Where Yasenia and the others arrived was in ruins. The surroundings were filled with various structures, mostly toppled and crumbled with growing vegetation. Yasenia, Angel, Kali, and Sarah were hiding behind some tall trees where lush vegetation governed that area. Thanks to the state of the area around the town, the vision was mostly unimpeded.
They could see that the town Angel spoke about stood in the center of these ruins, but they couldn't see its state. A pristine white and grey wall surrounded it, reaching more than 200 meters in height. The town was big enough that calling it a city wouldn't be accurate, but not wrong either. In the area around the walls of the mysterious town, there were two main groups, one with humans and beast humans and another with humans and demons.
Even if there wasn't anyone fighting yet, the air around was tense. These two main groups were trying to gain the right to enter the town first. But there was a peculiarity on the town wall. Four gates could be seen on the rectangular wall, each with a word above them. They were one after another.
Yasenia read from left to right aloud, "Heaven, Earth, Mortal, Waste." Angel and Kali were confused as they didn't understand this language, this made our baby remember the stone stele she had seen before, but she would tell Yasenia later.
Yasenia clarified, "This is a language of the days before the Heavenly Cataclysm, it was the most common, and almost the whole world spoke it. Each zone has developed its own language during the last million years, but they all derive from this one."
They nodded understandingly. Yasenia looked at Sarah and said with a raised eyebrow. "But it seems I was not the only one who understands it."
Sarah blushed, 'Sorry, Yasenia. The system gave me the ability to read all languages!' Although Sarah didn't speak, they took her shyness and silence as an affirmation. They refocused on the four gates.
The heaven gate was an imposing eight-meter tall doorless gate. It had a lot of decorations on the frame, looking grand and imposing. The aura emitted from it was very thick, much more than anything Yasenia had ever felt in her life. Her tail was dancing with happiness just feeling it, and her [Celestial Pearl] spun silently. The tail and the pearl absorbed the ambient energy slowly and nourished Yasenia.
The earth gate also had a high amount of energy; it was still higher than their continent, which was impressive. However, it was incomparable to the Heaven gate. The decorations were simple and elegant and it was also doorless. It wasn't as big as the heaven gate, at four meters tall. It was attractive, but putting it in comparison, Yasenia found it lacking.
The mortal gate was as plain as it could get. It was normal in every meaning of the word. Two meters tall and surrounded by an arc of rocks. The energy it released was low even compared with the outside.
Finally, the Waste gate's turn arrived. Yasenia and the others were looking speechlessly at it. It wasn't a gate or a door. It was literally a hole in the wall that passed the fortress, and one would need to go on all fours to pass through it. Yasenia wasn't even sure she could go through it because of her big breasts.
Well, she wouldn't have to worry because our dragoness body was soft and flexible, but Yasenia wouldn't discover it as she won't pass through it. Yasenia felt that the energy going through there was so lacking in quality that she feared her cultivation would regress if she absorbed it.
Their attention turned toward the two big groups of cultivators. They didn't go forward. Instead, they stayed away, not gathering attention toward themselves, and listened to the discussion between the sides.
A tall male Demon was at the helm; he had four pairs of wings and reddish skin. His head had a pair of black horns growing from his forehead, and his aura was thick and oppressive. His body was not bulky, but not thin either, with perfect muscles across his naked chest. "It is true that your group was the first to find the town, but that doesn't matter. There really isn't much to discuss, we are going to enter first, or we will kill all of you to go inside. Choose. "
A woman was leading the other group. She wasn't tall nor very beautiful; she looked like someone you would find in the streets and forget about her the next moment. However, her aura was stable like a mountain, and her face was fearless before the Demon. "You speak with a lot of confidence, Demon. Do you think you can come to our continent and run rampant without consequences? This isn't your playground!"
The Demon laughed aloud and said, "You are quite a bold missy. Do you know who is behind us? Our demon race has so much strength you can't even begin to understand what you are going against! Human, your continent will be overrun by us, and that's that. I'm giving all of you a chance to convert and become citizens under us. If you resist here, even if you don't die, once we go out, who will protect you?"
The Demon smirked and looked around at the cultivators that weren't in his group. "Even if you won't have many rights at the beginning, gaining power and rights isn't hard. In our society, strength rules! If you want something, snatch it! If you want someone, kidnap them! Haven't you thought many times about that person? That thing you have even dreamt of obtaining, but rules prevent you from it. Our society doesn't have that! Isn't it like an ideal come true? Join my side, and only riches await you." The Demon finished extending his wings and erupting his aura, giving a more impactful feeling. Many cultivators felt tempted by the promise of riches, power, and influence. They were things that would never fail to seduce a part of the population.
