The City Lord's Mansion sat at the very heart of Tiger Roar City. The settlement was somewhat smaller than Human Emperor City, though not by much — a rough estimate put its permanent population at two to three hundred thousand.
As Yang Kai flew toward the mansion following the guiding warrior, he had not yet arrived when he sensed several familiar auras emanating from within, and understanding dawned. He smiled faintly.
Upon entering the City Lord's Mansion, he indeed found several familiar faces standing there.
Li Jiao was the first to approach, cupping his fists. "Brother Yang!"
Gao Xueting offered him a slight nod, and Chi Gui grinned broadly as well. "Now that Brother Yang is here, we can rest easy. Tonight, I might finally get a peaceful night's sleep."
This modest little Tiger Roar City had somehow gathered Emperor Realm cultivators from all three territories of the Star Boundary. Beyond the three of them, there were three more — one at the second-level Emperor Realm and two at the first-level. Yang Kai did not recognize them, but judging by their attire, they appeared to be local Western Territory cultivators, likely the original rulers of Tiger Roar City.
Yang Kai smiled and nodded, greeting each of the three in turn before turning his gaze toward the three unfamiliar Emperor Realm cultivators with an inquiring look. "And these are…?"
Li Jiao hurriedly pointed to the second-level Emperor Realm cultivator. "This is Lin Tong, City Lord of Tiger Roar City." He indicated the other two. "These are the deputy city lords, Wu Zijin and Ma Yin."
Only then did he introduce Yang Kai to the three. "This is Palace Master Yang of Ling Xiao Palace, the one I have mentioned to you before."
All three expressions turned solemn as they cupped their fists. "Greetings, Palace Master Yang."
In the world of martial arts, strength commanded respect. Among those present, the three from Tiger Roar City were far from the strongest — even Li Jiao, a third-level Emperor Realm cultivator, treated Yang Kai with courtesy. How could they dare be anything but deferential? Moreover, they had heard Li Jiao praise Yang Kai more than once. Beneath a great reputation lay no empty name, and especially now, with Tiger Roar City under siege by the Demon Race army, every additional Emperor Realm cultivator meant one more share of power to protect themselves.
Of these three, City Lord Lin Tong and Deputy City Lord Wu Zijin were male, while the other deputy city lord, Ma Yin, was a woman. She possessed the distinctive features of Western Territory cultivators — a high nose bridge, large eyes, a tall and slender figure — her long hair tied in a ponytail, wearing a fitted combat outfit that made her slender waist and shapely figure all the more eye-catching. Combined with her exotic appearance and her Emperor Realm cultivation, it was easy for one to feel a stirring of desire.
Yang Kai cupped his fists in greeting to the three, then turned to Li Jiao. "What are you all doing here?"
Li Jiao heaved a long sigh at the question. "It's a long story."
"What exactly is the situation?" Yang Kai frowned. "Along the way, I noticed the Demon Ground has expanded significantly. Have the Great Emperors failed to contain the situation? What's the state of the Western Territory now?"
Gao Xueting answered. "Half of the Western Territory has already fallen. The Demon Race continues to steadily devour its territory."
Yang Kai was shocked. "How is that possible?"
Li Jiao explained. "The Great Emperors withdrew. The Demon Race came in full force, and they had clearly been planning this for some time. We couldn't hold them, so we had no choice but to fight and retreat."
Yang Kai looked stunned. "Why would the Great Emperors withdraw?"
Li Jiao shook his head. "Not entirely sure. But I heard that the Great Emperors held a secret meeting with the Demon Saints from the Demon Realm. It seems they agreed that neither side would personally intervene — only forces below the Great Emperor and Demon Saint levels would clash. So in the war between the two worlds, the Great Emperors probably won't be able to help us anymore."
Yang Kai's brow furrowed deeply.
Gao Xueting continued. "The Great Emperors had no choice. If they truly fought those Demon Saints head-on, the situation would only grow worse. With both sides' strongest powers constrained, this is actually the best possible outcome." Though her cultivation was inferior to Li Jiao's, she understood more than he did.
Great Emperors and Demon Saints were beings of the same tier. If they truly went to war, the damage to the Star Boundary would be unimaginable — the shockwaves from their battle alone could kill countless low-level cultivators on both sides. Moreover, if a Demon Saint somehow made it deep into the Star Boundary to wreak havoc, the Great Emperors might not be able to stop them easily.
With both sides having agreed not to intervene, this truly was the best outcome, because it tilted the advantage in favor of the Star Boundary.
Once he understood this, Yang Kai's expression eased slightly. He spoke in a low voice. "It's not hard to understand why the Great Emperors would agree to this, but why would the Demon Saints accept? It's essentially tying their own hands."
Gao Xueting replied. "The Demon Saints aren't confident they could defeat the Great Emperors either. Besides, they've already come to view the Star Boundary as their own territory — naturally, they'd prefer not to damage it too much."
"Insatiable ambition!" Yang Kai snorted coldly. He paused, then said, "So what you're saying is, from now on, we can only rely on ourselves?"
"Precisely." Gao Xueting nodded. "And because so much of the Western Territory has been occupied, the battlefront has been stretched endlessly thin. The reinforcements from all three territories have been scattered, and this area falls to us to defend."
Yang Kai understood. He had been wondering earlier what the three of them were doing here, and now it made sense — with the battlefront stretched so long, the reinforcements from the three territories had naturally been forced to spread out. Concentrating in one place would indeed be powerful, but it wouldn't be enough to intercept every Demon Race advance.
After a moment's thought, Yang Kai spoke. "On my way here, I spotted a Demon Race army camped less than a hundred li away. There must be at least three to four hundred thousand of them. Can Tiger Roar City hold?"
Li Jiao smiled ruefully. "Relying on the power of the great formation, pooling the entire city's strength along with the reinforcements we three brought — I'd say our odds are roughly even."
He wasn't trying to inflate the enemy's strength or diminish his own — the truth was simply that the Demon Race army was far too numerous. Tiger Roar City had only a few hundred thousand people, and not all of them could fight the demons. A great many had no combat ability whatsoever — they wouldn't even qualify as cannon fodder.