The black mist then plunged into the earth and vanished.
The Demon Emperor... had escaped?
"Your Highness, should we pursue?"
Luo Li shook her head.
"Forget it, we won't catch him."
If even the Beast Sovereign couldn't track the Demon Emperor, how could her group of knights possibly find him?
But... now was not the time for discouragement.
At least she had learned the location of the demon army's stronghold from the Demon Emperor's own mouth.
No matter where that fellow fled, the Demon King's Castle likely wasn't a fabrication.
They had been only a little over a hundred kilometers from that city, and the Demon King's Castle wasn't about to grow legs and run away.
Therefore, the Demon Emperor... should be at the Demon King's Castle.
Looking at the dozens of true dragons, the Saintess's brow furrowed tightly.
She didn't know if the human race was too weak or the dragon race was too strong, but the gap between the two races was currently far from small.
In terms of top-tier combat power alone, the humans were completely crushed by the dragons.
Perhaps it was both, or perhaps... the human race was just too weak.
A thousand years ago, the Pope was able to command every race on the continent, including the dragons, which spoke volumes of his power.
And the most critical point was that although the dragon race was powerful, their path to further advancement was completely sealed off by their bloodline.
In other words, the current dragons truly reigned supreme in this world where level seventy-five was the absolute ceiling.
But what Luo Li could see... was more than just that.
Among her skills, she had Angel Descent.
The skill description clearly stated the words 'breaking racial limits.'
To break the limit meant surpassing the level seventy-five barrier, and she had no idea what kind of power would be unleashed once that happened.
But that was a matter for later.
For now, the dragon race could indeed be called the number one race on the continent.
Without the dragons' help, trying to eliminate that tentacle would have likely required a tragic price.
They might have even been wiped out instead.
As the battlefield finally settled into silence, the Beast Sovereign approached from the distance.
Countless members of the Lion-Tiger tribe descended from the sky, surrounding the Beast Sovereign.
A few of them even knelt beside him, seemingly offering advice.
However, the Beast Sovereign didn't seem to care, waving a large hand as he walked toward the Saint's Carriage.
"Your Highness Luo Li, it seems we have won this war."
Ricardo's overly casual manner gave Luo Li a bit of a headache.
This guy was truly acting like they were old friends.
Was she really that close to him?
Furthermore, such blatant disregard for the enemy was practically the same as putting a knife to one's own throat.
Heaven only knew what other trump cards the demon race had left unused.
"Your Majesty the Beast Sovereign, please be more cautious. The demon race... will not be defeated so easily."
This single battle was over, but it didn't mean their strategic objectives had been achieved.
This was like a massive theater of war; a single small victory was no reason for pride.
"That is true..."
Before the Beast Sovereign could say more, a golden figure descended from the sky, the golden light gradually condensing into a human shape.
He wore a suit of all-golden armor, with short golden hair standing on end, golden pupils, and an expression full of arrogance.
Luo Li almost blurted out, "Goldie?"
She suppressed the urge to comment, as this wasn't the first time she had seen Asfield's human form.
"Your Majesty the Dragon King, congratulations on your victorious return."
However, Asfield shook his head slightly, a trace of solemnity flickering in his proud gaze.
"Something isn't quite right."
Ricardo, the Beast Sovereign, walked over casually and looked the Dragon King up and down with a hint of disdain in his eyes.
Yet, within that disdain, there was also a sliver of respect.
Did he look down on him and respect him at the same time?
The Beast Sovereign's expressions were certainly interesting.
"Oh? Then why don't you tell us what's wrong? Didn't we just win?"
Asfield spoke calmly.
"We did win, but the victory was a bit too easy. A thousand years ago, even when the demon race faced the combined forces of every race on the continent, they were only barely driven out. Now that a thousand years have passed, it's impossible for them not to have progressed at all. For them to retreat so easily... there is likely a trick involved."
Luo Li nodded, as she felt the same way.
Although they had repelled the demon race, it had exhausted nearly all of the dragons' strength.
But was the demon race... really this weak?
Or was there truly some kind of trap ahead?
"A trick? I think a thousand years of time just caused the demon race to completely decline. Besides... the main demon army hasn't even returned yet, has it?"
