Amid violent tremors, the ceramic cup on the table tumbled to the floor and shattered like a blossoming flower.
The entire warship quaked, and the three Skyward Legionnaires stationed in the warship's core Spirit Power Chamber looked around in terror.
All around them spun complex magical arrays, countless runes flickering and pulsing with light, resembling gears suspended in midair.
One of the Skyward Legionnaires tightened his grip on his weapon, glanced at the other two, then strode to the hatch, unlocked the magical array lock, and pushed the heavy steel door open with effort.
In an instant, a terrifying roar came from outside the door.
Countless Skyward Legionnaires rushed past him, weapons raised high.
Boom!
He hurriedly slammed the hatch shut and scrambled to reactivate the magical array lock.
"What is going on?" Pressed against the door, he muttered in terror.
The other two Skyward Legionnaires craned their necks and swallowed nervously.
The warship continued to tremble, and the three Skyward Legionnaires gripped their weapons tightly, waiting in terror as every second dragged on like a year.
Bang—! A thunderous crash echoed.
Suddenly, a massive bulge formed on the solid metal wall.
The eyes of the three Skyward Legionnaires guarding the Spirit Power Chamber nearly popped out of their sockets.
Next came a series of continuous booms. The warship shuddered violently, as if it might crash at any moment. The twisting walls resembled mountains rising abruptly during an earthquake, rapidly extending toward the hatch.
When that 'mountain range' was just inches from the hatch, the tremors suddenly stopped, and everything fell silent once more.
For a long moment, not a single sound could be heard.
Only then did the three Skyward Legionnaires finally breathe a sigh of relief.
But just then, with a deafening crash, the tightly shut hatch—and two Skyward Legionnaires from outside—were hurled inside!
With the piercing noise, all three Skyward Legionnaires inside the cabin stared wide-eyed and sucked in a cold breath.
The heavy hatch scraped long marks across the floor before crashing into the wall and collapsing. The two Skyward Legionnaires hurled inside were already mangled and lifeless.
The world fell silent once more.
The three Skyward Legionnaires clutched their weapons, trembling as they stared fixedly at the doorframe embedded in the wall.
A thin stream of blood seeped in from outside the high threshold, trickling down onto the polished floor and slowly spreading.
All three held their breath, eyes wide with shock.
After a long while, a blood-soaked, furry hand reached in from outside, gripping the doorframe, followed by the weary head of the Monkey King.
The sight made the three Skyward Legionnaires recoil in fright.
At this moment, there was not a single spot on the Monkey King's body that wasn't red.
His black armor was torn to shreds, and his blood-soaked fur hung down, dripping with blood, covering every wound.
Panting heavily, he leaned on his Cloudwalker Staff and staggered over the threshold, barely standing upright as he looked up at the floating magical array.
He looked as if he might collapse at any moment, yet for some reason, the three Skyward Legionnaires couldn't muster the courage to approach.
"Go! Hurry!"
"Why... why aren't you going?"
The three Skyward Legionnaires exchanged anxious glances.
The Monkey King cast them a weary, cold glance and said, "Move aside."
With just those words, the three Skyward Legionnaires instinctively retreated three steps, startled.
Dragging his Cloudwalker Staff, he trudged step by step toward the magical array under their watchful eyes.
At this moment, the veins on his forehead throbbed violently, and his vision began to blur.
It must be from blood loss, he thought.
Finally, he stopped in front of the array's core.
"No! He's going to destroy the array core!" one Skyward Legionnaire cried out in alarm.
Without hesitation, the three Skyward Legionnaires rushed to surround him.
The weariness vanished from the Monkey King's face in an instant. Gritting his teeth, he suddenly erupted with ferocious energy, as if transformed.
Before the three Skyward Legionnaires could even track the Cloudwalker Staff's motion, they were blasted away, crashing into the wall and meeting their end.
The warship began to tremble again, but this time it wasn't the Monkey King's doing—another wave of Skyward Legionnaires was pouring in from outside.
Staring at the fist-sized gem in the center of the magical array, its dim red light flickering, he grinned.
......
On the ground below, the roaming fleet continued its slaughter of the demon hordes.
The frenzied demons swarmed toward the fleet, but against the Skyward Legionnaires' sharp blades, all they could do was sacrifice their lives to prove themselves.
All they could do was stand on the ground and swing their weapons in vain.
This world had given them far too little.
Without knowledge of flight techniques, all they could do was stand on the ground, waiting to tear apart the occasional Skyward Legionnaire brought down by the avian demons. But the Celestial Army had long marked the avian demons as their primary targets, and few remained.
As for those arrows shot upward from below, they were powerless against the Celestial Army's heavy shields and the Flowguard Formation.
Even so, wave after wave gathered, crying and wailing as they surged toward the Skyward Legionnaires—like martyrs.
Even they themselves couldn't explain why they did this, just as they couldn't explain why they lived at all.
Twisted faces and stubborn souls vanished into the cold night, quietly leaving a world that was never theirs.
"If you reincarnate in the next life, make sure not to come back as a demon."
At the front line, Leo gripped his battle axe and trembled, watching his companions fall. Deep within, a furious beast roared in his soul.
But what could he do?
Is this the fate of demons?
He let out a helpless laugh.
No matter how long they waited, all that came was slaughter—one-sided slaughter, with not even a chance to resist.
If this truly was the fate of demons, then perhaps it would be better to end it early...
