A few seconds after Regina arrived, several other people arrived.
The five elven demigods, Aya's father, and an expressionless fox girl.
And currently, that fox girl was staring at the elf princess and the elven demigods with a stern expression.
"I think you need to give me an explanation," Eve said.
A tense atmosphere descended over the place.
Eve looked at Elwha and the Elven demigods with an expressionless look. However, the chill coming from her voice made it obvious that she was ready to start a battle if she did not hear what she wanted to hear.
However, that put the elven demigods in a hard place. After all, they could not reveal the truth behind this competition without the permission of the council.
That was the same as becoming traitors to their race.
At this moment, Elwha took a step forward.
"I'll explain it, Miss Eve."
"Princess." One of the elven demigods frowned, but Elwha shut him up with a glance.
"I will take responsibility for this with the council later, but now, as the Princess of the Boerner Forest and the priestess of a Great Three, I'm authorized to choose to divulge this information in case of extraordinary circumstances. Plus..." She then looked at me.
Bloed already knew everything, thus, it was better if she came clean with the Saintess of Moonlight Glow.
Perhaps this way they could reach a mutually advantageous agreement.
The elven demigods looked at each other, but none of them objected, silently agreeing to Elwha's decision.
"Good." Elwha nodded calmly, fully showing her authority as a princess. She then looked at the fox demigod. "Miss Eve, I know that you want to know about the situation as soon as possible. However, I think that there is something more important we need to do before." She said while looking at the two unconscious elves and three gravely injured beastmen.
The fox demigod stared at Elwha for several seconds with her usual expressionless face, making Elwha slightly nervous. But in the end, she nodded.
"... You are right. It's better if we leave this conversation for later. But Princess, I hope you don't try anything funny. I don't want to have to kill a princess."
"… Don't worry, Miss Eve."
"Good." Eve nodded expressionlessly, ignoring completely the cold sweat on Elwha's forehead. Afterward, she cast a spell on Aya, Rana, Rhone, and the two unconscious elves and flew with them towards the Thone's military base.
Helpless, the elves could only follow after her.
…
When they arrived at the military base, Bloed asked Regina about the details of the situation.
When he heard that the lionkin general and one of the human demigods betrayed their countries and ended being part of the Church of Slaughter, Bloed was very surprised.
"Is the Church of Slaughter so powerful that they can afford to use demigods as spies? Doesn't it mean they are the strongest church in the world?"
"It's a bit more complicated than that." Aya's father, who was hearing their conversation, intervened with a wry smile. "In fact, it's not the first time the Church of Slaughter does something like this."
"Not the first time?" Bloed and the others looked at Aya's father in disbelief.
"Yes." A sigh escaped from Aya's father's mouth. "About the God of Slaughter, nobody knows who he is and where he comes from. Nobody knows if he is a human, elf, demon, or beastman. But he is famous for something, and that something is one of the reasons he became one of the strongest evil gods."
"What is it?" Liu Ying asked curiously.
"His eye for talent."
Seeing that the group was confused, Aya's father thought for a moment before starting to talk.
"You probably have heard stories about how someone talentless suddenly discovers his talents and surpasses his peers, right? These stories are pretty common. There are countless cases in the continent of people suddenly awakening to their talents or having a special encounter that allows them to rise over the people that once stood above them.
"But there are many cases where those untalented people suffer a lot before they have the opportunity to change their destiny. And the God of Slaughter is excellent at taking advantage of that.
"Nobody knows how he discovers their potential, but many talented figures receive help from the God of Slaughter or his followers when they are just trash. The God of Slaughter helps them to discover and blossom their talents and transforms them into outstanding practitioners.
"Due to that, when these talents grow, they become incredibly loyal to him, treating him as their benefactor. But the God of Slaughter doesn't poach them. No, he leaves them inside their respective factions or countries to act as chess pieces. And the day when he needs to use these chess pieces, they bare their fangs to the people that once were their allies."
"That is horrible…" Liu Ying said with a frown.
Aya's father nodded. "Many organizations know about this, and in fact, today is not the first time demigods betray their factions and declare themselves to be members of the Church of Slaughter. However, most organizations can't do anything about this. With a few exceptions, most of the current demigods are people who once suffered under the shadow of others and used it as motivation to grow stronger. However, only a few of them were influenced by the God of Slaughter. Plus, demigods are the cornerstone of most organizations. You can't simply interrogate or investigate their past without proof."
"Then, General Leon..."
"I remember he was the weakest of his brothers when he was a teen." Aya's father answered his daughter's question with a reminiscing look. "Perhaps that was when the God of Slaughter tempted him."
Bloed fell silent. Hearing the words of Aya's father, he could not help but think that this god was terrifying.
As expected of one of the strongest evil gods. Bloed muttered in his mind.
Bloed hoped never to meet that god or anything related to him ever again.