Inside the cave hall, the Six Demon Kings gathered together, each with a different expression.
"That white dragon is nothing! Show him a bit of courtesy and he thinks he’s someone important—getting all uppity!" King Roc paced furiously, cursing. "Even the Nine-Headed Wyrm never dared talk to us like that!"
At the height of his anger, he kicked over the low table in front of him, sending food scattering across the floor.
A pear rolled away, coming to rest at Lord Jiao’s feet.
Lord Jiao bent down, picked it up, wiped it with his sleeve, and took a bite, chuckling: "Why bother fussing over him? He’s just a green kid who’s never seen the world. As long as he brings elixirs and artifacts, who cares what he says?"
"That’s easy for you to say! So what if he’s got a few elixirs?" King Roc roared.
Lord Jiao didn’t argue, just chuckled and shook his head.
"If only he really had talent," King Liontusk said, wiping his broadsword with a sigh. "This time he promised us elixirs, but he’s cut the shipment by over a thousand—with no explanation. If you ask me, this young Ao isn’t reliable at all."
"If he ever fails to deliver the elixirs, I’ll kill him on the spot!" King Roc slammed his halberd into the rocky floor, cracking the stone beneath him.
Leaning crookedly on his staff at the cave entrance, King Macaque stroked his chin and mused, "If you ask me, he looks like someone from a dragon royal family. His surname is Ao too. Who knows what rank he really holds? Maybe he’s a prince from one of the seas, or a river dragon king. And who do you think he wants us to kill on Blossom Mountain?"
King Roc turned impatiently and said, "He keeps saying it’s not the Monkey King—Blossom Mountain’s got so many demons, who knows who he means?"
"Odds are, it’s the Nine-Headed Wyrm," said King Bullhorn.
For a moment, all eyes turned to King Bullhorn.
"N-Nine-Headed Wyrm?"
Aside from the Monkey King, the Nine-Headed Wyrm was probably the toughest opponent on Blossom Mountain.
King Bullhorn took a deep breath and sighed, "The one here with us should be the Third Prince of the Western Sea. I once heard the Azurewave Dragon King mention that the Third Prince was betrothed to Princess Marina Azurewave. Now that Marina has broken off the engagement and pledged herself to the Nine-Headed Wyrm, it’s no surprise the young prince wants Nigel dead."
"Seriously? He’s making all this fuss just for pride? Has young Ao lost his mind?" King Liontusk squinted skeptically.
"You wouldn’t understand the world of fools," Lord Jiao cackled. "Look at his face—does this really seem out of character for him?"
King Macaque pondered for a while, then frowned and bared his teeth: "Even if we manage to take Blossom Mountain, capturing Nigel won’t be easy."
"Exactly!" King Liontusk quickly agreed. "If we’re supposed to kill the Nine-Headed Wyrm, isn’t the price way too low?"
King Bullhorn, King Roc, and Lord Jiao exchanged knowing smiles.
The other demon kings looked on, confused.
"So? Big Brother, have you already made up your mind?"
King Bullhorn just smiled and said nothing.
Lord Jiao poured himself a drink, raised his horn cup, and took a sip. Leisurely, he said, "Seventy percent for doing nothing—is that really a low price? Whether we kill Nigel or not, that’s a question for after we’ve pocketed our seventy percent."
At that, the rest of the demon kings suddenly understood and relaxed.
Stroking his chin, King Macaque grinned slyly and asked, "Hey, what if he really is the Third Prince of the Western Sea? Why don’t we just kidnap him and extort the Western Sea Dragon Palace? That way, we wouldn’t have to keep milking him for elixirs bit by bit."
"No," King Bullhorn waved a hand. "Milking him has its benefits—at least he’s giving us everything willingly. Think about it: Blossom Mountain is the center of attention now, with the Southern Heaven Gate and the Celestial River Navy all heading there. We get to stay out of the fray. But if we kidnap the Third Prince, and the old Dragon King reports it to Heaven, we’ll be in deep trouble. The armies would swarm us, and this place would become the main battlefield. Do any of you want to be the vanguard?"
The demon kings all shook their heads.
"In that case, let’s just play it by ear for now," King Roc said coldly. "If we don’t get what we want, we can always chop off a hand or a foot and send it to his old man."
...
Inside the great hall of Cloudrealm Sky Harbor, a massive parchment map was spread across the table. Senior generals of the Heavenly Fleet gathered for a military council.
"The elixirs we intercepted earlier have been analyzed and confirmed to differ from those seized years ago in the Western Ox Continent. We can safely say they’re not from Five-Fruits Temple."
"According to captured enemy soldiers, the Six Demon Kings’ territory began receiving elixirs months ago, though no artifacts yet. The exact quantity and source are unknown, but there’s already a considerable stockpile."
"The Azurewave Dragon King, closely tied to King Bullhorn, has remained at Blossom Mountain and hasn’t left."
"Odds are, Frost-Rain Mountain’s elixirs are coming from Blossom Mountain."
"Blossom Mountain’s defenses are tight, with several underground cities. We still don’t know exactly how many demons are gathered there. But Frost-Rain Mountain’s numbers are roughly clear."
"About how many?" Marshal Silver asked.
"Roughly six hundred thousand."
All the Heavenly generals present were stunned.
Six hundred thousand demons... It was an immense number. True, they’d faced the Six Demon Kings’ Western Ox Continent legion before, which boasted a million troops—but back then, that force was their only enemy. Now, Blossom Mountain’s strength remained an unknown.
"Continue," Marshal Silver said calmly.
General Skyler pointed to Frost-Rain Mountain on the map and continued, "Frost-Rain Mountain, Blossom Mountain, and Cloudrealm Sky Harbor are all roughly equidistant—about forty to fifty thousand li apart. The distance between Frost-Rain and Blossom Mountain is sixty thousand li. Blossom Mountain has captured a number of warships from the Heavenly Fleet, and our intelligence says they’ve equipped a fair number of artifact ‘Wings’—their mobility is impressive."
[End-of-chapter message skipped as irrelevant to the novel's narrative.]
"By contrast, Frost-Rain Mountain has no known warships, nor any artifacts capable of mass transport. They can’t quickly reinforce Blossom Mountain."
"If the two sides join forces, with Blossom Mountain’s Handsome Monkey King and Nigel, plus the Six Demon Kings from Frost-Rain Mountain..."
"Right now, our main opponent should be Blossom Mountain. The Six Demon Kings’ army is just a rabble, but sixty thousand..." General Ren sighed softly. "From what we know, Blossom Mountain has plenty of elixirs and artifacts. If the two armies merge, and all sixty thousand are converted, the situation will turn sharply against us."
"So which side should we deal with first?" General Skyler asked.
General Nei, who had been studying the map, looked up and said, "Frost-Rain Mountain can’t reinforce the others. Marching from the Southern Continent all the way to the Eastern Divine State, no matter how fast they move, would take at least five years. Relocating an army that size over land is unimaginable."
He pointed to the red area on the map: "And the route crosses mountains and seas. For the whole army to reach the Eastern Divine State would take at least ten years—and who knows what could happen along the way."