"You mean to say, he wants us to remain here and keep confronting him indefinitely?" King Northmore asked in disbelief.
"That's right. What he means is, we stay here and keep up the standoff, both sides pretending to attack and defend so it looks like the battle is deadlocked. Meanwhile, we can send people to check on my father's condition at any time. When we finally withdraw, he'll release my father as promised," Nathan Young said.
King Easton asked slowly, "Does the Third Prince trust that monkey so completely?"
Each of the three was lost in thought.
Seeing Nathan Young's guilty expression, and then glancing at King Northmore who seemed about to speak but held back, King Easton cleared his throat and said, "Well, at least General Lee is safe for now, so we can relax a little. Judging by that monkey's stance, he won't relent any time soon. This matter will require careful planning; we can't rush it. Everyone's tired today—let's get some rest."
"A delaying tactic? How long could he possibly delay? This Handsome Monkey King is truly shortsighted," King Northmore said.
Once they left the hall and saw Nathan Young had gone off ahead, King Easton quickly caught up with King Northmore.
"Another scheme? What more could he want?"
King Virūḍhaka mused, "It's hard to say. There are many possibilities. For example, he could drag this out for years, and when we're finally forced to withdraw, he could break his promise and refuse to release the prisoner."
Pulling King Northmore aside to a corner, King Easton asked, "Don't you think the Third Prince was acting a bit strange today?"
With that one sentence, both Heavenly Kings were stunned on the spot.
King Easton did not reply, but simply stared intently at King Northmore.
King Virūḍhaka asked slowly, "Does the Third Prince trust that demon monkey so completely?"
"I'm not saying he'd betray South Heaven Gate." After a brief hesitation, King Easton continued, "I feel like he knew that monkey from long ago. You saw today—the monkey could easily have captured him, but he kept holding back. Against King Broadgaze, King Southwell, and even General Lee, he showed no mercy. Why only with the Third Prince? And just now, the Third Prince trusted him so much. Remember, that's the monkey who captured his own father. Besides, nothing the monkey has done so far gives us any reason to trust him, yet the Third Prince does. There's definitely something going on here; the Third Prince must be hiding something."
Seeing Nathan's guilty expression, and then glancing at King Northmore who seemed about to speak but held back, King Virūḍhaka cleared his throat and said, "Well, at least the Heavenly King is safe for now, so we can relax a little. Judging by that demon monkey's stance, he won't relent any time soon. This matter will require careful planning; we can't rush it. Everyone's tired today—let's get some rest."
At these words, Nathan finally breathed a small sigh of relief.
If even Nathan Young was compromised, the situation would become even more dire.
As if to give King Northmore time to process all this, King Easton paused for a moment, then reached out and handed over a bamboo scroll, saying, "There's more. Before General Lee set out, he ordered an investigation into the origin of that monkey's weapon. After his capture, the report was delivered to me. Take a look."
"Huh?" King Northmore stopped in his tracks.
Pulling King Northmore aside to a corner, King Virūḍhaka asked, "Don't you think the Third Prince was acting a bit strange today?"
"It must be," King Easton said expressionlessly. "There are only a handful of people in the world who could forge a weapon of that caliber. Throughout history, there have only been a few such blades. Among them, only the Ocean Pillar Rod matches the monkey's weapon exactly. The Ocean Pillar Rod was forged by Lord Lao, later used by Great Yu to tame the floods. When the water disasters ended, it was entrusted to the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace to suppress the Eastern Sea's spring eye, and it hasn't been moved for thousands of years. Now that I think about it, the recent Eastern Sea tsunami must be connected to the Ocean Pillar Rod!"
Monkey took the Ocean Pillar Rod, and the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace suppressed the news. At this point, the truth was all too clear.
"It must be a misunderstanding," King Northmore sighed. "No matter what, the Third Prince would never betray South Heaven Gate, especially not his own father. Besides, when the Heavenly King was captured today, I could see he was truly upset. He said he'd trade himself for his father, and I believe he meant it."
