Yang Kai's eyes widened in sudden understanding. "So you did that on purpose."
Since Boya had already seen through Tuqialuo's defection, then those two shots earlier had clearly been part of an act as well — not actual misses. Though it did give Yang Kai a far deeper appreciation for her archery skills. Even after Tuqialuo had activated his life-saving secret technique, Boya had still been able to precisely shoot through one of his legs. That spoke volumes about the woman's marksmanship.
Boya gave a small humph. "It had to look convincing, didn't it?"
Yang Kai offered no comment. He merely paused a beat before striding forward with a smile. "Let's go meet our friends."
Several thousand demon soldiers followed behind him, tall and mighty.
At the World Gate, the Lanyuan forces all wore bitter, unwilling expressions. The upper-rank Demon King leading them had his face twisted into something almost savage. This ambush had been carefully orchestrated to eliminate Cloud Shadow once and for all — who could have predicted they would be the ones cut to pieces instead, suffering devastating losses? Today's battle, from the initial planning and deployment to the later confrontation and response, had been flawless on their end. In numbers and raw power, Lanyuan had outstripped Cloud Shadow by several times over. By any reckoning, the advantage had been entirely theirs.
And yet in the end, it was Cloud Shadow that emerged victorious while Lanyuan had been shattered to the bone.
Of nine upper-rank Demon Kings, only four still lived. Dozens upon dozens of mid-rank and lower-rank Demon Kings had fallen, and uncounted Demon Marshals and Demon Generals had perished. Such a result left everyone on the Lanyuan side burning with shame — and the one responsible for all of it was a single human, a mere Feather Demon at that!
Their initial advantage was gone. Instead, the enemy's forces now gathered before them in intimidating array, their momentum fierce. One misstep and they could very well be wiped out entirely.
Fortunately, they still held a hostage, which meant there was still a chance to turn the tables.
As Yang Kai led Cloud Shadow's army in a sweeping advance toward the World Gate, the Lanyuan demons stirred with unease. The leading upper-rank Demon King barked a sharp command, barely steadying their nerves. They still had four upper-rank Demon Kings. They still had the strength to fight. As long as they could force Yang Kai and his people to back off, they could preserve Lanyuan. Once Lord Yue Sang returned from the battlefield between two realms, they could reclaim their honor.
Whether Yue Sang would punish them for today's debacle was no longer a concern. A little pain was far preferable to dying here.
Before long, Yang Kai led Cloud Shadow's forces to within a hundred zhang of the World Gate. The army halted, and Cloud Shadow's elite troops spread into formation behind him, fixing the demons at the gate with predatory gazes.
The silent, killing pressure made every Lanyuan demon involuntarily tighten their grip on their weapons. Their expressions shifted — to have the tables turned by a single lapse was an enormous humiliation and failure.
After barely a few breaths of standoff, the Lanyuan demons could no longer endure the suffocating tension. The upper-rank Demon King at the forefront clamped a hand on Corson's head, demonic energy surging through his palm as though he could snuff out Corson's life at any moment. His face dark as a storm cloud, he fixed Yang Kai with his gaze. "Human, I think we can sit down and talk this through properly."
Yang Kai let out a scoff, eyeing the other with open mockery. "Talk? Talk about what? And what exactly do you have to bargain with?"
The upper-rank Demon King snorted coldly, and with a pulse of demonic energy from his hand, Corson's face contorted in agony. The demon's voice was hard as iron. "His life — I'll bargain with his life. How about that?"
Yang Kai slowly shook his head, his refusal cold and absolute. "No interest."
Despair flooded Corson's eyes.
The upper-rank Demon King showed no surprise at all. He merely sneered. "You don't care whether he lives or dies? He's at least your subordinate."
Yang Kai snorted. "My subordinates should understand that they must be willing to shed blood and sacrifice their lives for me, placing life and death beyond consideration. If they shrink from danger and hesitate in their duties, what use are they to me?" He turned his gaze upon Corson. "Don't worry. I'll slaughter every last one of them to accompany you in death. Not a single one will be left standing."
The moment these words left his lips, the Lanyuan demons erupted in alarm, terror plain on their faces.
The upper-rank Demon King's mouth twitched. He had assumed Yang Kai was merely posturing, but now the man seemed deadly serious. For a moment, he couldn't fathom what Yang Kai was truly thinking. He could certainly kill Corson with ease — but then his bargaining chip would be gone, and it would come down to open battle. With their current morale and strength, if it came to that, most of them here would die, and he himself would have no chance of survival.
Gritting his teeth, the demon snarled. "If that's truly how it is, then none of us will walk away happy today. If you want to fight, go ahead and try — and we'll see whether I can drag you all down with me in mutual destruction!"
Words having reached this point, he could only press forward in hopes of retreating, praying Yang Kai would make the wise choice and grant him a chance to negotiate.
Yet Yang Kai merely answered with a mocking smile. "Mutual destruction? You don't have the qualifications for that." His expression turned cold as he issued a single, ringing command: "Kill!"
That one word sent a jolt through the upper-rank Demon King's heart. His face went deathly pale. The man before him truly did not care in the slightest about his own subordinate's life — this was an open declaration that they would be given no path to survival.
Corson, too, closed his eyes, resigned to his fate.
With a sharp hiss, Boya loosed an arrow from the shadows, its target locked squarely on the upper-rank Demon King. In an instant, he felt the aura of death bearing down upon him.
Instinctively, he thrust Corson in front of him, intending to use the captive as a human shield against the devastating strike.
But before he could even complete the motion, a torrent of violent demonic energy erupted from behind him. A force like a tidal wave slammed into his back, sending his internal organs churning wildly. His body lurched forward, blood streaming from his nose and mouth. He bit down with a furious roar: "Tuqialuo!"