Seven days had gone by in the blink of an eye.
During that time Abaddon had been working practically nonstop to ensure that proper precautions were set up for his people.
Often times, those who served in his army were the sole breadwinners for their families.
In the event that one of them died in the coming war, he had taken measures so that their families would receive rather generous financial support for five years.
He considered it to be something that was only natural to do, given the fact that his people were so clearly willing to die for him.
As of now, he was seated around the table at dinner, surrounded by his family for one last time before they set sail tomorrow.
Even extended family members were present like Asmodeus and Yara along with Leviathan and Belphegor.
In her true grandmotherly fashion, Yara had sandwiched herself between Apophis and his fiancé Claire and seemed to be unable to leave her position.
"I can't believe my grand baby is going to get married!! Oh, I can't wait to plan the wedding!!"
"Grandmother, you are embarrassing me..."
"Didn't your father tell you? Embarrassing my son and grandson in front of their women is one of my life's greatest joys!"
Apophis wished for nothing more than to retreat back to the confines of his room for all eternity, but Claire seemed to find this situation very amusing.
Across the table, Asmodeus was giving Thea, Jasmine, and Nita the exact same treatment.
"You truly are my granddaughter, only one of my blood could succeed in seducing not one but two beautiful women, and one is even a royal no less!"
Thea smiled proudly as she took the hands of both girls beside her as if they were her proudest achievement.
"I am very lucky to have them, they enrich my life in ways I could have never imagined."
Jasmine's face became hot from the sudden declaration and it seemed like she wished to shrink away just as Apophis did.
Ever since she and Thea had entered into an official courtship, things had progressed slowly with a fair amount of hand holding and kissing, but nothing other than that.
Even when they all slept together, nothing ever happened as she was still largely unsure that she was ready to take that next step.
What if she made embarrassing sounds or didn't know what to do??
What if Thea and Nita got a good look at her naked and decided that they didn't find her attractive!?
And how would she live with the embarrassment when everyone in the house smelled her all over Thea??
They would know that they had sex, and she would die of embarrassment!
At the head of the table, Abaddon was hardly eating, too distracted by Seras who had claimed his lap before anyone else could.
"Are you certain that you wish to return to Antares, my love?"
It looked like the decision was tearing her apart on the inside, but she nodded in agreement all the same.
"Yes, I believe it's time. I've been away for so long now and I am grateful for this time away but I still have duties to fulfill."
Helios hadn't actually given Seras her freedom yet.
He had just allowed her to be away in light of her giving birth and as a small favor to Abaddon.
With the upcoming war, she would be unable to participate due to her position, so it was decided that she would return to Antares to catch up on neglected work.
All of the wives were saddened by this decision but they knew that it was likely for the best.
"I will come back once the war is over and you can tell me all of the stories about your exploits." She said sweetly.
During the month long campaign, it was decided that the wives would take part of the army to conquer the north and the east while Abaddon traveled alone through the south and west.
By doing this, they could cut their time of conquest down and rejoin each other sooner.
Abaddon kissed her softly on the cheek as he placed his hand over her ripped stomach.
"I will make you proud, love. As both my wife and my teacher."
Seras' resolve to leave him was almost broken with those few simple words and she felt her body begin to get warm.
"What a silly thing to say... from the day we met until now, I have never not been proud of you, my husband."
"What about me? Are you proud of me??" Bekka suddenly asked with her tail wagging.
Seras giggled and lightly touched her smooth cheek with her pale fingers. "Of course I am, sister. You've come so far in our training together."
Bekka made a proud face and gratefully accepted Seras' touch with glee.
She wasn't the only one who had made improvements in her lethality, as Lillian had become quite the force as well.
But she was a bit too shy to ask for praise like Bekka, so she ate without a fuss.
"You sappy bastards are going to give me a lifestyle disease."
"Agreed."
Belphegor and Leviathan acted as if they had no idea why they decided to come here and surround themselves with all of these people in love but it was too late to back out now.
They could take solace in the fact that the food was good, if nothing else.
Abaddon rolled his eyes and glanced down the table at his children who seemed to be in their own little worlds.
"You will be in charge of our people while we are away. Should a threat come from the outside, I leave it up to you to protect them and neutralize it. "
"Sure..." Thea said absentmindedly as she stared at Jasmine.
"Of course I will... What were we talking about?" Apophis was so busy fantasizing about Claire that he had barely registered his father's words.
Mira merely held up a thumb as she stuffed her little mouth.
Abaddon merely rolled his eyes and gave a declaration that shocked all of his children for good reason.
"Gabbrielle's in charge. You'll all have to listen to her while we're away."
"Wait, what?"
"Why?!"
"Uwah?"
Abaddon smiled evilly like his plan had gone exactly as hoped and he silently stood up from the table without elaborating further.
