I became a legion lich

253 Empty victory

Canan and Eishin watched all of this from the palace, moving from hologram to hologram and noticing the behavior patterns of evolved demihumans.

Even though the different battles were happening simultaneously and the evolved demi-humans didn’t have contact with each other, they reacted almost equally, as if they were following a pattern or the same predefined strategy.

Canan was confused by this behavior, but Eishin considered it normal. He explained that the giants weren’t very intelligent and had simple, predictable thought patterns and strategies, just attacking whatever got in their way and focusing on whatever they saw as the biggest threat.

There were very few demihumans able to think deeply and formulate real strategies, most just following their instincts.

They didn’t have time to talk, though. The alarms kept ringing non-stop and several different locations were under attack, the slower demihumans had finally appeared. No new species appeared on any of the battlefields, just the same evolved demi-humans they had already encountered.

The battles took several hours and despite the best efforts of the armies and order and church reinforcements, it was impossible to provide reinforcements for all the strongholds at the same time and several were destroyed, leaving dozens thousands dead.

Surprisingly, the number of fortresses and cities that were successfully defended was much greater than the number of fortresses destroyed, but the death toll was exactly the opposite, the death toll reaching almost a hundred thousand dead while the demihumans just a few thousand.

But the biggest loss was the thousands of dead mages and priests, who were much harder to train. It took decades to train a single mage and even more resources, so the losses of the church and order were immense.

Even so, they still couldn’t relax. The order and the church were racing to repair all the damage done and fill in the gaps left by the dead mages, all the while sending attack forces to the battlefields where they were defeated before the demihumans could settle in.

.....

They didn’t plan to send soldiers or dozens of mages this time, but the elite troops of their respective organizations, saints and elders included. Both had fought fiercely as reinforcements for cities that couldn’t handle the battle alone, but still had plenty of power to destroy the remaining strongholds.

“Looks like the first wave is over.” Eishin spoke and was finally able to relax. The Elders and Saints were still mopping up the victorious demihumans, but it was a sure victory and he didn’t bother checking the results.

“But the result was worse than expected.” Canan agreed with him in a bitter voice. “I thought that if we blocked the teleportation and bought enough time to cast large-scale spells it would be enough to eliminate them, but I didn’t expect evolved minotaurs to be so resistant.”

“Things are only going to get worse from now on. These evolved demihumans were just the enemy’s trash, be it in fighting skill, life layers or bloodline. The next enemies that attack us will be even more powerful and will continue to grow in power.”

“It was the giants’ basic strategy during the age of chaos, to send the weakest first to get rid of the bad seeds while investigating their enemies’ strengths.” Eishin spoke from experience.

“Even after all our preparations, our armies were not able to defend themselves without relying on the most powerful ones like elders and saints. The only good part is that we can eliminate all of them to avoid information leakage.”

“None of the demihumans had enough quality teleportation crystals to teleport back to Doravon and pass on the information. As long as we eliminate all of them, we can prevent the information leak.” Canan spoke the only good news he could think of in the whole situation, but Eishin internally disagreed.

‘These demihumans don’t seem to have any intention of returning, but settling here. So they must have another method of sending their findings back to Doravon. Communicating magic items is impossible, as demihumans are incapable of using magic and the only species capable of something like the runesmith was incapable of creating something so complex.’ Eishin began to ponder what the enemy was up to.

‘If they don’t have communication devices, then they must have other ways of contacting the evolved demihumans or at least confirming the results of the battle. What species was capable of something like that? Eishin sifted through his memories to try to find a species that fit, frowning heavily as he remembered a species that fit the requirements.

‘Damn it, if all species are coming back, then those ‘aberrations’ must be back too, or at least must be in the process of recovering their bloodlines. This war is going to be a lot more complicated than I initially thought.’ Eishin thought with a headache, but he didn’t share it with Canan or Eirin.

‘Before alarming them, I need to somehow confirm the situation in Doravon. Perhaps the angels can investigate the continent superficially to at least give me an overview. The problem is how to investigate without Illum finding out or interfering.’ EIshin began to plan, not knowing that Canan and Eirin could spy on the world from moon and easily confirm the situation on Doravon.

Just as he had his ascension plans and secret projects, Canan and Eirin kept their plans for the moon base and their own experiments a secret from Eishin.

They were allies and old friends, but they had their own plans and ideals for the future of humanity, so they kept their main cards hidden from each other.

“I will return to my empire for now, Eishin. Eirin has a lot of work to do as Supreme Elder and we cannot waste any more time here. We have suffered many losses in this battle and we need to deal with the aftermath before replacing our losses and strengthening our defenses, which clearly weren’t enough.” Canan caught Eishin’s attention and bid him farewell.

“Ok, I also need to do the same and compensate several families for their losses.” Eishin nodded and took his leave, the roof of the divine palace opening to allow Canan to depart.

Canan flew out of the palace and disappeared in a purple orb as soon as he left the palace. The divine palace would not prevent teleportation using holy mana, but it would interfere with teleportation using pure mana or the corrupted mana.

After making sure that Canan had already left and that there was no undesirable presence around, Eishin spoken.

“Ariel, come to the throne room immediately, I have a mission for you.” Eishin spoke solemnly, his voice magically echoing through all the rooms and corridors of the palace, but

in less than thirty seconds the throne room doors opened and a lone seraph entered, emitting a graceful aura that comforted the cherubim and made them want to kneel to her.

But they all shook their heads to get rid of that comforting feeling and regain their focus.

The seraph wore a white dress with white and gold ruffles that reached down to his ankles. Unlike the surrounding cherubs, she was almost perfectly human in appearance, only the halo over her head and white wings giving away her nature.

She had blonde hair tied in a single braid that went halfway down her back and sky blue almond shaped eyes. His face strongly resembled Eishin and for good reason.

Ariel was one of Eishin’s eldest daughters, born before Eishin became a god. She was also one of the seven seraphim who commanded the celestial legions and a demigoddess.

“What do you need me for, dad?” Ariel asked with a gentle tone and a sincere smile on her face, but the cherubs only felt goosebumps.

Those who saw her just once would feel relaxed by Ariel’s comforting aura and believe her kind gestures, but anyone who knew her better would know that it was just an act and her real personality was the opposite.

Among all seven seraphs, Ariel was the most ruthless and responsible for intelligence, the angels under her command being specialized in assassinations and intelligence gathering, most being spies or assassins for the empire when they were still human.

“Stop that act, Aria. I’m not in the mood for jokes right now.” Eishin replied as he massaged his temples with a headache.

“It was you who suddenly called me while I was busy in the lab and I had to leave everything behind to answer your call. At least let me enjoy myself.” Ariel changed her tone to a more casual one and her appearance changed accordingly.

Her white dress changed shape and became a simple pair of jean shorts with chain belts and a top that barely left any room for imagination. Her hairstyle has also changed from an intricate braid to a simple ponytail.

A gulping sound was heard as one of the guarding cherubs looked down at Ariel with the contemplative expression of a man who has achieved enlightenment.