"Brother Tian, why are we going back?" Little Kitty asked, puzzled. "No wonder we say a married daughter's like spilled water—already abandoning your kin?" I teased. "You're awful!" She raised her hand to swat me. "Alright, alright, don't hit! I'll tell you," I pleaded. "We're going back to ally with the other three tribes. They're part of this world too."
As expected, I was swarmed by Little Kitty's cat tribe kin. "That's the pervert!" "He kidnapped our saintess!" "Humans are untrustworthy, cunning, even deceiving our beautiful young saintess!" Gossip buzzed in my ears. "It's not like that! Listen!" Little Kitty shouted, desperate to explain. "He must've used dark magic to enchant her!" "Definitely!" Not one soul listened, convinced I, the outsider human rogue, used shady black magic to bewitch their lovely saintess. Their eat-you-alive glares made me feel powerless. Now I truly grasped the masses' infinite power: if they say it is, it is; if not, it ain't.
"Make way! The clan leader and elders are here to punish this vile rogue!" As Little Kitty nearly cried, my saviors arrived. "Greetings, Your Majesty Makino. Sorry for the delay and the fright," a middle-aged man in the group bowed apologetically. I returned the gesture. "No worries. My recklessness caused the misunderstanding."
"Clan Leader, I assume the dragon elders informed you of my situation before I came. Any thoughts or suggestions? I'm happy to explain," I said straight-up after entering the house. Time's tight—who knows what the demons might pull?
"No worries, Your Majesty. Since we're closest to the dragons, we sent messengers to the fox and bear tribes yesterday. We should hear back soon," the cat clan leader said.
Sure enough, a report soon came: "Clan Leader, Elders, the fox and bear clan leaders and their elders are at the village entrance!"
"Your Majesty, we should greet them," the cat leader said. "Of course, let's go!" I smiled. We headed to the entrance. "Brother Bass, long time no see!" a booming voice roared. I looked—damn, without a close glance, you'd think it was a giant black bear. Bear head, human body, like the Black Bear Spirit from China's Journey to the West. Wonder what Chinese folks would think seeing this.
"Brother Bearte, still as burly as ever!" the cat clan leader, Bass, greeted cheerfully. Bearte—fitting name. The two leaders hugged warmly. "Come, Clan Leaders, meet our friend, Emperor Makino of the humans," Bass said, leading Bearte and a stunning, seductive woman—obviously the fox clan leader—toward me. "Oh, really?" Bearte said, clearly displeased. Rough guy, but no way he hates me on sight. Something else at play? "Don't mind him, Your Majesty. Bearte's like that. I'm Feifei, fox clan leader. First meeting—please take care of me," she said, winking flirtatiously. Bearte, already grumpy, caught it and snapped, "Feifei, what's so great about this human emperor? He's not as sturdy as me. How could he satisfy you? Pick me instead!"
Damn, low-class move. Talking like that to a woman? I'm still clueless about Dragon Island's beastman customs. Feifei didn't blush or get mad, as I'd expected. Instead, she giggled, "Fox women are delicate—we can't handle Clan Leader Bearte's stout equipment. Last time you visited, you left our sisters bedridden. Trying to flex your prowess? What does that make us foxes?"
Wow, Feifei's not just bold but sharp, shutting Bearte down with one line. The dumb bear stammered, "Feifei, you know that's not what I meant!" Bass, sensing trouble, changed the topic. "Let's talk inside. Standing out here makes us cats look stingy, not even offering guests a chair." Young, but Bass earned his leadership.
"Clan Leaders, I assume my purpose was relayed. What're your thoughts on allying with humans?" Bass asked, as host.
"I've got no objections. If even the standoffish dragons agreed, why would we refuse?" Feifei said, her voice like silk, stealing glances at me. Chinese myths call fox spirits beautiful and cunning—Feifei fits perfectly. She didn't outright agree, just followed the dragons, ensuring they'd back foxes if trouble arose. Smart move. I gave her an appreciative look.
Compared to her cunning, Bearte was downright dim, and his elders had no input—same low IQ across the bear clan? "We bears oppose it. We live fine on Dragon Island, far from the mainland, undisturbed. Why join the human-demon war? What's in it for us?"
"Is Dragon Island truly isolated? You know the answer. Power dictates wars. I came here alone, but can't stronger demons do the same? You might say my strength's demon-king level, but don't forget: humans didn't attack Dragon Island before because of infighting and lack of strength. A united human tribe could, but no single nation did. If we don't unite and humans fall, with demons' nature and power, will they ignore Dragon Island? They fought gods—other tribes are nothing," I analyzed, eyeing Bearte.
"It's not that serious, right?" Bearte glanced at his elders, who paled, speechless—they hadn't considered this. "They sent word: if we stay out of the human-demon war, they'll leave us be." No wonder he had it in for me—someone's been stirring the pot.
"Why didn't we know?" Feifei asked, skeptical. "They probably didn't get to you yet," Bearte said, guilty. "When was this?" Bass asked. "Five days ago," Bearte replied. "That explains it. They're sabotaging our alliance. Bearte, why only approach bears, not the other tribes? They're exploiting your kindness," I said. "Yes, exactly!" Bearte nodded eagerly. "By now, they should've reached another tribe, but no word. They're clearly breaking our alliance from within, picking us off one by one. Right, Clan Leader Bearte?"
"Right, right!" Bearte said, sweating. Demons targeted this dumb bear for a reason. With doubts cleared, the alliance of Dragon Island's four tribes and humans was sealed. My Dragon Island trip was a smashing success—forget the alliance, three beauties alone were a jackpot.
