At this moment, everyone in the room understood—the real one had arrived.
“Greetings, Lord.”
The Blood Demon King bowed.
“We are willing to surrender unconditionally. Please give us your instructions.”
Ella glanced at him, feeling a bit unfamiliar.
“And you are?”
“Oh, I’m the new leader of the Blood Demon Tribe. Everyone elected me to step up and make amends for the previous Bloodslaughter King’s mistakes.”
He spoke respectfully.
“The tyranny of the Bloodslaughter King brought us many negative effects. We are completely different from him.”
There was no choice.
Who told you to attack last time, only to have them come back for revenge now?
Better cut ties quickly.
Ella pondered for a moment.
She remembered that back when she was the Demon King, she once came to the Blood Demon Tribe for an inspection.
The Bloodslaughter King had brought the tribe’s young elites to greet her, intending for outstanding juniors to become familiar faces in front of powerful figures.
Yet, in this room, there wasn’t a single familiar face.
But it made sense.
Since they wanted to sever ties with the Bloodslaughter King, naturally, old matters and people from the previous regime had to be cut off.
Thinking this through, Ella suddenly felt a bit uninterested.
“I don’t have any instructions. By the way, you said you’re the new Blood Demon… what was it again?”
He shuddered all over and hurriedly replied,
“I’m nothing, Lord. I was just temporarily appointed by the tribe to handle affairs before your arrival.”
Ella gave him a sideways glance, thinking that no wonder he managed to secure this position after the civil strife—a bit clever.
“Fine. In that case, you know what to do. Three days from now, send a representative to the Bright…Dark Cross Star City for a meeting.”
Bright…Dark Cross Star City!
The Blood Demon Tribe members in the room felt their hearts skip a beat.
They understood.
For the pink-haired lightning girl to mention this suddenly meant she was confident in taking the city within three days.
“Understood, understood!”
The Blood Demon King was the first to recover and immediately said,
“No need to send any other representative. How could such a good opportunity be left to others? I’ll go myself!”
And so, the Blood Demon Tribe was conquered.
Watching the Blood Demon high command bow before the pink-haired lightning girl, the Elven commanders couldn’t help but feel emotional.
Back when they invaded the Northern Forest, Elder Cuiniya had mobilized the entire tribe, and everyone believed the Blood Demons from the wild north would be a long-term enemy.
Yet, in less than two months, things had changed.
The beautiful Sky Knight didn’t seem as gentle and kind as the rumors said.
After two or three days of battle, the Blood Demon Tribe’s army was utterly crushed.
Even if they wanted to become traitors, they no longer had the strength.
The Allied Army did not stop.
They only left a few mid-ranking Elven commanders to supervise the Blood Demon high command in fulfilling the terms of surrender.
According to the agreement, the Blood Demon Tribe needed the highest-level approval of the “Alliance” for important political and military matters.
“Um, Lord Elf.”
The former Blood Demon Lord asked obsequiously,
“I’d like to ask, who exactly makes up the highest level of this Alliance?”
“I don’t know.”
The commander replied honestly, then added,
“Don’t poke your nose into so much.”
“All right, all right, whoever it is, I’ll obey them!”
The Allied Army continued north, and with the Blood Demon Tribe subdued, there were no obstacles left on the road to the Dark Cross Star City.
Zero recalled the conversation in the fortress and asked curiously,
“Ella, what is the Alliance? Is it the post-war treaty agreed upon by our Three-Party Coalition Army? Does this Alliance have a name?”
“Not yet, or rather, I haven’t thought of one.”
Ella gazed at the distant city.
“I’ll decide after we take the city.”
“Then, who’s at the top of the Alliance you mentioned?”
The pink-haired lightning girl turned to glance at the knowingly inquisitive girl.
Does this question really need answering?
If so—
“Naturally, it’s decided through discussion and selection by everyone.”
“I see.”
Zero wore a look of sudden realization.
“So you want to pretend to go through the process.”
“………”
Ella’s expression tightened.
