As the sound drew closer, Luo Li couldn't help but furrow her brow.
She glanced at the little brother in front of her—Mochizuki Shingen.
"Don't say a word, or I won't be able to protect you."
The newcomers were demons, and the absolute elite of the demon race at that.
Aerial units were precious to any nation, let alone the demons.
Such a unit would certainly not be composed of those with low intelligence.
Thinking of this, Luo Li felt her scalp tingle.
She even subconsciously adjusted her posture, tightening her stance.
There was no helping it; she was facing the demon race.
To say she wasn't nervous would be a lie.
However, she did have some confidence in her heart.
At the very least, her current appearance was completely different from her Saintess form.
Unless someone had seen her up close recently, it was absolutely impossible for them to recognize her.
With that thought, Luo Li turned her gaze out the window.
By then, the eagle-like shriek from the distance had already reached them.
"General, it's right here!"
"Understood. Everyone, descend. Since it is a Queen, we must not be impolite."
"As you command."
The voice of the leader was very raspy, but the vocabulary used was perfectly standard continent language.
Hearing this, Luo Li's brow furrowed slightly.
In her experience, although the demons also used the continent language, it usually carried a strange accent.
It felt somewhat like a local dialect.
But this demon was different; despite the raspy voice, he spoke fluent, standard continent language.
It sounded just like a human speaking.
Could it be... this general is a demonized human?
While she was lost in thought, the sound of clanking armor came from outside.
Immediately after, the footsteps stopped beneath the ox-horse beast.
"Demon Marshal Bryce, Chief Commander of the griffin unit and a fiend, greets the Lady Queen. I request the Lady Queen to show herself."
Instantly, Luo Li confirmed that this Bryce was not a traditional demon.
Regardless of his rank or title.
At the very least, a traditional demon would never be this polite.
Based on his tone and vocabulary, the man was clearly a noble-class entity.
Luo Li hesitated for a moment, signaling Mochizuki Shingen with her eyes to stay quiet, before turning and lifting the curtain.
She looked down from the ox-horse beast.
Kneeling right beside the beast's head was a man clad in heavy armor.
He was over three meters tall, broad-shouldered, and burly.
His limbs were covered in pitted black skin, with patches of black hair growing on them.
His chest and abdomen were the same.
One look was enough to tell he wasn't a purebred demon.
If he were an orc, he would be at least four meters tall.
Given his height of around three meters, he was likely a demonized human.
The title fiend also fit this description.
"General Bryce, do you have business with me?"
"Lady Queen, I am Demon Marshal Bryce. Upon hearing from my subordinate that a Queen had been discovered, I came to receive you, as travel in this weather would surely be troublesome."
From beginning to end, Bryce did not look up at Luo Li once.
He appeared incredibly respectful.
Although Luo Li didn't understand just how precious a purebred female demon was.
At least from his reaction, the status of a purebred was indeed peerless.
"My name is Li Luo, and I've come from the outer islands. It's good that you thought to come for me."
Li Luo looked down at Bryce.
"Look up."
"Yes."
As he spoke, Bryce raised his head to look at Luo Li, their gazes meeting in mid-air.
Bryce gave a slight nod.
"Lady Queen, please dismount from the ox-horse beast. We have prepared a gentle griffin for you to take you to the West Demon City to rest."
This Bryce was truly thorough.
He had actually thought about how difficult it would be for the ox-horse beast to travel in the heavy rain and came specifically to receive her.
It was truly hard to imagine how high the status of female demons was within the race.
Having a Demon Marshal personally come to receive her made Luo Li feel somewhat overwhelmed by the favor.
"Mmm... very well."
Luo Li mused for a moment. Under the current circumstances, she had no room to refuse.
Refusing would only arouse Bryce's suspicion.
Setting everything else aside, judging by Bryce's attitude and etiquette, this guy was definitely a clever one.
When dealing with clever people, one must not show the slightest hesitation.
