Staring at the crackling, rootless flames, Monkey’s eyes bulged wide—so wide it seemed his eyeballs might pop out.
It felt as if he’d been slapped hard across the face.
After a brief moment of shock, he grabbed his Cloudwalker Staff and shot to his feet. "Go! Goddamn bastards, attack!"
"Aren’t we waiting for nightfall?" Shortbeak whispered from nearby, crouched low.
Wait for nightfall? At this rate, Blossom Mountain will be burned to ashes by then! Goddamn bastards!
...
Atop the flagship pavilion, King Broadgaze sat in the grand seat, idly stroking the Crimson Dragon coiled around his right arm.
The Crimson Dragon stretched its neck and nuzzled against King Broadgaze, clearly enjoying the attention.
A long table before him was laden with exquisite pastries and fresh fruit.
Not far away, a Heavenly General leaned against the railing, peering down at the roaring flames below.
An ancient tree, centuries old, slowly collapsed into ashes under his gaze, while all manner of living creatures fled in panic.
After a long while, he finally looked away, lifted his Far-Seer, and gazed toward the main peak of Blossom Mountain.
Through the lens, he saw hundreds of demons leaping down the mountainside!
Startled, he dropped the Far-Seer to the deck.
He hurriedly bent to pick it up and looked again in the same direction, but saw nothing—only then did he let out a slow breath.
"What is it? Did you see something?"
King Broadgaze quietly asked from the side.
"Nothing... Must be fatigue from these past few days—my eyes are playing tricks on me," the Heavenly General chuckled.
"If you're tired, go rest for a while. Judging by the situation, they won't be coming out any time soon."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." The Heavenly General rubbed his temples and let out a slow sigh.
He thought to himself that he really must be exhausted. After this battle, he’d have to take a proper leave and rest.
With that in mind, he turned and walked back toward his viewing post.
"Report—!"
Just then, a Heavenly Soldier rushed up to the pavilion and dropped to one knee. "Your Majesty, the left flank has come under demon attack!"
"Under attack?" King Broadgaze’s eyes widened in confusion as he slowly rose to his feet.
Before King Broadgaze could even ask, another Heavenly Soldier rushed up. "Your Majesty, the right flank has come under demon attack!"
In the distance, a signal flare shot skyward, trailing a long plume of smoke.
Before the generals in the pavilion could react, another flare soared up from the other side.
Those are... SOS signals!
King Broadgaze was stunned. He quickly snatched the Far-Seer from the Heavenly General’s hands.
From afar, he saw dozens of demons leaping onto the decks of the left flank’s warships, unleashing all sorts of magic—cutting through the ranks like a hot knife through butter.
He looked to the right flank—same story!
"All of these... Spirit-Refinement demons!" He froze, barely able to believe his eyes. "How—how can there be so many demons above Spirit-Refinement gathered here?"
Since the start of the Eastrealm campaign, he’d never seen such a powerful demon force.
He shoved the Far-Seer into the hands of a nearby Heavenly General and turned to shout, "Turn the helm! Split the forces and support both flanks—"
He never finished the sentence—because at that very moment, he saw Monkey leap onto the pavilion!
Every Heavenly soldier present was stunned into silence.
King Broadgaze’s eye twitched violently as a sense of impending doom flared in his heart.
What’s going on? How is this possible? How did he get up here? Why did no one notice?
We’ve been far too careless!