"So days ago, so of us from our division were chosen to accompany Lieutenant Colonel Gorgre and so other higher-ups to a eting with the officers from two other outposts.
Our company was one of them, and while the higher-ups were exchanging information about the human, angel, and elf cities—along with other stuff we weren't told about—Bjorn and I were wandering around. That's when we saw Drog, and he led us to Kravok's platoon."
Xaren rembered Drog, or rather, Drogror, as a burly, red-skinned demon with dark, spiked hair who wielded cleavers in battle and had a strong passion for cooking.
But rather than focusing on Carack's story about their reunion with Kravok and Drog, Xaren was more concerned about sothing else.
"Hold on a second. Before you explain your encounter with Kravok, what do you an by the angel and elf cities?"
Ilya nodded in agreent, showing she was just as curious. Seeing their expressions, realization flashed in Carack's eyes.
"Ah, that's right. You wouldn't know since you weren't here."
After finishing the tent, Carack pulled out so short stools lying around, set them down, and took a seat before explaining.
"Well, here's the thing. This human city we're about to attack isn't the only frontline city in this area. There's an angel city to the west, and there's an elf city to the east—inside that forest I told you about. Those are the three frontline cities, and we plan to hit them all at once.
However, the human city's barrier was the toughest, so we had to take it down first. That's all we were told by Captain Vollm.
He ntioned that so people were sent to deal with the barrier, and considering you two have been absent all this ti, I'm guessing it was you."
Carack finished his explanation with his deduction about Xaren and Ilya's whereabouts, while the two of them silently processed the new information.
"I see... a simultaneous attack on all three cities at the sa ti, preventing them from calling for reinforcents from one another. That is a solid strategy," Xaren remarked, analysing the distances between the cities in his mind.
'We entered from the west of Zlego, and there were no signs of civilization in the distance. That must an the Angel City is quite far from Zlego. If they considered reinforcents, then... teleportation, maybe?'
As he was deep in thought, Carack continued speaking.
"Yeah, that's about it. While Lieutenant Colonel Gorgre was eting the others, Bjorn and I ran into Kravok and Drog."
As for this Lieutenant Colonel Gorgre Carack ntioned, that was the sa one whom Xaren and Ilya had just t.
Just then, Bjorn added sothing.
"Kravok is big now. Bigger than Carack."
At that, Carack turned to him and groaned.
"Co on, dude, you didn't have to use for comparison."
It hadn't really been a focus before, but Carack was huge—at least for a demon his age. He was buff and naturally taller than the 4'8" Xaren, and even taller than Bjorn, who stood at 4'9". At 5'1", he was tall enough that Xaren had to lift his head to et his eyes when they talked.
For reference, the shortest among their group was the 4'5" Ilya—not that she cared much about her height. If anything, being smaller was advantageous for her, making it easier to take advantage of her speed and slip under bigger opponents.
Back to Kravok, Bjorn looked at Carack with confusion and spoke.
"You're the tallest here, so you're the best for comparison. Besides, Kravok is a Straga demon, so it's expected for him to be bigger."
Hearing this bit of information, Xaren reacted with mild surprise.
"Kravok is a Straga?"
Straga demons were known for their physical strength.
From what Floch told Xaren during Wing Training, Straga demons gained their na because of an Ancient Demon King nad "Straga". That Demon King had been a mutant demon and the first of one of the many branching evolutionary paths of the race known as demons.
From then on, all those who had the sa racial characteristics as him were called Stragas.
Kravok was one of those, and when considering the large hamrs Kravok liked to swing around, it kind of made sense. His enhanced strength enabled him to do so with ease.
Suddenly, Xaren had a thought.
'Wait a second. I'm a high demon. Carack is a fire demon. Bjorn is a leopard demon...'
And then, imdiately, he turned toward Ilya.
As if sensing his thoughts, Carack also turned toward Ilya, who looked back at both of them with confusion.
"What? Why are you guys looking at like that?"
One could almost see the invisible question marks above her head. Though Carack and Xaren found her confused expression amusing, they quickly explained their thoughts.