Post-alliance, we set up a large-scale teleportation magic array on Dragon Island. Once requiring powerful archmages, now high-energy crystals and converters power it. Our spacetime teleporter's too precious—using it risks demons discovering it, sneaking to Earth, our capital, or behind Dragon Pass for a surprise attack. Better safe than sorry.
To thank the four tribes, I had warships deliver essentials like refined salt and meat. Dragons got ten high-energy crystals, but I warned they're hard to mine—give too many, and if they bail, I'm screwed. For foxes, mostly pretty ladies, we sent Earth cosmetics, especially French perfume, driving them and other tribes' women wild. Beastmen have a slight odor, though Kapo and Little Moth smell sweet.
This brought trouble. Imagine a whiff of perfume, then a grinning bear-headed she-bear appears—you'd puke for days. The contrast is brutal, ten times worse than seeing a beauty from behind, a creep from the side, and a nightmare up front. Worse, Bearte sprayed his wife's Virgin perfume on himself, chanting like an ad, "Virgin France, my love, my choice!" We sent men's cologne to fix it. Beastmen's first perfume use caused chaos—middle-aged and elderly beastwomen got assaulted. Turns out, Virgin perfume overstimulates male beastmen's lust. Humans, with duller noses, were fine. Perfume later dominated our Dragon Island supplies. After unification, a whiff of perfume from afar meant beastmen were coming.
While we celebrated the four-tribe alliance, our poor demon king was fuming, unaware his old rival was creeping closer.
"I'm pissed! How'd you let them ally, Lalan? You're usually reliable—this time you failed me. Their alliance means we're flanked!" the demon king roared at Lalan, kneeling.
"Your Majesty, their alliance won't hurt us much. Dragons, the biggest threat, are low in numbers—negligible trouble. Bears, strong but flightless, can't cross the vast ocean to the mainland. Building ships takes a year or two, plus crossing time, and they'd take heavy losses. We can strike them on shore—bears on water have zero combat power. Cats have some fight; foxes are irrelevant. So, rest easy, their alliance means little," Trank, one of the four demon god-generals, analyzed sharply. But he forgot: the "weak" humans he dismissed have pinned his demon army in the Western Continent for nearly three years, with heavy losses. He never accounted for us. For a general, blind confidence without knowing the enemy sows seeds of defeat.
"Fine, go," the demon king said, calmed by Trank's analysis. He trusted his clever general. Human setbacks were due to their sneaky superweapons, catching demons off guard. But soon, heh, he'd lead his troops to crush humans himself. Trusting Trank, his nagging unease faded. Alone in the hall, he sipped Red Pineapple, a fine brew from elven virgin blood. This is the life, he thought, eyes closed.
"Report! Urgent border news! Your Majesty, gods attacked Yelu City and are marching on the capital!" a demon general burst in, jolting the king from his bliss. "Damn, those bastard gods are bandits, ambushing us during our human war. Shameless, calling themselves 'light' while sneaking attacks!" He cursed, smashing his Red Pineapple goblet. Wine fragrance filled the hall. The reporting general swallowed hard, watching his great king rant like a street hag.
"Notify the other three legions to converge on the capital. Send scouts to Yelu City—check how many gods, keep distance, search a forty-li radius thoroughly. A sneak attack means small numbers or reinforcements coming. Heh, my old rival's finally impatient. Wonder if that Creator geezer will show," he said, knowing his godly foes after millennia of war. To the kneeling general: "Go, that's all." "Yes, sir!" The general left. The king's heart stirred. He headed out to check his long-unused armor.
In Yelu City, white-armored, winged angels patrolled. In the city lord's manor: "Lord Seat Angel, isn't sending forty thousand angels to attack the demon capital risky? Lord Seraph only told us to hold ground, not attack," Deputy Angel Fenna cautioned his superior. Attacking a hundred-thousand-strong demon capital with forty thousand was a losing bet, and as vanguard deputy, he'd catch the blame.
"Relax, Fenna. Lord Seraph's 'hold ground' is to await our main force. Know why I sent forty thousand to the capital?" Lord Angel Gaga asked. "No clue," Fenna said bluntly. Gaga smirked. If you guessed it, how'd I be vanguard commander?
"It's a win-win. In past God-Demon Wars, both sides knew each other's tactics. That's why we're the vanguard. The demon king knows we're here but assumes small numbers. We act like a massive army's attacking. What'll he do? Pull his legions to the capital, weakening other garrisons. Then we send four one-thousand-man teams to wipe out nearby city troops, clearing our path. Normally, he wouldn't fall for it, but with humans pressing him, his cautious nature will bite. Best defense is offense. Our forty thousand march hard for three days, then slow, regroup with the four teams, and posture at the capital. He'll think our full army's here, buying time and advantage for our main force," Gaga explained smugly.
"Lord Angel's foresight is unmatched. I worried for nothing. When Lord Seraph arrives, your future's limitless. Don't forget me!" Fenna flattered shamelessly. "Don't worry, I'll take care of you," Gaga accepted.
Luck didn't stick. On day four, Gaga's forty thousand, bluffing as a grand army, ran into cavalry led by Trank's old rival, Yuri. Unable to dodge, they clashed. Unprepared, the gods got crushed. Yuri, on the king's orders, sent cavalry ahead, infantry behind. His legion, closest to the capital, arrived first. Gaga was a tactical genius, but he miscalculated, and his plan fizzled.
Learning of the forty-thousand's defeat, Gaga ordered his four thousand-man teams to retreat to Yelu City, using a scorched-earth tactic—looting village grain to slow demons. He overthought it. The demon king never sent legions to Yelu. The forty-thousand's failure convinced him not to deploy: Forty thousand as vanguard? Classic bait. He also planned to reposition human-front demon troops. Gods weren't as easy as humans, and two-front war wasn't ideal.