"The beastmen are not the only forces that Emilia prepared for this battle." Ysnay's words caused my expression to change.
Damn, I'm in trouble this time.
Ysnay's words don't look like much, but they revealed a lot.
It means that the army my girls had been fighting until now is just a part of Emilia's forces.
"Where are the other forces?" I hurriedly asked, but Ysnay shrugged and shook her head.
"I'm not sure. Emilia went to great lengths to hide it from me. And even if I knew, I won't tell you. What I'm doing right now can be considered cheating, so I won't tell you much more. Otherwise, once you win and Emilia becomes a part of your harem, she will make things difficult for me. You will have to find the rest for yourself. And you should hurry up. You don't have a lot of time."
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
"Thank you. It was valuable information."
"I'm glad to help you. See you later, my love. Next time we meet, you will get a nice surprise."
Ysnay winked at me and kissed my lips softly. Then, she disappeared from this place as though she never was here.
Only the daemon girl remained with me. But since the start, she had not spoken a word. In fact, she had been overwhelmed by Ysnay's appearance and was standing still in a daze
I used a few seconds to organize the information that Ysnay gave me. Then, I let out a long breath.
"It looks like I have a lot of work to do. I hope I have enough time."
Now, I should think about what to do next.
My main priority should be finding where Emilia's other forces are.
The fact that Emilia did not use the extra troops since the start means that she has another plan for them.
The raw power of these extra troops should not be that strong. Otherwise, it would have been more effective to use them right away. If she could defeat us in a direct confrontation, then there is no need to use other plots.
Then, what is the purpose of these troops?
I came to an answer quickly.
To conquer the empire.
The game that Emilia suggested to win against my girls was not [Battle]. It was [War].
It means that there are other ways to win besides directly defeating the enemy.
For example, she can use the beastkin army to tie up the girls while her other troops conquer the empire with a swift attack.
The key to this strategy is to catch us by surprise. The longer I take to discover this plan, the least means I will have to turn the situation around.
It also means that these troops will most likely come from a different direction than the Beastkin Alliance, making it harder for me to discover them.
I thought for a few seconds, and then, a gleam of light flashed through my eyes.
The elves.
That is most likely the answer.
Emilia should know that E'Athar is in the Daemon Empire. It means that I will pay particular attention to the Daemon Empire and sweep my senses through it regularly, increasing the chances of discovering any pawn she hides there.
But the elves are different. I don't have any particular relationship with the elves. It's easier for her to plant a pawn there.
But, the question is, how did Emilia hide it from me?
I have lived for over seven hundred lifetimes. I don't dare to say that I'm the smartest person in the universe, but there is no way I won't notice such an obvious loophole in the rules of the game.
Since the start, I knew that Emilia could use other troops besides the Beastkin Alliance to attack us. Due to it, I paid special attention to Emilia's movements to guard against it.
But all this time, I never discovered anything.
That was the reason I was surprised when Ysnay told me that Emilia prepared other troops.
Fuck.
Right now, I had two choices.
The first one was to go to the elven forest and search for the troops that Emilia prepared secretly.
The second was to go to the Daemon Empire to help E'Athar.
I did not think for long before sighing. Then, I looked at the daemon girl that was still looking blankly at the place where Ysnay was just now.
"Let's go. We need to hurry to help your master."
The daemon girl snapped out of her daze and nodded.
Yes, my choice was to go to help E'Athar.
I can't guarantee that I will find the troops that Emilia hid even if I go to the Elven Forest now, and even if I find them, I can't destroy them.
Otherwise, I would be breaking the rules.
Plus, saving E'Athar is my priority right now.
Moreover, now that I know about Emilia's plan, I can use this visit to the Daemon Empire to prepare a few countermeasures.
I must say that this time Ysnay helped me a lot.
Thanking her in my mind, I stepped across space again and went to meet E'Athar.
This time, nothing blocked our way.
One second later, I appeared in the sky above the city where E'Athar was.
Looking down, a tragic sight fell in my eyes.
A fortified city was being defended crazily as countless daemon soldiers attacked it from all directions.
The city was surrounded by at least fifty thousand daemons. Meanwhile, less than ten thousand daemons were defending it. With a single glance, I knew that the city could not endure this siege for long.
A beautiful woman was standing at the highest point of the wall, helping to defend the city. She was a beautiful daemon girl with pale-gray skin, snow-white hair, and slightly golden eyes. Her body was covered by iron armor and she held a sword in her hand.
The aura coming from her body was so strong that it was overwhelming.
Right now, she seemed like a goddess of war defending her people from invaders.
At that moment, the woman seemed to feel my gaze and looked towards me.
When our gazes met, her eyes widened and her body stiffened.
"Claus." She spoke my name softly.
I smiled and flew towards her.
We had not met since the war in Fort Mist.
However, my beloved Daemon Princess was just as beautiful as I remembered her.