"Thank you"
"You all"
"We join"
"Demon King Territory"
These wild little fairies declared this, and later, led by the little fairy leaders of the Demon King Territory, they began to familiarize themselves with the local terrain and work throughout the territory... Although work is required in the Demon King Territory, the work here is relatively comfortable.
Although there's no reward, they gained safety, a pleasant environment, a place to live, and even reasonable working and resting hours, not to mention exquisite food to eat.
Isn't this like going from hell to heaven?
According to these wild little fairies, the wild bees originally lived further south in the forest but for some reason chose to migrate northward... towards the direction of Demon King City.
"Did something happen there?"
Yila murmured to herself like this.
"Perhaps nothing at all."
The Black Flame Headless Knight said, her pleasant female voice coming from the place where her head would be: "Giant bees have a habit of migrating; perhaps their original home had fewer flowers."
Speaking of which, perhaps that's indeed the case.
Yila, who didn't know much about giant bees, nodded in agreement.
"Mr. Yila..."
When Yila was lost in thought, the Black Flame Headless Knight spoke up, taking her back to the Demon King Territory with her horse, saying: "In this battle, the headless knights had zero casualties."
Hilena, who was riding alongside her, and Satan Ye, who was sitting behind Hilena, turned their heads upon hearing this.
"Our Insect Man casualties were also zero."
The leader of the Insect-man Clan said this, their eyes as black as lychee seeds looking at Yila, with a little respect in their voice.
"The shell of the Insect Man can largely resist the sting of the giant bee's tail, and the armor of the headless knight leaves no way for the giant bees to attack; zero casualties are indeed a normal occurrence."
Yila said this nonchalantly. This battle was under his full command, and neither the insect leader nor the Black Flame Headless Knight had any objection. In fact, they were all very willing to follow Yila's orders.
However, actually having casualties is the most normal thing, as the sharp wings of the giant bees are not just for show, enough to cut through an insect man's body, and even though the headless knight's armor is hard, their head's soul is fragile.
Though none of them were new soldiers, relative to this battle, titled [Annihilation], achieving [Zero Deaths] was already a fine record, and this time, the record was even [Zero Casualties], with not a single person injured.
Pushing forward step by step, slowly consuming... this kind of tactic was like a sharp blade that would slice through the enemy's body with each advance, taking away a chunk of flesh each time, yet giving the enemy no chance to breathe or escape.
Is this the Chief Governor?
"Heh heh heh~"
Satan Ye watched the little fairies sitting on the headless knight's warhorses not far away chatting noisily; she seemed to hear a joyful, light humming. The direction seemed to be...
Could it be Yila singing?
Completely unexpected that Yila would sing, Satan Ye's eyes widened slightly. In her and other magical creatures' stereotypical impression, Yila should be engaging in serious talk, sighing calmly, nodding helplessly, or committing cold slaughter, those kinds of behaviors.
But he was absolutely not someone who would nod and sing little tunes, looking happy.
So everyone was surprised.
"Mr. Yila, your mood seems quite good?"
To Hilena's question, Yila first froze, then stopped his light humming, continued with a smile: "Yes, this was the most comfortable and satisfying battle I've fought."
This "war" indeed let Yila vent the gloominess accumulated in his heart.
"You accepted handing over the troops to my command; your individual combat capabilities are extremely reliable, not needing to patiently explain why using certain tactics in battle, nor needing to report to the empire's homeland before and after campaigns."
Yila said, looking genuinely in good spirits, and what he wanted to share was not finished yet, he continued babbling: "I can unleash my power without deliberately giving credit to my peers to prevent their dissatisfaction afterward."
"I don't have to patiently stop other soldiers from looting and pillaging, preserving the empire's honor, nor worry about having such great achievements that lead me to a position where there's no reward possible..."
Yila's continuous talk left all the monster leaders, who didn't understand the underlying complexities, stunned... they never thought that Yila, such a seemingly glorious figure on the battlefield as Chief Governor, actually had so much to consider.
Moreover, feeling such joy because of a happy battle, they didn't know whether to say Yila is cuter than expected or that those imperial frameworks indeed made Yila overly irritable?
During their time together, everyone came to know that Yila was very disciplined and always adhered to some rules that folks at the Demon King Territory didn't understand. So... were things even more overbearing back at the empire?
"In any case..."
Yila said, making a conclusion belonging to him: "I now realize that perhaps the Demon King Territory suits me more, so I've decided to let go and do it. Is that okay?"
"..."
"..."
In solemn silence, including the quieted little fairies, everyone felt a strange sense — now, the moment Yila said those words, it might become a pivotal moment recorded in history.
And they would all be witnesses to history.
"Lord Yila, have you finally made up your mind?"
Hilena said this.
"Yes, going forward I will not inquire, I will not request permission... I will be steering the ship called [Demon King Territory], racing quickly towards those places you probably can't comprehend."
Yila said this, and in fact, he didn't know if he could change his habit of [asking for instructions], he spoke half-seriously, half-jokingly: "If one day you find me or the Demon King Territory out of control, don't regret it~"
Because, everyone now promised to grant Yila great authority, though he had confidence in not losing himself within, because what he gained wasn't profit but a real chance to truly be free, yet the future is unpredictable.
Yila's words left no one able to make a firm decision, and at such a moment, the others looked to Satan Ye — the ones who usually didn't perform [request from the Demon King] now instead hoped to see the Demon King's response.
"Mr. Yila, rest assured! I won't regret it!"
Satan Ye said, and now, in her eyes, the smiling Yila seemed to overlap with another figure with outspread crimson wings at the back... clearly, her father's killer, now seeming more like an eligible father.
With this illusion, Satan Ye gently closed her eyes, and her tail swung joyfully, creating crisp sounds as it slapped against the headless warhorse's back, lightly chuckling as she promised: "The Demon King Territory has long lost much, if we're to lose something more, it would be nothing more than..."
"Casting off the shackles."