The Angel Kings' council over.
The Holy Angel King summoned the angel Tilia.
"My lady, you called for me?" The angel Tilia's holographic projection appeared before the Holy Angel King.
All respect and reverence — yet one could see that the air about her now was another thing altogether from before.
She was once like a holy sword streaming with light; but now she is more like a keen blade that hides its edge.
To the look of it there is no difference; but within those eyes there is another cast hidden.
"I have settled the plan of counter-attack with the other two Angel Kings.
"And have enlarged the scale of the operation beyond the million interstellar warships first set.
"Before those demon legions drawn away return, we are to destroy what we may of the demon legions opposite us!
"And where we cannot destroy them, we are to wound them heavily.
"By which we may win our Angel Race a little more time."
Hearing the Holy Angel King's words, the angel Tilia's eyes lit in an instant.
For with the Holy Dragon Angel Legion in her hand, the angel Tilia is now more like a believer of the War Angel King's.
At the end of every battle she longs for the next and fiercer battle to come.
Her Holy Dragon Angel Legion is for all the world as though it were born for war.
"As before, your Holy Dragon Angel Legion holds the right to fight freely upon the field.
"You may take whatever task of battle you think fit," the Holy Angel King said.
For the Holy Dragon Angel Legion's system of fighting is another thing altogether from the Angel Race legions'.
And were it forced into the Angel Race legions' system of grand set battles.
The effect would be poor instead.
Better to let the angel Tilia and her Holy Dragon Angel Legion be a dagger of another kind, drawn out where it is needful to put a stroke into the enemy.
"Yes! Your servant understands!" The angel Tilia saluted.
"But this time I have one requirement.
"Which is that in every battle you must make certain your Holy Dragon Angel Legion's casualties are not too great, and its consumption in the fighting not too high.
"There must be no case of ordnance spent to the last round.
"For though the case as it stands looks as if our plan of counter-attack held the advantage.
"Yet that fellow the Demon King will by no means leave off quietly and sit waiting to take a loss.
"So that I need your Holy Dragon Angel Legion to be ready to answer every possibility!
"And where it is needful, you may, without any order of mine, do whatever you think ought to be done."
The angel Tilia heard the wariness within the Holy Angel King's words.
She looked at her own Angel's Kiss in perplexity. "My lady… you speak so — is it that you know of some danger?"
The Holy Angel King shook her head, and said with a deep look in her eyes, "Nor do I know it.
"But I have a foreboding.
"With this operation of the Owl Dragon Legion's, and with the Demon King's act in grudging no sacrifice of his front-line plan and drawing off a great quantity of demon legions.
"I seem to feel that some order within this universe is about to be broken.
"That the thousand-year war between the Angel Race and the Demon Race may be coming to some new turn.
"And so I must lay my plans to answer every possibility.
"And your Holy Dragon Angel Legion is our hope!"
The Holy Angel King looked at the angel Tilia with expectation.
Which trust comes not only of the angel Tilia's being the Holy Angel King's angel guard, but naturally of the Holy Dragon Angel Legion's excellent showing in the fighting this while past.
"Set your mind at rest, my lady; Tilia will by no means fail your trust!" the angel Tilia vowed, and pledged herself to it.
And so a great movement of the Angel Race's forces began as well.
And exceedingly swiftly.
Very nearly within three hours of the demon legions' withdrawal, the angel legions attacked of themselves, came up with those demon legion fleets, and opened a mad counter-stroke.
No one knows when the war upon the Owl Dragon Legion's side will end.
So that they too must prize speed above all, and seize the chance of war they have now!
……
The Dragon Emperor · bridge
"The latest word.
"At our thirty interception points we have at present successfully intercepted seven demon legion fleets.
"Of which three interception points were foreseen by us, and had Owl Dragon legions garrisoning them.
"But because our own strength is wanting, we can at present support the ambush at five interception points only.
"As for those two interception points over and above, once we had intercepted that body of demon warships.
"The Owl Dragon fleets garrisoning the interception points withdrew," Lilith reported to Zhao Chen.
"And what of those two demon legions' movements afterward?" Zhao Chen asked.
"One of them has gone in support to the field where Ye Xiaotong's Owl Dragon Eighth Legion faces the King-of-the-North Legion.
"We have already told Commander Ye Xiaotong of it.
"She will be ready on her side.
"The remaining demon legion has set out again, and comes attacking toward us.
"It is reckoned that within three hours it will reach the outer parts of this star system.
"And should it not be stopped, it will appear here four hours from now!" Lilith said gravely.
"Which demon legion is it, and how many interstellar warships?" Zhao Chen asked.
Lilith answered, "It is a part of the Agares Legion — near five hundred thousand interstellar warships!"
Five hundred thousand interstellar warships.
That number is truly something terrible.
And the Agares Legion entire is, among the original twelve demon legions, the very mainstay of them all.
If those legions vast in number — the Red Demon, the Ghoul, the Balam, the Serpent King and such — may be called cannon-fodder legions.
And the King-of-the-North Legion is one of the three war-blades in the Demon King's hand.
Then this Agares Legion belongs among those parts of the Demon Race that cannot be done without.
"At what positions and in what states do the eleven demon legions now stand?" Zhao Chen's words had scarcely fallen.
When Lilith called up a panel of information.
Upon which one could see the blazons of the original twelve demon legions.
Where the Red Demon Legion's mark had already turned black, standing for a thing that is no more.
"The Ghoul Legion, the Balam Legion, the Serpent King Legion, the Amon Legion and the Demon-Crocodile Legion have been ordered by the Demon King to fall back to the positions they held before this round of the campaign against the Angel Race.
"The King-of-the-North Legion is fighting our Ye Xiaotong's Owl Dragon Eighth Legion and the Owl Dragon Guard Fleet.
"The Black Angel Legion is fighting our Pei Shengnan's Owl Dragon Tenth Legion.
"Part of the Hell-Baron Legion is fighting our snake-woman Qingman's Owl Dragon Ninth Legion.
"And another part of that legion's fleet is fighting our Wei Shishi's Owl Dragon Seventh Legion.
"The Wrath Legion is fighting our Chitong's Owl Dragon Second Legion!"
Zhao Chen narrowed his eyes upon these several parts of the field, one after another.
Lilith went on in particulars. "Besides Ye Xiaotong's Owl Dragon Eighth Legion, where the case at present gives us the advantage.
"At the other four fields of ambush we can at present be certain of a slight advantage only.
"And should Demon Race fleets come up in support, they will lose that advantage, and may even fall into a case of crisis."
Zhao Chen kept his eyes upon the whole interstellar war sand-table, for all the world as though he looked down upon this vast interstellar campaign from above!