After Being Sold Out By The Empire, I Decide To Assist The Demon King

"Thank you, truly... thank you so much."

A young-looking Cat Beastman, extremely frail and weak, stood there draped in three layers of blankets, expressing his gratitude to Yila and Ernie: "I am grateful to you on behalf of the Beastmen."

This was the Chieftain of the Furry Tribe... equivalent to half the rank of a Beastman King.

"My name is Mao You. I am the Chieftain (Head) of the Furry Tribe. I feel really ashamed. Although I am the chieftain, I couldn't personally go to rescue the Beastmen... ever since Brother Er Ba disappeared, my body has also become weak."

As Mao You said this, he looked even more ashamed at the blankets draped over him. He glanced around at the Beastmen protecting him and said, "In this time of scarcity, I am monopolizing a lot of blankets... but still, thank you very much."

Furthermore, at such a time, the Beastman Country found it challenging to come up with anything comparable to the help given by the two… Gold and silver treasures were available but could not be taken out.

Yila nonchalantly shook his head. He looked very composed... after all, he had met so many beings of the "King" rank, and it was truly rare to see a normal leader.

Especially in this generation...

*One competent but lacking talent (Isabella), one young and needing time to mature (Satan Ye), one Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch without much control over his subordinates (Orphelus), one mascot relying entirely on the invincibility of his race (Cassiopeia), one who works himself to the bone...*

*Yes, physically working himself to the bone, bleeding from seven orifices… Mille Milyan was among those worthy of respect, even though she was far from conventional "Kings."*

*More like the holy saints (male or female) often appearing in novels, maybe?*

*Perhaps only King Lusa met the Pirate King's demeanor… but he was also from the previous generation. It seemed this generation's Kings were all somewhat peculiar, to varying extents.*

The situation now in the Beastman Country was similar—a sickly chieftain and a missing chieftain.

While Yila thought this, he knew the Er Ba mentioned by the Chieftain Mao You was probably the chief of the Slippery Tribe. But Ernie did not understand these entanglements and asked, "Who is Brother Er Ba? And your health... why is it related to him?"

In response to Ernie's question, Mao You glanced at the unfamiliar woman beside Yila and answered, "Er Ba is the chief of the Slippery Tribe, my close friend... my condition, naturally, is due to the effects of the 'Beastman Covenant·Ancestor's Oath.'"

*What is that?*

Seeing Ernie's confusion, Yila helped explain, "It is a special spell, maintained jointly by the leaders of two tribes on the land of the Beastman Country… as long as both remain within the Beastman Country, neither will die."

This was not particularly secret but not information easily acquired either.

Mao You looked at Yila with some amazement, nodding as he said, "Yes, but the cost is... if either dies outside the Beastman Country, the other will quickly follow, or if not die... the one remaining in the Beastman Country will rapidly weaken."

Of course, this limitation and the reward of not dying also had their limits… if someone like Yila or others of his caliber acted, the so-called "won't die" under "Ancestor's Blessing" would merely be a joke.

Yet, it was still quite a perfect protective measure.

"So, the other king named Er Ba is currently outside the Beastman Country and has not died..."

Ernie said this, pondering for a moment, then continued, "If that's the case, he must have simply left the Beastman Country, since his body hasn't weakened."

In other words, Er Ba might have betrayed.

"Ernie..."

Yila stopped Ernie. He felt there was no need to delve further into family matters, especially since Mao You's expression had become awkward. He looked at the frail-looking chieftain and said, "Our help was a minor effort."

Indeed, it was a minor effort. Simply put, Ernie melted the accumulated snow at the respective locations, and then Yila, with the wings of the "Crimson Dragon" unfurled, safely hoisted people up, repeating the process... everyone was enveloped by Mana and brought to the tribe by the two of them.

The bumpy journey and comfort level were something Yila couldn't guarantee.

"Of course, I also wanted to talk to you about your reply... you and the acting chief of the Slippery Tribe both stated you currently had no capacity to respond to disasters, which puzzled me at the time."

Yila said this while looking at Mao You, then glanced outside the tribe's tents at the bustling construction team, stating, "Now I can somewhat understand... and you are quite far from the coast."

As Yila said this, a tall and agile Beastman rushed in—a mature Beastwoman with long orange hair, seemingly well-trained in physicality, her figure very well-proportioned.

Although not a muscular warrior, she was certainly far from small and dainty.

"Dad! What are you discussing?! Who exactly is this Yila Elkaras…?"

The Beastman asked Mao You this, casting a suspicious gaze at Ernie and Yila. Her eyes lingered on Yila for a moment, and then any hostility she initially had instantly disappeared, as she stood there in shock.

Truth be told, although this Beastman called Mao You "Dad," it was hard to associate the frail Mao You with her… but in this world, one had to accept many similar situations early on.

(Duke Novak, Young Novak: ...)

"Dear guests, I apologize. She's my daughter, Cat Youyou, and she has always been suspicious of you... having ulterior motives."

Mao You said this, looking apologetically at Yila, admitting helplessly, "But I'm not too worried, as there's nothing in the tribe worth coveting now."

Thus, Mao You believed Cat Youyou wasn't very suitable to inherit tribal duties; her thinking was too straightforward… unless it was the tribe's most precious heritages… no, even including those, Yila wouldn't be interested.

However, Cat Youyou pointed at Yila in astonishment, her voice filled with excitement, exclaiming, "Oh my! You haven't changed at all! So you are Yila?!"

Ernie: "..."

Ernie: *Stare*

"Ah, does that mean... I saved you before?"

Yila looked at Cat Youyou... truthfully, he had rescued countless non-human slaves from various slave auctions in the Empire, with Elves being relatively few.

Mostly it was Beastmen and more often monsters… though the Empire was at war with monsters at the time, under Empire law, keeping monster slaves was a capital offense, so Yila rescued many monster civilians.

*Perhaps before joining the Demon King Territory, Yila could reluctantly earn respect in places outside of it, yet his job was to kill monsters. Maybe there was more fear... but this was different in the Beastman Country.*

*Here his reputation was quite good, just like...*

"Yes! After you healed us, you sent people to care for us and returned us to the tribe... we are truly grateful!"

"..."

*Now guests of honor once more... wait? Why say 'once more?'"*