Chapter 62: The Attack

Even so, Zhou Yu still had no intention of asking Xuan Qing to intervene. After all, every battle served as the finest form of cultivation and a rare, invaluable opportunity to rapidly enhance one's strength and realm.

"Hehehe, do you want me to make a move? I can go and be back in a single night, and bring back the head of that damn leopard!" Xuan Qing said, squinting while holding his wine gourd.

Xuan Qing indeed possessed the strength to do so.

"Unnecessary!" the colored monkey immediately rejected. He shared the exact same mindset as Zhou Yu: only through combat could one elevate their strength as quickly as possible.

However, as Lady Fox had mentioned, the Leopard King was unexpectedly powerful. Fortunately, when they left the Wild Buffalo Valley back then, neither he nor Zhou Yu had succumbed to foolish delusions of returning to pick up easy scraps.

"Humph! Even so, that Leopard King cannot kill me, so why should I fear him?" the colored monkey said.

Fatty chimed in cautiously, "Otherwise, we could just have our brothers overwhelm him to death!"

Zhou Yu shot him a sideways glance and said, "Fatty, for all your resourcefulness, how could you make such a simple mistake? You suggest using the demon soldiers to swamp him, but are the Leopard King's subordinate demon soldiers any fewer than ours?"

Only then did Fatty recall that the Leopard King commanded a staggering fifty thousand demon soldiers!

They couldn't match the enemy in terms of elite fighters, nor could they match them in sheer numbers. What should they do then? Fatty was momentarily at a loss.

Although Fatty possessed a sharp mind and great talent, he had never received any formal military education after all.

At that moment, Lady Fox spoke up, "Actually, we have all made a mistake. You don't need to worry too much. Battles among the demon race are usually confrontations between the strongest individuals of both sides. No matter how numerous the ordinary demon soldiers are, they are ultimately useless."

Her words enlightened Zhou Yu and the colored monkey. That was true—they only needed to defeat the Leopard King, and all problems would cease to be problems. Furthermore, they would be able to absorb his fifty thousand demon soldiers!

"Both of you possess exceptionally resilient bodies. In truth, a superior demon king can defeat five inferior demon kings largely because the inferior demon kings lack sufficient defense. Although the combined attack power of five inferior demon kings actually surpasses that of a superior demon king, their defense does not increase correspondingly, giving the superior demon king the opportunity to defeat them one by one. Your defensive capabilities, coupled with your regenerative powers, have already reached the level of intermediate demon kings, and your regeneration even surpasses that of superior demon kings. Therefore, you still stand a chance."

Lady Fox continued, "Here is what we will do: go and issue a challenge, luring the Leopard King out to fight. I will back you up and guard the formation. In the unlikely event that you are no match for him, I will step in. Even if I cannot kill him, I can at least ensure your safety."

In truth, Lady Fox still underestimated the defensive capabilities of Zhou Yu and the colored monkey. After all, the colored monkey had survived a full-strength strike from the White-Bone Weeper, and Zhou Yu's defense went without saying—though slightly less freakish than the colored monkey's, it was still remarkably formidable.

After much deliberation, wanting both to elevate their strength through combat and to guarantee victory, this remained the only viable option. Thus, Zhou Yu and the colored monkey agreed.

At the same time, Fatty suggested that they must bring along all combat-ready demon soldiers from their side, firstly to build momentum, and secondly to drill the troops if an opportunity arose.

Zhou Yu and the colored monkey readily agreed.

After finishing the night's wine, they set the departure date for three days later.

Although Xuan Qing claimed that battles of this caliber were boring and failed to spark his interest, he truly had nothing better to do, so he decided to tag along and watch.

Once Xuan Qing went to watch, should any unforeseen danger arise, it was naturally out of the question for him to merely remain a spectator.

However, Zhou Yu did not wish for Lady Fox and Xuan Qing to expose their cards during this battle. Ultimately, they were their two trump cards, and exposing them too early might prove disadvantageous for the future.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

During these three days, the Fox clan, the Monkey clan, and the Wild Boar clan worked in concerted harmony to build numerous houses halfway up the mountain of Flower-Fruit Mountain.

These newly constructed dwellings temporarily met their current needs.

Snowflakes drifted down from the sky one by one. In a small wooden cottage, Lady Fox stared blankly out the window at the snow.

This wooden cabin was temporarily erected and naturally could not compare to her original grand palace, but Lady Fox accepted it with equanimity.

Houses, after all, only needed to be fit for habitation.

She gazed at the snowflakes, a trace of sorrow clouding her face, lost in thought.

"Mother Queen, why aren't you speaking?" Xiao Qing asked, standing beside Lady Fox.

"Sigh, my child, you do not understand. Although our plan is comprehensive, the force we will ultimately face represents the majority of the entire demon race's strength. This is destined to be a difficult path," Lady Fox sighed.

Xiao Qing did not quite understand all of this, so she asked, "Will Zhou Yu be in danger, then?"

Lady Fox thought of the Great Black-Sky Demon King residing within Zhou Yu. She smiled, turned around, stroked Xiao Qing's head, and said, "He certainly won't be in danger. There is a great figure protecting him."

Hearing this, Xiao Qing cheered up and said, "That's good, then."

In another room, Fatty was tallying the number of combat-ready demon soldiers. The walls before him were covered in densely carved, seal-script-like demon characters.

This was how Fatty kept count.

"Warfare is the art of deception!" Zhou Yu said to Fatty from the side.

Over the past few days, Zhou Yu had continuously poured into Fatty's mind all the military treatises, troop-leading principles, famous battle cases, and life stories of renowned generals he could remember.

