A month later, dawn broke over Blossom Mountain beneath a cloudless sky.
Through the city’s palisades, the demons gazed out and saw a colossal fleet—over four hundred warships from South Heaven Gate—rolling across the northeastern horizon, a dark, endless line scarring the sky.
General Lee’s personal banner and the red‑gated standard of South Heaven Gate snapped in the wind, their colors blazing against the sky.
A full 180,000 Celestial Army soldiers formed an arc that stretched from sea to land, like a beast baring its jaws to encircle half of Blossom Mountain. The shadow it cast blotted out the sun, sending birds and beasts fleeing in terror.
Most of the demons here had survived deadly wars against the Heavenly Court, yet even they were stunned by the sight before them.
In centuries past, only the Six Western Demon Kings could muster a million‑strong host and force Heaven to mobilize such a vast legion. Of course, part of the reason was that the Heavenly Fleet had already purged the demon clans of two continents, and General Lee was eager to finish the campaign quickly.
Once Blossom Mountain fell, this fleet would cross the sea and begin purging the demon clans of Eastrealm.
Amid the armada, the most striking—and the most awe‑inspiring—was General Lee’s flagship.
It towered a thousand feet high and stretched five hundred zhang long, a monstrous fortress layered with palace‑like pavilions. Seen from afar, it looked less like a warship than a floating city—a fortress suspended in the sky.
Thunderous war drums shook the heavens, beating slow and steady.