Behind Gaius the Serpent King stood nine men and women, each with distinct appearances. None bothered to conceal their demonic aura, so even the Golden Core cultivators on the city wall could tell they were late Soul-Split stage great demons.
By contrast, on the Immortal Maple City side, apart from City Lord Stone Yun and the chief defender General Avery Ao, both at late Soul-Split stage, there were no other late Soul-Split experts.
Can they hold them off?
Can Immortal Maple City hold out?
Most people felt a deep worry and fear rising in their hearts.
On the black cloud, besides the Giant Serpent Demon King and the nine late Soul-Split demons, there were over a hundred Soul-Split stage demon cultivators. Beneath the cloud, a dense mass of demon cultivators—more than five hundred thousand—covered the ground.
The strongest were at late Nascent Soul stage, the weakest only at early Golden Core.
"Serpent King, it has been a while!"
Just then, Stone Yun stepped onto the city wall, meeting Serpent King's cold gaze and called out loudly.
"City Lord Stone, it truly has been a while!"
Gaius the Serpent King nodded coolly, his tone especially icy.
Hearing this, Stone Yun's heart sank, but he forced a smile and continued, "Serpent King, what brings you to my Immortal Maple City with so many people?"
"Heh!" Gaius the Serpent King let out a faint chuckle.
At the same time, one of the great demons behind him stepped forward, pointed at Stone Yun, and cursed, "Stone Yun, you old fool, don't play dumb. Hand over the murderer of our young master, or our army will flatten Immortal Maple City!"
Being cursed at to his face, Stone Yun's eyes flashed with anger, but with the safety of the whole city at stake, no matter how furious he was, he could only endure it. He replied in a low voice, "Serpent King, I deeply regret what happened to your son, but there are still misunderstandings in this matter. I hope you can give me a chance, and I will also give you a proper explanation!"
Gaius the Serpent King's lips curled in a faint sneer. "Stone Yun, I'm not unreasonable! Hand over my son's killer and I'll let Immortal Maple City off the hook. Otherwise, my army of hundreds of thousands of demon soldiers won't just stand by!"
Listening to Gaius the Serpent King's heavily threatening words, Stone Yun's expression grew even uglier.
Meanwhile, everyone on the city wall watched him expectantly, waiting for his response and decision.
For a moment, Stone Yun felt immense pressure.
But the ones who killed Gaius the Serpent King's son were his own son and daughter. Even a tiger does not eat its cubs—how could he bear to hand his children over to the Serpent King?
"So, do you want to shield those two murderers just because they're your children?" Gaius the Serpent King's voice rang out again, filled with murderous intent. The cultivators on the city wall now looked at Stone Yun with strange expressions.
So the ones who killed Gaius the Serpent King's son were actually the city lord's own children.
Thinking of this, many people felt a surge of resentment in their hearts.
"City Lord, I must speak my mind. If you don't hand over the culprits, our entire Immortal Maple City may be destroyed by the Serpent King. Compared to the millions of lives in the city, you can't protect the murderers!"
The speaker was Terry Zheng, patriarch of the Zheng Family, who had just arrived at the city wall with his people.
Hearing this, Stone Yun's body trembled slightly.
The Zhou Family patriarch immediately followed, "That's right, City Lord. Sacrificing family for the greater good is painful, but all the cultivators of Immortal Maple City will remember your great virtue!"
"City Lord, we aren't a match for the Serpent King at all. What are you hesitating for? Are you going to let your children doom the whole city? If Immortal Maple City is destroyed because of this, even jumping into the Heavenly River won't wash away your sins!"
This time, the speaker was a silver-haired elder, also the patriarch of one of the city's clans.
One after another, the clan leaders of Immortal Maple City spoke up—some soft, some hard—all demanding he hand over his children.
Listening to their words, Stone Yun felt a deep sorrow. He thought to himself, You fools really think that if I hand over my children, Gaius the Serpent King will just let things go? His real goal is to slaughter Immortal Maple City. If he only wanted justice, why bring so many demon cultivators here? Could Immortal Maple City possibly hold back a Fusion-stage expert like him?
Thinking this, a chill ran through his heart. Gaius the Serpent King was not only powerful, but also extremely cunning. With just one sentence, he had turned all the city’s factions against him.
In the next moment, Stone Yun straightened up, stepped out from the formation, and floated in the sky, staring at Gaius the Serpent King:
Serpent King, my children are still young and ignorant. I hope you can show mercy. As long as you spare them, I am willing to take my own life in apology!
Gaius the Serpent King looked thoughtful at Stone Yun's words.
The cultivators on the city wall, on the other hand, all looked hopeful. If Stone Yun's death could guarantee Immortal Maple City's safety, it would be worth it.
Prefect Wu and General Avery Ao both sighed helplessly.
Although Stone Yun was their superior, he was a good person and treated them well.
But at this moment, they couldn't think of any way to resist Gaius the Serpent King's army. So even if they didn't want Stone Yun to die, they dared not speak up.
"Fine! I agree!" Gaius the Serpent King nodded.
Seeing Gaius the Serpent King nod, a hint of joy appeared on Stone Yun's face, and everyone on the city wall breathed a sigh of relief.
Serpent King, I hope you can swear by Heavenly Tribulation that after I take my own life, you won't trouble Immortal Maple City!
"Stone Yun! Our king is already giving you more than enough respect by agreeing. Don't push your luck!" The great demon from before jumped out and cursed again.
Forget it, forget it! I trust Serpent King's reputation would never deceive me!
As he spoke, a spirit sword appeared in Stone Yun's hand. He slashed his own neck, sending his head flying high into the air.
At that moment, the great demon suddenly struck, smashing Stone Yun's head and Nascent Soul into pulp with a single palm.
"City Lord!"
"City Lord!"
Seeing this, Prefect Wu and Avery Ao cried out in shock. Avery then glared angrily at the great demon: "You've gone too far! Why destroy the city lord's Nascent Soul?"
"Heh, our young master was worth a thousand times more than this old fool!" The great demon sneered with contempt.
Just then—
Gaius the Serpent King, who had been sitting calmly on the purple-gold coiling-dragon throne, suddenly stood up.
Seeing this, all the cultivators on the city wall were shocked. The white-haired clan head shouted, "Serpent King, what are you doing? Are you going to break your promise?"
"Hahaha! Humans and demons are born enemies—what trust could there be? If anyone's to blame, it's Stone Yun for being so hopelessly naive!" Gaius the Serpent King laughed wildly, slowly raising his hand. Instantly, a massive, mu-wide palm imprint formed in the sky and came crashing down toward Immortal Maple City's protective array.