"I'm not saying he'd betray South Heaven Gate." After a brief hesitation, King Virūḍhaka continued, "I feel like he knew that demon monkey from long ago. You saw today—the demon monkey could easily have captured him, but he kept holding back. Against King Broadgaze, King Southwell, and even General Lee, he showed no mercy. Why only with the Third Prince? And just now, the Third Prince trusted him so much. Remember, that's the demon who captured his own father. Besides, nothing the demon monkey has done so far gives us any reason to trust him, yet the Third Prince does. There's definitely something going on here; the Third Prince must be hiding something."
"Now that you mention it, it really does seem that way..."
If Monkey's overwhelming strength had shocked the two kings today, the doubts surrounding Nathan Young felt like a thorn in their side—and the truth of the Golden Staff's origin was the final straw.
If even Nathan was compromised, the situation would become even more dire.
Whether it was its formidable strength or its hidden, shifting alliances, everything was jaw-dropping. Even the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace was involved, and it was possible Nathan Young had known all along and helped cover it up.
Taking the bamboo scroll from King Virūḍhaka, King Northmore opened it under the light of the nearby brazier—and immediately drew a sharp breath.
"Is that... the Ocean Pillar Rod?"
"It must be," King Virūḍhaka said expressionlessly. "There are only a handful of people in the world who could forge a weapon of that caliber. Throughout history, there have only been a few such blades. Among them, only the Ocean Pillar Rod matches the demon monkey's weapon exactly. The Ocean Pillar Rod was forged by Lord Lao, later used by Great Yu to tame the floods. When the water disasters ended, it was entrusted to the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace to suppress the Eastern Sea's spring eye, and it hasn't been moved for thousands of years. Now that I think about it, the recent Eastern Sea tsunami must be connected to the Ocean Pillar Rod!"
The Handsome Monkey King took the Ocean Pillar Rod, and the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace suppressed the news. At this point, the truth was all too clear.
It could only be said that Monkey was not just powerful, but also deeply cunning. He had been hiding all along, only forced to reveal himself when King Broadgaze launched his campaign.
Even then, he kept trying to conceal his true strength. Just how many secrets was he hiding? What did he really want?
Both Heavenly Kings fell into deep thought.
If the monkey's overwhelming strength had shocked the two kings today, the doubts surrounding Nathan felt like a thorn in their side—and the truth of the Golden Staff's origin was the final straw.
General Lee was captured, Nathan Young was acting strange, King Broadgaze had lost his mind, and King Southwell lay gravely wounded and unconscious.
Whether it was its formidable strength or its hidden, shifting alliances, everything was jaw-dropping. Even the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace was involved, and it was possible Nathan had known all along and helped cover it up.
But what was really going on? How had such a powerful demon king risen up, yet they had heard nothing about it until now?
Before King Broadgaze's campaign, South Heaven Gate didn't even know a group of demons had entrenched themselves at Blossom Mountain. Even after King Broadgaze's defeat, General Lee still thought Blossom Mountain was only slightly stronger than the average demon faction, and that their loss was due to King Broadgaze underestimating the enemy. Even this time, when the 180,000 Celestial troops were mobilized, it wasn't because they valued Blossom Mountain's strength, but because they wanted to use its defeat as a springboard for a campaign against the demons of the Southern Lands.
(Irrelevant message about chapter continuation. Skipped.)
What was really going on here?
It could only be said that the demon monkey was not just powerful, but also deeply cunning. He had been hiding all along, only forced to reveal himself when King Broadgaze launched his campaign.
Even then, he kept trying to conceal his true strength. Just how many secrets was he hiding? What did he really want?
A strong wind swept across the deck, lifting the soldiers' cloaks, making the firelight flicker and the banners snap.
Ranks of soldiers carrying long halberds marched past in perfect step, but the two Heavenly Kings took no notice.
General Lee was captured, Nathan was acting strange, King Broadgaze had lost his mind, and King Southwell lay gravely wounded and unconscious.
In the vast South Heaven Gate, they suddenly realized only the two of them were left standing together.
They needed to rescue General Lee, but they couldn't even let word of his capture spread. With the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace in league with Blossom Mountain, who knew how many other immortals had dealings with Blossom Mountain?
Did they dare pay a visit to the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace?