Garth, who was leading the small investigation team, could've seen inside a small tent that was just erected with a few other officials as they looked over a crude map of the area. Due to how impossible it was to secure a win against the undead, there was no map that showed the entire area in detail.
The one they had was secured through the use of the Gryphon riders who aren't excellent map makers but at the moment, just knowing how far away each undead city was from each other was enough. They had been here for two days straight and since they missed the capture of the ghoul cities.
They had to prepare for when the soldiers that were just loitering in the ruins of the city eventually move. They needed to know where and from where they would attack to allow them to plan a spot where they could watch without being involved.
"This City is the closest to this location and I'm guessing that should be their next target" Garth said pointing at an oddly shaped drawing on the map
"But sir, there are no high places in this area… it seems to be just plain land, either side could easily discover us" one of them pointed out
"That is indeed true but we can't be too sure, this map is also hundreds of years old so there may be some difference since then" Garth reasoned
Landscape changes over time, ten years was more than enough time for an area to change dramatically, talk more of at least a hundred years. There was also the fact that the Gryphon rider who had made the map was not a real map maker so may have ignored certain areas he deemed unnecessary.
"Sir!" A gryphon rider entered the tent and immediately gave a salute
"Report?"
"The mages have successfully set up a connection with the council and her Majesty requires your presence immediately"
"I'm on my way, everyone excuse me" Garth said as he immediately stood up from his seat
Garth left the small tent which was set up since the enemy refused to do anything and began walking towards another much smaller tent. Inside the small tent was a large mirror and on the floor under it was a large magic circle with various mages standing at various nodes on the magic circle.
"I'm here" Garth announced as the mages imbued their mana into the magic circle
As they did so, the mirror began to stir as a blurry image of the Queen appeared and slowly it became clear enough for him to see her and the group of four people in high ranking military uniforms that were all standing in front of her.
"Your Majesty!" Garth greeted as he gave a Knight's salute.
"As you were… it has been two days general, what have you learnt"
"The army doesn't seem to be moving anytime soon and our attempts to gather any more information is either shot down or killed however we did get an estimated number of soldiers and what exactly their weapons do" Garth replied
"So how many soldiers are we looking at?"
"My men have counted 20,000 soldiers so far and that's 10,000 more than the alliance.. however we can't say exactly how many of them are infantry or priests for medicine"
"So in total we should assume that this new king has at least a total of 50,000 soldiers at his disposal… no king sends out his full army to attack a place they are confident they will win and what about their weapons?"
"My Queen, this will be hard to explain… we have only seen three types so far and each one seems to be a smaller version of the magic cannons… they are able to fire multiple shots in one sitting and the ones mounted on the flying machines seem to be capable of producing just as much power as the magic cannon if necessary and when not needed it seems to be an automatic version of their weapons"
"Hmm.." Euroa said as she contemplated what such weaponry meant
"Your majesty, forgive my intrusion but we wanted to ask…is it possible for an entire army to undergo an evolution at the same time?" Garth asked
"What?" The generals beside her shouted as she turned her full attention to Garth's question.
"That's impossible.. Evolution is a right given only to the worthy by the gods… even if they are favored by the Monarchs, they wouldn't evolve an entire army at the same time, right?" One of the general said as he turned to Euroa
"A spontaneous evolution is possible if you have met the requirements and reached the upper limits of your level however an entire army, I have never witnessed or heard about such an event" Euroa replied after a brief moment of thinking.
From their expression, Garth could tell that they all understood what he meant from the question alone; however just like them, he too was perplexed by the situation. He had never even seen a sentient creature undergo an evolution before and the stories he had been told by his grandfather was about an adventurer who the queen had helped to evolve but even in said story… The adventurer was stated to have reached a height unattained by Elfkind before.
"What happened?" Euroa asked just so she could get an official statement out of him
"On the day we arrived, we saw all of them on the floor with the glow of life around them… they remained like this for a few minutes before they all stood up, however they weren't the same…. Well most of them weren't the same anymore, they had all gotten stronger and the oni amongst them…"
"The demons evolved even more?" One of the generals asked
"Describe them" Euroa ordered as her expression and the aura surrounding her changed dramatically
"They looked just like us except they had darker skin, small horns that looked like that of the Hurid, eyes as red as blood and their aura screamed for destruction and blood" Garth explained to the best of his ability since their only means of viewing said creatures was through a telescope
Hearing his description, the Queen fell into deep thought as she looked around the room before suddenly taking a deep breath. The entire room could tell that she had made a final decision at the moment and it seemed that these evolved demons were the reason for it.
"Send word to the other kingdoms and the other tribes… informing them of our surrender, this is a fight we have no hope of winning even mother cannot protect us if they are what I think they are… this is all because of that accursed Undead" Euroa said as she slammed his fist into the armrest of her throne, breaking it it off.
"My Queen?" The generals shouted while looking at her in confusion
"What?... Those creatures had once brought about utter destruction to the entire world and now they are allied with holy beings… the only creatures that could put a dent in their invincible skin… I am no longer at my prime and mother may protect you while you are here but I don't think you want to die of starvation and thirst" Euroa said in clear frustration
Hearing her words, the entire group took a deep breath as though it would help them understand her words better. They had no idea how powerful the creatures that Garth had mentioned were or what they were capable of but if it was enough to make their Queen an all-powerful monarch afraid then it was best they did as she said.
"As you wish, your majesty" A general said before leaving the room to do as ordered
"Garth, your mission has changed…. You and your squad are to assist them in anyway you can… the best way to ensure we are treated properly under this new regime is by proving our worth" Euroa ordered
"As you wish, your majesty" Garth replied confused but still willing to carry out the order
"How many soldiers do we have that can be deployed?" Euroa asked
"That wouldn't be necessary, your excellency" a new voice intervened much to everyone's surprise.
Garth, hearing the proximity of the voice, immediately threw a punch at its source only for his fist to hit an iron wall. Looking carefully at the intruder, Garth immediately recognized him.
"What are you doing here?" Garth asked in surprise
It was one of the people he had seen in that territory, he unlike the many who lived there didn't have horns nor did he have any special features. The man looked like that king except way bigger and unlike said king, the power he felt from him was way less.
"That's charming, little elf" the man said
"What do you want, dragon?" Euroa asked as her aura began to rise
She may bow to this unknown king but she wasn't so weak and powerless that a mere dragon could intrude into a meeting she was having and get away with it.
"I believe his Majesty explained his influence range to you all or as he referred to it 'bubble', said Bubble covers not only this entire area but your territory. Also his Majesty has bestowed upon me the name 'Ethan' so call me 'dragon' one more time and I will send you injured ass to heaven" Ethan said as his aura engulfed the entire area