Seeing Anna Yang transformed into her true form and charging in fiercely, Scribe Squirrel was so startled he couldn't utter a word.
It wasn’t just him; even the little fox demon playing nearby, as well as the other minor demons around the camp, were all dumbstruck with fear.
Anna Yang strode toward Monkey King, her eyes blazing with anger. "Where’s the Jade Tablet I gave you? Why haven’t you replied?"
Staring blankly at Anna Yang’s furious face, Monkey King was at a loss as well.
"It’s... it’s right here."
In a panic, he fumbled at his waist and quickly produced the broken Jade Tablet, handing it to Anna Yang.
Snatching the Jade Tablet and glancing at it, Anna Yang glared at Monkey King and snapped, "Do you know how many days I’ve been searching for you among these demons? This is such an important item, and you didn’t take care of it?"
With that, she angrily tossed the Jade Tablet to the ground.
"That was... an accident. Hahaha. An accident..."
Monkey King forced a few awkward laughs, glanced at the Jade Tablet now split in two, and quickly shut his mouth.
Behind them, countless eyes gathered on the two, filled with astonishment.
"What’s going on here? The King actually..." Scribe Squirrel shrank back a step, secretly wondering if this might be the future Queen.
With a fierce glance at the little demons staring at her, Anna Yang grabbed Monkey King and dragged him to a secluded spot. "Leave here at once. The Serpent Lord is up to something. We can’t stay."
"I know the Serpent Lord is up to something."
"Then why are you still here?" Anna Yang, calming herself a bit, bit her lip and continued, "I get it, you were waiting for me. Well, now I’m here. Tonight, we leave together!"
Monkey King glanced at the little demons in the distance and said, "No, I can’t leave yet."
Anna Yang immediately furrowed her brow, staring at Monkey King in disbelief. "Are you out of your mind? Do you know what kind of place this is?"
"It’s a trap laid by the Serpent Lord and the Heavenly Court. I know."
"Do you know the Serpent Lord sells these demons to the Heavenly Court by headcount? Each little demon is worth one Gold Essence; a Nascent Spirit demon is worth ten! If you’re at the Spirit Refining stage, you’re only worth three hundred. And if you stay, you’re only worth ten Gold Essence!"
Monkey King was stunned, his mind ringing as if struck by something heavy, leaving him in a daze.
He blinked his hollow eyes and slowly opened his mouth. "Sold... sold to the Heavenly Court?"
"This is General Lee’s territory. His Heavenly Generals, including King Virūḍhaka—one of the Four Heavenly Kings—have made a deal with the Serpent Lord." Anna Yang’s eyes were sharp and terrifying. "If you stay, you’re dead!"
"Selling our own kind... to the Heavenly Court. I thought he was just trying to survive..." Monkey King muttered, lowering his head, his fists clenched tightly.
Clearly, he had still underestimated how cruel this world could be.
The Serpent Lord was actually selling his own kind to the Heavenly Court by headcount. The annual battle was just a show.
"So that’s it. So that’s it... Hahaha." Suddenly, he laughed, a bitter laugh.
The entry fee to the city was actually the price of buying back your own life. Once drained, you’re sold to the Heavenly Court.
The weak are forced to flee and scrape out a living, and even those who manage to grow strong from among them...
For the demon race, there’s simply no hope.
He slowly shook his head.
"Does he really need to protect himself? With his Divine Transformation cultivation, if he wanted to hide, even the Heavenly Court would have trouble finding him. This is just the greed of the dragon clans—these creatures are all money-hungry and ruthless, never to be trusted!" Anna Yang said coldly. "So listen to me, leave this place at once. You can’t stay here."
After hesitating for a long while, Monkey King pursed his lips, glanced toward the distant camp, and asked in a low voice, "Can we take them with us?"
"Do you really see yourself as one of them?"
"Aren’t I? I’m a demon myself. I can’t just stand by and watch... watch them be sold off by the Serpent Lord."
There’s White Ape, who still dreams impossible dreams; Shortbeak, who just wants a cozy nest; Big Bull, who hopes to marry a princess; Rhino, who loves to sleep; and Fiona Fox, the little fox demon.
I can’t just... watch them be sold off to the Celestial Army and then have their heads chopped off by the Heavenly Soldiers for glory, can I?
Monkey King slowly clenched his fists, his breathing growing heavier.
Noticing the change in Monkey King's expression, Anna Yang furrowed her brows, pressed her lips together, and calmed her breath before saying, "I won’t argue this with you. But have you thought about where you’ll go if you take them with you?"
"Anywhere is better than here. You have demon aura on you—did you do that just to move around here more easily? Can you conceal their demon aura too?"
"So what if I can?" Anna Yang turned her face to the dark distance and replied coldly, "The Heavenly Court’s army is already on the move. There are Skyward Rangers all around the perimeter. They’re closing the net—even if you could hide the demon aura, with so many of them, you still couldn’t get out."
Monkey King’s eyes widened. "The Celestial Army... is on the move?"
