The ferocious Lionheart growled, âThe kidâs wise to avoid us. Iâd certainly make him cry uncle otherwise.â
Lightford had been his fellow tribesman, so Lionheart naturally resented Jiang Chen for killing his peer.
Not to mention, eliminating the young lord would be a feat of great merit for the demon race and a great opportunity for the forefather to distinguish himself.
But Forefather Ironclad was solemn. âBrother, donât look down on the kid. Just think, how many times have we demons suffered at his hands? Weâre no cowards, and is Forefather Goldenhowl weaker than either of us? Were his crack troops any less mightier than ours? And what was the result?â
âAre you saying the golden demons underestimated him?â Lionheart blinked.
âEven in the ancient times, it was impossible for humans to defeat golden demons in straight battle. Wasnât the ancient Veluriyam Palace equally powerless head-on, despite its might? How can a later generation achieve what his forebears couldnât, when he lacks their ancient inheritances?â
Ironclad very much acknowledged the golden demonsâ strength in combat, so after careful analysis, negligence seemed the only possible explanation for their annihilation. They must must have fallen prey to human machinations, or had some of their abilities restrained.
Otherwise, they were too ferocious to fail so spectacularly.
Lionheart agreed with his conclusion. âGolden demons are condescending and arrogant without parallel. It must have caused their downfall. But isnât their downfall a huge blow for our race? The celestial demons were counting on the golden and titan demons to spearhead the attack against Winterdraw. That plan is dead in the water now.â
âHmph, maybe the celestial demons werenât fond of their arrogance either. Who knows if they didnât play a part in the golden demonsâ undoing? Even down one tribe, there are still nine left, more than enough to deal with the human domain. Itâs simply a matter of consolidating the tribes and the strength of our leader.â
âThat canât be...â Lionheart gasped. If the celestial demons had really plotted against their own kind... What a terrible thought!
The celestial demon tribe was truly terrifying.
âIâm not saying it was on purpose, but intentionally or not, they assigned the golden tribe to a dangerous area. The plan was to pit them against the human domain and wear away the human defenders. Perhaps even they didnât expect that the golden demons would be spent without anything to show for it.â
âNo matter, forget it. Letâs just attend to our own business.â Lionheart was rather pale, a little daunted by the possibility of the celestial demonsâ sinister schemes.
Urgent footsteps suddenly sounded outside. An attendant entered in quick strides.
âForefathers, bad news. Something happened to Commander Fei Yao.â
What?
The two forefathers sprang up from their seats, grimaces immediately appearing on their faces.
Commander Fei Yao was their most reliable subordinate. Though not yet in the divine realm, he was their strongest demigod cultivator, as well as the most resourceful and the best at directing troops among their close aides.
Losing him would be a massive blow for the entire tribe.
âWhat happened?â Ironclad said coldly, his eyes screaming murder.
âH-heâs been murdered, and gruesomely so,â stammered the pale attendant, afraid of looking at the forefathers directly in the eye, clearly aware that the news would incense the two of them.
Indeed, both wore a dangerous scowl as they quickly exited the tent.
The commanderâs corpse wasnât even whole anymore. It looked like someone had stomped on a watermelon and crushed it into pulp.
At this sight, rage boiled in the two forefathersâ chests!
âThe titan demons! This is definitely their doing!â Lionheart shouted in a fit of anger. This was a favorite pastime of the titan demon tribe. It couldnât have been anyone else. âBrother daoist, look at his chest. His heartâs missing. titan demons love to eat hearts, everyone knows that!â
Gnashing his teeth, Lionheartâs eyes shone a deep red. He tightened his fists until they started cracking.
His emotions clearly threatening to get the better of him, he urgently needed to vent his energies. If only he could rush to the titan demonsâ camp and slaughter them all right now!
But Ironclad stayed calm and collected. He circled the corpse and observed it carefully for a moment.
He didnât lose his rationality in spite of his wrath. But no matter how long he examined the circumstances of the commanderâs death, he had to admit no one else could have commited such a gruesome murder.
Humans?
They might have been able to kill the commander, but not in such a cruel way. Not to mention, the murder had occurred on the monster demonsâ own territory, yet no one had caught a whiff of it.
That was no mean feat. Was there anyone this powerful among the humans? Although the commander was just a step away from godhood, no ordinary god would have been his match. Even if he couldnât win, heâd have caused enough noise to alert his tribesmen.
But everyone, including the two forefathers, had been blissfully unaware. What did it mean?
The opponent was formidable, and his actions sudden and overwhelming to kill his victim in a single strike.
Nothing apart from the titan demonâs heart-smashing art could have caved a hole this big in the commanderâs chest.
All clues pointed to the titan demon tribe.
âBrother daoist, we can endure no longer. This is intolerable! How can we take this blatant insult lying down?â Lionheart stamped with fury.
Not that they wanted to disobey the celestial demonsâ directive, but the titan demons had crossed the line. Was it a show of force or an intimidation attempt?
So what if titan demons showed a preference for tyrannical bullying? Did it mean they couldnât respond in kind?
Ironcladâs face turned dark and sinister. âGather our men. The titans have some explanation to do!â
If they didnât react after such a blatant slap to the face, they would lose all prestige and standing among the tribes.