As for Rhino, he’d already slipped away early, relying on his veteran status. Sure, he’d taken part in the beating—he’d even done most of it—but since he wasn’t the officer in charge, by Blossom Mountain’s rules, responsibility wouldn’t fall on him no matter how you looked at it.
When Monkey arrived, the assembled demons all saluted him.
A minor demon quietly slipped over to Shadow’s side.
“Why are they here?” Shadow asked in a low voice.
“Tina just came looking for you… Duanmu let it slip, so she had someone call Sister Anna over too…”
Giving Shadow a brief look, Tina Ao fixed her gaze on Monkey and said, "Your good subordinate beat my little brother like this—how do you plan to handle it?"
Anna Yang didn’t speak. She just stared coldly at Shadow, who was hiding behind Monkey, her expression dark and clearly unfriendly.
How should Monkey resolve this? Have Shadow take a beating in return? That didn’t seem right.
Aiden Ao lay on the bunk, battered and listless, his eyes swollen and puffy, nose and mouth still streaked with blood.
The moment he said that, Monkey earned two simultaneous glares.
General Nate stood at the rail of the warship, head lowered, peering through a special telescope inscribed with arcane runes to study the situation in the Demon City below, far beneath the clouds.
This custom-made telescope was called a Cloud-Piercer Lens. Perhaps because the Heavenly Fleet was always adept at using the cover of clouds, only its commanders in all of Heaven were equipped with such devices.
Standing amidst the clouds, with this unique artifact, they could observe the world below without any obstruction.
After a moment, General Nate handed the Cloud-Piercer Lens to General Skyler beside him and said with a sigh, "Everything looks normal. They haven't noticed us."
General Skyler took the telescope and leaned over to examine the scene below in detail.
"Damn, they're living easy down there. There are even demons out farming—does this look like a war to you? That so-called half-encirclement by the South Heaven Gate Fleet is a joke; it reaches all the way to the sea, and demons keep slipping in to join them."
General Nate gave a faint smile, folding his arms as he replied, "They caught General Lee. Now South Heaven Gate can't do a thing to them, so of course they're fearless."
"Aren't they worried that other Heavenly forces might intervene?" General Skyler asked.
Pressing his lips together, General Nate said, "Marshal Silver was right—they really do get intelligence from Heaven, so they know exactly who Heaven has dispatched and when. Since no one's tipped them off about us, they're completely at ease."
General Skyler burst out laughing. "Ha! This time, they're in for a real shock!"
On the deck behind them, about two hundred Skyward Legionnaires of the Heavenly Fleet stood assembled, armed to the teeth.
...
In the Demon City, the argument in the scouts’ camp was still dragging on.
Monkey put on his most diplomatic smile and said, "Here's what I think, Shadow—why don't you apologize to Aiden Ao, everyone makes up, and when he’s feeling better, you treat him to a drink? How about it?"
"As you command, my king!" Shadow bowed deeply, visibly relieved.
But how could Aiden Ao, who’d been beaten all night, possibly accept this solution?
Enduring the pain, he turned his head and looked pitifully at Tina Ao.
Seeing this, Tina Ao immediately said, "Handsome Monkey King, aren’t you protecting your own a little too much?"
"How am I? I just don’t want things to get too tense between us. An eye for an eye never ends, does it? Besides, Shadow was just doing his job—the order came from me. If you want, let Aiden Ao beat me instead."
"That's just cheating. Could Aiden Ao even lay a finger on you?" Tina Ao retorted.
Listening to Monkey, Aiden Ao grew even more upset. He’d come here hoping that family ties might win him some favor, but Monkey refused to help.
He was the proud Third Prince of the Western Sea, and now he’d been beaten to a pulp in this godforsaken place called Blossom Mountain—how could he possibly swallow that humiliation?
With that thought, he simply stared up at the tent ceiling, refusing to speak.
