Amidst the towering flames, General Tyson, clad in the silver armor of the Milky Way navy, brandished his sword and shot through the night sky like a meteor, heading straight for the masked woman standing atop the wrecked warship.
The masked woman looked up and saw Tyson, her face instantly contorted in terror.
In a flash, only a few dozen yards separated them.
His sword was raised high; just as Tyson was about to cleave the woman in two, a hand grabbed the back of his armor from behind, yanking him to a halt.
Before he could turn and shout, a golden beam tore through the clouds and crashed down on the spot where the masked woman had stood—a place Tyson would have reached in another instant. The blast pierced the warship wreckage beneath her feet, burrowing deep into the earth and leaving behind a bottomless crater shrouded in smoke.
Everyone who witnessed it—demon or celestial—was left stunned.
"What was that?" Tyson swallowed hard, his voice trembling with shock.
Marshal Silver slowly pulled Tyson behind him, his face expressionless as he stared toward the masked woman.
A figure clad in black armor silently dropped from the sky, landing between her and Marshal Silver.
"I thought you’d know better than to run around out here. If I hadn’t happened to see you, you’d already be dead." Monkey murmured.
Clutching her chest, she gasped deeply: "This is an opportunity I can't miss."
It was Anna Yang’s voice.
Monkey said, "While you seized a good opportunity, you also gave the opponent an even better one." His eyes quietly darted to the distance.
Five li away, atop a mountain wasp, a solitary figure wrapped head to toe in a black robe slowly let the spiritual energy gathered in his hand dissipate.
The black-robed figure glanced faintly at Monkey, then turned and disappeared into the darkness.
If someone comes out now, the Milky Way navy’s hard-won supply disruption will be restored. Worse, Heaven may dispatch more troops.
"Just now, thank you," Anna Yang said with her eyes tightly shut.
Can this cancel the promise I owe you?
No!
Alright, if you say no, then no," Monkey said helplessly, pouting. He looked up at Marshal Silver and Tyson, who stood twenty yards apart in the sky, and twisted his neck with a cracking sound. "Marshal, let’s leave the ground business alone and fight in the sky instead. What do you say?
With a flick of his hand, the golden staff he’d just thrown spun back to him, and he spun it with a flourish, the movement crackling with wild energy.
Anna Yang’s cloak was swept up by the force.
As they spoke, Shortbeak landed beside Monkey with more than ten demons, drawing their bows fully and aiming at Marshal Silver.
Marshal Silver lowered his head slightly. Amid the gaps in the raging sea of fire, wherever his gaze passed, there were demons—each one staring wide-eyed, fixated on the two of them.
Sparks fell from the sky.
Countless arrows were already trained on him. If he said a single word of refusal, they would surely unleash a volley.
Separated from his formation, he could not possibly fight Monkey one-on-one under these conditions.
"Fine." With one hand shielding General Tyson, Marshal Silver slowly retreated.
Once the two had left, Monkey turned to the demons beside him and said, "Help me send her back—hide her wherever it’s safe."
"Yes, sir."
"What about the situation on the ground?" Anna Yang asked.
"Let Shortbeak command."
"Shortbeak commands the ground. What about the sky?"
Monkey looked up at the chaotic battlefield in the sky, his brows furrowed: "Does anyone even need to command this mess? I wouldn’t know how to command it myself. Let’s just fight as we are."
At this moment, the aerial battlefield truly was in utter chaos.
On the Milky Way navy’s side, there was still some semblance of command; at least the formations of Heavenly Generals stood firm like war bastions, supporting each other.
And what about the demons?
Since the demon forces couldn’t break through the Heavenly Generals’ formations, they simply targeted the Skyward Legionnaires. Every demon understood this. In other words, everywhere outside the generals’ control was demon territory.
At times like this, command was truly a joke.
"Alright, go back. Leave the fighting to the men—women should stay cool on the sidelines!" Monkey flexed his fist to show off his muscles.
"Hmph, are you even a man?" Anna Yang tightened her cloak and glared at him. "You’re just a male monkey!"
"Say whatever you want." Monkey rolled his eyes, grabbed his golden staff, and charged toward the Heavenly Generals’ formation again.
...
A celestial soldier quietly approached King Virūḍhaka on the South Heaven Gate Fleet and whispered in his ear.
King Virūḍhaka’s expression subtly changed.
"What’s wrong?" Nezha asked.
"The Jade Emperor has ordered us to withdraw to South Heaven Gate at once. We are not allowed to participate further in the war between the Milky Way navy and Blossom Mountain," King Virūḍhaka said.
"Huh?" Nezha burst out laughing. "I thought they’d order us to attack Blossom Mountain with full force to end the war quickly."
