"That is essentially the situation."
The army regrouped and cleaned the battlefield. Meanwhile, Luo Li repeated the plan she had discussed with the Dragon King and Rhine to Ricardo.
"I see. Your analysis is correct."
The Beast Sovereign nodded. As an emperor, although he was war-hungry, he had to consider his subordinates.
A commander could not measure everything by his own desires.
"So, you're saying our only way out now is to bypass the Demon King's Castle?"
The Beast Sovereign looked back into the distance, where thick toxic gas filled the air.
Faint streaks of black energy were visible to the naked eye.
Even from a distance, the faint stench was noticeable.
"Yes. My only solution now is to go around the Demon King's Castle from the north and avoid the demon army's elite forces."
The possibility of a frontal breakthrough back the way they came was essentially zero.
Since they had already broken through once, the demons would certainly be on guard.
The chances of successfully repeating the same trick were practically negative.
In this era, even if the strong were incredibly powerful, they would eventually be crushed by numbers.
A massive army could easily kill a powerhouse.
Bringing the skysoar dragons this time served two purposes.
If they could find the Beast Sovereign's forces as quickly as possible, they would return the way they came before the demon army could react.
But that was just a gamble on luck, and it was clear that luck was not on their side this time.
The beastmen had retreated a great distance and were already engaged with the demons.
The location of the battle must have been discovered by the Demon Emperor.
If they retreated now, the Demon Emperor could even predict their return path by judging the shortest distance between two points.
So the only way now was to ride the skysoar dragons and avoid demon surveillance.
Find a way to bypass the Demon King's Castle.
As she spoke, Luo Li waved toward the sky.
The massive black dragon instantly turned into a plume of black smoke.
It took human form in mid-air, broke through the smoke, and landed in front of Luo Li.
Aegie and Shalin, the dragon sisters, also landed on the ground.
"What are your orders, Saintess?"
"Mr. Black, are there demons chasing us from a distance?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, there are... and more than one army, including some flying creatures."
"How many?"
"Please forgive my incompetence; I cannot distinguish the numbers."
Without specific information on the enemy forces, this battle was going to be a bit difficult.
However, Luo Li had already prepared herself mentally before coming, so she wasn't surprised.
"Lancelot."
"Here."
Lancelot, who had been standing behind Luo Li, stepped forward. The massive cross on his back was incredibly striking.
"Immediately assign the skysoar dragons to all the beastmen troops and count the extras."
"Yes."
Lancelot took the order and went to distribute the units.
Luo Li lowered her head in thought for a moment, then suddenly asked the Beast Sovereign.
"Your Majesty, I saw some dead beastmen on the way here, but their bodies weren't eaten by the demons. Why is that?"
The traces of the small battlefield she found on the way here, though not large in scale, had many strange points.
This was also something that concerned Luo Li greatly.
Hearing this, the Beast Sovereign's wide grin slowly faded.
A hint of grief flashed in his golden pupils.
"Those lads... have been infected by demon energy. I don't need to tell you who the culprit is, do I?"
Infected by demon energy! They've turned into demonized creatures?
Luo Li was stunned for a moment, and her mind instinctively jumped to the toxic gas!
"So that's how it is."
Although she didn't know how the demons were spreading this toxic gas, demon energy usually existed within living beings.
In other words, this toxic gas spreading from the Demon King's Castle was clearly related to the corpses.
No wonder there was that strange stench.
"My subordinates said that when the toxic gas first began to spread, there were sounds of fighting and shouting within the city."
The Beast Sovereign glanced toward the Demon King's Castle, his golden vertical pupils flashing with explosive rage.
Yet he had to endure.
In the current situation, they were clearly at a disadvantage; no matter how angry he was, he couldn't act impulsively.
"Fighting and shouting? You mean... a massacre occurred within the Demon King's Castle?"
"It is very likely."
A massacre, using the corpses along with some small tricks to spread the demon energy? It sounded like the demons' style.
But if it were just that, they probably wouldn't need to resort to a massacre.
The Demon Emperor likely had another motive.
The only thing I can think of... is that giant tentacle!