Zhou Yu was not a qualified teacher; he was merely a competent speaker, which often led him to boast endlessly as he lectured.

Fortunately, Fatty was exceptionally clever and had comprehended a great deal within these short three days. Even so, the degree to which Fatty could actually apply this knowledge in practice would only be revealed on the battlefield.

"Counting them all, we have three thousand combat-ready soldiers," Fatty said, lacking confidence. The Leopard King commanded fifty thousand demon soldiers, whereas their side only mustered three thousand.

"Enough! Three thousand soldiers of Yue were enough to swallow Wu. Fatty, as long as they are deployed properly, we can win! Besides, the primary battle is not between ordinary demon soldiers," Zhou Yu said.

Fatty wiped the sweat from his forehead. He seemed particularly prone to sweating; even in the dead of winter, his brow was frequently covered in beads of perspiration.

"I have studied the terrain surrounding the Leopard clan. There is a canyon among them that is extremely suitable for combat," Fatty said.

"Oh? Tell me about it," Zhou Yu asked curiously.

"It's like this: that canyon is very narrow, probably only allowing about five hundred men to march abreast. If we can lure the leopard-headed soldiers there, we can hold them off with a smaller force! No matter how numerous they are, it will be useless!" Fatty said.

Zhou Yu nodded and said, "That is a strategic choke point where one man can hold off ten thousand. Excellent, you have learned well. You should also set up some traps and mechanisms to slaughter a large number of them using external advantages!"

"Right, but the time is too short. If we had more time, I could definitely manufacture enough bows and arrows. In the future, our army must not only be large in number, but diverse in composition—we must have bows, crossbows, and cavalry," Fatty said enthusiastically.

"I want to change the chaotic situation where the demon race simply rushes forward blindly in battle, knowing nothing else."

Hearing Fatty's words, Zhou Yu suddenly felt a trace of regret. Was he cultivating a peerless military commander for the demon race? Would this general command these demon soldiers to slaughter humans in the future?

Yet this thought flashed only briefly through Zhou Yu's mind. Some things were driven by necessity, and some things could not be prevented. Why torment oneself over things that had not yet happened and doubt one's own companions?

Zhou Yu chatted with Fatty for a little longer before leaving the room to look for the colored monkey.

Over the past few days, the colored monkey had remained constantly inside a cave, muttering incantations while clutching that golden staff. Zhou Yu even suspected he had lost his mind.

"Ah! And then what?"

As soon as Zhou Yu stepped into the colored monkey's cave dwelling, he heard him talking to the golden staff, and he frowned.

"Colored monkey! Are you still acting crazy? We're setting out tonight!" Zhou Yu walked up to the colored monkey and said.

The colored monkey glared at Zhou Yu and continued hugging the golden staff, muttering away.

Zhou Yu snatched the golden staff away in one swift motion. The moment his hand touched the staff, a vivid image flashed through his mind—a majestic monkey holding the golden staff, cutting a bloody path through a myriad of foes.

Yet this vision vanished in an instant, leaving only an endless surging momentum in Zhou Yu's mind.

What was going on? Zhou Yu looked at the colored monkey with puzzlement.

The colored monkey locked eyes with Zhou Yu.

After a brief moment, the colored monkey confessed to Zhou Yu that he was able to communicate with the golden staff.

Only then did Zhou Yu realize that the golden staff truly possessed spirituality, just as Xuan Qing had said—not merely spiritual, it practically possessed sentience!

After pondering for a long time, Zhou Yu decided to ask the colored monkey about matters concerning the Six Paths.

To his surprise, the golden staff remained unresponsive, finally telling the colored monkey that it was tired and wanted to sleep.

This left Zhou Yu utterly speechless. Even a golden staff could get tired?

He couldn't help but think of Du Niang, who used to act just as playfully back then.

Zhou Yu let out a sigh, then stared blankly at the snowy scenery outside, recalling Xuan Qing's words that Liu Yueming was in the Extreme North Glacier. Zhou Yu deeply longed to find him; he decided that once he assisted the colored monkey in unifying the northern demon race and exerting a certain degree of leverage against the White-Bone Weeper, he would head to the Extreme North Glacier to search for Liu Yueming.

When night fell, all three thousand elite demon soldiers had assembled at the foot of the mountain. Zhou Yu, the colored monkey, Fatty, and the mute wild boar soldiers stood at the front of the formation. After delivering a rallying speech, they set out.

As for the safety of Flower-Fruit Mountain, they harbored zero worries because Xuan Qing had agreed to look after the place. Naturally, Xuan Qing only left behind an avatar, but even a mere avatar of Xuan Qing possessed strength surpassing that of the Leopard Leopard King, making it more than sufficient to safeguard Flower-Fruit Mountain.

Lady Fox and Xuan Qing followed the marching army from the shadows.

This troop was a genuine mixed army, comprising the Monkey clan, the Wild Boar clan, and a very small number of the Fox clan.

Among them, the silver foxes of the Fox clan served as scouts and had already dispersed ahead; the Wild Boar clan formed the main assault force, while the Monkey clan was responsible for sniping from the shadows.

The Leopard clan was a major power in the northern demon race, with a vast expanse of territory.

Therefore, by the fifth day of their march, they had already crossed into enemy territory.

A small village appearing before their eyes was subordinate to the Leopard clan. Although this place was still far from the Leopard clan's stronghold, three leopard-headed soldiers were stationed within the hamlet.

The colored monkey shouted at the top of his lungs: "Attack!"

Three thousand demon soldiers surged toward the village like a pack of wolves and tigers.

Among the demon race, no mercy was required; there was only slaughter or submission.

Chapter Sixty-Two: Attack (Third Update)

Chapter Sixty-Two: Attack (Third)