High above the clouds, Marshal Silver stared blankly at the battle report in his hands, his face filled with shock. At this moment, even he found it hard to believe.
In just one day, this ragtag band had actually managed to defeat ten thousand elite Skyward Legionnaires of the Heavenly Court...
After a long silence, he handed the bamboo scroll back to General Skyler, who stood waiting by his side, and said, "Raise his bounty to a hundred thousand. He's worth that much."
"Marshal, what should we do now?" General Skyler asked.
"The Western Legion is already on their way to rescue the Eastern Legion, but all of this was within that Monkey King's calculations... Take your men at once, and use the fastest warship to get there. Hopefully... we can still save a few."
"Yes, sir!"
"The rest of you, follow me to Demon City."
......
As the sun set in the west, small groups of Skyward Legionnaires left to guard the Eastern Legion's camp huddled together, gazing helplessly at two lone wild geese soaring through the last rays of evening light.
"Still not back... Do you think they might be celebrating their victory right on the spot?" a young Skyward Legionnaire asked.
The elderly Skyward Legionnaire leaned back, glancing through the tent's wind-lifted curtain at the mountain of wine inside. Lazily, he said, "Impossible. The wine is still here with us. How could they celebrate victory without any wine?"
Sigh... We came all this way and haven't earned a single merit. Honestly... We might as well be joking around at the South Heaven Gate.
That's not true. Little brother, since we're here, they'll give us a share of the merit, at least collectively. But without any heads to claim, it's definitely less.
High above, a Skyward Legionnaire leaned over the side of the warship and shouted, "Status report!"
"All clear!" The elderly Skyward Legionnaire raised his head and yelled back, then lowered it and pulled a red, flat piece from his waist, tearing it in half and handing one piece to the younger soldier. "Try it."
"What's this?"
"Jerky. We found it last time we swept the demon lair. Tastes pretty good." With that, the old Skyward Legionnaire started chewing.
Staring at the jerky in his hand, the young Skyward Legionnaire swallowed nervously. "From a demon lair... Is this human flesh?"
The elder laughed. "It's rat meat. Human flesh? You're overthinking it."
"Don't demons eat people?" the young Skyward Legionnaire asked, puzzled. "Finding human flesh in a demon lair... isn't that normal?"
"Only the demon kings—those even the Heavenly Court struggles with—would dare. Ordinary demons who claim a mountain wouldn't even dare steal a chicken from a farm, let alone eat people. There are temples everywhere in the world, and if any believer says a word, the Skyward Legionnaires show up instantly. Tell me, what's the point of being a demon then? Human flesh isn't even that tasty, right? Haha!"
"If they don't eat people..." The young Skyward Legionnaire held the jerky up to the sunset, sighing. "Why do we keep hunting them every day?"
The old Skyward Legionnaire slapped the back of the young one's head. "Are you crazy? If we don't hunt them, how do we earn merit? Without merit, how do we get promoted, how do we get rewarded? Without rewards, how do we become immortals?"
"Just for that?" The young Skyward Legionnaire put the jerky in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.
"Isn't that enough?"
"No, I mean, what do the higher-ups think? They don't need promotions. And the more merit we earn, the rewards seem to be their stuff... Doesn't seem fair, does it?"
"That's not for you to worry about. Thinking too much gets you killed. Haha!"
Before he could finish laughing, the young Skyward Legionnaire suddenly stood up, trembling, fear in his eyes as he gripped his spear and stared at the thicket beyond the fence.
"There's... there's demonic aura!"
"You must be mistaken. How could there be—"
Before he could finish speaking, two arrows whistled through the air, striking the young Skyward Legionnaire squarely in the chest and dropping him instantly.
"Enemy attack!" The old Skyward Legionnaire shouted at the top of his lungs. Before he could get up, the branches outside shook violently and a massive rhinoceros demon burst from the leaves, roaring as it hurled a giant axe straight at him.
Unable to dodge, the old Skyward Legionnaire gripped his spear and braced himself for impact.
With a deafening crash, the old Skyward Legionnaire was sent flying ten feet, blood spraying from his mouth.