The situation on the initial battlefield flashed through her mind.
Based on that, the appearance of this demon tentacle required certain conditions.
It could be an activation condition, a condition to attract it, or a sacrifice condition.
That tentacle appeared after large-scale casualties occurred on the battlefield.
If it really used life or souls as an activation condition, then that would explain why the Demon King's Castle never closed its gates.
He was doing it on purpose! He wanted to use the massive casualties brought by the war to attract that tentacle!
"This is bad!!"
A thought suddenly flashed through her mind.
"What's bad?"
The Beast Sovereign was startled and looked Luo Li up and down with a strange expression.
"We cannot fight the demons head-on on this demon island!"
Luo Li didn't know how many more secrets this demon island still hid.
But that giant tentacle... could it be spread across the entire demon island?
If that were true, once the army at the two high grounds of the evacuation point engaged the demons head-on, it would inevitably lead to massive casualties.
And those casualties might very well cause that tentacle to appear again.
One tentacle required the demons to give their all; what if several appeared together?
That thing was no longer just a tentacle; it was a strategic-grade weapon.
If such a strategic-grade weapon were truly summoned, it would be absolutely devastating for the army!
"No, we can't wait any longer. We must depart immediately!"
The skysoar dragons were indeed fast, but the cavalry units were closer to the evacuation point.
If a large-scale conflict really broke out, then...
Boom—!
Just as Luo Li thought of this, the ground suddenly let out a violent roar.
In the distance, visible to the naked eye, a giant tentacle extended from the earth.
Its height clearly exceeded the one seen before.
The giant tentacle was clearly visible even from such a great distance—about twenty kilometers away.
Its size was likely much larger than even a dragon!
That massive tentacle was like a skyscraper rising from the ground, constantly twisting and lashing out.
The dragons clearly couldn't hold on any longer and began to retreat.
Even from dozens of kilometers away, the forms of the five-hundred-meter dragons flying hundreds of meters in the air were still faintly visible.
The vision of the beastmen was generally much stronger than that of humans.
Luo Li could see the situation in the distance, but the Beast Sovereign saw it even more clearly.
"That Dragon King fellow... is injured."
"That tentacle appeared too suddenly. The Dragon King was caught by it and slammed into the ground."
"I see that although his flight isn't hindered, his right leg has stopped moving. It must be broken."
Black nodded.
"His Majesty the Beast Sovereign is correct. My Sovereign is indeed injured."
She was somewhat envious of these non-human races. This vision was truly impressive.
In any case, Luo Li couldn't see clearly; she could only see some small black dots.
"Returning the way we came is no longer an option. Black, notify the Dragon King to retreat. At the same time, tell him to watch the ground and try to avoid combat."
Luo Li took a deep breath. She had to make a decision.
Returning the way they came would be suicide.
Black frowned slightly.
"Saintess, just... 'watch the ground, avoid combat'? That's it?"
"Yes, tell him that. As for the rest, the Dragon King is wise enough to understand."
"As you command."
Black placed his hand over his chest and bowed, took two steps back, then leaped up, instantly transforming into a black dragon and roaring at the sky.
Roar!!
A dragon's roar could travel a great distance. Even across dozens of kilometers, it should be able to convey the message accurately.
The black dots in the distant sky heard the roar and roared back in response.
Immediately after, the dragons began to retreat.
The feathered serpents did not pursue; they only pressed closely, refusing to let up.
And in a corner of the sky to the northeast, near the Demon King's Castle, a portion of the aerial forces was faintly visible.
She didn't know what kind of creatures they were, as the distance was simply too great.
"Your Majesty, are those the enemy forces chasing us?"
"Yes, hmm... those flying creatures look very strange."
"What do they look like? Can you describe them?"
"The front half of the body is like an eagle, but the back half... is a lion?"
The Beast Sovereign narrowed his eyes and observed carefully before giving this conclusion.
Eagle head and lion body? No way!
"Griffins?"
The Beast Sovereign looked puzzled.
"Hmm? Have you seen such creatures before? I've never seen them."
"Uh... it's not that I've seen them, I just saw them recorded in a certain biography."
