Chapter 73: Soldier Against Soldier, General Against General, King Against King!

As the sun set on the horizon, the final ray of light faded into the distance, and darkness began to descend.

On the great Desolate Mountain, atop the Severed Peak Platform, oil-soaked torches blazed fiercely, illuminating the broad mountainside square. Across the square, clusters of monsters of every shape and size gathered in small groups, tending fires, roasting meat, drinking wine, and chatting merrily. To the unknowing eye, it might have seemed a grand banquet or revelry.

At one edge of the grounds, a group of monsters from Wandering Wolf Mountain had also lit their campfire, gathering around it to feast on roasted meat.

“What do you think the Third King has called us here for this time?” asked a burly monster with a tiger’s head, seated with three others of imposing stature before the flames.

“What for, you say?” replied a slightly shorter monster with a fox’s head, who suddenly opened his wide maw and stuffed in an entire freshly roasted fat wild chicken, crunching it in a few chews before grinning, “Didn’t that black hawk say it? Something’s changed at the main mountain—don’t tell me you didn’t hear it.”

The stag demon, Great Antler, his jaws working noisily on a bone, swallowed and added, “I heard it too. The black hawk seemed in quite a rush, urging the general to hurry over. But look at us—we’ve been waiting here all day and nothing’s happened. If it were anything urgent, would we be left waiting like this?”

Lu Fei swallowed his mouthful of meat, beckoned to a little demon tending the roast, who hurried over eagerly. “Chief Bai, what would you like to eat?”

“What meats do we have left?” Lu Fei asked.

“There’s still an ox, a leopard, two sheep, five wild chickens, and a big snake,” said the roasting imp. “That’s all for now, but if you need more, I’ll fetch it.”

“Roast the snake for me. Skin it first,” Lu Fei ordered.

“Right away, chief.” The imp scurried off.

Lu Fei tore a beef leg from the tiger demon’s rack, chewing as he continued, “Something is definitely up. You know my ears are pretty sharp.”

At his words, the other three leaders immediately looked over.

“What do you mean?”

“What did you hear, Chief Bai?”

With a snap of bone, Lu Fei replied, “Earlier, I heard our general talking with General Hua from Serpent Coil Mountain. Seems the Third King is holding some sort of meeting. That’s all I caught.”

The fox demon was the quickest to react. “A meeting? Is this about stirring up trouble?”

The tiger demon grunted, “Meeting… Would the Third King be meeting with the Second and First Kings? If we’re to fight, let’s fight—why all the fuss?”

Great Antler mused, “Sounds like we’ll be waiting until the kings are done meeting.”

The fox demon concluded, “If it’s as Chief Bai says, this must be something big. The other two generals brought all their subordinates.”

As the three leaders bantered, Lu Fei gnawed his beef leg, momentarily distracted. Earlier that afternoon, he’d inadvertently set off a crude spectacle involving excrement and urine—a little embarrassing, but easily resolved among monsters with demonic power. In the end, Wolf Commander had summoned a gust of wind to clear away all the filth, and where it landed afterward, Lu Fei cared not to know.

As for the three leaders present: Great Antler had once been the chief of Lu Fei’s subordinate, Huang Gui, whom Lu Fei had known since his early days as a demon general. The fox and tiger leaders, never quite getting along with the trio of bear-headed chiefs, were naturally friendly toward Lu Fei. After a few shared drinks, a simple camaraderie had formed among the four.

There were certainly plenty of cunning and malicious monsters, but forthrightness and clarity of feeling were even more common. They liked openly, disliked openly. Enmity was never forgotten, though sometimes set aside. Unless forced into pretense, monsters tended to love and hate with unmistakable passion, making friendships quick to form.

“Bai Lang,” Great Antler said, pouring Lu Fei a cup of wine, “I never knew you had such sharp ears.”

Lu Fei polished off his beef leg, downed the wine, and replied casually, “You never asked.”

At the front of the monster ranks, Black General was conversing with Madam Hua, the serpent demon.

“I saw you talking to Earth Dragon General earlier,” Madam Hua noted. “What did he say?”