The Beast Sovereign clapped his hands, and a follower pulled out a chair from nowhere and placed it on the ground.
"Come, come, let's have a drink first. Since we've won, how can we not celebrate?"
Asfield's brow furrowed as he glanced at Ricardo with a look of slight contempt.
"Beast Sovereign, occasionally using your brain would be greatly beneficial to the development of your race."
Ricardo's hairy hand holding the wine glass paused slightly. A stiff smile appeared on his face as his eyes narrowed, and a murderous aura instantly flooded his surroundings.
"Oh? I don't quite understand what you mean, Dragon King. Why don't you... explain it in detail?"
"Hmph!"
"Um... you two, regardless of the circumstances, we currently hold the upper hand in this war. Let's have a drink first."
Seeing that these two polar opposites were about to come to blows, Luo Li quickly stepped down from the carriage and brought out the wine prepared for the celebration.
She quickly poured a glass for each of the two powerhouses.
"Please, gentlemen."
Ricardo narrowed his eyes, eventually letting his killing intent dissipate.
The Dragon King turned his head with a trace of disdain but proudly accepted the wine glass Luo Li handed him.
"Mm... this wine isn't bad."
He took a sip of the swirling red liquid, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
After Ricardo took a sip, he seemed to deliberately want to provoke the Dragon King.
"This wine? This wine is too ordinary! It has no kick at all; it's soft as silk!"
However, Asfield looked at the Beast Sovereign with contempt.
"Hmph! Just a beast. What would you know? The wine is good... but the person pouring it is even better."
Ricardo's brow twitched.
"I... I think so too!"
"?"
They had just finished a battle, so why were they already bickering with each other?
"Gentlemen, now is not the time to discuss whether the wine is good or not."
"Your Majesty the Beast Sovereign, I believe the Dragon King is right. If the demon race could withstand the assault of every race a thousand years ago, it's impossible for them to be so weak now that even a single dragon race could stop them."
Luo Li lowered her head and took a sip of wine. Dominica, being clever, brought over two more chairs.
She placed one behind her own mistress first, then ran to place another behind the Dragon King.
Luo Li glanced back at the chair, feeling satisfied with Dominica's actions. She nodded and sat down.
Immediately after, dozens of figures suddenly appeared behind the Dragon King.
The aura radiating from each person was incredibly immense. A suffocating sensation made Luo Li nearly choke on the wine she had just sipped.
Fortunately, the Dragon King noticed something was wrong and turned back to warn his clansmen with a look, causing the dragons to retract their pressure.
Behind the Beast Sovereign, dozens of members of the Lion-Tiger tribe also arrived. Each one was over two meters tall, broad-shouldered, heavily muscled, and... covered in fur!
She could perhaps accept half-beasts, but pure beastmen were absolutely out of the question!
No way!
Swallowing the wine and feeling the warm, soft sensation as the red wine slid down her throat, a flush of red involuntarily appeared on Luo Li's face.
Her fair skin looked particularly enchanting at that moment.
Ricardo frowned, the casual look finally vanishing from his face as he lowered his head in thought.
"Since the Saintess has put it that way... then perhaps it really is the case. When that Demon Emperor fought me, he always gave me a strange feeling."
Luo Li's brow tightened as she suddenly asked, "Your Majesty the Beast Sovereign, was it a feeling of... lack of substance?"
Ricardo nodded, muttering the words to himself a few times before confirming, "Exactly, that's the feeling. Not practical... not realistic? No, no, it's that he didn't feel real."
As she suspected, there was something strange about that Demon Emperor.
She had felt before that the Demon Emperor always gave off an ethereal, unreal impression.
And the Beast Sovereign, who had actually traded blows with him, naturally had more authority on the matter than Luo Li.
Now the Beast Sovereign had confirmed that sensation.
Combined with that blurring ability, the words 'not real' were essentially confirmed.
"Not real?"
Asfield's golden pupils stared at the swirling red liquid in his glass. He frowned and pondered for a moment.
"Hmm... could it be a clone?"
"How is that possible!?"
Before Luo Li could even ask, the Beast Sovereign beside her spoke with certainty.
"Impossible! As far as I know, a clone's power is at most one-fifth of the original body. That fellow was an equal match for me; how could he possibly be a clone?"
Asfield fell into deep thought.