With that, Luo Li turned back into the carriage and grabbed Mochizuki Shingen by the neck.
"Don't say anything, and don't eat anything. Be good, or you'll surely die."
Mochizuki Shingen's eyes flickered as he gave a slight nod, then obediently allowed Luo Li to carry him outside.
Bryce was momentarily stunned when he saw Mochizuki Shingen in Luo Li's hand.
"Lady Queen, this is..."
"This is my toy."
She dangled Mochizuki Shingen in front of Bryce's eyes.
"Have someone watch him for me later. Don't let him run away, and don't let any other demons eat him. Otherwise... you understand the consequences."
"Please rest assured. In our West Demon City, no one would dare to offend a Queen."
It seemed the identity of Lady Queen was indeed very useful.
She really wondered what was so special about female demons.
Was it really because of a queen ant society?
Luo Li was suspicious in her heart but didn't dare show it on her face.
She stepped toward a griffin. The creature was very obedient, crouching on the ground as she approached to make it easier for her to mount.
However, the griffin's body was still a bit too large; she couldn't get on without jumping.
At this thought, a sudden surge of tyrannical desire erupted within her!
Subconsciously, Luo Li turned to look at a nearby demon.
"You! Come here and kneel."
The demon was stunned for a moment, but then he ran over with a look of pure joy.
He performed a sliding kneel in front of Luo Li, his face full of anticipation.
"Lady Queen, please give your orders."
"Stretch out your hand... never mind. Raise your head and keep your neck straight."
As she spoke, Luo Li raised her foot and stepped directly onto the demon's face.
Of course, she didn't use her heel, or it would have been a skewered demon head.
She pressed her forefoot directly onto the demon's face, then used it as a stepping stone to flip herself onto the griffin's back.
Looking down at the kneeling demon, she saw him straining to keep his neck straight while bowing his back deeply.
Seeing this action, although Luo Li was still a bit confused, her gaze instinctively drifted to where it shouldn't have.
Down there, a small tent had already been pitched, even pushing up against his armor.
Are the demons all masochists?
Eww.
At the thought, Luo Li felt goosebumps all over.
It was just a kick to the face; was there really a need for that?
What kind of pathetic race were the demons!
Looking at the demon kneeling on the ground with a look of pure bliss, Luo Li felt a shiver down her spine.
She instinctively turned back to look at the ox-horse beast.
"This ox-horse beast was taken from Demon General Imam. I'll leave it to you to send it back."
With that, Luo Li glanced down at the demon who still looked blissful.
"Hey, how do I fly this thing?"
"Reporting to the Lady Queen, you only need to pull the reins. The commands are very simple, just like riding a horse."
Hearing his response, Luo Li reached out and pulled the reins. With a gentle tug, the griffin stood up from the ground.
She had some prior experience with horse riding, so she quickly got the hang of controlling the griffin.
Luo Li looked up at Demon Marshal Bryce.
"Bryce, lead the way."
"Yes, Lady Queen."
Bryce rose from the ground. Despite his burly stature, he remained exceptionally respectful in front of Luo Li.
He mounted his griffin, and with a sharp shout of "Hah!", the griffin instantly spread its wings and soared into the sky.
Luo Li followed suit, pulling the reins and giving a light shout. Her griffin took flight as well.
With one hand on the reins and the other holding Mochizuki Shingen, she followed Bryce toward the west.
The griffin's speed was truly fast, easily reaching three to four hundred kilometers per hour.
In just half an hour, they traveled from their takeoff point to the skies above the West Demon City.
"Lady Queen, below us is West Demon City. His Majesty the Demon Emperor will surely hold a banquet for you once he learns of your arrival!"
"Don't bother with all that. I only came to West Demon City to see if there are any suitable sub-lovers. There's no need for such trouble."
"I see. Is the Lady Queen here to choose a sub-lover? Then I will notify the other demons as soon as possible."
"I told you, there's no need. If I'm to choose, I'll do it in secret. I won't allow trash to become my sub-lover."
