The two hundred thousand Dragon Guard Army soldiers suspected nothing and recklessly chased the fleeing demon soldiers straight into the city.
Meanwhile, General Jiao, the Demon Drake, the commanding officer, just curled his lip in disdain. "This is way too easy. His Highness gave me a whole month to wipe out these demon troops—he really overestimates them! Today, I'll completely exterminate them!"
"Congratulations, General, on another great victory!"
One of the ten-thousand-man demon commanders by his side instantly chimed in with flattery.
"That's right! With this achievement, once His Majesty founds the empire, you'll definitely become one of the top ten Demon Marshals!" Another ten-thousand-man demon commander joined in the praise.
The other demon commanders, not to be outdone, all rushed to flatter General Jiao as well.
General Jiao, the Demon Drake, beamed at the barrage of compliments and grinned, "Relax, once I make Demon Marshal, I won't forget any of you!"
Hearing this, the demon commanders' eyes lit up and their flattery only grew more intense.
Just then, the thunderous sounds of battle suddenly vanished, and clusters of seven-colored light rose over the entire city.
"Not good, there's a grand formation in the city!"
A demon commander cried out in panic.
The rest of the demon commanders instantly caught on—this was obviously a trap, deliberately luring the two hundred thousand Dragon Guards into the city to fall into the grand formation.
General Jiao, the Demon Drake, was stunned for a moment, then a cold look flashed across his face. "I was just worried this victory would be too easy. Now, this is getting interesting. Yale Jiao, take a hundred personal guards and test the power of that formation. See if you can break it!"
Besides the twelve ten-thousand-man demon commanders who had led their troops into the city, there were eight Fusion-stage demon commanders and two personal guards, both at early Fusion, still at General Jiao's side.
Yale Jiao, whom General Jiao mentioned, was his nephew and the captain of his personal guard unit, already at late Fusion stage.
"Yes, sir!"
With a wave, Yale Jiao led a hundred personal guards into the sky above the city.
"Follow my command! Attack the same spot together!"
Yale Jiao pointed in a direction, and instantly, a hundred Fusion-stage personal guards attacked at once.
Most demons have strong physical bodies and excel at close combat, so as soon as Yale Jiao gave the order, the hundred personal guards swung their weapons with full force, hacking at the same spot in the formation.
Boom!
All one hundred Fusion-stage personal guards struck together, their combined power far surpassing a single late-Fusion full-force blow. Yet, when the energy waves faded, the grand formation covering the city remained completely untouched.
"What's going on?"
Yale Jiao was surprised and ordered the personal guards to keep attacking the formation.
But after dozens of joint attacks, they still couldn't budge the formation at all. Even when Yale Jiao finally unleashed his full power, the array didn't move in the slightest.
Yale Jiao's face twisted with frustration. He barked coldly, "All of you, get inside the array!"
As he spoke, he took the lead, tearing through the air and stepping into the formation. The other personal guards followed suit.
Watching this, Ian Song's lips curled into a satisfied smile.
This formation was called the Nine-Heavens Reincarnation Trap Array—a super-grade trap array that only allowed entry, not exit. Once inside, you were doomed to be trapped; Ian had tested it on his own Fusion-stage demon kings before.
Even they turned into headless flies once trapped inside.
The reason he hadn't secretly taken control of every city in the White Tiger Demon Domain before starting his rebellion was simple: there were too few form-taking demon cultivators in the whole domain—just three at the Fusion stage. So he launched his uprising early to lure the Red Dragon Demon Kingdom's elites out to attack him, making it easier to capture them and turn them into his own forces.
Just as he'd hoped, it hadn't been long before General Jiao, the Demon Drake, arrived with two hundred thousand Dragon Guards.
These two hundred thousand Dragon Guards were far stronger than his own five hundred thousand form-taking demon soldiers, not to mention the hundreds of Fusion-stage demon cultivators among them. If he could devour them all, his power would grow dozens of times over.
Time passed slowly.
General Jiao's face grew darker and darker. An entire hour went by, yet Yale Jiao and the hundred personal guards who had entered the array hadn't reappeared—not even a ripple, as if they'd vanished like a small stream merging into the sea.
At that moment, he realized he'd underestimated these rebel demon troops.
Just then, figures flickered into view—Ian Song appeared, flanked by fifteen late-Fusion demon kings.
"You're human?"
Staring at Ian Song in the lead, General Jiao was deeply shocked. Even though Ian suppressed his aura, as a mid-Tribulation expert, General Jiao could still faintly sense human qi from him.
"That's right." Ian Song smiled and nodded.
"A mere human dares to stir up trouble on my Heavenly Demon Continent—are you looking to die?" General Jiao regained his composure, fixing Ian Song with a cold stare. Although this human was only early Fusion, he sensed Ian was no ordinary foe.
Ian Song just smiled indifferently. "General Jiao, if you and your men submit to me, I'll spare your lives!"
"What arrogance!"
General Jiao was infuriated by Ian Song's words. "Who among you will capture this human brat for me?"
"Sir, allow me!"
A late-Fusion demon commander strode forward, staring at Ian Song with contempt. "Kid, remember me—the Fire Bull General. When you meet the King of Hell, don't forget who killed you!"
"A dumb ox like you isn't worthy to fight my master!"
Ricky the Rat King, short and wiry, stepped forward with a cold sneer. "Let me handle this!"
Ricky the Rat King was naturally timid, but after cultivating the immortal-grade technique Ian Song had taught him, his power and confidence had soared.
"Prepare to die!"
The Fire Bull General was enraged, his eyes nearly spitting fire as he swung his pair of Heaven-Shaking Hammers at Ricky the Rat King.
"Good!"
Ricky the Rat King shouted lightly, meeting the attack bare-handed.
Bang!
On their first clash, the Fire Bull was sent flying backward for hundreds of meters before barely regaining his footing, while Ricky the Rat King hadn't budged an inch.
"Just as I thought—a dumb ox, far too weak!"
Ricky glanced at his opponent with contempt, his face full of arrogant pride.
Watching this, the Leopard King, Snake King, and Eagle King could only smile wryly—Ricky the Rat King was addicted to showing off.
"Die!"
The Fire Bull General instantly manifested his true form, flames erupting from his arms as he charged at Ricky with blazing speed.
"Get lost!"
Ricky the Rat King formed seals with both fists and charged forward, his fists thundering out.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
With a tremendous earth-shaking crash, the Fire Bull General was sent flying once again.
"Pathetic!"
Ricky hovered in midair, hands behind his back, his posture growing even more arrogant.
"This guy is completely addicted to showing off!"
Leopard King and the others snickered.
General Jiao's face, however, was extremely grim.
Moo!
Suddenly, the Fire Bull General let out a thunderous bellow. His aura surged as he charged at Ricky again, clearly desperate enough to risk everything.
"Hmph! Overestimating yourself!"
Ricky took a step forward, forming seals with both hands, then unleashed a barrage of fist imprints.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Fire Bull General managed to block only three punches; the rest slammed into his massive body, sending him crashing a kilometer away. Blood poured from his mouth and nose, his aura plummeted—he was severely wounded and could no longer fight!