After twelve intense hours of post-disaster rescue efforts, order on Blossom Mountain was gradually being restored. The losses from this incident had already been roughly tallied.
It's hard to say whether 'fortunate' is the right word. In this event, Blossom Mountain's entire alchemy system was nearly crippled, yet the stockpile of war-ready elixirs remained abundant.
Part of the reason was that the elixir storerooms were originally located in the Underworld City and hadn't yet been moved to the surface, so they escaped the disaster unscathed.
Another reason was that Rootless Fire was lethal to any demon below the Spirit-Refinement stage—once touched, most died instantly. As a result, there were many dead but few wounded, so the need for healing elixirs was limited.
Moreover, Monkey King had previously diverted many Sage’s Path demon cultivators from the Alchemy House to the Underworld City to accelerate firearm production. This meant that many who originally belonged to the alchemy system survived the disaster, preserving hope for a swift reconstruction of Blossom Mountain’s alchemy operations.
As for morale, the beings here at Blossom Mountain were hardly human—they were demons accustomed to life and death, not easily frightened.
Overall, the wounds were grave and struck deep, yet still within the limits of what could be endured.
After a core council meeting marked by silence, the original strategy was dramatically revised.
First, regarding reconstruction: the decision was to abandon rebuilding and temporarily relocate all core institutions back to the Underworld City.
Clearly, the surface was not as safe as they had imagined. They could expand their control on the ground, but defending against sudden attacks from the sky was nearly impossible. Until they possessed an intelligence network as pervasive as the Heavenly Fleet, building a densely populated demon city was courting disaster.
This was the hard-won lesson Blossom Mountain had paid dearly to learn.
But was the Underworld City truly safe?
In truth, it wasn’t. It was even less secure than the surface. If the enemy triggered a cave-in by means of an earthquake, the danger could surpass even the flames of the Heavenly Fleet.
So, a second decision was made: reinforce the existing Underworld City, and simultaneously construct multiple underground strongholds, each limited in scale. Important institutions would be placed in smaller, more robust bases, and these would no longer be confined to Blossom Mountain or even Eastrealm.
As for those demons who, due to limited space, couldn’t relocate to the Underworld City and had to remain on the surface, they were to be dispersed as a precaution.
Of course, the army would still be stationed on the surface, maintaining a wide zone of control.
As Monkey King put it: "Show your fangs, hide your soft spots."
Once the path forward was set and the demons of Blossom Mountain reassured, only the external problems remained.
Letting this matter go was not an option—not for Monkey King, nor for any of Blossom Mountain’s generals. Thus, they began to use General Lee as leverage against South Heaven Gate, demanding the surrender of General Nate.
Yet three days slipped by with no word. Nathan Young was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, but the two Heavenly Kings stubbornly held their ground.
For South Heaven Gate to truly hand over General Nate was impossible. If they did, the Heavenly Fleet would surely report it to the Heavenly Court, and every commander at South Heaven Gate would face dire consequences.
After all, that would be no different from colluding with demon kings.
Monkey King's original plan was to intercept General Nate on his way from the South Heaven Gate Fleet back to Cloudrealm Sky Harbor. That way, South Heaven Gate could wash its hands of the affair, and Blossom Mountain could settle its score.
Unfortunately, despite constant surveillance, General Nate seemed to have gotten wind of it and hid deep within the fleet, refusing to leave. The Heavenly Fleet’s promised escort never appeared. For the moment, everything was at a standstill.
Was this really how it would end?
Monkey King could swallow his pride, but the demons of Blossom Mountain could not.
To appease the demon host, to vent their anger, and as a new strategic move, on the fourth night, after Monkey King convened a secret meeting of all Spirit-Transformation demons at Blossom Mountain, a small squad of speed-type Spirit-Transformation demons, led by the Nine-Headed Wyrm, quietly left the mountain.
......
Two days later, in Marshal Silver’s study at Cloudrealm Sky Harbor.
"You’re saying the supplies bound for Cloudwatch Harbor were robbed?" Marshal Silver’s eyes widened as he asked.
Supplies for the Celestial Army being robbed—this was an event that happened perhaps once in a millennium.
"Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a robbery," General Ward straightened up slightly. "I’ve already investigated the scene. All three transport ships crashed, and none of the six hundred fifty-two Skyward Legionnaires, three Junior Officers, or one Deputy General survived. But aside from elixirs and a handful of small items, all other supplies—including food—were burned on the spot, not taken."
"Only the elixirs were taken? What kind of elixirs?"
"Just the standard healing pills carried by the troops. Nothing special," General Ward replied.
Marshal Silver’s eyes narrowed to slits. "Who do you think it was? Demons, or another branch of the Celestial Army?"
If it were demons, none had ever been so brazen since Marshal Silver took office. If it were another branch of the Celestial Army… that was even less likely.
The Heavenly Court was rife with factions, and open and secret struggles had never ceased. But no one had ever dared to start a real fight.
"We still don’t know," General Ward said. "There were no clues left at the scene. What we do know is that the attackers were highly skilled. At the time, the fleet included a Spirit-Transformation Heavenly General, yet not even a distress signal was sent. Only when the delivery deadline passed at midnight last night did Cloudwatch Harbor report the supplies hadn’t arrived, and only this morning did we confirm the fleet was wiped out in an attack."
"Not even a distress signal…" Marshal Silver folded his hands, pacing to the window and muttering to himself, "To pull off something like this, it can’t be just for a few pills. If not for the pills, then what was the real motive?"
Leaning on the windowsill, Marshal Silver fell silent in thought.
Soon, a Skyward Legionnaire appeared in the corridor outside, bowing to General Ward from a distance.
Seeing this, General Ward hurried outside.
The Skyward Legionnaire knelt on one knee, respectfully presented a bamboo slip, and spoke quietly to General Ward.
General Ward’s expression turned grim. After dismissing the Skyward Legionnaire, he returned to the study with the bamboo slip in hand.
Seeing General Ward return, Marshal Silver asked coolly, "What is it?"
General Ward pressed his lips together. "Another two transport ships have been hit. This time, troop transports from the Northern Jambu Continent to Cloudrealm Sky Harbor. Both ships—fifteen hundred Skyward Legionnaires—no survivors."
"First supply ships, now troop transports… Looks like someone’s out for revenge," Marshal Silver said coldly. "Impressive. Not to be underestimated."