Similarly, there was no point in rescuing people who might die to a simple healing spell or transmit the plague to the rest of Kophar’s population. Every hostage had to be considered a living weapon and treated accordingly. "Before that, I need to know how many of your Demons you are willing to employ." Zoram Myskal was the vice commander of the Knight Guard and Orion’s second in command. Lord Ernas had been relieved from duty due to his wife’s late pregnancy and the recent scare. The Royals couldn’t afford a distracted commanding officer and they knew how important the baby was to Orion after Phloria’s death. "Five." Lith replied. "My brother Trion, Colonel Varegrave, Captain Locrias, Lieutenant Valia, and Magus Menadion." The Demons took form the moment Lith called their name, each wearing the uniform of the Knight Guard. Menadion was an unlikely soldier due to her short stature, but in the chaos of battle, no one would notice until it was too late. "Just five?" Myskal said, biting his tongue as the words escaped his lips. "No offense, Magus Menadion. You alone are worth an army." "I wish." She shrugged. "I’ve never been much of a fighter but since I’m already dead, I can take risks no one else can and learn from them. At ease, general." Myskal’s rank was higher than that, but he didn’t dare correct her, afraid to be denied her services in the future. "Yes, just five, and for a good reason." Lith nodded. "Freshly conjured Demons are feral and would reveal my presence right from the start. On top of that, the more power I give them, the less I have. I want to be ready for everything. "Each one of these five Demons is stronger than most Archmages and is highly disciplined. They can maintain cover while laying waste to our enemies." "Five it is, then." Myskal nodded. "Here’s the plan. We’ll surround the entire city block and sewers, placing earth-sealing arrays all around the building. We can’t allow the Emperor Beasts to escape via an underground tunnel. "Once the area is on lockdown and a dimensional-sealing array in place, we’ll storm the building from every direction. Without the ability to Warp or take out their equipment, occupying the upper floors should be easy. "The real battle will start with the underground floors. We have no information about their layout or number." "How do you know they didn’t place important materials on the upper floors?" Solus asked. "Emperor Beasts can fly." "Because there is not enough space and the windows are often open." The Vice-Commander showed her the building schematics. "There is no way to renovate or expand a floor without the neighbors noticing. "On top of that, this way the neighbors have no way to look through their windows and see something they are not supposed to see. Also, consider that dangerous weapons are better stored and more easily contained underground. Stay updated via freewebnovel "Once the Emperor Beasts dig past the sewers level, they can expand their facilities as much as they want." "Magus Verhen, you and your Demons will lead the charge at every entry point. There’s no reason to send good soldiers to the slaughter when you guys can exploit the initial shock and awe to go all-out unnoticed. "I would also like you to leave one of your Demons outside to supervise the magical formations. We are dealing with Awakened and our mages need someone to protect them from unknown magic." "I’ll do it." Varegrave said. "It’s been a while since I’ve led living troops but I still remember how to do it." "Fine. Then I’ll strike from the front, where resistance should be the highest." Lith said. "Solus, you and Menadion strike from the back. Trion, you enter from the roof and work your way down. Locrias, you’ll enter from the west wall and Valia from the right. "Remember, the enemy has cloaking devices. You can’t trust your eyes." *** It took the Emperor Beasts who patrolled their headquarters from the sky under the guise of birds a few minutes to notice that something was wrong. At first, they spotted a loving couple they had never seen before walking around the building but paid them no attention. Kophar was a medium-sized city and there was a constant influx of people looking for a cheap house in the popular district. Then, the Emperor Beasts noticed that not only had the couple yet to leave, but there was also much more pedestrian traffic than usual. They were about to report the anomaly when a loud noise drew their attention. A stagecoach had crashed into a carriage at the next intersection, overturning it on its side. Both drivers were safe but started yelling at each other and demanding the passersby call the city guards. "Murderer!" A chubby man yelled at the top of his lungs while a woman crawled out of the carriage with the help of two youths. "My pregnant wife and two children were riding in my carriage. If anything happens to any of them, I’ll have your head on a pike!" "Silence, you imbecile!" A muscular man in tight-fitting elegant clothes managed to yell even louder. "It’s your fault for stopping so abruptly." "I stopped because my wife’s waters broke, you powdered-nose idiot!" The chubby man angrily replied. "Who cares about your wife, you uncultured swine?" The muscular man bent down, bringing his face millimeters away from the other man’s face. "With your reckless driving, you have endangered Princess Peonia’s life." Only then did everyone take a better look at the stagecoach and notice the Royal insignia. "You are just abusing your authority." The chubby man lost part of his righteous outrage. "That carriage must be empty. If Princess Peonia has come to the popular district of Kophar, then I’m King Meron." "No, you are not." The princess walked out of the stagecoach under everyone’s stupefied gaze. "You look nothing like my father and the punishment for impersonating a member of the Royal family is death!" "Good gods, that’s really Princess Peonia!" One of the avian Emperor Beasts disguised as a magpie was so shocked that she broke character and spoke out loud. "How do you know?" What looked like a pigeon asked without a care in the world. No one was looking at the sky or paying them any attention. All eyes and ears were fixed on the carriage crash. No one but the members of the raid team. The Emperor Beasts were so caught up in the staged drama that none of them noticed the glowing spheres that appeared above their heads, marking them from real birds. "I’m a fan." She replied. "I find her really hot. It’s a shame she didn’t marry Verhen. I would love to have one of us on the thr-" One mage appeared in front of them, cutting the Emperor Beasts short and conjuring a powerful gust of wind that sent them hurling back. Another mage appeared behind them, opening a large Warp Steps leading to a military underground complex. The two Emperor Beasts found themselves inside a large stone room and surrounded by soldiers holding a military-grade wand in each hand. "Fire at will!" The commanding officer led by example and soon the room roared with fire, lightning bolts, and swarms of darkness bullets.