"Maybe... there's still a sliver of hope." The Monkey King, his bloodshot eyes wide open, gazed up at the Celestial Army weaving through the sky.
But where is that hope?
The strength of the Heavenly Fleet far exceeded his expectations—by a margin too great to measure. This was a battle-hardened legion, nothing like the makeshift demon army he had cobbled together.
But aside from victory, was there any other path for him?
His gaze darted among the Celestial soldiers, and as time passed, his breathing grew more and more urgent.
On the rapidly circling warship, gale winds swept across the deck. The towering General Skyler gripped his battle axe, coldly surveying the demon ranks below.
"Still not coming out?" He sneered, his expression full of mockery.
"What is the General waiting for?"
"Waiting for a hundred thousand Gold Essence to come running out on their own." Skyler stared unblinkingly at the demon formation, lowered his head to lick the blade of his axe, and said, "Looks like it's not enough yet. In that case, let's raise the stakes!"
"Yes, sir!"
A Spirit-Transformation Heavenly General unfurled the Ghost-Cloud Banner, unleashing hordes of howling evil spirits that tore through the shield wall.
Any demon touched by them suddenly swelled in size, losing all reason as they swung their weapons at their own comrades.
Blood sprayed across the entire formation.
The shield wall, once seemingly solid, quickly collapsed in patch after patch as the demons turned on themselves. One after another, monsters fell.
Amid the wails and screams, Leo roared as he dashed through the ranks, trying desperately to stabilize the formation.
Arrows from the Celestial soldiers pierced his arms as he ran through the breach; he snapped them off with a furious howl, raised his bloodied head, and kept bellowing orders.
But the evil spirits continued to rampage through the ranks, soaking the earth beneath their feet with blood.
The Monkey King stared in stunned silence, gripping his weapon tightly.
"There must be... there must be a way." he muttered under his breath.
The corners of his eyes twitched uncontrollably.
An evil spirit possessed the Tiger King; his eyes instantly turned red as he swung his curved blade wildly at those around him.
Blood sprayed everywhere; in the blink of an eye, more than a dozen demons had fallen to his blade.
"What do we do now?" a demon asked Leo.
Gritting his teeth, Leo stared intently at the frenzied Tiger King.
Just moments ago, they had been drinking together; he had even helped him roast a piece of meat.
Blinking back tears for a long while, Leo finally answered, "Kill him!"
More than a dozen demons, spears in hand, charged forward and pierced the Tiger King's body.
They withdrew their spears, and blood gushed out.
As the massive body staggered and began to fall, the evil spirit fled its host. Looking up at the sky, those eyes returned to their former pitch-black depths.
Under the terrified gazes of the demons, this tiger demon who had fought since the beginning crashed to the ground.
In his final moments, he reached toward the Monkey King, mouth agape as if to speak, but a torrent of blood drowned his words and he fell silent.
In those eyes, there was a bottomless darkness.
Shadows circled overhead, howling—the evil spirits were searching for new prey.
"No—no—"
One demon, driven mad, burst out of the formation and hurled his weapon at the Celestial Army. Moments later, he died with arrows in his body.
"Did he say 'no'?" another demon asked.
"He meant, 'not like the Tiger King.'" a nearby demon answered blankly.
"Leo, drop the shield wall. Let us die with some dignity."
Leo stood there, dazed, clutching his bleeding left hand, head bowed, unable to utter a word.
Either die by arrows, or by fire, or... at the hands of your own comrades...
Having come this far, is there truly no way out?
The Monkey King stared wide-eyed at the scene, frozen in place.
"Go. You're the only one who can escape now. With your speed, they won't catch you." Big Bull stepped up and spoke in a low voice.
"If I leave, what about all of you?"
"We'll die here." Staring at the sky full of Celestial soldiers and sparks, Big Bull's eyes glowed red: "Wasn't this always our fate?"
All their efforts had come to nothing. This was the destiny of demons.
He let out a bitter laugh.
"What a damn joke. You want me to run away like a beaten dog?" The Monkey King suddenly grinned. "If I could lead you this far, I can keep leading you forward!"
Gritting his teeth, the Monkey King vaulted out of the formation on his Cloud Vault, transforming into a streak of golden light as he hurtled toward the Heavenly General wielding the Ghost-Cloud Banner.
Seeing this, the Heavenly General was taken aback.
Two Celestial soldiers rushed to shield the general, but before they could react, the Monkey King had already flashed past them.
Two simple staff strikes—one to the throat, one to the waist—so swift they never saw it coming. In an instant, both lost their lives.
The golden light kept charging toward the Heavenly General.
All the Celestial soldiers gasped in shock.
The general tried to withdraw his power in haste, but the backlash splattered blood three feet away. When he looked up again, a staff was swinging straight for his eyes.
With a thunderous crash, the general's head and helmet exploded into a mist of blood, and his body fell like a severed kite.
For a brief moment, the whole world seemed to fall silent.
The Monkey King hovered in midair, gasping for breath, surveying the surrounding warships and Celestial soldiers.
Every Celestial soldier stared at him, every bow and crossbow aimed his way.
The demons on the ground looked up, stunned, watching in silence.
"Is it him?" Skyler asked.
"It's him."
"Hmph." Skyler took a deep breath, raised his hand, and shouted, "No one interfere! Let me handle this 'hundred-thousand Gold Essence'! If I take him down, drinks are on me! Hahaha!"
With that, he gripped his battle axe and soared into the air.
"General Skyler, mighty! General Skyler, mighty!" The entire Celestial Army erupted.
The Monkey King raised his head, looking at him coldly: "So, if we defeat you, we win?"
"You could say that, if you have the skill!" Skyler smiled. "But... you're only a Spirit-Refinement Stage demon, while I'm a Spirit-Transformation Gold Immortal. No matter how talented you are, do you really think you can win?"
"You never know until you try!"
Without hesitation, the Monkey King gritted his teeth and shot toward Skyler as a streak of gold, while Skyler became a streak of white and charged to meet him.
Their figures collided in a flash of light, thunderous shockwaves sweeping across the land and trailing sparks in their wake.
In that instant, the Monkey King felt every wound in his body rip open, his organs nearly shattered. The suffocating pressure forced him to use all his strength, yet he couldn't advance an inch.
A brief clash, a missed strike, a quick turn—Monkey King stifled his pain and attacked again, but Skyler kept him firmly locked in place.
After ten exchanges, demons on the ground and Celestial soldiers in the air stared wide-eyed, but all they saw were two blurred figures locked together, cyclones exploding outward, with no way to follow their movements.
Everyone held their breath.
Another collision sent both flying apart. Skyler hovered steadily in midair, but the Monkey King nearly crashed to the ground.
Blood oozed from reopened wounds, dripping down his fur. He gripped his staff unsteadily, coughing up blood into his palm. Raising his head, his bloodshot eyes locked onto Skyler.
"You've already lost. But your skill deserves respect—my hands are numb. If it hadn't been me today, but another general, you might have won." He looked down, rubbing his wrist. "Name your sect. If it's someone I know, maybe I'll spare you."
"No need!" The Monkey King snorted, lowered his head, swung the Cloudwalker Staff, and charged again.
...
Netherworld, Hall of Life and Death.
Lord Lao hovered in midair, slowly opening his eyes and gripping the pages before him: "All that time spent was not in vain. At last, the truth is revealed! So that's it—never would I have guessed! A scheme within a scheme! How vicious!"
Every Yama King bowed their heads in shock.