Ex rank talent Awakening: 100\% Dodge rate-Chapter 82 - : THE GREATEST THREAT

"So? Tell me then, what is it you want, Abyss?" Annabelle asked Cain, suspicious of his intentions.

"I need you to set up a meeting between me and your lover," Cain said.

"He's not my lover!" Annabelle corrected, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Brother then? That's even better. Set up a meeting between me and your brother."

"And why should I do that? I don't think we are close enough for me to do that for you."

"I need his help. I want his help in the real world. Some guys are after him, and he is the best chance I have of saving myself."

"Then I'm sorry to disappoint you. Nemesis is likely no longer in this world and would already be in the demon realm, so you can't talk to him."

"Ha, then I guess you just have to act as the messenger between the both of us in the real world."

"Hey, stop being so fucking arrogant! You are asking for a favor!" Annabelle complained.

"I'm not being arrogant. Trust me, I'm not at all. That's just the natural way I act. Are you helping out or not?" he asked, getting straight to the point.

Annabelle looked at Abyss, paused for a minute, took a long sigh, and finally accepted Cain's request, accepting his friend invite in order to reach him. The two of them then went their separate ways.

"Your Grace, may I ask the reason you called for every celestial knight and commander? That will leave the territories they were guarding vulnerable," Bishop Kelly asked gracefully and warmly, a confused look on his face.

"It has to be done. We have to change our approach in fighting against the demons. Ray Kingdom fell, every single citizen dying, as well as Commander Jeremy. The enemy we are up against isn't as weak as we thought. We underestimated them. We underestimated this disciple of the demon god. We can't afford to lose any more knights in large numbers. It will weaken us, and a weak celestial temple will definitely be eyed by those kingdoms and empires seeking to devour us and put us under their heels," the Oracle said.

"You are as wise as ever, Your Grace," Bishop Kelly paid his respects, leaving the Oracle's presence afterward.

"That damn old man! Ruining everything for me as well as our plans. Recalling the celestial knights just when we were about to carry out our plan... I hope he doesn't suspect anything," Bishop Kelly muttered to himself in his private chamber, feeling extremely angry as well as worried. His actions were risky and dangerous, and death would be the least of his worries if his plans with Prince Jason were found out.

"I called you all here—kings, emperor, and chiefs—to preside over our way forward in defeating the demons. As you all may have known, Ray Kingdom is no more, completely destroyed by the leader of the demons. Kodiac, I believe, is what he calls himself," the Oracle spoke to those present before him.

Emperor Augustus Clavus, King Richard of Bluesky Kingdom, King Adam of Secret Valley Kingdom, King Arthur of Blaze Kingdom, and King Edmund of Valeria—the four kingdoms that existed in the central continent after the fall of Ray Kingdom—were all present. King Edmund and King Arthur ruled the kingdoms farthest away from the empire and were the strongest. They had what it took to rip a massive chunk of flesh from the empire if war was instigated, especially with their alliance treaty, which prevented the empire from attacking them and risking such heavy losses that victory would be worthless.

Bluesky and Secret Valley were vassal nations of the Grey Empire, together with the now-extinct Ray Kingdom.

Karl, chief of the Draconians, was also present. The Draconians were a race with dragon bloodline within them. Although minuscule, the dragon bloodline present in their genes gave them strength, abilities, and a different appearance compared to regular humans—scales covering their bodies, wings, tails, and slit eyes. Their strength was passable, as it was common knowledge that an average Draconian knight could easily defeat two average human knights.

The chief of the beastmen, Krain, was also present at the meeting. Being half-lion, half-human, he led the small number of beastmen that could be found in the central continent. He barely contained himself in joining the meeting, as he had deep hatred for the human trash that kidnapped his people and sold them as slaves.

The elf queen was present, as well as the orc leader.

"I can't believe it, an entire kingdom wiped out just like that, and I'm sure you likely don't have a way of stopping the demons, seeing as you withdrew your forces from protecting us. Please tell us, Oracle, how do we prevent what's coming at us?" King Adam was the first to speak, breaking the silence.

"This is a waste of time. Why exactly were we invited here? The demons are just as bad as the humans—no, far less evil than the humans. Plus, it's a human nation that fell; they never bothered the other races," Krain said afterward, not hiding his dislike for the humans.

"This is not the time to be disunited, Krain," the Oracle rebutted, but with a tone that made it difficult for Krain to find rude.

"Disunited can go to hell! You turned a blind eye when those damn humans attacked my home and captured my people. When we retaliated, you intervened, and now here you are, calling for this meeting so that you can save them, dragging us into others' wars," Krain refused to back down.

"Can you just shut your crap? Retaliate? Last I remembered, the Oracle saved you all from going extinct for daring to wage war against us. Secondly, we aren't supporting the slave trade, even placing bans and creating a special unit to catch the perpetrators."

"Alright, don't piss me off too. We both know that's for formalities. You try to catch the perpetrators, but your own nobles have foxgirls and elves as slaves in their homes. Now, do tell me, what was the punishment for that?" Elena, the elf queen, lashed out at King Richard, rejecting what she believed to be his excuse.

"Enough! If you feel like you are not endangered by the demons' invasion, then give it up and leave. You won't be needed here if you feel this isn't your battle. I don't need someone with a double mind to be part of my team, nor will I beg for your help," Emperor Augustus spoke, his words cutting across the room with so much nobility and regality that nobody spoke afterward.

"Well, I guess we are finally on the same page. Now, can we begin the meeting on how to protect our world from the great evil?" the Oracle spoke, a fatherly and saintly smile on his face.

"I don't think that is what we really should be discussing, right, Oracle? An entire kingdom was destroyed in less than a day. How exactly are we going to face such a powerful enemy?" King Arthur spoke bluntly.

"I think he is right. We all know that none of us is strong enough to fight against the one leading the demons," Karl said, his voice deep and commanding.

"Yes, that is true. We are unable to combat a demon that strong—we never were able to. The celestials would send one of theirs to combat such powerful opponents, but for some reason, they cannot. It's as if they are not aware of the presence of the demons," the Oracle said to everyone present.

"Some supreme beings they are. We likely wouldn't have been in this mess if they hadn't prevented us from getting stronger, placing a limit in our genes to keep us from becoming a threat to their reign and rule."

"Enough of that, Kabak! I will not allow you to sully the names of our lords," the Oracle warned Kabak, the orc leader, finding his words to be crossing the line.

"Where is the lie, Oracle? They did it, didn't they? The fact that we can't let others know about it and are hiding it from the world speaks volumes, doesn't it?" Kabak refused to back down.

"Yes, they limited our abilities to grow stronger, but the ways of the divine cannot be understood by mortals like us," the Oracle admonished.

"Yeah, right—while stopping us from being super powerhouses ourselves," Kabak interjected, not planning to back down.

"Enough, please! If we keep arguing like kids among ourselves, we won't be going anywhere," Elena interrupted, getting tired of the men's fight.

"She's right. We can argue about who's right and who's not on a later date," King Arthur sided with the elf queen.

"I agree with both of them," Emperor Augustus added.

"Very well. Like I was saying, the celestials, for some reason, are unable to interfere with our world. I received a divine decree from the divine to hold our ground for a month. They shall come to our rescue and deal with the one that destroyed Ray Kingdom, so I would like for us to put our all together and hold our ground for a month. We need to work together if we are to survive this," the Oracle spoke.

The discussion on how to work together to prevent any further loss continued, with everyone dropping suggestions on how to defend their world for as long as possible.

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