New Squad

"We won! It's our victory!"

"Uooo!"

"Woohoo!!!"

The demons raised their weapons and cheered, with some jumping while holding souls in their hands.

Xaren smiled wryly at the sight of the demons' strange ways of celebrating, before sitting down on a rock with a sigh.

"Whew… Ha...

I'm fucking exhausted."

He muttered as he opened his status to see his current level, however, his expression rapidly darkened when he saw his Titles tab.

|Titles- Unranked newborn Demon, Irregular, Lesser Giant Slayer, Black Fire Demon, Blade of Darkness. |

'They already stuck…'

Many demons had been shouting 'Black Fire Demon' and 'Blade of Darkness'. Even those who hadn't seen him kill the giant began shouting it as well, and soon, hundreds of demons were screaming this out as they fought.

Things like this were what made titles stick, and whether Xaren liked it or not, there was nothing he could do about it.

After inspecting his status, he raised his gaze and began looking around for what to use and clean the blood off his sword when he caught sight of a familiar figure.

'Isn't that the demon beast from yesterday?'

The demon beast, with a head that was a mix of humanoid and leopard features, sensed his stare and turned toward him, recognition flashing through his yellow eyes.

"Grey demon."

"It's Xaren."

Xaren corrected him, mildly surprised that the demon beast remembered him at all. The demon beast then tilted his head to the side, as if contemplating this new information.

"Grey demon is Xaren."

He repeated, nodding slowly in understanding. Then, pointing to himself, he added, "Bjorn."

Xaren gave a nod in return and raised his balled fist in a gesture of camaraderie, but Bjorn blinked in confusion, clearly unfamiliar with the greeting.

After a quick explanation from Xaren, Bjorn's eyes lit up in comprehension, and he returned the gesture with enthusiasm.

Not long after, Bjorn moved on, eagerly sharing this newfound greeting with another demon, the sight drawing a rare, amused smile from Xaren.

'Like a child who just got a new toy and wants to show everyone…'

That was how Xaren saw Bjorn's actions, and they weren't too far off from reality as unlike the reincarnated Xaren, Bjorn and the others were genuine children.

'Oh well, not like I'm far off. I didn't even reach adulthood before.

Also, I'm probably the youngest demon here since these guys are most likely all from previous batches.'

Indeed, he was.

Just then, a Mid-Ranked demon appeared in the sky and gave the order to gather, with the unranked quickly rushing to congregate. The scene of the disobedient being beaten up was fresh in their minds, so they were quick to comply.

[Alright, listen up pipsqueaks. Your fight here is just beginning.

The goal is to get back that city in the distance so you'd be fighting a siege battle tomorrow. Not like half of you know what that is.]

The demon yawned, his tone dripping with boredom as he adjusted his magic to make his voice even louder.

[Where are the ones who were under the dead guy called Langa?]

At the mention of their fallen captain, Xaren and the few others who bothered to remember Langa's name raised their hands. The Mid-Rank demon nodded before effortlessly lifting them into the air with his magic, gathering them up like stray cattle and depositing them in another part of the plains.

[Your Captain died so you all would join another Captain's troop.

She is your new captain.]

The Mid-Ranked demon pointed at a young demoness seated on a rock, hugging a Runeblade similar to Xaren's.

She had long white hair cascading down her back like a waterfall of silver, contrasting sharply with her tanned brown skin. Her obsidian black eyes, seemed to absorb the light around them, giving her an air of quiet intensity.

In response to the Mid-Ranked demon's words, she offered a simple nod, casting a quick, assessing glance at the demons who had just been unceremoniously placed under her command.

[Moving on, some of you had good performances today so you've got extra rewards.]

The Mid-Ranked demon unfurled a piece of parchment and scanned the crowd below, chanting something under his breath.

His magic pulsed outward, washing over the unranked demons, and moments later, Xaren and several others noticed glowing markers hovering above their heads.

[You all get weapon and armour upgrades, and eh…what else was there again?]

The demon squinted at the parchment before nodding to himself and continuing.

[Ah, right. You're exempt from soul tax tomorrow, and you get ten angel souls each.

