To be fair, when Celes saw that skull in the sky, her heart skipped a beat.
It wasn’t just her—Leah, and everyone in the city, had their hearts miss a beat in that instant.
Who in their right mind uses a skull as their emblem?
But they were already charging down, rushing from the eastern mountains, steel armor crashing into the Desecrator swarms, blades stabbing into the flesh of those monsters.
Celes was the first to notice something strange.
“That’s Vina’s magic. Is Vina helping them?”
The first wave of Meteor strikes created an obvious barrage effect, stunning the Desecrator army, and in the following assault, they fell in swathes.
Leah nervously observed the situation, noticing that this “Skull Army” broke into squads upon entering the city, launching attacks on the Sirens in small units.
Though their individual combat ability was nowhere near that of the Hero’s party, their teamwork was tight, their equipment top-notch, and it only took a few strikes to kill a Desecrator.
One of the squads was advancing, gradually approaching the marketplace.
Celes stood guard with her Knight Sword, recalling the scene with the Meteor just now, so she didn’t act rashly.
“Who are they?”
Leah whispered as she walked to her side, “Why do I feel like they’re like…”
Saintess Leah wanted to say they were from Ella’s hometown, but thought that sounded bad—she couldn’t blame everything on Ella, as if she was always thinking about her.
“That’s right,” Celes made her judgment, “They’re Demon Race.”
Even with helmets on, their robust builds were distinctive, and they used a skull as their emblem.
Leah looked over, then at the girl beside her.
“So, should we…?”
In theory, the Demon Race were enemies too, but they were busy beating up the Sirens, and hadn’t harmed any humans.
Celes didn’t reply, just kept her eyes on the approaching Demon Race squad.
The two sides met eyes, then the squad turned and headed in another direction.
“What are they really here for?”
No one answered this question. In any case, the situation was strange, but not bad.
With the Demon Army joining the battle, the Desecrators could no longer massacre civilians, and were instead forced into a rout.
“They’re so brave, and very well organized,” Leah continued to observe.
“Way tougher than the Wolfhead Tribe we fought last time.”
Of course.
This army under Yanpo was the backup Ella had prepared for herself, and every member chosen was elite.
Now, without even knowing it, they were conquering the first city for Demon King Aio, laying the foundation for a future comeback.
Loyalty!
“The Sirens are about to lose. Be careful—they might turn on us next.”
Celes gripped her Sword tighter, and just then, hurried footsteps and ragged breathing approached.
The two girls turned at the same time, only to see a pair of bouncing buns rushing toward them.
“Don’t attack! It’s me! Don’t attack!”
Of course, they wouldn’t attack Ella—she was their dear… companion—but Ella wasn’t talking about herself.
“Don’t attack, and don’t fight those Demon Tribe Soldiers.”
Ella finally reached them, stopping just in time, her buns nearly crashing into them.
“Their leader—that general—I know him.” She was out of breath from running.
Celes had just raised her hand, saw her own hard, heavy Gauntlet, hesitated for a moment, while Leah walked over without hesitation, her soft hand gently rubbing the girl’s back to help her catch her breath.
There was no time for any “If I wear the Gauntlet I can’t hug you, if I take it off I can’t protect you” drama.
Celes simply asked, “You know them?”
“Yeah, I know their leader. A bull general with a horn, name’s Yanpo.”
Ella caught her breath and began explaining her connections to the two girls.
You know, the Demon King once kept her at his side, valued her wisdom, made her his little advisor, and many major decisions came from her hand.
So, in the upper ranks of the Demon Race, she had some reputation.
And sometimes, the Demon King would hold banquets for the army’s generals in the Demon King’s Castle, building rapport between upper and lower ranks.
Over time, she got to know a few people.
This Yanpo, the horned general, was one of them.
As for why Yanpo’s army was here.
“After the Demon King disappeared, his former confidants were squeezed out by the new rulers, forced to leave the Demon Race, and make a living in the borderlands. Harbor City became their target. When Vina and I went looking for people, we happened to run into a scout from the army, so I asked them to come help deal with the Sirens first.”
Ella finished her story, and Leah’s eyes sparkled.
“So you brought the reinforcements? That’s crucial!”
She didn’t doubt her for a second.
Celes frowned slightly—not doubting the story, but a bit worried.
“What happens after the Sirens are driven off? Were they planning to take Harbor City for themselves?”
“Emmm, how about,” Ella tilted her head, “I go talk to them.”
“I’ll go with you—”
“No, no, I’m familiar with them, really.”
After much persuasion, Ella set off alone toward the army, finding the outermost Demon Army soldiers.
“I want to see Yanpo.”
“This way, please!”
Who knows what Yanpo told them, but the Demon Tribe Soldiers treated her with great respect, not only opening a path but even lining up on both sides.
Yanpo was in the middle of killing enemies, a fish head still hanging from his big blade.
Hearing the news, he tossed the fish head aside and hurried over.
“Lady Ayla, you’re here! How did our operation go today? Please give your instructions!”
He spoke fluently, not a word out of place.
“Not bad, you did very well.”
Ella offered a bit of encouragement, then said, “But the next part is crucial. Remember this: when others are around, don’t act so humble toward me, just show a bit of respect. Also, about what comes next…”
She spoke, Yanpo listened, nodding his head up and down vigorously.
“Understood?”
“Understood!”
After that, Ella left the Demon Army and returned to the market entrance, telling Celes:
“They’re willing to accept employment and become Harbor City’s stationed guards, to defend against Sirens and other threats.”
Leah was stunned.
“The Demon Army, serving as guards in a human city?”
Saintess Leah was well-traveled, but even she had never seen such a thing.
Celes instinctively felt uneasy, but after thinking it over carefully, she hesitated.
If it had been half a year ago, she would never have agreed.
Of course, a human city could only be guarded by soldiers of the Human Kingdom.
But after the battle in the Royal City, after facing the entire Royal Guard, she couldn’t help but ask herself.
Do the kingdom’s soldiers really exist to protect the kingdom’s people?
But letting Demon Race soldiers serve as guards was truly unprecedented, a bit too extreme.
After thinking it over and over, Celes said, “If they’ve already left the Demon Race, we can let them form an independent army and sign a Treaty of Alliance with us.”
There is precedent for that.