The woman didn't speak at once and first looked around. She saw that more people than she thought were struggling and tempted to go. So she said calmly, "If you are a man, when you go to their side, you will just be a puppet, a disposable piece, and a sacrifice in reserve to be used as they like. Worse, if they have a succubus, you will become cattle, spending your days as a cow on a farm."
The woman looked at the Demon and sneered, "If you are a woman, then you should be as prepared to become cattle for the incubus or breeders whose only objective in life is to give birth to demons. Moreover, even if you consider yourself strong, do you think those Demons will let you get the things you want if they fancy them? Your seniors will be suppressed by their seniors, and the juniors will suppress you. All they spout is pure nonsense."
The woman looked at the humans around the demons and said, her aura and tone still calm, but it was more impactful than if she was shouting. "I know some of you aren't with them willingly. If all of us attack them simultaneously, we can defeat them rather easily. Here, in the secret realm, we play in an even field since they are unable to use their powerful seniors in their favor. We are more, and together, we are stronger. Then, what is there to doubt but get together and defeat them."
Yasenia and the Demon raised an eyebrow with interest. The Demon thought, 'Even if she isn't beautiful, her will is strong, and her charisma is high. I would love to have her as my breeder. She is like a strong general. Her children must be high quality even if their features aren't very beautiful.'
Yasenia looked from the outside and hummed with interest. 'If I hadn't used my harem slots, I would have really liked to have her by my side. Even if we couldn't be lovers, being her friend would have been fine. She is rational, intelligent, calm and makes good decisions when everything is going awry. A single speech, and she has reversed the situation. However...'
Angel asked, "Yasenia, what will they do? Will they ally against the demons and follow that woman?"
Sarah and Kali looked at Yasenia with interest, waiting for her answer. Yasenia sighed and shook her head, "I don't think so. Even if what she said is true, those that are on the Demon's side may not be there out of fear. Remember that demonic cultivators existed before the demons arrived. Moreover, even if some cultivators are with the demons out of fear, they won't suddenly grow the courage to go against them no matter what you tell them. The reason they are beside them and not dead is that they value their lives much more than their dignity."
Yasenia patted Angel and said, "What they need are not words but actions that guarantee their safety. Worse, cultivators' egos are strong, so her telling people around that they will be used is mostly useless."
Angel nodded and continued looking. Sarah and Kali also looked curiously at the situation. And, to their surprise, it developed as Yasenia expected. No one moved, and those beside the demons that were forcefully there lowered their heads as if that would hide them from the glances around.
The Demon laughed and said, "Nice speech, a shame that you couldn't move anyone. Well, maybe that is not true. You actually managed to avoid the people from your side joining us for now. I'm getting increasingly interested in you even if your features are lacking~."
Kali sneered and spat, "Superficial creatures."
Yasenia scratched her behind the fluffy ear and gathered her toward herself. Kali instantly melted, and her tail began wagging, plastering herself all over Yasenia. The dragoness whispered in her fox ear, "Good girl~, don't be angry." Kali almost purred in comfort
Meanwhile, the woman didn't flinch and said. "Since we can't reach a common point, let's fight and get over this." She took out a spear and prepared herself for battle. The people beside her also did the same.
The Demon took out a serrated sword and laughed again, "So energetic! I hope you have that kind of stamina in bed! But, it would be best if you did not guide your followers to their death. How about this… We send our people to the gates, and the group that passes more people through the Heaven Gate wins and has their group going first. Quite fair, don't you think?"
The woman frowned and asked, "Where is the catch? I don't believe you, Demon, can be this reasonable."
The Demon shook his head and sighed, "So little confidence in me. My future woman being this distrustful hurts me dearly. Do you really think we are brainless monsters? If we were, we wouldn't be considered one of the strongest races in the world."
The woman ignored his remarks as if they were just the barking of a dog and thought about it seriously. "Swear it to the heavens, and we have a deal."
The Demon looked at the woman for some seconds and sighed. "Do you really think you are in an advantageous position? Well, your loss."
Then, he clapped once, and after myriads of howls, about fifty demons appeared from the forest to Yasenia's right. The demon group suddenly doubled, reaching 100 people counting demons and humans. Compared to the 70 cultivators on the woman's side, they had the advantage in numbers and strength.
Yasenia sighed and said, "The woman is in trouble."
Sarah asked, "Aren't their numbers still similar? I don't see it being very bad."
Yasenia shook her head and said, "Watch the demon's next move."
The Demon looked with boredom at that woman and said. "And here I thought I could ambush you when you relaxed, making everything more fun… Anyway, let's go with the boring route. How many of you want to desert to our side now?"