The entire camp erupted into chaos as Skyward Legionnaires scrambled to assemble, panic written on their faces.
"Advance! Careful—don't damage the warships, we'll need them!"
Da Jiao gestured to those behind him.
At once, hundreds of land-dwelling demons surged from the thicket, while hundreds of bird demons leapt from the treetops.
In an instant, arrows filled the sky!
...
The Western Legion had sent almost all their scouts, cautiously advancing toward the Eastern Legion's designated location.
Standing at the bow, General Zhuo's face was grim, his hand trembling as he gripped the jade slip.
No response from the jade slip...
If that's the case, then the signal just now was likely a distress call from the Eastern Legion. He'd carelessly left the communication jade slip in the tower.
"Let's hope he's just as careless as I am, and not truly unable to reply." He sighed heavily.
A young officer beside him said, "General, General Shay will be fine. He has five thousand elite troops, and the enemy is just a rabble of twenty thousand..."
"Fine? If they'd come with eight warships and I only sent four thousand men, we'd be wiped out by now!"
It was a chilling thought. If not for the enemy's lack of warships, he'd be a commander with no troops left.
This operation was led by King Virūḍhaka himself, meant to bring them glory—who could have foreseen this...
"This opponent is not to be underestimated!" After a moment's hesitation, General Zhuo turned to the young officer and ordered, "Report to the South Heaven Gate at once. Say... the Drake King has betrayed us."
"Yes, sir!"
Soon, the sun had completely vanished behind the distant mountains, and the moon hung above the branches.
The army finally arrived a thousand feet above the designated location.
After the earlier losses and a careful headcount, General Zhuo found dozens of scouts missing. It forced him to reassess the enemy's strength, and when he saw the besieged Skyward Legionnaires below, he hesitated, hovering in the sky, unsure whether to descend.
Soon, a Skyward Legionnaire flapped his wings and flew up to the deck from below. "General, it's confirmed—the besieged troops belong to General Shay's Eastern Legion."
"What about General Shay? Has anyone seen him?"
"General Shay's banner is still there, but the scene is chaotic, with many demons—it's hard to investigate."
"How many are left?"
"About... five hundred, give or take. But the demons seem to be fleeing in all directions..."
Hearing this, General Zhuo clenched his fists.
"Five thousand elite troops... and only five hundred remain." General Zhuo gripped the railing, bowed his head, and glanced down. "Retreat."
Before he'd finished speaking, the jade slip buzzed and flashed with white light.
General Zhuo pressed the jade slip to his lips, and urgent voices came through: "General Zhuo! General Zhuo! I see you! Hurry! Save us!"
After a brief hesitation, General Zhuo asked, "Where's General Shay? Let me speak with him."
"General Shay is wounded. We've killed their leader, and now the demons are fleeing... but we're barely holding on! Please, come down and rescue us!"
Setting aside the jade slip, General Zhuo breathed heavily. After a long pause, he called out, "Fleet, lower altitude! All soldiers to your posts, do not attack recklessly!"
At this moment, he was like a startled bird, ready to flee at any sign of danger.
...
In a corner of the battlefield below, Simon Stone grinned as he brandished his cloud staff at the last standing Heavenly General. "Not bad. I'm satisfied. Maybe I'll spare your life."
With that, he swung the staff and knocked the opponent out cold.
He raised his head and roared at the fleet descending overhead, "Everyone, get ready! This battle—victory only, no defeat!"
...
At the South Heaven Gate, atop a jade tower shrouded in clouds, a golden-armored, blue-faced deity stood dazed, crushing the bamboo scroll in his hand to powder.
"The Drake King... betrayed us?" He drew a deep breath, exhaling heavily, and punched the railing, cracking the sturdy stone.
Time flows differently between Heaven and the mortal realm, making communication difficult. At this moment, King Virūḍhaka received only five words in the battle report—'The Drake King has betrayed us.'
But those five words said it all.
"Someone! Bring me my weapon! If he truly betrayed us, I'll kill him myself!"