To deceive the seemingly high-IQ Bryce, Luo Li instantly entered her role.
As a demon Queen, her choices naturally had to be made with extreme caution.
"The Lady Queen is right. It was my oversight. I will arrange accommodations for the Lady Queen immediately. You may stay as long as you wish."
At this point, he looked up at Luo Li.
"Lady Queen, should I arrange for you to meet the Queen Empress?"
Bryce's question seemed different from his previous ones, and the look in his eyes had changed.
Lady Queen and Queen Empress... was there a difference between these titles?
Although she wasn't sure what the distinction was, she didn't refuse.
"You arrange it."
Hearing Luo Li say this, the hint of suspicion in Bryce's eyes gradually faded.
"As you command, Lady Queen."
Queen and Empress—judging by the comparison of these two titles, the latter was definitely more noble than the former.
But where did that nobility lie?
Luo Li didn't know.
However, she didn't have time to consider it further now.
The griffin slowly descended toward the Demon King's Castle below.
When Luo Li saw the city, she couldn't help but sigh in her heart.
As expected!
This city was built by humans.
Why did she think so?
Almost all the buildings in this city were made of stone. Setting aside whether the demons had the ability to build such a city.
The size of the houses alone was not tailored for the demons' stature.
The dimensions of all the houses matched those of humans.
In other words, this city must have been built by humans for themselves, not for the demons.
This city was likely built by the original inhabitants of this demon island a thousand years ago.
As the griffin slowly descended.
Luo Li finally saw a massive black opening in the very center of the city.
Beneath this giant hole, countless lights seemed to be illuminating the interior.
As the griffin descended further, corridors appeared on the surrounding rock walls.
These corridors seemed to have been carved out with chisels and axes.
All the steps clung to the cliff walls, spiraling downward.
The massive hole was nearly a kilometer in diameter.
The storm above continued to rage, and the water falling on the ground slid down the cliff walls like a hidden paradise, leaving one in awe.
It was hard to imagine that the demons had such a vast living space.
The giant hole continued downward, and as the griffin descended, the lights around them grew even brighter.
Luo Li looked up.
These lights were all made by mages, and each one had something like a wire.
Connecting to the other lights.
To supply so many lights and keep them burning twenty-four hours a day... the internal situation of the demons might actually be quite different from what Luo Li had imagined.
"Lady Queen, the demons on the outer islands don't need to live underground to avoid sneak attacks from the dragon race like we do, so their living environment should be similar to that of humans."
Bryce spoke calmly. As the griffin descended, he pointed to the massive opening about two or three hundred meters below.
"That is the entrance to West Demon City."
"Oh? Then what is that thing above?"
Bryce smiled.
"That is a city-state left behind by a human nation that existed on this demon island a thousand years ago. It's useless to us and only serves as a smokescreen to deceive the dragon race."
While they spoke, the griffin had descended to a height of three hundred meters.
At that moment, Luo Li suddenly felt her body pass through a thin film.
The sensation was indescribable.
"The Lady Queen need not worry. This film is dark element magic, meant to prevent any outsiders from invading."
Luo Li nodded and didn't ask further. Finally, the griffin landed on the ground.
When Luo Li looked down, she saw a massive stone platform.
All around the platform were griffins that seemed to take off from here.
Recalling the previous war, Luo Li gave a slight nod.
It seemed this was where the demon elites were stationed.
She turned to look at Bryce, who hopped off his griffin and pointed toward a massive ox-horse beast not far away.
"Lady Queen, let's get in the carriage first. I will answer all your questions one by one afterward."
Luo Li nodded and walked toward the ox-horse beast, still carrying Mochizuki Shingen.
It seemed this ox-horse beast was used for more than just transporting military supplies on a daily basis.
It could also be used like a bus.
If only these ox-horse beasts could be introduced to the Kingdom of the Moon.
Such massive, gentle, and resilient beasts would be perfect for transporting goods.
They really were good beasts of burden.
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