“He confirmed our king is indeed meeting with the others,” Black General replied, “and that both the Second and First Kings are present. He suspects the other party is the demon king from Wind and Cloud Ridge, since there’s always been friction between us and them.”

Madam Hua considered this. “If the kings can come to terms, could we avoid a battle?”

“That’s the hope,” Black General sighed. “Let’s pray for it.”

Time passed, the night deepened, and flames still blazed atop Severed Peak. Sated and at ease, Lu Fei left the leaders and returned to his own followers.

“Big brother, I saved this roast lamb leg for you!” The crow demon hurried to offer a glistening, golden-brown leg as Lu Fei sat before the fire with the red-skinned one.

No sooner had Lu Fei accepted it than a startled cry rose from behind. “Look to the sky!”

“Quick, look up!”

He turned—and there in the western sky, eight streaks of brilliant light, each a different hue, raced toward them.

Lu Fei had withheld some details from the other leaders earlier. Now, seeing the phenomenon in the sky, a look of concern flashed across his face. “Could it be the Third King’s negotiations failed?”

But before he could ponder further, one of the streaks accelerated toward the platform. In a few breaths, the light drew near, and a thunderous voice rang out over the Severed Peak: “Assemble! Assemble! Hurry!”

Recognizing the Third King’s voice, Black General and Madam Hua immediately roared at their subordinates, “Form ranks! Quickly, assemble!”

The leaders echoed the command in frantic shouts, and chaos erupted across the platform—fires were kicked over, roasting racks tumbled, and all the monsters scrambled to form lines and gather.

Soon, the streaks of light above condensed into a tall, dark-skinned youth—the Third King of Desolate Mountain. Without a word, he tossed a handkerchief into the air. It billowed out, expanding to cover the entire platform like a vast canopy before falling.

In the next instant, every monster on the Severed Peak vanished, leaving only scattered refuse, bones, and smoldering firepits behind.

Retrieving the handkerchief, the Third King transformed once more into a beam of light and sped after the others. Soon, eight beams of light materialized into figures, hovering above a vast mountain valley.

The First King, Yuan Zhang—a tall, slender figure in ancient robes and high crown—looked down and declared, “This is the place.”

Without another word, the dark-skinned Third King, White Mask, transformed into a streak of light, shooting toward the valley. The Swallowing Sky Demon King, short and shadow-faced, glanced at the burly youth beside him. “What are you waiting for?”

The sturdy youth merely bowed to his elder brother, then himself became a fiery streak, plunging toward the valley.

Moments later, above the valley, the red-haired giant faced the dark-skinned youth. “White Mask, didn’t expect you’d fall into my hands again. Last time you escaped, but this time, let’s see where you can run!”

White Mask, expressionless, replied, “Spare me the talk.” With a flick of his hand, he threw out the handkerchief once more.

Instantly, a vast demon army appeared below in the valley.

“Heh,” the red-haired giant laughed, seeing White Mask release his troops. He pulled a small tower from his robes and tossed it downward.

In a flash, another black-clad demon army materialized in the valley.

“Slay them all!” White Mask’s voice rang in the ears of every monster just finding their footing.

“Kill them all!” echoed the red-haired demon king to his own ranks.

“Now it’s our turn,” the red-haired king said, seeing his forces mobilize. He looked across at his adversary.

“I’ve been waiting long enough,” White Mask replied. As he spoke, a long trident appeared in his hands.

“This time, don’t run!” The red-haired king wielded a huge axe.

The two demon kings hurtled toward each other.

Clang! Trident and axe collided with a thunderous crash, the piercing screech of metal echoing across the battlefield and shaking the entire valley.

At that instant, monstrous energy erupted from the point of impact, radiating outward with violent force.

Below, as the two armies moved, a series of muffled explosions—like watermelons bursting—suddenly sounded.

One after another, heads exploded among the ranks, blood and brains splattering the battlefield.

Thank you, "Book Friend 2536," for your reward—much appreciated! Please vote for the novel!

End of chapter.