How could it be pretending?
You all agree with me, and of course, my Four Generals listen to me too.
With three-party voting, at least two votes guaranteed.
That’s called minority obeys majority.
Two hours later, the Allied Army arrived beneath the city gates.
The Dark Cross Star City, though the only large city in the southern Demon Territory, was essentially a border city.
Especially given there were no trade relations with the Elves in the south, the city itself wasn’t particularly remarkable.
In such a vast southern region—hosting a major tribe (the Blood Demons) and seven or eight mid-to-small tribes—there had to be a city to serve them all. That’s all there was to it.
Such was the existence of the Dark Cross Star City.
Because of its location and function, the city had no dedicated military force for defending against external enemies, only some guards responsible for maintaining internal order.
At this moment, all of them had been sent to the city walls.
Facing an Allied Army several times their number, every guard felt a chill in their heart.
They had never considered defending against outside invaders, as that task was usually handled by the southern Blood Demon Tribe.
If enemies broke through them, only then would they reach the city.
In other words, this was the exact situation now.
“Lady Ella.”
Gumu came over to request orders.
“Should I go speak?”
The pink-haired lightning girl nodded.
“Mm.”
So, the One-Eyed General rode his horse to the city gates and shouted up at the walls,
“Lay down your weapons, open the gates, and surrender immediately!”
The gate’s Gatekeeper looked carefully.
He found this guy didn’t look human or undead—after all, who else but our own Demon Race would have a bald head and only one eye? Certainly not Elf or Human Race.
He poked his head out and asked,
“Who are you? Why are you helping outsiders attack us?”
“Hahaha, you’re mistaken!”
Gumu burst into laughter.
“They’re helping us!”
The Gatekeeper said no more, for the City Lord had arrived and called him back.
“City Lord, that person below is one of our Demon Race, isn’t he? Who is he, and why is he attacking the city?”
The City Lord of the Dark Cross Star City was recently transferred in, seemingly a noble, looking splendid and well-dressed.
He looked at the One-Eyed General below the walls, a flash of suspicion and surprise in his eyes.
“I don’t know him.”
He said.
“But he can’t be a good person. You must defend the position to the death. Reinforcements will arrive soon.”
Reinforcements?
Were there really reinforcements?
The Gatekeeper was doubtful but chose to carry out his orders.
“By order of the City Lord! Hold the line to the death! Defend until reinforcements arrive!”
After several repetitions, morale rose on the walls.
Gumu scratched his head in confusion.
“What’s with these people? Facing this situation, yet they still can’t see the truth?”
When he returned to the army and explained, even Ella was surprised.
“Defend to the death?”
Seriously, where does a border city of our Demon Race get warriors with such strong fighting spirit?
If they were so impressive, shouldn’t they be transferred to the Central Elite Troops?
“Never mind. If they want to hold out, we’ll prepare for a full assault.”
It’s just a few hundred guards on the walls, barely any elites—what right do they have to shout about defending to the death?
Today, Ella would see for herself whether their will was tougher or her Necromantic Sword sharper.
“Prepare to attack the city!”
The Allied Army mobilized.
Though only a few thousand strong, when all the elite units advanced, the oppressive force swept toward the city like a black cloud, causing the defenders on the walls to shiver.
“Don’t panic, the Lord said the City Lord promised reinforcements will arrive soon.”
“Defend to the death!”
“Hold on!”
However, just as the archers on the wall were about to draw their bows—
“Stop! Stop right now!”
The Gatekeeper from before tumbled and crawled over.
“The City Lord ran! He abandoned the city and fled north!”
“What did you say?”
“There were never any reinforcements. He told us to buy him time!”
A group of soldiers on the wall were shocked speechless.
You look at me, I look at you.
“Isn’t this just as the Predecessor Demon King once said—War of Wits lies in strategy, and those skilled in schemes always achieve their aims.”
“Why are you talking about that at a time like this? Who wore white clothes today?”
A few minutes later, a white flag was raised on the city walls.