The three great empires had all through this stretch of time fallen into a state of tension.
First the Starlight Empire, where every Owl Dragon Legion fleet within the Owl Dragon Star System had gone out to a man, squadron after squadron of interstellar warships passing through the star gates in good order.
And in this movement there was no intent whatever at concealment.
Those interstellar merchants doing business within the bounds of the Owl Dragon Star System all sensed that the air was not as it should be.
They asked such Owl Dragon insiders as they had dealings with, and got nothing but ignorance for an answer.
And the Owl Dragon Star System soon declared a state of emergency control besides, the order coming down from Acting Lord Jiang Hong.
Acting Lord Jiang Hong's subordinates were all astonished to receive this order.
And it was at the same time the first occasion on which they had seen a look of alarm upon that grave acting lord's face.
Hard upon this, such Owl Dragon Legion fleets as were stationed within the Warhammer Interstellar Federal Kingdom likewise made for the nearest star gates, all of them.
Princess Blanche, getting word of the Owl Dragon Legion fleets' movement, sensed at the first moment that matters were not as they should be, for those star gates lay under the Warhammer Interstellar Federal Kingdom's management.
Princess Blanche was able to come by a certain amount of intelligence.
And the most important item of it was that the destination of these Owl Dragon Legion fleets was the Holy Radiance Empire.
In this moment two ideas rose up in Princess Blanche.
Could it be that the Holy Radiance Empire meant to open a general war against the Owl Dragon Legion?
This idea she very soon denied herself.
For one thing, the Holy Radiance Empire's new Empress was the very woman the Owl Dragon Legion had raised up; and with the Owl Dragon Legion's present strength, so long as the leader was no fool, no such thing would be done.
And for another, were war truly to break out, the thing the Owl Dragon Legion did best was the lightning strike; they would never use so relatively inefficient a means as the star gates.
They could go straight to the field by T4 Lucent-class Interstellar Jump Ships.
The other conjecture: had that permanent Grade-5 cosmic bug-nest within the Holy Radiance Empire gone out of control?
This possibility was very great!
But it was very soon denied as well.
For Princess Blanche had long since placed intelligence personnel at the Holy Radiance Empire's permanent Grade-5 cosmic bug-nest, and by the news got from contacting them.
Within the star region about that cosmic bug-nest, all was as it should be.
Then it was strange indeed.
What in the world had happened, to make the Owl Dragon Legion move upon so great a scale?
The more unknown a thing, the more it left Princess Blanche in tension.
Outside the largest starport in the Holy Radiance Empire's northern holdings.
By this time this starport had been taken over by the Owl Dragon Legion.
One Owl Dragon Legion interstellar warship after another came passing out through it.
"Reporting — the Owl Dragon Third Legion is wholly in position."
"The Owl Dragon Seventh Legion will be wholly in position in half an hour."
"The interstellar supply ships and interstellar transports have been arranged for from home. The Northern Goose Group's side will render us what help is needed as well."
Commander Charlotte sat in the captain's chair of her own flagship and listened to these reports with a face like thunder.
Lilith stood beside her, likewise with murder in her face and her eyes shot with blood.
Just at this time a video communication request sprang up.
Lilith clicked to accept.
The figure across from her was Saint Cana, Empress of the Holy Radiance Empire.
"Still no word of Lord Zhao Chen?" Saint Cana asked in her concern.
Lilith shook her head.
This answer made Saint Cana too aware that the case at present was not as it should be.
"Then has there been any contact with the fleet's starships that went with him?" Saint Cana went on.
"Thirty Owl Dragon interstellar warships, and the more than 30 Angel Race interstellar warships besides — none of them can be reached!" Lilith answered coldly.
Saint Cana gulped, and looked at Lilith across from her — and that was a bearing of Lilith's she had never seen before.
Like some demon god that might burst forth at any moment, with a savagery about her.
"Then do you truly mean to move upon the Angel Race with your whole strength?" Saint Cana inquired.
Lilith said, her voice low, "The Commander went missing upon the road to the Angel Race. The Angel Race must give us an account of it. And if they cannot give us an account. Then though we turn the Angel Race upside down, we shall find our lord Commander."
Saint Cana was somewhat stifled, for she had heard the meaning within Lilith's words.
Should the Angel Race have no account to give, the Owl Dragon would declare war upon the Angel Race!
From such intelligence about the Angel Race as had been come by at present, one might guess that the Angel Race's strength was not weak.
Otherwise they could not possibly have fought a thousand-year war against the Demon Race.
But the Owl Dragon Legion's strength was not to be slighted either.
With the strength the Owl Dragon Legion now had, though it might not be able to win the victory, it could at the least bite a savage piece of flesh and blood out of the Angel Race.
"That… I think… we need to be a little calmer. I know you are all very anxious for the Owl Dragon's lord. But even were this thing the Angel Race's doing. If the Owl Dragon Legion fleets are driven straight across in such haste, may it not be a fall into the enemy's trap? I think we ought first to send a representative across to the Angel Race, and make out what in the world has happened, and decide after. If it truly is the Angel Race making mischief behind it all. Then our Holy Radiance Empire too will stand upon the same line with the Owl Dragon Legion, and fight the Angel Race to the last drop of blood!"
At Saint Cana's words.
Charlotte turned her head at this.
When Saint Cana's eyes met Charlotte's, she felt as though she had fallen into a pit of ice.
Cold past all bearing from head to foot.
At this moment this Grand General of the Owl Dragon Legion before her was like a demon god crawled up out of the abyss; in her eyes no other color could be seen, only murder.
She said nothing whatever, but it seemed she had said everything.
"You need say no more. Time now is the key. Though we prove wrong at the last, I, Lilith, will bear all the responsibility."
The words fallen, Lilith closed the communication window.
At the other end Saint Cana sat upon her throne, looked at those ministers of hers in their tension, and held her own head helplessly.
"That fellow Zhao Chen must on no account come to harm. If he comes to harm, this… will fall into utter chaos. Let it on no account be the Angel Race that did this foolish thing." Saint Cana said it helplessly.
She knew very well how grave a thing the worship of that Commander Zhao Chen was within the Owl Dragon Legion.
If Zhao Chen were missing, or even… if it truly were the Angel Race's doing.
Then she never doubted that the whole Owl Dragon Legion, high and low, would fight the Angel Race an interstellar war to the death.
Though they knew the war meant ten deaths and no life, the Owl Dragon Legion fleets would go to it as men go home, for the sake of revenge.
At the same time, over on the other side, the Angel Tilia too had learned that this Owl Dragon fleet, which was to have visited the Angel Race, was missing.
And at the same time an Owl Dragon Legion representative burst straight into her office.
"Halt!"
"You have no leave; you cannot burst in here!"
Two angel warriors made to seize the woman who had burst in.
But Tilia called them off.
"Let her come over."
The Angel Tilia looked at the succubus who had rushed up before her and now fixed her with eyes full of rage.
"I ask you — has this business of our Commander's going missing anything to do with your Angel Race?" The succubus Ludy, sent to the Angel Race before to look into the situation, demanded it of the Angel Tilia in her anger.
The Angel Tilia said, with her face set, "Miss Ludy, I can give you my guarantee. This matter of your Owl Dragon lord's disappearance has truly nothing whatever to do with us. We too have lost contact with that Angel fleet of ours, and are trying to reach them now. And we are exceedingly concerned for the Owl Dragon lord's safety."
At the Angel Tilia's words.
The succubus Ludy did not wholly believe her; she pointed straight at the Angel Tilia. "This business had best have nothing to do with you. Otherwise. I give you my guarantee: your Angel Race will bear the wrath of our Owl Dragon!"