“Damn you, Feng Lie!”
How could you ever hope to lead the Demon Race with a bunch of vermin like that?
For the first time, gentle and obedient Little Ai lost her temper and cursed.
The girls were all a bit surprised.
“It’s alright, we’ll take care of him,” Celes comforted her.
“But first, we need to get the full picture.”
As she spoke, she gave Zero a look.
Zero understood instantly, tightening her grip on the dagger.
“Ahhh! Don’t kill me, don’t kill me! I’ll tell you everything!”
With the threat of death looming, the interrogation went smoothly.
The Wolfhead Tribe had captured Lilburg just a day ago.
The lord and his people had all been seized.
To save his own skin, Lil took out a document from the Royal City, claiming reinforcements would soon arrive to threaten the chieftain.
He suggested they could use the hostages to set a trap.
Late tonight, once everyone was asleep, the Wolfhead Tribe would lead their army into the fortress and massacre them.
“This time I’m telling the truth! I haven’t lied at all!”
At first, Lil tried to argue, saying Feng Lie had found the document and the plan was his idea.
But after getting cut once, he quickly gave up all resistance.
There was no doubt about the information.
Feng Lie could never come up with such a sinister plan—this was the work of the human lord himself.
Leah was so furious she shouted, “Disgusting scum!”
Oddly enough, Ella, who had just been sighing, now felt much better.
See, that’s how it should be.
There are worms everywhere.
Why should I be the only one with them?
It’s only fair if everyone has their share.
“What now?” Zero asked, gripping her dagger.
Celes thought for a moment, then asked Lil another question: “Where does the tunnel lead?”
“To an abandoned shed out in the wilds. Nobody knows about it except me.”
“Good. That’s all we need.”
Lil thought he might survive this after all, but the next second, his neck went cold.
Icy air rushed into his throat, and he closed his eyes forever.
Celes’s last words had been for Zero, signaling her to finish him off.
As for what came next.
“We’ll leave through the tunnel and wait at that shed he mentioned. After midnight, Feng Lie will come to us, saving us the trouble of hunting him down.”
Others might have chosen to plan more carefully, but they were the Hero Squad.
Each one was a once-in-a-millennium genius among humans.
Even if they hadn’t reached their full potential yet, they wouldn’t shy away from a challenge like this.
“The most important thing for a team is to learn to work together. Only by facing sudden crises and overcoming hardships can we gain strength from cooperation and become truly united.”
That was something Rolls had always told them, and Celes agreed wholeheartedly.
Now was the perfect opportunity.
“No time to waste. Let’s go.”
Ella was full of energy and initiative.
Her earlier drowsiness vanished—she just wanted midnight to come quickly, so she could deal with the traitor herself.
The one dragging her feet at the back was Leah.
After entering the tunnel, she yawned several times before following the little flame Vina held up to light the way.
“I really don’t want to be out at night. Nothing should be done after dark except sleeping.”
“That’s true, but sometimes you have to make an exception, Saintess of Light.”
Vina split a wisp of flame off for her.
“It’s Fire Element and Light Element both.”
Hearing the last part, Leah—though she hadn’t wanted it—accepted the flame.
“By the way, did you hear it earlier? After Ella cursed, Celes was the first to comfort her.”
“Celes? Comfort someone? Impossible.”
Leah replied casually.
“You must have misheard.”
“I think I misheard too,” Vina said, playing with the small flame in her hands.
“But what if I didn’t?”
Leah thought for a moment, then shook her head.
“No way. You definitely misheard.”
A little farther up the tunnel, Zero quietly caught up to Ella, who was leading the way.
She slipped something into Ella’s hand.
“Here, I found this in Lord Lil’s room while keeping an eye on him.”
Ella opened her hand and saw an orchid, picked from a potted plant.
“…Thanks.”
There was nothing more to say. Better just keep it for now.
After about half an hour, they reached the end of the tunnel.
As expected, it opened into an abandoned shed under the cover of night.
The surroundings weren’t too bad, though the place was a bit drafty.
Celes reached out to feel the temperature, then said to the two who had just come up, “Vina, Miss Leah, please look after Ella. It’s cold here.”
“No need, no need!”
Ella quickly replied, rubbing her small hands together to conjure a little fireball.
“The Demon King used to make me tend the fire every day, so I’ve learned a bit of Fire Element magic.”
Don’t ask—just call it a healthy living tip.
Celes nodded and went over to the window to observe.
Vina pulled Leah into a corner, nudged her lightly, and whispered, “Now you heard it, right? You didn’t mishear.”
“…It wasn’t comfort.”
If you want to reframe it, fine—making sure team members are healthy is important, so the mission isn’t affected.
Anyway, she refused to believe that businesslike Sword Saint Maiden would ever care about others.
Zero had already slipped out. As a killer, she belonged to the night. Ella hadn’t even noticed when she left.
Celes quietly gave instructions to those remaining:
“When Zero gives the signal, we’ll attack Feng Lie’s army directly. Vina, you create chaos. Miss Leah, support me in breaking their formation. Once we deal a serious blow to Feng Lie, everyone withdraw—don’t try to fight him to the death while he’s wounded. We’ll check the battlefield after dawn.”
If he goes berserk when wounded, then let’s just wait out his rage and let the backlash do the work.
The plan was solid, except the kingdom’s intelligence was lacking.
They didn’t know Feng Lie always carried several Blood Slaves with him, and once berserk, he could recover by drinking their blood.
In the end, they’d have to handle things themselves.
“As for Ella…”
Celes hesitated.
“You stay here and watch over our personal belongings.”
The pink-haired thunder girl agreed obediently, “Okay~”
The sky grew darker, until even the moon was hidden by clouds.
Lilburg seemed to awaken from its slumber, as cries of battle rang out from all directions, besieging the lord’s keep.
Among the many attacking squads, a single firework bloomed over one army, but no one paid it any mind.
“Zero’s given the signal,” Celes pointed toward the firework.
“Feng Lie is right there.”
The three moved quickly, leaving the shed and vanishing into the night.
As soon as they left, Ella tightened her collar and followed after, heading in the direction of the firework.
A good girl keeps her promises—to stay in the shed and wait for everyone.
But as long as she got back before the others, no one would know she’d left at all.
The midnight wind in Lilburg was biting cold, distant fires lighting the sky, and the Wolf Howl echoed without end.
Ella stepped lightly along the dirt path.
Her pale hand closed in the air, and a Bone Sword appeared in her grasp.
Countless lost souls rose from the earth, swirling around the blade, forming its Cursed Sheath.
Traitor Feng Lie, your judgment is at hand!
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