Chapter 29: The Monster from the Countryside

A sudden turn of events.

All the monsters on the battlefield in the valley were struck with terror. When they saw both their own king and the opposing king soar into the sky and respectfully bow to the young human with the dark face, fear was soon mingled with astonishment and confusion in their hearts.

Who was this dark-faced human youth? Why did their king show him such respect?

As the monsters reeled in shock and uncertainty, the oppressive aura that had weighed down the valley vanished. Quickly, the monsters scrambled to their feet, gazing at the black-faced youth and the two kings hovering above. Voices broke out, whispers and murmurs spreading swiftly.

"Big brother, is this the new king you mentioned?" The voice of the crow demon came from behind. Lu Fei nodded, "Yes..."

"You said we’d leave Mount Langlang today and go to..." The crow demon sidled closer, staring at the three figures in the sky, lowering his voice, but suddenly lost his words. He turned to ask the pig demon, Redskin, beside him, "Go to where again?"

"Great Wilderness Mountain," Redskin replied.

"Right, Great Wilderness Mountain..." The crow demon nodded quickly, then looked at Lu Fei, "Are we leaving today?"

Lu Fei said, "If our new king keeps his word, that should be the case."

The crow demon grinned, "That’s great! I’m sick of Mount Langlang. Can’t find a decent female demon here. I’m itching to see how big the other mountains are..."

Lu Fei ignored the crow's ramblings. He turned to the pig demon, "Redskin, where’s your gourd?"

Redskin replied, "I was afraid the battle would damage it, so I hid it."

"Where did you hide it?" Lu Fei asked.

Redskin turned and pointed to the nearby forest, "At the foot of the mountain, over there."

Lu Fei glanced up at the three figures in the sky, then advised, "I suggest you fetch it now."

Redskin hesitated for a moment, then, for no particular reason, sprinted toward the woods.

The crow demon asked, "Where’s Redskin going?"

"To retrieve his treasure," Lu Fei answered.

The crow demon’s interest piqued at the word "treasure," and he whispered, "What treasure does he have?"

Lu Fei replied, "A gourd..."

"A gourd?" The crow demon was about to mock him, but before he could, a figure suddenly flew down from above and spoke, "Listen up, all of you..."

The voice of the wild bull demon king echoed throughout Mount Langlang, addressing the monsters about the "new king" and the migration to the true gathering place of demonkind—the Great Wilderness Mountain.

Lu Fei recognized the speech from what he’d heard by the mountain stream earlier; though the wild bull demon, Black Wolf, embellished it somewhat, the essence remained the same.

He looked toward the other side of the valley and saw the snake demon, Flower Butterfly, also hovering in the air, speaking—likely saying much the same about the migration.

Just then, movement came from beside him. Lu Fei turned and saw Redskin had quietly returned, the gourd once again slung across his back. The whole gourd radiated a yellowish sheen, polished to a glossy finish.

Lu Fei asked, "I recall you said your mother made that gourd for you?"

Redskin nodded, "Yes."

Lu Fei continued, "Why didn’t she come up Mount Langlang?"

"My mother is quite old, and my younger brother is still at her side, so..." Redskin explained.

Though still curious, Lu Fei did not press further, but said softly, "We might be taken away directly, just as we arrived."

Redskin understood, nodding, "I said my farewells to my mother days ago. Besides, my brother is still with her..."

Hearing Redskin’s dejected tone, Lu Fei said nothing more. He had thought low-level demons were all born wild and solitary, but clearly that wasn’t always true.

"So, we are to follow the king and head to the true land of demonkind, Great Wilderness Mountain..." Though the former king of Mount Langlang, the wild bull demon Black Wolf, was no great orator, his ability to bolster himself was enough, and the little demons were quite receptive. There was hardly any resistance; with the king leading the way toward a stronger new king, the lesser demons cheered enthusiastically.

Watching the crow demon and the others celebrate, Lu Fei gained a deeper understanding of the lower ranks of demonkind. Winning their allegiance was easy, if one possessed strength. Likewise, they would betray you just as quickly, should someone stronger come along.

"Now, get all your belongings in order and bring everything..." With the wild bull demon's command, the lesser demons hurriedly busied themselves. The novelty and curiosity of moving to a new mountain and serving a new king made them work with extra vigor.

