"Some days ago, some of us from our division were chosen to accompany Lieutenant Colonel Gorgre and some other higher-ups to a meeting 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 remembered 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 something else.
"Hold on a second. Before you explain your encounter with Kravok, what do you mean by the angel and elf cities?"
Ilya nodded in agreement, 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 some 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 mentioned that some people were sent to deal with the barrier, and considering you two have been absent all this time, 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 same time, preventing them from calling for reinforcements 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 mean the Angel City is quite far from Zlego. If they considered reinforcements, then… teleportation, maybe?'
As he was deep in thought, Carack continued speaking.
"Yeah, that's about it. While Lieutenant Colonel Gorgre was meeting the others, Bjorn and I ran into Kravok and Drog."
As for this Lieutenant Colonel Gorgre Carack mentioned, that was the same one whom Xaren and Ilya had just met.
Just then, Bjorn added something.
"Kravok is big now. Bigger than Carack."
At that, Carack turned to him and groaned.
"Come on, dude, you didn't have to use me 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 meet 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 name because of an Ancient Demon King named "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 same racial characteristics as him were called Stragas.
Kravok was one of those, and when considering the large hammers 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, immediately, 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 me 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 moments, 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.
"Come on, Ilya. There's no way you're just a regular ol' demon."
Carack nodded in agreement 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 statement on?"
Ilya shot him a look, her eyes narrowing slightly, and Carack responded confidently.
"EVERYTHING. Your SPEED for starters—levelling, movement, reaction, attack—, and your magic affinity.
Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if you were some type of Wind Demon."
A moment 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 mentioned something from his past life.
"I saw one on the battlefield sometime 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 mean, elemental demons of fire and water exist, so there's bound to be elemental demons of earth and wind too, completing the four basic elements."
When Xaren finished speaking, Carack and Bjorn turned to Ilya and muttered.
""Wind Demon?""
Ilya sighed and facepalmed. 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.
"Come 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 mentally.
◇ ◇ ◇
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 members 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 time to begin the march to Zlego.