As I sit waiting I think about doing some looting but realize I don't have a way to carry anything. My pouch is still full of gold and drake bone and all the other random crap I have collected in my travels. At some point I am really going to have to empty it out and sort through everything, after all I don't need to carry everything with me.

If nothing else I should transfer the bulky stuff to the backpack since it can hold a whole lot more. I have so much I need to do when I return to Illium, I am going to need to cross the land bridge as fast as possible. Well as fast as Vacker can move anyway, I could move faster alone but I want him to continue training me.

The hardest part is probably going to be keeping him alive through all the beasts we are likely to encounter. He is great with a sword, probably among the best in this world, but he is still only human. Not that I think there is anything wrong with being human, since I was one, but it does have its physical limitations.

Crossing the land bridge won't be easy with just the two of us, but I will find a way. I will also do everything I can to keep Vacker alive, he deserves to live and enjoy his freedom. I may put him to work training myself and my soldiers but he will still be free.

As I sit there thinking the sounds of combat slowly fade away and then cease completely. Sounds like the demon lords have finished the battle and taken the castle. Now after a period of consolidating their forces they should attack Lord Dra.

They will need to attack fairly quickly before Lord Dra has a chance to repair his forces and prepare for their attack. Ideally they should attack Lord Dra immediately so he doesn't have any time to prepare. Either way they should take a lot of casualties and that will buy us the time we need to prepare for their invasion.

The only thing I am concerned about is if they want to keep me around until after their attack on Lord Dra. I would rather not stay, the sooner I get back the sooner I can start preparing. The list of things I need to do before the invasion just keeps getting longer and longer, I need to get started.

My first priority has to be the temples, if the goddesses are stronger they might be able to help even the playing field. The goddesses can give power to their followers, maybe if they gain more power they can share some of it with the humans. I know Krenocia said Seronia would need decades to master the Orb of Arkat to give all the humans the ability to gain levels, but maybe she can do it for a few people sooner.

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Originally I thought the beastmen alone would be a match for the demons, but that was before I saw the true power of the demon lords. Their lieutenants are almost as bad, it will take a dozen beastmen to match one of them. I don't even know how many lieutenants there are between the five allied demon lords.

Each of the demon lords should have a lieutenant, but it's possible that they have more than one. Not to mention they may have other powerful demons under their control, even now I just don't know enough about their forces. But I don't want to stay here any longer even if it means I can learn more, I am ready to go home.

Maybe if I am forced to stay here longer I can find out a bit more about their forces. But that all depends on what the allied lords decide to do with me, I may be free of the manacles but I am still basically a prisoner. They may be treating me as an ally but I don't for a minute think they have forgotten I will be their enemy from now on.

It is kind of sad since I think if they weren't my enemies I would like most of the five of them. Lady Xinun would probably still be someone I would avoid even if she wasn't a demon lord. As if thinking about her summoned her, she walks in through the door with a smile on her face.

Lady Xinun says "The last of Lord Shendaw's forces are either dead or surrendered. We have won!"

"Congratulations!"

Lady Xinun says "Now, while the others take care of things here, it is time to keep our end of the deal."

"You're going to set me free?"

Lady Xinun says "Yes, is that so surprising?"

"Well, I sort of thought you would keep me around as long as you could."

Lady Xinun says "Why would we do that?"

"To delay me from returning and starting the preparations to counter your invasion across the land bridge."

Lady Xinun says "We would only need to do that if we saw you as a threat."

"Are you telling me that no matter what I do I am no threat to you?"

Lady Xinun says "No matter how strong you become you will not match five of us. And humans as useful as they are cannot match demons, so no you are not a serious threat."

"I won't try to convince you that you are wrong. I will wait and prove it to you."

Lady Xinun says "You cannot hope to match our current power, and by the time we invade we will be even stronger."

"We will just have to wait and see."

Lady Xinun says "I suppose so, by the way the others have agreed. If we capture you, you are mine."

"That will only happen if I lose."

Lady Xinun says "Yes, but I will look forward to it all the same. Now let's return to my castle so I can keep my promises."

She walks over and takes hold of my arm and then the world around me blurs and shifts. When everything comes back into focus we are standing on the dais in the great hall of Lady Xinun's castle. She sits in her throne and sends servants to fetch Vacker and something else she doesn't specify.