A menacing advance!
These warships are nothing like the heavy, sluggish vessels of the Black Tortoise Division, nor are they similar to the three sent by the Heavenly Fleet to Kunlun Mountain.
They appear much smaller than those before—sleek, with fewer but larger sails. There are no useless pavilions cluttering the deck, giving them a smooth, rounded look.
From afar, they resemble a flock of giant geese.
And their speed is at least twice that of any warship previously seen.
The moment these warships burst from the clouds, panic swept through the demon ranks on the ground. In their confusion, all the demons dropped their food, grabbed their weapons, and quickly gathered together.
But before they could finish preparing, the warships had already swept overhead, unleashing dozens of Blaze Bombs.
"Take cover—hide!" The Lion Demon roared, stretching his voice.
The Blaze Bombs burst in the air like fireworks, transforming into a dense rain of fire.
On the ground, the demons grabbed whatever was nearby and braced themselves.
With a whistling sound, the rain of fire crashed to the ground.
This was their second encounter with Blaze Bombs, and the demons now knew better than to touch the rootless fire. They grabbed whatever they could—shields, clothes, anything—to block the falling flames, then quickly tossed away anything that caught fire.
All around, the ground became a sea of flames, painting the sky a dull red. Yet few demons were actually burned.
Amidst the roaring fire, the leaders stood on high ground, waving their weapons and shouting commands. The demons began to gather in order.
High above, General Skyler stood at the prow, looking down at the demon army below and chuckling, "The Black Tortoise Division even used Blaze Bombs, yet they still couldn’t defeat them. Instead, they taught them how to avoid the flames. What a bunch of useless fools. But do they really think that just because they beat the Black Tortoise Division as if they were mere cooks, they can challenge the Heavenly Fleet?"
Raising his hand, he shouted, "Attack!"
The crimson command flag unfurled as the shirtless drummers at the stern hefted their heavy mallets.
War drums thundered, horns blared.
The deafening drumbeats filled every corner of the world, each strike pounding straight into the hearts of the demons. Countless Skyward Legionnaires surged forth, blotting out the sky.
These Skyward Legionnaires were worlds apart from those of the Black Tortoise Division, and nothing like the ones the Monkey King saw at Tianxuan Mountain.
They wore light armor, long slender shields on their right arms, and bows in their left hands. The bows were as tall as a man, with sharp blades at both ends—fit for both shooting and close combat. They looked fiercely courageous.
Soon, these Skyward Legionnaires arrayed themselves in the sky in perfect order, ten to a squad. Each squad had six archers, plus soldiers armed with blades and axes, and spearmen. Every ten squads, a Skyward General stood at the center, wielding various magical weapons.
The rear formations differed from the front; most wielded all sorts of spirit-powered weapons.
Their formation encircled and protected the warships.
As soon as this formation was set, the Monkey King's heart skipped a beat.
The demons on the ground were wide-eyed with shock. The more knowledgeable among them turned visibly pale.
"Looks like about two thousand of them, but I swear these are a whole different league than before. I’d rather face five thousand of the Eastern Army than a thousand of these." Leo, standing beside the Monkey King, spat angrily and gripped his weapon tighter.
"Since when do we get to choose our enemies? If they’re here, we fight."
In the sky, General Skyler stood at the flagship’s prow, wielding a giant axe and shouting, "Dark Arrow Division of the Milky Way Navy, under orders from Marshal Silver, descends to purge demons and uphold the Heavenly Way. Surrender now, monsters—submit at once!"
"Submit at once! Submit at once!" All the Skyward Legionnaires hammered their shields, echoing in unison.
Before his overwhelming presence, the grass on the ground and the clouds in the sky trembled.
Some of the demons on the ground grew faint-hearted; the Monkey King saw many quietly step back.
That was a bad sign.
"Uphold the Heavenly Way? Sounds nice," Tiger King chuckled from the side. "Surrender? What they really mean is stretch out your neck and let them slaughter you, then reincarnate early, right?"
"They’re just trying to scare us. You get used to it after a while," Big Bull muttered, licking his lips and gripping his broadsword.
With the formalities done, General Skyler raised his hand and shouted, "Kill!"
At once, the Heavenly battle formation pressed toward the demons, arrows falling like rain.
