At dawn, the first rays of sunlight pierced the morning mist. Birds scattered through the mountain forest, searching for food. Amidst the lush greenery, Shadow—the young rat demon—clutched a crudely made trident and, wrapped in burlap, crept cautiously through a patch of grass taller than a man.
It had been more than a month since the desperate breakout. During that escape, he’d barely survived the Skyward Rangers’ pursuit, but unlike his companions who fled farther from Dragon’s Pool, he’d risked circling back to the edge of their patrol belt, lurking nearby instead.
His jet-black eyes stared for a long time at the wild boar grazing in the clearing. With a wave of his hand, three minor demons—each armed with mismatched weapons and odd appearances—began to creep forward behind him.
If we can bring down this wild boar, we won’t have to worry about food for a long while, he thought.
A four-hundred-jin wild boar wasn’t especially large, but for a squad whose strongest member—Shadow himself—was only at mid Spirit-Focusing Realm, it was still a formidable challenge.
But Shadow had once watched two ordinary mortals, not even cultivators, work together to take down a five-hundred-jin boar. He was convinced that he could do the same.
Only after the other three minor demons reached their assigned positions did Shadow raise his hand and make a gesture. Instantly, all four—including Shadow—emerged from hiding, weapons raised, creeping toward the wild boar.
Startled, the wild boar raised its head and backed away two steps, panic in its eyes as it scanned the area, only to realize it was completely surrounded by the four minor demons.
"Go!" Shadow shouted at the top of his lungs, sprinting straight at the boar.
The other three minor demons also broke into a sprint, charging forward.
After a brief moment of panic, the wild boar let out a roar and charged straight at Shadow (Remy).
In terms of size, the four-hundred-jin wild boar was about seven or eight times bigger than Shadow. Yet the skinny, frail Shadow didn’t back down; instead, he gripped his trident and, teeth clenched, charged even harder.
Just as the demon and the boar were about to collide, the other three minor demons turned pale and lost their nerve at the crucial moment.
If an ordinary human were hit head-on by a wild boar like this, death would be certain. Shadow was a demon, and at the Spirit-Focusing Realm, death wasn’t likely—but injury was unavoidable.
How badly he’d be hurt would depend on luck.
At the critical moment, the wild boar lost its nerve and veered aside. In that instant, Shadow stabbed its belly with his trident.
A hysterical howl echoed through the valley as the wild boar bolted in a frenzy.
In the chaos, Shadow was knocked to the ground.
"Boss! Are you okay?" the three minor demons rushed over.
Sitting on the ground, Shadow watched the wild boar’s retreating figure, then glanced at the scrape on his own arm. "What were you all doing just now? Why didn’t you all charge in together? There was clearly a chance," he said.
The three minor demons fell silent.
The three minor demons were a dog demon, a pheasant demon, and a rabbit demon. All were covered in dust, their clothes ragged, and their timid manner gave them no trace of a demon’s fierceness.
Taking a deep breath, Shadow got up, walked a few steps, then crouched and touched the blood on a leaf. "It’s wounded. Let’s go after it," he said.
With that, he hefted his trident and moved forward.
The three minor demons exchanged glances and had no choice but to follow.
These three weren’t part of the original squad with the Monkey King. During the breakout, the minor demons scattered in hopes of survival, so when Shadow escaped pursuit, he was alone.
Later, he met these three minor demons who had just entered the Spirit-Focusing Realm. Since they shared the same destination, they traveled together, and Shadow, being slightly stronger, naturally became their leader.
They followed the blood trail through the woods for a while, but soon lost it.
"Boss, maybe we should give up… Let’s just gather seeds to eat," the pheasant demon said nervously.
Shadow shot him a blunt look. "What kind of demon can’t even handle a wild boar?"
With that, he began searching on his own, and the other three minor demons reluctantly followed.
After spending time with the Monkey King’s group, Shadow realized his cultivation hadn’t improved much, but his courage had grown.
At the very least, the Skyward Rangers he’d once feared to death now seemed far less terrifying.
Especially after the last life-or-death breakout, his nerve had grown even more.
As later events proved, in a world where demons lived by the law of the jungle, boldness was indeed an advantage over timidity.
Dragon’s Pool was a necessary destination, but it would be reckless to head there now. The Skyward Rangers could fly, and if they landed, they could handle all four minor demons with one hand.
So he set himself a modest first goal: make sure his brothers ate meat.
As for the strictly vegetarian rabbit demon, he’d just cut extra wild boar hide for him.
They searched all morning with no luck. By midmorning, just as Shadow was about to give up, the pheasant demon ran over in a panic.
"Boss, I found two demons—one alive, one dead."
Where? Show me.
Soon, the two minor demons reached a clearing. As they parted the leaves and stepped out of the woods, Shadow’s eyes nearly popped out.
That… that’s the Monkey King! And… and Big Bull!
It felt like something exploded in Shadow’s mind, leaving it blank.
Once he recovered, Shadow rushed over and pressed his ear to the Monkey King’s chest. The faint heartbeat made him breathe a sigh of relief.
It’s Big Bull who’s dead, not the Monkey King. Thank goodness.
As for Big Bull, Shadow had no fondness for him. Not only had he repeatedly insisted on abandoning the minor demons, but on the eve of the desperate breakout, he’d even plotted with Jackal to kill White Ape and Shortbeak.
But weren’t they supposed to be at Dragon’s Pool? Why were they here, covered in blood and unconscious? Did their plan fail?
The arrows left in Big Bull’s back were clearly Heavenly Army shafts. But… how many Skyward Rangers would it take to bring him down like this?
The Monkey King’s wounds were too many to count, filling Shadow with unease.
Water…' the Monkey King murmured in a dreamlike daze.
I’ll fetch it right away—hang on, Monkey King.' Shadow turned and shouted to the three minor demons, 'Quick! Search the area—see if there’s any left!
Aren’t we looking for wild boar?
Look for your mother!
The three minor demons, cowed by his scolding, began searching while Shadow dashed to a nearby stream for water.
After giving water to the half-unconscious Monkey King, Shadow stood there stunned, his mind in chaos.
If something happened to the Monkey King and Big Bull, what about Ruby?
He desperately hoped the three minor demons would suddenly announce they’d found a red-haired fox demon, but he was terrified, too. In these circumstances, finding her alive seemed almost impossible.
If she couldn’t be found, at least there was some hope left.
Ruby… what’s happened to her?' Shadow sighed deeply as he gazed at the drifting clouds.
They searched for two full hours, but in the end, found nothing.
After burying Big Bull’s remains, they set up camp on the spot.
The three minor demons went out to search for food, but Shadow didn’t dare leave the Monkey King’s side for a moment.
Unlike the Monkey King, Shadow knew nothing about medicine, and the Monkey King’s wounds had already scabbed over, so there was little he could do except keep watch, give him water, and hope he’d wake.
As night fell, Shadow made a reasonably comfortable bed for the Monkey King out of leaves, while the other three demons built a makeshift camp out of gathered wood.
According to Shadow, they wouldn’t be able to leave until the Monkey King recovered.
It was unwise to linger near the Skyward Rangers’ defensive belt for the sake of an unknown demon. The three minor demons grumbled, but didn’t dare voice their complaints openly to Shadow.
Late at night, when three of the four demons had already fallen asleep and only Shadow remained awake guarding the Monkey King, an old figure quietly appeared on the eastern ridge.
From afar, the newcomer glanced at the demons’ crude camp in the dark valley, then pointed a finger; instantly, Shadow—the only one awake—collapsed unconscious.