait until the Lion King’s army returned before considering a counterattack against the demons.
To compete for command of the joint army, Tiger King t.i.tus and Leopard King Crofts were back at it. Ezekiel, the son of Tiger King t.i.tus, had just died at the hands of the demons. The eager Tiger King was determined to take the position of joint Chief Commander. Naturally, he wouldn’t give in so easily.
Leopard King Crofts wasn’t a soft marshmallow either. He had a total of three million troops. Why should he listen to Tiger King t.i.tus, a man with only two million? He was allied with the Lion King and despised the Tiger King.
From the very start of the formation of this Beastmen coalition, there were major problems. The three Beastmen Kings didn’t trust each other and had their own plans. The seeds of failure had been planted from the very beginning, yet the three Beastmen Kings who were involved couldn’t see them.
To the right of the Beastmen Army’s compound was a special camp for the Dark Human allied forces. The Dark Human camp had a similar layout and style as the humans camp and was much more professional than the Beastmen camp next door.
Except for the wooden fence around the camp, which was mostly for show, the Beastmen camp didn’t even have the most basic watchtower. This camp would fall if it were attacked. The Dark Human camp had all the necessary defense provisions. There were watchtowers and archers and in several critical areas of the camp. Advanced defense structures such as mage towers had also been built.
While the Beasts were still debating on who should be in command, the Dark Human troops were preparing the necessities for battle, and the entire camp was operating in an orderly manner. The military capabilities of the Dark Humans and the Beastmen were miles apart. The Beastmen soldiers next door were busy throwing a bonfire party, showing completely lax war preparation.
“Older sister... what the h.e.l.l are those Beastmen doing, throwing a party at this time? Aren’t they digging their own graves?! If we were on our continent, we would be imprisoned for fifty years.”
“Hmph, they are merely chess pieces. If it weren’t because we need cannon fodder to attack the human continent, I wouldn’t be bothered with them! Kenneth is good at everything, but he’s too careful. He’s always up to his sinister tricks. How uninteresting!”
In the Dark Human camp, two phantoms were taking a stroll on the hills of their camp. An altar had been set up on the hill. Around the altar, many Black Robed Wizards were on standby.
“Princess, the altar has been set up. We may summon the Demon King for support.”
“Mmm, let’s start then! If we can summon the Honorable Demon King, the Honorable Demon King should have a way to deal with those demons of unknown origin on the other side!”
The Black Robed Wizards began to recite the ancient summoning incantation around the altar. They usually summoned the Honorable Demon King with this incantation. Today’s Demon King summoning ceremony was a little different from the past. The wizards could feel that the spell used to summon the Demon King had developed beyond their control and began to act independently.
Above the summoning spell were four strange lightning ripples that were intertwined and spread. The four colors of the lightning ripples were gold, purple, red, and blue. In the past, there were only black lightning ripples, but now they became four different colors that had never been seen before. Instead, the black lightning ripples had disappeared.
The witches and wizards were a little panicked. Mistakes during the summoning spell had happened before, but this seldom occurred in the Demon King summoning ceremony. If there were mistakes in the summoning ceremony of the Demon King, these Summoners would have their live absorbed.
The summoning spell hadn’t changed, indicating that it was operating normally. What was the problem? The Dark Wizards were a little confused.
“What’s going on? This power belongs to the Demon King, but how can there be several types of Demon King powers? What did you... “
“Honorable Princess, the summoning spell is now out of our control. Whoever we summon is most likely not the Twelve Demon Kings written in the book. I suggest closing off this hill and forcibly disrupting the summoning ceremony. “
“No, the ceremony continues as long as it’s a Demon King, who cares which one it is! Haven’t we always been attached to the Demon Kings? There is nothing to be afraid of.”
“I support my older sister’s decision. Go ahead, don’t be afraid. Any Demon King we can strike a deal with isn’t a bad person.”
The princesses rejected the Black Robed Wizards’ suggestion without any hesitation. It was tough to find a place to summon the Demon King. In the Harvey Plains, this hill was the only place that could be used for summoning. The summoning ceremony of the Demon King could only be used once a night. If they gave up tonight, they would have to wait until tomorrow night to hold the summoning ceremony again.
Due to the imminent war, the Dark Human Empire’s princesses decided to take the risk. They disregarded imperial regulations and forcefully summoned some other Demon King. Seeing that the two princesses said so, the Black Robed Wizards had no choice but to comply. Although it was against the Emperor’s regulations, they couldn’t disobey the princesses’ orders.
Before long, a big hole appeared in the air above the magic array of the summoning ceremony. The hole was the channel connected to the location of the Demon King. The s.p.a.ce inside was called the Demon King s.p.a.ce. Besides the Demon Kings, even Demon G.o.ds and Evil G.o.ds, who were more powerful, couldn’t step into the Demon King s.p.a.ce.
In the dark Demon King s.p.a.ce, there were four Demon King thrones floating in the air. The four Demon King thrones had their own characteristics and weren’t the same. Some were decorated with crimson rose patterns, while others had black corrupted wings.
On each Demon King throne sat a Demon King. Due to the special effects of the dark shadows in the Demon King s.p.a.ce, the faces and bodies of the four Demon Kings seemed to be covered by a black cloth. From a distance, they could only see black figures sitting on the throne and not what the Demon Kings looked like.
The Dark Human princesses and the Black Robed Wizards could barely see the colors of the demonic eye on the Demon Kings’ faces–pale blue, pale red, purple, and dark blue.
“Female... female Demon Kings, and four at the same time. How is that possible... This is very different from what was recorded in the book. Did we really... summon the Demon Kings of the other world?”