Leave a comment

The Purgatory Shadowcats could be said to be polar opposites of the Hellhounds in how they lived. The Hellhounds lived as packs while a significant portion of Purgatory Shadowcats lived alone. That was why the Hellhounds tended to have greater numbers than their feline counterparts. Consequently, their territory tended to be larger as well. Yet that didn’t mean that the Purgatory Shadowcats were weak in a fight either. While they might not have the numbers to invade others, they were more than adequate at defending their own territory. This could be said to be their clan’s culture, just like how a cat’s willfulness could be said to be ingrained in their nature.

More importantly however, the Purgatory Shadowcats really had no time for invasions. They would much rather spend their time on daily tasks. Furthermore, they had grown accustomed to living in a cat-made environment. Asking them to camp outside was like asking a cat who had perfectly good home to live on the streets -stupid.

The Eight-star grand elder cat didn’t travel along with the rest of the army. With their esteemed position, they naturally wouldn’t be playing cards with the likes of Masrow and the other ordinary elder cats either. In all likelihood, a cat like that would only appear once we got into a fight with the Nightmare Steeds. Strictly speaking, this cat was the main star of the upcoming battle.

We didn’t have to wait long before the entire army of the Hellhounds made its grand entrance. Casting a glance ahead, all I could see was a mass of giant black dogs marching forward in an orderly fashion. Each and every dog had three heads, a muscled body, and eyes that barely hid their thirst for battle. Just based on that last point alone, I could tell that these were battle hardened dogs.

Their leader was a familiar old dog, Sidarth, as I had expected. Just like the Purgatory Shadowcats, there was no other Eight-star present in the army they led here.

Other than the army of dogs, I spotted roughly a thousand or so Devils following behind them like listless zombies. Around them were a few Cerberuses who kept a watchful eye on their every move.

Seeing that the Hellhound’s army was here, Sinmosa galloped ahead to greet Sidarth. The pair trotted up to me, at which point Sidarth explained that those Devils were captives they procured as a gift to me. Apparently, these were only a portion of the Devils they found. As for the rest… I doubt there was a need to ask further…

To be honest, the fact that they ate Devils wasn’t repulsive to me. The Purgatory Shadowcats and the Hellhounds were both a vital part of my plan to subdue the Warhorses. And subdue them I must. I had no doubt in my mind that these Warhorses probably thought of me as an existential threat by now.

Ever since I opened up the teleportation gate to Purgatory, the number of Devils in this region only grew by the day. There were countless exit points in the Prison of the Dead with correspondingly different landing points. That was why the Devils who appeared in Purgatory seemingly appeared at random throughout.

It was worth noting however that there were no signs of Devils in the territory of the Shadowcats. Perhaps it was because there was no teleportation zone here, or perhaps there was some other unknown reason.

I had Jeerah handle these lifeless Devils for now. I had no hopes that they would be of any use in the upcoming battle, but at the very least, they could keep up with the main army. As for those who couldn’t…good luck to them.

The Warhorses were like the nomads on Earth. They never stayed in one place for long. They enjoyed their freedom, and were born with the ability to gallop innately. Such a clan wouldn’t want to be constrained for long in a single location.

Their territory was massive, filled with all sorts of strange floral lifeforms. Part of their dietary needs were met with these fruits and vegetables, but they also relied on food from the lava lakes like salamanders or worms. That was the past, of course. Now they had Imps to add to their menu,

Unlike the cat-made environment of the Purgatory Shadowcats, the territory of the Warhorses was filled with more plants. Strictly speaking, the area they lived in could be considered a plains of sorts.

As we marched further into their territory, we came upon several temporary habitats. Normally, there would be Warhorses living in these areas, but now there were none in sight. It stood to reason that they were expecting me, with no small amount of fear as well.

Seven hundred golems, one thousand five hundred Purgatory Shadowcats and two thousand Cerberuses. Not to mention an unknown number of Eight-stars tailing us. Such a massive force was more than enough to trample over the Warhorses. In fact, my seven hundred golems alone would have been enough to do so. The Purgatory Shadowcats and the Hellhounds were merely there to stop them from escaping.

“Mama, it has been two days already. Where are the big horsies?” I was seated atop one of my Winged Abyssal Golems. As usual, Mo Na rode my shoulders, her legs swinging back and forth adorably as she continued pouting. “It’s so boring… Mo Na wants to play some Mahjong.”

“Woof~” Cinderel nuzzled against my arms slightly to show her approval as well.

“Cinderel still can’t speak though, can she even play?”

“Woof woof~~!!”

“If Cinderel can’t speak, she can’t play Mahjong.”

“Woof!” Cinderel continued arguing with Mo Na. In all likelihood, those woofs were her way of saying that she was fine. Just like that, the topic went from the lack of enemies to the lack of Mahjong.

In truth, I was a little apprehensive about this whole endeavour. The Warhorses were a nomadic clan, after all. Our army was huge. Even without my golems, the combined size of the Purgatory Shadowcats and the Hellhounds stretched as far as the eye could see. It was only to be expected that any stray Warhorse would turn tail and run the moment they saw our army. But if that was the case, that made things a little…awkward… we were here to fight a war, not play catch!

The Warhorses were a lot faster than the golems. And I couldn’t just ask the Purgatory Shadowcats and the Hellhounds to proceed alone either. That might cause me to be ambushed. Never underestimate an opponent. Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer.

As I hugged the two little scamps, I leaped off the golem and onto the ground. Having found Sidarth soon after, I talked to him about my concerns. His answer was simple.

“Don’t worry. The clan head of the Warhorses stays in a fixed position. As long as we find that area, we should be fine. There’s no way they would ever abandon their homebase.”

Shameless Self-promotion

If you liked my work translating Devil’s Evolution Catalog, feel free to check out Song of Adolescence. Also, every comment is appreciated even though I might not reply. I do read them.