Carack started. "You know, Captain Ilya, I've been wondering, but..."
"...Exactly what demon breed are you?" Xaren finished.
Hearing their questions, Ilya finally understood. Even Bjorn, who was busy zipping up the bag where their tents were packed, heard the question and turned toward Ilya curiously as well.
Truthfully, they didn't actually know what type of demon breed Ilya was—if she was any special breed at all.
Faced with their questions, Ilya simply answered.
"I'm just a normal High-Demon, though. I don't think I have any special characteristics or traits like you guys do."
Xaren and Carack stared at her in silence, almost as if trying to check if she was lying.
Then, after a few monts, the two of them shook their heads and spoke in unison.
""Nah, not buying it.""
They decided not to believe her, and Ilya just looked at them, dumbfounded.
Seeing her expression, Xaren spoke.
"Co on, Ilya. There's no way you're just a regular ol' demon."
Carack nodded in agreent and continued.
"No way in the world. First of all, high demons aren't even 'normal.' But even among high demons, you are definitely abnormal."
"And what exactly are you basing that statent on?"
Ilya shot him a look, her eyes narrowing slightly, and Carack responded confidently.
"EVERYTHING. Your SPEED for starters—levelling, movent, reaction, attack—, and your magic affinity.
Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if you were so type of Wind Demon."
A mont after speaking, he paused and glanced at the others with a confused yet questioning look.
"Do Wind Demons even exist?"
Xaren blinked, then thought about it. Now that he considered it, he'd never seen a Wind Demon before.
"I've seen Fire Demons, Water Demons, and Frost Demons, but I've never seen Wind or Earth Demons..."
""You've seen a Water Demon?? Where??""
Carack and Ilya echoed the question in surprise, their gazes snapping to Xaren. At their reactions, Xaren realized he had accidentally ntioned sothing from his past life.
"I saw one on the battlefield soti ago."
He gave a vague answer, and before they could press further, he quickly shifted the topic away.
"But I've actually never seen an Earth Demon or anything like that. I an, elental demons of fire and water exist, so there's bound to be elental demons of earth and wind too, completing the four basic elents."
When Xaren finished speaking, Carack and Bjorn turned to Ilya and muttered.
""Wind Demon?""
Ilya sighed and facepald. She got up from the stool she was sitting on and headed toward her tent before speaking.
"Go to sleep, all of you."
Xaren and Carack burst out laughing at Ilya's reaction. Ignoring them, she opened her tent and laid out her sleeping bag.
"Co on, Ilya, let's talk for a bit!"
Ilya ignored Carack's invitation, turned to Xaren, and spoke.
"You haven't slept as much as I haven't. Sleep, Xaren. You're gonna need it."
With that, she entered the tent and zipped it shut, while Xaren chuckled and got up as well.
"I'm kinda tired. We did run a lot to get here. I'm off to bed."
He waved the other two off and entered his tent, ready to sleep and refresh himself both physically and ntally.
◇ ◇ ◇
Exactly five hours after Xaren finally managed to fall asleep, a siren blared across the camp, jolting the sleeping demons awake.
As they rushed to fold their sleeping bags, they were instructed to eat breakfast with the rations provided, then assemble at the centre of their Company Camp for a briefing by their Captain before six in the morning.
No one dared to be late, so when Captain Vollm appeared at six sharp, not a single one of the 250 Company mbers was missing.
He began speaking, first reminding them of the upcoming attack on Zlego, then informing them of his plan to split them into smaller groups.
He divided them into five fifty-man platoons, each led by one of his Lieutenants, before further dividing them into twenty-five-man squads. These squads were led by the new Low-Rank Demons he had been keeping an eye on, one of whom was Ilya.
Xaren and Carack were assigned to Ilya's squad, with Xaren chosen as the vice leader.
After finishing his instructions, the captain ordered them to pack up their camp and return the tents and sleeping bags to the supply depot before heading toward the camp's gates.
It was ti to begin the march to Zlego.
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