At dusk, the rain gradually stopped.
A ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds and illuminated the earth.
First scorched by fire, then soaked by rain, the surface of Demon City was now covered by a layer of black, mud-like substance, concealing everything as if it were a wasteland.
Monkey sat in a daze, watching the demon army clean up across the slopes of Blossom Mountain, his eyes blinking constantly.
One after another, severely wounded demons were carried into makeshift tents. Anna Yang led a team of army medics, busy and frantic. Nearby, corpses piled up like a mass grave.
Most of the corpses were burned so badly they could not be recognized. As demons without relatives, naturally, few would come to claim them.
After all their hardships to reach Blossom Mountain, did they ever imagine it would end like this?
It is impossible to say that this incident did not deal a blow to the morale of the Blossom Mountain demons. The impact on Monkey was especially severe.
Shortbeak climbed up the rubble mound where Monkey sat, sighed, and said, "The casualties have been counted. We have collected 3,656 souls. That means over 3,600 dead—and the number may still rise. Not all bodies have been found yet; they are still searching."
"I understand," Monkey replied, saying nothing more, just lowering his head and looking at his hands.
Those hands looked almost human, just a little redder, with more wrinkles at the joints, making them appear somewhat aged.
Shortbeak walked up to Monkey, took a water bottle from his waist, and handed it to him.
Monkey raised his hand and waved it, signaling that he didn't need it.
Seeing this, Shortbeak uncapped the bottle, took two big gulps, put the cap back on, gazed at the distant fleet, sighed deeply, and sat down beside Monkey.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked.
"I'm thinking about whether to give each of them an individual grave marker."
"A grave marker for each?"
"Yes," Monkey nodded. "We did it before. If we don’t do it this time, it seems unfair. The roster was burned, but we can ask the Hall of Life and Death again for their names."
Shortbeak smiled helplessly. "That's all you're thinking about? I thought you were thinking about rebuilding."
Monkey didn't answer. He simply looked up, letting the wind—still tinged with the smell of burning—brush his furred cheeks, and slowly closed his eyes.
"I think you're starting to resemble that guy," Shortbeak sighed.
"Who?"
"White Ape."
Monkey responded with a faint smile.
Shortbeak glanced at him and sighed deeply. "I wonder where White Ape and Old Bull have been reincarnated, and whether they're doing well. Hopefully they haven't been reborn as demons again."
"So what if they were reborn as demons? It's only been a few years—they probably haven't even taken shape yet. By the time they do, we'll have carved out a place for ourselves. Then demons won't have to live like rats anymore."
"You're so confident?"
"Aren't you?" Monkey countered.
Shortbeak was momentarily stunned, then gave a dry laugh. "Of course I have faith. If I didn't, I'd have left long ago. It's just... When we left Underworld City, we thought we'd secured a place for ourselves. Who'd have thought a single warship and a load of Blaze Bombs could wipe our hard-built city off the map? It's ironic."
Monkey turned his face to stare at a crooked pillar beside him and said, "We'll rebuild. For thousands of years, Heaven has hunted us, but demons have always endured. One day, we'll settle accounts with the Heavenly Fleet."
We'll settle it, as long as we hold on and live to see that day.
In the distance, Monkey saw Rhino squatting and sobbing beside the pile of corpses.
"What's wrong with him?" Monkey asked, pointing at Rhino.
Shortbeak patted Monkey's shoulder. "I'll go comfort him. His wife... she happened to be home when the attack hit, and didn't make it out. Rhino wasn't there. But Lindsay only suffered minor injuries—Belle is taking care of her now."
With that, Shortbeak straightened his armor, covered in mud and ash, and got up, heading toward Rhino.
Monkey blinked and moved his lips, but couldn't say a word before Shortbeak walked away.
...
Inside the main hall of the South Heaven Gate flagship, Nathan pointed at Tiannei and shouted, "Explain yourselves! What exactly do you mean by this?"
"Third Prince, didn't I just explain it clearly?" Tiannei shrugged and retorted.