Anna Yang took a deep breath, folded her arms, and said to Monkey with an expressionless face, "I won’t interfere with how you handle this, but let me remind you: if you mess this up, my sister-in-law Coral Ao will definitely come rushing from the Western Sea Dragon Palace to stand up for her brother. Think it through."
Monkey frowned, thinking of Coral Ao.
She was a troublesome one. If it were any other time, maybe it wouldn't matter, but right now, the last thing he needed was Coral Ao coming to Blossom Mountain.
Turning to Tina Ao, Anna Yang added, "And stop beating him. If you hurt him any more, I’ll be the one stuck making the healing pills."
"No beating? Then what do you suggest?" Tina Ao shot back, glancing at Aiden Ao.
Truth was, Tina Ao knew Shadow hadn’t realized he was beating the Third Prince of the Western Sea. All in all, it was a mess.
Still, her younger cousin had been beaten—Tina Ao felt she had to stand up for him, or she’d never hear the end of it.
Besides, Shadow hadn’t just been doing his duty. Stuffing a sock in his mouth? That was personal.
In the end, it was Aiden Ao who mattered most. If his feelings could be settled, the whole mess might finally be put to rest.
But Aiden Ao just kept staring at the tent ceiling in silence. Where before he’d looked to Tina Ao for help, now he didn’t bother.
The whole group fell quiet.
...
"General, everything is ready!" reported a Heavenly soldier, stepping up behind General Nate.
General Nate peered once more through the Cloud-Piercer Lens, let out a long breath, and said, "Proceed according to plan!"
"Yes, sir!"
...
Sitting at the edge of the bed, Monkey grinned at Aiden Ao. "Well, Third Prince, how about giving me some face here? I’m sure if Shadow had known you were the Western Sea’s Third Prince, he’d never have laid a hand on you. Right, Shadow?"
"Absolutely!" Shadow nodded vigorously. "If I’d known, I wouldn’t have touched you."
Monkey shot Shadow a glance and continued, "Let’s keep this simple—big problems become small, small ones disappear. Later, I’ll demote Shadow by one rank as punishment. How about it? Just do me this favor."
Tina Ao rolled her eyes at Monkey.
Here, you’re the boss—promotions and demotions are yours to decide. Does that even count as punishment?
Yet, to everyone’s surprise, Aiden Ao didn’t object. After a long silence, he finally looked at Monkey and gave a slight nod.
That nod was all Shadow needed to finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Third Prince." Monkey clasped his hands in thanks and stood up, turning to Anna Yang and Tina Ao. "What do you think of this solution?"
"If he has no objection, neither do we," Tina Ao replied.
Before she finished speaking, a thunderous crash erupted outside the tent, followed by the shriek of twisting metal and a chorus of screams.
Before anyone could react, Monkey shot out of the tent—and was stunned by what he saw.
A warship flying the banner of the Heavenly Fleet was pressed against the overhead barrier formation. Judging by the twisted hull, it must have been dropped from tens of thousands of feet above.
Flames gushed from the ruptured seams of the metal hull, spilling down the barrier in a torrent. In an instant, the formation blazed like a curtain of fire.
Under the crushing weight of the ship, the already weakened barrier began to fail. The rootless fire coating its surface turned into a rain of flames, showering the city below!
Countless buildings caught fire, and the whole Demon City became a roaring furnace, filled with the cries of the damned.
In a flash, Monkey understood.
Ever since the South Heaven Gate Fleet appeared at Blossom Mountain, the Demon City’s barrier—linked by watchtowers—had remained active, tightly covering the city. Its main purpose was to defend against the Heavenly soldiers’ arrow barrages.
But now?
The Heavenly soldiers had just dropped a warship packed with Blaze Bombs straight onto the barrier from the sky!
And it wasn’t a South Heaven Gate warship—it belonged to the Heavenly Fleet, who shouldn’t even be here right now!
Staring at the chaos and the wailing demons, Monkey felt a chill run down his spine.
"Has the war begun before the Jade Emperor’s decree has even arrived?"