"Perhaps... the demon race has a unique cloning technique."
Sitting beside two racial emperors, Luo Li's status currently seemed to be the lowest.
And looking at what stood behind them...
Behind the Beast Sovereign were at least a dozen level sixty powerhouses.
Behind the Dragon King were dozens of purebred dragons.
Only behind her, aside from Ligeia and Lina who were somewhat presentable, the rest were just level fifty Guardian Knights.
In such a comparison, Luo Li suddenly realized... it seemed it wasn't just her Kingdom of the Moon that was weak.
It was the entire human race.
If one pulled out every powerhouse of the human race, it was hard to say if they could even scrape together twenty people above level sixty.
Actually, it made sense. The beastmen were born with great strength, and the dragons had powerful bloodlines.
As for humans... aside from nimble hands and clever brains, they truly held no advantage in terms of physical capabilities.
She didn't know how powerful the Pope was a thousand years ago.
But what she clearly understood was that the strength of humans didn't lie in individual power, but in the development and use of tools!
Relying solely on individual strength to fight other races was nothing more than a pipe dream.
It seemed... it was necessary to put some serious thought into developing technology.
Even though this world lacked an industrial base like oil, it possessed mana stones, which were far more convenient than gasoline, as an energy source.
If she could develop from there, she might truly be able to create new technology based on magical elements.
She temporarily suppressed this thought deep in her heart.
The purpose of this trip was for strategy.
But now, she could be considered to have caught a glimpse of the continent's top combat power.
Although the dragons' strength was awe-inspiring, it didn't mean the human race was without any means of resistance.
With this experience, she at least had a clear concept of the top-tier combat power of this era.
This would make it easier to provide guidance for future development.
A dining table had been set up before the three of them at some point. Naturally, the table hadn't been brought by the dragons or the beastmen.
It had been brought out from her Saint's Carriage.
The table was covered with sweets, and knights had already surrounded the area to prevent any accidents.
Though with two emperors present, an accident like an assassination was essentially impossible.
But they had to at least go through the motions.
Lina didn't even dare to sit down.
This was the first time she had seen two racial emperors at once.
Her usual brashness had been tucked away, replaced by a touch of feminine grace.
Seeing her carefully eating sweets with the elegant aura of a refined lady, Luo Li was left dumbfounded.
She even briefly wondered if this girl had feelings for one of the two emperors.
However, neither the Dragon King Asfield nor the Beast Sovereign Ricardo paid any attention to Lina.
There was no choice; she had to be the one to hold the line.
Even if a mere human Saintess seemed somewhat insignificant before these two, she was the one who had personally led this war.
Therefore, she was qualified to sit here.
"We won this battle, so what happens next?"
Asfield's brow tightened.
"Your goal has not yet been achieved, so I suspect this war is not yet over."
The Beast Sovereign seemed indifferent, waving his hand.
"I don't care. If we're fighting, we're fighting."
"Since you both put it that way... shall I share my thoughts?"
Since neither of them wanted to speak first, she had to be the one to open the discussion.
Aside from the talk, they were an unstoppable team. Though... she was mostly just the one doing the talking.
"The demon race has retreated. However, as His Majesty the Dragon King said, while the current situation looks optimistic, it has not achieved my strategic objective."
Even if they retreated, if she couldn't immediately press the Demon Emperor, he could simply have the demon army take a long detour back to the demon island.
The demon race had no naval combat power; there was no way he wouldn't realize that.
The current goal was to make the demon race return to the demon island in a hurry, besieging a point to strike reinforcements and intercepting them midway.
They needed to annihilate the demon race's active forces in one fell swoop.
To force the demon army to retreat along the strategic route of the coastline, she had to give the Demon Emperor a sense of urgency.
That urgency could only be created by the entire army pressing forward to corner the Demon Emperor.
This meant she had to continue advancing, at the very least letting the Demon Emperor see her will to fight.
Only by forcing the demon army to return in haste would they have the chance to wipe out their forces at sea.
If they withdrew now, the result would be giving the demon race room to maneuver.
A calmed-down Demon Emperor would likely have his army return to the demon island via other routes.
As long as the strategic objective wasn't met, they couldn't withdraw for a single day.
"Your Majesties, I think we should do this..."
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