"You call that clear?" Nathan slammed the Flame Spear on the floor and roared, "Eastrealm is South Heaven Gate's responsibility, and so is Blossom Mountain's siege. The Jade Emperor hasn't issued a new edict. When did it become your Heavenly Fleet's place to intervene?"
"Third Prince, you’re mistaken," Tiannei shook his head. "Our fleet hardly intervened. This time, the astronomical instruments on the warship malfunctioned, causing us to lose our way and stray into Eastrealm. Then, somehow, the drive formation broke down, and the ship crashed. Thankfully, you all rescued us, so there were no casualties. Hasn't South Heaven Gate ever lost a warship? Even if this is reported to the High Sky Throne Hall, you can't blame the Heavenly Fleet for it."
"You clearly shut down the formation yourselves!" Nathan said angrily.
Tiannei chuckled. "Whether we shut it down ourselves or not, an investigation will tell. But before that, Third Prince, please help us recover the wreckage left in Demon City."
"You!"
"Or maybe the truth doesn’t matter at all, and you just want to speak up for a few unlucky demons who got crushed by a falling warship?" Tiannei teased, laughing.
Nathan's eyes widened, his face flushed red, and for a long moment he couldn't say a word.
Helpless, he could only look toward the two Heavenly Kings standing nearby.
At that moment, King Virūḍhaka and King Northmore were both frowning deeply.
Today, the Heavenly Fleet truly went too far. If Monkey had recklessly charged, even with both kings and Nathan present, they might not have been able to control the situation. Blossom Mountain might be destroyed, but General Lee would be lost forever.
This is an outcome neither king would ever want to see.
Is this really what Marshal Silver promised—that he would look out for the Heavenly Kings’ lives?
No matter how much resentment they felt, they could only swallow it. Putting aside General Lee’s situation, the Heavenly Fleet still had the upper hand in this matter.
Tiannei stretched and said, "If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave. The marshal has already been notified, and our fleet will soon send someone to retrieve us."
...
Recovery proceeded in an orderly fashion, but Monkey just sat dazed atop the rubble. One by one, the leaders of Blossom Mountain came to report to him, as if the rubble mound had become his office.
"...The worst damage is in the city center. The army suffered barely any casualties..."
...
"...The heaviest casualties were among the Alchemy House and the civil departments in the city center—losses over fifty percent..."
...
...
...The distribution center was struck directly by the warship—no one survived...
...
...More than eighty percent of the city's facilities were destroyed...
...
...Nathan's reply was that the Heavenly Fleet entered by accident...
...
...Most of the main generals' residences were in the city, so the casualties among their families were severe..." The Crocodile Demon delivering the report was already sobbing uncontrollably before he could finish.
Monkey knew he'd only recently married—his family must have been caught up in the disaster too.
...
Late into the night, a dozen generals gathered before Monkey, including Rhino and the Crocodile Demon.
They had come to petition: to launch a surprise attack on the South Heaven Gate fleet and drag out the Heavenly Fleet’s commanders for execution.
After Jiao Snake delivered a speech that was neither fluent nor particularly stirring, Monkey slowly stood up, turned, and left in silence, leaving the generals staring at one another.
Monkey wanted to say something to comfort them, but what could he offer?
If he kept talking, he might end up convincing himself.
Reason told him he couldn't do that—for the long run, for the future, he couldn't. Back at Evil Dragon Pool, he couldn't pursue the fleeing Black Tortoise Division, couldn't turn to confront Tianheng. It was true then, and it's true now.
So he could only choose to walk away in silence.
But where could he go after leaving?
Even his own home had been burned down. He wandered aimlessly among the ruins for half the day, finally moving from one pile of rubble to another, sitting in a daze.
After years of adjustment, Blossom Mountain already had the most efficient system of its era. Simple recovery work didn’t need his help; the complex tasks couldn’t be done yet. As for treating the wounded, that was never something he, a lone traveler, could do.
All he could do now was find a place to let his mind settle for a while.
At dawn, Hydra appeared before him.
