Izax's rough-and-tumble demons had probably gotten the wrong idea about what "Peacekeeping Force" meant. Perhaps they'd focused on the word "force" rather than "peacekeeping," but it didn't really matter. The term had only ever been a cover story for the report.
After learning about the Elder Council, Hao Ren understood that this incident could only be resolved with force.
Once the last few holdouts in the palace had been cleared out, the legionnaires began tallying casualties and inspecting the layout of the newly captured ruins. Brotalos led the demons in setting up a massive rune-stone apparatus in the plaza, preparing to raise an evil-energy shield and fortify the site as a new base. Watching the smoke still drifting over the battlefield, Hao Ren turned and said, "Let's go take a look at—holy crap, Lily, what happened to you?!"
He would've been fine if he hadn't turned around. The moment he did, he nearly jumped out of his skin. Husky Girl, standing behind him, had fluffed up like a pom-pom. Her tail had puffed into a ball of fur, her furry ears stuck straight up, and even the hair on her head was frizzed out as if she'd been hit by static electricity. She stood behind Hao Ren with a blank stare, completely motionless, like a dog that had just landed after riding out a Category 12 typhoon. Only Hao Ren's startled shout managed to bring Lily back to her senses. The husky girl turned her eyes around in a daze, her ears swiveling in every direction, then finally murmured, "...Is it over?"
"Did the shock fry her brain?" Nangong May hurriedly cast a healing spell on Lily. "Please don't let that happen. She wasn't too bright to begin with..."
Hao Ren was flailing around beside them, patting Lily on the