Scorpion King, Serpent Lord, Leopard Shade, Victor Vulture, Carpwise, Barry Bear...
Nine factions of demons, all sorts of bizarre and monstrous creatures, gathered together with torches held high. Their eerie howls echoed in the night sky, the firelight illuminating the heavens.
"I'll make that bastard taste the fury of my venomous stinger! Hehehe... Treating us like monkeys to be played with!" Scorpion King swung his tail and roared in anger.
"Hiss hiss, even if we're torn to pieces, it's worth it! Hiss hiss, that monkey brat—tonight, we must take his camp! Hiss hiss..." Serpent Lord jeered, flicking his tongue.
"Roar—And don't let that Scribe Squirrel escape! Roar—" Barry Bear pounded his chest and bellowed.
Thousands of demons gathered in a dense mass, roaring at the crimson-lit night sky. For a moment, the cries of battle shook the heavens.
The attention of the entire plain was drawn toward them.
"What's all the commotion? Why wasn't I invited?"
A cold, chilling voice suddenly rang out, and the expressions on the leaders' faces froze instantly.
The deafening cries of battle were abruptly silenced, as if choked off by an invisible force.
The entire noisy world seemed to fall silent in an instant.
Scorpion King slowly turned his eyes toward Simon Stone's camp. The lesser demons surrounding them quickly parted to form a passage.
At the end of the passage stood a solitary figure.
He carried the Cloudwalker Staff, ignoring the lesser demons on either side, striding step by step toward the leaders, a smile on his face.
He no longer suppressed the fluctuations of his spiritual power; instead, he was unleashing it to the fullest!
"So, what's the event tonight? Why wasn't I invited?" He slammed the Cloudwalker Staff on the ground, dragging it along as it screeched, sending chills through the gathered demons.
"Spirit-Transformation!" All the demons stared wide-eyed.
Such surging spiritual power, like a bottomless pit, was even stronger than most who had just entered the Spirit-Transformation realm.
This was the Traveler's Path at its limit!
The smile on the Monkey King's face slowly faded, replaced by a fierce expression.
"Speak up—! Why aren't you saying anything—!"
With a thunderous roar, every demon felt their heart leap in terror.
The lesser demons around him scattered like a receding tide, retreating a full yard away. Eyes blinking, weapons clutched in fear, their gazes flickered with panic.
The Monkey King laughed, sweeping his gaze over the thousand-strong demon crowd with a cold sneer.
His laughter slowly spread, becoming the only melody in the night, sending chills down everyone's spine.
Not a single demon dared to laugh with him, nor did any dare make a sound.
They all held their breath.
Dragging the Cloudwalker Staff, the Monkey King strode slowly toward the now-panicked leaders. "What’s wrong? Where’s all that courage from before? Weren’t you just shouting to kill me? All that noise—wasn’t it just to get my attention? I’m giving you a chance now, giving... each of you a chance."
He grinned, moving slowly—slow enough for the demons before him to savor the true taste of fear.
Leopard Shade opened his mouth wide and roared, "You... you dare toy with us..."
It was meant as a challenge, but for some reason, his voice trembled—and by the end, it was barely audible.
The Monkey King looked at him, cupped his ear and said, "Louder, I can't hear you. Do you want to come whisper it in my ear? Hahaha."
Leopard Shade was startled, and quickly took a step back.
With that retreat, all the leaders stepped back in unison.
When he was three yards away from the leaders, the Monkey King stopped, planted his Cloudwalker Staff, and looked up with a laugh: "What’s wrong? Weren’t you just planning to attack my camp? Now that I stand before you alone, you’re afraid? Afraid now—!"
With a thunderous roar, the demons scattered in all directions.
Scorpion King hesitated, stepped forward half a pace, and stammered, "You... you’d better not get too cocky!"
As soon as he finished, he retreated in fear.
"Oh?" The Monkey King's lips curled into a smirk, head tilted in amusement. "If you don’t volunteer, I’ll just have to pick someone myself."
With that, he stretched out a hand, and wherever his fingertip pointed, the demons shrank back.
Finally, his finger stopped in front of Barry Bear.
In that instant, Barry Bear was stunned. The demons beside him quickly scattered, afraid of being caught up in the trouble.
The circle of demons tilted rapidly, and suddenly only Barry Bear and the Monkey King remained in the open space at the center.
After a moment, Barry Bear snapped out of it, turned, and ran straight into the crowd of lesser demons, grabbing two of them to shield himself before feeling a bit safer.