Yet for those demons who had possessions left behind at Mount Langlang, it was a bitter pill. The king—no, the former king, now the Black General—had said they would not return. Once the battlefield was cleared, they would follow the king straight to Great Wilderness Mountain.

Still, no matter how much it pained them, none dared request the new king to first return to Mount Langlang. They could only swallow their disappointment.

Half an hour later, all demon corpses and weapons were packed and sorted.

Lu Fei stood at the back of the group, surveying the survivors. He found their numbers were just over half of what they’d been before the battle. He recalled that, prior to today, there had been just over two hundred demons at Mount Langlang. After one battle, nearly half were gone.

Strangely, among the nine lesser leaders, none had died—save for Lu Fei’s direct superior, the bear leader, and another black bear leader and a deer commander who suffered severe injuries. The rest survived unscathed.

What a remarkable outcome—it showed clearly this battle was nothing more than a ruthless culling of the lower-ranked demons.

As Lu Fei’s thoughts drifted, he suddenly sensed he was being watched. He turned quickly, just as the bear leader’s icy gaze moved away. Instantly, Lu Fei felt the bear leader’s intense malice.

He had no better options for now, so he resolved to wait until they reached their new home at Great Wilderness Mountain.

Under the orders of Black General—wild bull demon—and Flower General—the snake demon—the demons of Mount Langlang, bearing their spoils, gathered with the survivors of Serpent Coil Mountain, who also carried their spoils.

Then, the new black-faced king appeared overhead.

In the respectful voices of the wild bull demon and the lady snake demon, he raised his hand and tossed the handkerchief he had acquired from the wild bull demon. The handkerchief flew, swelling in the wind, and in a blink covered all the demons below, then descended.

In an instant, every demon vanished. The handkerchief swiftly returned to the black-faced youth’s hand.

Toying with the faintly glowing handkerchief in his palm, the black-faced youth smiled at the wild bull demon, "Black General, this handkerchief is quite remarkable..."

Hidden beneath his respectful demeanor, the wild bull demon was filled with envy and frustration, yet he knew the handkerchief had been fully refined by the other and was forever lost to him. He could only reply with a respectful smile, "If the king is pleased, I am glad."

Perhaps sensing the wild bull demon’s thoughts, the black-faced youth smiled, "I do like your handkerchief, but I won’t take it for nothing. I see your pair of hammers are merely the lowest grade of magical tools..."

As he spoke, a pair of hammers appeared in his hand—different from the golden hammers of the wild bull demon. These were entirely black-blue, with a faint, eerie glow—clearly valuable.

The moment he produced the hammers, the wild bull demon’s eyes were glued to them.

Seeing the wild bull demon’s fixated gaze, the black-faced youth sneered inwardly, but said with a smile, "This pair of black-gold hammers is nearly of high-grade magical quality. Take them as compensation..."

With that, he casually tossed the hammers to the wild bull demon.

The wild bull demon hurried to catch them, but underestimated their weight and nearly toppled over. Yet his face showed no embarrassment—on the contrary, he was all the more satisfied, his heart full of joy, "Thank you for your reward, my king..."

"Thank you for your reward, my king..." This time, the wild bull demon’s tone was markedly more sincere.

The snake demon, Flower Butterfly, saw her old rival receive such a treasure and immediately looked at the black-faced youth with burning admiration.

Noticing her gaze, the black-faced youth sneered inwardly. He had rewarded the wild bull demon because he had taken a magical-grade handkerchief from him. Now that the wild bull demon had become his general, taking his subordinate’s treasure would be frowned upon. Thus, he compensated him, showing both reward and favor.

As for the snake demon... heh...

He would wait until she willingly offered herself. He never liked to force matters.

"It’s getting late. Let us go..." The black-faced youth glanced at the sky, then waved his hand, and a black cloud whisked the three demons swiftly westward.

When Lu Fei regained his senses and opened his eyes again, darkness had completely fallen.

He, the crow demon, the pig demon Redskin, and over two hundred demons from Mount Langlang and Serpent Coil Mountain found themselves on a broad, level plaza—not a plaza, but a field.

Looking around, he realized the entire area, large enough to accommodate all the demons with ease, had been sliced out of a mountain peak.

Around the field, countless demons of various appearances were watching, chattering about these newcomers from the countryside—those from Mount Langlang and Serpent Coil Mountain.