"Of course, after introducing these guys."
The one who answered Igor was actually not Richard. As the Vice Captain of the Demon Relief Squad, he obviously had to show his worth as well so that his squad wasn't underestimated by others.
Paul stepped forward and extended his hand, "I'm Paul, the Vice Captain of the Demon Relief Squad. It's my pleasure to meet the captain of the Demon Hunting Squad."
"The Demon Relief Squad?" Igor frowned for a moment before understanding why Paul came here. "I see. The fact that you are here means you either have finished fixing the bridge or need our help. So, which one is it?"
"Of course, we have finished fixing the bridge. The supply route has been fixed, so you don't have to worry about the rest." Paul answered without hesitation. He was still extending his hand as if he hadn't given up on shaking Igor's hand to prove their squads were at the same level.
After hearing that they had accomplished the mission, Igor finally shook his hand. "In that case, I thank you for your help."
It felt like there was a spark between these two guys. On the one hand, Paul was only a Vice Captain, he wasn't at the same level as Igor. On the other hand, the Demon Hunting Squad wasn't even among the top five squads in the Demon Banner Army.
So, it looked like they had a competition going.
Still, Noel remembered that the strength of their captain mattered a lot for the squad's ranking. The fact that Clara could be ranked above him showed a lot of her strength.
And there were still four more squads above their Demon Relief Squad. He wanted to know Shale's strength since the latter had taught him in the past year. Above all, Shale's Demon Extermination Squad was ranked two in the army.
"Since you are here, it's only right if I invite you in." Igor extended his hand to the inside. "Please."
Paul nodded. He could say something to provoke him, but he chose not to. No one wanted to have friction between the two squads after all.
"Richard. It seems that there will be a banquet tonight. Help them." Igor shouted while grinning.
"Understood." Richard nodded as he became their guide. Meanwhile, Igor seemed to be going elsewhere as if he had something to do.
They didn't demand Igor to handle them personally, considering he was still the captain of this squad.
After taking over, the first place Richard brought them was none other than a small house where their guests usually stayed.
"This will be your accommodation for tonight. I know that you want to present a problem to him, but please understand that we haven't sent any message to him as well, so he wasn't aware of your visit this time."
"It's fine. We understand that." Paul nodded.
"For now, you can stay here and take a stroll. This squad is a bit aggressive, but they won't do anything to you unless you fall for their cheap provocation."
"We'll mostly stay here until we get an audience with your Captain."
"Alright. That's for the best." Richard nodded. "If you need anything, you just have to ring the bell in front of the house to call someone to help you."
"Got it." Paul understood everything. He had heard some reputation regarding the Demon Hunting Squad, so he knew it was better to stay inside than go around.
Meanwhile, Noel was looking around the area to see what kind of people the Demon Hunting Squad had. To his surprise, the pair of eyes that these people had was like that of a beast.
It seemed that their zero squad had been hiding it this whole time, but including their captain, most people in this squad smelled like a beast.
In the end, Paul led his team into the house. The house was quite big as it had enough space to host over twenty people.
"Alright. Since we're already here, it's better if we stay here for the time being. You can do anything you want inside. It's quite spacious anyway." Paul pointed to the inside.
The squad seemed to have no interest in taking on those people, so they agreed with Paul and stayed inside.
While waiting, Noel couldn't help but go to Rose, asking, "How much do you know about the Demon Hunting Squad?"
"Hmm…" Rose looked up, recounting all the information. "Hendry Igor. That's the name that once shook the Demon Banner Army. Unlike the others, Hendry didn't rely on his Spirit at all.
"He only relied on his overwhelming strength and control over his Spiritual Energy. Despite not using his spirit, Igor could be considered the strongest in the Demon Banner Army in terms of raw strength.
"I heard he once cracked a small hill with his fist."
"Hoh?" Noel was quite amused by this information. After all, it gave him a question. "Why does our squad rank above them if he's the strongest? I mean, the strength of the captain matters a lot, right?"
"Well, the Demon Hunting Squad has a lot of problems. First of all, Igor might be strong, but it only accounts for his power. His squad isn't flexible at all. Even though the others are a bit logical, Igor relies on his instinct when operating the squad and he has no intention of listening to his subordinates' suggestions.
"Still, I can't say everything is too bad because sometimes he is able to solve a huge problem where logic can't handle. But yeah, sometimes you have to deal with his mistakes.
"That's a big no-no for the squad ranking. Then, I already told you earlier that he didn't use his Spirit. There are a lot of problems and I don't think I want to list everything I know here.
"Still, you should get the idea. The strength of the captain might matter a lot, but not everything is not decided by it."
"I see…" Noel had some questions in his mind and began to ask Rose one by one.