"Did you come to see me about something too?" Monkey asked.
"No, I just saw you sitting here alone and thought I’d come over and say hi. What could I possibly want? I’m just the guy who helps out with odd jobs—now that everything’s done, they think I’m in the way, so I left on my own." As he spoke, he flexed his joystick, making his joints crack, then sighed, "Damn, saving people is even more exhausting than killing them."
Monkey looked at Hydra and said, "Thank Old Dragon King and Princess Wansheng for me."
"Just don’t let him hear you say that."
"Why not?"
"He’s considered himself a Blossom Mountain native for ages. If you say that to him, he’ll think you’re treating him like an outsider—and then he’ll start another long-winded speech." Just thinking about all the tears and snot, Hydra shuddered.
Monkey smiled gratefully.
"Hey, let me ask you something."
"Go ahead."
"Why didn’t you make a move today? I was ready in the back—if you attacked, I’d hit them from the other side so they’d be caught off guard."
"And then? Us two..." Monkey pointed at the demon soldiers scattered among the ruins. "Even with them, could we really take on all 180,000 Heavenly Troops?"
"Even if we couldn’t, at least we’d throw them into chaos, right?" Hydra grinned.
"And then what?" Monkey stared at Hydra.
"And then? Do we need a 'then'?" Hydra asked, surprised.
Monkey just gave a faint smile and didn’t answer.
Hydra immediately frowned, stepping quickly to Monkey’s side. "So you just want to let it go? Doesn’t that feel stifling? We worked so hard to build Demon City, and with one warship, they smashed it to pieces! Can you swallow that? That’s not like you at all."
Monkey gazed quietly at Hydra.
After a long moment, Hydra shrugged. "Alright, maybe it is a bit like you. If it were me, I couldn’t hold back. Honestly, if you hadn’t turned around today, I’d have already charged out there. Those bastards..."
As he spoke, he angrily kicked a broken tile far away.
The morning sun rose slowly over the eastern horizon, its rays shining through the dense South Heaven Gate fleet, illuminating all of Blossom Mountain.
Nothing can ever stop a new day from arriving—except, many demons would never see it again.
The two great demons just stood there, their long, slanted shadows stretching across the charred ground, their outlines barely visible.
After a long while, Monkey lowered his head and said quietly, "I know you’ve never understood why I keep an army here."
Hydra pursed his lips and nodded.
Monkey gave a bitter smile. "Neither you nor I—when it comes to cultivation or strength, there aren’t many humans who can match us. If we lived alone, maybe life would be easier."
"Not maybe—definitely," Hydra said. "Living in fear is exhausting."
"But you’re not alone now, are you? Even if you left Blossom Mountain, you wouldn’t be alone anymore."
Hydra was stunned.
It was true—he was married now, had a wife and a father-in-law, no longer alone.
Some things aren’t so easy to leave behind. If we always do nothing, then there will never be a place in this world for us. It’s not because we’re weak, but because we lack powerful allies, don’t belong to a strong clan. If demons never rise, we’ll always be forced to wander, living like rats—alone, in a world without friends or family.
When a Heavenly Soldier is insulted, a Heavenly General steps in. When a Heavenly Army is ambushed, a great army retaliates. That’s humanity. Because they’re human, they’re protected. And us?
Monkey slowly closed his eyes and said nothing more.
Hydra glanced at Monkey. "Is that all it’s for?"
"And because I promised some people some things," Monkey sighed.
After a long silence, Hydra snorted with laughter. Pointing at the rubble, he asked, "Above Heaven, there are still the Three Pure Ones. Even if you defeat a million Heavenly Troops, so what? The only reason they haven’t attacked us yet is because we’re not a big enough threat to their status. In their eyes, we’re less than insects. Building a powerful demon kingdom right under their noses, challenging Heaven, keeping our own sky—do you really think that’s possible?"
Monkey took a deep breath. "Believe it or not, they have reasons not to let me die. This is our only chance—maybe demons will never get another. Success or failure will be decided in these three hundred years."