...
At once, the Skyward Legionnaire battle formation pressed toward the demons, arrows falling like rain.
"I wonder how things are going over there," Miles Moon said, turning to look west.
On the deck behind him, Anna Yang lay unconscious, her face peaceful.
At this point, nearly every spare space in the cabin was given over to wounded demons—even Anna Yang could only stay on the deck.
Perhaps from sheer exhaustion, the demons guarding the deck were slumped over, leaving only the minimum number on watch.
"Miles Moon, do you think Monkey King can escape?" Little Fox looked up at Miles Moon, tears brimming in her eyes.
"He will." Miles Moon patted her head. "Your Monkey King is a peerless fighter. For all we know, it’s the enemy who’s running now."
"Really?" Little Fox immediately broke into a smile through her tears.
"Of course it’s true. He’s my martial uncle—who would know better than me? Don’t worry, as long as we’re not holding him back, he’s stronger than anyone!"
Just then, Louis Quickpaw, perched atop the mast, suddenly shrieked, "Enemy warships spotted—alert! Alert!"
At his cry, the exhausted demons aboard both ships jolted awake, scrambling to their feet in panic.
One demon, overcome by nerves, accidentally struck a nearby comrade with his blade, throwing the deck into chaos.
Ahead, two warships bearing the Milky Way Navy’s banners burst from the clouds!
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Immediately, screams erupted everywhere.
All the demons frantically grabbed their weapons; the archers drew their bows taut, all traces of fatigue gone.
"How did this happen? We only spotted them this close?" Miles Moon shouted into the Jade Tablet.
"I... I don’t know either. They hid in the clouds and evaded our scouts."
"Hurry and reinforce!"
"Yes!"
Gripping the ship’s rail, Miles Moon clenched his teeth.
He never imagined they’d be ambushed.
These Milky Way Navy troops are truly leagues above the South Heaven Gate forces.
It was already too late to turn back, and even if they could, it was pointless—the enemy warships were much faster than their own two ships. Now, there was nothing to do but fight head-on.
But if even this detachment was ambushed, what about the main force?
The thought sent a chill through Miles Moon’s heart.
It seemed that the Milky Way Navy had known their every move from the very start.
The two incoming Milky Way Navy warships didn’t bother with formalities—they sounded the drums and horns and unleashed over two hundred Heavenly soldiers, pressing toward their ships.
Louis Quickpaw, acting as temporary commander, scrambled to issue orders to counterattack.
In terms of numbers, the demons had the clear advantage—even excluding the wounded, at least four hundred avian demons could still fight. With Shortbeak’s scout corps returning, that number rose to six hundred.
Yet despite this advantage, the moment the two sides clashed, the demons immediately showed signs of defeat.
After all, they’d been ambushed—unprepared demons against well-rested Heavenly soldiers...
In their panic, the demons deployed Spirit Shackles, but the ropes that had scared off the Black Tortoise Division were useless against the Milky Way Navy. When the Spirit Shackles closed in, the Heavenly soldiers would simply block them with their shields, then slice the ropes apart at the seams.
In cultivation, these Heavenly soldiers weren’t stronger than the Black Tortoise Division, but in combat experience, they were unmatched—these were the front-line troops in the war against demons.
With no other choice, after several rounds of exchanging arrows, it came down to close combat.
A pigeon demon fought on the front line against a Heavenly soldier, gaining the upper hand—until another Heavenly soldier swooped in from behind and slashed its back.
Reeling from the pain, it turned, only to be stabbed again by two more Heavenly soldiers darting past.
A sparrow demon, spear in hand, charged forward, but before it could reach the enemy, it was shot by an arrow, then dismembered in midair by three Heavenly soldiers working in tandem.
Showers of blood rained down from the sky...
Aerial combat demanded even greater teamwork than ground or ranged fighting. The demon ranks only knew how to fight individually, and under the charge of two hundred tightly coordinated Heavenly soldiers, their entire battle line collapsed like dry tinder.
As the four ships crossed paths, the enemy warships unleashed a barrage of ballista fire at their own ships. Sparks flew, and the entire vessel shook. Some bolts even punched straight into the cabins.
Countless wounded in the cabins were killed or injured.