Lastly, there's a pouch of silver coins. Better keep that one safe since it'd be useful on main Battlefront worlds…if you live long enough to get there.]

Hearing the demon's words, Xaren found himself more concerned about why everyone and their mother kept saying things like 'if you live long enough' or 'if you don't die before then', than the rewards being listed.

'Just how high is the mortality rate for unranked demons?'

He just had this thought when a pouch of coins landed squarely on his head and snapped him out of his thoughts.

A scroll followed, which he opened to reveal runic inscriptions he couldn't decipher. However, the bold words at the top: 'Infuse Demonic Energy to Retrieve Souls', were clear enough.

This magic scroll was a method that demons used to store souls they weren't devouring immediately, preventing them from being claimed by the law of death.

As he examined the pouch more closely, he realized it was a low-level magic pouch, capable of holding the scroll and even large enough to fit his Runeblade.

He tied it securely to the inner part of his armour, just as the Mid-Ranked demon's magic wrapped around him once more, lifting him into the air and dragging him over to where he would receive his armour upgrade, as well as get marked so the Soul attractors didn't take souls from him tomorrow.

◇ ◇ ◇

His Runeblade was already good enough for his level and any upgrades would have made it too powerful for him to use, so they did nothing to it.

His armour, however, got proper enchantments which increased their defensive power by 2x. After being marked so the Soul attractors would avoid him, Xaren rushed to bed to rest his mind and body.

The next morning, they were jolted out of bed by a siren once more and after a meal that was just enough to prevent any stomachs from growling, they were sent into battle again.

Despite taking a hands-off approach to the fighting since it was meant to level up the Unranked, the higher demons still gave certain orders.

For example, the troop Xaren was in was given a special assignment.

To begin retaking the city, the demons had to first take out the fortress on the way to the city. Only after taking down this fortress could they attack the city without worry of a pincer attack so they were striking it first.

"The siege battle has started. While the enemies are focused on defending the front, we'd use that opportunity to attack their rear. Securing the Rune Magic control room and opening the gates is our task."

Xaren's troop captain, whose name he discovered was 'Ilya', spoke and the demons around Xaren all nodded silently.

The troop had been split up, and she was talking a small group of more experienced Unranked demons for this, with Xaren being the only new batch demon in it.

When his armour was being upgraded, some of the higher demons recognized him as the 'Runeblade guy' and they made him join this small group on this mission.

There were about 200 of them, and they silently watched as the rest of the unranked demons attacked the front of the huge stone fortress.

Their numbers were in the thousands, and the sight of thousands of demons charging towards them alongside several siege towers made of steel charging at the same time was really overwhelming.

'Well, they look tiny from up here.'

Xaren thought as he watched the crown on the ground from his position on an airship high up in the sky.

He and the other demons meant to enter the fortress were all being dropped into the fortress from above and they were awaiting their drop.

After a few moments, Xaren removed his gaze from the ground and looked around to study the airship they were in. It was equipped with advanced magic-tech mechanisms, and beneath his feet, runes glowed softly on the floor, a sign that the teleportation platform they were standing on was activating.

"Get ready. We're being dropped directly into the fortress courtyard."

Ilya's voice cut through the silence and a moment later, the runes under their feet flared to life. The teleportation system integrated with the ship's hull crackled, casting a shimmering net of demonic energy over each demon.

Xaren felt a tug in his chest as the mechanism activated, and the now-familiar sensation of spatial displacement washed over him.

His vision went dark for a few seconds, and when light entered his eyes again, he was falling through the air, right above the fortress courtyard.

As they dropped toward the ground, the air shimmered around them, revealing wind enchantments cast on them that slowed their descent, cushioning them.

Ilya touched down first, her feet barely making a whisper against the stone as the rest of the group followed.

The scent of trees filled their noses, and the elves who were scurrying about, moving supplies and organizing their defences, turned to them in shock.

The fortress courtyard was filled with towering trees that seemed out of place in such a militarized setting. The roots of these immense trees curled and twisted through the stone pathways, their broad trunks rising high enough to block parts of the sky.