Ricardo nodded with an "I see" expression.
"Which biography? I'll have to take a look later."
Which one? The book called 《The Holy Maiden’s Tragic Ruin》. Would you believe me?
Luo Li rolled her eyes at the Beast Sovereign.
Could she say they were products she had seen on Earth?
"I've forgotten the specific one. If Your Majesty is interested, you can investigate it yourself."
"Forget it. There are so many biographies; it would take me until the end of time to read them all!"
Heh. As a king, he was surprisingly indifferent to cultural knowledge.
But then again, an emperor wasn't a scholar.
"Highness, the distribution is complete. One thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven skysoar dragons have been assigned, with one hundred and sixty-two remaining."
"Good. Then let's go. We must bypass the Demon King's Castle."
She glanced back at the battlefield.
The battle was clearly in its final stages, and both sides were starting to pull back.
As for whether the Demon Emperor would come after her, she wasn't sure.
"Hey, hey, hey, was I counted?"
The Beast Sovereign suddenly asked Lancelot, causing Lancelot's expression to stiffen as he quickly replied politely.
"Of course, you have already been included."
"That's good. I want to ride the best one!!"
"That might be difficult, as the lead dragon needs to issue orders. As a foreign guest..."
"What? As an emperor, can I not issue orders? Who do you think I am!!"
The Beast Sovereign was like a child at this moment, looking all proud and stubborn.
"If it's not the lead dragon, I'm not riding!!"
"This..."
Lancelot stood there awkwardly, not knowing whether to agree or refuse.
Luo Li pulled Lancelot back.
"Fine. Since he's unwilling to ride, let him run on the ground. We're here to save people; one more of him doesn't make a difference, and one less doesn't matter either."
After saying that, she turned and left, leaving behind an awkward Lancelot and a dumbfounded Beast Sovereign.
"Eh? Hey! Wait—!"
...
In the end, the Beast Sovereign "very reluctantly" agreed to ride a regular skysoar dragon.
Looking at that large face written all over with indignation, Luo Li almost couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"I say... can't you give me a better one? Look at this one, so scrawny. One look and you can tell it can't take three hits."
"Your Majesty, you are riding the dragon, not fighting it."
Luo Li explained patiently.
Although it was a bit unfair to this emperor, there was no other way.
After all, Mr. Momo was the lead dragon, and Lancelot was her direct subordinate.
Both were crucial figures and couldn't be handed over to this somewhat unreliable emperor.
As for the other black dragons, Black and the sisters Aegie and Shalin, without the Dragon King's holy decree, they naturally wouldn't let an outsider ride on their heads.
"Tch..."
The Beast Sovereign curled his lip. At this moment, where was even a hint of his Lion King's dignity?
He looked exactly like a big cat whose favorite toy had been snatched away.
After arranging everything in less than two minutes, the army behind them became clear.
The griffins the demons were riding were now visible even to Luo Li.
As expected, they looked exactly as she imagined: half eagle, half lion.
Without a doubt, these were griffins!
However, these griffins looked extremely hideous. They seemed to be in a state of demonic corruption.
Although they had feathers, most parts were covered in scales similar to those of a fish.
This was different from the cool griffins Luo Li knew. One look was enough to tell they were corrupted by demon energy.
The dragon army took off and began flying into the distance.
Luo Li remained seated atop the black dragon Black's head, rising against the howling wind.
But just as the black dragon ascended, a flash of black light suddenly appeared from the pursuing demon forces behind.
The condensed dark element fluctuations made Luo Li's heart skip a beat!
"Dodge it!"
"Rest assured, Saintess!!"
Black seemed very confident. Facing the sudden burst of black light, he suddenly turned the dragon's head and swung his massive tail downward with a boom!
Boom!!
The massive dark energy instantly exploded, yet Black's tail showed no sign of injury, and not even a mark was left on his black dragon scales.
Accompanied by a thunderous roar, a familiar voice drifted from behind.
"My lovely and beautiful Saintess of the Moon... where do you think you're going?"
The Demon Emperor has arrived!
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