That’s right. Scribe Squirrel said he’d been here almost a year. Once a year... it’s about time.
"That’s why I’m in such a hurry. Soon, General Lee’s army will have this place locked down tight."
Monkey King stood there dazed for a long time, then blinked and turned, trembling, to ask, "How... how many days until they get here?"
"At most, half a month."
"Nathan Young... will he come too?"
"Nathan Young won’t come. He’s been confined because of what happened last time, and can’t get out for now."
Monkey King took a deep breath, trying to steady himself, and turned to look at the camp.
By now, word of Anna Yang’s arrival had spread throughout the camp. Countless little demons were sneaking peeks at the fence. Among the crowd, Monkey King saw White Ape peering at him, Shortbeak with a blank face, and Rhino, still groggy from sleep.
Fiona Fox stood far off, hugging her ball, watching him.
If they knew that I was discussing with Anna Yang whether to leave them behind, what would they think...
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After thinking for a long, long time, Monkey King said quietly, "No, I have to take them with me. I don’t care about the other demons, but there are a few I must bring."
"Are you crazy?" Anna Yang’s voice shot up. "Do you even know what you’re saying? With a personality like yours, how could you ever save Birdie?"
"And you? Do you hate those Heavenly Generals, hate the Jade Emperor?" Monkey King raised his voice too. "You say they’re heartless, but what does that make me? Am I any different from them?"
"You—! No strength, but always trying to play the hero! I’m done with you!"
"As long as there’s still a chance, I have to try!"
Anna Yang glared at Monkey King, biting her lip, backing away step by step before turning and leaving.
After walking about five zhang away, she stopped, standing still, her chest heaving and breath quick.
After standing quietly for a long time, she slowly clenched her fist, turned back, took out a small wooden box, and threw it hard toward Monkey King, shouting, "Eat this when you breakthrough!"
Her voice echoed through the silent night.
Staring blankly at Monkey King, she slowly turned away and disappeared into the darkness without looking back.
Clutching the wooden box, Monkey King stood frozen, watching Anna Yang’s figure fade into the distance.
Behind him, the demons watched in silence. Their gazes felt like needles piercing Monkey King’s heart.
"As long as there’s a sliver of hope, I have to try."
"Louis Squirrel—!" Monkey King suddenly shouted hysterically.
Louis Squirrel hurried over, dropping to his knees. "At your service!"
"At your current speed, how long until you’ve united everyone?"
"Ev... everyone?"
"That’s right, everyone. You’re moving too slowly right now."
"This... this is still slow..." Louis Squirrel blinked, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. "Your Majesty is asking too much. To unite everyone... I don’t have that kind of ability."
"Do you have any way to unite them? I mean, quickly—preferably in a few days." Monkey King walked into the camp, heading straight for his tent.
Behind him, Louis Squirrel hurried to catch up.
"If Your Majesty is willing to act, it’s not impossible. To unite quickly, there are two things." Louis Squirrel raised two fingers. "First, you need strength. Without it, even if you unite everyone, it’ll fall apart and someone else will take over. That, Your Majesty already has."
"And the second?"
"Second is influence. If you don’t have influence and stand alone, no matter how strong you are, you can’t unite them quickly. If you have both, just show your strength and apply some pressure—the leaders will all submit!"
Just then, Shortbeak and Big Bull rushed in.
"Bad news! They’re here!"
"Who’s here?" Monkey King looked up and asked.
"The leaders—the ones who surrendered over the past few days."
With a thud, the scroll Louis Squirrel was holding dropped to the ground.
Monkey King’s heart skipped a beat. He looked at the trembling Louis Squirrel and asked, "What’s going on?"
Louis Squirrel lowered his head, wringing his hands and mumbling nervously, "Impossible, how could they... How could they find out so fast? Unless... unless there’s someone they all trust..."
No need to listen further—Monkey King remembered Shortbeak’s assessment of Louis Squirrel’s methods: trickery and deceit.
He already had a rough idea of what was going on.
Monkey King picked up the Cloud Pillar Rod and strode out of the tent.
In the distance, countless torches gathered, the noise deafening.
It looked like all nine leaders who had joined Monkey King were mobilizing.
"Kill the monkey demon! Kill the monkey demon! Roar—! Kill him!"
Monkey King listened to the shouts from afar, his face expressionless.
"What do we do?" Shortbeak rushed to Monkey King’s side, bow in hand, and asked urgently. "Do we run?"
Monkey King just gave a cold snort, gripping the Cloud Pillar Rod as he strode quickly toward the camp entrance.
Seeing this, Shortbeak, Big Bull, and Rhino hurried after him.
When they reached the camp entrance, Monkey King turned and pointed, shouting, "All of you, get back! Guard the camp and don’t come out!"
The look on Monkey King’s face was more serious than they’d ever seen.
"Y-yes!" The demons nodded blankly.
Turning around, Monkey King ran alone toward the place where the torches were gathering.