The arena in Demon City had its guests leave satisfied.

Outside the arena, the Dragon family had already started cleaning up the aftermath. Even the bookies who set the odds had cleared their books and paid out the wagers, getting ready to set the stage for the next event.

Apart from the Ghost Birds that were still circling beneath the dome of the fifth level of the Maze with a little "battery" left, it seemed everyone had forgotten there was still an undecided victory in the arena.

But whether they forgot or not made no difference.

After all, in the face of that overwhelming victory, even if Xino Dragon managed to shake off his prior slump, he still couldn't change the fact that he had disgraced the Dragon family.

As for the audience...

They really had no interest in watching a bunch of big men with constipation—even demons who didn't need sleep went home to sleep.

"F*** the Demon King!"

Next to the fibrous Mushroom Forest, Xino, with his pants hoisted up, had humiliation written all over his face, and his mouth was a non-stop stream of curses.

He finally came out.

When he walked out of the privy, he felt completely emptied out, his legs shaking.

He wasn't the only one in a similar situation.

Quite a few demons in the team suffered indigestion from eating too many sweet potatoes – at best, they farted and burped, and at worst, they suffered unbearable bloating.

Of course, there might be some who were just faking it.

Going into combat on the frontlines was another matter; that was for the glory of Lord Demon God, for the expansion of Hell's territory, for revenge against Saint Sis and the Imperial...In short, there were plenty of reasons to be found if one looked.

But these noble duels within the Magic City were nothing more than to resolve disputes among the Nobles. Even if these professional soldiers could take up arms to fight, it was hard for anyone to muster enthusiasm, much less the majority whose morale was only half of what it would be in regular combat.

Why push themselves so hard?

If the tide was in their favor, perhaps, but with the situation exceedingly desperate, watching their battered selves and comrades, the warriors of Hell's Flames found it hard not to question what they were even fighting for.

Especially considering the ferocity with which those Ogres fought, they felt it was not worth it; these expendables would do better charging to their deaths on the frontlines.

Of course, aside from those doubting their life choices, there were others interpreting things from different angles.

Sitting at the edge of the troop, a few veterans clad in Heavy Armor roasted by a fire and whispered among themselves looking in the direction of Xino.

"This battle's a tough one... the Commander has constipation and doesn't even pretend, he's not faking it and now I feel like I might as well start."

"That's how it is when you're too young."

"But that said, the Demon King sure has a knack for training a bunch of Ogres to fight so well; usually those dumb pigs would've run away long ago."

"That's the so-called Commander ability, I guess."

"Maybe we underestimated those goblins... Now I'm even a little worried about the defenses of Black Wind Castle, where only mercenaries stand guard."

Tossing a handful of dry grass into the fire, one Demon Swordsman said, shaking his head.

"If it were Kamu Dragon at the helm, there might be a chance to fight, but Xino... it seems he's still a little lacking."

"After all, he's the second son, it's understandable he can't compare to the eldest."

The few seemed to have convinced themselves, subconsciously lowering their expectations for Xino, and at the same time, their own standards.

Perhaps they never really had to try so hard from the beginning.

Their true master was Kamu Dragon.

Thinking this, and it was not just the few around the fire, the remaining four Centurions of Hell's Flames huddled together to whisper for a while. Eventually, the Centurion acting as group leader went over to Xino with a worried expression and said.

"Milord, should we continue fighting? I feel—"

"Of course! The battle isn't over!" Xino stubbornly roared in response, then added, "And on the battlefield, call me Commander!"

With a load of unsaid words stuck in his throat, the Centurion smiled bitterly and said.

"Yes, sir."

In his view, the outcome was already decided, but perhaps the commander had a different opinion.

Indeed, theoretically, if Xino wished, he could keep fighting indefinitely until not a single one of his men remained.

Or until the opponents grew bored and proactively captured him.

The despondent Centurion walked away, having never before so wished that the enemy would launch an attack to end this hopeless situation.

The morale of Hell's Flames had plummeted to rock bottom.

Seeing his listless warriors, Xino also knew that if he ordered an attack now, the outcome would likely be even worse than during the day.

"Rest for a day!"

"We will fight again tomorrow!"

All the soldiers present heaved a sigh of relief and raised their weapons to respond with a shout.

"Ooh!"

...

On Elm Street in Magic City's West District, a chariot pulled by a flying horse stopped by the roadside.

Mia was supposed to go back with her parents, but just as they were about to leave, Mr. Feistin and Lady Serena were nowhere to be found, so Luo Yan got to ride in the Padric family's carriage at Mia's exuberant (forced) invitation.

"...Hahaha, I didn't expect you to actually win against a bunch of goblin scum. It wasn't easy. But you won't be so lucky next time; the waters of the Demon City are too deep. I suggest you stir up less trouble; we don't care about those insects' opinions, anyway. Although I'm quite happy that you care so much, it really wouldn't be worth it if you got hurt."

The familiar feeling was back.

Walking down from the carriage, Luo Yan said with a smile.

"Yes, yes, I've caused Miss Mia some trouble."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.