Mercy says "And the goddesses have selected you to lead us in this war?"

"I don't know that I am supposed to lead you, but I am supposed to unite you. And not just the humans, the beastmen must help as well or all is lost."

Mercy says "So, you are supposed to convince the three kingdoms to not only work together but to fight alongside the beastmen?"

"Pretty much."

Mercy says "Tell me, are you good at performing miracles?"

"Not so much, but if you don't want to be a demon's slave you better hope I can pull it off."

Mercy says "Do you know when this war is to take place?"

"Sometime in the next few years supposedly."

Mercy says "Supposedly??"

"The goddesses can't see into the demon's territory so until the demons march they can't give an accurate time frame."

Mercy says "Then how do they know it is going to be soon?"

"Because the barrier blocking them from invading is down after two thousand years or so. You may not know this but the ancient empire was founded by refugees fleeing the demons, they blocked pursuit with a barrier. That barrier blocked the entire land bridge, but it has recently failed."

Zamart says "So since we are descendants of the ancient empire this is just a continuation of the original war?"

"From the demon's point of view, very probably."

Mercy says "So we need to win this war as fast as possible and then start getting ready for the next one."

"Basically, yes."

Alexa says "So where does this temple fit into the picture?"

"From what I know the temples existed here before the ancient empire. Destroying them will make the twins stronger."

Mercy says "Temples? There is more than one?"

"There are four, wind, earth, fire, and water."

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Zamart says "So your task is to destroy all four before the demons invade?"

"Correct."

Alexa says "Then shouldn't you leave now and leave this battle to us?"

"The king sent this force because I am here, I will do my part. If nothing else I will fight just to ruin his plans and infuriate him."

Mercy says "You seem to dislike my stepfather."

"In one respect I am grateful to him, if he hadn't done what he did I wouldn't be here. But everything I have learned about him makes me despise him, I want to kill him!"

Mercy says "Then why not just sneak in and assassinate him?"

"If there wasn't a rank seven shadow demon in the castle protecting him then I would have already done so."

Zamart says "What?! Rank seven!!"

Mercy says "Sorry Zamart, I had received this report but hadn't had a chance to tell you yet."

Zamart says "It's fine princess, but rank seven is a serious issue. So that must be why I have never been able to tell what Quill was up to."

Mercy says "What can we do to deal with it?"

"Once I get stronger I will be able to kill it."

Mercy says "Will you really be able to?"

"I defeated a rank five demon already, and I was much weaker then. So yes, I am confident I will be able to."

Zamart says "I really want to hear about everything you have been through so far!"

"I've already told the story to Mercy, she can fill you in later. Right now we should discuss the upcoming battle, have you received any reports on what we will be facing?"

Alexa says "Yes, we know what is coming against us already. The king's secret army of ten thousand is being sent to wipe us out, and it will be led by heroes."

"So the army he planned to use to sneak attack the other nations is now headed here?"

Alexa says "That is correct, it seems both your group and ours has done too much to anger the king. Now he wants us gone even if it means losing an advantage against the other kingdoms."

"Hm, if I used the portal to Illium and his spies saw me there do you think he would redirect the army?"

Mericel says "Knowing my father, yes. He sees you as the biggest threat to his plans."

Mercy says "That won't work, Illium is defended by adventurers and mercenaries. They may be stronger individually but they are no match for an organized force."

Alexa says "Maybe, maybe not."

Mercy says "What do you mean?"

Alexa says "Keep in mind his secret army may be very well trained, but they are still green. This will be their first battle, and they were originally conscripts so I wouldn't expect their morale to be high."

"If this secret army is wiped out, which do you think would scare the king more? Us wiping them out or Illium?"

Mercy says "Definitely us, we are inside his borders and can attack the capital much easier than anyone else."

"Then we should stick with the original plan of fighting them here."

Mercy says "I agree, but why do you say that?"

"Because the more scared the king is, the more likely he will make mistakes."

Zamart says "That is a good point, he has already made several mistakes where you are concerned."

Mercy says "I'm curious, what did you say to the king to make him fear you so?"

"Oh that, I sent him the guard commander's head with the message that I will be the last thing he ever sees."

Alexa says "Guard commander? Do you mean Tarrik?"

"Yeah, I think that was his name."

Alexa says "You did the whole kingdom a favor when you killed that trash!"

Mercy says "His replacement is even dumber, we have reaped many benefits from him leading the army."

Alexa says "Except now we are going to be dealing with shadow demons leading the armies, right Lord Ash?"

"Yes, that is the most likely option"