The Record of Unusual Creatures

The long hall was filled with a merry and exuberant atmosphere as everyone celebrated the return of the "Great Sage". The reappearance of Lanina, the right-hand woman of the demon king obviously gave a boost of confidence to the remnants of the demon army. Hao Ren looked at the goings-on in the hall with much curiosity; humans and beastmen with arms around each other, demons and dwarves squatting on the floor, arguing which was better—a hammer or an axe, elves and dark elves studying the patterns on the table—both were drunk.     

These were Y'zaks' most loyal men, who held on to the last minute. They refused to surrender even when the demon king began to lose the war. Everyone had been more or less influenced by the rugged "culture" of the demons, so much so that even the elves were careless about their manners as they enjoyed themselves in the choatic banquet.     

Perhaps their compatriots in the human world would have chided them for disregarding their traditions and customs, but here, nobody cared.     

After the grand ovation, Y'zaks and Lanina began a discussion with their comrades. Zadamor was seated next to Y'zaks and he asked Y'zaks cautiously, "My King, would you like to announce your return?"     

Y'zaks waved his hand and said, "No, it's not necessary. Only a few of you know that I've been missing for a year, no one else needs to know. The order in the city has been well maintained. Let's keep it that way."     

Zadamor nodded in comprehension and proceeded to ask, "In that case, what's next?"     

"There's something I need to clarify." Y'zaks laughed. He then patted Y'lisabet's small head. "Honey, let's be honest, were you the one who gave the crystal to the Allied Army?"     

Y'lisabet had a piece of roasted meat in her hand and she was scoffing down a huge chunk of it in contest with Lily. She replied without looking up, "Ah, yes!".     

"When I saw Papa III, I knew it was you." Y'zaks guffawed. "We didn't know what was going on, but now we figured... You wanted to break the enemy up from within, correct?"     

Y'lisabet's face was stained with roasted meat oil, true to the demeanor of a demonic princess who paid no attention to etiquette. With the barbequed meat still in her hand, she explained, "It wasn't only to provoke infighting, but also to divert their attention, so that I had a chance to run tests on a few spatial nodes."     

"Tests on spatial nodes?" Y'zaks seemed to have clearer picture now. "So, that's what you came out for?"     

Y'lisabet nodded. "Well, after we found a way of accessing the mysterious dimension, we've been testing its law of teleportation. The law is pretty chaotic with every door connected to other places in an irregular manner. I've only figured out three stable doors recently. One of the safest is here, which leads to the Broken Plains in the Second Plane. As for the other two, one leads to the Obsidian Plains and the other to the human world. The purpose of our emergence from the otherworldly dimension is for the collection of required data."     

"It's too risky to bring the entire city out of the otherworldly dimension." Y'zaks' knitted his brows. "By now, Banuklaak and Serathon must have already mobilized their armies for the offensive. The Allied Army is also moving towards the Second Plane as they must have received news about the re-emergence of Helcrown."     

"Let them come. We can always hide back in there." Y'lisabet shook her head and a gleam of cunningness flashed across her dark red eyes. "Once we find a few more fixed exits, we can play hide and seek to drain their energy."     

"Childish." Y'zaks snorted, but he had a smile on his face. Apparently, he was satisfied with his daughter's capabilities.     

Looking at the demonic princess who was not much different from a human girl aside from her pair of horns, something suddenly crossed Hao Ren's mind. He reached into the Dimensional Pocket and took Lil Pea out. "Here's another member I'd like to introduce to you. This is Lil Pea; her real name is Elizabeth."     

The little mermaid was still having her afternoon nap, however it was about time to wake up. Hao Ren gave her little tail a slight jab and Lil Pea jumped up like a koi. She was surprised to find herself in a strange place. She then greeted everyone around her. "Good afternoon Dad-dee, good afternoon Doggie, good afternoon Beardie, good afternoon Battie, good afternoon table, good afternoon lunch ... Dad-dee, is it lunch time yet?"     

"This little one is going through puberty right now, I guess." Vivian quickly handed Lil Pea half a piece of chopstick and asked, "Who's Beardie, by the way?"     

Sentias Hot Hammer rubbed his beard, which looked almost like a curtain. "Maybe my face isn't as eye-catching as my beard."     

Y'lisabet the Little Devil looked at the little mermaid in amazement. She was jumping around and greeting the plates on the table. "What is that?" Y'lisabet asked.     

Elizabeth Lil Pea a.k.a the little fish raised her head and greeted the little girl. "Good afternoon to you too! Are you renting a room in my house too?"     

The little one had familiarized herself with the business after following her landlord dad for some time.     

That was how Elizabeth-Y'lisabet had their historic meeting.     

Meanwhile, Lily was done with Y'lisabet yet. She challenged her to another around of bone gnawing. "Let's see who can finish this bone first."     

Hao Ren looked on, thinking to himself that the husky may be dumb in many aspects, but when it came to partying, she was all that and a bag of chips.     

Zadamor seemed to have something to say from the beginning and he finally broke his silence. "My King, have you returned this time to launch a counter-attack?"     

Everyone at the table suddenly quieted down. Even Lily, who was gnawing at her bone excitedly stopped as her tail fluttered gently in the air. Nangong Wuyue let out a long sigh. "Considering the situation right now, you seem to have a good chance, Y'zaks."     

Y'zaks just smiled. Of course, it was difficult for most people to really tell if Y'zaks was smiling or not, especially when he had a face of someone who just got out from a brutal accident. But it did not matter. He was silent for a moment, before he shook his head to the surprise of many, and said, "No."     

Many were stunned, but Hao Ren nodded as if he had anticipated Y'zaks' response. Mainly because, as early as Cadessar, he had known Y'zaks through-and-through as a person. He was a firm, almost paranoid forward-looker, yet at the same time, he had a weird and devilish "knightly spirit". He neither regreted his choices (even if his choices did not work out), nor felt annoyed over failures that were a fait accompli—he would not look back.     

Zadamor thoughtfully lowered his head as though the answer was not very surprising to him. On the other side of the table, a higher demon with a scar on his face exclaimed, "My King! What did you just say?"     

"My work here is over." Y'zaks smiled. "It turns out that the task of uniting the world isn't for a demon. The demon's way of doing things just isn't suitable for the task. Maybe in the future there will be someone that rises up to the job—the grand unification of all races is the way forward, and I believe sooner or later, there will be a man who is better suited for it than I was in."     

The demon who had a scar on his face was one of the veteran generals under Y'zaks. Hao Ren remembered that his name was Lamadenor and he apparently belonged to a typical hawkish faction. When Y'zaks announced his decision, the general reacted intensely and the scar on his face almost tore open. "My King! How could you give up so easily? Are you going to abandon us? We've been waiting in that dimension for a year just for the right moment to launch a counter-attack, and you are giving yourself up?"     

"No, I'm not going to give anyone up." Y'zaks shook his head and exchanged looks with Hao Ren. After getting an affirmative nod from Hao Ren, he continued, "I will find a new place for all of you to settle down. Everyone will move there. My affairs with this world are over."     

Y'zaks paused and looked into Lamadenor's eyes. He continued, "You must remember why I started the war in the first place—to travel to the stars. Now, I've achieved that goal. As for this world... I've given it a push, and that's all that a demon can do."     

Lamadenor still had something to say, but Y'zaks waved him off and said, "Please, sit down. This is my first meal with my daughter after a long absence. If you have anything more to say, we shall discuss it later."