Honestly he had only done that to get on his children's nerves a bit.
They were all good children with a correct sense of what was right and wrong, so it didn't really matter who was in charge since they would all do the same thing anyway.
But of course, they didn't know that.
'Being a parent is fun.'
- 3 Days Later
In the seas just off the coast of Apeir, a single ship could be seen sailing towards the continent at an alarming pace.
Abaddon was standing on the bow of the vessel, his arms folded and eyes closed, his mind focused on the coming conflict.
Even though they were still a few miles out, he could already sense the welcoming party that had been prepared for them ahead of time.
Their numbers were not really anything to sneeze at, but the dragon was certain that this initial conflict would be over quickly.
"I thought that the king would have taken us more lightly given his nature, but it seems not."
Abaddon glanced behind him at his seven wives who looked like they were just as anxious to begin as he was.
Behind them, the Euphrates were kneeling silently with their heads bowed, like weapons waiting to be unsheathed.
Malenia was also on board, poking a few of them in the face like she was trying to break their concentration.
Naturally since Audrina's senses were much better than anyone else on board, she knew the exact number of men on the beach.
"Over 400,000 men just for a welcoming party... but I must admit they all seem rather anxious."
"That's to be expected." Lailah said calmly. "There are a lot of stories that go around about our husband, and all of them are downright terrifying. They do not know what is coming for them."
Abaddon said nothing and kept his eyes closed to calm his mind.
Mentally, he used a bit of his affinity for water to quicken the boat's pace even further.
Eris noticed her husband's impatience and seemingly knew exactly what it was stemming from.
'The faster we begin, the faster all of this will end.'
Soon afterwards, the ship came to a crashing stop on a sandy beach and Abaddon finally got a good look at the army waiting for them.
The highest power on the beach was stage three, but there were a few hundred evolved scattered throughout the army.
Their armor and weapons were of very high quality, and nothing was below unique grade in terms of rarity.
One of the dwarves stepped forward as if he wanted to converse, seemingly the general of this army.
Abaddon stepped off the bow and floated silently down to the ground, accepting the invitation.
As soon as his feet touched the sand, the gruff voice of the dwarf was trying to broker peace.
"You are the Scarlet Emperor, correct? I am Commander Orie."
Abaddon did not exchange any pleasantries seeing as how this man already knew who he was, and he continued to observe him with piercing reptilian eyes.
"R-Right then... I assume that you have decided to negotiate with the king after all? He hoped that you might change your mind, so we have prepared a-"
"I have no such plans."
Commander Orie blinked several times to try to wrap his mind around this.
He thought for sure when he saw this single ship approaching that the Emperor of Samael would have changed his mind about the war.
Only around sixty people could be sensed on board, and that was nowhere near enough to wage a war on an entire continent.
He became even more certain when he saw the way that Abaddon was dressed.
The dragon wore no armor, instead he was dressed in a black ceremonial skirt with a dark fur collar and simple sandals.
But what Orie didn't know was that Abaddon's army was not present yet.
And he wore no armor because there was no metal or stone more durable than his own body.
"You can all hear me, can't you?" Abaddon said in a low voice.
Every dwarf on the beach trembled as they realized that they could somehow hear the voice of the invader as if he was right next to them.
"I make you this offer once. Lay down your weapons and kneel on the ground so that your lives may be spared."
His words shook a few of them to their core, but ultimately all of them were loyal soldiers who would not so easily betray their homeland.
After all, dwarves were well known to be stubborn.
Thirty seconds passed by and none dropped their weapons, prompting Abaddon to shake his head in disappointment.
"How sad... such a waste of life."
Suddenly, two enormous portals opened up on either side of him, and Orie took a massive leap backwards.
From Abaddon's left, his army from Luxuria exited the portal wearing dark scaled armor and carrying weapons made from his very own blood.
Led by the rabisu trio and Lusamine, the army seemed to be positively feral and salivating over the opportunity for bloodshed.
On his right, his army from Upyr arrived, led by the muscular Kristina.
The vampires seemed to be thrilled that they were free to fight under the sun and their excitement was no less than their counterparts from Luxuria.
Abaddon's wives and private army dropped down beside him, yet they seemed to have no interest in partaking in this battle.
"Who are you?"
All four million soldiers responded in unison as if they were all united as one entity, and their cries roared for miles throughout the land.
"WE ARE THE ARMY OF THE DESTROYER! OUR PURPOSE IS GLORIOUS, OUR VICTORY IS INEVITABLE!"
"Our enemies have made their choice. Will you show them mercy?"
"WHAT IS MERCY!?"
Abaddon did not consider himself to be a particularly bloodthirsty man, but he had to admit that he was feeling so much excitement that he could not suppress a chilling smile of his own.
"Leave none alive."
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