King Virūḍhaka took a deep breath and gazed into the distance.
Following King Virūḍhaka’s gaze, Nezha saw Monkey fighting among the clouds.
"Now it seems we’re lucky they didn’t order us to attack the Milky Way navy... Let’s wait a bit longer. This war should end soon—then I’ll talk to Monkey and get my father back."
As it turned out, Nezha was wrong. For both sides that had staked everything, this war wasn’t so easy to end.
The fighting raged from dusk to dawn and from dawn back to dusk. Both sides were exhausted, yet they clenched their teeth and poured all their strength into the battle.
Looking out over the scorched ground, it was littered with corpses and every patch of earth was stained with blood.
Neither side sounded the retreat; the slaughter continued without pause.
No matter how tired they grew, neither side sounded the retreat—because whoever withdrew first would lose everything.
This was truly a fight to the death.
By the second sunset, both armies seemed unable to bear the endless attrition; exhaustion showed on every face. The main forces on each side pulled back slightly to create a safe zone, but only just. The war continued.
Blossom Mountain used its main peak as a rotating base, allowing weary soldiers to rest briefly before returning to battle. The Milky Way navy camped on a nameless peak twenty li from Blossom Mountain’s summit, rotating their troops and providing basic treatment for the wounded.
Within a thirty-li radius of Blossom Mountain’s territory, endless raids, pursuits, and battles continued day and night.
...
Inside a crude tent, Marshal Silver, covered in blood, clutched a battered device the Blossom Mountain demons called a "Thunder Tube," and trembled violently.
Where did they get so many magical weapons? Who did they commission for such large-scale equipment?
For this battle, the Milky Way navy had thrown in all its strength—even exceptionally allowing its soldiers to use talismans that would disrupt formation integrity.
Even so, they still underestimated Blossom Mountain’s strength.
"Marshal," Tianfu said, "I believe the current situation is far beyond our expectations. With our current equipment and manpower, I’m afraid…"
"You think we should retreat?" Marshal Silver looked up.
Tianfu bowed slightly. "Marshal, we’ve lost tens of thousands of soldiers. If we retreat now and communicate with Heaven, once we gain approval and update our weapons, attacking Blossom Mountain will be much easier. After all, these weapons aren’t complicated. With Heaven’s support, it won’t be hard for us to manufacture such equipment."
None of the Heavenly Generals standing before Marshal Silver were unscathed. Some were seriously wounded…
After twelve full hours of battle, everyone was nearly drained of spiritual energy and looked utterly exhausted.
How many years had it been since the Milky Way navy faced such a brutal battle?
No, more accurately, it had never happened before. Except for the weak period when Marshal Silver first took command, the Milky Way navy had never faced an opponent that forced it to use all its strength and still end up in such dire straits.
Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Marshal Silver set the battered "Thunder Tube" on the table and said, "The plague in Southern Jambudvipa was released by Monkey. It’s understandable that they used plague against us, but why use it on other living beings? Have you thought about that?"
The Heavenly Generals looked at each other in confusion.
Because he knows Heaven’s situation well and understands how to exploit its internal conflicts. He did all this to isolate us—and he succeeded. If we retreat now, the next war will be years away. In those years, how do you think they’ll develop? Everything he’s done is to buy time, because time is on his side. If we retreat, all the demons in the mortal world will fall under his rule, and all of Eastern Victory Divine Continent will become his domain. And the halo on his head—we put it there ourselves.
Tianfu said nothing.
None of the Heavenly Generals present spoke.
Swallowing hard, Marshal Silver collapsed into his chair and continued, "To take Blossom Mountain, the price will only grow with time. We can’t wait any longer. On the front lines, we must hold out and give them no chance to breathe! We’re exhausted and suffering, but so are those demons. It’s a matter of who can grit their teeth and last the longest. Do you think the Milky Way navy will lose in willpower to a bunch of demons?"
The tent was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Marshal Silver slowly shook his head. "No, I believe in you—and in myself. If we hold out, victory will be ours. The souls of ninety thousand Milky Way navy soldiers are already in their hands. If we retreat, the souls of our fallen brothers will also fall into their hands. So, we absolutely cannot lose."
One day, ten days, a month, even half a year—no matter how long they want to fight, we’ll see it through to the end!
Clenching his fists, Marshal Silver slowly stood up. "Tianfu, relay my orders. The Southern Jambudvipa expeditionary force is to split immediately—thirty thousand to Kunlun Mountain for emergency conscription, as many as possible, and fill our ranks as quickly as possible! Another thirty thousand will take light ships and return at top speed to Cloud Domain Skyport to escort the celestial horses and other military supplies! The rest, reinforce us at once!"
Yes, sir!