The twelve demon legions within the Demon Race may in the main be divided into three tiers.
The first tier is the most picked of the demon legions: the King-of-the-North, the Black Angel and the Wrath, these three legions.
Their starships may not be very many in number, but their fighting strength is exceedingly great, every one.
Set them even among the demon legions, and they can bring off a record of one against two, or one against three.
And they are among the few demon legions able, in those old days, to trade blow for blow with the Angel Race's legion fleets.
The second tier is the Agares Legion, the Hell-Baron Legion and the Demon Knight Legion.
These three demon legions have regard both to the scale of the fleet and to fighting strength, and serve chiefly as the mainstay among the Demon Race's several legions.
In any great campaign whatever, the three picked demon legions above may not appear — but of these three demon legions one at the least will appear!
From which their importance may be imagined.
And the remaining six are in the main the middle and lower existences among the demon legions; and without one exception they have a common character, which is that the scale of their fleets is exceedingly great.
Commonly a million interstellar warships.
The Red Demon Legion was one of them.
In certain grand set battles they serve as cannon fodder, and in a supporting part in the fighting.
And so the falls of these two, the Red Demon Legion and the King-of-the-North Legion, work an effect upon the Demon Race that is another thing altogether.
The Red Demon Legion's falling entire made not even any great stir within the Demon Race, so that upon the Owl Dragon Legion, which destroyed the Red Demon Legion, no more was done than to set down a record of the combat data.
But this business of the King-of-the-North Legion is another thing altogether.
It leads directly to this: that no demon legion whatever dares hold the Owl Dragon Legion light again.
And now, of the three picked demon legion fleets, there are but two left.
And these two are at present both in fierce battle with their several Owl Dragon Legion adversaries, with the winning and the losing hard to tell apart.
The Hell-Baron Legion
This is, of the three picked demon legion fleets, the one whose style of attack is the wildest.
And no few of the arms within it are of the race the Hell-Baron himself is of, the hell-demon folk.
The hell-demon folk are blood-red over their whole bodies, which resembles the Red Demons somewhat; and there is even a rumor that these two may have a kinship of blood.
At which the hell-demon folk look with contempt.
The hell-demon folk have another name besides — red giants.
For their bulk is very tall and great, and the muscles of the upper body sharply cut.
Upon the head they have two horns, and are bald.
"My lord Baron, the enemy is exceedingly stubborn; their formation has not a flaw in it." A subordinate reported it to the red giant seated upon a red throne.
Marshal Hell-Baron likes to be called my lord Baron; and though within the Demon Race at present there are no titles or ranks of nobility, he likes the address for all that.
Marshal Hell-Baron held a thick cigar in his mouth; he drew upon it and blew out a ring of smoke. "We have fought so long already.
"And this crew have not a flaw in them anywhere.
"By the look of it, that fellow the King-of-the-North lost with no injustice in it.
"Report to me how our losses stand at present."
His subordinate called up the relevant data at once, and then reported, "To the present, near twenty hours of fighting.
"Our loss rate stands at some 30 percent, and the enemy's loss rate at some 30 percent likewise.
"But we hold three hundred thousand interstellar warships, and have lost some hundred thousand.
"Where the enemy has but thirty thousand warships, and has lost ten thousand only.
"The ratio of loss differs tenfold."
"The ratio of loss differing tenfold — when I fought that flock of bird-men of the Angel Race in my day, there was no such ratio of loss as this," Marshal Hell-Baron muttered.
"But by our observation, the enemy's output of firepower has plainly weakened by much.
"Before this, though the enemy's warships were few in number, they leaned upon the mighty firepower of their interstellar missile ships, and by that barely kept level with us.
"And interstellar missiles are solid ordnance, exceedingly costly to build.
"Twenty hours and more of fighting — it cannot be inexhaustible!
"By the look of it now, they have likely little left.
"And hereafter they must show a flaw, or else their output of firepower must fall by a great degree.
"And then will be our chance!" his subordinate reported.
Hell-Baron was silent a while; had this been in former days he would most likely have ordered the host to push flat across outright — how should a bare thirty thousand fleet bar the starships of his Hell-Baron Legion?
But now, with the King-of-the-North Legion's case before him.
He dares not be careless.
"Do as you have said.
"Our losses must not be too great.
"When this Owl Dragon Legion is settled, there is an Angel Race yet to deal with upon the other side," Marshal Hell-Baron muttered.
For the moment one could not tell whether this speech was an excuse he found for his own wariness, or whether he truly meant, as he said, to make ready for the fighting against the Angel Race thereafter.
Those the Hell-Baron Legion fights are the Owl Dragon Seventh Legion.
Commander Wei Shishi kept her eyes upon the interstellar sand-table before her; and though among the several legion commanders she is one of the later joiners of the Owl Dragon Legion.
Her origins may be called the most official of them all.
She was graduated from the Starlight Empire's Royal Military Academy, and was the finest student of the class that graduated with her.
Thereafter she joined a frontier legion fleet three years, and went through above a dozen campaigns great and small against the Machine Race, with an exceedingly outstanding showing.
She belongs among the interstellar veterans who have theory and real experience of the fighting both.
Thereafter she was recruited by Qin Xiaolei, then still of the princess's standing, and became Qin Xiaolei's left arm and right, taking charge of Qin Xiaolei's princess's guard fleet together with Zhao Ruyue as she then was.
Afterward Qin Xiaolei became empress, and Qin Xiaolei's guard fleet had in the main no further chance of real fighting upon a field.
Upon Zhao Ruyue's recommendation, Wei Shishi joined the Owl Dragon Legion first of them; and she likewise took the examinations of a Goddess Academy-class starship, and within a bare half month passed every item of them.
And came safely to be a crew member of the Owl Dragon Legion.
Thereafter it was a repeating of her experience in the imperial army before: she little by little set her feet firm within the Owl Dragon Legion, and leaning upon her record of battle rose without cease.
And in the end was picked out by Zhao Chen to be commander of the Owl Dragon Seventh Legion.
To speak of it, Wei Shishi joined the Owl Dragon Legion earlier than Zhao Ruyue; else Zhao Ruyue might at a guess be sitting in this seat now.
All of which may be reckoned a way of recompense Zhao Ruyue sought out then to make up for her not being able to put out her strength for her own younger brother in time.
And by it Wei Shishi came to be able to stretch out her hands and feet within the Owl Dragon Legion.
"Commander, the latest order from the Dragon Emperor!" At this time a communications sergeant brought a message across.
Wei Shishi looked it over once, and there was some little change in her eyes.
She put the message window away, and then looked at the interstellar sand-table before her. "Alter the dispositions of battle as first laid; hereafter we make ready to attack of ourselves!"