The Monkey King's smile grew even wider. He glanced contemptuously at the anxious Barry Bear, then turned his gaze to Leopard Shade.
The moment their eyes met, Leopard Shade recoiled in fear, stumbling and falling to the ground.
With a helpless sigh, the Monkey King withdrew his gaze, staring blankly at the empty ground. He chuckled, "With cowards like you, someone must have put you up to this."
With that, he grinned and turned to look at the brightly lit Drake City in the distance.
......
On the ramparts of Drake City, the Serpent Lord's hand trembled slightly, his brows furrowing into a deep V.
"Heh, clever indeed. Interesting, interesting. Pity the opponents tonight are rather pathetic." The Serpent Lord stroked the whiskers at the corner of his mouth. "If only there were stronger challengers, it would be much more exciting. Gene Elk, why don't you give it a try?"
"Uh..." The elk demon beside him trembled slightly and quickly knelt down.
"I'm just joking, don't worry. Hahaha." The Serpent Lord sighed, pursed his lips, and shook his head. "How about this: I'll raise the stakes. Whoever subdues the Monkey King tonight will be allowed to live in the city—only one spot! But if, come dawn, the Monkey King still stands, then the spot is his."
"I’ll go spread the word right away!"
......
A bat demon soared from the city walls, gliding all the way to hover above the Monkey King, shouting, "Order from the Serpent Lord! Order from the Serpent Lord! Tonight, whoever subdues the Monkey King may live in the city! Only one spot! If, by dawn, the Monkey King still stands, he wins, and the spot is his!"
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The announcement fell into the ears of every demon, acting like a stimulant for all of them.
Immediately, low growls rumbled through the demon horde.
One by one, their bloodshot eyes locked onto the Monkey King, breathing heavily.
Droplets of saliva dripped from sharp fangs onto the ground.
"As long as... as long as we subdue him... we can..."
Weapons that had drooped were raised once more, and tense muscles began to tremble.
With such a heavy reward, their fighting spirit blazed!
"Hmph, they've all gone mad." A hint of contempt appeared on the Monkey King's face. "A bunch of fools."
"Kill—! Take down the Monkey King!"
Amid thunderous shouts, countless demons surged toward the Monkey King, shoulder to shoulder, elbow to elbow.
Gripping the Cloud Staff tightly and lowering his stance, the Monkey King clenched his teeth and swept with all his strength to the side.
Instantly, the demon horde, like grains tossed by a flood, was scattered!
......
The demons in the camp peered out in terror beyond the fence.
From afar, they watched in horror as the usually cold-as-ice Monkey King howled hysterically, bloodied as he fought his way through the flood of demons, like a bloodthirsty war god enduring the onslaught.
Terrifying howls echoed through every corner—cries straight from the soul.
The little fox demon tugged at Shortbeak's sleeve. "Brother Shortbeak, why aren’t you going to help Monkey King?"
"He told us to guard the camp."
"So you’re not going to help them?" The little fox demon bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes.
Shortbeak was left speechless.
Monkey King stayed behind for them—he knew this better than anyone. But with things like this, could they really help him?
But... just because they couldn’t, does that mean they shouldn’t?
Shivering, he wiped his face, drew an arrow from his quiver, and nocked it to his longbow.
"What are you doing?" Big Bull stared at him in alarm.
"I... I'm going to help Monkey King." Shortbeak flapped his wings and took off.
"What can you do? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"Dying is better than watching Monkey King die!" Shortbeak soared high, gathering all his strength, gliding toward the chaos of battle.
"You fool!" Gritting his teeth, Big Bull smashed the fence with a kick and charged forward, blade in hand.
"I’m going too." Rhino snorted, hefted his axe, and tried to follow, but White Ape stopped him.
"You can’t go. You stay here and guard the camp—someone has to stay behind." Bowing his head, White Ape patted the little fox demon on the head. "Stay with Brother Rhino and keep watch until we return."
"Okay." The little fox demon nodded vigorously.
Grabbing a long blade, White Ape shouted to the young demons behind him, "The young ones stay, everyone else with me!"
"Right!"
Dozens of strange weapons were raised high.
In the darkness, a ragtag group of young demons charged out of the camp, weapons held high, running desperately like moths to a flame.
Watching the shouting young demons rush off, then glancing back at the few frail elders left behind, Rhino exchanged a look with White Ape.
The squirrel demon, barely three feet tall, took a deep breath, tossed aside his scroll, picked up a rusty short blade from the ground, rolled up his sleeves, and shouted, "My king, hang in there! Your minister is coming to save you—!"
With that, he trudged forward on weak legs, following after them alone.