The Golden Staff swept in great arcs, shifting as Monkey willed—its seamless, impenetrable technique both attacking and defending. Dozens of Heavenly Generals beset him, but none could get close; in a flash, three were already gravely wounded and forced to retreat.
You think you can take me on? Even if reinforcements come, what difference does it make? If Blossom Mountain falls, I’ll drag your Heavenly Fleet down with me!
The demon monkey laughed madly in the biting wind, weaving through the ranks of Heavenly soldiers and generals.
"Formation! Don’t try to fight him head-on!" Marshal Silver clutched his chest, eyes wide, slowly rising to his feet. He staggered half a step, spitting blood across the deck.
Six golden hooks shot out in unison, tracking the monkey’s movements and instantly clamping onto his hands and feet. Twelve Heavenly Generals pulled with all their might, pinning him in place.
In that brief instant, countless Heavenly Generals had already readied their attacks. From afar, it looked like a shower of meteors converging on a single point.
The Monkey—transformed from Anna Yang—sat up slightly on the throne, one hand unconsciously gripping the armrest.
In the next moment, all six golden hooks snapped apart, and every attack struck nothing but air.
When the Monkey landed on the deck, everyone could clearly see a deep gash torn across his left hand, blood streaming down.
He glanced at his wound, then let out a hoarse laugh, panting heavily.
Countless demons had already entered the Heavenly Net formation; fire still sizzled in the tunnels, and the charred corpses gave off the scent of roasting flesh.
Eyes wide, the Monkey sneered at Marshal Silver, gritting his teeth: "I know we serve different masters, but I still want to kill you. Truly, I want to tear you to pieces!"
Under the demons’ assault, one node after another fell; the Heavenly Net was collapsing on a massive scale. Demons surged in from outside, arrows flew, and the battle turned chaotic.
The Heavenly Generals had long since exhausted their spiritual power, unable to maintain flawless formations. The soldiers of the Heavenly Fleet could only huddle together and resist, ending up surrounded and cut off.
Marshal Silver gave a bitter laugh: "Never thought we’d fail to hold out till the very end."
"Marshal..."
"It’s nothing." He leaned on his sword, brushed aside the Heavenly Generals blocking his way, and stepped forward to face the Monkey.
"Heaven never cared about you. Your Nisha Song has already fallen into reincarnation. Is it really worth trading your eternal cultivation for the lives of my Blossom Mountain demons?"
"Worth or not—what would a mere demon monkey know?"
Marshal Silver tossed aside his helmet, drew out a hairpin, and stabbed it into his own shoulder armor.
Spiritual power surged; the transparent hairpin melted into the blood like a shard of ice.
"What’s he doing?" asked Louis Quickpaw, standing beside Anna Yang.
"That’s the Ice-Worm Hairpin. He’s sealing his wounds, unlocking his potential. It only lasts for the time it takes an incense stick to burn—afterward, the rebound will be worse," Anna Yang replied, trembling.
"Putting on a show!" With a single-legged kick, Monkey became a streak of golden light, charging Marshal Silver. The Golden Staff dragged behind him, tearing the deck in two; flying shards of iron sliced half the head off a Heavenly soldier who failed to dodge.
Gritting his teeth, Marshal Silver gathered his spiritual power, gripping his sword with both hands to meet Monkey’s staff head-on.
CLANG—!
The violent impact compressed the air, rippling out over the charred soil of Blossom Mountain. Heavenly Generals all around were blasted aside.
Marshal Silver’s form, driven back by Monkey’s blow, crashed through the ship’s rail and was hurled into the air.
With the demon army on the verge of victory, the Six Demon Kings lurking in the distance grew restless, ready to leap in with their own troops.
But just then, a black plane slowly tore open in the sky above the battlefield, lightning crackling inside with a sizzling sound.
Everyone—demons and Heavenly Generals alike—froze in shock.
The Six Demon Kings, who had just leapt into the air, shrank back immediately.
"What is that?" King Roc asked in a low voice.
"That’s the star-gate summoned by the Twenty-Eight Mansions. It can teleport troops thousands of miles," King Bullhorn replied quietly.
...
High in the sky, Grandmaster White weighed the yellow silk scroll in his hand, frowning with a helpless smile.
"Marshal Silver, oh Marshal Silver, it’s not me who doomed you. Even Lord Lao wants to save that Monkey. You just had bad luck, signing that confession. Ha ha ha! So it goes—Heaven’s will!"
Passing through twenty-seven layers of Heaven, Grandmaster White landed beside the Throne Hall’s mustering platform—only to find not a single senior deity present. In the distance, thousands of Spirit-Transformation Heavenly Generals were loading supplies onto warships.
"Where’s General Lee? And the Twenty-Eight Mansions, the Nine Luminaries—where did they all go?" He hurriedly grabbed a junior officer to ask.
"Reporting to you, Star Lord: General Lee and the others departed ahead. We’re left to finish loading the supplies and will set out soon after."