At the peak of Black Wind Mountain.
The entire plaza was bustling with excitement, as over a hundred lesser demons rushed to the scene, shouting in unison with thrilled expressions, “Welcome back, Great King!”
Mo Fan scanned the crowd, nodding inwardly with approval.
Though the demons of Black Wind Mountain were still not as numerous as in Zhu Xianfeng’s era, they had begun to show vitality and spirit, far more disciplined than the lazy, idle bunch of before.
Thanks to the magical weapons Mo Fan had previously bestowed, every lesser demon now held knives, forks, staffs, or halberds, exuding an impressive aura of combat readiness.
“Not bad, now that’s more like demons!”
Mo Fan thought to himself. He didn’t expect to instill the strict discipline of a mortal human army in such a short time, especially since these were wild beast demons. Reaching this level was already commendable.
Of course, the short timeframe was a major factor.
“Great King, you’re finally back!”
White Yaoyao stood at the forefront of the demons, smiling at Mo Fan and the demons beside him. She keenly noticed the powerful auras emanating from them, her eyes lighting up as she transmitted, “You really subdued the monkey demon clan?”
“Indeed!”
Mo Fan nodded, then glanced at the demon soldiers behind White Yaoyao. Seeing their excited expressions as they sized up the monkey demons behind him, he immediately understood their intentions.
Black Wind Mountain currently had ten major power structures, but due to a severe shortage of demon cultivators, these structures were heavily understaffed.
Seeing Mo Fan return with so many monkey demons, the leaders of these factions were naturally eager, hoping to claim a share to bolster their own camps.
Though the power structure of Black Wind Mountain had changed significantly, the core dynamics remained largely the same, with subtle competition among the camps.
Especially for the demon soldier leaders, who wouldn’t want to shine in front of Toad King?
Mo Fan shifted his gaze back to White Yaoyao, smiling, “You’ve worked hard these past two weeks!”
“Aside from a few troublesome thorns, it wasn’t too difficult.”
White Yaoyao shook her head in response.
Thorns?
Mo Fan’s brows furrowed slightly, instinctively glancing at the demon soldiers. Sure enough, a few of them looked uneasy.
White Yaoyao didn’t elaborate but stepped forward to Mo Fan’s side, saying lightly, “Let them explain themselves!”
At her words, the spectating lesser demons immediately turned their attention to Red Eye, Dali, and White Elephant, their faces brimming with schadenfreude.
“Thud!”
White Elephant was the first to kneel, urgently pleading, “Great King, have mercy! It was my fault, I shouldn’t have opposed the camp leader!”
“???”
Mo Fan was puzzled but caught the gist. This matter involved Red Eye?
“Why are you always mixed up in everything?”
Mo Fan shot an exasperated glare at Red Eye. Seeing Dali hesitate to speak, he said, “Dali, I trust you the most. Tell me what happened.”
Dali, with a bitter expression, knelt as well, saying gruffly, “Great King, it was my failure to discipline my subordinates. The responsibility is entirely mine!”
“I’m not here to watch you compete over who apologises fastest. I want the full story.”
Mo Fan frowned, speaking calmly.
Seeing Mo Fan’s insistence, Dali didn’t hide anything and recounted the events that had transpired.
As he spoke, the monkey demons behind Mo Fan gradually understood the situation. From the gazes of Black Wind Mountain’s lesser demons, they also gathered that Dali and Red Eye were likely the king’s trusted confidants.
If so, they were curious to see how the king would handle this.
By now, White Elephant was trembling with fear.
He had dared to oppose Dali and Red Eye because he resented these old demons around the king. Despite their modest strength, they acted arrogantly. So, he decided to enforce strict punishment to curb their influence.
At the same time, he sought to curry favour with the white snake demon.
White Elephant had noticed that, though the king hadn’t given White Yaoyao a high-ranking position, he treated her with great respect, even entrusting her with managing Black Wind Mountain during his recent absences.
This made it clear how high White Yaoyao’s status was. In White Elephant’s view, aligning with her would secure his future and give him a powerful backer to compete with the king’s old demons.
But when he learned that White Yaoyao had publicly punished Red Eye in a fit of anger, he knew things had escalated.
He only meant to give Red Eye and Dali a warning, not to truly harm them.
After all, Red Eye and Dali were the king’s true confidants.
So, White Elephant regretted his actions.
When he saw the king return and inquire about the matter, he apologised so readily to avoid incurring the king’s wrath.
Now, seeing the king sternly questioning the issue, White Elephant was naturally terrified, fearing the king would take Red Eye’s side.
To his surprise, the king didn’t punish him but instead helped him up.
“White Elephant, you did well!”
“I’ve said before, no one can break my rules lightly, or they will face due punishment!”
“Deserting Black Wind Mountain is a red line for me!”
“Those lesser demons who fled out of fear of hardship were already on a path to death!”
“Not only did you do no wrong, but you handled it excellently, not bowing to power or pulling strings like some!”
Each of Mo Fan’s words lifted a weight from White Elephant’s heart, while Red Eye and Dali hung their heads in dejection.
In the end, Mo Fan rewarded White Elephant with a gourd of monkey wine and two low-grade spirit herbs. Then, turning around, he kicked Red Eye to the ground, cursing and threatening to skin him. However, after much persuasion from Dali, Zhazha, Pig Sir, and other confidants, he relented.
Watching Mo Fan’s exaggerated performance, White Yaoyao couldn’t help but twitch her face. If not for fear of undermining the king’s authority by laughing, she might have burst out laughing.
“Ahem… let this matter end here!”
“Let this be a warning to you all. Don’t follow Red Eye’s example. If I find anyone breaking my rules again, no matter who they are, I’ll personally skin them!”
Mo Fan gave a symbolic warning to the demons before introducing the monkey demons behind him.
His approach earned silent approval from Sun Bai and the seven demon generals.
Though Mo Fan seemed to favour Red Eye and Dali, he didn’t retaliate against White Elephant for their punishment, instead rewarding him. To the monkey demons, this was a commendable way of handling things.
It acknowledged White Elephant’s impartiality while reassuring the king’s old confidants.
“I know you’ve all waited long enough, so I won’t ramble. The seven demon generals are out of your reach; their cultivation far surpasses yours. Thus, I’ve decided to establish a ‘General Hall’ for them!
In the future, if your camps face tasks you can’t complete, you may request aid from the General Hall with my token!
Under my token, the General Hall must not refuse, or they will be treated as deserters!”
“Furthermore…”
