Chapter 119 - 104 Preparations for Battle

"Let me ask you, was it easy when we first established this empire?"

King Niumo’s words drew everyone’s thoughts back to distant memories. Although they had been enjoying a peaceful life these years, they too had once crawled out from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Countless brothers fell along the way, but in the end, it was they who triumphed, sweeping all other forces aside and ushering in an era that belonged solely to them.

This empire was hard-earned, won at the cost of their lives.

"But now, someone wants to snatch our empire, making us serve as their dogs!" King Niumo’s voice echoed in everyone’s ears, instantly igniting the fire of anger within them.

"Who is it?"

"Tear him apart."

The crowd began to swell with righteous indignation. This empire was built with their lives, and they had not enjoyed it for long before someone else began eyeing their dominion.

Watching the furious faces around him, King Niumo nodded slightly. He pointed westward and said, "Over there, atop Mount Meru in the Western Heaven."

"The Buddhist Sect!" someone exclaimed in shock.

This was no ordinary enemy. As one of the top powers in the Three Realms today, the mere thought of them filled people with deep fear.

The atmosphere at the banquet suddenly grew quiet, many Demon Kings losing their previous arrogance. After all, this was the Buddhist Sect, the thought of all the Bodhisattvas and Buddhas atop Mount Ling was enough to make one’s scalp tingle.

"What? Are you afraid?" King Niumo’s commanding voice reverberated through the cave, his stern gaze sweeping over everyone, making them involuntarily bow their heads.

"If you are afraid, no worries, today I give you the chance to leave here, to seek a new place to live, to return to the days of wandering and destitution," King Niumo pointed outside the Cave Mansion and said with a smile.

The crowd looked at one another, but no one moved. Not to mention the ridicule they would face after leaving, just the thought of giving up their current lives to return to a nomadic existence was unbearable.

Having grown accustomed to comfortable lives, who would choose to wander again?

After a long while, as no one left, a pleased smile crossed King Niumo’s face as he said, "Good, truly worthy brothers of King Niumo, not one weakling among you. The Buddhist Sect thinks we are soft persimmons, let us show them, to bite into us, they need strong teeth."

His words immediately energized the somewhat fearful Demon Kings, one of them shouted, "The king is right, we fought for our empire with our blades and spears, and risked our lives. Why should we hand it over just because the monk’s forehead shines?"

With this remark, the hall erupted into laughter.

"Right, I’ve eaten monk’s flesh too, and it’s no different from ordinary human flesh. What’s there to fear, at worst it’s just death."

"The Buddhist Sect is formidable, but we don’t just eat vegetables, if they dare to come, let them deeply regret it."

One Demon King after another began to declare their stance, their words arousing the fighting spirit of others. The crowd became excited immediately, each of them howling about showing the Buddhist Sect a lesson.

Seeing this, King Niumo knew that matters were almost ready, so he gently pressed down with his hand to quell the noise and said coldly, "My brothers are right, the Buddhist Sect is formidable, but we are not to be trifaricated easily. If they want our foundation, let them prepare to pay with their blood and bones."

"From today, everyone sharpen your spirits. Do not let a single monk go, train your soldiers well, for we never know when the Buddhist Sect might arrive."

King Niumo issued a call to arms, and countless Demon Kings started returning to their territories. Once in their cave mansions, they shook off their previous decadence and began to feverishly train the Little Demons, considering the extraordinary battle looming with the Buddhist Sect; if they did not prepare thoroughly, they risked handing over the foundations they had painstakingly established.

Countless monsters noted that an unusual aura permeated the region ruled by King Niumo, and the perceptive ones sensed the imminence of war.

King Niumo looked at the now empty hall and sighed with slight relief, feeling somewhat more confident with so much brotherly support to face the pressing Buddhist Sect.

But that was still not enough; he needed to rally more allies to counter the increasingly powerful Buddhist Sect.

His gaze then turned towards the West, towards Bibo Pond, and he softly commanded, "Bring my steed; I need to make a trip to Bibo Pond."

Immediately, a guard went to make the arrangements. Jade-faced Princess walked out from behind the scenes, embraced King Niumo, and said, "My King, you seem in a hurry to go somewhere." Her voice was tender as water, seemingly melting King Niumo.

King Niumo clasped her hand, his tone tinged with melancholy, "The Buddhist Sect is aggressive. I must take precautions, otherwise we will all be reduced to prisoners."

Jade-faced Princess sighed upon hearing this, "Being prisoners might be for the best. I’ve heard that the Buddhist Sect has a way that can alter one’s mindset, making one involuntarily become a devotee of the Buddhist Sect, even willing to sacrifice their life. If that’s the case, how different are we from puppets? Rest assured, my king, the wealth of Fox Kingdom is at your disposal."

Jade-faced Princess was an astute person; she naturally understood that without King Niumo’s protection, she could not preserve her immense wealth, and the ascetic Buddhist Sect probably couldn’t accommodate her opportunistic nature.

Since that was the case, she could only opt to put all her bets on King Niumo, who, if he managed to repel the Buddhist Sect, would still preserve their wealth.

"Wait here, my beauty. I’ll go to Bibo Pond now," he said.

"Bibo Pond? The Old Dragon King there probably won’t want to get involved in this mess," Jade-faced Fox wondered aloud.

The Old Dragon King of Bibo Pond was inherently fearful. Hearing about the reputation of the Buddhist Sect might scare him half to death, let alone forming an alliance with King Niumo to confront the Buddhist Sect.

King Niumo, however, shook his head and said, "It’s not him I seek, but his son-in-law, the Nine-headed Insect. He is audacious enough to have stolen a Buddhist Treasure. If the Buddhist Sect finds out, his fate will be sealed, and he will surely ally with us."

"So it’s him, I’ve also heard that the Old Dragon King at Bibo Pond married off his daughter to a monstrous creature. What exactly is the Nine-headed Insect, and why haven’t I heard of his kind before?"

"It is said he descends from an Ancient Demon Beast bloodline. As for who specifically, that remains unknown, but his strength is indeed extraordinary. If we can win him over, it would be a significant boost for us."

As they spoke, the guards already brought the Water-Repelling Golden-Gazed Beast. King Niumo mounted his steed, smiled, and said, "Wait for me at home, my beauty!" Then he rode towards Bibo Pond.

Meanwhile, Lin Fang was gradually walking deeper into Flame Mountain, stepping on the blazing hot land. Thanks to Princess Iron Fan’s help, the power of Flame Mountain had diminished significantly, giving Lin Fang a chance to adapt.