795 The final hurdle [1]
The situation in Idonea was anything but favorable for the three races.
The demons were relentless in their pursuit, and although those of the three races did their best to hold on, the situation started to deteriorate for them quickly, and their side began to suffer an increasing number of casualties as the war continued.
"Retreat!"
The situation got so bad that the three races were forced into a retreat.
Although the demons' numerical strength was not superior to theirs... They were significantly less well organized than them, and each of their strategies appeared to be easily seen through by them.
In the main camp of the three races.
The dimly lit hall was filled with the sounds of heated discussion as representatives of the three factions gathered to discuss the ongoing war with the demons.
"We can't go on like this."
The elves, with their lithe frames and pointed ears, stood alongside the orcs, their muscular builds and fearsome visages contrasting sharply with the elegant elves.
"Khh… I agree. We can't go on like this."
The dwarves, short and stout with thick beards, sat at the head of the table, their stone faces betraying nothing of their thoughts. They quietly listened to the conversation between the elven and orcen representatives.
One of them abruptly stood up and smacked the table.
Smack!
"Of course, we can't go on like this! All you brutes focus on is individual battles, and don't think about the greater picture!"
"Khh...Khh... We are not cowards like you, dwarves. We don't retreat the first moment something goes wrong."
"That's exactly why we're losing!"
"Calm down; that's only a small part of the problem. Reality is that the demons are stronger than us."
One of the elves said, finally intervening in the discussion.
"Blaming our individual shortcomings at the moment will bring nothing good to the war. We have to change the discussion to a more productive one."
"Even so..."
The discussion was tense, with each faction accusing the others of failing to do their part in the war effort.
"As things stand, what we need to do at the moment is minimize our losses."
As the debate wore on, it became clear to the three races that the current situation couldn't go on.
With each passing second that they spent here discussing, more and more casualties were starting to pile up, and every second mattered.
"It's not about minimizing the losses."
One of the elven representatives spoke up.
She was beautiful, with silky silver hair that contained streaks of gold. She was the calmest of them all, and her eyes scanned those in the room.
"Minimizing the losses is important, but that's not the main problem that we need to solve."
She spoke, her voice ringing inside of the room like a bell. Her next words brought the entire room into a state of gloom.
"…What we need to do at the moment is find a way to deal with the strategist."
With a grim look on his face, one of the dwarven representatives spoke.
"You think we haven't tried that? We've already tried multiple times to send assassins to kill him, but whoever this strategist is, they have multiple Duke ranked, and even a Prince ranked demon protecting them… It's not something that we can achieve without sacrificing a major part of our force. It's simply impossible."
The room fell into silence again.
None could open their mouth to argue with what he said, and it was this reality that made the mood even gloomier.
"Then… what do we do?"
An elf finally spoke.
"The elders are fighting against the leaders of the demons, and the leaders are up against the Demon King. We still know nothing about the situation, but from the last time we spoke, we―"
The elf never got to finish that sentence.
At that exact moment, while he was still speaking, everyone's expression froze, and a ringing noise echoed within their minds.
The reactions varied, but at that moment, everyone stood up from their seats, faces paled.
"Quickly! Tell everyone to retreat!"
"Retreat right now!"
"Have everyone evacuate to the emergency portals in this instant!"
"Send the injured first!"
"The elders have lost!"
***
"Reporting, the―"
Entering the strategist's tent, the messenger was casually reporting the situation outside when their expression immediately froze. Not long after, their entire body trembled, and the demon prostrated itself to the ground.
"Y,your highness."
He greeted Jezebeth, not daring to look up at all. He even held his breath, afraid of somehow getting on his bad side for breathing too rapidly or loudly.
"Continue."
A soft voice reached him, enveloping every part of his body and jerking his body up from the ground.
The messenger was not even able to react to what had happened when he found himself standing a couple of meters away from the strategist, who was wearing a white mask and staring at him with his deep green eyes.
"What's the current situation?"
"Ah, right."
The messenger quickly recollected himself and reported.
"The seven heads have fought against the strongest members of the other races. The Patriarchs of the Pride clan and Greed clan have both sustained injuries, but they aren't extremely serious. They will need a bit of time to fully recover."
The advisor's brows furrowed upon listening to the message.
'Two of the Patriarchs have sustained injuries?'
Well, this… This was outside of his expectations.
Initially, he thought they'd have been able to get rid of them without suffering much, but he underestimated the tenacity of the leaders from the three races.
"Currently, the forces of the three races are set to be retreating from the battlefield. They are barely holding on, and the war is as good as over."
"I see."
The strategist nodded his head, absorbing the information slowly. It was only after a couple of minutes had passed that he raised his head.
"You can leave."
He dismissed the messenger and proceeded to sit back down in his chair.
Making himself comfortable, he cast a small glance in the direction of Jezebeth, who was seated not so far from where he was.
He had his eyes closed, and his lips were slightly curled at its ends.
'The war is as good as over, huh?'
The strategist had mixed thoughts about those words. Casting his gaze away from Jezebeth, he bitterly shook his head.
To be honest, the war had been over ever since quite a while back.
From the moment that Jezebeth was back, he knew that the most powerful members of the three races had been disposed of and that the war had ended at that moment.
What was left behind were merely the scraps of civilizations that were set to be doomed.
'…Is this what he wanted to show me?'
The strategist secretly clenched his fist underneath the desk. It had been quite a while since he had been with him, and he had learned a lot about him.
He understood that what was happening to him was a short preview of what was to come later.
…He was probably sending him a warning.
"What do you suggest we do, strategist?"
"Eh, ah?"
A voice brought the strategist away from his thoughts, and his head raised up in confusion. When he looked around, and he saw everyone's gaze focus on him, he recollected himself and cleared his throat.
"Finish the―"
"Leave them be."
A certain voice cut the advisor off.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
In unison, everyone's heads turned in the direction of where the voice came from, and soon, everyone's gaze was on Jezebeth.
He had a simple smile on his face at the moment and didn't seem to mind the stares that were coming his way.
He explained.
"They will open up a portal that will connect them to Earth. That's where they are planning on retreating."
A look of understanding appeared on the faces of those present.
"They plan to join with the remaining forces that are still alive and hold the forth from there. If we attack now, we're bound to sustain enormous losses, so just let them enter the portal."
"Wouldn't that be disadvantageous for us?"
The strategist suddenly asked, unable to understand Jezebeth's motives. He soon felt his gaze on him, and their eyes met.
"You're not wrong." Jezebeth nodded his head. "Getting rid of them now would indeed be a good option, but you guys seem to be forgetting something."
Jezebeth's eyes scanned the room.
"The real enemies aren't the ones over here, but the ones over there. Allowing them to retreat is more beneficial than you can imagine… In fact, it's within our best interest if they all retreat and enter earth."
Jezebeth's wors brought confusion to the room as everyone looked at each other, unable to understand what he was trying to say.
This went for most of those present, but there was one exception.
"Wait..."
It was at that moment that the strategist's eyes opened wide, and Jezbeth's smile deepened.
"…don't tell me."