Such utter despair.
Just then, the warship encircled by Skyward Legionnaires at the very top suddenly lost power, dropped out of their formation, flipped, and, using its massive sails, glided and crashed to the ground. In full view of the stunned Skyward Legionnaires above and demon hordes below, it smashed into the earth, raising a sky-high cloud of dust and gouging out a deep pit, crushing several demons who couldn't escape in time.
Everyone—Skyward Legionnaires and demons alike—froze, staring blankly at the warship.
"What is this...?" General Zhuo clung to the ship's rail, eyes wide with terror.
From the hatch beneath the warship, blood gushed out like a spring. In the corners, a few blood-soaked Skyward Legionnaires crawled out, wailing, and soon more wounded Skyward Legionnaires followed.
Just as the blood-eyed demon hordes were about to pounce and tear these Skyward Legionnaires to pieces, the warship suddenly trembled again.
Everyone held their breath.
With a muffled boom, the metal hull of the warship suddenly bulged, and the next moment, a massive breach was torn open from within.
General Zhuo slowly swallowed, staring blankly and unblinkingly at the pitch-black opening.
A furry hand reached out, bracing itself on both sides, slowly exerting force.
In that instant, both Skyward Legionnaires and demons gasped in shock.
The Monkey King, covered in blood, staggered out of the warship, leaning on his Cloudwalker Staff. Facing the bleak wind, he slowly stood and looked up at the fleet that blotted out the sky.
Clouds rolled above his head.
He pulled out a Spirit Shackles launcher from behind and tossed it to the nearby demon horde.
"Use this to fight," he said with difficulty. "There are more inside—take them yourselves."
A Nascent Soul stage pangolin demon stared blankly at the launcher in his hands, trying to infuse it with spiritual power.
A silver-glinting rope sprang from the launcher.
Though the launcher was aimed at the ground, the rope abruptly curved upward, shooting into the sky and latching onto a Skyward Legionnaire's waist.
The surrounding demons snapped to attention. They surged forward, yanking the rope and dragging the bound Skyward Legionnaire into their midst, tearing him apart right before General Zhuo's eyes.
Piercing screams echoed all around, and the Skyward Legionnaires circling above grew fearful, slowly retreating.
More demons, crazed, swarmed toward the fallen warship like a stampeding herd.
The flame of hope was rekindled.
Watching the surging tide of demons, the Monkey King threw back his head, took a deep breath, and screamed hysterically toward the flagship: "Keep fighting! Come on—keep going!"
His voice traveled a great distance, crashing into General Zhuo's eardrums and making him shudder.
Tense muscles, trembling hands gripping the Cloudwalker Staff—the Monkey King hunched over, jaw clenched, veins bulging, his face twisted in pain.
Countless wounds and a body battered beyond recognition—yet he still stood! Towering like a giant between heaven and earth!
Droplets of blood slid down the drooping fur, splattering on the silver-white deck and blooming like proud winter plum blossoms.
"Heh heh heh, ha ha ha! Come on—fight to your heart's content!" he howled, laughing madly, his voice a wail. The endless chorus of the demon horde drove their morale to its peak.
All the demon horde erupted, tears streaming as they cried, roared, and went wild.
All the Skyward Legionnaires retreated in terror.
Standing on the deck, General Zhuo stared wide-eyed, gripping his sword hilt. "This lunatic! Madman!"
He had never seen a demon like this before.
After centuries in the military, he was used to these cowardly, lowly creatures groveling before him like dogs.
But this one... Was he actually seeking death?
"General, what do we do?" a young officer beside him asked, trembling.
In the distance, at the edge of the forest, two warships slowly appeared. The Tortoise Banner on their decks had already been torn away.
His trembling hand fumbled at his waist, pulling out a jade slip and pressing it to his lips. In a rough voice, the Monkey King said, "Anna Yang."
"Are you... are you alright?" Anna Yang called urgently from the prow of her warship.
Seeing this scene, she froze as well. She tried to leave the ship and rush to the Monkey King, but Yue Chao grabbed her hand.
"I'm fine, I won't die. Cough..." The Monkey King managed a wry smile. "Does your warship have those ropes... the ones that chase targets and can't be shaken off?"
"You mean... Spirit Shackles?" She stared at him from afar, dazed, one hand unconsciously covering her mouth.
Her eyes, like stars, shimmered with tears, her voice trembling slightly.
"I think that's the name... Cough... I heard them mention it."
She breathed heavily for a long while, then bit her lip and nodded. "Yes."
"Drop them down. Let them use them."
From afar, using a spyglass, General Zhuo watched piles of Spirit Shackles being hauled onto the opposite deck. His face turned deathly pale, and his eyes twitched uncontrollably.
He lowered his head and saw the Monkey King standing atop the wrecked light warship, his weary, bloodshot eyes still burning with murderous intent.
After a long moment, he could only tremble and say, "Retreat... retreat."
"To where?"
"Leave Dragon's Pool... Return to the Southern Heavenly Gate. Retreat to the Southern Heavenly Gate!" As he shouted, he collapsed, utterly spent.
He didn't want to stay in this mad place for another moment.
No celestial general wanted to fight a demon like this. What he didn't know was that, years later, the land would be filled with such demons.
They would grow wild in the sunless corners of the world, like weeds, burning their lives as fuel to light up this cold, demon-infested night.
A spark will one day set the prairie ablaze.
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